The Return..
“….happily ever after. The End.”
She held her breath for a moment, watching to see if there was any movement in the beds to either side of her before slowly closing the oversized story book. A slight smile teases at her lip as she stood slowly and paused again, once more looking over the twin black mops of hair peeking out from beneath their covers. After a few breaths had passed she turns, putting the book carefully in its place on the shelf and exiting the room quietly. Once in the hall she breaths a deep sigh and pads quietly to the kitchen. He waits for her there, a slice of cake and two forks on the table in the middle of the large room. Having already performed his round of story duties, he had retreated to the kitchen as well to prepare the bed time snack.
“They were excited today, nearly three stories before they finally went out. “Settling at the table she takes a piece of the cake with her fork, smiling softly as she enjoys the rich flavor of the confection. Chuckling, he too takes a bite of the cake and chews a moment before commenting “It is their first one, darling. I was excited as well for mine.” The light in her eyes dims very slightly, memories of times far in the past brushing against her thoughts. Almost instantly he catches himself, concern written on his face clearly as he wraps an arm around her shoulders. “I am sorry, I wasn’t thinking.”
“Stop, love. It is in the past and it barely pains me any more to recall it.” She pats his hand gently and turns her smile back to full. “Are all the preparations for tomorrow made?” Looking around as she takes another bit, she takes note of all the food that has been prepared and set aside for the following day. Cakes, candies, and all sorts of other delicacies decorated hastily built trays and racks like tiny gems twinkling from the rough cut wood. In the stove delicious scents waft out, teasing her nose with the stews that are brewing inside. Pulling away from his hand, she turns and stands up as she wipes her hands on a napkin, “Who is coming?”
“They are almost done and should be ready by tomorrow evening.” He stands as well, taking the empty plate and forks to the sink. “All of their friends said they would be here. And…” His words trail off as he turns to face her once more. “Your father, and his wife, are coming as well. They prepared gifts.”
“…You are joking, surely.” She narrows her eyes and backs up a bit, nostrils flaring a little. Memories cascade through her mind once more, hard and fast. This couldn’t be happening. He must be playing a poorly planned joke. “Never. We agreed never again. They are not welcome here. You KNOW what happened in the past.” She slams a fist on the table, a snarl barely held back clogging her throat.
“I know, darling. But, they want to make amends. There will be a lot of people here that can keep an eye on everything. They want to know their grandchildren.” He frowns a little, almost reproachfully at her. He had never approved of the distance between her and her family. She would never go into detail about what had happened, but he wanted to do what he could to help her. It had always been just a little bit awkward between them. There were four things that he never brought up unless he was prepared for a fight: her first husband, where she went every now and then when she seemed the saddest, her aversion to anything resembling her appearance, and her parents. Generally, he kept to these rules, but this was important to him and the twins. “The girls asked me to invite them.”
“They did?” This made her breath catch for a moment. Too dangerous. This was getting too dangerous. “I see. It is getting late dear. Why don’t you head up to bed? I will be up shortly and we can talk about this in the morning.” She slides an empty smile on her face, walking over and reaching up on the tips of her toes to kiss him softly on the cheek.
“You will come up soon, right?” He looks down at her speculatively, willing to let the conversation rest for the night if she was serious.
“Yes, soon.” She shoos him out of the room and waits a few moments, listening to be sure he was not coming back down. Turning, she walks to the door of the kitchen that leads out, grabs a wrap from a hook near it, then leaves quietly. The darkness outside is invasive, but she knows the path by heart at this point. After a few moments of walking she passes through the gate and turns toward the tree line. Another short walk and she is at the small home just inside the forest. Gently she knocks at the door then waits, bent over a bit, arms wrapped around herself, for an answer.
It only takes a few moments before the door is answered cautiously. Only a thick nose, gray hair, and a single eye are visible. Recognition lights the surface of the face and the door opens widely to the equally wide arms of one of her beloved friends. She hugs him tightly, resting her forehead on his thick shoulder, and begins to cry.
After a moment of patting her back and making gentle murmurs, he leads her further into the home, settling her onto a chair. “Well now, lass. What seems to be the problem, that you show up here so late in this state?” The man bustles to a side table and pours her a cup of tea. She takes it with a murmur of thanks and takes a sip, wincing at the strength of the raw herbs inside the liquid. Another nose appears around the corner, a split second before the rest of his body does. His eyes light up in surprise and pleasure as he sees her, dimming when he sees the tear tracks on her face. “Nolen, go get the sandwiches out of the fridge, would ya?” the first man asks.
“Sure thing, Prof.” The younger man turns and goes deeper into the house toward the kitchen.
“Prof, I am here to get them.” She sniffles and wipes at her face roughly. Her eyes are dark with a new weight to them that was not there before. Somehow she managed to look serious, even through her puffy eyes and slightly dripping nose. Prof raises his fuzzy grey eyebrows nearly comically high. He takes a step back, regarding her more shrewdly as he takes a seat. There is no movement for a few moments until Nolen returns to the room with the sandwiches, placing them on the low table and taking his own seat.
“You’re serious are you? You said you wanted them away, where no one could use them again. What’s changed your mind?” He leans forward on his knees, ignoring the gasp from Nolen to his side. His eyes never leave hers.
“My husband. I love him dearly, but he feels my…parents… need to be in the twins’ lives. I cannot let that happen. You know that.” She leans forward as well, brows knitting in concentration. Her delicate fingers tremble around the cup she holds, but that is the only sign of her fear. “I.. can’t let it..”
“I see lassy. It is about time you were ready to take the final steps. Better late than never.” His voice grows a bit deeper with pain, eyes barely flicking over to a wedding photo of her and her first husband. He stands slowly and knocks on a door to the far side of the room. After a couple of moments and a loud thud, it opens, revealing a shockingly red mop of matted hair and a face with sleep written all over it. “Oz, she’s needin them. “ The sleepy eyes widen a bit, but he nods. Disappearing back in the room for a moment he returns with a box. Prof handles it gingerly, turning and handing it to her before sending her on her way back home, through the dark.
Upon returning to the kitchen, she sets her box on the table and begins to gather ingredients for a pie for her parents. Delicately she opens the box and hesitantly pulls out two items. The first is a brilliant, red apple that is still shiny after years in the box. She cuts it up slowly, adding it to the filling. Taking the second item in one hand, she moves the pie to the oven with the other. Raising the second item, she faces the oven and lifts the beautiful mirror up until she can see her tear-streaked face.
“Mirror, Mirror, in my hand….”