Hi Elle - It's Carmella from work :)
Anyway are you taking care of Harlow on the weekend? There's a fete at the Lassiters complex and I thought maybe we could go and then I could get her that Macdonalds :)
Hi hi! No I'm not taking care of harls, rob is taking her to the fete srry.
Oh, that's cool. We could still go together if you like? Maybe i can buy YOU macdonalds :p
Hm. okay! I already have tickets though. I'll meet you outside the handmade alley?
Sounds like a plan, jan!
The fete, or street fair was set in the middle of the Lassiters complex, and then continued out into the park where there was a lake and a rotunda. It looked like two aisles cut in half by the water feature. One half was handmade goods lined up carefully by the sellers. Soaps, foot scrubs, honey, jams, bookmarks, candles, clothes, pillows just about anything you can possibly imagine that did not need refrigeration. The other side was carnival games. Hook the duck with a magnet, throw the ball into the tub, knock over milk bottles, feed the clown the usual sort of game, punctuated by screaming kids, the click-clack of plastic on plastic, and the whirr of the engine that tilted the clown's from left to right. On the platform in the middle over the water feature, a local band that Elle does not recognize is jamming out.
Having arrived with Dad, she separated from him, and wandered to the start of the handmade alley, observing the population and waiting for Carmella. Andrew was enthusiastically trying to convince Dad to let him throw balls at stacked milk bottles and Dad was pulling him away to no doubt begin with the art at the local community center the way that he always did before letting him play games and get a showbag at the end. She knew that Amy was planning to attend today as well, she'd sent Elle a slew of Facebook messages the previous night (Elle had blocked her phone number during an argument over a hair stranger about four years ago and never got around to unblocking her) asking if she wanted to hang out with her and Jimmy. She did. She missed Amy a lot since she moved out, and so did Dad and Leo. But when she asked if Liam, her horrible husband would be there and she said yes Elle had to decline and say she already had plans. Which wasn't a lie, but perhaps she would have postponed with Carmella to hang with Amy and Jimmy alone.
She'd never liked Liam. Even when she was tossing flowers at their wedding with her hair done up with baby's breath by Aunty Julie. He didn't treat Amy with respect, and he didn't understand her family. He especially clashed with Leo who had pretty much instantaneously deigned himself as Amy's protector. He'd been upset that she'd agreed to be the flower girl at all but it was the first fun thing the family had done since Cam died. Possibly the only fun thing she'd done since Cam died, bar seeing Carmella. Amy had looked beautiful in her dress, with her face all made up and her beautiful veil she let Elle wear at the reception. Dad got to walk her down the aisle like he always wanted, and it was nice to see Debbie and Hannah again. Julie doesn't get to see them often since Phillip moved away. Dad was very emotional about his children getting married and having children of their own, she'd been several months along with Jimmy already and hadn't wanted to tell anyone because…Cam had been dying. Since he'd been born she hadn't seen much of him because she desperately wanted to avoid Liam. He was loud, unpleasant, flighty and well…Mean!
Leo was also at the fete as far as she knew, but he was hanging out with his own friends she suspected. Rob was probably at the little kids stuff with Harlow, being mistaken for her brother. That pissed him off, a lot. All things considered, Rob had been a decent father to Harlow. He did the parenting, setting boundaries, enforcing the rules, making sure she was clean and dressed and her hair was brushed, the usual Dad stuff. Things their dad used to do for them. It probably hurts to be mistaken for a caring older brother. Even when he was sick, and Pru first turned up with the baby, Rob took to Harlow like a fish to water. There's plenty of pictures of him in hospital sitting with the baby on his lap looking happier than she'd ever seen him. It had been a rough few years to be the Robinsons, but Harlow had given Rob something to live for. Something she and Cam had been trying to do for months.
