Twelve Curses

IV

"Good gracious, the hell happened to you child?" Raquel's mother exclaimed the moment she saw Wanda.

"This one is too proud for her own good," Raquel explained.

"That isn't one happened and you know it." Wanda snapped.

The sun was long gone already, it'd disappeared within minutes of leaving Davian behind.

Enid was probably worried about her and that's the only reason she was in any rush to get home.

"We can't very well send you off like this, stay for supper." Her mom insisted.

"Mama-"

"It'll be fine sugar, we made good today." She smiled.

Wanda would never take their food, not for lack of appearance or taste but that they didn't have much even for themselves.

"No, it's okay, I'll eat plenty when I'm home." Wanda bit her lip regretting the word plenty, she didn't want to make them jealous or think she was bragging.

Wanda was more privileged then she could have ever imagined before this day.

The home Raquel and her family stayed in was smaller than the back shed Gertrude tended to Wanda in.

Wanda watched respectfully as the family blessed the little amount of soup in their bowls. The twins ShayRa and Keshawn had second most to their mother who only ate more so she could provide milk for baby JoReed.

Wanda couldn't help but admire the adorable child but avoided looking at her when Raquel's mom began to breastfeed her openly.

Her mother laughed heartedly. "Honey we're both women."

"I-it's not proper for me to blatantly look though." Wanda stuttered.

"No, but you don't gotta be embarrassed by nothing."

Raquel looked at Wanda trying very hard to avoid meeting anyone's eyes and patted her on the back.

Wanda looked at her friend and smiled sweetly.

She sat around the small barely stable wooden table with the family of six. Wanda wondered why there were so many if they could barely feed two but she imagined they had no way of preventing conception as the rich did.

Raquel's mother, Roscora started eating her carrot and potato soup. At least that's what it looked like. The baby was still fussy but had enough to eat, or at least what Roscora could provide her. She had to break from eating the tiny spoonfuls to cradle JoReed.

She noticed Wanda's loving gaze and got up from her seat and walked over to Wanda carefully avoiding knocking anything over in the crowded home.

"Why don't you hold her?" She asked and Wanda looked startled.

"Oh- I don't know how to hold a baby?" She admitted but Roscora handed JoReed to her anyway.

Wanda took it and Roscora positioned her arms in the most comfortable places and made sure Wanda propped its head with her hand.

Wanda had never felt soft little hairs, the baby skin was still so smooth and still darkening in color, its eyes were squeezed shut and it was squirming wrapped inside it swaddled blanket.

Wanda panicked she wasn't doing it right but Raquel nodded to her watching attentively and Roscora smiled proudly and got back to her soup.

Everyone ate in small bites to make it last longer, to make it seem like there was more there.

Wanda lightly rocked the baby in her arms and in the pit of the stomach remembered that she might be doing this soon, to her own child.

The most princess waited until fourteen to sixteen at the earliest but Wanda had begun to mature earlier than most, even Trixy had yet to go through the beginning of womanhood.