Chapter 3

She briefly toyed with an idea of not telling Jared at all but ultimately decided against it.

Technically, it was none of his business but then she knew that he certainly wouldn't take kindly to Morticia not telling him about it.

Yet, she was apprehensive, because she knew her brother-in-law enough to know that he might very well disagree for the sake of disagreeing with her so she had to approach it carefully. That, however, was easier said than done. She couldn't just merely inform him that she began work for Mrs Addams, even though he perhaps expected a similar move on her part since slashed her allowances after all. It was unfortunate, perhaps a little inconvenient but hardly a conundrum he probably expected it to be.

The real conundrum was that it was difficult to predict Jared's reaction because, there was seldom a pattern to it. Although they argued frequently, he also tended to accommodate her requests, if they fell inside the parameter of what he judged to be reasonable (studying witchcraft, by definition, was not). He was, after all, paying to her university tuitions and even, what took her entirely by surprise, defended her choice of degree when his own mother voiced her objections.

Of course, she suspected it wasn't because he cared about her well-being or education, for that matter, but he probably figured if he indulged her from time to time she would be more complacent as if she was some kind of an unruly child. In his eyes perhaps she was.

The thing was that Morticia wasn't necessarily recalcitrant by nature. She didn't fight him tooth and nail because she enjoyed it. It was the fact that Jared had a particular image of how she should be (grateful, obedient, yielding) and she felt constantly constricted by it and his relentless quest to subdue her to his will and it wasn't in her nature to be subdued. In fact, she would argue it wasn't in anybody's nature to be subdued.

Nevertheless, their recent spat didn't necessarily mean he would shut down the whole idea on the spot, if Morticia presented it as a reasonable request, he might even see merit to it himself. She wasn't, of course, going to tell him the whole truth, that was out of the question, but she wasn't about to lie to him either.

The door to his office was ajar but she knocked nevertheless and heard his gruff "come in".

"Do you have a moment?" she asked casually and almost smiled when he looked at her like he was exhausted by merely seeing her. Which wasn't a bad thing, in the end, she could use it to her advantage.

"Depends," he answered, leaning back in his leather chair and regarded her curiously."Is it something new or more of the same?"

"I'm not here to argue," she said instead and made her way further inside the vast room.

"Sounds promising," he remarked with only a hint of sarcasm and his blue eyes sparkled with a somewhat subdued amusement."Still, I'm almost afraid to ask what's on your mind?"

She allowed a gentle smile to grace her lips at his words.

"I wanted to ask if it would be a problem if I wanted to get a job?" she inquired with deliberate vagueness.

"Why would it be a problem?" he replied, narrowing his eyes in confusion.

"In case you had some misogynistic misconceptions in regards to female employment?" she clarified with deliberate irony, she couldn't after all overplay her act by being too nice to him.

"As long as it has nothing to do with witchcraft then I see no problem with female employment," he assured before regarding her curiously."What kind of employment do you actually have in mind?"

"I have seen an advertisement, at the campus, for an assistant," she answered. It was a stretch but technically not incorrect since, when Fester offered his idea, they were in a cafe opposite the university campus."I thought of applying if you're okay with the idea."

"What kind of assistant?" he asked, absently playing with his fountain pen.

"Mrs Addams is looking for an assistant to help her with her work," she said finally. She knew she didn't have to explain who she was since everyone in this city was at least familiar with the name.

"Mrs Addams as in Eudora Addams?" Jared clarified nevertheless and Morticia nodded in agreement."What is it that she does exactly?"

"She's a herbalist," she explained slowly so it wouldn't look like she rehearsed her answers beforehand."It's an area I'm quite familiar with, so I think I can manage well as her assistant and the pay is reasonable," she added even though, in all honesty, she didn't even care about the pay, not that it wasn't convenient because it certainly was, but for this opportunity itself she'd gladly work for free.

"I don't see why not," Jared agreed finally and Morticia let out the breath she didn't even realize she was holding.

