leave the saving of the world to the men?

HELEN PARR. // FORTY-FOUR. // WIFE & MOTHER. // MAGICAL. // ORDER MEMBER & “REAL ESTATE AGENT.”

Events like these were almost always targeted at younger folks than those around Helen’s age - but yet she and nearly everyone she knew always attended them regardless. Be it for the sake of seeing their kids or the nostalgia of it all, it wasn’t uncommon to see people Helen’s age or older also attending, even if they didn’t often get as involved in all the festivities. For the redhead it was a mixture of both reasonings that she attended St. Lover’s Fest this year. Though now that she had lost both her husband and youngest son, the fun of the event was starting to wear off. But Helen wasn’t going to complain - it was still nice to see others enjoying themselves and spending time with their dates and friends. Though she was confused for a moment when she spotted a familiar head of dark hair standing off to herself. It wasn’t the biggest surprise in the world seeing Violet alone, but Helen had thought that her daughter would be with at least somebody at an event like this. “Everyone ditch you too?” she asked teasingly as she approached the younger girl. Hopefully the words wouldn’t be taken offensively, but to make the potential insult that laid beneath them a bit less harsh Helen was quick to point out her own loneliness right now. “Your brother ran off the moment he found the games and Lord knows where your father may be.”

If Max had accidentally found out about Violet’s power, there was no way her own mother didn’t know, right? He didn’t want to reveal anything about his friend that Helen didn’t know, but with how close she and her mother were, Violet’s power was probably known about from the start. “Oh, yeah. She’s off with Dani, I think? Those two plot who knows what at all hours of the day, I swear,” he laughed. “Bob, though, I think I saw at the bar? I did just run into Violet, though, but she seems to be pretty elusive tonight. Almost like she’s invisible or something,” he said as casually as he could, hoping he wasn’t being too obvious about her powers.

At the mention of her daughter running around with Dani, Helen nods with a small smile, already imagining the two discussing who knows what. Potentially even the exact same topic she herself had come over to discuss with Max, considering the whole Parr family was aware that the younger girl knew about her own powers and Jack-Jacks. “Of course he was at the bar,” she chuckles softly, a laugh that grows at the way Max decides to handle the conversation regarding Violet’s powers. Helen had thought for certain she would need to find a discreet way of bringing it up without out right just asking. “Yes... she had a tendency to do that. Always has since she was young. It’s like she’s a quite the force to be reconded with.” The second comment doesn’t make much sense in context of what the younger boy actually said, but it was a test to see how much he would give. 

Jane didn’t even want to be here, not that it was surprising she felt this way, but disappointing she lacked the ability to enjoy herself because of it. It was difficult for them to find anyone to talk to either since everyone seemed to bring a date. As they stared around they would think they recognized someone and once they turned around she knew it wasn’t someone she’d seen before. That itself was making them realize they needed to meet more people. They came here to find themselves, and they were going to do that. 

She was sitting near a window, switching her gaze between the stars and the brightness inside. They were both interesting, just in different ways. As she slightly moved around the ice cubes in her drink a voice drew her back from staring outside. “Oh, of course. It may be nice to have some company!” Jane scooted their chair a little over so Helen could have more space. “Where is… Bob, right?” They believed they remembered his name correctly. “Did he not end up coming?”

At the invitation to sit and approval of her joining the other, Helen offered a grateful smile as she lowered herself into the chair besides Jane. It had been quite some time since the two of them had really talked - not since Jane was younger and still came to their aunt’s house to be babysat - but it didn’t feel that way to the redhead. She’d heared updates from Jane’s aunt about what they had been up all throughout the years. And though she was never as close to Jane as she was Wendy and the Darling boys, Helen still deeply cared for them. 

“Oh no, he’s around here,” she answers with a chuckle, though she didn’t even bother to turn and look around for her husband. Helen already knows she likely won’t see him anywhere, considering they’re a bit away from the buffet table. “Probably eating and hanging out with his own friends. I was ditched not too soon after we arrived - but I’m sure he’ll show back up before the end of the night.”

since violet told her of the confession she’d made to her best friend, helen had been wanting to talk with max herself. only the opportunity never presented itself until now. showing up at his place of work or his apartment would be strange and they’d yet to just randomly run into each other, so she had been waiting for tonight to finally have the excuse to approach the boy without it seeming forced. smiling as she walks up to max, helen keeps her champagne flute in her hand as she glances around. “did your date ditch you as well tonight?” she teasingly asks, not really thinking that allison was leaving max alone for the whole night - but needing to know if she would be returning any time soon. “i haven’t seen bob since he first got whiff of that buffet table.”

