The Devil in the Details

You Can Call Me Lia

Chapter Three

"Mhmhm" I groan as I turn onto my side which is then followed by a loud shriek when my hand comes in contact with something soft and fuzzy that is moving. I jolt up in the bed and open my eyes. It's a dog, a shaggy, soft dog sleeping in my bed. I'm not particularly thrilled that I seem to have acquired a new bed buddy overnight. "Shoo, you stupid dog," I have never been a big pet person, and the fact that I just slept with a dog I don't know weirds me out a bit. The dog has some common sense because he jumps off the bed then scampers out of the room. I walk to the bathroom because now that I am up I may as well prepare for the day, I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep anyways. I stare intently at my face in the mirror, large brown, almost black, eyes look back at me. My eyes sometimes scare people because at times they look completely black as if my pupil has covered my iris completely. I undress and step into the shower sighing as the warm water washes over me; I can feel my muscles relaxing. I can only hope that my decent mood won't be ruined by having to spend the whole day with Rose; maybe I can spend some time at the beach. I mentally prepare myself with a pep talk on manners and endurance before I have to go downstairs and face Rose as I throw on a light blue skirt and white tank top. Rose yells up to me, but I can't hear what she is saying. I jog down the stairs and walk to the kitchen where Rose is sitting at the counter reading the paper. She frowns and I already know she is going to criticize me before she opens her mouth, "You really should do something to your hair, walking around with wet hair is unfashionable and unflattering. I have a hairdryer you can borrow if you don't have one of your own." I refrain from telling that using a hairdryer will kill my hair and cause split ends, which I detest. I take pride in my light brown hair; it's long, pin-straight, and has no split ends or dead strands. The main reason I love my hair though is because it is the only feature I inherited from my dad, all my other traits are from my mom. Rose resumes reading the paper obviously taking my silence as agreement, and I find cereal to eat for breakfast. Very quickly, the awkward silence becomes too much for me and I try to start a conversation "So do you have anything planned for today or am I just supposed to amuse myself?" I ask in a friendly voice, if I am going to spend the summer with her I may as well be polite. "Actually yes, my niece will be coming to pick you up and show you around the town. You should enjoy her company; she is about your age." I can't help but be a little surprised, I always assumed that Rose didn't have any relatives because mom never mentioned her having family. I guess I just always thought she was one of those mean old ladies who's bitter because she has no family and will die alone. Rose resumes the apparently pleasant task of ignoring me and I try again to talk, "What is your niece's name?" Rose doesn't even look up as she replies "Dahlia, and you need to be ready in thirty minutes so you should probably go fix your hair now". I realize making conversation is to no avail and head upstairs to put on a little make-up and I reluctantly end up drying my hair as well, I fear that by summers end my beautiful locks will be straw because of Rose.