"Thank you," she said but didn't go as far as to smile at him, that would be a stretch too far and would raise suspicion, and she didn't want him to think she cared about this job more than as an opportunity to earn some extra money since he substantially cut her allowances.

"Morticia," he called her when her hand was practically at the door handle and she almost winced at the sound of his voice. He waited until she turned towards him again and watched her carefully for a while before finally leaning forward against his highly-polished desk."Thank you for clearing this with me first, I appreciate that."

She merely nodded and left the room as fast as she could without actually running out of it.

She almost bumped into her sister in the process.

"Hey, easy there, what's the rush?" Ophelia smiled at her softly, placing her hands on Morticia's arms to stop them from colliding.

"Sorry, I didn't see you there," she replied and let out a slight shrug of her shoulders.

"Well, obviously," her sister smiled and removed her hands off Morticia's shoulders."Everything ok?" she asked motioning her head to the room Morticia just vacated.

"Yes," she confirmed in a placating tone."I just had to ask him something, nothing to worry about."

"I see," he sister nodded but her careful gaze hasn't left Morticia's as she studied her for a moment."And what is it you had to ask him?"she prodded but her tone was not exactly curious, seriously worried was perhaps a better description.

"Work," she replied succinctly.

"You want to work...with Jared?" she clarified incredulously, even though it seemed like the most impossible idea in the whole universe and her tone seemed to reflect that because the very thought made Morticia smile.

"Oh no, not at all," she assured, her dark eyes sparkling with amusement."I merely needed to know if he had any objections as to me working."

"And?"

"He said it's fine."

Ophelia nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer but then, as if a thought occurred to her, she narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Anything particular you have in mind?" she inquired gently.

"I do, actually,"she said slowly and resisted an almost overwhelming urge to cross her arms but she certainly didn't look defensive, although she wasn't particularly pleased by the knowing look in Ophelia's eyes."Mrs Addams needs an assistant, so I thought it would be something I could do."

"Addams? The mansion on the Cemetery Lane?"

"Yes, that one" she confirmed with all the nonchalance she could muster.

She watched Ophelia bite her lower lip gently and could practically see her mind putting the puzzles together. Her sister might not have been practising magic for years now but she once got acquainted with the matriarch of the Addams family and Ophelia would undoubtedly recognize a witch when she saw one.

She was certainly right, as her sister wrapped her slim fingers around Morticia's arm and led her gently away from the nearest vicinity of Jared's office.

"Tish, what's going on?" she whispered intensively even though they were alone in the corridor between Jared's office and the parlour.

"What do you mean?" Morticia replied in a normal tone, she wasn't about to start whispering as if she had a secret because, technically speaking, she didn't and was insistent on acting this way.

"You know very well what I mean," Ophelia pointed out insistently.

"No," she replied."No, I really don't."

Her sister gazed at her for one long moment before finally nodding her head and releasing Morticia's arm but didn't look at all convinced.

"Charlie asked about you," she said suddenly."I think he wants you to tell him the story."

Morticia nodded and smiled affectionately at the thought of the almost two-year-old nephew.

"I will go to him now," she assured."Good night."

"Night," Ophelia replied."Tish," she added and Morticia turned to her again, mustering a neutral expression and raised her shapely eyebrow in a questioning manner. "Be careful, please."

Morticia almost smiled at the soft tone and worried expression on her sister's face and not because she was touched by her concern but because she appreciated a game well-played and her sister was nothing if not cunning. But then again, so was she.

"Careful of what?" she asked, feigning confusion and her sister's lips curled into a knowing smirk.

"Just be careful."

Gomez Addams glanced at the bedtime clock and almost groaned in exasperation.

This was ridiculous.

This is was utter madness.

He was certainly not about to pine after a sixteen-year-old girl but he just couldn't get her out of his mind.

He couldn't remember a single thing his accountant told him today because the ebony-haired girl filled his every thought.

