darling , dearest , dead ?

          Readjusting her red wig & sunglasses, Beatrice pondered the location which her lover had described to her in one of his most recent letters. A small, inner-city suburbia that was rife with suspicious fires, especially since it was raining most every night. Beatrice had been located only a few towns away, a stone’s throw away, if you will, & decided that perhaps this case might need the assistance of not one volunteer but two, & soon, should her apprentice possess the skills she thinks he does, the help of two.

          Of course she had written before hand -- their line of work rarely calls for surprises, though she knew that Lemony would have far more enjoyed the surprise of seeing her appear seemingly out of nowhere, rather than meeting her at a pre-disclosed location. & there he was, hat on, ever-mysterious, a worried frown cutting lines into his brow. He had his back to her, but if she knew him -- which she did -- he would be worried, because normally of the two of them, he was the late one. She took off her disguise, though she was sure he’d see right through it.

         Perhaps there would be a certain element of surprise after all.

          “     Sorry I’m late, darling -- my ride was cut short by a most unpleasant refrigerator repair person.     ”

          “              the  complete  history  of  the  knife .            “        the  book  is  placed  gingerly  on  the  day  bed  before  him  ,      the  volume  looking  out  of  place  when  placed  before  such  a  small  boy .      one  could  certainly  not  imagine  a  boy  of  his  age  would  be  reading  a  book  of  that  size  ,    much  less  that  he  would  find  any  interest  in  it .      and  yet  he  certainly  seemed  to  ,   pulling  himself  up  onto  the  day bed  and  thumbing  through  the  pages  until  his  bookmark  was  found .

“            i  started  it  yesterday  ,    and  i  find  it  quite  interesting .            “        with  that  he  presses  himself  to  his  mother’s  side  ,    head  moving  to  rest  lightly  against  her  shoulder .

          MOTHER FOUGHT THAT ever-present maternal need to pick up her son. He’d only just begun to stop asking her to pick him up, & so she simply watched with a small, proud smile as he clambered upon the daybed. An arm wrapped around his shoulders, keeping him close as she pulled the enormous book across both their laps.

          SHE SHOULD HAVE known that Ernest was always a little devious. From that very first summer she’d ever spent at the Hotel Denouement, from that very first devilish smirk he’d flashed at her when he’d handed her the key to her room. From that first sneaky touch as he’d delivered her dinner, from that kiss to her cheek that managed to slip ever so smoothly to the corner of her mouth.

          He’d always been the bad boy of the three.

          “     Thank you, E, but please, don’t try changing the subject.     ”

          He was always rather vain. Beatrice thought it was perhaps typical of those who shared their appearance with one or perhaps two other people. Green eyes caught his from the mirror of her own, as she began to scrub the thick layer of stage make-up from her face.

DAUGHTER SENTENCE STARTERS  //  ACCEPTING

          “     He hasn’t said anything to me. If he does, you’ll be the first to know.     ”

          JACQUES HAD BEEN so worried about his brother ever since he’d lost his job from the Daily Punctillio. Of course they were always worried about Lemony -- his wild imagination had them both concerned, though Beatrice for different reasons. She still hadn’t told Jacques that Lemony had come into their apartment & proposed to her. Perhaps it was for the best, but of course she couldn’t say that to her fiancé. 

         “     Come to bed, darling. You’ve hardly gotten any sleep --     ”

          Beatrice took his hand & pulled him down onto their lumpy bed, shrugging off his coat before she pulled his head to her chest, racking her fingers gently through his hair. Comforting people was something she’d always been good at, though Beatrice was beginning to think lately that perhaps she alone would not be enough to comfort her love from the tortures that were plaguing his mind of late.

DAUGHTER SENTENCE STARTERS  //  ACCEPTING

          OH, HOW THOSE words stung. How they penetrated deep into her heart & twisted her stomach. How she longed to embrace him; to take his weathered face into her soft hands, to pull him to her -- chest to chest -- & entwine their limbs together. To kiss him with the fiery passion of their youth & let him feel just how much of her still belonged to him.

          Violet was sound asleep, her husband away on one last mission -- a final goodbye to the only life they had known since their adolescence, before they began their journey together into a world they hardly knew. Her newborn son asleep in her arms, for now.

          It took all her strength to look upon Jacques without weeping. But if she wanted to make any kind of life for her family, she needed to let go of the VFD completely. That included him, no matter how much she wanted him to stay.

          “     Take solace knowing that you once were, my darling... & forgive me for asking this impossible thing of you.     ”

          Now a tear did fall, & she looked at her dear son for strength. Until Violet was born, she didn’t think she could love anyone more than she had loved this wonderful man standing sullenly before her. Klaus stirred in his mothers’ arms, groaning softly, moving his tiny, perfect mouth as if to ask this man to leave. & leave he must, if Beatrice was to give them any chance of a perfect life, & dare she even dream, to have one herself. She spoke softly, as tears ran down her cheeks, eyes closed & head turned to her baby boy, as if she were speaking to him instead of the man she had once loved, & still did.

DAUGHTER SENTENCE STARTERS  //  ACCEPTING

          IN ALL HER readings throughout her life, Beatrice had never quite come across a word that would properly describe her relationship with Jacques Snicket. Colleagues, friends, lovers, volunteers, fiancé, victims of circumstance... all of these words described them at one point or another in their life. Perhaps the closest she’d ever found was soulmate. 

          Theirs was a tragic story of love & woe -- a love cherished secretly. Not by choice of course, but because of his troubled, unstable little brother, whom Beatrice once called friend. Not anymore, though. If it weren’t for Lemony & his delusions, perhaps they could have been happy together. Perhaps they could have had a life of their own; with a small little cabin in the woods, & a handsome set of fraternal twins & a cosy little library. 

          He was here now, after she’d told him not to come to see her. Not because she didn’t want him to, but because she did. & after having him not so long ago; one chilly night in Winnipeg, with her old friends there & wearing an elaborate masked costume. Perhaps he knew, he was clever after all. Or perhaps the ache & guilt in her own heart had drawn his near.

          ‘ We are what we are. ‘ Whatever that is.

          “     Human...     ”     

          She replied softly, green eyes moving to the back door, hoping no member of her family would come out & see him here, before returning to his face. His eyes were sad, & his smile, though bright, had that melancholy twitch to it that she knew she was partially responsible for, & that always twisted her heart so terribly. Even if she didn’t tell him now, he would find out eventually. & he would surely have no doubt of his part in it.