Cape Cod, Summer Five Years Ago II
While Kelly played with the dogs outside, Beyoncé stayed inside and looked around the house. It was lightly decorated, mostly with copies of modern art paintings and sculptures. There was a fireplace and sitting on the mantle were several pictures. There were pictures of Ronda and another woman, a head shorter than her and Beyoncé assumed that she was the other aunt. Ronda saw Beyoncé looking at the pictures and walked over.
"That's Carmen." She stated, pointing to a photo of the two women in a white dress. It was a wedding picture.
"Oh." Beyoncé replied. "How long have you two been married?"
"Hmm, about three years, I guess. We moved out here about five years ago."
"Where were you before?" Ronda laughed lightly.
"I suppose you really don't remember me." Beyoncé cocked her head to the side. "When I said 'it was nice to finally meet you', that wasn't entirely true. We've met before, it was just a very long time ago. I used to live in Houston! I taught dance class at Houston High." Beyoncé shook her head.
"I was too young, I guess."
"Maybe. I remember seeing you and Kelly together waiting for the bus when I went to work in the morning. You two were so adorable back then, she'd bring a poptart and you two would break it and share it." Beyoncé turned her attention to the pictures again. On the far right, there was a photo of a young Kelly in a silver leotard jumping in the air in what appeared to be a dance competition.
"Did you teach Kelly to dance?" Beyoncé asked, moving closer to the picture.
"For the first few years. As soon as she hit eight, I swear she was better than me." Ronda said, looking fondly at the picture. "That was her first competition. She won it hands down." Beyoncé couldn't stop staring at the picture. It was there, the look of concentration that Beyoncé knew all too well. It was a look Kelly only got when she danced and it made Beyoncé breathless every single time.
"Beyoncé!" Kelly burst through the door, scaring both of them. "I totally forgot!" She rushed over to Beyoncé's side and grabbed her hand. She dragged her upstairs into the bedroom and started rifling through her suitcase.
"Did you forget something?" Beyoncé asked. Kelly finally found what she was looking for and presented it to Beyoncé.
"Here! I made it for you!" She announced. Beyoncé looked down. It appeared to be a duck but there was hardly any resemblance to the animal. It looked like an impressionist's take. The bill was uneven and looked lopsided. The head and body were lumpy, probably the result of too much stuffing in some areas and too little stuffing in others. She could see the stitches that held the eyes in place too.
"Um... Kels.... its hideous." She said, trying to fight a laugh. Kelly pouted.
"Hey! I worked really, really hard on it!" She frowned and crossed her arms. Beyoncé couldn't stop herself from bursting out into laughter.
"I'm sorry, Kelly. I had a hard time recognizing what it was!" Kelly's eyebrows knit together even more and Beyoncé hugged her. "I love it. It's...adorable." The older girl brightened instantly.
"Yay!" She said, hugging her back.
"But what's the occasion? Beyoncé asked.
"Well, I made it in home ec. They made us see something and I picked out the duck pattern! You should name it, BB." Beyoncé looked down at the stuffed animal.
