Here's another installment. Let me know what you think. I own nothing but the mistakes. xx SW
Chapter 2: Cake and a Meeting
The wedding went off without a hitch for the most part. Jane was on her best behavior despite her outfit not quite matching cousin Sophia's expectations. But honestly, Sophia probably should have been happy Jane even made it to the wedding in the horrible dress she had picked out. All of the wedding-goers were slowly filtering onto the plantation's property to start the reception. Jane hadn't been at the house five minutes before she had already disappeared up the stairs and back down with more comfortable clothes on.
She ran out to the backyard where the majority of the party was taking place, hoping she could sneak a piece of the cake her Ma spent all of yesterday baking before anyone was aware of her presence. She darted carefully around the periphery of the crowd, making sure to keep a close lookout for her Ma and Pa. Getting closer to the table the large cake was resting on, she decided that it might be best if she could get under the tablecloth, for sneaking purposes. Checking to make sure no one was watching, she ran the last few feet and skirted under the white cloth.
Everything would've been working to her satisfaction had she not tumbled into another body once she made it beneath the table. A feminine voice rang out, "Ow!"
Jane jumped back from the sound and the body. "What the hell?"
The voice spoke again, "That's not a nice word, you know."
Jane looked unimpressed with the chastisement. "Well, it's also not nice to hide under tables." She felt smug about catching the other girl breaking a rule, too.
The other girl just raised an eyebrow at her. "But, you're under here."
Jane mulled over that, realizing the other girl was right. She thought hard for a comeback.
"Yeah, so? This is my house. I can do what I want, where I want." Jane crossed her arms over her chest with an air of victory. The other girl processed her words and didn't seem to have a rebuttal this time. That prompted Jane to speak again.
"What are you doing under here anyway?" She took stock of the other girl's appearance for the first time. Her honey-colored curls were coiffed just perfectly atop her head. Her lavender dress looked brand new and stain-free. Stark white shoes with lacy socks peeking over the tops rounded out her look which contrasted heavily with Jane's worn shorts and old t-shirt.
The other girl looked down. "I'm hiding," she said quietly.
Jane laughed. "Well this ain't a very good hiding spot. I found ya already." The other girl just gave her a tight lipped smile in the shadows of the space beneath the table. "Whatcha hidin' from anyway? There ain't any critters around here to get ya...during the day at least. Except maybe my brother Tommy," Jane considered.
The put-together girl finally gave a small laugh at Jane's joke. Then, she quickly sobered up again. "I'm hiding from my mother. She wants me to talk to one of her friend's sons, and I don't want to."
Jane looked confused. "Why would she want you to talk to a dumb boy?" All boys were dumb in Jane's eyes. Except her Pa. And Frankie, most of the time.
"I guess she wants us to meet because we might get married some day," Maura said with annoyance. Jane looked disgusted, her eyebrows knitted.
"I ain't ever gettin' married. I don't want anyone tellin' me what to do," she declared, looking indignant.
"I might want to get married one day," the other girl mused. "But I'm only 11. I don't think I should be worrying about it right now. I don't want to." She shrugged cautiously like her mother might be able to hear her quiet admission.
Jane looked impressed with the other girl's mild rebellion, smirking slightly. "Well, c'mon. We've almost been here too long and if we wait any longer, I won't be able to steal any cake. You can come with me to my secret hideout if you want to keep hidin' from your Ma. But, you gotta be sneaky," she said critically, wondering if the girl had ever done something like this.
The other girl looked back nervously before anxiety faded into determination. "Fine. I can be sneaky." It sounded like she was trying to convince herself and Jane, but Jane continued anyway.
"Alright, but you have to promise that you won't tell anyone about the hideout," Jane said with a sense of authority. Spitting into her right hand for the second time that day, she offered it to the other girl. The honey blonde looked at her hand with confusion and revolt.
"I've never had to spit before I shook hands before," she said with hesitation. She eyed Jane like no one in the civilized world would ever do such a thing.
"Well how else am I supposed to know that you're my friend?" Jane asked like it was obvious.
"Friend? I'm your friend? You don't even know my name," the other girl said with equal evidence.
"Well, what's your name then?" Jane asked simply, like these details were too minor for her to be concerned with. There was cake on the line here, after all.
The other girl smiled. She stuck out her hand out of habit. "Maura. Maura Isles. Nice to meet you…" she trailed off, waiting on Jane to reciprocate.
Jane saw her opportunity and took it, grabbing Maura's hand with her own, spit and all. She saw the realization dawn on Maura's face as she made sure to press their palms together. "Hey Maura. I'm Jane. Now let's get some cake before my crazy cousin comes over here and we get caught. And no take backs. You're my friend. We shook," she said as she readied to make her escape from under the table.
Maura looked down at her hand, wondering how exactly she should dispose of the smear of spit. Wiping it on her dress seemed out of the question. And wiping it on the tablecloth was rude to the bride, even if it was on the underside. Eyeing Jane, she made a split second decision; reaching out she wiped her hand on Jane's shirt.
Jane looked back and then down at Maura's hand that was still suspended between them. She just laughed incredulously. "I guess that's payback. Fair's fair. Now c'mon," she gestured Maura forward as she picked up the bottom of the tablecloth and peeked out.
"Okay Maura. You're gonna keep the lookout. I'll grab the cake and then we're gonna run for the woods over there," she dictated, pointing to the woods to their right. "Ready?"
Maura nodded and Jane grabbed her hand to lead her out from under the table. The black-haired girl worked quickly, crudely grabbing enough cake from the bottom tier and piling it into the napkin she had also pilfered off the table top. Turning to Maura she said quickly, "Alright let's go. Follow me."
Jane took off in the direction of the woods she pointed out earlier, leaving Maura in her dust. Realizing she was at the scene of the crime, so to speak, with no excuse she ran after Jane laughing at how wild she felt. As she caught up with Jane, she could just hear her mother calling her name, but she didn't slow down or even look back. She was following her new friend, her only friend, and no one was going to ruin it for her.
