Chapter two-
It was a pretty long walk but Veronica finally made it home. Veronica lived in a two story building which was build almost seventy years ago. It was in bad shape with bricks falling off, bad lighting, and cockroaches residing in every corner of the building. As Veronica made it up the stairs, the floor made some kind of creaking noise. She skipped up one step because it was broken in half. She made it up to her apartment and rang the door. As she waited for her aunt to come, she studied the door to her home. It was originally painted bright yellow but over the years, dirt made it's way on to the door. It was practically brown now but with splotches of yellow all over it.
Finally, a woman answered the door. She was a plump woman with orangey red hair in a bun. She was very short, shorter than Veronica. She wore a white dress with very faint flower print on it and a white apron with a tomato stain. She was Veronica great Aunt, Gail Garret. Gail Garret was the youngest of nine children and the only surviving one at the moment. Veronica has somewhat of a love/hate relationship with her Aunt. While Veronica was thankful about the fact that her aunt took her in when her mother died and her father and brother mysteriously disappeared but Ms. Garret always got on Veronica nerves. She was very bossy and Veronica always got a feeling that she always wanted to control Veronica's life. For example, during the summer, Veronica spent the long and hot
days by playing baseball. Veronica wasn't really a tomboy but she didn't want to sit near the side with the other lower class girls, watching the boys play, and gossiping. Veronica hated gossip. Just thinking about it made her sick. So instead of sitting around, she decided to get in the game. She wasn't as good as the boys but she was the better baseball player than probably any other girl there. On one of those exhausting days, Veronica aunt came walking past the park after getting ice at the store and spotted Veronica in the outfield blowing a pink bubble. Instantly, she ran on to the concrete ground and scolded her for playing. "What kind of man will accept a girl who plays sports?" she yelled at Veronica, embarrassing her in front of everyone. "Not a good one! That's for sure!" Ms. Garret's number one priority was to find Veronica a husband to take care of her. Veronica did want a husband but she wanted to take care of herself, not let some man control her life. Regardless of her gender, Veronica still had a dream to successful and famous but yet, Ms. Garret still ignored her dream and wanted Veronica to settle down soon.
Ms. Garret examined Veronica. She always did that whenever Veronica got home. It was somewhat of a nervous habit. A look if disgust came over her face.
"What's that's red stain on your dress doing there?" Ms. Garret asked
"That's from a couple of years ago. Remember, Uncle Frank took me to Clooney Island when I was eleven and he brought me a hot dog and I put a lot of ketchup on it and it spilled all over this dress, so that's were the stain came from." Veronica said without stopping for breath.
Ms. Garret paused for a second to refresh her memory. "Oh yes. I remember that day. You didn't seem to mind that you had that disgusting stain on your dress"
"Why would I?" Veronica laughed. "It's just a stain. It's not a big deal."
"Yes, it's not a big deal that you ruined a perfectly good dress by making a careless mistake"
Veronica didn't say anything in response to Ms. Garret remark but she rolled her eyes when she turned away. "What ever happen to Uncle Frank anyway? He was a nice guy."
Uncle Frank was the twin brother of Veronica's father but unlike him, Frank was a kind and big hearted man who cared for Veronica. She almost considered him a second father because her real one was never really there for her. The last time she saw Frank was around Christmas time in 1929. She spent that Christmas Eve at his house with him and his girlfriend, Rachel, a young Jewish woman from Poland who immigrated to America a few years before. She was tall, thin, and spoke with a very heavy Polish accent. She was also a very quiet and shy person who kept her private matters to herself. Every time Veronica or another person came up to her, she would sutter and mumble and at times she was seen biting her fingernails and staring off into space. Rachel was the exact opposite of Frank. Not physically of course, for the man wasn't exactly tall or notably thin but Frank was very outgoing and always put himself out there. If he saw someone who looked uncomfortable, he would try his best to make him or her feel welcome. Rachel, on the other hand, would just leave the person alone to avoid more awkwardness. Despite there differences, Frank and Rachel made a good couple. Veronica lost all contact with Frank after her father mysteriously disappeared along with her brother, Adam on New Year's Eve that same year and exactly two months after her mother's death. Veronica was relocated to her mom's only surviving relative, her own Aunt Gail. Veronica was mad at herself for not memorizing his phone number or address. Besides, she didn't know if Aunt Gail would Frank and his "liberal" ideals.
"I'm not sure what you mean by 'what ever happen to Uncle Frank' because you know that I never knew him." Gail replied.
"Yeah, that's true" Veronica said while stretching. "Don't we have anything to drink?" she asked. She was still thirsty from that pretzel.
"All we have is water, sweetie, from the fawcett" Ms. Garret informed her. "As usual" was Veronica's smart Alec reply. Ms. Garret rolled her eyes at her response. "Well, would you rather have nothing to drink at all?". Veronica lifted her head up from the drink. "No, I didn't say that" Veronica said while supping on her glass of water. "I just thought it would be nice having uh, something else to drink, you know?". Gail glared at her with her non-threatening eyes. "Oh, really" she said. "And what else do want to have as a beverage in this house?". Veronica didn't think of that. She just thought Gail would dismiss her suggestion. "Uh, orange juice?" she answered while looking at Gail's bright red hair. Gail looked at her with shock. "Are you kidding me?" she demanded. "It is only thirty degrees outside and you're telling me that you're in the mood for a nice, cold orange juice?". Veronica stared blankly at her. "Well" she said quietly, "It was just a suggestion. No need to get all huff and puffy about it". Gail shook her head. "I can see why you're sick of water" she said. She walked over and paced around the living room area. Then she stopped. "Tell you what" she offered "On the 24th, which is almost two days away, I'll treat you to some hot chocolate. How does that sound?". Veronica's eyes lighted up, "Oh, really!" she said with excitement in her voice. Gail nodded. Veronica ran over to where Gail was a hugged her great Aunt. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you, Auntie Gail! Veronica yelled with happiness. Gail looked down at her energetic great niece and said, "You know, I don't have to give you hot chocolate and that's exactly what I'm going to do if you don't help me set up the table" she ordered. Veronica's tightly closed eyes opened and her huge smile turned upside-down. "Uh, uh, of course, great Auntie Gail." Veronica stammered. I'll set the table, all by myself!". And with that, she raced to the table to set up plates. Gail smiled. "My, my" she thought to herself. "That kid sure is restless."
A/n: So, next chapter is Vicki's Christmas and has that goes. Sorry for the long update. Please review, and if you're going to flame, please try to be constructive. That's all I ask.