After Tully has left, he didn't complete a single task he set himself to do because he found himself staring, through the window in the library, as his brother was enthusiastically giving the girl a tour of their graveyard, obviously telling her stories of their various relatives and their magnificent deaths and she listened to him attentively. She seemed genuinely interested. She nodded and smiled at his brother - gods her smile, her laugh, her voice - everything about this woman seemed to him a divine perfection.

She wasn't a woman though, he reminded himself, she was a girl. He certainly shouldn't have such thoughts about a girl this young. She was far too young, she was Fester's friend and her mother's assistant which were all the signs in the world that told him he should avoid her at any costs.

Except, he immediately knew what a ridiculous idea was that. How was he supposed to avoid a woman, a girl - he reminded himself - she was a girl, not a woman, a girl you have to stay away from. Still, how was he supposed to avoid a girl that was in his house practically every day?

How was he supposed to stay away from her when the mere thought of being away from her was causing him almost physical hurt and how ridiculous was that? He met her just hours ago, he knew nothing about her except that she was a goddess personified.

"Gomez, stop fidgeting and go to sleep," the voice next to him mumbled tiredly.

He could barely remember her name. Nicole or Nicola, something like that. She's approached him at his usual table where he was drinking champagne with his cousin, Balthazaar, and their friends and told him he looked like he needed a distraction.

She wasn't wrong about that but proved to be a rather ineffective distraction because he couldn't even kiss her without imagining what would it feel like to kiss those ruby lips, so full and inviting. Were her hair as silky and soft as they looked?

"I'm gonna go for a walk," he decided aloud and already moved out of her bed, swinging his legs onto the floor in an abrupt manner.

"At three o'clock at night, are you mad?" she asked tiredly, without opening her eyes.

"Restless," he admitted, already half-way through buttoning his trousers."I want to have a walk," he said succinctly.

"You are mad," she decided and turned to the other side."Lock the door behind you please."

They didn't say goodbyes or promised to call each other and he appreciated that. He didn't think he could muster any pretence to pretend there was anything more to him in this one night stand than what it was.

The December air was bitterly cold and, for a moment, he questioned the merit of his idea but he knew he couldn't stay there any longer, in that bed.

In that bed, with a woman who wasn't her.

"Tish, cheer up, eighty-three per cent on your linear algebra test is not the end of the world," Michael pointed out as they were walking together to the canteen."Stop being such an overachiever, it's annoying," he teased good-naturedly.

"Janice got eighty-seven and the mere thought is killing me," she admitted off-handedly but it was only partially true.

"Her name is Jenny and you know it," he grinned at her."You're going to the spooky mansion again after classes?"

"I am indeed."

"So how is it there?" he inquired curiously." Do they have dead bodies hidden in the closet?"

"Hopefully," she replied before adding regrettably: "I haven't seen any yet."

"Have you met Mr Addams yet?"

"I've met him over two months ago."

"Not that Mr Addams," he rolled his eyes at her deliberately obtuse behaviour and watched her smirk."The infamous Mr Addams, I heard he's quite a character."

"I've met him, briefly though," she admitted curtly.

"So how is he?" Michael prodded and she almost winced, not quite sure how to answer him.

He was...he was unsettling.

Granted, in the two weeks since she's started her work for Mrs Addams, she's seen Gomez Addams perhaps a grand total of three times and each time he grunted a polite hello and disappeared soon after, barely sparing her any further look. It was preposterous, yet she could swear, he was deliberately avoiding any interaction with her and didn't know what to make of it.

It was unsettling.

What was even more unsettling is that she thought about it more than she should. It bothered her more than it should have and she couldn't figure out why.

At some point, as she tossed and turned in her bed, she felt annoyed at herself, she felt ridiculous. Was she really so vain to be so injured by his indifference? She wasn't usually concerned with silly things like that. It wasn't that she never kissed a man after all and she's never suffered from the lack of male attention. Although she generally didn't care for it, the truth was that she also admittedly enjoyed it. She ignored it, most of the time, because none of the men were interesting enough to her to warrant any more than fleeting attention. Yet, she had to admit, whether she wanted or not, that Mr Addams sparked her attention.

