Dedicated to Paige: Part 2

Continuing on from this post:

Given all that, Victoria still found herself sighing from time to time. Mom had deeply ingrained in her daughter to always be grateful fro your circumstances no matter what. Yet lately its been increasingly harder and harder for her to do, all because of a chance encounter with a blast from the past.

*****

The holiday season was upon the little beach town once more and yet again Vic was astonished by how her adoptive home really took the season to heart. The first tricklings of tropical-bound tourists and TV holiday specials were Hawaii's equivalent to the first snowfall, setting off a never-ending slew of holiday decor, festive themes and a substantial increase in overall cheer. The townspeople were always careful not to overdo it though, leaving the decor beautiful but not gaudy, holiday songs maintained in careful rotation and cheerfulness kept as natural as any other time of the year. General busy-ness of the Beach rose with the expected in-flux of island goers and that year even Vic found herself being run ragged Her sore arms and aching feet would be worth it though, with the entire town closing up shop Christmas Eve AND Christmas, to accommodate Christmas parties (And, subsequently, Christmas hangovers!) Vic hadn't planned to hop through the numerous parties that line the beach and by the time December 24th rolled around, she had settled on the diner's little big holiday bash out on Linda & Max's expansive patio. Vic sported a homemade island tank & wrap skirt combo and was happily falling into the groove of the party...when HE showed up: Preston Masters.

*****

Throughout high school, Preston Richard Masters II was the guy that Victoria knew she would have loved to hate... if not for the unmistakable fact that he was irresistible to anyone with two X-chromosomes. He was smart, athletic, charismatic, not to mention the fact that he possesses the facial features of a Greek God, Preston was Perfect.

Vickie loathed him...or she tried very earnestly to.

Of course, it didn't help her valiant cause that he was exceedingly humble and gregarious of his various gifts to everyone he comes in contact with. And true to form with many great figures, it seemed that no woman could keep him for long. No girl ever lasted more than a month with him but there was never any gossip of him breaking hearts or shattering the girls' view on men in general. After the break-up the girls would simply reminisce about their brief (but wonderful) romance and then slip into a state of mumbling nostalgia, like a person reveling in their Golden Years. Great, Vickie had though, not only was he an absolute catch, the guy was a saint! And thus, in the second semester of her senior year, despite her best efforts not to, Vickie had fallen for the unattainable Preston Masters.

And boy, did she! Displaying a classic case of regression, Vickie became almost her fourth grade self, devising clever but ultimately unsuccessful plots to woo Preston. Internal conflict ensued when she realized she had been subconsciously self-sabotaging her attempts, not that mattered much because there was always one other girl a step ahead of her and Vickie would be robbed of her all-too temporary venture into dating Preston...

TO BE CONTINUED