Infinity

Chapter 2

Marleena's POV

It turns out that my father's response to all this was to keep a closer eye on me. It may not seem that bad but for me it was the worst possible scenario. My father now spends every possible moment that he can with me, which would not be that bad if he did not make it his goal to prevent furthering my education and turning me into a proper daughter. He made me practice my piano, needle point, and fine tune my art skills. Each are areas that I am proficient in but find no enjoyment. The only good part of my day was while my father was at the office. The worst part about it all was that he confiscated my books. He came into my room and tore it apart finding all my hidden books except for an old physics book hidden under a loose floorboard.

Jasper was also struggling with this new arrangement since I was not able to help him with his work; his grades were taking a hit. By the end of March, Jasper's teachers called my parents into the school concerned with his grades. It did not take a genius to figure out that I was helping Jasper as well. My father was beside himself.

I overheard a late-night conversation between my parents after their meeting with the school. I do not remember the entire conversation, but I will never forget what my dad said about me. "She has ruined everything, starting with the day she was born. We should have left the girl at the hospital like I wanted to. I never should have let you convince me to bring her home. She ruined this family back then and now she is ruining it even more by being the only smart one. She stole the boys' education. I will not let her steal anything else from this family."

I never heard my mother's response and honestly, I did not care. I was too angry. I did not ruin this family; He did, and I was not going to let him ruin the rest of my life either.

May 1942

There had been a lot of change since that disastrous night in February. Tommy had been gone for six weeks now and was still going through training. I have received a total of two letters from him. He was happy and proud of what he was doing, which I am glad. He had also apologized about twenty times since that night. I have forgiven him, but I have not told him. I cannot let him get off that easily.

The other big change was that we were moving to Brooklyn, New York City. The reason we were moving was because my father had been called in by the government to help consult on a project for the military. This project would take several months, and he needed to live close by. The military also wanted him to consult on several other projects afterwards. So, it looked like we lived in New York now, which was fine with me. Since I have never attended school, I have also never had any friends, unlike my brother, who was taking the move hard.

We have now lived in our three-bedroom townhouse for a little more than a week. It has not been too bad. In the few hours of freedom away from my father, my mother had let me walk down to the library and read for a couple of hours. It is the best gift she could have given me.

Today is Saturday, and the person that invited my father onto the project has since invited my entire family to dinner. My mother has made me wear my nicest dress. A light blue short sleeved dress that fits to my bust and waist then lets out to a loose shirt that ends just below my knees. I pair this with my white summer stockings and buckled shoes. My dark hair is curled to perfection and ends at the tops of my shoulders. My mother insisted that I wear some makeup, which I begrudgingly comply. I have to say this dress does complement my green eyes, but it does not mean that I like wearing it.

We are picked up by a black car that is being driven by a kind looking British man. The drive to Manhattan only lasts twenty minutes, and my father fills the time by conversing with the driver. I am too focused on the city to pay any mind to them.

We pull up to a very tall building that almost looks newer compared to the other buildings. The driver opens the door for me and my mother, and we are all directed inside. We are instructed to wait in the lobby for our host. My father fills the five minutes of waiting with detailed explanations of the building and its history. I am only half paying attention. I'm more focused on these two big doors that appear to be triple reinforced with some form of polymer. My thoughts are interrupted when the doors opening revealed a confident man of average height, who was not much older than me. He had dark hair and a mustache which rested on a permanent cocky, overconfident smirk, which lead me to the conclusion that this man was most likely used to getting his way. He also came across as naturally flirtatious, which most likely meant he was popular with the ladies, and he knew it.

"Greetings, Dean Edwards. I hope Jarvis took good care of you and your family. Of course, he did, its Jarvis, the most trustworthy Brit in New York."

He said all of this in one breath with way more energy than necessary. I do not know what it was, but in this short interaction I had become intrigued with the man. Turning from my father, he introduced himself as Howard Stark of Stark Industries.

I recognized the name from many of my father's long rants at the dinner table and from various newspapers. Howard Stark was mainly known for being a playboy and the leading weapons manufacturer of the war. Tommy would be jealous that I got to meet him.

"Before dinner, how about a tour of my personal lab?"

As he says this, he sends me a wink in my direction before turning and walking toward the same doors I had been studying. I rolled my eyes but follow behind my family. Whenever I am out in public with my family, my father has always made sure I just blended in with the family. I was never to draw attention to myself or walk in front of him or speak unless spoken to. Honestly, these same rules applied at home, which was why I was not very talkative. I much prefer to watch, but for the first time, all I wanted to do was look over everything and ask a million questions.