He was perhaps a little older but she just couldn't forget the way her heart started beating furiously merely seconds after their eyes first met and that never happened to her before. And she could tell he found her attractive, there was no doubt about it, so why was he acting this way now? She certainly didn't like the way he made her feel - silly, ridiculous, insecure. She wasn't any of those things. She was smart, practical, level-headed and never ever prone -

"Tish?"

She blinked, suddenly confused and slightly mortified because she realized she hasn't heard a word Michael just said to her. And she blamed Gomez Addams for that too.

"Are you listening?" Michael asked and his face furrowed, perplexed by his friend's odd behaviour.

"Ehmm...no," she muttered sheepishly."I was…,"

"- miles away," he pointed out, his eyebrow arched."What were you thinking about so intently?"

"Linear subspaces," she answered, deadpan.

Michael smiled and looked at her intently, and amused spark dancing in his brown eyes.

"Liar."

"The more precise the measurements the stronger the potion,"Eudora instructed."Any deviation from the recipe, any at all will change its quality, the time and the strength of the response. Never underestimate the importance of the accurate measurements."

Morticia nodded obediently and duly noted the observation in her notebook.

"My mother used to experiment with the flavours," she mentioned off-handedly."She said the potions tend to have a strong aftertaste, and she wanted to make them less detectable."

Eudora grunted in affirmative.

"It's not an easy task if we want to retain the original strength of the mixture,"she admitted."I gave up on that a year ago."

"She claimed it can be done," she reminisced fondly. Her mother was adamant it can be done and wouldn't listen to anyone who claimed otherwise."She was working on some aconium extract that she boiled for hours and hours but she…" Morticia faltered and swallowed heavily because suddenly all the memories of her previous life assaulted her with such ferocity it felt momentarily dizzying. She could almost smell the scent of her mother's potions that always seemed to penetrate their home. This sweetly bitter scent that lingered constantly in the air, enshrined with the heavy smell of dust. Her lips went dry and tingly and her heart felt as if it was about to burst from the sheer misery and longing.

"Morticia?"

She heard her name spoken as if from a far distance and it took all of her strength to pull out from the memories. She blinked furiously to rid herself of the images and then she looked back at Eudora who was looking at her with concern.

"She didn't complete the experiment, though," Morticia finished but the older woman was still looking at her attentively.

"Time for lunch," Eudora declared out of a sudden and Morticia, although grateful for the change of topic, almost groaned.

"Oh, not for me, thank you," she declined gently."I'm not a big eater."

"Oh, nonsense, my dear," Eudora waved her hand dismissively."I'm known for my cooking. I was once working on a cookbook of my recipes but somehow I misplaced all the notes and now I have no idea where the hell are they."

Morticia bit her lips to prevent herself from laughing but failed miserably and her soft laugh reverberated through the depths of the Addams' vast kitchen.

"Don't laugh,"Eudora scolded half-heartedly."It's a curse to be so brilliant yet so disorganized."

"Finally!" An amused voice reverberated from the direction of the stairs."You've admitted to being disorganised."

Morticia wasn't sure she cared for how her heart started beating furiously as Gomez Addams stepped jovially into the kitchen like he owned the world, cigar in his right hand. He seemed to be smoking them constantly. He faltered when he noticed her and Morticia thought he looked like he considered immediate retreat but ultimately decided against it as he merely nodded at her tensely and made his way towards his mother where she was standing in front of the stove.

"I have admitted no such thing," Eudora denied vehemently as she put the butter on the pan and it sizzled dramatically."I'm perfectly organized."

"The mess in the kitchen that is slowly seeping into the library seems to indicate otherwise," he teased, purposely not looking at Morticia. Dear Lucifer, she was even more beautiful than he remembered and his fingers itched with the need to touch her.

