Chapter 19- Unpleasant Truths
A/N- Sorry for the long wait, gang. This chapter proved to be one of the most difficult to write so far, mostly because I was attempting to do it amidst finals. There's also the fact that I just kept getting stuck but, whatever, it's here now! This is more of an exposition-through-dialogue chapter (sort of gossipy, I suppose) but I think you'll discover some things along the way and see some interesting character development. So, yeah, that's all I have to say about that!
Disclaimer- Burton's et al.
Truthfully, Seraphina was a bit concerned.
She had arrived at work that morning to find Jack wide-awake and frantically typing at –no, attacking was the more accurate verb- his typewriter. The growing piles of crumpled up paper balls seemed to signify that his current project was of the utmost importance to him and that one single mistake could throw the whole effort into complete disarray. Or so she supposed.
Jack usually took tea in the morning, so Seraphina decided to abide by the schedule as usual and offer it to him.
"No, no, not this morning," Jack mumbled, waving his hand at her dismissively. "I'll just neglect it completely and it'll get cold before I even have time to touch it. Don't waste your time, Miss Belvoir, there are plenty of other things that need to get done today."
Seraphina supposed it wasn't really any of her business or place to ask, but curiosity had always been her weakness.
"Does all of this have something to do with that?" she asked meekly, gesturing at the mess on his desk. She regretted having asked almost immediately after doing so, but it was mostly because she didn't know Jack very well and wasn't sure how he'd respond to it.
Instead of getting angry or defensive or telling her to get the hell out of his office and stop asking intrusive questions, Jack sighed deeply and leaned far back in his chair.
"Unfortunately not, yet I've allowed myself to lose an entire night's sleep over it."
Seraphina gasped. "You never went to bed?"
Jack simply shook his head and massaged his temples, seeming to have just realized the full-weight of his fatigue.
"With all due respect, your majesty, what is so important to have lost a whole night's sleep over?"
Seraphina couldn't deny that his lack of apparent disdain was making her increasingly confident in her ability to get away with being meddlesome.
But once again, Jack displayed no indication that he found her behavior too forward. Instead, he returned to an upright, seated position and eyed the current paper in the typewriter pensively.
"I'm writing a letter to a friend," he explained. "But it's not just any friend… you see, this person and I…we have something of tumultuous history and I'm kind of hoping a letter will begin the process of forgiveness. The problem is, I just can't seem to churn out something that seems effective enough."
Once more throwing tact to the wind, Seraphina invited herself to walk behind Jack's desk and get a good look at the letter.
"Ooohhh, it's to Sally," she observed aloud, mostly to herself. It still earned her an inquisitive look from her employer, and she suddenly remembered she wasn't supposed to know as much as she did about the situation. "I've just…talked to Victor about it some, that's all."
"Perhaps you can help me then," Jack said, grabbing a nearby chair and pulling it up alongside them. This, of course, fully surprised Seraphina, who was starting to think she was slipping into hot water. "Maybe your feminine insight and knowledge of the situation can inspire me to write a worthy letter to her. Would you mind?"
Seraphina shook her head. "Not at all."
And so the two of them sat, staring fixedly at the typewriter, as Jack continued his furious typing, stopping only occasionally to get some feedback from her. Eventually, the letter began to dwindle into what was almost purely Seraphina's wording and she would have stopped them to make it more personal to Jack if she didn't think doing so would make him unsatisfied and want to crumple up this version as well. She wanted Jack to produce something worthy of postage in his eyes, but she was also hoping to get this done with quickly so she could usher him off to get some sleep. She was certain his wife would appreciate her doing so, in any case.
Ironically enough, it was in that moment that Tivona sauntered into the room. She initially looked moderately at ease, but when she caught sight of Seraphina sitting as close to Jack as she was, her face began to twist into a scowl. Seraphina jumped, scooting herself farther away and making an all around benign situation look unduly suspicious.
