Chapter 4

Thanksgiving break had rolled around, so Luke and Flora were done with their studies for a week. A few months prior, the Professor had promised to take them on a short vacation during their time off. Unfortunately, events leading up to then now prevented him from bringing both of them along. Layton proposed that he would take Luke somewhere, and Katia would take Flora somewhere else. After initially protesting the idea of being without him, Katia warmed up to the idea.

"So it is settled; the ladies will be going to the beach, whilst Luke and I will go to Beardale. Esteemed town of research, right Like?"

"Fwuh..." Luke mumbled. The Professor initially looked the other way (literally) over the tempermental love that Luke and Flora quietly shared. Under his nose, things were getting slightly more serious, and Luke really didn't want to leave her behind. Flora was, however, too excited about sun and sand to worry about her younger love interest.

"What do you think?" Katia asked her husband. She stepped out of the bedroom in a blue two-piece. Layton blushed.

"Not in front of my apprentice!" He said somewhat jokingly. His face turned red. "You don't have anything more...modest?"

"This -is- modest." Katia huffed. "...for the beach at least."

While the adults were bickering, Flora stared at herself in the mirror, alone in her room. She still hadn't outgrown the embarrassment of a bikini, and was sporting a brown one-piece. Around the waist was a small skirt, where pink embroirdered floras shot up to her chest. Poking her stomach, she sighed.

"Who am I kidding?" She thought to herself. Though her heart pounded with excitement, her self confidence plumetted at the sigh of her almost-not-perfect stomach. "Looks like I had two babies already." This of course wasn't true, (she had not had children nor was she fat, wrinkled, and sagging) but her mind told her otherwise.

A couple minutes of this, and Katia came in.

"Are you finished packing?" She asked.

"Almost." Flora answered in dismay.

"What's the matter?"

Flora sighed and turned away from the mirror.

"I hate how my body looks." She said. Katia laughed.

"Why? How?" She choked. "I mean, I'm not much older than you and you look better than me."

"But you're..." Flora hesited. Her voice lowered with slight jelousy. "...you're married."

"Well yes I'm married, but I just said I'm not much older than you." Katia said. She stood next to Flora in the mirror. Both of their bodies looked great.

"You look good, you're married,..." Flora mumbled.

"In a few years you'll be married, too." The other woman said. "And you have someone that likes you already."

Flora giggled.

"What you mean Luke? He's such a little runt though."

Katia laughed, said nothing, and made her exit. Unfortunately, Luke had been eavesdropping a little on the last part of the girls' conversation, and was really upset to hear Flora dismiss him so easily. When Katia came out of Flora's room, she saw the boy sitting on the floor near her. He looked sad.

"What's wrong Luke?" She asked quietly.

"Flora doesn't like me..." He mumbled. "Are all girls this complicated?"

"I don't know. I never dated one." Katia said with an all too serious shrug. "But Flora doesn't know what she wants. You don't either. Take it with a grain of salt."

Luke folded his arms and sighed.

"Really quite the puzzle today." He said to himself.