Kitchen Floors and Open Doors: Portrait of a Lady
by Demeter

chapter two

Grace sat in the park, watching children run around, screaming and laughing and generally being annoying and she had never wished more that she could be so…uncomplicated. She often came here when she was upset. It helped her remember a time when her life was simple, that at the heart of it, she was still the same girl who had fallen off that monkey bar there, or punched Greg Setter in the gut for telling her she ran like a girl. She had never felt farther from it than today. Grace liked to think that she was different from other girls, that she would never let herself get caught up in their preoccupations with hair and cloths and boys. Yet here she was, feeling terrible, all because of a boy…two if she was honest…and a decidedly girly girl.

Grace picked a dandelion from the grass and began twirling it absently between her fingers. Earlier that morning, she had been over at the Girardi's. Luke's parents went out shopping every Tuesday morning like clockwork, so Grace took advantage of the time alone to "make up" with Luke from their fight the night before. Now she couldn't even remember what it had been about. No doubt about what movie to watch or something equally petty. No, Joan Girardi had to walk in and, typically, freak out and bring her whole carefully balanced world crashing down around her like a house of cards.

Grace looked down and realised that she had torn apart the dandelion in her hand. She muttered to herself "Ah, my friend you do not know, you do not know what life is, you who hold it in your hands," and, with a grim satisfaction, picked another and began methodically destroying it.

Her life had never been so precarious before the Girardi's showed up. Then Joan took her best friend from her, and she had to admit to herself that it hurt, and Luke made her feel like…a girl…and she liked it too much to hate him for it.

After practically sprinting to the park and sitting in silence for a while, Grace was able to admit that her lingering resentment towards Luke for ruining her image and Joan and Adam for becoming his separate entity that she couldn't be part of just exploded when Joan walked in and told her that it wasn't okay for her to be with Luke. She cringed as she remembered some of the choice words she had said to Joan. After that, she couldn't blame Luke for defending her; she would've been surprised and disappointed if he hadn't. Part of that whole chivalry thing she found so disgustingly endearing. Now, not only had she alienated Joan who, for the most part, had been a pretty good friend, but Luke would probably never speak to her again. She found herself forcing down a lump in her throat, her breath coming in hiccups. She furiously threw the flower in her hand to the ground and picked another.

Adam ran into Luke Girardi as he was headed to the park to find Grace.

"Luke!" he called as he increased his pace to catch up with him.

Luke stopped and turned towards Adam. He looked terrible, eyes red rimmed, glasses askew, hair dishevelled. "Adam," said Luke sounding relieved, "D'you know where Grace would be, we had a fight and…"

"I know," said Adam, "Joan told me."

"Oh." Luke looked at his shoes. "Is she really mad?" he asked piteously.

"Mad?" said Adam in surprise, "No, she's worried that you are."

"If I got mad at Joan every time she freaked out, statistically I'd be mad at her 89% of the time." Luke said, somewhat resentfully.

"You can do that kind of calculation in your head?" asked Adam sceptically

"You know," said Luke rolling his eyes, "73% of statistics are made up."

Adam grinned, "Yeah, but Grace…uhh…she might not be so calm right now."

Luke sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "I know, but I can't just let her sulk, thinking I'm still angry at her...she'll…I don't know, combust or break something…or run off to Canada…or something."

"Canada?" Adam asked curiously then shook his head, "never mind, listen, you're right, no one can hold a grudge like Grace if you let her think about it for too long. She'll probably be on the park bench across from the playground."

Luke turned to go.

"And Luke," called Adam after him, "be careful!"

Luke rolled his eyes and shot Adam a sarcastic salute, but headed towards the park much more slowly than he had been going.

As Luke approached the bench in the park, he saw Grace tossing something over her shoulder at regular intervals. As he came closer, he heard her muttering.

"He loves me not," she said tossing a petal behind her. And again after a moment, "he loves me not."

The ground around her was littered with bits of flowers, like the victims of a massacre.

"He loves me not." Grace threw another petal.

