Rise (10 page)

Today, Roman would be showing her around, taking her anywhere she liked. Her first stop, she’d told him, would be a comic book store. She’d had comic books before as a child, and loved them, thus the idea of an entire comic book store was something out of a dream. Victoria remembered Roman giving her the strangest look as she told him that instead of wanting to see the capitol, or the famed “magic” fountains, she preferred to visit a comic book store. She smiled at the thought, and hugged her robes tighter as she stepped into the city of Gracelia.

In addition to wanting to visit the comic book store, Victoria really wanted to buy some clothes. Roman had assured her that she looked fine, but her awkwardness only mounted with every girl who passed by in normal clothing. She might technically still be a nun, but she didn’t want to look like one.

Victoria’s feet hit the sidewalk, and she made her way to the café where she and Roman had met the previous day. She looked around, and when she didn’t see him, she stepped back to admire the café. It was a quaint, cute little place, really. She hadn’t noticed it the day before, but, Victoria supposed, she had other things on her mind. She checked her watch, which Roman gave her the day before, after making her promise to return. It was rather handy. Instead of squinting up at the sun for a less than exact time, she could just look down at her watch, and it knew the time precisely. Even down to the seconds. She looked at her watch again, 12:00PM. That explains why it’s so crowded, she thought. Well, crowded for a little café. Out of the six or seven tables crammed into the small establishment, five were filled, and several more people stood at the counter, waiting for their orders. Victoria smiled. She liked it. All of it. The busy streets, the small family café, the buildings. She had yet to find a single thing wrong with the city, and was beginning to wonder why nuns like Grace wanted to get away from it.

A tap on Victoria’s shoulder shook her from her thoughts, and she turned around to see Roman, clad in a white t-shirt and jeans. In his hand, he held a large bag, which, after Victoria peered into it, she realized it was empty. “It’s for anything we might buy.” He said, answering her question before she could ask. “Come on, the comic book store is this way.” Roman held out his hand, and she took it, hesitantly. He was leading her again, something she didn’t like on principle alone (she could damn well lead herself), but the feeling of the whole thing wasn’t entirely unpleasant.

When they finally reached the comic book store, Victoria gaped, in awe. She liked it even better than the café they’d visited. It wasn’t as quaint, or as well-kept, as she suspected that beneath the wallpapering, it was nothing more than a warehouse, but it was perfect. Comic books scattered the floor, in addition to the baseball card wrappers and bubblegum, which were apparently sold in conjunction with comic books, because they made an excellent pair.

Victoria browsed the dusty racks, feeling each comic book as she went. To be honest, she didn’t know a thing about comic books, except the one she’d had as a child. Her fascination lay less in the actual comic books, and more in the idea that comic books were a part of the city, and a part of this world, and she wanted to learn everything about it. It seemed to have something for everyone. It was shiny, bold, quaint, calm. It was everything, and everyone, and to someone who’d spent the majority of her life believing that there was only one way, this new knowledge was something she couldn’t get enough of.

All while she browsed the comics, Roman trailed dutifully behind her, looking interested when she would animatedly point out a particularly interesting looking cover, and then revert to his look of extreme boredom when she was not looking. Victoria’s peripheral vision was excellent, but she wasn’t in a hurry to tell him that.

She eventually settled in one of the store’s plush beanbag chairs with an interesting looking book. As she sank down into it, Roman watched from above, watching expectantly. After standing for a few more minutes, and getting no response from Victoria, he groaned and sank down into the one besides her.

“
How much longer do you plan to be here, Victoria? You know, there are other things this city has to offer besides comic books.” Victoria peered sheepishly over the top of the book she was reading. “I’m almost done, really! But on that note—she closed the book—what else did you have to show me?”

Victoria watched, her feelings a mixture of embarrassment and delight, as Roman looked down nervously. She wasn’t sure why, but seeing him nervous made her laugh. “Nothing in particular. I just thought you might like to see the rest of the city, before heading back up to the convent.” Victoria shrugged her shoulders. “Alright, then”

As she made to get up from her beanbag chair, Roman scrambled up and offered his hand. She took it, gripped his hand firmly, and hoisted herself up. When she made a movement to drop her hand back to her side, his hand tightened. Victoria sighed and quickened her pace, pulling Roman along behind her as she went.