"Am I interrupting something?" she asked bitter sweetly. Surprisingly, Jack didn't even look up from his work.
"No, no, not at all, dear. Seraphina and I were just working on writing a letter."
"A letter?" she repeated, cocking an eyebrow. She then sauntered over to the desk and casually yanked the letter out from the paper table as if it meant nothing. Jack and Seraphina simply sat there in awe, too stunned to react accordingly.
One glance at the paper was all it took for Tivona's face to contort into a furious scowl.
"So, you and Sally are pen pals now, hmm? When were you planning to share this bit of information with me, Jack?"
Jack quite literally face-palmed at that exact moment, and his subsequent groan seemed to suggest that he had forgotten a very crucial first step in beginning correspondence with his old friend.
"Darling, you have to believe me when I say that I had every intention of talking this over with you-"
"Really? Then why didn't you?"
"I was simply being forgetful. I'm sorry, I am, but please understand that I'm writing to Sally with only the most platonic of intentions!"
Had Seraphina not been the overly-curious, socially-unaware person that she was, she might have taken the opportunity to slip out of the room and allow the couple some quarreling privacy. Instead, she remained where she was, wide-eyed and fixated, as though watching an intense scene from a soap-opera.
"You're not writing to her at all," Tivona corrected him sternly, proceeding to rip the paper in half, then quarters, then eighths. When she finished, she tossed the bits of letter-confetti onto the floor and desk for dramatic effect. "Not as long as you're married to me."
Seraphina's mouth fell open and Jack simply stared at the mess in stunned disbelief before glancing back at up his wife.
"I do hope you get your act together sooner rather than later, Jack," she continued. "Because like it or not, you're going to be a father in nine months and I refuse to raise this poor child with an ignoramus."
Jack's eye sockets went wide and Seraphina fell out of her chair.
"Wait…wh-wh-what…what d-d-did you say?" he stammered, his limbs quivering.
"You heard me. It was meant to be a wedding present to you from me and the Witch Sisters, and I was just coming in to surprise you with the news…but what do I find? You and your female secretary giggling over a love letter to your old girlfriend."
"It wasn't a love letter," Seraphina interjected. "I can attest to that."
Tivona glared daggers at her.
"Don't you have papers to file or something?"
"Well, no, not exactly. See, I finished my filing yesterday and-"
"Get out." Tivona ordered, pointing towards the open door to the office.
Seraphina simply nodded in concession before standing up to leave, knowing full-well that throwing one of the paperweights on Jack's desk at the Halloween Queen instead would probably get her fired.
Before exiting the room completely, however, Seraphina saw Jack collapse, dumbfounded, into his chair. As soon as she had made it into the outside hallway, Tivona bid him adieu with a simple, "Grow up, Jack", before following Seraphina's former path towards the exit and shutting the large doors to the office behind her with a reverberating slam.
Most things had gotten exceptionally easier since the night Sally saved Mr. Price, but there was still the ever present feeling that the worst was yet to come.
Nevertheless, she didn't mind that his new-found trust in her compelled him to insure her position as governess to his children. Better yet, Alistair had discontinued the pranks entirely. He still didn't show any indication of particularly liking her, but the look of admiration on his face when he asked her, "Did you really save my dad from the spider?" and received a, "Why, yes, I did" in reply was unmistakable. Perhaps there was hope for the two of them after all, she would think.
But the issue of the giant spiders' presence remained, and for the first time in their lives, Augusta and Lionel were forced to restrict their children to playing only in the immediate view of an adult. This wasn't too terribly difficult for Sally to maintain, as Lotte was constantly by her side as it was and Alistair knew enough from personal experience to not risk being snatched up again. But for Lionel and Augusta, this was a rather awkward precaution and they often found themselves looking to Sally for guidance on keeping their children safe.
All things considered, the sooner these spiders were gone, the better, even if Sally was a bit more concerned with how they got there in the first place.
