MASKED INNOCENCE - (marlon brando)

part II - a room painted a pale green

MASKED INNOCENCE!

The door swung open as Reina leaned her shoulder against the smooth surface. She stumbled over her feet — causing her long hair to fall forward — the strands tickling her nose as she hunched over to balance her fall. She was immediately hit with a wave of humid air.
           Reina flipped her black hair back in place and shrugged off her cheap over coat.
"Jolina!" She called from the vestibule.

"I'm in the kitchen!" Jolina yelled from the sink.

Reina twirled into the kitchen happily as she noticed Jolina scrubbing the dishes. Steam hung lowly over her brown head of hair. "My heavens have you come down with the flu?"

Jolina let out a short laugh of confusion as she used the back of her right hand to sweep her bangs in place. "What do you mean by that?"

"It must be the flu as you have been compelled to finally wash the grub off those plates. It's a miracle!" Jolina rolls her eyes in annoyance at her cousin's sarcasm.

"How was dinner?" Jolina mumbled as she set the dish in the wobbly dish rack. Reina sighed dramatically and fell back into on of the dinning chairs.

"A real drag," she pouted her lips in disappointment. "Your side of the family never seems to be so-"

Jolina shook her head and motion Reina to stop. "You just stop yourself while you're at it. Your side of the Milani bunch is just as controversial and devastating as mine. No need to compare and contrast like a moron."

"Ya, ya, sure. Whatever you say," Reina rubs her cheek in defeat and stands up to leave the kitchen.
"Have fun cleaning the rest of those," she rests her chin on Jolina's shoulder and turns on her heels — headed in the direction of her tiny bedroom.

The room was originally for a child. Jolina's unborn baby girl who she was going to name Angelina — after their grandmother. Reina rests her temple against the doorframe as she stares aimlessly down at the narrow cot. The room was painted a pale shade of green. On the walls hung various paintings, some of them being originals, others copies of masterpieces. Reina shuts her eyes for a moment — allowing her mind to play a vivid movie of their life before all the commotion and travesty;

Jolina has always been adventurous. She was never satisfied with playing cards with her uncles and aunts on Saturday afternoons and how they always seemed to let her win. She wanted more out of life than lounging in the corner store — waiting the long hours before a customer finally decided to pop in and browse. Reina knew her cousin, once she got the chance to live something grand, would not stick around and wait for something exciting to happen as the Milani have such talents for. Eventually, Jolina would become fed up with her family's lethargic tendencies and explore what life had to offer.
Reina vividly remembers the night Jolina showed up at her parents home knocking on their thin door frantically, calling Reina's name. Jolina smiled as if she was finally content with her life and whispered. "I'm in love with a man almost twice my age and he makes me feel like a gift from God."

The thought of Jolina lusting over a man that could technically be her father nauseated the young Italian, but nevertheless she was happy that Jolina finally had something to occupy her time with.

They were introduced the following Saturday. He was tall and had leathery skin stained the colour of Bohemian sand. His hair was peppered with flecks of grey and his eyes were a light shade of brown. Reina could tell he must of been dashing when he was their age. He shook her hand and told her to call him Don, though Jolina had mentioned his real name was Franklin.
The three spent the night drinking ale at a run down Chinese restaurant across town. Jolina insisted they eat at such a place as she knew their family never left their secluded Italian neighbourhood.