Any anger that may have remained in Luke was washed away as he heard her voice, thick with unshed tears, catch on the last word. He walked around the bench and sat beside her.

"I think you're missing the point of the game." said Luke, taking the remnants of the flower from Grace's hand.
Grace looked at him in shocked silence for a moment, and then recovered herself.

"Since when do I play by anyone else's rules Girardi," she said, but it was without rancour.

"Well what if you won't ever get the right answer your way." said Luke, handing her back the stem with one petal remaining on it.

There were both silent for a while until Grace finally broke the silence.

"Look, I don't ever say this and you will probably never hear it from me again but…I'm sorry, okay?" The words sounded like they were dragged out of her by wild horses.

Luke didn't answer, but took her hand shyly and gave it a gentle squeeze. He felt the tension go out of Grace in a rush. She slumped back against the bench. Luke heard her quiet gasping sobs and desperately wanted to take her in his arms and make it all better, but even if the sound of her crying was metaphorically ripping his guts out, it was better than the literal evisceration he would surely receive if he tried to comfort her. Instead, he stroked the inside of her hand with his thumb and resolutely looked away as she wiped her eyes.

"Girardi," she said finally, "If you…"

"Ever tell anyone you'll kill me?" interrupted Luke with a grin, "yeah yeah, sing me another one."

Grace gave him a damp smile. "Smartass."

In the silence that followed, Luke wrestled with himself for a moment before blurting out "What are we?"

Grace looked at him like he'd grown a third head, "Well I'm a Pisces how bout you?"

"Aquarius," said Luke absently, "but that's not the point."

"I don't think there is a point." said Grace, sounding distinctly uncomfortable.

"Well, yes…there is…I mean, we have a lot of…chemistry," Grace snorted, "and," Luke continued doggedly, "we spend a lot of time together, so…I mean…empirically one would assume that we were…you know...together."

"Empirically!" said Grace in disgust, "This is how you finally ask me out!"

"I…well…yes." Luke finished morosely.

"Well fine, I wouldn't want you to break form or anything," said Grace with a grin, "You can take me to see that Olson Twins movie on Friday."

"You mean…on a date…we're like…going out?" Luke stammered hopefully.

Grace smothered a silly grin by rolling her eyes. "Look it up dog boy."

"Wait a minute," said Luke with a dawning suspicion, "you want to see an Olsen Twins movie?"

"No," said Grace patiently, "I want to go sit in the back row and defiantly not see an Olsen Twins movie."

"Oh," said Luke, then after thinking about it for a moment, "Oh!" he grinned.

Grace couldn't help smiling back, "Well it would be a shame to let all that 'chemistry' go to waste now wouldn't it."

Luke rolled his eyes, "Come on Grace, I'll walk you home, your dad will be looking for you."

Grace sighed deeply, "Right, the real world. Well, I'll have to face it eventually." she said, standing up and releasing a flutter of yellow petals. "D'you think your sister will ever talk to me again," said Grace as Luke picked the odd bit of flower out of her hair.

"Joan?" said Luke, "Of course she will. Joan couldn't stay mad at a person to save her life. Besides, you're one of her best friends, and Joan doesn't let people go…It can almost be annoying at times."
He finished with a grin and slung his arm over Grace's shoulder as the headed towards her house.

"Yeah, that really pisses me off," Grace said unconvincingly.

"I'll tell her to call you." said Luke.

Grace made to reply but stopped as they approached her house and saw her dad standing on the front porch looking very angry.

"Uh oh" said Grace sarcastically, "Looks like I'm in for a talking too." She pulled a reluctant Luke behind her as she climbed the stairs.

"Grace," said Rabbi Polanski severely, "Where have you been and who is this boy!"

"This," said Grace rebelliously, "Is my boyfriend, Luke Girardi. He's not Jewish."

"Oh…well…" stammered her father, looking flustered and lost.

Between the look on her father's face and the ear splitting grin on Luke's, Grace decided at that very moment that this whole complicated life thing was decidedly worth all the trouble.

chapter three

return to Tales of Arcadia