Her resolve to not see Carmella again had not even lasted a day. Leo had spent the following day going through her social media with her. For someone with no social media aside from a Linked In he used to spy on his business rivals, he was very adept at the whole thing. It was not super interesting. Her facebook was barren except for the last couple of years. In every photo, she covered her face with her hair on the side of the scar, and most of the text posts had been memes about owning a small business, complaining about how there was nothing on television and sharing her love of Italian cooking. She didn't seem to have a twitter, but neither did Elle, and her instagram was a curated look at her business with lots of smiling photos in front of her ute, fresh produce and occasionally a bible verse for some reason. Elle's own instagram was mostly just pictures of Dad's garden and advertising for the shop. She'd never had much of a following, and neither did Carmella. Leo, whose only social media is a Linkd In, thought that was a good sign, Elle was not so sure. What happened in Carmella's life that so much of it was just…Gone off the internet?
As she waited, she kept looking around at the people and wasn't surprise to see those she recognized from the area. Rachel and Zeke from across the road were playing a game where you try and get a ball through a hoop. Sonya and Toadie were enjoying the music. Riley Parker and his sister were looking at handmade bathbombs. They used to be friends. She thought about going up to talk to him but seeing how she'd totally ghosted him along with the rest of her friends when Cam died it didn't seem like a worthwhile use of her time. So she let it go, and felt a wave of sadness wash over her. But it's not a new feeling, it's the same old feeling she always felt. It was the sensation of her ribs being pulled together by a piece of barbed wire. She missed Cam. It was a permanent, perpetual ache deep inside her that couldn't be soothed. He was gone. He's not coming back. She desperately wishes he was here. She wants to lay around in bed with him and talk about Carmella and the crush she's been nurturing on her. She wants to listen to him tell her about the girl he was interested in, and how he was going to sweep her off her feet, or about his latest drawing. Anything, just to hear his voice again. You'd think two people as identical as Cam and Rob, you wouldn't even notice he was gone but the opposite was true, it was like Rob's likeness to Cam made the pain even more poignant. And it's a pain that never lessens or smoothes over. It just sits there, getting tighter and tighter and there isn't a damn thing she can do about it.
"Hey, Elle!" She looked up from her shoes - boots with a triangular front and thin heel - to see Carmella, who was grinning. She was wearing her long, dark hair styled in a ponytail with a pair of dangly earrings studded with sparkly crystals and a very Y2K outfit of a low cut tank top and low rise jeans with wide flares in the leg. A strip of olive skin is visible where the tank top and the jeans don't quite meet. Elle had opted for the slightly more modern gingham print pink dress with a bow around the waist that Aunty Julie had given her for her birthday but she'd never had reason to wear before now. It makes her look like Dorothy. "Nice dress!"
"Thanks." She smiled, and it feels like she'd at the beach, sitting on warm sand. "Are you looking for anything?"
"Hmm, might be nice to make some connections, you know? I sell fresh fruits and vegetables but it would be cool to branch out into homemade goods."
"That would be cool." She agreed, "Have you ever thought about partnering with Lassiters?" Elle's old home towered over the complex at eight stories high. It was, in some ways, also like Dad's eighth child. It sparkled like a jewel in his eye and he dedicated whatever time he wasn't parenting or shuffling his kids around to planning stuff like this. Events.
"Please." Carmella hooked her arm inside of Elle's, and then they began to browse some handmade baby clothes. She considers picking something up for Harlow, it was still a while until her birthday but Elle wanted to get shopping done early and if she was supporting small businesses then that was a happy accident. "As if they would want me."
"I could talk to my Dad about it. He's always looking for ways to have high-quality accommodation at a reasonable price…So he can undercut the competition. The Quills, and the Barnes specifically. Elle knows nothing of the Quills, but the Barnes family was annoying. Oliver, the son, was a hippy-dippy loser, and the other one, Sebastian, was an ass. Snapping up a promising business would be good. Maybe Julie would stop complaining that there was no healthy food at the cafe for takeaway?
"Dad? Wait, your dad is Paul Robinson?" Carmell stopped her from picking up a little pink hat to stare at her intensely. Her eyes are very, very brown and very very deep.
"The name wasn't a dead giveaway?" She wondered.
"Your NAME is Elle Robinson? I thought it was Elle Tanaka. Like Leo, you are his sister aren't you?"
