A Taste of Candor

Chapter 27

~Tahlia.

Everybody at the table seemed to have noticed my presence all at once, and at the worst time, too. I surely looked more stunned than a criminal caught in the act, astonished as I was that my mother would have the nerve and lack of sensitivity to invite Keene to a dinner when I hadn't yet resolved my issues with him.

Yet for appearance's sake, I recovered my composure and swept what I hoped was a convincing smile over all present. Mustering words wouldn't quite be in me yet, but I graciously took the one seat remaining, sandwiched between Delilah and Keene.

"Good evening, dearie!" Miss Brook sang, her hazel eyes positively sparkling with joy, "It's been such a long while since I've seen you. You're all grown up!"

I gave her a false grin once more as I situated my utensils in their proper spots and spread out a napkin in my lap. "I am. You look no different from how I remember you."

In large part, this was true. Miss Brook's key feature had always been her big, expressive eyes, which paired well with her charming face. Her complexion was a few shades darker than anyone else at the table, given her being from Lymaria's southern half where the sun seemed to shine all year, and the beaches never grew cold enough to turn away swimmers. However, one aspect of her appearance had changed, and that was that her ebony hair had gone completely gray.

"You flatter me." Miss Brook chimed.

Mother cleared her throat. "Well, now that we are all here, I say it is time to begin!"

So the servers converged on our table, and after Mother said grace, they loaded up our plates with whatever we requested and backed off a respectful distance afterward. I settled on smaller portions of pasta, spicy cuts of duck meat, and a loaded salad. My plate ended out looking somewhat anorexic compared to everyone around me.

At first, we dined in silence, but then one of Mother's friends whose blonde hair was obviously a wig, spoke. "Well, my son is off on his romantic honeymoon. So glad he married a lady from his university rather than one of those empty-headed women on the streets."

"That's wonderful!" Mother said, "Where did they decide to go?"

"Candor, actually. I know, their choice surprised me too, but they said it's lovely there."

"Candor." Miss Brook scoffed. "A young couple should be bathing in sunlight and enjoying an ocean breeze, not shivering in the mountains."

"I would tend to agree, but it is their honeymoon. My son always did love traveling the world."

"Fine and dandy, but this is hardly a time to be in Candor. Surely you've heard..."

Miss Brook trailed off with a sideways glance at my mother. Mother didn't show any reaction to her words other than the same pasted-on smile she'd had the whole time. The fakery of it all bothered me, but I could ignore it somewhat by focusing my attention on my food for the most part.

But of course, that wouldn't last long. Miss Brook called my name, so I reluctantly glanced up.

"What have you been up to these days?" she asked, "When I last saw you, all you wanted to talk about was the art museum you wanted to create."

"Ah, yes, that was my dream as a child." I said with a pretend laugh, "Well, now, I create my own art."

"Her landscape paintings are marvelous." Keene interjected, earning a sideways glance from me I could only hope didn't look too malicious. "Even if she doesn't think so."