"I think it might be best if we take matters into our own hands," Lionel suggested one morning over tea. It had become something of a ritual for Sally to join the couple for breakfast on the porch while the children frolicked in the vicinity. It was an admittedly welcome breath of fresh air before diving into the busyness of the typical day.
"Do you mean…we should exterminate the spiders on our own?" Sally asked, a bit wary. She noticed Augusta was also eying Lionel with a sense of dreading doubt.
"Well, why not? I don't think going to the government heads will do much good- in case it hasn't become unwaveringly apparent to you, Miss Stitches, the most we've ever had to worry about in this town is overpopulation, given we are a holiday of fertility and what-not. Point being, no one here besides you has any clue how to handle these beasts."
Augusta raised an eyebrow and asked slyly over her crocheting, "I do hope you're not volunteering Miss Sally to fix this problem for us."
"Certainly not!" Lionel exclaimed. "That is, not without volunteering myself as well. I do hunt every now and then and I can most certainly handle a rifle. Perhaps, Miss Stitches, if you educate me on how to better kill these things, I could teach you how to better use a gun. Together, we could take out all the blighters. What do you think?"
"I think," Sally smirked. "That you need to be more concerned about resting your leg, Mr. Price. Your limp has only marginally improved and we won't be very successful in our hunting endeavors if you're just hobbling along. The spiders are much quicker than that."
Augusta giggled at the mental imagery.
"But there's also an issue of time to be considered here," she continued. "Spiders –of any size- multiply quickly and in mass quantities. For this reason, it would be us two against hundreds. As admirable as I think the idea is, I just don't see it being a viable option."
"Besides," Augusta chimed in. "I don't like the idea of you wandering out there in the dark, trying to take out something that's twice your size, no matter how expertly Sally educates you on these things."
Surprisingly, the jaded fear of a middle-aged woman was already beginning to bloom in Augusta's tone. Sally didn't know whether to feel encouraged or disappointed by this, but she could at least take comfort in knowing that this sort of attitude lead to increased precautionary wisdom, of which they'd all need a lot.
"Well, I don't very well like the alternative!" Lionel exclaimed. "The only other person I can think of that would have any inkling on how to take care of these things is that Belvoir fellow, and I'd be quite pleased to never see or hear of him again."
Augusta realized Lionel's error long before he did, clapping her hand over mouth to stifle a gasp. It'd unfortunately didn't escape Sally's notice.
"Wait…Lord Belvoir, the leader of the Atrox clan in Halloween Town? How do you know him?"
She wasn't sure why this was the conclusion that she immediately jumped to. Certainly there could have been more than one Lord Belvoir, couldn't there? Nevertheless, Lionel and Augusta's shocked expressions seemed to suggest that her assumption was correct.
"Sally…" Augusta began calmly, continuing to glance at her husband. "Lionel and I…that is- some time ago, we were involved in a certain cause based out of your hometown…"
Lionel nodded grudgingly. "Yes…and, to be quite frank, this is all rather embarrassing, but…we were involved in a movement to end assimilation."
Sally could only grimace at the both of them in confusion. This was the first she had heard about it.
"I…suppose this was something of an…underground cause?"
The both of them nodded, staring down at the porch shamefully.
"It's not something we're behind anymore," Lionel assured, voice lowering almost to a whisper. "Though we haven't exactly declared this to Lord Belvoir, yet- the leader of the whole thing."
Sally simply nodded, beginning to realize that this was perhaps a topic better left for later, within closed doors at the very least. To quell the tension, she rose and began to gather the breakfast dishes.
"You should be off to work soon, Mr. Price," she pointed out. "And I do believe you have some appointments of your own, Mrs. Price."
Augusta jumped with the realization of how late it was getting to be and quickly scrambled over to her husband to help him to his feet.
"You're absolutely right, Sally. How could we let the time get away from us like that?"
