Lethe Vita

Chapter 3

He bent down in a squat and poked his head underneath the kitchen table.

"Bren?" He kept his tone gentle, collected, unafraid as he had been advised to do. "Are you ready to come out from under there?"

"Is it gone?" Brenda's knees were locked in place against her chest. Her elbows covered her ears as she rocked back and forth, humming a tune Brandon didn't recognize.

"Yes, honey." Valerie's head joined in. "The train is gone. Should I help you up?"

"Yes, please." Brenda dutifully stretched out her arms.

Valerie brought her up to a standing position, careful to not bump Brenda's head against the underside of the table.

"Did I like those - what did you call them?" asked Brenda as she steadied herself against Val.

"Trains," said the latter.

"Did I like trains?"

"You liked planes," Brandon answered. He kept his response short and simple to prevent Brenda from prolonged concentration. "Boats. Ferries. Ships. Long road trips."

He had been told to answer Brenda's questions, to not dodge her curiosities despite his worry that he would overstep.

"But not trains?"

"You liked trains, too," said Val. "We took one together."

"Oh yes," Brenda smiled fondly, "Syracuse."

"Yes," Val smiled back, "the first time your family visited us."

"We went to the fair."

"We did," Val encouraged, maintaining eye contact with Brenda.

"But I don't remember the train," said Brenda. "Or the fair." Her tranquility transformed into a deep frown. "Or the rest of the trip. Or anyone but you two, and - and Mum's awful outfit. Everything else is all fuzzy."

"It's okay, honey." Valerie set a finger on Brenda's arm, as Brandon had instructed Val to do.

Brenda leant in and permitted Valerie to wrap an arm around her shoulders.

"If you don't remember the trip," said Val, giving her a careful squeeze, "then you don't remember Brandon throwing up on the train."

Brandon groaned. "Oh come on, Val, do you have to keep bringing that up?"

"I told you to go easy on the corndogs."

"After you bet me that I couldn't eat all of them in one sitting!"

"And I was right. You couldn't. They were all upchucked. You should have forfeited."

"No way. I earned that money, fair and square."

Brenda giggled.

"Bran threw up on the train?" she asked.

Brandon liked to hear her laughter, which Valerie had managed to repeatedly bring out of Brenda.

It had served as a welcome release from the weeks Brenda had spent in her bedroom, staring out at the snow-bedazzled rooftops as she repeated the same three sentences in a mantra.

London. Theatre. Brenda Walsh.

Answers to the questions Brenda had been asked whilst Brandon had stood there with as much patience as he could muster.

Where do you live? the doctor had asked her.

London, Brenda had answered.

What is your occupation?