Tallyho never had many girl friends (or friends in general.) She never had anyone to catch drinks with or go out into town with. The closest things she ever had to peers were her cousins who were just as fanatic about religion as the elders and therefore not the best company for a young woman. So when Tallyho and Ingra entered a nearby tavern, the blonde wasnât sure what to expect. What did friends talk about in bars? In the case of the two young womenânothing initially. They drank their first round in a silence that became more and more comfortable as the time passed. And for a while, Tallyho didnât mind this and neither did Ingra. But eventually, Tallyho felt, words had to be shared.
âYou not like the rest of them? What that mean?â The sun girl inquired.
Ingra stared down into her empty glass.
âYou can get more cider, you know. On me.â Tallyho insisted.
It wasnât until the girls were served another round that Ingra began to speak.
âMy sisters. Iâm not like them,â Ingra sighed. She brushed her arm against her rosy button nose, which was now as red as her cheeks. âThey are normal girls. Tiny, pretty lilâ things⊠Like you.â
Tallyho narrowed her eyes a bit but didnât interrupt.
âThey are going to be married soon. To good men. And my father has been trying to marry me off too. But my suitors⊠They ainât the same.â
âHow so?â
âStrangers and freaksâAllofemâ. Old men with nothing left to their lives. Fetishizers too. I donât want no man. I want to be on stage, acting like someone else.â
âYou like acting?â
âI think I do. I dunno I never done it. You one of them performers ainât you?â There was a dash of hope in her voice.
âI amâŠ. No talents though.â
âNo actinâ?â
âNo.â
âNo nothinâ?â
âNothing.â
âWell what do you do?â
Tallyho thought about how she learned how to count money by manning the tent to all of the performances. âNothing. Iâm not really good at nothing⊠Iâm not like the rest of my family either. My mom is talented. They wonder how she had a child like me.â
The two young women fell into silence once more before Tallyho spoke up again.
âThey tried to marry me to someone I donât like tooâŠâ
âItâs dung ainât it?â Ingrid hummed.
âYes, yes it is.â
They spent what felt like hours in that tavern chatting about their families and downing another round of cider. By the end of it, Tallyho understood what it was like to drink with a friend in a tavern. And when they parted ways before sundown she was beaming with a glow that was, not just from her light buzz, but the realization that she had made a new friend. A friend who she promised to visit the next time she came to Malboro.