When Victoria stepped outside, she wrenched her hand from Roman. “You’ve got to show me around, not the other way around…” she said, as he voice trailed off. Truth be told, she still felt a bit odd about holding his hand. It was nice, really, but she wasn’t sure why he kept insisting on it. Roman nodded his head sharply; saying nothing, and instead, began walking down the sidewalk. For a brief moment, Victoria thought she saw a flash of disappointment in his eyes, but it was gone before she could be entirely sure of what she saw.

Victoria followed Roman down the street until the two of them happened upon a lonely looking diner. Roman strode forward and held open the door for her. “I thought we’d have some brunch before we really get down to business.” Victoria let out an involuntary giggle, and then clapped her hand over her mouth and hurried through the open door. She didn’t know what was getting into her lately, but it was quickly getting out of her control.

The inside of the diner was a marked change from the cozy café they’d visited the day before. Instead of the small, homey tables, the tables were long and wide, with stainless steel tops. In the back, where Victoria assumed the kitchen would be, she could hear the hissing sounds of frying food. The diner was semi-crowded, so she and Roman took a wrap-around booth in a corner near the back. After a waitress stopped by to take their orders (Victoria ordered a hamburger, and Roman ordered a roast beef sandwich), she crossed her arms and leaned back into the plush, red booth. “So…is this one of your favorite places?” Victoria ventured forward, awkwardly. She wasn’t sure why everything had suddenly become so uncomfortable. Granted, it was always a bit awkward at first, but things like that tended to fade away over time, didn’t they? “It’s only been a week”, the familiar little voice in her head piped up, “Give it time.” Give what time? A friendship, was a friendship, was a friendship, Victoria wondered.

“—
Yeah, Rita’s has the best sandwiches. They have pretty decent hamburgers, too.” Roman answered, and Victoria shook the conflicting thoughts from her head. Although the tension in the air was palpable, and she couldn’t for the life of her, figure out why, there was no harm in getting to know him a little better. It seemed like forever since they could actually sit down and have a conversation without daggers being drawn, but in reality it had only been a day.

“
So, what’s your family like?” Victoria froze. She had planned to keep conversation light, and make a wide berth around any serious topics, but Roman had just shattered that plan in the first five seconds of their conversation. But, it wasn’t his fault. She too had assumed everyone had the same family situation as herself.

“
Well, I’m not sure. I’ve never met them, you see. I was raised at the convent all my life.” Victoria watched Roman’s eyes widen momentarily, and look down, as if he was trying carefully not to offend her.

“
All your life? I thought you might have been cooped up in there for a couple of years at least, but I had no idea it’s been that long.” Victoria grimaced. “When you put it like that, Roman, it does sound very tragic.”

He laughed, and the skin around his eyes crinkled a bit. Victoria smiled in spite of herself. His smile was so friendly. More than pleasant, really. “I didn’t say it was tragic, just a bit stifling, I think.” “What about your family? Do you have one?” Victoria leaned forward in her seat, suddenly feeling very interested.

Roman ran his fingers through his curls, and shook his head. “Yeah, I have one. Just my mom, though. My dad died when I was younger, so my mom sent me to the monastery because she thought I could use some fatherly ‘direction’." Victoria laughed as Roman used air quotes, and then rolled his eyes. “So, you don’t like it there?” “No, no, don’t get me wrong. I have a good time. As much of a good time as you can have in a monastery, really. It’s like having a lot of brothers, and Brother Ammon is kind of…” “A father figure for you.” Victoria finished for him. “Yeah, yeah he is.” Roman smiled, and opened his mouth to say something else, but was cut off by the approaching waitress.

“
A roastbeef sandwich for you, sir. And… a classic Rita’s hamburger for you!” Victoria stared down, wide-eyed at the plate that had been placed in front of her. It was huge. She cupped the air with her hands, trying to figure out the best way to attack the thing. She decided on one, giant bite, and as she struggled to chew after she realized she’d bitten off a bit too much, she noticed Roman, out of the corner of her eye, desperately trying to cover up his laughter.

