WHO: Graciela Smith and Psyke Brown
WHAT: Random visits and a confrontation
WHERE: Psyke's House
WHEN: Today!
"Sim, sim---gracias."
Graciela shut the door behind Psyke's maid, and glared at the doorknob for a moment before continuing into the house. She had come straight from the hospital after visiting little Sofia, and it made her miss her
other niece. Graciela, sadly, could not remember the last time she had actually
seen Lavender, and it occurred to her that Psyke might be in the same situation.
"It is me, Psyke," Graciela called up the stairs. She listened for a noise, but nothing. Were they even home? Maria, the maid, she had been rushing out as if there was some sort of
plague rushing toward her down the stairs. Graciela enough sense to know that it wasn't a
disease that was up there, but a woman' whose precense within recent months might as well be labeled as misery epidemic.
She stood at the foot of the stairs, wondering if it was worth heading up and dealing with Psyke. Graciela had never been able to fully understand the woman, let alone
control her, but the few times they have had...a
moment, it seemed to go well. Someone was usually crying, but it always ended up with a hug or with a joke or...
A frustrated scream bounced down the stairwell and Graciela was now sure that this was not going to end up in a happy place. Hurrying up the stairs, Graciela pushed into the master bedroom...to find it empty. Where would Psyke be, if not there? She had not seen the woman outside of the bedroom in months, so she would definitely not be---
"Psyke?" Graciela called again, leaving the bedroom and crossing the hall to the nursery. Psyke would not be in there, but maybe it had been Lavender, making the sound? No, that was a woman's voice! It had to be Psyke! Graciela pushed the door open and the second she crossed the threshold of the nursery, her ears were pierced with the high pitch shrieking of a baby. Graciela covered her ears with her hands as she stared at the scene in front of her.
Psyke was there, shaking a rattle over the frilly pink crib as if it were her wand and she was trying to blow a hole through the wall. Graciela's face contorted into one of fear and understanding; her sister-in-law's face was an exact replica of Alex's, when he had first gone through withdrawals of the 'medicine' their father loved the prescribe.
"What do you
want!" Psyke shouted down into the crib, "You
ate, you have a clean bloody diaper,
what!"
"Psyke!" Graciela let out, quickly coming over to the crib. The sound of Lavender's screams
hurt, and Graciel didn't hesitate in reaching in and picking up the baby to hold her. The crying continued for a few seconds, but after a bit of bouncing, Lavender calmed. Graciela glared at the other woman, "What are you doing? You were scaring her!"
"The little bitch won't shut up!"
"
Psyke!"
Graciela pulled Lavender closer, deciding to be offended for the girl. She frowned deeply and continued to bounce around the room with the baby, and waited for her sister-in-law to say something. Psyke just stood there, arms crossed and leg bouncing furiously. "Do you really think that?"
"Think what? What are you even doing in my house?" Psyke snapped, dropping down into a rocking chair that creaked so loudly that it was as if it was shouting in surprise that someone was actually sitting in it.
"That you think Lavender is a---you know."
Psyke rolled her eyes greatly, pushing back into the chair, "I think she's
acting like one, there's a difference."
"You should not say such things about your daughter, not in anger that way."
"Oh, like
you've never yelled at Zacharias for
anything. You're a saint, I forgot." Psyke smiled tightly, shrugging her shoulders in an obvious statement of annoyance.
Graciela held her breath to keep herself from saying the first thing that came to mind. Someone needed to be the adult, here. It was hard to believe that Psyke was four years older than her, with the way she behaved. It looked like, for a while, there was a chance that she had actually decided to 'grow up' but ever since Harper...
Graciela turned her eyes to the princess pink carpet, "You would not be talking that way if Harper were here."
She
felt the room grow
cold. If she didn't know better, Graciela would have been worried about dementors. She gazed over at Psyke and nearly flinched at the glare one the other woman's face.
