Suzie’s House 399 : Bruce vs Emma’s Brother

Bruce felt like a total idiot carrying around his latest creation. It might be a glorious confection of feathers, lace, ribbon, beads, and satin, with an extra layer of feathers just for emphasis, but it looked silly in the hands of a rough, tough dude. Seriously. People were staring. Luckily, he caught up with Emma before he reached the square. Unluckily, her reception was chilly.

“I.. I…I’m not taking that thing! Not here, anyway.” She took three big steps backwards, hands held up in self defense against the feathers and lace.

“Why not? You’re going to wear it next week on stage, aren’t you?”

“That! That’s why!” She hurried ahead, straight for the capital square on a Saturday morning when the farmer’s market would be going. “Someone… someone might see. They’ll know it’s me.”

“But the one you need to hide from is your brother, right? There’s no way he’d see, ‘cause he isn’t even in town.”

“You never know,” she muttered, charging forward with her head down like a bull. In someone so petite, it looked silly. “Be… besides. He’s not the only reason and you know it.” She brought her head up and around, and nearly ran smack into some fat old lady coming the other way.

The lady hardly noticed Emma, but glared at Bruce, though he wasn’t sure if it was the muscle shirt or the mask she had a problem with. Then she glanced at his black skinny jeans and the glare got sharper. She had to turn her head to see as they passed each other.

“Whacha looking at?” Bruce walked back and flipped the bird at the fat lady.

“You’re as bad as my brother,” Emma muttered.

“What did you say?” Bruce turned his fury on Emma. “Say it again.”

She just cringed from him, and kept on going.

“I am nothing like your brother. Maybe I lose my tempter, but I can be nice.”

“So can he.”

They passed a guy in a business suit who glanced twice at Bruce, and a family that openly laughed. Bruce had to get this mask out of his hands, fast.

“Here. Put it on.” He tried to put the mask on her, but she fended him off with an arm and sped up. “Come on. Just until we get to the studio.”

“N.. No! I’ll put it on when we get to the studio.”

“At least take it from me and carry it.”

They were less than a block away now. More and more people passed them, and every single one seemed to be staring at him. If only she would… but he didn’t want to be anything like her brother. So he couldn’t do anything.

This called for desperate measures. Besides, everyone was going to stare at him anyway. He might as well make it worth while. He put the mask on himself.

“Whwhat are you doing?” Emma grinned, eyes wide and delighted.

“At least they can’t see my face,” he said.

Everyone stared, all right. The farmer’s market might sell local produce, but in Madison it was mostly a chance to see and be seen. People set up lawn chairs on the capital lawn facing the sidewalk so they could sit and watch. Some of them pointed at him. Some laughed.

He could feel his face heating up, but it didn’t matter because no one could see it anyway. If he’d been treated like that when people could tell who he was, he’d have felt like he had to fight to prove himself. But now it didn’t matter.

In a way, the mask had liberated him. He could be as stupid as he wanted, and it didn’t matter. Was this how Emma felt? He liked it!

He could feel his shoulders square, and his cheeks bulge with a grin. He glanced at Emma. Her face was as red as his own must be, and she kept her head down, but she smiled, and now and then she giggled.

He took her hand and placed it on his arm like a true gentleman. That would teach her to compare him to her brother.

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