"You can't understand. She's more than a friend to me. I love her!" Wendell shouted. "And now she's with him and all I have left is you."
He whirled around and continued stomping down the road, unconcerned with whether Prudence kept pace or not. Let the fat pig fall over dead for all I care, he thought. He didn't need her for anything; she would only slow him down.
He reached the base of the hill to find her staggering after him, her breath coming out in gasps. "Why don't you go back and wait for Mr. Pryde?" he said.
"I'm…coming," she said. Wendell shook his head at her pitiful display. She'd never make it all the way to Seabrooke. Maybe they could flag down another automobile to get a ride.
He heard a vehicle coming then and recognized it as Mr. Pryde's truck. The automobile came to a stop next to Wendell. "What are you doing out here on the road?" Mr. Pryde asked.
"We have to get into town," Wendell said. "Your son and Samantha took the other automobile."
Mr. Pryde threw his cigarette to the ground and shook his head. "I warned that boy about taking the car. How long ago did he leave?"
"An hour ago maybe."
"We better go find them before they get into too much trouble. Where's your sister at?"
"Who?"
"Your sister. The fat one."
"She's not my sister!"
"You could have fooled me the way you two been acting."
Wendell bristled at this thought. How could anyone think he was related to Prudence? They didn't bear any resemblance in looks and definitely not personality. "She's not anything to me," Wendell said. "Just a stupid fat girl."
After Wendell climbed into the automobile, Mr. Pryde lit another cigarette and shook his head again. "You ought not talk about her like that, even if she ain't your sister. Because she's heavy ain't no excuse to look down on her."
"Why not? She can't do anything but sew clothes."
"Nothing wrong with that. People need clothes."
Wendell said nothing. Mr. Pryde didn't know anything. He'd only known Prudence for a couple days. He didn't have any right to judge anyone, especially Wendell.
Prudence chugged down the hill, her legs wobbling as she neared the base. She dropped into the snow at the bottom, unable to go any farther. She watched her stomach heave beneath her jacket with every breath. So many times she wished she could sink her hands into the fat and peel it away like crust from a piece of bread. A stupid fat girl, that's all I am, she thought. That's why Samantha had left her here with nasty little Wendell, who delighted in tormenting her.