with bob off doing lord knows what, helen was left to wander around the ballroom herself. really she could have just stuck to a table and waited for her husband to come back or for one of her older kids to find her - but there wasn’t much fun in that. besides, as much as tonight was a night for having fun it was also a breeding ground for finding potential information that could be beneficial to the order. with the majority of the city all in one place and drinks being poured freely, there were bound to be a few slip ups of all kinds around here. of course, there was also likely to be activity outside of the event in the empty streets of town - but helen hadn’t been placed on any duty out there. so just walking around with a drink in hand and her eyes roaming around the ballroom was how helen planned to spend the majority of her night while her husband had his fun. she’d been stopping ocassionally to strike up conversation with friends of her own or her children’s buddies, and as she passed a table with a familiar face sitting alone, the redhead instantly stopped. “mind if i join you, dear?” she asked, not yet sitting down until she had permission. while she knew jane decently enough from how often she was at mary’s house, the two had never been as close as helen was to the other darling children - and chances could be strong that they wouldn’t want to spend time together.

Violet couldn’t say she knew the full extent of what happened between her mom and her grandparents. All she knew was that there was definitely a tension and wall between the three, one that’s been there for more years than Violet’s sure she’s been alive and one in which she didn’t think was going to go away anytime soon. If it ever will. Granted, her mom tries to act like there isn’t anything going on between her and her parents, but anyone with eyes could see that something’s been going on there with the way her mom tends to act whenever her grandparents comes to visit. It also helps that Violet has noticed the way her grandparents would look at her dad whenever they think she or her brothers weren’t looking, and let’s just say that Violet’s noticed more than once how their stares hold some kind of distain for him. Especially from her grandmother, which makes the way how her mom would sometimes storm out of the house whenever her grandparents around that more apparent on how something was going on between them. And the eldest of the Parr kids would’ve asked her mom about it, but clearly her mom didn’t want to talk about it or unload it onto her or the boys, so Violet never bothered to asked. “Good, I don’t think I need her trying to convince you or dad to send me to rehab or something to deal with my ‘drinking problem.’” She air quoted the ending part with a slight shake of the head. She then laughed, not being able to even fathom the thought of her dad being cool no matter how much he wants to think he is. “Yeah, because doing things like intentionally taking his kids to The Happy Platter and request the guy he’s daughter had a crush on to serve us while then asking him the most embarrassing questions was a perfect way to prove how cool he is.” Violet shook her head at the memory. “Not self-inserting himself would make him more cool.” She added. She get’s as her dad, having him be embarrassing was a given, but come on, it can’t be like he’s always assuming what he’s doing would make him seem cool! If anything, her dad’s actions just give ammo onto why Violet herself wasn’t as cool as she likes to act. “Ew, you’re right. I’m…definitely not about dating anyone twice my age.” She gave a look of disgust at the thought of being with someone who was her dad’s age. It may be what other people were into, but yeah no, not what she’s into. Rather than verbally responding to what her mom said right after, all the ravenette did was faintly smile at her instead. It wasn’t like Violet was insecure in her looks or anything like that. She’s been here enough to know that others found her attractive enough to try and hit on her, but there was this sort of effect her mom has on others whenever she’s around. One where Violet wasn’t so sure that her mom fully knew about or just choose to ignore since she’s already happily married. Taking a sip from her drink, the younger woman raised a brow at her mom. This wasn’t the first time her mom’s been curious to know if Violet was dating or interested in someone, but she found her mom asking her that now of all times and places a little bit…odd. “What class? It’s just the two of us.” She replied, with a small playful smirk on her face as she placed her glass back down against the table.·

A smaller laugh at the thought of her mother trying to force Violet into a rehab center for drinking problems. “No, that would be far too scandelous. And her issue would be more with the location you choose to drink at. It’s perfectly acceptable to get wasted in public - so long as it’s at the country club or somewhere with more class than here,” she corrected with a roll of her eyes. As much as Helen wanted to defend her husband and his intentions.... there simply was no excuse for that kind of behavior. “Well.... he tried at least and that counts for something, right?” The words weren’t said with much conviction, as Helen is perfectly aware that it counts for very little considering how utterly embarrassing that moment had been for the teenage girl. But it had also been Bob’s first attempt at navigating that type of situation without Helen around - so she knew some of the blame fell on herself too for being too busy to handle it herself or help. And it would be wrong to at least not make a small attempt to defend her husband, even if she knows he was in the wrong there. Smirking around the edge of her glass, Helen took another sip of her drink before nodding. “That’s good to know. Not that it’s really wrong to date someone older... but I do prefer you stick to at least your general age range.” Getting the answers out of Violet that the redhead wanted wasn’t going to be so simple. And she had been fully prepared for that. “Two people can still be a class,” she argues without any bite or annoyance behind the words. “How about this - I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.” A lighthearted attempt to keep the conversation going and get some information out of her daughter - though it wasn’t worth much considering Violet has know of Helen’s so called crush all of her life and the ring on her finger right now was pretty solid proof that it was more than just a little infatuation.