"Yeah, we have different mothers." She said, "And in case you hadn't noticed, I'm white"
"Well, you could have been adopted. You and Robert."
"Robert Tanaka is a better name than Robert Robinson. That's a serial killer name." She hopes levity will make Carmella hesitate before cutting her off forever. Last night, weeping in Cam's bed she'd never wanted to see her again because she was happy with Carmella. Spending time with her every day at work, even if it was only ever at most fifteen minutes was something good, a spot of something to look forward to in her life of nothing on nothing on nothing. She did not want the circumstances of her birth to cut this short, whatever 'this' was, the night before she'd been so wrong. Carmella stares at her a beat longer and then releases Elle's wrist so she can look at the price tag on the hat.
"Hah. True." Elle places the hat down and then decides to create a 'maybe' list in her mind. She might come back for the hat if she doesn't see anything better. "You think he might be interested?"
"No harm in asking."
"I guess not. Might be a little outside the scope of my business though. And I wouldn't want your father to think I can't run my business, or I'm not loyal to Leo."
"Fair enough." She agreed, "Do you think Harlow would look cute in this?"
"I think that kid would look cute in anything." She said and seemed to have dropped the issue with Dad, which was a relief. It's not like she has no idea what her father is capable of, or who he is. She knows that intimately. She'd watched him intimidate doctors when Robert was sick, and swear he would ruin lives when Cameron was dying. He'd dragged Chrissy to hell and back through their long, drawn-out custody battle for Andrew. He'd played hardball with business her whole life, had an affair with Aunty Caroline, it was all signs that he was not, and probably never had been a good person. But did he have to be a good person to be a good dad because he had always been that? Mostly. Admittedly, Elle and her brothers had fallen off the radar when Leo got in trouble and he was fighting for Andrew. This was when they started drinking and partying, something that had ended quite quickly after they had to confess it all to Dad when Pru the cult member showed up with the baby Rob had fathered.
And what about Pru Wallace anyway? Jesus. Talk about unstable. The first thing Dad did after the paternity results came back was file for full custody. Pru was lucky he didn't go after her for being a total freak who sleeps with teenage boys. She screamed at them in the hallway of family court after Rob was given full custody that her baby was going to grow up without a mother since her religion (cult) didn't allow her to have a relationship with her if she was going to be with Robert. The freaky cult leader guy with the long necklace and sunglasses led her away. Elle thinks Harlow probably doesn't remember her or even know about life any different to the one she has. And none of them ever mention her or explain why she doesn't have a Mummy, but instead, she has Aunty Julie, Aunty Elle, Aunty Amy, and Grandad and Uncle Leo to raise her. She can't miss what she never knew.
It would be good. To not know what one was missing out on. It's true, Elle has never had someone to call Mummy either but like Harlow, she'd had women to be her mother. Who she misses dearly. Is it weird to call your ex step mum just to talk? It's probably not something Dad would want her to do, and she doubts Chrissy wants anything to do with her now she'd not married to her father but it's nice. To pretend sometimes. What if she calls, Chrissy will pick up and invite her over and braid her hair as she used to when Elle was little.
"Elle?"
"Huh?"
"I asked if you wanted an ice tea."
"Oh, sorry. I was just distracted, thinking about what I'm going to Harlow for her birthday."
"I know whatever you pick she'll love." They had moved from the stall with the clothes to one selling Ice Tea from large mason jar styled dispensers she'd once seen at Target. Each one was filled with ice and tea and could be brought back for another cup if you so desired. The flavours were Peach, Lemon, Mojito and Tropical. Reaching into the pocket of her dress, she pulled out her small travel wallet which held mostly just her cards, but some cash because she hadn't been sure if the stalls all had readers.
"Put that away. You paid for my drink last time so now I'm paying." Well, she never was one to turn down a free drink.
"I'll have mojito, then." She smiled. Carmella ordered a peach tea for herself, and then passed the mason jar to Elle so she could screw on her own lid and insert a paper straw. She instead put the still wrapped straw back and removed her collapsible metal straw from her wallet.
"You keep that on you at all times?"
