Seeking Solace
Sarah walks through her house, cup of tea cradled in her hands and a tight emptiness in her chest. Damien is gone, working in San Francisco for a few weeks, and she misses him, misses the way he fills her house and her life. Sarah puts her rapidly cooling on the table. Maybe it was time to visit Elle, maybe it was time to go home for a while.
Kate slams the computer shut in complete frustration. Her book is not turning out as easy as it should, the story is stalled and she can't seem to find any way to untangle it. She remembers all the hours she had spent in her room growing up, writing little skits for her sisters to perform. Back then, she had never heard of writers block. Something in her eases at the memory of the scent of her room. Maybe, she thinks visiting that room might help. Decided, she pushes back her chair and calls Elle.
Abby shudders as she turns away from the windows that used to bring her such comfort. She pulls the drapes and wraps herself in a warm sweater. This unfamiliar fear makes her sick and it's not a feeling she feels she will ever be rid of. She looks around her room for comfort and finds nothing to soothe her. She wishes in that moment that she was still a child, in her childhood room with her childhood things and dreams and her small fears that her mother and view would easily wash away. She longs for that simplicity and the love of her sisters. Maybe, maybe she would see if she could bring Elle something.
Libby still isn't over the violation of her new home. Tyson loved it, which was why she never mentioned how unsettled she still finds it sometimes. But not it's disturbing her sleep patterns, which is messing up her concentration at work, which is dangerous for her patients. All she needs is a good night sleep. And then everything will be fine. She grabs her keys and marches toward the door, knowing Elle wont mind.
Once a week Hannah visits Elle for the expressed reason of cooking a meal for each of her sisters and the unspoken need for the comfort of the kitchen she grew up in. as much as she loves her husband and son she relishes the moments she has by herself in the room in which she had spent so much time with her mother's undivided attention; a rare thing for a middle child with six siblings.
The first stop Joley makes when she returns from tour is the old house. She kisses Ilya and little Brahm and promises to be home as soon as she can. Then she makes herself a cup of tea and steals a few cookies from the platter Hannah keeps fresh in the kitchen and she climbs the stairs to the widows walk where she watches the sun rise or set and counts the stars.
Sometimes, when the nightmares got bad, Elle found herself leaving the bed she shared with her husband and climbing the stairs to her old room. She found that the nightmares left her at the door, they had no place in this innocent place. So she snuggled down with the silky sheep whose once white wool had dried her tears for decades and savored the sleep he brought.