It was surprising someone beyond her friends would hold a conversation with her for this long. Elaine knew she could kill the vibe, it was genuinely shocking to her when someone seemed interested in an interaction. “Oh, are you sure? I don’t want to burden you,” she found herself saying before she really thought about it, then mentally kicking herself. If someone was trying to be friendly, maybe she should just go along with it for once. “The patio would be nice. I’ve never been out there before, is it big?”

It was equal parts sweet and almost sad that Elaine seemed so worried about being a bother, especially when Helen herself had been the one ot inniate the suggestion of continuting to spend time with each other. “It’s not burden at all. I wouldn’t have suggested it if it was,” she promises with a chuckle. Moving to stand up from her bar stool, she grabs her drink and takes another sip before turning back to look out towards the patio area. “Well, for bar standards it’s fairly decent size. And it seems like no one else is out there. So as long as you don’t mind the chill, it should be perfect.”

It really shouldn’t have been so surprising for Dani to hear Mrs. Helen admit that she knew about her son. It was already likely that she had known because well, how could she not? In her mind, she would assume most parents who has a magical child living under their roof would know about their magic, but then again since Dani wasn’t one herself, she guessed she couldn’t be one hundred precent positive about it either. Mean, now that she thinks it over a little bit more, she realized she kept things she hadn’t told either of her parents about, like her sleeping problems, so she supposed there still could have been a smaller possibility of Mrs. Helen not knowing. But seeing how the woman had confirmed in knowing, the small brunette could not contain herself from being excited about it. She couldn’t contain that excitement even more when Mrs. Helen then added to her confirmation by saying that she herself was magical too. At that, Dani gasped, only to let out a squeal a second later as she watched the woman’s arm suddenly extend and stretch all the way across the room and towards the trash can where she then dropped the brunt controller inside. The entire time, the girl’s gaze not once wavered from the sight, following along to Mrs. Helen’s arm as it reigned itself back towards the woman’s entire person until it returned back into it’s normal arm like state. “Oh…my…Elvira!!!” Dani nearly screamed, her hands cupping her mouth at what she had just exhibited. “You and Jack-Jack are actually magical! This is so freaking cool!” Scooting herself closer towards the woman, but not sitting directly towards the scorched marks on the couch, the brunette leaned in towards the ginger. “I can’t believe this is finally real! Ever since moving here, I’ve always wanted to meet someone who was magical but since it’s supposed to be a secret, I could never tell who! But now I know someone! Two someone’s!” Her smile then widened when she realized something else. “Wait— is it okay that you’re telling me this?!”

It had been a long time since Helen had shown someone her abilities - and almost every person that has seen her stretching in action has had some kind of magic of their own, so she had never received this type of reaction before. It was enough to get a genuine, bubbling laugh out of the redhead as she watched Dani practicaly burst with excitement. Considering she was constantly surrounded by magic in her life, be it with her family or her work with the order, Helen forgot how... welll, magical it really could be. “We really are,” she confirms, tone heavily amused. For a moment she debates telling the younger girl that Jack-Jack is far more magical than she even already knows, but holds her tongue. If the boy wanted to explain all of his different powers to his friend then he could do that himself. Helen wasn’t about to deny him the first chance he’s ever had of explaining his abilities to someone new. Not when the cat was already out of the bag at least. She and Bob would just have to remind him that just because Dani knew now doesn’t mean that he can run around telling everyone - nor did it mean he was ready for public school either. Though she already trusted the younger girl, Helen wasn’t going to pass on the opening to stress the importance of keeping everything she’d just learnt today a secret. “Technically yes, it’s fine for me to tell you. But that doesn’t mean that it’s something either of us really want spread around. It’s... best that no one else knows about this. And I can trust you not to tell anyone, right?”

It was strange to think that the word grown up was being used to apply to Max; he still felt like a kid, even maybe more than Dani did. It was even weirder that he was here, at the bar of all places, with his best friend’s mom. Was there anything more lame grown-up than that? Probably not, but at least Violet’s mom was better company than any of the other mothers that his own hung out with. “Yeah, she was trying to push me out, but I insisted on staying–she could hardly get up, and she expected me to leave her there on her own? She’s a little too headstrong for her own good sometimes, Mrs. … Helen. Right,” he corrected himself with a sheepish smile. “That’s going to take some getting used to. How are Dash and Jack-Jack, by the way? I feel like I should push Dani into being Dash’s friend.”