"Harlow likes saving the turtles." She replied, "and if some sketchy man gets too close, it possibly doubles as a weapon."
"I like it. A weapon in disguise." They wandered to the next stall, which was selling soaps and bath bombs. Carmella was rather taken with one shaped like a rainbow, while Elle read the ingredients listed on a soap that was rainbow coloured with foot loops on top. Thankfully, it was vegan.
"These are adorable." Carmella said, picking up one shaped like a carrot.
"And vegan!" She said, cheerfully.
"That matters to you?"
"Well, I am one."
"Which was why you didn't have popcorn at the movies, because of the butter. I thought you just ate earlier."
"I try not to make a show and dance out of it." She said, "Lest my aunt become more irate about it than she already is." Thing was, Elle had never once tried to impose her beliefs about animal well being on others. She never asked her family to cook different meals for her, she could cook for herself, or she had vegan frozen meals in the freezer. Dad had sat her down when she was ten she decided this was what she wanted and explained that he was happy to buy vegan food for her if she wanted it but he didn't have time, and neither did Chrissy to cook separate meals for her every night. She'd never been mad. Leo is the only one who takes it seriously and cooks the meat in another pan so that she can eat what he makes. Sometimes Rob lets her feed vegan muffins to Harlow but he seems concerned she'll foist her beliefs onto the kid. She's not going to, mostly because Harlow hates vegetables and Elle suspects the idea of eating only vegetables would freak her out.
"Well, you do that well. Good thing I didn't actually take you to macdonalds." She smiled, and set the bath bomb back down. "You might not get on so well with Rosie, she thinks vegan food is an insult to Italian cooking."
"And you?"
"I run a fruit and veg business. Vegans are part of my demographic so far be it from me to have a crack."
"Wise call." Elle said, and took a long sip of her drink. Carmella examined another bath bomb shaped like food. This one is shaped like french fries.
"You thinking about any of these?"
"Hm. They are cool. I think my Aunt might like some of these. She's all about that bath life." Elle used to be, before Cam died. She had all kinds of intricate bathing rituals that she no longer indulges in. It's hard enough to keep her hair washed and her face clean. Her bottles and lotions have probably all gone bad anyway.
"My sister likes to use them after work to relax."
"What does she do?"
"She's a lawyer. Defence, mostly. Family law."
"Ah. She any good? I might need a lawyer someday."
"Well, I couldn't really say but I think so." Carmella picked up three bath bombs - a pink orb, one shaped like a cat face and one shaped like a cloud - and carried them to the lady at the little cash register who has been watching them wander around. "Just these three, thanks."
"Do you want a bag?" The lady asked.
"Um…Yeah. Thanks."
"That's fifteen extra cents."
"That's fine."
Now with her bag, the two of them moved on to the next stall. Elle regrets not bringing a bag with her, poor turtles. Elle glanced across the water feature at the other side of the event. She saw Amy, walking with Jimmy and Harlow. No Liam. Perfect.
"Hey!" She exclaimed, before she could stop herself, making Carmella turn to face her with a raised eyebrow. "That's my sister!"
"Sister? So you have three brothers and a sister?" She wondered as Elle grabbed her by the arm and pulled her across the fete to Amy, whose face lit up and she greeted Elle with a hug. Amy was a square jawed, very handsome woman. She had a slightly toothy smile, and a face that came alight when she did so. Her hair was long, and brown and cut into a blunt fringe across her forehead in such a way that when she pulls it back, she looks entirely different. Since she married Liam, she looked pale, drawn and had sad, lonely eyes. Growing up, they fought like all good sisters did but Amy was also the person who was most likely to beat up someone if they were bothering her. She was a good sister, and a good mother. It just sucked about the husband. While Elle is pressed against her shoulder, Amy kisses the side of her face as she pulls back.
"Hey, kid!"
"Amy, this is my friend Carmella, Carmella, this is my sister Amy." She said, perfunctory. "Why is Harlow with you? I thought Rob was taking her to the petting zoo?"
