Chapter 13: Christine Stares Into the Depths

Tues, October 20, 2074 12:41 pm: 102 Valleymoor Rd.- Arbormoor, Pleasantview



Lavinia was meticulously painted, coiffed and sieved into a tightly bodiced, heavily embroidered dress. She had been liberated from Arbormoor for several days now and yet she was still parading around like Jorge's life-sized china doll. Christine used to say that if nothing else, at least Jorge kept her fashionable. But now that Lavinia was removed from that setting and still dressing as he had dressed her, Christine understood the stark eeriness of it. This willingness to serve in the absence of a master was attachment's uncanny heart and Lavinia displayed its mark on her very face.
"Is something the matter," Lavinia asked, batting her eyelids furiously.



"Oh no," Christine feigned. "I was just thinking about how becoming that dress is on you." Lavinia waved her hand dismissively.



"Honey, I've had this thing since grammar school. I unearthed it when I was packing up. Couldn't believe it still fit," Lavinia said. Christine was a little jealous. She couldn't squeeze her girth into clothing that she had bought less than six months ago. But then, she had recently given birth to not one but four babies. A gentle smile played across Christine's face. Tangled in the folds of Lavinia's dress, she had momentarily forgotten her own happiness.



"Well if you ever grow out of it, don't throw it away. I've got three girls to clothe now," Christine said. Exhaling, Lavinia sat back on the sofa. It was as though the mere thought of having quadruplets exhausted her.



"Oh, of course," Lavinia said. She then added slyly, "I don't know what my Hunter will do, growing up among three pretty girls."



"He'll probably spend his time living in mortal fear of their father, that's what. And of their brother, as well," Christine countered. "Of course, if Hunter turns out to be anything like Jorge, maybe it's my men that should be worried." That hadn't been the best of all possible things to say but Christine was fishing for a reaction. She was not disappointed.



"Of course he won't fucking grow up to be like-" Lavinia halted, not managing to say the name. Huffing, Lavinia crumpled into slouch. She folded her arms across her chest and glared. Christine grimaced. Her up bringing had taught her that ladies do not use that sort of language or that tone. Never before had Christine heard Lavinia talk that way but she had always suspected what Lavinia was like when pushed over the edge. "Hunter will never know his father." Lavinia's voice was chilling.



"Doesn't a boy need a father?" Christine thought it better to only tip toe around the subject that had been plaguing her for months. As much as she wanted to, she would never be able to forgive Lavinia for the hurt of discovering that her best friend was pregnant by a man she supposedly hated. Lavinia had never given Christine any indication that she and Jorge were whatever it was that they were. A myriad of questions that Christine was too chicken to ask still remained. Questions like why and how and what will you do now.



"Maybe 'a father' but certainly not his father," Lavinia grumbled. When they were girls, Lavinia had been wild about Jorge. Christine could still picture Lavinia hanging her head upside down over the end of her bed, flicking through magazines, smacking gum and chattering about what Jorge did earlier in the day. But that was before he began saying cruel things, treating her like a possession, hitting her...



"Why would you even-" It had slipped out. Christine clamped her hands over her mouth. She thought that she had stopped herself in time but apparently she had said enough for Lavinia to have understood. Lavinia straightened up in her seat. It was as though she had been waiting for that question. "You don't have to answer that," Christine said apologetically.



"No, I want to," Lavinia replied. She leaned in towards Christine. "The answer is simple. I was desperately, desperately lonely Christine. And don't look at me like that, it's nobody's fault. I'm happy for you, I really am but we rarely ever saw each other. You were starting a family and buying this farm. Cully was growing up. He didn't need me anymore. I'm estranged from most of my own family. Jorge was all that I had left. Even with as much as I dislike him, I was able to convince myself that it wasn't such a bad idea. There isn't anyone who loves or hates or feels anything more strongly than he does."



Lavinia's lips trembled. Her face flushed. The answer was not really so simple, Christine knew. Its depths were plain though as yet unspoken. For Hunter's sake and for her own, Lavinia had to put Jorge behind her. But for eight years, he had been her life right down to the clothes that she wore.