As Augusta helped Lionel achieve a good balance with his cane, he and Sally exchanged knowing, grave looks as if to promise one another to speak more about the issue later on. Even so, she expected it was not something either of them would soon forget.
After parking his cart just outside the castle gates, Victor was quickly granted admittance inside and escorted to the main lobby.
As strange as it was for both him and undoubtedly the reader, Victor was not here to visit Jack. That's not to imply that he didn't plan on saying hello while he was inside his place of residence, however. He typically made a point of popping by Jack's office for a quick chat before returning to his delivery route, but that was after he'd had lunch with Seraphina.
He knew exactly when these daily lunches had started; Seraphina had asked him kindly one day if he wouldn't mind picking something up for her since she regrettably left her own lunch back at her flat on accident. Victor, being the polite gentleman that he was and having decided not too long ago that Seraphina was, perhaps, not as annoying as he previously believed, agreed to help her out. She had asked him to stay and eat with her that particular afternoon because she apparently couldn't stand eating alone, and once again, Victor obliged her.
At some point, the pretenses of 'forgetting lunches' and 'needing company while eating' were selectively forgotten by the both of them, and what was once a favor became a daily ritual that Victor looked forward to. Seraphina may have been a tad bit unstable, but as time passed, he found that he wasn't perturbed by it so much as he was intrigued. She said some of the oddest things, but on the whole, she was a reasonably intelligent person.
All things considered, it was significantly better than spending his lunch hour alone, perched on his cart with either a book to read or resident crows to stare at or maybe talk rhetorically to.
This particular afternoon had seemed to be no different than the others. Seraphina greeted him with a squeal when he walked in –Victor, not sure if she was reacting to his presence or the blood bisque he'd bought her from the deli- and the two of them sat at her desk to eat and talk about the minutia of the day.
"You won't even believe what happened here today," Seraphina gushed, gesturing with her spoon. "It'll knock the fangs right out of your head."
"Well, go on then," Victor urged. "Don't tease me with it."
Looking a bit devious, Seraphina leaned across the desk surface and began the recap in a rather loud whisper, probably negating any of the subtlety she was attempting to create.
"Alright, get this…so, I came in this morning to find Jack hard at work at his typewriter, which is pretty weird, right?"
Victor nodded. "I'll say. I've never even heard of him getting out of bed before 9 am."
"Exactly. So I asked him what the deal was, and it turned out he'd been writing a letter to Sally all night and chugging espresso to keep himself awake. He literally never went to bed. Now is that crazy or what?"
Victor stirred, trying not to make his discomfort with this revelation too blatantly apparent. "Mmm…yes, quite insane …"
"Yeah, I know! So anyway, I decide to help him out so maybe he can finish the letter soon and get to bed. I figure it's part of my responsibility as his personal assistant to see that he gets his rest. So we work on it for awhile and then…guess who walks in?"
He was admittedly a bit more interested in the nature of the letter itself, but decided to feign interest in this last development for courtesy's sake.
"Uhm…oh, I couldn't say…Tivona, perhaps?"
"Yes!" Seraphina exclaimed, apparently impressed with Victor's deductive skills. "So she walks in giving me the stink eye -like she usually does only a bit worse this time around- and yanks the letter out of the typewriter faster than I could blink. As you might imagine, she doesn't react well to Jack writing letters to the girl he kissed behind her back."
Victor's mouth dropped in horrified disbelief. "You mean to tell me he didn't discuss this with her beforehand? After he specifically told me he was going to?"
"Apparently, he'd forgotten. Frankly, I believe him and I think you should too. I've only known King Jack a few weeks, but he's never struck me as the 'remembering' type."
He simply nodded, allowing some of his immediate frustration to subside. In all likelihood, Jack had forgotten as opposed to purposefully not told Tivona.
"But that's not the worst of it," Seraphina continued. "So after she yells at him for a bit, she says the craziest thing. I literally fell out of my chair when I heard it, and I was just sitting there!"