"Umm, no. He called me this morning and asked if I'd take her with me because he wanted to get some study done." Amy revealed, "Exams and stuff, I guess." She, like Elle, had never been to uni and never wanted to.
"Huh."
"Why would he lie about that?" Carmella wondered aloud.
"Maybe he doesn't want anyone to know he's falling behind?" Amy offered, but Elle isn't so sure about that. Rob has never been one to lie about something that makes him look good, eg, studying. "What are you two up to?"
"We're looking at the handmade stuff." She smiles, "Saw some bath bombs. Got a drink."
"Nice," Amy said, and then placed her son Jimmy on the ground so he could enjoy the bubble blow he won without getting it in her face. "We're playing games. Dad gave me a whole ticket book to use."
"Hah. I'm sure Andrew's pleased about that."
"You know what Dad's like. After he's done tormenting the kid with the art exhibition he'll have free run of the games and if he doesn't win something Dad'll buy him a giant teddy bear."
"Yeah right. Dad'd make him loose on purpose and call it character building." She said, and crouched down to scoop Harlow into her arms. Harlow gave her a grin on her sweet round face and then looked at Carmella.
"Darmella!" She announced, "We went to the movies!"
"We did! Did you have a good time?"
"Yeah, we saw Bugs Bunny." She said, informing Amy. "And a big popcorn!"
"Wow! A big popcorn!" Amy said, and then took Harlow from Elle so she could converse with her easier. "I saw some people selling popcorn in the food stalls, do you want to see if we can get a big pop corn too?"
"Yeah! Pop corn!" Harlow said, cheerfully. You'd never guess dour old Rob was her dad. "But I have to go to the bathroom first."
"Okay." Amy agreed, "We'll go to the bathroom, and then get popcorn. And we'll leave Aunty Elle and her friend to have some fun, hmm?"
"Bye Aunty Elle, bye Darmella!"
"Bye bye!" Carmella smiled, and Elle smiled too, making a bear claw motion with her hand repeatedly in lieu of a real wave. She turned and grinned at Carmella. Carmella smiles like sunflowers bloom.
"You didn't answer my question."
"What question?" She asked, as they crossed to the other side to see some more handmade goods. This stall was selling candles. Elle didn't care for them, they were a fire hazard - Rob almost burned the house down with one once. Carmella seemed interested though, so Elle lingered.
"How many siblings do you have? I know you're a triplet, so that's three. Then Leo, and now Amy?"
"I'm one of seven." She said, "triplets, Leo has a twin brother named David, Amy and our youngest brother Andrew."
"So Harlow is Robert's daughter."
"Yeah."
"And is that like a -"
"It's not a religious thing." She assured her, caving and picking up a candle scented like fairy floss. "Dad's just….Virile, I guess."
"Gross."
"Yeah."
"And…Okay. Don't make this weird. How…Old are you?"
"Nineteen. Rob was fifteen when Harlow was born, if that's what you're wondering."
"I was…You're that young?"
"I look old?" She asked, woundedly setting the candle down.
"NO! No, just…Harlow seemed a little old for you guys."
"Ah... It's…It was a shock and let me tell you Dad was not happy to find out we'd been hanging around, sleeping around and drinking. But he adores Harlow. Apple of his eye, honestly."
"That's sweet. My sister would disown me if I got knocked up outside of marriage. She's…She's Catholic."
"And you?"
"I was, once. Not anymore."
"It happens." She assured Carmella, and slurped the last of her drink. "Hey can we go to that stall over there selling bags? I need one. I didn't bring mine with me."
"Sure." She put the candle down, and they crossed to the stall selling bags. "But why didn't you bring yours?"
"It didn't match the dress." She said, indicating to the pink gingham. "All my bags are like. Black." She grabbed a bag screen printed with a movie poster for The Wizard of Oz and purchased it, promptly opening it via the clasp and sliding her mug inside. It was a collapsible bag that could be rolled up and closed with a button. Pretty cool, in Elle's opinion.
"Heh, I don't care about any of that stuff." Carmella's bag was bright red and pleather. "Who cares if I match or not?"