Helen easily remembered the days where headstrong wouldn’t be a word ever associated with her daughter and a small, proud smile grows on her lips at the thought of how far along Violet has come over the years. “That sounds like Vi,” she agrees with a chuckle and a nod. Though she did make a mental note to check in on her daughter tomorrow, feeling only somewhat guilty at the fact that she used Violet’s current illness as a chance to gather some intel on her love life. “Well Dani’s close enough with Jack-Jack as it is, I don’t know if you want her running around with both Parr boys.” Though the chances of that happening may have increased lately now that the younger girl knew of at least one of Jack-Jack’s powers and Helen’s as well. “But they’ve both been good. Jack-Jack’s still trying to push us on going to public school next year for high school, but that’s not anything new.” And also absolutely not going to be happening - not until he gets his host of powers under a far tighter control. “But how have you been? I’ve only heard bits and pieces from Violet lately.”

Dani wanted to come up with another reason that actually sounded plausible to not just Mrs. Helen, but to even herself if she were to have been told it. But no matter what she could come up with, nothing she could say would explain what had happened before her eyes. Like, how can you tell someone’s own mother that their child had bursted into flames but that they were fine after doing so? Yeah, nothing about that sounded reasonable enough to say. The only way it would be was if Mrs. Helen already knew that Jack-Jack could do that, hence why she ultimately asked the woman about magic. To everyone living within Walt, there was a sort of unspoken rule where the reality of magic was most likely real, but everyone shouldn’t acknowledge it regardless if you have it yourself or not. Dani on her part, wasn’t magical. She, her older brother, and their family also moved to Walt from somewhere else, so she didn’t know if having magic had anything to do with being born within Walt, but if it was, than maybe that explained why Jack-Jack was magical. Hypothetically speaking still, as the brunette wasn’t completely sure if that was the reason too, but it was the most obvious one considering the towns history. But just because Dani believed in magic, didn’t mean that Mrs. Helen did, which is why when the woman admitted to finding it difficult not to believe in it, the girl’s eyes widened. So she was a believer then! “You do believe in magic?” Dani repeated, wanting extra clarification as Mrs. Helen took a seat on the couch. And then that was when the bombshell had hit— Mrs. Helen did know about her son! “…..I heard you clearly right? About Jack-Jack and the fire thing?” She blinked, only for a grin to slowly start forming on her face. “And he did! You know how playing Mario Kart can get! I was beating him, not even on first place but rather second, but he was all the way in ninth and I got to the finish line when he suddenly combusted out of nowhere!!!”

There was another moment’s pause as Helen once again debated internally on how much she should tell the younger girl. Not about the whole family’s powers - because she already decided it wasn’t her place to tell Dani about anyone else’s abilities - but simply just about her own magic. Knowing that Jack-Jack had powers would likely get Dani thinking of how that could possibly be and Helen didn’t want her digging in too deeply on the entire Parr family, and offering up the explanation that she herself had magic and passed it on to her youngest son would hopefully prevent that from happening... There was of course the negative as well that Dani could potentially tell others about her magic, but they were already facing that possibility with her knowing about Jack-Jack... and Helen would much rather that tpye of attention fall on herself than her children. So with a small smile, the redhead made a decision. “Like I said, it’d be kind of hard not to considering I have it myself,” she admits with a small shrug. With the confession made, she picked up the burnt controller and then stretched her arm across the room to drop it into the trash can. It was a simple display of her abilities, nothing all that exciting in Helen’s eyes, but enough to prove to Dani that she wasn’t lying. Bringing her arm back, she brushed the bits of charred material off of her hand and onto the floor with a chuckle. “Yes, you heard me right. It’s been awhile since he’s burst into flames over something as silly as a video game - but you know, it happens.” 

