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Such performances were etched in history, laced in the theatrics of drama and romance, thrill and sorrow. As splendid as they may be chronicled on paper or through voice, none would match the magnanimity of the one played by Virginia Curtis the morning she woke up.
The first thing she had noticed was the blanket pulled up to her neck. She was in her bed, although all she remembered was sitting by the window. The window. The night before. Virginia yanked back the sheets as fast as she could, letting out a sigh of relief as she noticed her nightgown still intact though the room was empty. She wondered what time Dallas must have left to make such a quick, silent escape.
Virginia stretched her arms out over her bed, a soft rose blossoming on her cheeks as she recalled the miraculous events that unfurled under the pitch night sky the day before. A part of her was shocked at her own irresponsibility... but the other. Well, that was a reveal for another time she supposed.
She got ready as quickly as possible, taking a few deep breaths to calm her nerves before journeying downstairs to face Darry. What he may have seen or heard was such a coin toss, it worried her that she had no semblance of reassurance.
"You want some eggs?"
The sudden voice startled her and Sodapop gazed down at his unnerved sister in surprise. Silently, he opened the cardboard top of a carton of pale white eggs and she sighed to try and gather her bearings. She slid past Sodapop to the coffee machine, somehow balancing several paintbrushes in her arms. The second one fell loose, Sodapop's nimble figures grabbed it and stuck it in the small pocket of her overalls.
"Ain't you getting old for those?" he motioned to her attire. Virginia frowned and looked down at herself. She had paired her old paint-stained denim with a tank top to fit the warmer weather. The thinned material molded to her body from years of wear, Her hair was split down the middle in two plaits secured with hair ties in different colors.
"What's wrong with it?" she asked indignantly. Receiving an amused, silent grin, she scoffed and turned back to the coffee machine.
It was the same old one Darry kept around yet always made a terrible moaning noise in the mornings when it started up. No matter how often the younger three made a claim to buy a new one, their stubborn older brother would refuse. Darry had a complicated relationship with change. He'd adapt to the best of his ability but deep down, he wouldn't like it and that was what terrified Virginia the most.
Her heart lurched as she saw Roseanne enter through the doorway by the refrigerator. To her fear, the usually cheery woman had a frustrated glare pinned on her face.
"Those damned Kings," she huffed under her breath. She balanced a paper grocery bag in her hands, settling it down before she shot the Curtis woman a polite smile. "Good morning, Virginia." There was no contempt or scorn, no hesitance or shame.
"Whoa, the Kings are botherin' you, Rose?" Sodapop demanded and stepped away from the pan of curdling eggs.
"Easy there, G.I. Joe," Virginia chuckled, swatting his shoulder. She looked at the flustered brunette in confusion. "What happened?"
