Chapter 16

"She's pretty." Marco popped up from behind Josephine and inspected the photo of her mother.

Instantly, she tossed the photos on the piled books. She continued to pick up the rest of the objects on the ground.

Marco was shocked at her actions. "Isn't a picture of your mother important?" He asked, picking the photo off the wagon again and staring intently at it.

"No, not really. I don't know her." Josephine had a dismissive tone; she really didn't care for this mother.

She was just some woman that raised the old Josephine, not the current one; not Luca. She pulled a chair off the ground- its left leg had come loose and swayed when she placed it on the wagon.

"You'll regret getting rid of something as valuable as this." He frowned while staring at the picture.

"Then you keep it." Josephine huffed as she loaded the side table onto the wagon.

Her hands slipped as the table was pure oak and very heavy. Marco caught one of the legs of the heavy table, with one hand and he lifted it over her head onto the wagon. Josephine at that moment was extremely jealous of Marco's strength so she couldn't help but stare as he slowly pushed the side table into the wagon; his muscles tensed and she looked away.

"This is awkward." Josephine muttered.

But Marco, who was an inch away, heard and turned his attention to her.

"What did you say?" He asked, confused.

"Nothing." Josephine snatched the photo out of his other hand and picked up the other photos she had placed on the pile of books. She found some string and tied the photos together. "Here." She slammed the photos to his chest and walked away.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" Marco asked in shock.

"Keep it, throw it away- I don't care." Josephine grabbed the reins of the horse and started pulling at it.

She pulled with all her strength but the horse wouldn't budge. Marco watched the scene with a comical expression; Josephine was turning red as she struggled to pull the horse then proceeded to push the horse in the direction she wanted it to go.

"Do you not know how to ride a horse?" He asked, puzzled.

Josephine grunted; she wondered why he was still here bothering her while she was busy trying to get the horse to move.

"I don't know, I must have missed the mandatory class on 'How to control a horse' at school." Josephine spat sarcastically but Marco only chuckled at her while he watched her struggle to pull the horse's reins. "If you aren't going to help me, get lost bozo! Your face is pissing me off,"

She huffed as the sweat ran down her face. The town was so hot, she could fill the sweat beading in her corset. Josephine stopped to take a breather and since the corset made her struggle to take in air, she decided to take it off. She reached for the rope and when Marco saw what she was doing, he jumped at her and gripped her hands.

"What are you doing?" He hissed frantically. His face was a reddened tomato. "You can't do that in public."

Josephine eyed her hands in his and pulled them out. She turned to glare at his blushing face.

"Do you know how hard it is to breathe in a corset?" She poked his chest.

"How would I know? It's women that wear those things." He rubbed the back of his head shyly.

"Exactly! Maybe men should start wearing these damned corsets so they get a taste of this bullshit." Josephine pushed her unruly red hair behind her ears.

She was not used to long curly hair that went everywhere. She considered trimming it into a manly cut, but the change might make her look odd in this time period; women here had strict expectations on them.

"Honestly, feminists are starting to make a lot of mother fucking sense," She muttered to herself and when she looked back at Marco he was staring at her. "What?" She grunted at him.

"I've never heard a woman swear as much as you do." He leaned in to look her in the face. "Your mannerisms are unbecoming of a lady. It's like you're a vulgar old man,"

He laughed at his joke. Josephine rolled her eyes; if only he knew how accurate his assessment was; she was a literal man stuck in the body of a scrawny nineteen year old girl.

"Yeah whatever. So how do I get this stupid horse to move?" She turned to look at the reluctant horse, which now turned it's back to her.

Josephine felt like the horse was mocking her- it made her want to punch it.

Marco jumped into the wagon and picked up the reins. "Oh that's easy. You simply do this-"

He turned to the horse and swiftly lifted his hands and lowered them; the reins lashed gently against the horse and the horse started moving forward. "See. It's not that complicated."

The horse started picking up a little speed. "And to have it move slowly, just pull it gently." He pulled on the reins and the horse started slowing down and they turned to approach her.

Josephine stood with her arms crossed; she hated being treated like an idiot. The way Marco was speaking to her like she was a child that didn't know the alphabet, irritated her. When the horse got close to her, Marco pulled the reins further back and the horse came to a quick stop.

He peeked at a glaring Josephine over the horse's giant head. "Are you trying to get killed? You are so small I barely saw you."

"My turn." Josephine walked around to where Marco was sitting and she tried to climb to his side, but the wagon was much higher than her legs, so she could barely make it up.

Marco got tired of watching her struggle and reached out his hands.

"Here." He stretched his arms out to her and Josephine's face twisted in disgust.

He wondered if she had a problem with asking for help, or if she just really believed she could do anything, even though she couldn't. Josephine ignored his hands and continued struggling to place her legs at the front of the wagon. Marco let out a soft sigh; if she wasn't so strange, he would find her very infuriating. Marco got tired of watching Josephine struggle over and over, so he grabbed her slender arm and lifted her easily to his side.

Josephine's eyes widened in horror. She couldn't believe he touched her again without her permission. And the way he easily picked her up by her arm made her want to punch someone. But she just squeezed her hands into a fist and placed them between her legs. The reality was beginning to sink in; she was indeed just a little girl and just as 'weak' as any girl.

"By the way..." Marco spoke as he whipped the reins and the horse started to move. Josephine turned to look at him; his blonde hair bounced as they rode. "What's your name?"

He grinned at Josephine when he turned to look back at her. Josephine stared into his disgustingly beautiful and earnest eyes as the sun shone brightly on him; it was like his features began to glow. Even his brown eyes sparkled like gold and his blonde hair had a halo of light around it. When his eyes caught hers again, he smiled sheepishly and a small blush appeared on his face.

"Josephine. Josephine Romano," Josephine whispered back. She turned her face away from his and a slight redness brushed against her cheeks.