Author's Note: I'm not sure how people will take my version of the events between a certain two characters...regardless, I look forward to hearing from you all!
Chapter Two: An Unfortunate Memory
After nearly five hours in the family hearse, Lurch pulled in to the Addams family property. With no hesitation, Gate swung open its doors and welcomed the family, Wednesday gave a slight smile and leaned forward in her seat. Gomez turned himself in the seat and touched his daughter's knee. "Welcome home, Paloma." He said, his voice nearly choking up. Wednesday laughed gently. "Thank you, Father" she replied after letting herself out of the hearse. It was a long drive for such a tight fit, so it felt decent to be able to stretch. She looked up at her childhood home with a strange appreciation. Of course she always visited for every holiday, but she was happy to be back for longer than a few days. She walked over to the back of the car and offered to help Lurch, but he groaned when she touched a bag. He insisted he take care of it all for her. "If you are sure. Thank you, Lurch."
She walked up the steps and opened the front door. It was everything she loved and more. The macabre decor, the cobwebs. Her gaze was distracted by the feeling of fast tapping on her toes, and she looked down to see Thing tapping gleefully on her feet. "I missed you too, Thing." She reassured as she scratched his palm. Suddenly, the sound of pots and pans clashing reverberated across the walls and Wednesday could see her beloved Grandmama racing to the door as fast as her ancient body allowed her. "I knew it! It's my Wednesday!" Grandmama stopped in her tracks and gasped. "Wednesday! Your hair! Please tell me that you saved it?" Wednesday laughed and rummaged through her purse. She pulled out a plastic bag with two braids and handed it to her grandmother. Grandmama snatched the bag and squealed in delight, and ran to the kitchen.
Lurch walked in the door carrying most of her things, he let out a groan in inquiry. "Just drop them in my bedroom. I'll unpack them shortly." She advised him, he nodded in agreement and made his way up the stairs. Gomez and Morticia walked in behind him arm in arm, the door closing automatically behind them. "What do you say, Wednesday? What should we do today on your first day back?" Her father asked while lighting up a cigar. Wednesday began making her way up the grand staircase. "Actually, I'm feeling worn out from this whole ordeal. I think I'm going to sleep for a while. Call me when it's dinner." Gomez wore a look of slight disappointment, Morticia noticed and gave him a look of reassurance. "Gomez dear, it's alright. Of course, darling! I restocked your drawer with new sedatives. I know you can't sleep without them!" Morticia called out as Wednesday climbed up the stairs. "Thank you, Mother! You know me so well!" Wednesday screamed out from down the hall. Gomez looked at his wife and started walking towards their family room. "She's been home for five minutes and she's just going to sleep the whole day away." He let himself fall into the red sofa, clouds of dust rising around him as his body landed into the cushions. Morticia sat herself down delicately next to her husband and took his hand in hers. "It's been a long day. Let her rest, she'll be back to her miserable self soon my love."
Wednesday turned the knob on the door to her bedroom; anticipating a loud squeak to follow, which it definitely did. Everything remained untouched. She looked around her room and took comfort with how familiar everything was. She walked the perimeter of the bedroom and stopped at her bookshelf, which seemed to be a life force of its own. She grinned at her collection of informative books on The Bermuda Triangle, and felt a wave of nostalgia as she remembered the hours she spent under the moonlight researching and the night Uncle Fester promised he would take her there. She continued to trace her finger across the binds of the books and felt her stomach drop as she stopped at one of her old albums. She knew what it was, she knew it was painful, but she couldn't help but pull it off the shelf. "Memories to Suppress" she cleverly titled it nearly four years prior. With a sigh, she opened the cover and nearly flinched with looking at the first memory:
"Mr. and Mrs. Gomez F Addams request the despair of your attendance at the marriage of their daughter, Wednesday Eudora to Lucas Malcolm Beineke on Saturday, August 10th, 2013 at the Addams Estate, NYC, NY"
Wednesday stared at herself in the mirror. Her hair, which she normally kept casually in braids was long and flowing with formal curls and a small bun to hold her veil. There wasn't an inch of her body that wasn't covered in lace, and her corset was so tight she could hardly breathe, though this time she couldn't stand it. There was nothing she wanted more than to just rip everything off and return to bed. She pulled the veil over her face to hide this false version of herself. Her thoughts were distracted by a faint, signature knocking. "It's only me, dear." Her mother said as she gently opened the door. Morticia turned to face her daughter and her expression melted into bliss when she saw how beautiful she was. "My darling, you are the most beautiful woman there is!" She exclaimed holding back tears. Wednesday moved the veil from her face. "Mother, I'm going to be sick." She said shortly placing a hand over her mouth. Morticia grabbed the wastebasket quickly and rushed to Wednesday. "Don't worry, darling. This means good luck." She reassured her daughter as she gently stroked her back. Wednesday wiped her mouth on the back of her hand and sat herself on her bed. She realized this would be the last time she could seek this room out for comfort, this made her feel worse. "I just want to be eighteen." Was all she managed to word out.
