The Changing Wind
a story by Ryeloza
Chapter Seven
October 31, 1977
Patty was already outside with the girls when Victor pulled up and she ushered the girls straight to the car with scarcely a gaze back at her home. As Victor started to get out to help her, she waved an impatient hand; "Stay in the car. We have to get going."
"Patty, what is going on?"
"I'll tell you later. Just get in the car."
"Whose baby—"
"Victor, please! For once in your life do what I ask!"
Victor narrowed his eyes, annoyed by the slight and tempted to remind her that they were divorced now and that he was doing her a favor. Truth be told, though, he had never seen Patty so skittish and her behavior was frightening him. He lowered himself back into the car and waited while she arranged the girls in the back seat. A minute later, Patty slipped into the passenger's side and said, "Do you know where Hawthorne Avenue is? The Mackerly Plaza?"
"Kind of."
"That's where we're going. I'll give you directions."
Victor nearly asked what was going on again, then shook his head, put the car into drive and pulled away from the curb. In the back seat, Piper gave a sniffle and then half-whined, half-cried, "I don't wanna go!"
Prue kicked the back of Victor's seat and whined back, "Stop crying, Piper!"
"Girls, please!" Patty snapped. "Stop arguing!"
In the rear-view mirror Victor saw Prue cross her arms over her chest and pull her sulking face; Piper hiccupped a few times and settled into a silent cry that only served to break his heart. "Patty," he said, under his breath, "maybe you should calm down a little."
Patty didn't respond, simply sinking down in the seat, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose. The car fell into a not-entirely comfortable silence and Victor sighed.
Fifteen minutes into the drive, both Prue and Piper gave into sleep—their exhaustion probably a good part of their whining—and Victor decided to make another go at getting Patty to talk. "They're asleep," he said quietly. "Can you tell me what's going on now?"
"We're leaving my mother's," said Patty. "I'm giving up magic. We're all giving up magic."
"What?" Victor whipped his head to look at her and Patty hissed at him to keep his eyes on the road. "What are you talking about?"
"Look, I need you to stay calm. If you're going to freak out as you hear this then you'll have to wait until we get there."
"Patty, you're scaring me. Did something happen? A demon…?"
"No. Nothing like that. I'm just…done. I'm done with giving up what I want for the greater good. I'm done putting my girls at risk. I'm done."
"You couldn't have figured this out a year ago?" Victor asked, half-seriously, half-joking. Patty glared at him.
"That baby in the back seat…she's mine. Mine and Sam's. We're running away together."
Involuntarily, Victor clenched the steering wheel, grinding his teeth together. "Are you fucking kidding me?" he asked under his breath. "Damn it, Patty!"
"Calm down! This has nothing to do with you!"
"The hell it doesn't! You cheat on me with this bastard and now I'm driving you and your love child and my daughters to your new love shack? What the hell?"
"I am not getting into this with you again! I never cheated on you! Get that through your thick skull!"
"I just knew he was nothing but trouble! I've known it since the first time I saw him leaning over you in the apartment!"
"Nothing happened while we were married! We've been divorced for a year!"
"Yeah? Well apparently you didn't waste any time! How old is your kid?"
Out of the corner of his eye he could see Patty deflate and he felt a surge of triumph that really didn't do anything to quell his rage. Who cared if he was right? The knowledge wouldn't give him his family back.
"Victor, please. I've had a long night. Can we not fight?"
Victor shook his head, more in disbelief than a denial to her request. "How did I not know? I know we haven't exactly been on the best terms, but I saw you last month when I picked up the girls. You didn't have a baby then."
Patty let out a tiny sigh. "That's why we're leaving, Victor. Mom made me give up the baby after I had her. It wasn't working. I couldn't…deal with it. So Sam and I took her back."
"Wait, what?" Victor gave a shaky laugh. "How could you just take her back? Patty?"
"We just…took her."
"You mean you kidnapped her?"
"No! She's my daughter, Victor!"
"But you gave her up!"
"I didn't want to!"
Victor rolled his eyes. "You're a piece of work, you know that? Damn it, Patty! What if they catch you? What about our girls?"
"I took care of it. I cast a spell. The Elders aren't going to find us. Neither is my mother."
"Yeah, I meant the police. Do you really think those people who had that baby aren't going to report her missing?"
"It doesn't matter. They won't find her. I'm changing her name. I covered all of my bases."
Victor pulled into the parking lot of Patty's new apartment complex, jerking the car into a parking space and finally turning to look at her. "Patty, this is insane! What were you thinking?"
Patty dropped her head and looked at her lap for a moment. When she looked back up at him, her eyes were wet with tears. "I wasn't thinking, Victor. All I know is that she's mine, and I couldn't just let her go. Can't you understand that?"
Victor glanced back at his three sleeping daughters; the girls he thought of and worried about every day, but had seen maybe once a month since the divorce. Could he give them up forever, if it was better for them?
"I don't know, Patty. I just…don't know."