"What?" Victor encouraged, getting a bit impatient. "What did she say?"
Seraphina then somehow managed to lean even farther over the surface of the desk and grin wickedly. He could tell that whatever she was about to spill was going to be mind-blowing, and he wondered if he was even in the right frame of mind to hear it.
Ready or not, here it came.
"She told him she was pregnant…with his his baby."
For Victor, hearing this was sort of like getting a limb cut off and not being able to feel the pain right away due to overwhelming shock.
"I-I…I'm sorry…his child? As in…Jack…the skeleton's child?"
She nodded. "All thanks to some potion made by her and The Witch Sisters. Apparently it was going to be some surprise wedding present, though I think the initial mood Tivona had been hoping for was lessened by the whole letter thing…"
He sat, still and numb for only a few seconds more as he attempted to process the information as best he could.
"I…I think I had better go talk to him," he said after a time, still not having achieved a good grasp on the situation. "Would you mind?"
Seraphina shook her head and quickly capped her bisque. "I'll come with you!"
Were Victor in a clearer state of mind, he might have asked her to stay behind and let him go at it alone. Thankfully, the presence of a third party wouldn't keep Jack from being completely candid about the situation, so the both of them walked purposefully down the long, dark castle corridor to the doors of Jack's study.
After having let themselves in, they quickly came to realize that Jack was sprawled sound asleep in his desk chair, snoring quite loudly.
"Thank goodness he finally got some rest!" Seraphina whispered. Victor said nothing and instead approached his sleeping friend.
"Jack," he said firmly, gently shaking the arms of the desk chair. "Jack, wake up, it's Victor."
While Victor struggled futilely to rouse him, Seraphina located a forgotten, slightly dusty wineglass on a nearby bookshelf. She then tossed the glass violently against the very far, opposite wall and it exploded into a million pieces with a startling smash. This was enough to get Jack's attention, as he immediately came to.
"Wh-wha-…I didn't fall asleep…" he promised to no one in particular as tried to quickly get a bearing on where he was.
"Jack, it's Victor-"
"And Seraphina!"
"Yes, and Seraphina. I've heard you've just received some startling news…"
Jack blinked slightly and looked a bit confused before the pieces fell into place.
"Oh! Oh, yes, that!" he exclaimed. "Yes, I had strangest dream. You wouldn't believe it, Victor…"
Victor raised an eyebrow, knowingly. "It wouldn't happen to have been a dream about Tivona coming into your study and telling you that fatherhood was imminent…would it?"
Jack looked awe-struck. "It was, as a matter of fact! However did you guess? I must say, I've never had someone accurately guess my dreams before…"
"That's because it wasn't a dream, Jack," Victor sighed. "Seraphina already told me everything."
The sense of relief slowly drained from Jack's face and was quickly replaced by the same shock and terror from before.
"You mean it-…everything, it's all…real? I didn't dream it?"
"Apparently not."
The skeleton King quickly rose and began pacing rather frantically across the marble floor.
"I just don't understand…how could this have happened? I just- what- where…when…who?"
"From what I understand, Tivona and the Witch Sisters-"
"No- yes- I know," Jack interrupted, briefly touching Victor's shoulder in an attempt to silence him. "I know all of that. I just…I can't seem to process that this is…real…I keep thinking this will turn out to be one of those dreams within a dream and I'll wake up at any moment-"
"Jack," Victor interjected. "I think it might be wise for you to take some time to collect your thoughts. Why don't you take another one of your strolls with Zero and then come back and have a chat with Tivona about this? Hmm?"
Jack, looking no less bewildered or terrified, simply nodded.
"Y-yes…I suppose that would be wise…"
His eyes then floated dejectedly downward towards the typewriter.
"Seraphina and I will write something to her," Victor assured, softly. "It will be from all three of us."