"It's not a mess, darling," his mother insisted.

"What is it then?"

"It's a..ehm...you know…," she replied, moving her hand in a circular motion as scrambling her mind for the right description.

"Artistic disarray," Morticia supplied kindly, eliciting a satisfied ha from the matriarch of the Addams family and Gomez turned towards her as if just noticing she was here. The man was impossible, she decided.

"See?"Eudora turned to her son."Morticia gets it."

"Artistic disarray?" Gomez laughed coming closer to the table where Morticia was sorting the ingredients back into the little jars."More like creative destruction," he teased before smiling at Morticia.

"Semantics," she replied and returned the smile yet she was incredibly confused by his behaviour.

"Ha ha, very funny you two," Eudora supplied, her back turned from them as she busied herself with the cooking."Don't you have things to do, Gomez?"

"As a matter of fact I do," he replied, not taking his eyes off Morticia and he absently started helping her put the small, dry, black leaves into the container."Aunt Constance called, she's got arrested again."

"Does that woman love a good fun," Eudora remarked, shaking her head affectionately."They should have a prison cell named after her."

"Apparently she stabbed uncle Marvin for stepping all over her vegetable path," he explained finally tearing his eyes off the ebony-haired beauty.."She insists he's done it deliberately after she accidentally cooked his pet octopus for dinner."

"Oh dear, that would certainly set her off," she nodded."She loves her garden."

"Long story short, the neighbour saw the whole thing and called the police. They still insisted on arresting her even though uncle Marvin insisted it was just a marital jest."

"People nowadays are so oversensitive," his mother agreed, giving the pan a good shake and the food inside sizzled furiously."Hand me cyanide, please. So, I reckon, you're not staying for lunch?"

"No, I have to go," he said regretfully turning to Morticia again and he could swear he saw a flash of disappointment in her almond-shaped eyes but it was so brief he might have as well imagined it."I will eat it later, I like it better cold anyway."

"Give my regards to Constance," she requested."Tell her I'll call her later this week to catch up."

"I will," he promised, handing his mother the cyanide. It took him all his will power to tear his eyes from the girl. He didn't know what was more agonising, spending his days constantly thinking about her or being so close to her and gods she was absolutely perfect. He had to get out of here."I'll see you later," he mumbled, placing a quick kiss on his mother's cheek before disappearing from the kitchen so quickly Morticia barely had a chance to blink.

She frowned in confusion at his behaviour, the man was a walking contradiction. She couldn't make an ounce of sense from his peculiar behaviour.

She didn't have a chance to ponder upon it any further because suddenly Eudora Addams was before her, a metal plate before her, holding -

"What's that?" Morticia asked. It didn't even look remotely familiar to any food she has ever seen. It looked to her like a plate of black, slimy worms and she was absolutely enticed by the mere prospect.

"Oh, it's Gomez's favourite," she smiled as she placed the plate, fork and knife in front of Morticia, and then added is if an afterthought."Snakehead with catfish noodles all bathed in a delicious squid. Start with the eyes."

Morticia sat down and obediently cut into the wobbly substance, she could swear it moaned.

"Well, what do you think?" Eudora asked her expectantly as she watched Morticia chew on her cookery masterpiece.

"Absolutely hellish," Morticia admitted and watched the matriarch of the Addams family grin at her in a self-satisfying manner.

"Told you," she smirked."Dig in."

"This is lovely," Gomez commented pointing at the metal vase, filled with various rose thorns, on the coffee table in the parlour.

His mother looked up from her place on a settee where she was reading a book and smiled at him.

"Ah yes, Morticia brought them,"she explained."She says every house should have rose thorns, she thinks it adds a homey touch and I quite agree. It turns out she's an avid gardener, did you know? Did you see what an amazing work she's done in the conservatory? Why, it never looked gloomier!"