When Victoria finally managed to swallow, the bite of hamburger slid down her throat like a brick down a narrow chimney. She chased it down with some water, and exhaled. “That…was a tough one, wasn’t it?” Roman said solemn-faced, but the subtle wavering in his voice was evident. “I’m not eating anymore. You’re laughing at me.” Victoria pushed her plate across the table, and crossed her arms for emphasis. At this, Roman burst into laughter. “Oh, come on Victoria. I’m just kidding. Eat up." When she didn’t budge, he steered the plate back over to her. “It’s like this, see.” He used his knife and fork to cut the hamburger into small, bite-sized squares, and speared a piece on the end of his fork. “Here, open your mouth.” Victoria opened her mouth obediently, and as Roman slid the fork into her mouth, she smiled.

“
Better, right?” She nodded, and swallowed before she opened her mouth to speak, “Food is always better when you’re not choking.”

After finishing their meals, Roman announced that he was taking her on a tour of the city. Several hours later found the two strolling leisurely down the sidewalk, heading back towards the exit of Gracelia, with dusk rapidly approaching.

Upon Roman’s insistence, they’d visited the Gracelian river, and gone dolphin spotting. Victoria had spotted a few, but for some reason, Roman seemed to be having all the luck. When Victoria jumped for joy after spotting the tail fin of what she thought was a dolphin, Roman was already pulling her by the hand in another direction, where a herd of dolphins were jumping out of the water, making delighted clicking noises.

Afterwards, they’d visited the city’s central park and sat on the park benches spreading feed to the pigeons. It was there that Roman felt compelled to tell her more about himself. To her surprise, she wasn’t opposed to the idea, and as scary as it was to admit it, she couldn’t help but want to know more about Roman. When they’d settled down on the bench, she fumbled around for something to say for a few moments, before Roman brought up the monastery. Victoria had always wondered if life there was similar to life in the convent, but as Roman’s description wore on, she realized, with a grimace, that life in the monastery was lavish, compared to the convent. She gasped when he told her that they didn’t eat slop on a regular basis. Instead, the monks had actual meals, and occasionally (Victoria had fumed at this), food was brought in from the city. “So, we eat well” Roman had said, and he rubbed his stomach impishly.

“
Not really. You’re a bit thin” Victoria replied, and before she knew her hand was on his stomach. When her hand came into contact with his stomach, she almost jerked back. Roman’s stomach wasn’t rock solid, but through his shirt, she could feel his lean muscle, and the soft contours. She realized with a start that she had been unabashedly rubbing his abdomen; she drew her hand back and stuffed it in her robe pockets, and tried to will away the rising color in her cheeks. Shortly after, as the tension in the air grew to be nothing short of painful, Roman muttered “Guess I should be getting you back. I’ll show you the way.”

Victoria had followed behind, feeling strangely unsatisfied that she would be leaving so soon. When they reached the familiar toll booth, Roman slipped in two quarters, and watched as Victoria passed through. As she was making her way down the asphalt path, she heard him calling her name. “Victoria, I almost forgot. I’ll be seeing you soon!” At his words, a strange thrill tingled up her spine. He would be seeing her soon? But why? As Victoria headed back towards the convent, she pondered this, feeling her early disappointment fade away along with the daylight.

Upon arriving back at the convent, Victoria found that the nuns were still working tirelessly. She ambled over to Grace’s area, to find the big nun, as usual, wrapping the leg of yet another injured orphan. Grace looked unusually haggard, but her eyes still harbored the same gentleness.

“
I’m guessing you had a good couple of days in the city.” Grace wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, and then slapped the arm of the orphan she was working on. “You’re all good to go buddy.”

“
I really did.” Victoria said, as she settled down on the edge of one of Grace’s tables and watched Grace pack her bandages into a small box. When she finished, Grace called out to her “I’ll be wanting to hear all about your time in the city, but first, I need a pick-me-up. You’ll need one too.” Before Victoria could ask why she might need such a thing, Grace disappeared into the convent. A few minutes later, she reemerged, bearing two steaming mugs of tea. Victoria accepted hers and took a deep sip. “Now, where were we?” Grace asked, after taking a deep sip of her own.