"Wow. So you
are capable of being a total bitch. That was unexpected," she said cooly as she stood, the ice around her words making Graciela shiver. Her face felt
hot, however, and she stepped in front of Psyke as the other woman tried to brush by.
"No--listen," Graciela started, putting herself and Lavender between the door and Psyke. She would not hit a woman who was holding her child...yes? Graciela felt around for her wand, just in case. "Do not think I am being mean because you are...because
you are mean. I am telling you the truth, Psyke, you would not be saying these things or
doing the things you do if Harper were---here!"
"Yeah, well," Psyke lurched forward and Graciela squeaked, "He's
not. So what the fuck does anything matter
anyway?"
"Lavender matters," Graciela said, her eyes still shut in a wince, shoulders scrunched up to her ears, "Your daughter should be all that matters."
When a slap or a hex didn't knock her off her feet, Graciela slowly opened her eyes. Psyke stood in front of her, her face a deep shade of red with her eyes narrowed into slits. Oh, that slap was coming. Graciela took a few steps back, and she
wanted to leave with the baby, but knew that would cause so, so much more trouble.
"
Harper mattered," Psyke let out lowly, moving closer and causing Graciela to move out into the hallway, "My
husband was all that mattered, but
he's dead because the world is a fucking madhouse and
werewolves attack innocent people who are just trying to live their fucking
lives!"
It was the most Graciela had heard Psyke speak about her late husband, and she decided to not interrupt, and nod along as Psyke continued, "What
mattered was the life we were trying to bulid or---you know? I didn't even want any of this!"
Psyke stepped back into the nursery and waved her arms at all the pink, the crib, the toys, "I didn't want any of this! And then
Harper came along and somehow, in his---
stupid and---
dumb---and just---in his
ways convinced me that I did! He convinced me that I wanted---to be a wife! And a mother!"
Graciela stepped slowly back into the nursery, watching as Psyke stood in the center of the room, staring hard at the carpet. Did her sister-in-law really regret her life with her husband? No, they had been happy, Graciela had
seen them happy. They had been so, so happy.
"I miss him too, Psyke," Graciela offered. And it was true. In the madness that were the Smiths, Harper Brown had been, in his own special way, the sanest person in the family. He was certainly not the brightest, but he always made the effort; he had even learned some Portuguese to attempt to join in her conversations. They watched futbol together, they talked about the muggle world because of his fascination with it. She had even given him some advice with his text book and the writing process, "He was my friend, and I miss him too."
"Harper ruined my life," she hollowly let out. Psyke's hand clenched at her chest and her voice began to shake, "He made me think that I wanted all of this, and then he
died."
"You
did want this life," Graciela countered, "because you were in
love and that is what love gives you--things to want, things to change your life with. Harper did not ruin your life, he helped you find what you really wanted."
There was silence for nearly a minute until Lavender began to whine once more. Graciela started to rock her again, but before she quieted, moved toward Psyke and offered her the baby.
"Lavender is your life now, Psyke," Graciela said, not giving her the chance to deny taking the baby. Psyke stared miserably down at the tiny blond, tears streaming down her face. Graciela patted the baby's curls down before stepping away, "She is what you and Harper made, out of love...she is all you have left of him. You need to love her like you loved him."
"I don't know if I can," Psyke admitted as her chest began to heave. Her eyes had not left her daughter's face, "I don't know if I can do this."
Graciela stepped forward and gripped Psyke's arm, "You can because you are her mother. And...and Alex is here to help, and I am, and Malcolm and all the brothers, and--you do not have to do this alone."
"I guess...I guess--fine," Psyke choked out with a teary laugh. "Fine.
Fine." She pulled Lavender up to her face, and Graciela's eyebrows rose in surprise as Psyke kissed her daughter's nose. It was the most affection she'd seen from the woman in months, "But only because she looks like him."
Tempted to say something else, but knowing better of it, Graciela nodded and smiled.
