the last great american dynasty

cardigan

  The car carrying her and her family suddenly stopped due to a popped tire. It stopped near their home, and they could've walked there, but instead of the family doing so, her father stepped out of the vehicle to find the driver panicking. He didn't help with them as he yelled at him for not replacing the tires.

  The tires were replaced right after we arrived at the train station and had not seen the light until now, Betty thought, rolling her eyes at the clear memory of him instructing the driver on what to do after their departure. Her siblings wouldn't dare to step in, and her mother, being blind by literally everything about her husband, stayed silent, even though she knew she should tell him off, telling him that they have been changed. Not being able to handle the scene, she grabbed two of her bags, mumbled something about walking home on her own, and left them.

  Her father and mother, for some ridiculous reason, decided to have breakfast with the Swantons' and then drive straight towards the train station. Not caring about how she felt, they had already been planning the wedding of her and the Swantons' son (to which she didn't even know anything about him, other than the fact that he wasn't pleasant company). So they had traveled back in suits and high heels, and by the time they reached their hometown, the sun was already setting.

  As she was walking with her heels, she was surprised to see that the cobblestones that had been there when she was seven had cracks on them. She loved the light reflecting off of the circular shiny stones, now a lot of them were gone, which saddened her. But she had to continue walking home, so she lifted her foot and started moving her legs, her ankles turning side to side with the uneven surface.

  Betty locked her bedroom door as soon as she stepped inside, fearing her father would start yelling and take everything out on her. She had the smallest bedrooms in the house, excluding the staff quarters, and even then it was too big for her. She kept - her parents kept - the room white despite her wishes to paint it blue. Wall carvings stick out to look like empty giant picture frames. White curtains swept to the sides of each of the golden window frames. A humongous carpet from Morocco covered the ebony floors of the rectangular room. Shallow drum lampshades with fringes on the edges stayed on top of each table in the room - one on the long dressing table, on each of the bedside tables placed next to her crisp white bed, the study table. No pictures in sight, not even one with her parents.

  That night, the servants brought her dinner up to her room, and thankfully, her father left her alone. Not only because she didn't have to suffocate from being in the same room as him, but also because her friends, Judy and Jane, were coming for a sleepover. Betty left the window beside her bed open like she usually did for them, but something didn't feel right with that motion. She frowned, closed, and reopened them, but the feeling remained in her gut.

  The two girls climbed in through the window with the help of a loose brick that her parents had never seemed to notice, and since the staff knew that the people in her closest circle would sneak into her room with that method, they didn't want to anger Betty, they said and did nothing. They squealed when their eyes landed on their friend and hugged her since they hadn't talked since she left.

  They all settled down by dragging the two armchairs next to the bed and sat there, Betty telling stories about her trip while all three of them gagged at the Swantons' son due to being grossed out by his looks and behavior. She then gave them their little souvenirs - a crystal charm necklace, which Betty bought at a little stall during a trip to the horrible carnival that her mother forced her to go to because Allen and Anne wanted to visit. The old lady who called herself a "fortune teller" said that the necklace would bring her eternal happiness. They all linked the same blue crystal chain over their necks, symbolizing their promise and continuation of their friendship.