Gilbert's New Girl
folder
S through Z › What's Eating Gilbert Grape
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
21
Views:
2,577
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Category:
S through Z › What's Eating Gilbert Grape
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
21
Views:
2,577
Reviews:
0
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Whats Eating Gilbert Grape, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Chapter Two
Chapter Two
It only took a week or so for Tally Chambers to come to Gilbert’s attention, not that he said anything to me. Oh no, it was Tucker Van Dyke, Gilbert’s closest friend and my would-be beau, who told me. If the truth be told, I was not attracted to Tucker in any way at all, but he was kind and gentle and the only single man anywhere close to my age in Endora. Tucker and I did not enjoy a full relationship you understand, it was more of a platonic thing. Some people just don’t have physical desires, and I long ago accepted that I was one of them---unlike my brother. Does that sound harsh? I don’t mean to judge him but women have always been Gilbert’s weak point and to confront him with a girl like Tally Chambers was like setting a match to a bale of hay. Tucker told me that he and Gilbert had gone for coffee at Marty’s Café and the girl was working there as a waitress. She was sullen and distant, but Gilbert smiled at her and she smiled back, then she winked at him! Dear God, my brother will be forty next month and teenage girls are still winking at him!
‘Did she say anything to him?’ I was quizzing Tucker during the drive back from Bingo. Tucker looked kind of awkward, like he felt he was being disloyal to Gilbert, so he shook his head. ‘She didn’t have to say anything to him Amy, her look said it all.’ And what did Gilbert say about her look, I wanted to know. ‘Aw, you know Gilbert, he doesn’t say much about anything’ Tucker said, trying to worm his way out of this conversation. ‘Well, how did he seem? Did he seem embarrassed or what?’ Tucker shifted in his seat and told me I was speeding. ‘He seemed okay, you know, maybe a little bit surprised. I don’t know Amy! Why don’t you give Gilbert the third degree.’ But of course I didn’t. You don’t push Gilbert about these kind of things, instead I waited and watched and felt the tension building up between us. It didn’t take long for the first bombshell to drop.
One night after supper, Gilbert was in the bathroom shaving and I was collecting the laundry, he said, ‘I hired a new assistant for the store.’ It had been over two months since Davie Johnson had quit to work at Food Land and there was only Gilbert and Mrs Marshall to deal with the customers and the deliveries. ‘Who?’ I asked as I shook out the sleeves on his shirts. ‘That new girl, you know, the new minister’s daughter’. I straightened up and looked at him through the mirror. He carried on shaving but he saw the look on my face. ‘She was working at Marty’s café but she was looking for more hours and she saw the sign in the window….’ his voice trailed off, he stared at me for a moment and then bent his head over the washbasin. ‘Does she have any experience of working in a store?’ I asked trying to keep my voice normal. He shrugged his shoulders before saying, ‘You don’t need much experience to sell a bunch of people bread and potatoes, Amy.’ With that I gathered up the laundry and went downstairs.
The next morning as Gilbert gulped down his coffee while fastening his belt and brushing his hair all at the same time, I mentioned the girl’s appearance might be off putting to some of his customers. ‘Well, they can go fuck themselves if a skinny little girl gets them all riled up.’ I was not accustomed to hearing my brother curse, but I was not so naïve as to think he never let loose. Still and all, I took the fact that he swore in front of me as an indication that he was ready for any opposition anyone showed to his decision to hire the minister’s daughter. I wondered how Mrs Marshall felt about her new co worker, but the set of Gilbert’s shoulders told me not to take the matter any further. He can be so stubborn at times, and yet in other ways he’s too soft. Look at the way he allowed Becky to walk all over him! Okay, maybe he was in love with her, but he should never have let her call all the shots. What was wrong with that girl that she said no to Gilbert when he asked her to marry him? And she was carrying his child too. A blind man could see that he worshipped the ground Becky Collins walked on, and she treated him like dirt! ‘Well’ I thought to myself, ‘you can go fuck yourself Gilbert if a skinny little girl gets you all riled up’.
It only took a week or so for Tally Chambers to come to Gilbert’s attention, not that he said anything to me. Oh no, it was Tucker Van Dyke, Gilbert’s closest friend and my would-be beau, who told me. If the truth be told, I was not attracted to Tucker in any way at all, but he was kind and gentle and the only single man anywhere close to my age in Endora. Tucker and I did not enjoy a full relationship you understand, it was more of a platonic thing. Some people just don’t have physical desires, and I long ago accepted that I was one of them---unlike my brother. Does that sound harsh? I don’t mean to judge him but women have always been Gilbert’s weak point and to confront him with a girl like Tally Chambers was like setting a match to a bale of hay. Tucker told me that he and Gilbert had gone for coffee at Marty’s Café and the girl was working there as a waitress. She was sullen and distant, but Gilbert smiled at her and she smiled back, then she winked at him! Dear God, my brother will be forty next month and teenage girls are still winking at him!
‘Did she say anything to him?’ I was quizzing Tucker during the drive back from Bingo. Tucker looked kind of awkward, like he felt he was being disloyal to Gilbert, so he shook his head. ‘She didn’t have to say anything to him Amy, her look said it all.’ And what did Gilbert say about her look, I wanted to know. ‘Aw, you know Gilbert, he doesn’t say much about anything’ Tucker said, trying to worm his way out of this conversation. ‘Well, how did he seem? Did he seem embarrassed or what?’ Tucker shifted in his seat and told me I was speeding. ‘He seemed okay, you know, maybe a little bit surprised. I don’t know Amy! Why don’t you give Gilbert the third degree.’ But of course I didn’t. You don’t push Gilbert about these kind of things, instead I waited and watched and felt the tension building up between us. It didn’t take long for the first bombshell to drop.
One night after supper, Gilbert was in the bathroom shaving and I was collecting the laundry, he said, ‘I hired a new assistant for the store.’ It had been over two months since Davie Johnson had quit to work at Food Land and there was only Gilbert and Mrs Marshall to deal with the customers and the deliveries. ‘Who?’ I asked as I shook out the sleeves on his shirts. ‘That new girl, you know, the new minister’s daughter’. I straightened up and looked at him through the mirror. He carried on shaving but he saw the look on my face. ‘She was working at Marty’s café but she was looking for more hours and she saw the sign in the window….’ his voice trailed off, he stared at me for a moment and then bent his head over the washbasin. ‘Does she have any experience of working in a store?’ I asked trying to keep my voice normal. He shrugged his shoulders before saying, ‘You don’t need much experience to sell a bunch of people bread and potatoes, Amy.’ With that I gathered up the laundry and went downstairs.
The next morning as Gilbert gulped down his coffee while fastening his belt and brushing his hair all at the same time, I mentioned the girl’s appearance might be off putting to some of his customers. ‘Well, they can go fuck themselves if a skinny little girl gets them all riled up.’ I was not accustomed to hearing my brother curse, but I was not so naïve as to think he never let loose. Still and all, I took the fact that he swore in front of me as an indication that he was ready for any opposition anyone showed to his decision to hire the minister’s daughter. I wondered how Mrs Marshall felt about her new co worker, but the set of Gilbert’s shoulders told me not to take the matter any further. He can be so stubborn at times, and yet in other ways he’s too soft. Look at the way he allowed Becky to walk all over him! Okay, maybe he was in love with her, but he should never have let her call all the shots. What was wrong with that girl that she said no to Gilbert when he asked her to marry him? And she was carrying his child too. A blind man could see that he worshipped the ground Becky Collins walked on, and she treated him like dirt! ‘Well’ I thought to myself, ‘you can go fuck yourself Gilbert if a skinny little girl gets you all riled up’.