Morticia sat beside her and took her hands. "Wednesday, if you have something to say, please say it. There is no such thing as too late." Wednesday sighed. "When I met Lucas, my normal thoughts about my death actually became unbearable because he wasn't involved. He made me want to impale beings but also adopt a kitten all at the same time. Being with him was fun, unpredictable. When he wanted to marry me I still felt the same rush I always felt when we were together. I thought there was no way it would fade, but it has. I don't know what to do, Mother. I'm starting college in a few weeks and now when I say the word forever it's like I'm screaming into a black hole." She began to cry. Morticia tilted her head and gently cradled her daughter's face, while wiping her tears away. When Wednesday was small, it was all she had to do to make her feel better. "Pauvre coeur, everything will be alright." Morticia pulled Wednesday's head into her chest and pet her hair. She hated seeing her daughter hurt. Wednesday was strong and very rarely showed her emotions, so when she did, it broke everybody around her.
Wednesday sat herself back upright. "I'm sorry, Mother. You must think I'm a fool. I caused a rift between you and father over us getting married and now I am having second thoughts." Morticia chuckled silently. "First of all, it would take death itself to separate your father and I. That argument we had was not over your marriage more so than the secrecy of it all. Secondly, never think that we would ever find you foolish. I'm very grateful you're being true to your feelings , and talking about them." Wednesday began outlining the lace on her dress with her fingers. "I guess I just wanted to have the same story you and father had." Morticia smiled. "Darling, I will always insist you and your brothers to find somebody who you can't fathom living without, but it's not fair to yourself to compare your relationships with others. Love is complicated, and in most cases people are together for years before they marry. I encourage you to do what you know is right, like what your father and I did." Wednesday looked up at her mother in confusion. "So get married regardless?"
Morticia stood up from the bed and faced her daughter. Something about her vulnerability made her look even younger than eighteen. "That is your choice. I mean doing the right thing for your happiness. Your father was arranged to wed my sister, Ophelia. Meanwhile we were madly in love and the nuptials would have torn us apart, but even worse it would have led us to a path of greater destruction. We would never live happily again. It broke hearts, but a week before the wedding your father told my sister and family that it would not be fair to anybody if he married Ophelia, and how we were destined for each other." Wednesday looked up at her mother. She never knew every detail of the story, but in this moment she was grateful for it. "How did your family react?" She asked, half hoping that whatever her mother said would provide insight on what she should choose. Morticia looked out the window. "Well, Ophelia didn't speak to me until you were born. She's a proud woman and I hurt her pride, which is deplorable in her standard. Your Grandmama was not surprised, but never disowned me and encouraged honesty and our happiness. I'm passing that lesson on to you." Morticia began walking to the door of her bedroom. Wednesday stood up and followed her. Morticia opened the door. "I'm going to take my seat in the ceremony. Remember Wednesday, everybody sitting there loves you. Regardless of what you decide once you walk down that aisle, that will never change." With that, she turned around and left.
Wednesday took one more hard look at herself in the mirror. She pulled the veil on top of her face to hide her tears and left her bedroom. She found her father standing there, looking strangely nervous. His eyes moved up from the ground to his daughter. Seeing his little girl dressed like the queen he always pictured her as, took his breath away. "You are so beautiful, Paloma. When did you grow up? I swear just yesterday they put you on your mother's chest for the first time." Gomez walked towards his daughter and pulled the veil up. He could tell she was crying, which hurt his heart. "Wednesday..." he began, Wednesday quickly pulled the veil back and linked her arm with her father's. "Daddy, please don't let me go until I say. I need your strength now more than ever." Gomez moved his hands to her shoulders and tried through the veil, to look deeply into her eyes. "What happened? You can tell me." She paused for a moment, then took his arm again. "It's time."
