Disclaimer: These are not my characters with the exception of Kiera, Guinevere and John. They are mine, but the rest are not, sadly.
So I couldn't sleep last night and just had to start this story. This is the sequel to my story Devil in the Details. It's set 6 years after Devil in the Details ended. In between that time Lydia had a little girl named Guinevere (it's a significant name just like Kiera's is). Kiera is now 7 years old and her younger sister is about 5. They have been living a fairly normal life, as close as you can get being married to a ghost ;). This chapter is just setting a few things up, it seems a bit too normal, but trust me it's not going to be that way for long! In fact, it's not even going to last past the first chapter when things really get going. I hope that you enjoy the first part of this story. PLEASE REVIEW!!! and let me know what you think!
As a sidenote: Most if not all of my characters have important names that signify something. Kiera's name is Celtic and it means: Black Haired. Guinevere is Welsh and it means: White Ghost or Phantom. I thought they were both very appropriate.
Kiera and her sister Guenevere, Gwen for short, waited outside of the school for their father to pick them up.
"I can't wait for Halloween it's going to be so much fun." Gwen said wrapping her navy blue blazer tighter to her, bracing herself against the chilly wind.
"It's always fun, but I'm glad this year the school decided to do some more scary stuff, not just the lame harvest festival junk they did last year. I thought Dad was going to freak out when we told him all that was going to be there was face painting and hay rides." Kiera said brushing her dark hair out of her eyes. Gwen giggled and nodded.
"It was funny, Mom wasn't too thrilled with it either. She said we should have run the show, at least that way they would have gotten it right."
"Tell me about it. This year will be better. Have you decided what you want to be?"
"I want to be either a vampire or a banshee. What do you think?" Kiera looked at her little sister. Even though they looked like the exact opposite, they were so much alike it scared people. Kiera had black raven hair just like their mothers while Gwen had almost white blonde hair like their father. Gwen's eyes were a deep sapphire blue and Kiera's were a mossy green.
"Either one would work." She said and shrugged. "I'm going to be a witch."
"That's what you were last year."
"Yeah, but...Dad's here." Kiera said looking up as the black Mercedes pulled up. They grabbed their backpacks and hopped in the car.
"How was your day girls?" Beetlejuice asked his daughters as they drove off.
"Good, we were just talking about Halloween." Kiera said.
"You know it's my favorite holiday." He said grinning.
"We know Dad." They said in unison and giggled..
"Do we have to go to Grandma's art gallery?" Gwen asked.
"Yes we do Babydoll. Your grandmother would throw a fit if we weren't there." Beetlejuice didn't really want to go either, but since he'd been the model for all of Delia's work, he didn't have much of a choice. "We won't stay the whole weekend in New York, just long enough to see the gallery opening then we'll head home."
"Good because we have to work on our costumes for the festival." Kiera said. Beetlejuice laughed and shook his head.
"Another festival huh? Like last year's?"
"Nope, this year we're actually doing a haunted house and other sorts of creepy stuff."
"Oh yeah? Well it's about time." Beetlejuice said as he pulled up to their house.
Beetlejuice and Lydia had decided to move into a bigger house since the girls were getting bigger. The townhouse just didn't have enough space for all of them anymore. Lydia had spent the last few months painting the walls from white to rich dark colors that saturated the walls.
"Okay girls, go say hi to your mother and then go up and get ready to head into the city. We need to be there before the gallery opens." He said opening the door for them.
"Okay Dad." They said together and raced into the house.
Lydia had been painting for the last two hours and her back was killing her. She laid down the paint roller saturated in a grey blue that she chose for the family room.
"Mom!" Her girls called from the living room.
"I'll be out in a second." Lydia called back and took off her old shirt she used as a smock, covered in wet paint. She walked into the living room where she was attacked by her girls, who almost knocked her to the ground. She laughed and hugged them to her tight. Beetlejuice walked to her and gave her a kiss prying the girls off of her and shooing them to their rooms.
"Go get ready." He called after them.
"We're going, we're going." Kiera said as they climbed up the stairs. Lydia watched her girls until they disappeared.
"Delia's not going to be thrilled when she sees the dresses they picked out." She said and smiled. Beetlejuice looked at his wife and winked at her.
"When is she ever thrilled with the clothes they pick out? They're just like their mother." Lydia laughed and gave Beetlejuice another kiss.
"We better get ready ourselves. Delia wants us there to calm her down before the gallery is opened and I've got paint all over me that needs to be scrubbed off. She claims this is her best work ever."
"Of course it is, look who was the model." Beetlejuice said lifting his eyebrows. Lydia just shook her head, a smile on her face as they walked up the stairs to put on their black tie clothes, with an emphasis on black.
"Where are they?" Delia hissed at Charles as she paced back and forth in the gallery. Charles looked at the clock and had another sip of wine.
