Corianne Meets the Whemblings 1.2

Here is the next edition. Revised the title a wee bit, and I'm sure it will morph ever the more as life continues on.
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It was a Sunday morning and the Flanders, per usual mode, were running late for mass. They weren’t sure as to how it happened, but it seemed as if no matter how early they began readying themselves they were always at the very least 5 minutes late.

And so they entered their parish, St. Athanasius, mid first reading that morning. Mrs. Flanders entered first, followed by the younger children, then finally Corianne. Four pews up was Celeste and her father, -next to them towered Keith Herlton and his family of seeming giants.

Corianne had known most of these people the entirety of her life, and moreover she had known the pastor, Fr. Sebastian, even longer, since birth in fact. He was a rather old man, and had been pastor for an incredible amount of time. As far as adults went, he was one of the only ones who didn’t find Corianne odd. When he heard rumors questioning her soundness of mind, he was the first to crush them. His influence was great, but was not able to prevail against some of the gossips of the parish; Mrs. Herlton least of all.

Upon the completion of mass, the congregation met in the undercroft to partake of the best things in life, that being, coffee and donuts. As was tradition, the members of the parish socialized and shared the accounts of the week.

Corianne hastily gathered her goodies, determined to hide away in some corner with Celeste, and away from rumors and other such idiocies. To her horror, in front of her was the infamous Mrs. Herlton, accompanied by her odious son, Keith.

“Well, Corianne, how are you?” she began, ostensibly annunciating each word.

This Corianne took as a personal invitation to be as obnoxious as was possible.

“As fine as I’ll ever be, Mrs. Herlton,” she responded in the same manner, making sure to stutter midsentence.

“You poor dear,” replied the woman, “How is the college search going?”

“Quite swimmingly, madam, if you will excuse me, I have the consumption of these delicious donuts to accomplish before the morning is through,” replied Corianne, who then walked away; not before hearing the woman whisper to her son standing next to her,

“You are not to associate with that girl Keith, she is bizarre and unstable.”

Corianne merely smiled at the comment.

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Corianne was driving him back to the rectory, when he decided to attempt to address certain things concerning her that had come to his attention.

“You like it here Corianne?” he began.

“Of course Father, what’s not too like? I’ve got a family, and a home, an education, and my faith.”

“Yes, all those, but do you enjoy being here?”

“Most of the time, the good times far outweigh the bad.”

Silence ensued, Corianne wondered as to what the old man was getting at.

“Perhaps,” he paused, “Perhaps not now, but soon, you will feel more wanted and in place.”

She didn’t know how to respond. It seemed to her that he was trying to tell her something. She just

didn’t know what. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------She awoke with a start. All around her the world was silent, only the noise of the wind blowing through the open window aroused her immediate attention.

What had woken her?   Corianne wondered.

It was not a habit of hers to leave windows open, and immediately she left the warmth and comfort of her bed to shut it.

She paused momentarily to look out. There in the backyard a tent was set up for the weekend’s graduation festivities. Corianne was not looking forward to her graduations party that weekend.

She was excited to move out and go to college, but the process was daunting. The terribly ugly gown was hanging in her closet at the moment, mocking her.

Sighing deeply she closed the window, and for the second time that night she fell fast asleep.