True Colors

He hadn’t even thanked her for the offer.

A week later, on a cold gray day, Winona took her place at the end of the dining room table, seating herself in the chair that had once belonged to her mother. Aurora sat on the left side of the table, and Vivi Ann was on the right side.

Her father sat at the other end, his face still dusty from the day’s work, his hair damp and flattened to his forehead by the hat that now hung on a hook by the front door. Only someone like Winona, who’d made a habit of studying his face for the slightest change or emotion, would have noticed the intensity of his gaze. She wasn’t sure that he really wanted to go forward with Vivi Ann’s plan, but he’d made up his mind, gone public with the news, so there was no way he’d back out. All that was left for Winona now was to protect him and his land to the best of her ability.

“Okay,” Winona said. “I’ve gone over all the loan documents and the finances. The good news is that it didn’t cost as much to get things started as we’d originally thought. All in all, we should be good borrowing fifty thousand dollars.” She slid the paperwork toward her father. “The loan is collateralized by this property. If the monthly payments aren’t made in a timely fashion the bank has the right to accelerate the note, demand full payment, and if none is forthcoming, begin foreclosure proceedings.”

No one spoke, so Winona pushed another piece of paper toward him. “That’s what you and Vivi Ann will need to generate in income to break even every month. If you’d like, I can act as financial manager for the first year or so. Pay the bills, watch expenses. That kind of thing. And, of course, I’ll hire a full-time hand to help out around here.” She glanced pointedly at Vivi Ann, then at her father. “I’ll figure out a way to make sure he stays awhile.”

“Thank God,” Vivi Ann said, laughing. “We all know I suck at hiring.”

Dad grunted something unintelligible and got up from the table. Without looking back, he headed into his study and closed the door behind him.

Winona sat there, irritated that once again she’d let herself expect something from him. Gratitude at the very least.

“Don’t worry about Dad,” Aurora said. “You did a wonderful job. We see that, don’t we, Vivi?”

“A fabulous job. Really,” Vivi Ann agreed. “He’s just scared. I say we celebrate with a little ice cream.” She got up and hurried over to the kitchen. Claiming her favorite flavor, she went out to the porch.

Winona and Aurora followed her. Aurora picked her favorite—pralines and cream—and got two spoons.

Winona’s favorite flavor wasn’t there, so she took a pint of rocky road out onto the porch and stood with her sisters. They’d done this dozens of times over the years, come together on the porch, eating ice cream, and talking. “Hey, who ate my chocolate cherry?” she asked.

Vivi Ann answered, “Luke Connelly dropped by. I didn’t even recognize him. He looked so different. Way cuter than I remember.”

Aurora threw Winona a sharp look.

“What did he want?” Winona asked, hoping she sounded casual.

“To see Dad. The poor guy came during my 4-H meeting, so I made him talk to the girls. He was cool about it, though.” Vivi Ann took another bite of ice cream and said, “He asked me out.”

Winona knew she should just stand there and pretend it didn’t hurt. It was what she’d always done around Vivi Ann, but this time she couldn’t manage the pretense. “I gotta go. I’ve got a big day at work tomorrow . . . lots of papers to hear. Read. I meant read.”

“Me, too,” Aurora said. She wrapped an arm around Winona and led her down the porch steps toward their two cars. If Vivi Ann noticed anything odd in their behavior, she didn’t remark on it; instead, she called out a goodbye and carried the ice-cream containers back into the house.

As soon as the door banged shut, Aurora turned to Winona. “Are you going to tell her or am I?”

“Tell her what?”

“Don’t insult me. You have to tell Vivi Ann you’re interested in Luke.”

“And make myself look even more pathetic? No, thank you. I knew he wouldn’t want me. Why did I let myself think otherwise? Who would want the fat girl when Michelle Pfeiffer is standing right there?”

“Tell Vivi Ann. She’ll break the date and never make another one.”

Winona could almost taste the humiliation of such a conversation; it would be bitter and sour at the same time, like a lime gone bad. “No way. Besides, Vivi Ann goes through men like I go through Post-it notes. Luke is way too quiet for her; you know she has a wild streak when it comes to men. It won’t last long.”

“You can’t count on that. You have to tell her.”

“No. And you have to promise not to say anything, either. I’d be mortified if Luke knew how I felt. Obviously he doesn’t feel the same way.” At Aurora’s unconvinced look, Winona said, “Promise me.” She knew that Aurora didn’t make a promise lightly, and once made, she kept it.

“I’m not going to say anything. It’s your life and you’re a grown woman . . . but you’re making a Godzilla mistake here. You’ve always had a chip on your shoulder about Vivi. This could turn it into a boulder. And it’s not fair to Vivi, because she doesn’t know a thing about it. She’d never hurt you if she knew.”

“Promise me.”

“I have a bad feeling about this, Win.”

“Promise me.”