At the mention of how her grandmother would’ve reacted if her mom had been in Violet’s shoes, the ravenette scrunched her nose at the thought. Knowing how her grandmother was like, she would’ve completely overly react just by the thought of her mom coming to a place like this, much less in being told that her grand daughter came here more often than not. This fact alone is one of the main reasons why as strange as it is to be at the Snuggly Duckling with her mom at the moment, Violet can at least have solace in the fact that her mom didn’t react badly to seeing her daughter here. Nor to knowing that Violet came here a lot, but it was like as she reassured, she didn’t have a drinking problem or anything like that. Violet made sure to have a strict two drink limit whenever’s she’s here. And it was also fortunate that Anthony happens to be a decent enough distraction in keeping Violet from getting drunk enough while here too. “…..Grandma cannot know I come here.” She commented, as if her mom would actually tell her. She would’ve by now if her mom wanted to, but Violet’s going to go with the hunch that she didn’t fortunately. “A bit?” She repeated with a snort and a playful roll of her eyes. “Mom, if we’re being honest here, dad’s more than a bit embarrassing— he’s extremely embarrassing, and half of the time he does so intentionally.” Violet claimed, her tone coming off as slightly irritated at that fact, but the eldest of the Parr children did still hold deep fondest for her dad either way. It’s just, if she had to choose which of her parents she prefers to be seen out in public with, her mom would win without a second thought. Letting out another snort, this time at her mom, the raven haired girl shook her head at her. “You say that, and yet— if you’ve seen the amount of people within this bar who’s had their eyes locked on you since the moment you sat down? I’m nothing but an insignificant illusion besides you right now. Wouldn’t even doubt at some point, one of them would try and be bold enough to see if you would like to have a drink with them.” Violet claimed, only to chuckle at the thought of her mom then shutting whoever that person is down. She knew her mom was happily married to her dad, a marriage in which Violet had no fears would be ending no time soon, but that still didn’t mean there weren’t people who tried to shoot their shots with her mom. As awkwardly weird as that reality is to admit to. Reaching for her glass, Violet then ended up pausing at her mom’s follow up question. “…..I guess you can say there is.”

Helen simply lets out a hollow, humorless laugh at the thought of ever telling her mother about Violet’s visits to the bar. Over the years her parents have made a few half-assed attempts at mending the relationship with their daughter, but Helen has had very little patience with any of it. For the sake of her children, she’s forced herself to suffer through their presence a few times a year - mostly during holidays - but she will never forget the day they kicked her out of their home. Nor will she ever allow them to forget it either. And while they put on an act of seeming like the perfect grandparents around the kids, Helen knew they still disapproved of the life she has built for herself with her husband. That much was always made clear by the end of the night, though thankfully always behind closed doors so the youngest Parrs never had to hear. Of course, they likely knew something must happen considering nearly every time they visit her parent’s house, Helen always ends up storming out at the end -- but she simply hopes they’ll never know the truth as to why that is. “Your secret is most definitely safe with me,” she promises before a genuine laugh escapes her this time at the topic of her husband embarrassing the kids. “I don’t know if I’d say it’s an even split of intentionally being embarrassing. He just... well, you know how he is. He thinks he’s the cool parent and just... goes a bit too hard at trying to prove that.” Of course Helen knew there were most certainly times that Bob did indeed purposefully try to embarrass his children, but she was also aware that more often than not the embarrassment came when her husband was simply trying to seem cool - or hip as he’d call himself. “I think you should be happy some of these folks are looking at me and not you - considering they’re about double your age,” she teased, taking a sip of her drink before shaking her head. What Violet said was true and Helen knew it, but that didn’t mean she was going to let her daughter act as if she weren’t being looked at as well. “But don’t for a second think any of the young ones here are looking at me when you’re right there.” That might not fully be the truth, but it was what the redhead liked to think. Partially because she didn’t want to think of anyone young enough to be one of her children looking at her in any type of sexual way. But also because she truly did believe Violet was one of the most beautiful girls in this bar tonight. Though she wouldn’t push on that fact - not wanting to make her daughter uncomfortable with too much praise, especially not when it seemed like maybe she was about to open up about her love life - the exact reason that Helen had come to the bar in the first place. “Oh, really? Anything you’d like to share about this with the class?” 

Maybe she shouldn’t go spilling all of her deepest thoughts and problems to strangers; it wasn’t like Helen was the bartender. But Elaine wasn’t one to know when to bite her tongue, always a bit too socially awkward to fit in. Helen was kind about it though, and she appreciated. The woman was right. She wasn’t alone at the moment. “Elaine,” shaking her hand, she returned the smile, a small one. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m sorry — I don’t mean to be such a buzzkill. Maybe I should stay for this drink, it could cheer me up.”

“Nice to meet you as well,” she echoes back, genuinely meaning it. Despite the fact that Helen had come out tonight specifically in look of potential crushes her daughter might hold, it was always nice to meet someone new closer to her own age. Outside of the occasional visits with her old friends and working alongside fellow Order members, Helen didn’t often find herself spending much time with others in her age range. Since having kids, she’s found most of her time has always gone to them and being surrounded by all of their friends. “You aren’t a buzzkill at all. Perhaps we could take these drinks out to the patio, though? It doesn’t look quite as crowded out there right now. And the fresh air may do you some good.”