Jack smiled at the both of them sadly, before exiting the office to seek out Zero. Seraphina and Victor stood in something of a stunned, solemn silence for a few beats before Seraphina broke the tension by grabbing a nearby trashcan.
"Well, I guess these dejected 'letter balls' aren't going to clean themselves up!" she sighed, immediately setting to work. Victor allowed himself to grin privately at her before settling himself in Jack's office chair and behind the typewriter to begin his work.
Sally was a bit horrified to open the door of her cottage that evening and find Mr. Price hanging haphazardly on his cane.
"Sir, tell me you didn't walk all this way…"
He laughed, trying in vain to hide his discomfort. "I believe 'hobbled' is the more correct term for what I did."
She quickly ushered him inside and into the cushioned support of a chair, which he sank into with a strained sigh of relief.
"Daddy!" Lotte's voice squealed. She soon appeared from the kitchen, covered in flour-handprints, and quickly bolted to her father's lap.
"Bothering Miss Stitches again, are we?" he teased, hoisting her onto his knee.
"We were just in the middle of making cookies, weren't we, Lotte?"
Lotte nodded, then turned to her father and exclaimed delightedly, "I made a ginger man and a tree!"
"Oh…? How nice…" Lionel said, clearly trying to hide his confusion. Sally just smiled sheepishly as she took a seat across from them.
"Lotte wanted to learn about Christmas," she explained. "I hope you don't mind that I shared some of the customs with her. It is almost December, after all, and she just had some questions."
Lionel knew that had this happened less than a month ago, he would have been furious. But having Sally around had proven to be a great educator and he'd be damned if he were going to hold on to his ignorant misconceptions from before.
"No, I don't mind at all. I'm beginning to think it might be rather pivotal for the children to learn about the other holidays. As a matter of fact, it might not be a bad idea for me to do the same."
Sally smiled warmly at him, pleased with the fact that Lionel felt comfortable enough to say so.
But it was then that his brows furrowed in a rather grave fashion, and he lifted Lotte off of his lap before instructing her to go start cleaning up the mess in the kitchen.
"I actually came here tonight to explain the issue from this morning a bit more in-depth," he explained, as soon as his young daughter was out of ear-shot. "I fear we may have left things on an uncomfortable note."
"Not at all," Sally lied, as she had been mulling over the mention of Lord Belvoir's involvement with the 'anti-assimilation' movement all day. She wanted –and needed- to know more, as something about it did not bode well with her, however common opposing groups were in holiday politics. "I'm just a bit curious, is all."
"And understandably so. You see, my wife and I joined the anti-assimilation movement some time ago because we were concerned about our holiday losing its individuality. We didn't feel it was wise, involving one with another. Lord Belvoir had –and still has- a steady growing following of individuals from various worlds who feel the same way we did. We joined as the Easter Town representatives, thinking it might be a good way to combat the movement we opposed. But the moment I met him, Lord Belvoir, that is, I began to regret the whole thing immediately, and only more so after becoming more acquainted with you and beginning to realize that associating with other holiday words might be both a wise and prudent thing. But Lord Belvoir himself…well, I have no doubt in my mind that he's evil. I knew from the first look that no good would ever come from this man…vampire, whatever he is…no matter how charming or gifted with words he might be. Furthermore, I'm concerned that I may have inadvertently doomed my family to a terrible fate at his hands. Apart from you, he is the only being I know of that could rid us of these spider things, but for obvious reasons I wish to avoid this like death."
"Mr. Price, I understand your concern," she sighed. "But you and I stand no chance of ridding the town of these things on our own, especially with your handicap."
"But there must be something, anything we can do. Please try to understand how unwise it would be to resort to the alternative. Perhaps if we had more people involved with the hunt? Some individuals from your town, perhaps?"
Sally chewed her bottom lip nervously. "I don't know if that would be a good idea…"
Lionel rose and stood precariously with a lingering exhale.
