Wings of the Walker - CoraLee June Page 0,53

to be alone. The silence was comforting and allowed me to think about the decision I made and the repercussions that would follow. It was so strange to think how someone that was once my entire life had now become a stranger, someone that I could no longer be with. As the day ended, I convinced myself that this wasn’t a matter of me choosing my new family over Josiah. Ultimately, it came down to the freedom and friendliness of the Dormas province. It was the opportunity to bake, to paint. To spend my free time how I please.

I decided that I loved myself more than I loved Josiah. I decided that I wasn’t willing to give up on the opportunity for happiness to have a lifetime of being with him. The fact that I got to spend time with my new family was merely a bonus.

While I cleaned, Maverick got up from working on the computer and helped me wipe down the counters and dry the counters.

“Feeling better?” he asked.

I nodded in response. “Thanks for knowing what I needed,” I said.

“You're like me,” he began, “You like to process things alone. My brothers have good intentions, but they don’t understand.” Maverick grabbed my hand and squeezed it. I looked up at him and then leaned in for a hug, resting my head against his chest and listening to the steady rhythm of his heart. I felt his lips touch the top of my head, and I moved away before the affection led towards something more than brotherly.

The next day, I put the finishing touches on my cake, and Patrick and Kemper brought it to the bakery to be stored in their vast freezer before tonight. I felt proud of it and hoped that everyone would enjoy all the work I put into the large dessert.

Becca came over in the early afternoon to start getting ready. I didn’t feel like pampering would take that long, but I assumed her intentions were more focused on getting an eye-full of the Dormas Leadership Council than on helping me get ready.

She gushed jealously at my dress, so I let her sift through the many dresses Jules left behind in her closet. I realized that many of the other Walker women wouldn’t have nice dresses to wear, either, so I sent a trunk full of them to Kemper to be distributed at the Walker Dorms. I wanted everyone to feel beautiful.

She meticulously painted her face with the precision of a marksman. I watched her with careful trepidation. She was stunning without the stuff, but it added a sense of glamour to her appearance.

She put a fragrant oil in my hair to smooth my many curls and applied a light-black salve to my lashes to make them appear thicker. We both put a radish paste on our lips to give them a red hue. Hours had passed when she was finally done, and when I finally looked in the mirror, I was pleasantly surprised to see the woman staring back at me.

My green dress fit my figure perfectly. It clung to my curves and kissed the floor elegantly. I liked how it flowed when I moved. My ordinarily wild hair still maintained its shape but seemed tamer. My face looked the same, but my expression held hope that wasn’t there before. I felt beautiful. Worthy.

Becca picked a seductive, red dress that showed off her toned back and complimented her bright-blonde hair. I knew that the men in this town would be drooling over her. We didn’t speak much, mostly because we found early on that we didn’t have much in common, but the silence was comfortable and noncompetitive. Becca was a pleasant companion.

Everyone left early to set up for the festival, leaving me alone in the house. I contemplated not attending last minute, since I wasn’t feeling in the mood to party. I still had this unsettling sensation that things were about to come to a head with Josiah.

Becca left long before I did, as she was eager to drink and dance with the handsome men that worked in the mines. She liked that men easily outnumbered women, and she felt desired. I stayed behind, counting the minutes until I knew that I had to make an appearance otherwise someone would come and drag me to the party.

While walking down the street lit by torches and candles, men and women around me talked loudly and flirted with one another. A few children ran up and