"Well, I'm glad you've found fashion freedom, but I'm still held by the constraints of it." This makes her laugh again.
"You like The Wizard of Oz?"
"It's cool, I guess. What's your favorite movie?"
"Hm. Don't have one. I like James Bond, I suppose. Favourite song?"
"My Sharona by The Knack. Yours?"
"Absolutely Everybody, by Vanessa Amorosi. Don't laugh!"
"I'm not!" She lied, laughing still and glad to have this new information. Important things for friends to know about each other.
They set back off, now browsing a second hand bookstall. Elle's not much of a reader, but she might grab something if it interests her. Mostly, Carmella browses romances. "You read Mills and Boon?"
"Sometimes, a girl needs a happy ending." She explained, turning one over to look at the back. On the front, a woman in a culturally insensitive outfit is posing with a man who is meant to be some kind of exotic prince. "Try 'em, maybe you'll like 'em. I call them 'pop corn reading'.
"Yeah right. Dad and Leo would never let me live it down."
"Why do you care what they think of your reading? Go wild, Elle!"
"And what wild book are you planning on purchasing?" Carmella set the culturally questionable book down and picked up one with a woman with black hair being embraced by a man, in the foreground, there is a horse and in bold print 'Doctor and Nurse Romance' and passed Elle one in which a Princess Diana looking woman with a white hat is depicted from the waist up dancing with a man in a brown suit entitled 'Dark Desiring'. "You could get all these online."
"Shut up, do you think the online versions have covers this dorky?" Carmella held up one for a book called 'Liberated Woman' in which a disembodied head of a woman floats in front of a video camera and an awkwardly placed man. Somehow, Elle is doubtful there is any sincere liberation within.
"The tragic tale of love between a giant floating head, and some guy live! On Television!" She said, laughing at her own terrible joke, which in turn makes Carmella laugh at her.
"Somehow, I don't think the actual story is as good as the one you made up." She says, but tucks it under her arm. "I think I'll take all three."
"Really."
"Yep. And I'm going to call you on the phone and narrate them to you like an audio book." Elle does not mention she would enjoy that but does roll her eyes good naturedly. "Sure, Carm."
"Hey, I could." She took the books to the register, and paid the steep price of fifty cents a pop. They left that tent, moving swiftly along. They decided to skip over a tent selling cheap lipsticks and scent waxes.
They moved to a tent selling bookmarks with fancy magnets. Elle looked at one critically, and then thought they might encourage Harlow to read when she was older. Dad has been doing storytime with her lately, and she suspects if he has to read The Very Hungry Caterpillar one more time he might go all The Shining on them. Perhaps if she had a bookmark, Harlow could be encouraged to enjoy something longer but child appropriate. Not that she knew what that would be. Elle Robinson does not read for pleasure. Or for school, anymore. She took a card from by the register anyway and then they moved along to the next tent, which was selling more soaps, and candles too. As they exited that stall, she noticed a woman she had been hoping she would not see. When they meet eyes she dipped behind Carmella and hoped against hope that she hadn't been spotted.
"Elle!" Damn it. Terese Willis was a woman about ten years Dads junior with brown hair cut to just below her shoulders and a smiling round face. She was curvy, and knew how to dress for her body to make herself not only sexy, but also appropriately mumsy. Today she was wearing a black knee length dress with a tight fitting pencil skirt and built in belt. Her neckline revealed her generous cleavage (no points for guessing what Dad saw in her) and her nails were square and pink. She wore a little too much blush and a shade of lipstick that was just a little too dark but she made it work. The worst part of it was that she was friendly. At least Izzy could match Elle in a battle of the wits and wasn't afraid to fight back against her when she fought her. Terese however, was friendly and patient. She was trying to befriend her, and wanted Elle to befriend her own young children — yeah. Right. Just because Elle was a triplet and Terese had twins didn't mean that they were suddenly going to be besties. Carmella gave her a slightly confused look, so Elle put on her best polite smile -
"This is my Dad's girlfriend Terese." She then nodded, "Terese, this is my friend Carmella."
"Nice to meet you." She smiled, "Are you both enjoying the fete?"
