.:Chapter 8: A Deal:.
.:I settled into the very heart of Winnerow, when I had before lived in the outskirts of the town. I knew I wouldn't be able to afford any of the beautiful, richer houses on the main street, but found an old, small, quiet house that just needed a new paint job and some nails to make it look liveable:.
.:I spent a few days working on the house, painting it a bright white. Some of the richer neighbors looked down at me with disgust, as if I didn't belong here. I wanted to find my family, on my father's side, but I didn't have enough money to hire a detective:.
.:I discovered that the town was mostly quiet on Sundays, for everyone went to church. I was presuaded to go with them, and I found a faded blue sweater and black slacks to wear:.
.:The church was fancy, and the people who dressed to impress were all seated in the front row. Some people snickered at my worn clothes; others scowled at me. The only available seats were towards the back, where the poorer people in the town lived:.
.:Reverned Wise's surmons were not the god loving sermons I had always thought of when I was a child. I had thought you were supposed to love God, but the way this man preached made God a higher being to be feared at all times and that sinners would burn, burn, burn!:.
.:I was mesmorized by his speech of hell and damnation, even as I trembled a bit when he said sinners got the worst of everything. Did that mean I was evil? I had been molested, beaten, starved, and so had Hope. Did that mean we were both evil, doomed to spend our lives in punishment and torment, then later on in the fires of Hell?:.
.:That man scared me...he did. His wife stood up there with him, stone faced and nodding as he spoke his powerful and overwhelming words:.
.:I got up to go to the bathroom, hoping it wasn't a great sin to leave during such a powerful sermon. As I was walking towards the bathrooms, someone suddenly collided with me:.
.:I looked at the woman who had ran into me. I knew she wasn't poor by her fancy cream colored dress, that had tiny stringlets of pearls over the bodice and hem, and all around. The young woman's face was fresh and pretty, her eyes as dark as black onyx, her raven hair sweeping down to her shoulders. Her lips were full and rose red, her skin made of porcelin:.
.:"I'm sorry," the young woman said, her face turning a bit scarlet from embarrassment:.
.:"I wasn't watching where I was going," she apologized, as my lips found a small smile to wear:.
.:"It's okay...I wasn't watching either, to tell the truth," I said softly, mesmorized by this woman's beauty. Hope had been a beautiful girl --even with her scars and bruises, but this girl was beautiful in a different, fresh way...:.
.:"I'm Darcy Wise," she said, softly laughing before she offered me her hand:.
.:I smiled and took it, raising it to my lips:.
.:"It's nice to meet you, Darcy. I am Colvin Donahue Casteel," I said:.
.:I watched her eyes widen and she stepped back from me:.
.:"Casteel? How come I've never seen you before...?" she asked:.
.:"I wasn't raised with the Casteel family. Why? Is there something wrong with being a Casteel?" I demanded, a bit irritated that she pulled away from me as if I had the plague:.
.:"No....no...it's just..some people might treat you different. Many think the Casteels are the lowest people in the valley," she said:.
.:"Is that what you think?" I asked, as my dark eyes narrowed:.
.:"No. I judge people on their personality, values, and actions, not by Winnerow upper class society," she said:.
.:"Aren't you upper class? The Reverend is your father?" I asked, realizing his last name was "Wise":.
.:"That may be true, but you are judging me by the money my family has, just like the rest of the town. You are being a hypocrite if you are going to judge me for that, just when you was accusing me of the same thing," she said:.
.:"I'm not being a hypocrite, I was just asking. Please...I'm sorry if I said anything wrong," I said:.
.:For a moment she looked at me, as if she wasn't going to accept my apology. Then she smiled:.
.:"All right, Colvin Donahue Casteel. I will accept your apology on one condition," she said:.
.:"And that is?" I questioned, my eyes suspicious even as she held her smile:.
.:"We will have lunch together tomorrow, say about noon? Then I will judge you and see if you are, or are not a hypocrite," she said. I didn't want to appear stubborn and didn't feel like arguing with her, so I nodded:.
.:"You have a deal. Where are we going to meet?" I asked:.
.:"My house is the big white house down the street that is surrounded by flower gardens, the biggest and most grand house, some say. It has Corinthian columns lined up along the long porch, and red brick steps. You can't miss it," she said:.
.:I nodded," Okay...it's a date," I said:.
.:She only smiled and walked back into the booming sermon, even as I wondered about this girl...:.