∞

"Hi, I'm Dahlia but you can call me Lia." She sticks out her hand, but her mouth never stops moving as I gingerly return the handshake, "I'm so excited to show you around. We are going to have a blast today, this town may be small but it's pretty cool! I've taken it upon myself to show you that small towns can be just as fun as the big city." I stare at Lia in absolute shock, not only is she super peppy and probably a bit hyperactive, she hugged me before I could even introduce myself, practically knocking me to the ground. She is a stunning redhead with blue gray eyes. I can tell she is a bit on the wild side because she is showing her long legs off in super short shorts and a black T-shirt with a peace sign on it and the word hippie underneath it. Its hard to grasp the fact that this glamorous and excited girl in front of me is related to Rose. I can't quite comprehend everything Lia is saying because she's talking a mile a minute, but I do my best to keep up, "...and we have to go to the Blue Jay because they have the best food. We can go to Mary's clothing shop; she sells clothes that are the same style as yours." She stops talking to catch her breath but the smile never leaves her face. Although I like her carefree attitude, I feel slightly uncomfortable with how loud and friendly she is. I'm always polite and charming towards strangers, but I am not outgoing like Lia seems to be, and I have never had to make new friends before. "Ummm...That sounds great...Lia just let me grab my purse and shoes then we can go." I say and motion for her to follow me inside. I quickly grab my stuff and we walk out the door. I don't see any cars besides Roses, and I hope we aren't walking since I am only wearing flip-flops. Lia must have noticed my questioning gaze because she laughs before answering my look "Don't worry, I grabbed Aunt Rose's car keys, I'm not crazy enough to walk all the way into town." It only takes about five minutes to reach town, and Lia tells me about herself on the way so its not awkward at all. Lia pulls the car into the parking lot of a building with a sign that reads Beautiful Trends. I can tell that it's a clothing shop; it's actually really cute and looks inviting. "Come on, I can't wait to introduce you to Mary, she's quite a bit older than we are but she's really cool.  The shop opened last year but everybody loves it!" Lia says practically dragging me out of the car and into the store. I gently pull my arm out of her grip and survey the shop clothing racks are everywhere and mannequins are scattered throughout the store. Lia was right this is definitely a store that sells my type of clothing. I finger a beautiful dress that is cinched at the bodice but flares out at the hips; it's a dark pink with black flowers all over "Is it not a breathtaking article of clothing darling?" I jump as a voice speaks above my head and spin around to face whoever is behind me. Lia is standing there but the voice came from the tall woman next to her waiting for me to reply, "Oh, yes, absolutely gorgeous, did you make it?" I ask, actually curious. "Heavens no, I just own the shop and buy the clothes, I'm Mary." She says brightly. Duh, this is who Lia wanted me to meet, "I'm Felicity, Lia told me about you", I realize that sounds weird and add "Good things, she told me good things." I feel very small compared to the two tall woman and can't help but wonder if everyone in this place is tall. "You are darling, I bet the dress would look cute on you." Here we go, Lia hadn't said anything about my small stature, but Mary had no problem pointing out my lack of height. People tend to think I am younger because of how short I am; my mom says it's adorable and that I just need to marry someone tall. I turn back to the dress and gaze at it knowing the price will be too much. "Thanks, but I don't think I can afford it" I tell her sadly, she smiles understandingly and with a goodbye heads to greet the customer who just entered. Mary and I chat for a little but while looking at clothes, trying to find outfits that would look good on each other. Reluctantly we leave the store and I feel comfortable enough to ask the exuberant redhead where we are going next, she tilts her head and then replies "I think we are going to walk around for a while and I will point out all the best places to you." So that's what we do. Lia only points out the stores she goes to such as the bakery that apparently is run by a couple who are expecting a baby soon; they are going to make Lia the godmother. There is a Family Video that doesn't get new movies until two months after they come out right next to a club for the adults but teens are the ones who go to it, quite the hotspot. She shows me the only church which is used by three different religions, they say their services at designated times so that they don't overlap. We walk past the family diner that Lia works at on weekdays. I sadly come to the conclusion that this town is much smaller than the city I grew up in. I don't think I will like it much here. I am the kind of person who is used to having a mall five minutes away and several restaurants nearby if I don't feel like cooking dinner. I know how spoiled I sound, but that's just the way it was my whole life, and it's going to be hard adjusting to this place.  Lia stops telling me things as she notices I am only half listening and we walk in silence. She leads me down to the beach where I study a young family building a sand castle, I'm not a creeper, but they remind me of how my family used to be, whole. The little boy is laughing as his dad trips while chasing him and the mother is putting another bucket of sand down for the castle laughing at the two boys. They are the picture of happiness and I find myself praying that they manage to stay that way. I feel bad for witnessing their specially moment and start to turn away but the mother catches my eye and sends me a small smile before turning back to her family. A pang of jealousy courses through me and a longing for the past but I shove it out of my mind.  Lia seems to sense my sadness and starts up a conversation "Lots of families like to come here from neighboring cities to spend the day at the beach. All the businesses love when they come because it means more costumers." She pauses and then continues "I'm hungry, are you hungry? We'll stop to get something anyways, Blue Jays is about three minutes from here." My stomach decides to growl right after she finishes "I am starving, I didn't eat much for breakfast at your Aunts." I tell her as my stomach growls again even louder than before and we both laugh. "Here we are, you are going to love Blue Jays and you can meet my boyfriend James, his parents own the restaurant so he works for them." We walk in the double door entrance and a delicious smell overtakes my senses. Lia runs to a boy behind the counter and jumps into his arms. I am guessing that he's James. Lia waves her arms excitedly motioning for me to come over. I walk to them trying not to bump into the tables that are everywhere. "This is James, James this is Felicity, the girl I told you was coming to stay with Aunt Rose" she explains. James gives a snort "You're the girl, who has to live with that dreadful old woman, it's nice to meet you." I can tell he isn't a big fan of Rose by his words and that makes me like him immediately. Before I think I exclaim "Finally, someone else who doesn't like the old grouch!" Lia winces "that happens to be my Aunt you two are bashing" she reprimands. James and I apologize at the same time and Lia instantly forgives us. "James, Felicity and I are insanely starving could you give us my usually." James winks at his girlfriend and goes back into the kitchen. "Isn't he gorgeous, we've been together for two years?" Lia says happily. "Wow, that's a long time, are you two serious?" I ask. "I plan on marrying that boy one day, I can't see myself with anybody else; I love him." Well that answers my question, they are definitely serious. "Have you told him you love him yet?" She frowns at that question and I can guess the reply would be no, but James walks out with a platter in each hand before she can tell me. "Burgers with fries on the side and root beers for these two lovely ladies" James says as he hands us our food. We both thank him and Lia pulls me to a table in the corner probably so we can continue talking about James without him overhearing us. "No I haven't...expressed my feelings because I want him to say it first." She sounds exasperated as she says this, "I have known for a while and he still hasn't shown any sign of confessing." I don't know what to say to this, my old friends repeatedly told me not to ever give relationship advice because of my bad track record but I feel like I should say something so I do "Don't wait, tell him soon. He might be waiting for you to say it, you never know." I advise with a shrug and shove some fries in my mouth. Lia agrees with me and then excuses herself to go to the bathroom, but she heads behind the counter into the kitchen. I continue to eat and look around and that's when I see him. Well, I can't see his face but something about the way he stands, tense but at the same time perfectly relaxed, draws me in. I study his back, he has blond hair that isn't too long and looks like he might have a messy quiff in the front. He is tall and lean, but a muscular type of lean. He has on dark jeans and a form fitting black t-shirt, part of a tattoo is visible on his right bicep. I can't tear my eyes away from him; I feel a desperate need to see what his face looks like. Minutes have passed and I am still staring until finally he turns, he is the most handsome male I have ever seen, he has an angular jaw-bone and an aristocratic nose. He looks right at me and his eyes widen in surprise then he quickly turns away. Even though he has turned away and left my mind is still reeling from his eyes. They are the greenest eyes I have ever seen; they look misty and clear at the same time, as if he saw all of me and right through me in his one quick glance. I am shaking as I realize the most shocking thing of all; his eyes were exactly the same as the weeping woman in Roses tree painting.