"It's lovely." Carm smiled, "Do you work with Elle's Dad?"
"Yes, it was a great idea by him to get the community together." …On Lassiters property. Buying food at Lassiters Cafes and renting space on the Lassiters forecourt. As if Dad cared about the community beyond the fact that they could spend money.
"Um, Terese, can I ask you something?" Elle asked sweetly.
"Of course you can." She said seemingly happy that Elle was interacting with her.
"I know that you and Dad rescheduled your date for Wednesday…"
"We did, I was a little surprised he cancelled but well life is hectic when you have kids."
"Well, would you mind cancelling it again?"
"Why would I do that?"
"This is embarrassing, but Julie was going to put together his favourite meal on Wednesday and you know how he loves Truffle cheese toasties? Well she ordered the truffles special to surprise him because she thought you'd have already had your date by now. But it's a surprise, and Dad doesn't know. And if he's not there, I'm sure he's told you that Aunty Julie can be a bit…Fragile. Maybe you could have it on Thursday or Tuesday instead?" She asked, knowing perfectly well that Dad was working all day Tuesday and Thursday Harlow had a baby music recital thing-y Elle has been trying to get out of.
"I don't know…"
"I'm just trying to get through this, you know and when Julie gets in a mood…We'll she might not be so approving of your relationship."
"Leave it with me." Terese said and then departed. Elle would not call that one a success.
"Is she really?" Carm asked, as Elle slurped the last of her drink.
"Really what?"
"Is Julie really making some crazy sandwhich for your dad?"
"As far as you know."
Before Elle can get invested in the stall after that, selling crocheted clothes she's struck by someone yelling. Standing in front of the band, which they are significantly away from now, is Leo. And he's fighting.
Elle left Carmella holding her bag and crossed to see what was happening. The closer she got, the more she could make out.
"You bastard! I hate you!" the man, who is wearing a muscle tank and has a large spider tattoo on his arm is shouting in Leo's face. Leo is shouting back, which is unusual because he didn't usually lose his temper. Leo's cool head was what made him a great second hand to Dad who could lose his cool over small things in a bad mood.
"Oh, rack off! At least I have a real job!"
"Is that what you call it? Two failing businesses at twenty five? Yeah, right. At least I'm making money!"
"You never believe in me, ever! All you care about is the next paycheck, what if you went legit, huh? Like me?"
"You and your little crew of worthless siblings? Oh and here's one now!" Leo turned to face her. He looks stricken about being caught. People are staring, and the band has stopped playing, the mood gone sour.
"Leo?" She asks, quietly. The man scoffs, and stomps away from them. He flashes a rude gesture at her and Leo while he does so. Leo watches him go, then turns to scowl at her. "Who is that?"
"Just leave it, Elle. Some of us have lives outside of you, ya know."
"Leo!" She exclaims, reaching for his arm but he shakes her away rather violently. Then, he stomps off in the direction opposite to the other man. Elle has no idea what to think, just stands there like an idiot, watching her brother leave and making no attempt to stop him. After a long moment, Carmella comes and gives her back her bag before leading her out to the food trucks.
"What just happened?" Carmella asked, catching up to Elle with both bags in her arms. Elle turned halfway around to face her.
"I'm not quite sure."
"Do you want to get lunch?"
"No, I want to find Rob. I want to see what he's hiding." She replied, feeling her eyes narrow at the thought of Rob going out there and lying about what he was up to. "You up for some spying?"
"Always." Carmella said, "Just call me Agent 99. Where do we start?" Elle paused, thought about it, and then turned to look out over the lake.
"Why don't we start at the lake?" She wondered, "I'd go there if I was on a secret date."
"What makes you think it's a date?" Carmella asked, they walked out of the stalls and into the slightly more breathable green land around the lake. Lassiters Lake, as it were, was a man made pond with mosquitos in the summer and a perpetual brown, dirty water. If you drank it, you'd probably get cancer.
"He's been on the phone a lot lately." Elle replied, keeping an eye out as they wandered by the side of the lake, "With someone named Katya. I bet he's sweet on her."