"They should be here at any moment Delia. You know that Lydia and Beej wouldn't miss this. They're even bringing the girls so they can see your work." Delia gave a heavy sigh. She knew she shouldn't be nervous, but this was the first time her work was actually going to be shown in a gallery. She had shocked the art world to it's core when she'd introduced her dark lion seven years ago and left them begging for more. She was determined to do an entire collection before she let anyone see them and had Beetlejuice model for her since then. Only Charles and Beetlejuice had seen her entire collection. Lydia had been so busy redecorating their new house and since the girls had been in school they hadn't had much time to come over to see it. This was the collection that was going to put her into the art books for good.
"We're here." Lydia called as they walked in. Delia turned and her face fell. They were all dressed in black, every last one of them. Didn't they know the meaning of the word color?
"How do you like our dresses Grandma?" Kiera asked, twirling her black skirt and smiling.
"You two look so pretty." Delia said giving them each a tiny hug and a kiss on the cheek before she turned to look at Lydia, who in truth was stunning. Lydia's long black formal gown cut into a sharp V halter and slid down her tiny frame. When Lydia turned her back Delia could see the dress was cut to where she was almost completely bare backed except for a few trim pieces that connected the back to the halter neck. "You look wonderful Lydia." She said and gave her step daughter a hug. "Black for the girls?" She whispered in Lydia's ear.
"You know black is chic Delia, besides they picked the dresses out themselves." Lydia said and walked over to her father.
"You look beautiful Pumpkin." He said giving her a hug.
"How's Delia doing?" She asked keeping an eye on Kiera and Gwen as they raced around the large room looking at all of the sculptures.
"She's nervous, but she'll be fine." Lydia just nodded and took a glass of wine from one of the caterers.
"How did you ever come up with this stuff Grandma?" Gwen asked taking a close look at Beetlejuice's version of a tiger. The adults gave quick glances to one another before Delia answered.
"They just popped into my head I suppose." They had all decided when Kiera was just over a year old that they would keep the fact that Beetlejuice, Adam and Barbara were ghosts a secret. That meant a lot of restriction on Beetlejuice's part and a lot of explaining why Adam and Barbara lived with Delia and Charles. For the most part the girls accepted it, but now that they were getting older, it was getting harder to come up with excuses.
"I guess you and Mom must think a like then." Kiera said before she turned back to look at the sculpture. Lydia wrinkled her nose at that thought and when Beetlejuice caught it, he chuckled.
"Don't worry Babes, she just means that you're deliciously dark." He said and kissed her cheek. Lydia laughed softly and took another sip of wine.
By the time the gallery opened there was already a crowd of fabulously dressed people waiting to catch a glimpse of the dark sculptures. Delia was in her element as she walked around explaining her creative process. Kiera and Gwen made faces at the people who came up to them and patted them on the head or pinched their cheeks. Lydia only shrugged her shoulders and hid a smile when her daughters glared at her, rubbing their sore cheeks when a very large woman in silk pinched them so hard they almost cried out.
"Well it looks like you're a success Delia." Charles said a few hours later when the last of the guests shuffled out.
"Yes Charles, my sculptures did seem to be a hit didn't they?"
"Did you ever have any doubt?" Beetlejuice asked. Delia just smiled at him and patted his arm.
"Of course not, but one never knows with this crowd. They can be so picky." Delia said with a small smile, she'd grown very fond of him since he agreed to be her model. Lydia walked over to Kiera and Gwen who were nodding off in the corner.
"Can we go home now?" Gwen asked, trying to keep her eyes open. Lydia smiled and saw that the right side of their faces were still a little red from the pinches.
"Yes, we're going home." She said and lifted her smallest daughter up into her arms. Gwen wrapped her legs around Lydia's waist and hugged her tight. She motioned for Beetlejuice to come and pick up Kiera. He lifted her into his strong arms and she cuddled into his shoulder as they made their way out to the car.
"We'll see you later." Lydia said leaning in as her father gave her a peck on the cheek. "Congratulations Delia, it was a hit and I'm sure you'll be getting offers."
"I think so I noticed a few people talking with Bernard."
"It's been a long night." Beetlejuice said when they started to make their way home.
"Yes it has, but Delia's happy so that means that my father will be happy." She smiled and sighed.
"I wonder if this means I'll have to keep modeling for Delia. I'm running out of ideas." Beetlejuice said. Lydia laughed and laid her head on his shoulder.
"I don't know, but I think she'll be riding her high for a little while."
"I hope so."
Lydia and Beetlejuice carried their children into their house and up the stairs to their bedrooms. Lydia carefully sat Gwen down on the bed and pulled her into her nightgown.
"Night Princess." She said and kissed her soft white hair. Beetlejuice walked out of Kiera's room at the same time Lydia walked out of Gwen's.
"I'm exhausted." Lydia said as they made their way to their own bedroom and turned on the light.
"You and me both Babes." He said. He had wanted to come home a bit earlier having visions of Lydia the entire night. She just had to look that good when he couldn't do anything about it. He made a silent vow to be extra energized in the morning to wake her up. Lydia slipped out of her dress and into a nightgown and cuddled against Beetlejuice and fell instantly asleep.