He was unsure as to why he listened to the comment she made. She made so many.
"Those pants make your butt look too big, Oncie, models they just don't look like that. You want to sell that Thneed don't you? You wanna make your mamma proud right?" she remarked snidely.
At first he wondered why his mother was looking at his butt in the first place. Then he looked in the mirror. He could see it too. He blinked a few times and the distorted image left his view but he was sure it was there for a second.
He was starting to get fidgety.
No more marshmallows for you. And maybe you should skip desert tonight. I mean it's not really that good for you anyway. You can go running after dinner. Ya know get back in shape before your photo shoot. You gotta look good for the ladies . . . Audrey.
She was always in his thoughts. He brushed that aside. He was famous now. He needed to look good. So, maybe he wouldn't run. However, he would NOT be having dessert tonight on under any circumstances.
He opened his door and Alice bounded into his arms. "Hi Daddy," she smiled.
"Hey kiddo," he said ruffling his hair. He stared off into space with a raised eyebrow.
I'm starting to sound like my dad. He thought to himself.
She laughed. "Come on Aunt Laura and I made pancakes with syrup and vanilla in them."
He laughed lightly.
"She even got ice cream!" Alice said falling into a heap on the floor and bouncing back up again holding a stuffed unicorn in her arms.
"I think I'll pass on the ice cream." He said with a smile.
"Why?" She asked. "It's chocolate and we got extra mallows to put in it."
He just smiled at her, "I'm just not in the mood today, but you should still have some."
"Okay!" She said happily running into the kitchen.
"If you work any harder Beanpole you'll turn into a tiny little bean and blow away."
"Good to see you too," he said rolling his blue eyes.
"How are you feeling Beanpole," he asked seriously now.
"I'm alright I guess. My chest is a little sore but I'm fine. I carry an inhaler on me."
"You sure you're alright kid?" He asked looking him over. There was something amiss and off about him.
"I'm fine relax Mustache." He said walking into the kitchen.
He closed his eyes taking in the aroma that once was so pleasing to him. He could eat pancakes for every meal of everyday for his entire life. However, today, they just didn't appeal to him the way they usually did. He brushed it off and ate alongside his friends.
"You alright honey," Laura asked him after dinner, "You didn't eat as much as usual is something wrong?"
"No, I'm fine." He promised.
"Is your asthma okay?" She asked.
"Yeah, I'm dealing with it." He said.
"That wasn't what I asked. I asked if it was okay, as in under control and not giving you trouble."
"If I catch it before it acts up it's under control," he said with a small smile.
"Okay," she said a slight edge to her voice. "How are you holding up with Alice?"
"She's a handful sometimes but most of the time she's the best part of my day."
"Good," Laura nodded.
"Daddy my favorite song's on the radio," she said turning it up.
She took his hands and began to dance.
Hey, where have you been?
Where did you go looking for innocence?
Shame is holding you down, selling you out,
Won't you come back again?
'Cause you've found a way to go on for days,
Pretending to live.
But you are not OK with all of that weight,
You need to give up.
Come now, just let it go,
Let it fall down, let it all flow like,
The water that's rushing in over your soul 'til there's nothing left.
Won't you come to me and rest?
She was standing on his feet her soft slippers rubbing over his bare toes.
He smiled as she started to relax into him.
He took her to her room and tucked her in.
"Come now, just let it go,
Let it fall down, let it all flow like,
The water that's rushing in over your soul 'til there's nothing left.
Won't you come to me as you are...
Dirty and broken with all your scars,
From all the unspoken.
With all the words that you wanted to say,
But you locked them away inside.
Come now, just let it go,
Let it fall down, let it all flow like,
The water that's rushing in over your soul 'til there's nothing left...
Come now, just let it go,
Let it fall down, let it all flow like,
The water that's rushing in over your soul 'til there's nothing left.
Won't you come to me and rest?"
He kissed her forehead.
. . .
She just wanted to be like everyone else. She wanted a boy friend. She was willing to deal with the things he asked her to do. She wanted a boy friend so badly. She was a 'freak' a 'lesbo' and an 'abnormality' through all of high school. When she went to college she really wanted to be 'normal'.
She found him. He was sweet. He talked a nice game. He spoke sweet and he spoke gentle. She fell for it. She was nineteen who wouldn't. The first year they were just friends. It was all good. She never saw anything in him.
She never felt attracted to him either though. He was sweet, but there wasn't anything there. He transferred anyway. She grabbed hold of another guy as soon as she could.
He was as dumb as rocks and she couldn't stand him. She missed the first boy she fell for. So, she left him go. She waited until twenty one to try again.
When she was twenty one she fell for another boy. He was the classic prince charming. He took her to places she didn't even know existed and then some. She fell into the trap of the pick-up lines and lies that he fed her.
She wouldn't let him do anything really obscene, but, she convinced herself that she was attracted to him and that she loved him. That was her first mistake. She hummed that song her father sang to herself.
"It's the first night I've spent without him in weeks," she whispered. "I asked him if we were wrong to do this. He promised me it was okay."
They hadn't really done anything. They'd kissed before hard and intense and passionately. She was starting to get scared, was she in the wrong because she trusted he wouldn't do anything.
She sat on her bed scared and confused. She didn't know where to turn.
She picked up the phone and called her father's number. No matter what happened he promised he'd always answer.
"Hello?" The man's voice came though on the other end.
"Hi Daddy it's Alice," she said trying to sound happy and unafraid.
Unfortunately for her, he could read right through it.