Tongues Tied and Hundred Themes
11. Siblings
Characters: Arthur, Charles
Word count: 1236
11
He had never been really bothered by the thought that his oldest brother was twenty years older than him, but when he was ten, he was completely taken by the age difference he and his brothers had. So many years seemed to grow between them as he stepped one step closer them.
His father was sitting in his study, stuffing his pipe and read in his usual book; that big business book he always had appointments in. Arthur knocked lightly on the doorframe and his old father looked up, smiling; "Arthur." He said in a quite surprised tone, and Arthur walked over to him, staring at the ground.
"Why did you guys get me?"
"Huh?" His father blinked, completely confused at Arthur's words that had just fell off those lips, who was in a sour pout and eyes looking accusingly at him.
"I asked you; why did you and mum have me?" Arthur was blunt, staring, his hands gripped tightly and he could only stare at his father, who was smoking his pipe with a thoughtful expression.
"I wonder that myself... getting such an ungrateful child." He faked a sob, and laughed out when Arthur yelled out a "hey!" at him, looking like he was about to fly on him. "No, you see... you and Alice were not really planned. You came as a surprise on us, and when you learned to talk, Sophie was pregnant with Alice." He grinned, poking Arthur's forehead. "Don't think too much on it, ok?" He laughed softly.
"Then it's only Alice and I who...?" He looked at his father with questioning eyes, and the answer he got was just even more messed up; "Oh yeah, and Cameron was definitely not planned!" He barked a laugh, "And William was like a second apple surprising on us. You all kind of just came as you went." The talk was so easy; it was like his father was so easy going about these things – which his mother was not.
"Dad..." Arthur's voice was toneless, dead almost, as he stared at his father with a facial expression that spoke that he was not amused, at all.
"But Arthur, why did you even worry about this? You know your mother and I always have a fair share of love." That tone was too light, Arthur mused, too light for being his father. It kind of worried him sometimes when he did not see his parents in a friendly or lovable conversation by weeks passing.
"Are you and mum still going strong?" Arthur wondered to his father, and earned a gentle pat on the shoulder; "Grown-ups have it a lot rougher than you youths. We deal with so many things at once. Did you know that you are going to become an uncle soon? Sophie almost fainted when she got to know she was going to be a grandmother." He chuckled, taking up his coffee cup with the cold coffee and drank it.
Arthur looked around the study, wandering along the wall, looking at the books in the shelves. His father's study was quite small, but it roomed enough with things; a desk and two chairs, shelves against the north-east wall and pictures adoring the south-west wall, pictures of the family. The black and white pictures were so strange in addition to the coloured pictures that adored the living room. Cameron was on most pictures; in his first school uniform, cycling, hanging out with Francis' older brother and graduation photos. Niall and William, though, were only in three photos, where they were graduating, in their upper secondary uniform and hugging their mother. Jonathan was adored in pictures together with another boy who Arthur did not know, so he took down the picture and walked over to his father, who patted on his pipe.
"Who is this?" Arthur said, holding up the picture and his father laughed while patting Arthur's head.
"That's Jonathan's friend from New Zealand. The two of them would sit out in the garden whenever it was sun out and talk about sheep." He explained, taking the picture from Arthur, smiling; "Wow, how young they were."
"Why is John so – I don't know – enthusiastic about sheep?" He had been very curious about it, for a quite a long time, and now he could just ask him, his father. His father had to know something, right?
"I wonder why, myself. I think it has to do with the stories your mother used to tell him about the sheep lord and a princess. She always made up stories that had elements of sheep." He shook his head, "And I think it kind of grew on him, and when we went to Australia to visit my brother, he met Jack – that New Zealand boy – and they found the tone quickly in talk about sheep." He shook his head.
"Oh, so that's why... Can you explain me the relationship between Cameron and Francis' brother?" He settled down on the floor and looked up at his father, wanting to know almost everything about his brothers he never really talked to.
"Cameron and Sébastien were both rude to each other, went together to school and was like twins when they got together to bother others." His father took and stuffed anew his pipe, and looked around the room. "They would often fight whenever they wanted to release some tension. It wasn't until they were off to University that Sébastien and Cameron acknowledged their friendship." He breathed out, sighing and lit the pipe. "They were a little strange together, at times they would fight, but at other times they would laze around and talk about stuff, mainly girls when they entered Upper Secondary School." He chuckled. "They usually talked about this one girl, if I remember correctly, and that caused such fights. It was hilarious to see Cameron walking behind Sébastien when Sébastien stomped to the entrance, and they would shout towards each other in such an old married couple."
"What happened to Sébastien? He wasn't at Cameron's wedding." Arthur piped in, and his father stopped up, the sound of him breathing heavily filled the room.
"Sébastien went to France to study, and he got his years and moved in with a French girl. They lived in Paris at that time, and if I remember correctly from what Giselle had said to your mother, he was in an accident." His father explained, and Arthur stared wide eyed at his father.
"Accident?" He whispered.
"Killed."
"Oh..." He looked down, gripped onto his own thighs.
"Well – Niall and William are different, they grew up together, and Niall grew more independent from us, while William is more dependent on us and Niall." His father said, breathing in deeply. "Niall, being the stupid boy, just had to go about and cut us all out." The angry tone in his father's voice scared Arthur a little, and he looked up at his father, who cursed out about Niall, thumping his hand in the desk. "Bloody hell that child was even more ungrateful than you. Always complaining and fighting, and he even had to run away like the boy he was when he finally turned eighteen. How he broke his mother's heart!"
"Uhm, dad, you're breaking the desk..." Arthur said, trying to calm down his father, who only hit even harder as he cursed Niall's name.
Siblings... Arthur could only shake his head over them all.