Gomez chuckled at her enthusiasm.

"You seem very fond of her,"he commented lightly, touching the thorny stems.

"Oh, she's a gem,"his mother praised."I would adopt her if I could. She's like a daughter you were supposed to be,"she deadpanned eliciting a loud, jovial laugh from him.

"So harsh, mama,"he said covering his heart with the palm of his hand."I would have thought you got over the disappointment of not having a daughter these past twenty-five years. Besides, I have many endearing qualities."

"That's true,"she agreed."Pity, you waste them on drinking and women of questionable reputation."

"Is that your way of telling me you disapprove of my life choices?"He asked taking a seat in a chair opposite her and crossing his legs.

"What life choices, dear?"She questioned sardonically."You were born into the privilege, you never had a care in the world until your dear father passed away and you had to join Fester in running a family business."

"Yet, despite my sheltered upbringing you must admit that I am quite excellent at running it,"he grinned cheekily.

"You are,"she admitted."But there's more to life than money and women, Gomez."

"Is there?" He challenged mockingly.

His mother ignored his tone and closed the book on her lap before addressing him again:

"Look at Morticia, she's only nineteen and yet she works so hard to get the scholarship in the most prestigious witchcraft school in France and, if you ask me I have no doubt she'll get it. All that despite the fact that she's studying full time, works for me and her troubles at home," she pointed out intensely."Yet you, with all the advantages…"

"She's nineteen? I thought she's younger,"he interrupted causally, but his posture instantly perked up at the prospect opening before him.

Nineteen. She was nineteen.

She was still younger than the women he usually dated but nineteen was a world of difference from sixteen.

"You leave that girl alone, Gomez,"she warned pointing at him with his finger threateningly, but he only smiled at her caddishly."She has enough on her plate, she certainly doesn't need more trouble from the likes of Gomez Addams."

His cheeky smile disappeared at her words and he regarded her curiously.

"What trouble?" he asked and was taken aback how protective he suddenly felt about her.

"None of your business, just keep your grimy paws away from her" his mother retorted sternly.

Yet, Gomez Addams knew his mother well and he knew one thing especially - that, no matter what, Eudora Addams loved gossips and couldn't keep a secret to save her life, so he just stared at her patiently, waiting for her to spill the beans and sure enough Eudora seemed to hesitate for a moment, but eventually concurred and leaned closer to him as if afraid they might be overhead even though they were the only ones in the house.

"From what I've heard from cousin Melancholia, who heard it from uncle Knick Knack who knows a guy, who knows a guy that has a cousin who does business with Morticia's brother-in-law," she started." Morticia's father died unexpectedly three years ago,"she stated and let her words sink in for a moment before continuing."I don't know exactly what happened but Morticia moved in here from France to live with her sister three years ago, soon after her father died, so I gather her mother is not fit to look after her."

He couldn't say he liked what he was hearing. It was a complication, to say the least.

"Where is her mother now?"

His mother only shrugged.

"I don't know,"she admitted."Apparently, and I don't know if there's any truth in it, but people talk that she tried to kill herself so... she's probably hospitalized somewhere. The family is very private about it, so nobody really knows."

"Poor girl," he remarked more to himself than to his mother. He didn't know what to think of this sudden wave of tenderness that suddenly engulfed him. Another complication, for sure.

"Yes,"his mother nodded."Fester said Morticia's brother-in-law is not keen on paying for her witchcraft studies, so she really counts on that scholarship. The last thing she needs now is a ruined reputation or a broken heart, for that matter,"she said giving him a pointed look before going back to her book.

He lifted his hands in a gesture of surrender. Admittedly, his mother was absolutely right and it just added to the long list of reasons why pursuing this woman was a spectacularly bad idea.

"I promise not to lay a finger on her," he said solemnly but his mother only raised his eyes at him sceptically and Gomez Addams didn't have to reach very deep into his own heart to know that there's no way in hell he'd be able to keep that promise.