"Please consider it, Miss Stitches. We're between a rock and hard place, as they say, and sooner or later we will have to make a difficult decision- if not for our sake, then for the safety of Lotte, and Alistair, and all of the Easter Town children."
She eventually nodded, knowing this to be painfully true.
"Oh, and before I forget," he added, reaching into his coat pocket. "This came for you today. From some of your Halloween Town friends, I expect."
He handed her the rather dog-eared letter and she eyed it in shock for a good while before finally willing herself to thank him. Lionel simply nodded and then bid Lotte –who was still covered in flour and had probably made no progress in the kitchen whatsoever- to accompany him back to the main house.
When she was alone, Sally tentatively opened the envelope and slowly read the contents of the letter within.
Sally,
We hope all is well with you in Easter Town, and that you don't mind that we've gone out of our way to locate you; friends tend to do that sometimes when one disappears sporadically one night and never confirms their location or the fact that they're safe. Please don't think we're trying to guilt or shame you in saying this, but understand that we have been fretting and thinking a lot about you and wondering if and when you'd contact one of us besides Ziggy.
Things are fine here in Halloween Town, though you were sorely missed at the wedding. However, many of us understand your reasoning for doing what you did the night before and, rest assured, it is not something we intend to hold against you. Just so you know, Jack and Tivona have been officially married for about a month now and enjoyed a pleasant honeymoon in the Mistletoe Mountains. Seraphina Belvoir wishes to add that she's been recently employed in your former position and she and her mother have taken up residence with Ziggy in your old flat and she hopes that you don't mind this either. She wants to let you know that if you ever wish to return and claim your old life back, she will gladly step aside.
As for me –Victor-, nothing has really changed. I think you'll find that out of the three of us writing this, my life has been by far the most boring. For this reason, I'll stop talking about that and get to the heart of what we'd like to say in this letter. To be frank, we'd like to see you again sometime. You are welcome to visit here anytime (or return, but no pressure there) but we'd also love to see how you're being treated in your new town of residence, if we may be so bold to say so.
Please do let us know how you're doing and if you'd fancy a visit anytime soon. Just to reiterate, you are sorely missed and we'd really ask for nothing more than to hear from you again.
All our love,
Victor, Seraphina (your new friend! xoxo), and Jack
Sally clutched the letter a bit tighter as she read the last name listed.
Tivona missed seeing Jack walk in, as her nose was currently buried in her latest fashion magazine of choice. She sighed regretfully as she eyed the various gowns, knowing full-well she wouldn't be able to fit into any of them for at least nine months- perhaps longer if she couldn't lose the baby weight quickly.
Her inability to see him, coupled with her preoccupation with the clothes, caused her to jump nearly three feet into the air when his bony hand touched hers.
"Geez, Jack, can't you warn me you're even in the room before doing something like that?"
His already somber expression grew even more so.
"I am sorry, but you can't forget I'm the King of Halloween. It's in my nature to scare."
She sighed exasperatedly and put her magazine to the side. "Alright, what is it? What's got you so depressed?"
"You…didn't forget our interaction earlier, did you?" he asked, slightly incredulous.
Truthfully, she had, but remembering that it was her prerogative to keep Jack wrapped around her finger, she quickly recalled her anger from before.
"You'd like for me to, wouldn't you? Then you could write Sally all the love sonnets you wanted. Well, forget it, Jack, it's not going to happen."
"Can we talk about something else, first?" His sudden change from meek and remorseful to decisive and curious caught her a bit off guard. She hadn't exactly expected him to take the reins so unperturbed like that. "I want to discuss the news you gave me earlier."
She didn't need his eye sockets wandering down in the direction of her uterus to know what he was talking about. Even so, she still wrapped her arms around her midsection self-consciously.
"Yes…that. Well, it's true, and I did it for you, so if you think I'm going to tolerate your ingratitude-"
He cut her off by taking one of her hands in his and cradling it close to his chest.
