Lizzie smoothed her niece's curls and smiled. She was doing her best to put on a brace face for her brothers' children, but it was becoming increasingly harder with every day. The physician had promised that things would get better when she came to live with them, that all Gregor needed was a little lift in spirits. But it seemed all she had done was stop his two daughters, Arianne and Lucy, from falling off the face of the earth.
Her cell phone rang and she glanced cautiously at the girls, "Ari honey, could you - ?"
"Sure," Arianne said quietly, taking her little sister's hand and pulling her into the yard. At ten years old, it was clear that Arianne understood a lot more than was healthy for her.
"Hi sweetie," Lizzie said, answering her husband's call, "I don't know… it might be another couple of weeks. - No, Margie's busy. - She's in another movie I think." She frowned at his next question and lowered her voice, "You know, I think the problem started way before Bridget left them. He's been depressed for so long now." She sighed. It wasn't easy being the one supporting the family; she could hardly imagine how Gregor had done it as a kid. "Listen, I have to go. I promised myself I'd try Margie again today and see if she'd come and visit. I love you too, tell Angel that I miss her. Bye."
"Typical," Lizzie muttered, when her sister's voicemail picked up. "Hi hon, I know you're probably busy." She paused, "But I really think it would help if you came out here for a couple days. He needs you, Marge, things aren't looking too good. Anyway, say hi to New York for me. Talk to you later." She hung up then, done with her phone calls for the day, and decided to check on Gregor. He rarely seemed to need anything, but she always checked with him out of habit.
As she had expected, he was sitting on the sofa looking rather listless. He'd been this way for over a month now; faded and broken looking. It was as if he'd lost the will to look alive. Lizzie turned to leave then, unable to bear the sight of him this way. Unlike usual though, he spoke to her.
"You know what I need, don't you." It wasn't a question.
Lizzie winced. He'd been harping on it ever since she arrived. "Are you sure it's not just because of the divorce?" She asked softly, smoothing his hair out of routine.
"No…" he trailed off, his voice running out of steam, "She was right to go. I – I didn't love her." He turned to look at his sister, their eyes finally meeting and communicating. Lizzie felt her breath leave her, this was the first time he'd said this. The first time he was opening up, even if it was just a little.
"Take them to New York," he said softly, "Stay with Margaret for a while. I want – I want you to show it to them. Maybe they'll have a medicine for me," He stopped again, playing with the loose skin on his fingertips.
"You don't think you could have caught something all the way back then, do you?" One might find it odd that she was speaking with such directness to someone so ill, but Lizzy had learned that it was the only way to keep him talking. If he decided to talk at all, that is.
"I don't know," Gregor replied airily, "But take them there. Promise? Margaret too. I think she needs to see it again. " He closed his eyes then, and Lizzy knew that his daily speech quota was used up. She felt a sudden thrust of sadness, remembering the days when saying "The Underland" wasn't entirely taboo. Then again, there had never really been any of those days.
Arianne returned then, a sobbing Lucy in her arms. 'She cut her knee on the rock," she explained, "Don't worry, I'll fix it."
Lizzie smiled, seeing how transparently similar she was to Gregor. "Guess what sweetheart, I'm going to take you two on trip, to visit Aunt Margie in the city."
Lucy stopped crying and cheered, "Yay! Aunt Margie!" She was only three, but all of her memories revolving their father's youngest sister were filled with lots of happiness.
"To New York? Really?" Arianne seemed skeptical, and for a second Lizzy wondered if she knew. It was impossible, though. Gregor (and Bridget too, she supposed) had done everything possible to prevent the kids from ever finding out.
"Yeah," Lizzie said, realizing that she now needed to actually reach Margret, "I thought it would be a great way to spend the rest of the summer."
"But what about Dad?"
"Oh, he'll be okay for a week or so. Just yesterday he made breakfast all by himself." Arianne nodded along, still seeming worried.
"Don't worry, okay?" Lizzie whispered to her, "Everything's going to be fine." She could only hope that a visit to the Underland would prove this to be true.