So, this is not the piece I thought I would be breaking my writing drought with, but, there you go. Yet another part of the "Uncharted Territory" series. This piece follows within a week of the "Entirely Practical" chapter of "Constellations…" so it's the beginning of 1938 here. I could probably have made this another chapter of that story, but I decided to have it stand on its own. Anyway, reading that chapter is probably helpful, as is "Nothing Half So Much Worth Doing," as it introduces OCs Rodney and Teddy, and explains why they are meeting Charlie Street at Aunt P's, but I guess it's not entirely necessary…?
This was a relatively quick one, so it's unbetaed. Apologies for any errors… I'm never 100% sure about my paragraph breaks. :-P More notes at the end. For now, enjoy!
If Mr. Butler was surprised to find a heavily pregnant Concetta Blake on the doorstep of the Esplanade with all her children in tow, he very quickly masked it with a smile of welcome. "Mrs. Blake! How lovely to see you again!"
"Buongiorno, Mr. Butler," she said as she carried Lucia inside, Teddy charging ahead with Rafe at his heels. Almost immediately Tilly was there, relieving her of the sleeping little girl.
"Oh, Mrs. Blake, there was absolutely no need for you to come all this way! It would have been no trouble at all to stop for Teddy!"
"Yes, thank you, but… I wished to," she admitted. Tilly said nothing, merely smiled in understanding as she rubbed circles on Lucia's back.
Just then, Ellie skidded into the hallway with a cry of "Teddy!" Her eyes brightened further when she saw Concetta. "Auntie 'Cetta! I missed you!" she exclaimed, coming close to hug Concetta as best she could around her rounded middle.
"But you saw me just last week, dolcezza," she said with a smile.
"But that was at your house. You haven't been here in ages!"
Suddenly, Teddy piped up, "Ellie! Your hair! It's pretty!"
Pulling back, Concetta realized that Ellie's long pigtails had given way to short curls that haloed around her head. "Oh, cara mia, what has happened here, eh?" she asked, reaching out to stroke them.
Ellie tossed her head. "I did it myself, Auntie 'Cetta! Well, Auntie Dot and Tilly helped some after," she amended somewhat grudgingly, "but I started. Uncle Bert thought I was Shirley Temple at first," she continued, "except he said I'm prettier," she concluded with satisfaction.
Biting her lip, Concetta looked up with a laughing gaze to Phryne, who had been brought downstairs by all of the commotion. In response, Phryne simply gave a small shrug, her eyes twinkling. Oh, Concetta could just imagine it!
"Well, I believe I must agree with Signor Bert, little one. It is wonderful." Ellie preened, pleased, then made a beeline for Teddy.
Shaking her head fondly, Concetta made her way over to Phryne, surreptitiously pressing a hand to the small of her back as she did so. "I hope you do not mind," she said quietly when she reached her. "I simply…"
"Darling Concetta, you don't need to ask!" Phryne put a comforting hand on Concetta's shoulder, but anything else she might have added was forestalled by Tilly's firm tones.
"Ellie, you haven't time to show Teddy that now. We mustn't keep Dr. Street waiting, you know that. Come along, you two."
Concetta felt a small hand tugging at her skirt, and looked down to see Rafe gazing up at her with pleading eyes. "Mama, I want to go, too. Please?"
"Oh, Rafaello. Not today, hmmm, caro? Another day, when we can arrange it properly and Teddy does not have to meet with the dottore, yes?"
Rafe pouted, his lower lip trembling. "But I want to go now. I want to stay with Teddy," he insisted, fat tears beginning to roll down his cheeks.
Concetta looked down at her son, her heart aching with love for him, this first child of her body. How he loved his brother, and how he resented being the smaller one at times.
But before she could even attempt to soothe, Teddy was there, as attuned as ever to his younger brother's moods. "Don't worry, Rafa," he said, using the name he'd bestowed on Rafe the day he was born, "when we go home I'll play puppets with you." He let go of the handle of one of his crutches to pat his brother's dark curls awkwardly.
Eyes still glistening, Rafe considered. "And blocks?" he inquired with a shuddery breath.
"And blocks," Teddy said, smiling.
Rafe nodded, but still watched unhappily as Teddy made his way closer to the door. "Teo!" Concetta called, and Teddy turned back, his smile as bright as the sun. "Do not forget to thank Signora Stanley for lunch, eh?" Just as Prudence had promised an infant Ellie all those years ago, sessions in the swimming pool were invariably followed by a sumptuous tea, and as Prudence adored both children, Teddy's favorite smoked salmon sandwiches and chocolate ice cream were as likely to be present as Ellie's preferred egg mayonnaise and strawberry.
"Si, Mama!" Teddy replied. "Ciao!" he added as Tilly ushered him outside.
"Ciao, tesoro," she murmured softly. For the second time since her arrival, her heart clenched, and her eyes pricked with tears. How fortunate she was in her Teo as well, the child of her heart. He had been hers since the first time his bright blue eyes had zeroed in on her own. He'd smiled, started to crawl clumsily toward her, and she'd been lost.
