Chapter Forty-Six: Kiddo

Elaine L. Brockett

"So, will you?"

Elaine posed the question again to her mother. It wasn't ideal for her to ask this brashly, but her only response yesterday had been, 'Go to bed.'

Elaine had expected her to be upset that she sneaked out, but not like last night.

She always snuck out, and her reactions were tepid, especially on days that Muaas brought her home, so the only reason she could equate to her mother's edginess was the presence of Ruby Clive in town.

Overnight, her mother’s, 'what if something happens to you' turned to 'Are you okay? You are okay, right? That woman didn't do anything to you, did she?'

The manic change was unnerving.

Why did everyone pay so much attention to someone of no importance?

Elaine did not find Ruby particularly pleasing to look at. She was merely astoundingly beautiful in such a way that she projects one’s insecurities about themselves, but such women were often harlots—case in point: the magazine articles.

Plus, Leon had always mentioned to her th