"Sweet on her? Are you a hundred?"
"Well, what would you say?"
"Like. Into her. Or something."
"Okay. He's like totally into her."
"And that's why you want to spy on him? Your brother, your triplet brother, might be into a girl?"
"Well, see, Rob's never had a way with women. I know you wouldn't think that on account of him being a father but he's never had a real relationship, let alone made time away from Harlow to hang out with a girl. This is an important milestone."
"I can see why he might be hiding it from you," Carmella said and tucked her arm around Elle's so they were arm in arm. She's so close Elle can smell her perfume and her deodorant. It's almost sweet, very feminine.
"Shush." She said, but not in a mean way as they continued their lap of the lake. Still no sign of Robert. They decided to cross the bridge toward the large, white rotunda that sat in the middle of the park. Along the bridge is padlocks in every shape and size lined up and locked onto the chains by loving couples. Elle had done one with Glenn when they had been dating, she wondered if it was still there but didn't want to look for it. Carmella looked…Pleased. The sun light hitting her face made her look so alive, and Elle was jealous. She wanted so very badly to be alive, too. But she wasn't, not in any way that mattered because part of her, a vital, irreplaceable part, had died with Cameron. It left her half alive, on life support even. Sometimes, she didn't think it was even worth the fight to keep trying but here with Carmella? With the sound of the fete behind them and the smell of summer in the air? Maybe it was.
They wandered in peaceful silence for a while longer, she almost forgot to look for Robert, she was too happy to be out in the world, with a new friend. The grass, which is dry from the summer, crunches under their feet. But then, over by the food trucks, eating nachos with a fork, there he is. Robert is standing with his back to him, waving the fork around as he gesticulated in time with whatever he was saying. He was too far away for her to be able to hear. But the girl was beautiful. From this far away, there was little detail on her face other than that her jaw was square and her nose slightly up turned but the way she carried herself, her long brown hair, Elle could just tell there was something about her.
"Wow. He really got himself a date." She said, stopping them where they were.
"Do you know her?"
"No, do you?"
"Hmm she looks…No, I don't think so. What are we going to do now?"
"Spy on them? Duh. I need to get closer."
"No, you don't. Elle, come on. He's having a good time. Maybe he just doesn't want people asking questions yet and he wants to wait for it to be a sure thing before he tells the family…And Harlow!" Well, she couldn't blame him for that. They'd both gone through the loss process every time Dad moved on from one of his girlfriends to the next. Elle had never recovered from him divorcing Chrissy. As much as she loved her father, and of course, she did, it sucks to lose someone you care about.
"I guess…He would be right to do that."
"You found him, and he's cool. Let's go refill our drinks, and then we can play some games. I'm going to try and win you a teddy bear."
"Why?"
"Dunno. Perhaps a little bird named Leo could have mentioned that you collect -"
"Oh, I'm going to kill him!" She exclaimed, allowing Carmella to re-route them back on the bridge toward the main Lassiters building. But he could wait until she'd had another iced tea. After they collected the ice teas, they meandered around the games, looking for one they could win. Elle tried her hand at the shooting games with the crooked sight and won a small bubble blow. Carmella fed balls to the turning clown heads and won a cheap plastic crown which she promptly placed on Elle's head and proclaimed her a princess. Something that she was not exactly unused to being called.
Elle decided at the last minute to go back for the pink dress for Harlow, which she purchased while Carmella went for her last refill of iced tea. By the time she got back, she was talking to the band who were smiling and nodding. As she approached, Carmella pointed, and then the drummer began to play the instantly recognizable intro to My Sharona.
"Dance with me!" Carmella pleaded, setting her bag down and holding an arm out to Elle. After a moment of looking around, she shook her head.
"I'm a terrible dancer."
"Who cares?"
"Me!"
"Please, Elle! Just one dance? Humour me?"She thrust her hand a little closer. Elle starred, and then took it, allowing herself to move in time with the music, Carmella laughing brightly.
When she got home that evening, she found a copy of 'Liberated Woman' in the bottom of her bag.