Beside her, Rafe stared at the closed door mournfully, his eyes beginning to shimmer again. Luckily, Dot chose that moment to stop next to the little boy, a sleeping Lucia already in her arms. "It just so happens I brought Jacky with me today, Rafe. He's been missing somebody to play with, so he'll be so glad to see you! He's got all his cars out, and some Lincoln Logs all the way from America! Would you like to come and see, and perhaps have some milk and biscuits?" The little boy took Dot's hand, mollified, and Dot turned to Concetta. "I'll just put down this one to nap with Celie, Mrs. Blake, don't you worry, and once the children are settled I'll help Mr. Butler put together some lemonade and sandwiches for you."
"Bless you, Dot," said Phryne gratefully, and gestured towards the parlor. With a smile, Concetta entered the comfortable room, rather looking forward to getting off her feet.
Phryne watched as Concetta lowered herself into an armchair with a relieved sigh. "Goodness knows I'm the last person to be telling anyone else what or what not to do, but you do know it would've been perfectly fine for them to pick up Teddy at the house," Phryne said, eyeing her friend with concern.
Concetta waved a dismissive hand. "Yes, yes, and I meant to telephone. I told Rodney I would. He had to go in early or he would have brought Teddy himself, as usual. But all of a sudden I could not bear the thought of one more day with only the children and the radio for company." She paused, and Phryne returned her sober gaze; goodness knew the radio was no comfort at the moment, what with the news coming out of Europe. "And the maid is sick today," she continued, "so there was no one to tell me I should not. And I took a taxi," she added defensively, her grimace indicating what an affront this was to her thrifty soul, "so Rodney will not fuss. Well, he will fuss less," she conceded with a sigh. "I believe he would like to, as you say, 'wind me in cotton wool?'"
"Wrap you in it," Phryne clarified with a grin, settling herself on the sofa. "Well, after Lucia, I suppose you can hardly blame him."
Carrying Lucia had been rough on Concetta, the birth worse, so much so that the doctors had been ready to go in surgically; as it was the birth had taken a terribly long time and been terribly painful. Phryne hadn't been surprised when Jack had taken a frantic Rodney off somewhere, and even less so when the two had entered the hospital room reeking of cigarette smoke, so much so that even an exhausted Concetta had scolded, until the doctor had come with her first dose of morphine, at least.
"No, I suppose not," Concetta said with a fond smile. "I frightened him very much." Her mouth twisted, and she continued, "I have not said, but the doctor suggested that perhaps we should not have any more." At Phryne's surprised look, she explained "I did not like to worry anyone, especially Gianni. Men do, you know, and Gianni more than most, after you and Ellie."
Phryne inclined her head in understanding. "And yet, despite the doctor, here you are," she said with a laugh.
"Si," Concetta agreed. "We thought it would be fine, since I was still giving Lucia the breast quite often, but… Well, it is not only because of Rodney's eyepatch that I call him 'bandito,' you know," she admitted, ducking her chin slightly and looking up at Phryne through her lashes.
Phryne raised an eyebrow, barely holding in her laugher. Concetta flushed a bit, but her eyes were sparkling, and after a few moments she let out a giggle. Phryne joined her, and neither of them stopped until a rather confused Dot came in with the lemonade.
So, there you go. :-P I doubt Concetta would have said anything like that in mixed company, or in public, but I like to think that by now she and Phryne would be great friends, and a bit of restorative, naughty gossip really is just what the doctor ordered. I also re-watched the Concetta bits of 3x03 last night, and while she doesn't tend to mix Italian and English in the same sentence, and this is about 10 years after that takes place, I wanted to try to work some of her cadence in, and besides, she might be more inclined to do that in the presence of family anyway. (At this point, Phryne's household definitely counts as family.)
If anybody's interested, I kind of picture Rodney looking like Craig McLachlan in the Doctor Blake Mysteries, except with an eyepatch (courtesy of WWI). When Concetta first describes him to Phryne, shortly after their first meeting, she opines that with his beard, scar, and eyepatch, he looks "rather like a bandito," so that's where that comes from. I like to think that it slips out at some point during their courtship or engagement, and as it's Concetta, Rodney is amused, and perhaps a bit… inspired, once they're married? ;-) Anyway, he's not Italian, but he is Catholic. And actually, the surname Blake is not because of the Dr. Blake connection, it just sort of… worked out that way.
Oh! Last thing. Kiddos. For clarification, Ellie is almost 8 here. Teddy is 8 ½, Rafe (Raphael/Rafaello) is 4 ½ and Lucia is about 1. The Collins twins, Robbie and Pip are 6 (and off on a fishing trip with Hugh, thank goodness… they're terrors ;-) ) Their younger brother Jacky is just 4, and Celie (Cecilia) is almost 2. Yay for complex headcanons!
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! I haven't been motivated to write AT ALL recently (frankly, I'm surprised that I got this down on paper, really), so I'd love it if you'd let me know what you think!