Summer Rain

XV ~ Eyes of Steel

{You Belong To Me - The 88}

...I could tell an antique lie, full of all the things I want to hide...

----

June 21st

        People wear masks. As much as we all loathe to admit it, it's a cold, a hard fact of life. The cashier that served you, the strangers that pass you in the street, your boyfriend or girlfriend, even your own family hide. Sure, they aren't completely hiding their true selves to seem unrecognisable from the reality of who they are, but they keep some things hidden. Like the moon, there is always a part of them we will never see, but that doesn't make them any less of a person. There are always secrets and facts that we would rather keep to ourselves. Why? We all need to survive, and these little problems can make it difficult for us to do so. So we sweep them under the rug and pretend like they never existed. Some masks shatter, revealing the truth underneath, and some are sturdier and can withstand anything. People wear masks. You have to realise that some things are better left hidden.

----

      "Avalina, darling! Could you come here for a moment?" The familiar summoning tone of my mother sounded from her bedroom.

     I meandered from my slumped position on the couch to the doorframe, where my Mother preened herself in the dressing table mirror. She sat, half-dressed, with her hair in rollers as the smell of perfume hung thick in the air. The early evening stillness outside left a melancholy tone to the twang of country music that softly played from her radio.

    "You called?" I smiled, walking farther into the room and taking a seat on the bed as my eyes perused the rows of satin dresses hanging in my Mother's closet space, each made with the finest fabric.

    "Yes, it was to ask if you would possibly mind accompanying your Father to one of Tim's poker matches tonight. They need a third player, and you know I never could hold a poker face." 

     Me? Poker? With Dad? Where had this train wreck of an idea come from?

    "Do I really have to? You know Dad likes his 'man time' away from all of us. Why not Bodhi at the very least?" I was wriggling as much as I could to escape from my Mother's perfectly manicured grip.

    "You know Bodhi hasn't seen eye to eye with Tim, or your father for that matter, and what with you playing poker with Bodhi when you were younger, I knew you'd be better suited. Besides, I think Bodhi's sleeping in his room." 

     A flash of worry crossed her powdered face, before dissipating. She was worried about him. As was I. Her smile was weak, almost pleading with me to go. She wouldn't ask me to do something like this unless it was her only other option. I felt a dull pain in my chest as I realised how disjointed our family was becoming. Before I knew it, I was roping myself into a night of poker with two men whom I would never voluntarily spend inordinate amounts of time with at a bar.

"Fine, I'll go," I sighed.  

"Fantastic!" Mother squealed, standing to fit herself into her wine coloured dress. "Meet your Father at the bar at 8 pm, and I'll let him know you'll come while I'm on my way to dinner with Clara and some of the other women."

     I nodded, watching her grab her bag, apply some lipstick and strut out the door, leaving me alone in the room, the scent of my Mother lingering and almost choking me. The pleading in her eyes remained glued to my memory. My Mother's porcelain mask remained in place, but I knew, at this rate, it would soon shatter.