.:I settled into the very heart of Winnerow, when I had before lived in the outskirts of the town. I knew I wouldn't be able to afford any of the beautiful, richer houses on the main street, but found an old, small, quiet house that just needed a new paint job and some nails to make it look liveable:.
.:I spent a few days working on the house, painting it a bright white. Some of the richer neighbors looked down at me with disgust, as if I didn't belong here. I wanted to find my family, on my father's side, but I didn't have enough money to hire a detective:.
.:I discovered that the town was mostly quiet on Sundays, for everyone went to church. I was presuaded to go with them, and I found a faded blue sweater and black slacks to wear:.
.:The church was fancy, and the people who dressed to impress were all seated in the front row. Some people snickered at my worn clothes; others scowled at me. The only available seats were towards the back, where the poorer people in the town lived:.
.:Reverned Wise's surmons were not the god loving sermons I had always thought of when I was a child. I had thought you were supposed to love God, but the way this man preached made God a higher being to be feared at all times and that sinners would burn, burn, burn!:.
.:I was mesmorized by his speech of hell and damnation, even as I trembled a bit when he said sinners got the worst of everything. Did that mean I was evil? I had been molested, beaten, starved, and so had Hope. Did that mean we were both evil, doomed to spend our lives in punishment and torment, then later on in the fires of Hell?:.
.:That man scared me...he did. His wife stood up there with him, stone faced and nodding as he spoke his powerful and overwhelming words:.
.:I got up to go to the bathroom, hoping it wasn't a great sin to leave during such a powerful sermon. As I was walking towards the bathrooms, someone suddenly collided with me:.
.:I looked at the woman who had ran into me. I knew she wasn't poor by her fancy cream colored dress, that had tiny stringlets of pearls over the bodice and hem, and all around. The young woman's face was fresh and pretty, her eyes as dark as black onyx, her raven hair sweeping down to her shoulders. Her lips were full and rose red, her skin made of porcelin:.
.:"I'm sorry," the young woman said, her face turning a bit scarlet from embarrassment:.
.:"I wasn't watching where I was going," she apologized, as my lips found a small smile to wear:.
.:"It's okay...I wasn't watching either, to tell the truth," I said softly, mesmorized by this woman's beauty. Hope had been a beautiful girl --even with her scars and bruises, but this girl was beautiful in a different, fresh way...:.
.:"I'm Darcy Wise," she said, softly laughing before she offered me her hand:.
.:I smiled and took it, raising it to my lips:.
.:"It's nice to meet you, Darcy. I am Colvin Donahue Casteel," I said:.
.:I watched her eyes widen and she stepped back from me:.
.:"Casteel? How come I've never seen you before...?" she asked:.
.:"I wasn't raised with the Casteel family. Why? Is there something wrong with being a Casteel?" I demanded, a bit irritated that she pulled away from me as if I had the plague:.
.:"No....no...it's just..some people might treat you different. Many think the Casteels are the lowest people in the valley," she said:.
.:"Is that what you think?" I asked, as my dark eyes narrowed:.
.:"No. I judge people on their personality, values, and actions, not by Winnerow upper class society," she said:.
.:"Aren't you upper class? The Reverend is your father?" I asked, realizing his last name was "Wise":.
.:"That may be true, but you are judging me by the money my family has, just like the rest of the town. You are being a hypocrite if you are going to judge me for that, just when you was accusing me of the same thing," she said:.
.:"I'm not being a hypocrite, I was just asking. Please...I'm sorry if I said anything wrong," I said:.
.:For a moment she looked at me, as if she wasn't going to accept my apology. Then she smiled:.
.:"All right, Colvin Donahue Casteel. I will accept your apology on one condition," she said:.
.:"And that is?" I questioned, my eyes suspicious even as she held her smile:.
.:"We will have lunch together tomorrow, say about noon? Then I will judge you and see if you are, or are not a hypocrite," she said. I didn't want to appear stubborn and didn't feel like arguing with her, so I nodded:.
.:"You have a deal. Where are we going to meet?" I asked:.
.:"My house is the big white house down the street that is surrounded by flower gardens, the biggest and most grand house, some say. It has Corinthian columns lined up along the long porch, and red brick steps. You can't miss it," she said:.
.:I nodded," Okay...it's a date," I said:.
.:She only smiled and walked back into the booming sermon, even as I wondered about this girl...:.