RESISTANCE

Reda Tarc was tall and slender with dark blue eyes and a veritable mop of red gold curls. This particular afternoon she was dressed in sweats. The colors of the top and bottom of the outfit complemented her looks, but not each other. Reda ambled silently down the hallway outside her bedroom door and stepped into the dining area of her parents’ suburban rambler.

The dining room held a table and seating for six against a large picture window framed with styled brocade print swags and muted by sheer curtains. The pale wood tabletop was fitted with a sheet of protective glass lifted from its surface by strategically placed dots of thick wool felt. The curve-backed chairs were matching wood with seat cushions covered in a brocade print of tan and rust tones that blended well with the window hangings. A sidetable completed the dining room set. It contained holiday china and other tablewares and sat under a second picture window. Through sheer curtains, the bright colors of fall touched the trees and the lawn at the back of the house.

A doorway in the adjacent wall led to the galley kitchen with its white cabinets. At this moment Reda’s sister Amalie, not quite so tall nor quite so blond as her younger sibling, was standing on the swimming pool blue vinyl floor in that room. Over the years she had spent as much, if not more, time in the kitchen as her mother. For this reason Amalie had been allowed to choose its décor. On the faux marble countertop next to the refrigerator, she was preparing a meal for the family. It was tossed salad that occupied her attention just now. Lettuce, cheese, mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, and other ingredients cluttered the counter. Dressed in pale blue jeans and a short-sleeved turquoise colored top, her summer tan not quite faded, Amalie was peeling a carrot.

Behind her, brilliant light blazed into the room through an uncurtained series of windowpanes that filled the entire length of the kitchen between the upper and lower cabinets. Soaking up this filtered sunshine, three potted geraniums flowered brightly on the counter.

Through the expanse of windows the quarter acre of backyard beckoned. It was edged with azalea bushes and a few pine trees. Spring and summer flowerbeds in the center of the yard lay dormant. The seasoned maples provided shade in the summer and color in the fall. One of them was planted near the bedroom side of the house.