The Smallest Parallel

Chapter 16

Marguerite was sitting on the patio, drawing pictures. She'd gotten into the habit of drawing when stressed, and she was always grateful for a distraction. She was one month into chemotherapy, and she'd lost fifteen pounds of body weight and about a pound of hair. That was, of course, exaggeration.

            Marguerite hadn't cut her hair since she was a teenager. The loss of all of her hair had been jarring and difficult to deal with. Her head was often cold, so she'd gotten back into the habit of knitting hats for herself in a variety of colors.

            So there she sat, on the back porch of Adrien's house, drawing pictures of cancer cells and unicorns. Harper, Adrien's sister, sat across from her, working on a crossword and smoking a cigar. She'd arrived at the estate exactly one week, two days, and seventeen hours ago. She'd immediately made herself at home and proceeded to spend an uncomfortable amount of time following Marguerite around the house.

            Adrien told Marguerite that Harper was only making sure that Marguerite and Adrien were compatible. As a psychologist, Harper had a lot of experience in judging people based on their personalities and past experiences. Marguerite couldn't help but feel that Harper was reading her mind, gathering secret information as a spy would.

            "So, Marguerite," she said, "Why are you drawing that?"

            Harper was always asking "why" questions. She never asked yes or no questions because they didn't reveal much anyways.

            "I suppose I just enjoy drawing," Marguerite answered. She'd been feeling increasingly nauseous since Harper sat down in front of her.

            Harper returned to her crossword. Marguerite paused her drawing and tried to decide how she felt about Harper. She'd only known the woman for a week, but she already felt as if she knew all that there was to know about her.

            Harper was a tall, thin woman with incredibly straight, dark hair and an opinion on everything. She wasn't afraid to speak her mind, and Marguerite admired her for that. However, Harper was also incredibly judgmental. If you began a conversation with her, she would have you pinned down within five minutes. Marguerite held tightly onto the belief that she was a mind reader.

            When Harper had arrived a week earlier, she'd gone straight to bed, giving Adrien enough time to reveal her entire backstory to Marguerite. He told it very well; it was almost like a folk tale. In fact, I'll allow Adrien to narrate this section.

            "Allow me to tell you the tale of Harper Aldridge-McLaren," Adrien said, grabbing a chair. "Harper was born into this world to two loving parents. When Harper was five years old, her parents welcomed a baby boy into this world. Two short years later, her parents were killed in an accident. Harper knew that she would have to take care of herself and her younger brother, even though they would be under the care of their wealthy Aunt. Their Aunt was a very kind woman, and she set up a trust for both of them. However, those trusts came with very specific and old-fashioned rules. The siblings would not be allowed to access those trusts until they each married a member of the opposite sex. Only in the event of their Aunt's death would they have limited access to those funds, which would then be used to pay bills and foot the cost of living. Harper knew that she would not be allowed to access her trust when she fell in love with Rhiannon McLaren, a student from Ireland she met while studying psychology. Harper decided that she would rebel..." Adrien paused for dramatic effect.

            "Harper moved to Ireland with Rhiannon and the two women eloped, sealing Harper's fate. Though, Harper was not upset. She was excited for her future. She started practicing psychology and eventually built a business from the ground up. She would still visit her brother on occasion because nothing could break their familial bond." He paused again, losing the silly narrator voice.