Disclaimer: Desperate Housewives is not mine in any way. I just like to amuse myself.
Story Summary: A series of drabbles that focus on the pasts of different characters.
Ten Snapshots
By Ryeloza
One: Bree
One
There is a lot about being in church that feels unusual today. The world is tinged with sorrow; people are crying—even her father. And instead of sitting between Bree and her brothers, her mother lies in a cold, dark coffin. Somehow, though, the worst part is how unkempt Bree looks: her dress is just a bit too small and her hair is just a bit too mussed and her shoes are just a bit too scuffed. In her heart, Bree feels like she's letting her mother down and that simply makes an already horrible day just a little worse.
Two
"I have to have my hair in braids!" she begs, her eyes welling with tears. Her grandmother has no use for the emotion and she shakes her head, resolutely tying a big bow over the horrid ringlets she's set in Bree's hair.
She's still crying when she and her brothers leave for school, but once they're at the bus stop, Ted pulls out the bow and John finds one of his girl friends to plait her hair. "They're French braids," explains Jane as Bree inspects herself with Jane's compact mirror.
"What makes them French?" she asks, but Jane just laughs.
Three
She is too young to be a bridesmaid and Eleanor's little niece is the flower girl, so even though her older brothers get to be ushers, Bree has to sit next to her dear aunt Fern and watch her father's wedding from the sidelines. People seem to not realize she's there, because all day she hears gossipmongers whispering about how fast her father has remarried and how suspect it is. Even at the tender age of seven, and even not really realizing what people are alluding to, Bree feels acutely embarrassed to know that they're being judged for some reason.
Four
In second grade, Bree's teacher decides to assemble a class cookbook to give to their mothers for Mother's Day. They each have to bring in a recipe to include; Bree knows that her classmates all ask their relatives for help, but she stubbornly decides to search for one herself. She finds a recipe for peanut butter cookies and spends a Saturday afternoon baking with limited help. When she's done, Eleanor tries one –the recipe is for her, after all—and promptly tells Bree the cookies aren't good. So Bree keeps the present for herself and gives Eleanor a card instead.
Five
"Hey Bumble Bree! Hurry up!" John leans out the car window and yells this across the playground in front of most of her class, including Sarah and Amanda. They already tease Bree something awful about her red hair and as she picks up her bookbag she can hear them tittering about the stupid nickname she's had forever and a day. It's something she fondly remembers her mother calling her, the name soft and sweet on her lips, but she doesn't even think of that as she climbs into the car and snaps, "I'm not a baby! Stop calling me that!"
Six
Her sister dies on March 31, the same day she's born. Eleanor, who doesn't like children and often says to Bree, "Thank goodness you're old enough to take care of yourself now," even though she's only eleven, is devastated beyond Bree's comprehension. Once her father returns to work—because life goes on without fail—and leaves Eleanor alone, Bree faithfully returns from school every day and holds Eleanor's hand while she cries. It is their secret. Then one day she comes home to an empty house and a note: "Went out. Leftovers in the fridge." And she knows it's over.
Seven
She is fifteen the first time she tastes wine. Her father and Eleanor take her along on a month-long vacation to Europe when they can't find a family member to pawn her off on. Bree would have argued that she was old enough to mind the house herself—her housekeeping skills already exceed Eleanor's—but she preferred to go to France. There her father doesn't mind if she has a glass of wine with dinner and Bree finds that she loves the color, texture, taste and smell. It's calming and grown-up; when she arrives home she doesn't give it up.
Eight
One night she wakes up to the sound of her father arguing with her brother Ted. Quietly she creeps from her room to crouch at the banister at the top of the stairs and listen as her father shouts about responsibilities and reputations. All she can make out is that Ted plans to drop out of college, but she doesn't know why. The fight goes on and on, but her head begins to droop and Eleanor catches her half-asleep and orders her back to bed. The next morning, Ted is gone and no one will talk about where he went.
Nine
She receives a letter from Ted near her sixteenth birthday. In it, he rambles on about escaping a cookie-cutter life, their father's twisted expectations, and some girl named Libby. He ends with a plea: "You could be so much more than you think. Don't let everyone else drag you down just because they tell you there's only one way to live; it's not true. You're better than that. You're better than all of us." It doesn't take long for Bree to throw the letter into the trash; Ted is only right about one thing: she is better than he is.
Ten
She looks impeccable on the day of her high school graduation. Her dress is delicate and feminine and she makes sure to stand as long as possible to keep it wrinkle-free, even though no one will see it under her gown. Beneath the dark green of her cap, her hair gleams in perfection, and she has a warm, flattering smile pasted firmly on her face. Each picture captures a moment of flawlessness on her part so she will always be able to remember this day as faultless; this day as one where she disappointed no one, least of all herself.