As hard as she tried to avoid them all, she couldn't help but see all the faces. On her left was generations of Addams', while the right was a few rows of uncomfortable Beineke's. For the first time, she looked up and saw him. Lucas was smiling, clearly taken aback by what she was wearing. This made the pain more sharp, knowing she was to ruin what was meant to be his happiest day. The red runner carpet down the aisle seemed to be miles long but to Wednesday, it still could be longer. She was dreading everything about today. Before she could really take it all in, she was standing with Lucas and Cousin Itt. Gomez smiled, lifted her veil and kissed his daughter on both cheeks. She through her arms around him and hugged him tightly. Gomez, surprised held her tight as well. "I hope you're not angry with me." she whispered in his ear. "Never" he replied quietly. She nodded and let him go. Gomez nodded to Lucas and took his seat beside his wife, who whispered something to him as he sat.
Cousin Itt started the ceremony, but Wednesday didn't want to have him waste his breath. "Itt, I'm going to stop you there. I'm sorry. I have something I need to say." Lucas wore a look of confusion, and took Wednesday by the hand. "What's wrong?" He asked, knowing what was coming but hoping that it wasn't true. "Lucas, I love you. But I don't think I can marry you. I thought I could, but I realize now that my love for you isn't infinite. I'm sorry I know this isn't what you wanted to hear." Lucas dropped her hands and stepped back. His eyes wore the worst hurt she had ever seen. "I don't understand, Wednesday..."He began. Wednesday took the veil off her head. "You might not understand now, but you will one day. I've been eighteen for hardly a month, the idea of being in something forever scares me. I love you now but if we do this I will resent you. I'm content with the amount of resentment I have, I am not looking for more." Wednesday couldn't fight the tears that were stinging the back of her eyes any longer. She pulled the engagement ring off of her finger, grabbed Lucas' hand and placed it inside. "Maybe one day in the future you will find it in yourself to forgive me and we can be friends but, until then I have to be able to live with myself in the future. I'm sorry, Lucas." They stared at each other for a moment. Lucas went pale and she could see tears falling down his cheeks. She turned to face everybody. When she couldn't stand to see it anymore she picked up the front of her gown and ran. "Wednesday, wait!" Gomez cried as he stood up, Morticia grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "She needs this time, darling. Let her go." Wednesday bust open the door and ran as fast as she could into her bedroom and slammed the door. Exhausted and defeated, she fell into her bed and stayed there for days. For the first time, she truly despised herself.
Not wanting to relive anything else, she slammed the book shut and put it back in the bookshelf. She walked over to one of her multitudes of unpacked suitcases and rummaged for something comfortable to wear, once she found what she was looking for she changed quickly and allowed herself to lunge into her bed. She lied there thinking. Thinking of everything from late nights in Salem with Pol and friends, to how her life would be if she did go through with marriage. Thinking made her weary, and she fell asleep almost instantly.
Her sleep was slain by the sounds of heavy knocking, which caused her to jolt into alertness. Once she recollected herself she got up and tiredly walked to the door. She smiled when she saw her father standing there, holding a large box. "Sorry to wake you, Paloma. Dinner is just about ready, but I wanted to speak with you." She gestured her father to come in and she closed the door behind him. He took a seat in the chair that was by her bed and sighed. "Do you remember all the nights your mother and I spent right in this chair? You always needed to be told a story or learn something new right before bed, or you wouldn't sleep." Wednesday smiled and sat down on the bed facing her father. "Of course I remember. You're the reason I began my love affair with the Bermuda Triangle." They both laughed. Gomez picked up the box beside him and handed it to Wednesday, who nearly dropped it as she underestimated the weight. "Your mother and I are infinitely proud of everything you've become. This is just a small token of that pride." She moved her hair out of her face and blushed. "Oh daddy, you didn't have to get me anything. I have all I could want." He loved when she called him that. It reminded him of when she was just a child who would sit on his lap in the chair while he read her stories. "I meant to give this to you in Salem, but I figured it was best to wait until we could be alone. Go on, open it!" He urged. She giggled and ripped the paper, her heart racing in anticipation. Under the paper was a large black case. Her and her father exchanged looks, and she carefully opened the latches. Her jaw dropped at the sight of it. It was a new crossbow. "I can't believe it! I can't believe it!" She exclaimed as she took it out of the case. "Where did you get one like this?" She studied it, making herself comfortable. "It's from China. I thought you would get a lot of good use from it. It's just a little something" Gomez said, standing from his chair. His face beamed in delight to see Wednesday so happy. She jumped in his arms and hugged him tightly. "You're the best father in this life and the next. Thank you." He held her tightly. He wasn't sure how much longer Wednesday would be living in his house, how long his family would be complete for. He made sure every hug and every kind word mattered, in the event it could be the last one.