"No, of course not," he said softly, a smile beginning to form. "I…I feel quite the opposite, actually. I-I…I'm a bit in shock, but also elated and I just…I don't quite know how to express myself…"
Tivona was in quite the shock of her own. She'd never seen Jack look so genuinely touched and it both intimidated and disturbed her.
"You see, I never thought I'd have children of my own. I mean, not only am I a skeleton, but I've been single my entire afterlife. It's just something I had long ago resigned myself to never having, so…I just haven't had time to really think about it, but now that it's a reality I fully realize how much I've truly wanted this."
He then placed a hand on her stomach and it made her flinch slightly, but he seemed to take no notice of this.
"Tivona, this will be the best gift anyone has ever given me. I can't tell you how grateful I am for you- to have you as part of my existence."
She stilled and was suddenly unable to make eye-contact with the skeleton sitting beside her on the chaise. No one had ever told her they were grateful for her, especially not in such a sincere tone of voice. This wasn't something Jack was saying for leverage, he was saying it because he meant it and that fact scared her most of all. She wasn't used to nor even familiar with such treatment.
And then her stomach started to drop and she began feeling slightly nauseated but she somehow knew it wasn't due to the pregnancy. The feeling was too unfamiliar to be any kind of garden-variety sickness, either. For the time being, she simply couldn't place it.
"I'll be the best father I can," he murmured against the back of her hand. "And from now on, it's just going to be about us and our child, alright? Nothing is going to take precedence over that. Sally is my best friend and I miss her…but if you feel like me speaking to her, even through letters, is in any way a threat to what we have then I won't do it. I'm sorry I didn't say this earlier, but I love you and I've pledged myself to you and only you. I promise now that I will do anything to protect the sanctity of our family."
Tivona could still not bring herself to look at her husband. Never before had she felt so deprived of the self-confidence that usually allowed her the upper-hand. Then again, never before had anyone been so honest and candid with her.
"Well…I appreciate that…" she finally managed, trying -and failing miserably- to sound firm and in control despite the fact that she was sheepishly staring and pulling at an errant thread on the chaise.
Jack smiled, patted her hand, and placed it gently back in her lap.
"I'll leave you. Sorry for the intrusion."
He then planted one of his cold, hollow kisses on her forehead before rising and heading towards the hallway.
She chewed on her bottom lip, feeling the compulsion to do something completely rash and out of character and finding it almost impossible to stifle.
"Jack, wait-" she called out, unable to stop herself in time. He turned in the doorway expectantly.
"I…I was thinking…maybe…maybe there wouldn't be anything wrong with you…with you talking to Sally…"
She couldn't believe she'd said as soon as the words escaped from her mouth. But Jack noticeably brightened at this and the sight of him doing so made her feel oddly satisfied…pleased, even.
This was weird.
"Do you mean it, darling?" he asked, eagerly.
"Uhm…yes…I do."
Yes, she did. And it was so strange, so very odd. It would be the first time she had ever felt compelled towards generosity to another person and she refused to let herself wonder how this might have been connected to Jack's sincerity and how it had affected her personally.
She could, however, justify it –albeit flimsily- to herself. They were married now, after all, so what threat could Sally truly pose? And, of course, there was Jack's promise that was still hanging pendulously over her head. He seemed pretty serious about keeping things together, so maybe she could cut him slack this once.
She was sure there were even more logical arguments she could drum up in her favor, but she decided instead to just let the whole issue go. True, Septimus would have probably been furious had he found out, but there was nothing requiring she tell him; what he didn't know could hurt him- or her, she supposed.
"Thank you," he said simply, with yet another warm grin sent her way. He lingered for a moment before finally leaving her alone in the parlor.
Tivona didn't return to her magazine immediately, as the flood of 'what the hell was that' and 'what's wrong with me' had her a bit preoccupied.
She spent the next ten minutes stamping those thoughts down, refusing to examine her recent actions too intricately.