CHAPTER 52: THE TIPPING POINT
"So what did you think?" Jenna looked up at Artimus as they walked along the cobblestone streets of Haypippil Square toward their apartment.
He bobbed his head from side-to-side. "Well, it wasn't as loud as I thought it would be."
"I told you Brigit's band wasn't one of those loud, screaming bands. Their style is more like Gin Blossoms or Hootie and the Blowfish."
He vaguely remembered Jenna mentioning those bands before. He'd probably heard her playing their music from time to time, but he'd always been horrible remembering the names of music groups and their songs. Heck, before he started going with Jenna, he assumed all Muggle music was like the loud, angry wailing that Jimmy loved so much. What had he called those bands? Ear-on Miden? Mut-licka?
I wonder how Jimmy's doing these days.
He sighed. How many months had passed since he last spoke with him? Times like this he found it hard to believe Jimmy would completely abandon the Wizarding World, including his closest friends.
The corners of his mouth twisted. He hoped Jimmy was happy playing hockey for a living. Still, he would have liked his best friend to at least owl him and tell him he was doing fine.
"I wonder how Brigit finds time to do everything."
Jenna's voice pulled him out of his reverie. "Huh?"
"Well, along with being in that band, she's taking a bunch of classes, has all that homework to do, works a part-time job, she even volunteers at an abused women's shelter. Jeez, a job and classes are more than enough to keep me occupied."
While it sounded like Jenna was complaining, Artimus caught a brief smile flash across her lips. His chest swelled with joy. With Samantha at Fantimoor a good chunk of the year, and with them living together, Jenna didn't have to struggle when it came to paying bills, the rent, and putting food on the table. Because of that, she had scraped together enough money to start taking classes at Northern Virginia Community College in pursuit of her nursing degree, just like she planned to do before her parents died. Despite the hard work, going to college filled Jenna with a sense of pride, of purpose.
He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.
"What was that for?" she asked.
Artimus shrugged. "Just because."
Jenna smiled. This time they kissed on the lips.
He wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they neared their apartment.
That's when he noticed a robed figured sitting on the stoop leading to the front entrance.
Artimus swallowed, his free hand moving to where he kept his wand. Part of him told him he was being ridiculous. The war had been over for nearly two years. But after everything he'd been through, he learned that caution and paranoia were among the keys to survival.
"Who's that?" Jenna cocked her head, staring at the stranger.
He didn't answer. Instead he stepped in front of Jenna, his hand hovering over his wand.
"Excuse me. Can I help you?"
The stranger's head came up. Artimus' eyes widened when he recognized the face looking back at him.
"Rosa?"
Her face lit up. "Hey, guys." She sprang to her feet. "How are you doing?"
"We're fine," Artimus answered. "What are you doing here?"
"I just . . . well, I just wanted to stop by. Say hello, you know."
He studied Rosa's face, noticing how anxious she looked. Concern niggled the back of his mind. He got the feeling Rosa had come here for more than just a social call.
"How long have you been sitting here?" asked Jenna.
"Um, just a little while. When you didn't answer your door I figured I'd just wait here until you got back."
"Sorry," Jenna said. "One of my friends from school is in a band, and we went to see them play. Weren't you cold sitting out here?"
"Oh, I'm fine." Rosa brushed off Jenna's concern, then looked to Artimus. "Besides, we've been through much colder nights than this during the war. Right, Art?"
"Um, yeah. Well, why don't we go inside?"
He led the two women into the building and up the stairs to his apartment.
"You want anything to drink, Rosa?" Jenna asked as she removed her coat and hung it in the closet. "Coffee? Hot chocolate? Tea?"
"Yeah, coffee, if it's not too much trouble."
Jenna gave her a dismissive wave. "It's no trouble at all. I'd like some myself to warm me up. What about you, Artimus?"
"Coffee sounds good to me. Thanks, hon."
She smiled at him, then looked to Rosa. "Well, take off your coat and have a seat. Make yourself comfortable."
"Thanks."
Jenna smiled again as she disappeared into the kitchen.
Rosa hung up her coat and plopped down on the sofa. She clasped her hands together in her lap and sat there quietly. An uncomfortable feeling spread through Artimus as he stared at her.
"Um, so. Everything . . . um, everything all right with you?"
Rosa looked up at him, frowning. She stood and walked over to the window. For several seconds she stared outside in silence.
"Rosa?" Artimus stepped over to her. "Is something wrong?"
Shoulders slumped, she turned to face him. "Tell me something, Art. What did you think would happen to us after the war?"
He worked his jaw back and forth for a few moments, then shrugged. "I don't know. I figured we'd all go back to our jobs, be like regular people."
Again, Rosa frowned. "When we were in the Appalachians all those months, every night before I fell asleep, I'd always think about the four of us, what we'd be doing after Voldemort was beaten. I always pictured us still being close, always getting together for birthdays or holidays or Quidditch matches. You and Jared and Jimmy would all marry someone and have kids, and all your kids would be great friends."
"What about you?"
"Oh, no, no no." Rosa shook her head. "I don't see myself as the marrying and having kids type. I see myself more as the cool aunt."
Artimus couldn't help but grin.
A dour look spread across Rosa's face. "Doesn't look like that's gonna happen now, does it?"
She marched back to the sofa and sat down. Artimus joined her. He watched as Rosa's shoulders rose and fell with slow breaths. He nervously rubbed his tongue against his teeth, trying to think of something to say.
Rosa, however, beat him to it. "My mom saw Jimmy a couple nights ago.
"What?" His eyes widened in surprise. "Where did she see him? How's he doing?"
Rosa's frown became more pronounced. "She went to see him in Fort Wayne, to get him out of a Muggle jail."
Artimus' jaw dropped. Shock paralyzed him for several seconds. "Jail? Jimmy was in a Muggle jail? Why? What did he do?"
"Mom said he bought beer for this girl who was underage. I mean, underage according to Muggle law. She sounded like a real skank, too, from what Mom told me. It also sounds like Jimmy's having a lot of nightmares about the war, and he's drinking to deal with them. My mom offered to help him but he . . . he yelled at her. Said he didn't need anyone's help and just drove off. Stupid friggin' pride of his." A quiver went through Rosa's voice.
Artimus shook his head. "It doesn't sound like he's doing well, does it?"
Lines of frustration etched deep in Rosa's face. "He lost two women he cared about a lot and one of his best friends in the war. Did he really think just leaving our world would make him forget all that?"
"I know what you mean. When he told me why he was leaving, I wondered about it myself." He reached over and laid a comforting hand on her back. "I can see why you're upset."
Rosa's jaw trembled for a moment. "It's not only Jimmy. Something . . . something else happened."
"What?"
Rosa swallowed. "Last week I ran into Uncle Irving outside my auror's station. He looked like hell. So after work, I went over to Esteban's house and told him about it. I said we have to go over to Uncle Irving's and help him. But he didn't want to, said he can't stand to see his father like that, a shell of a man. I told him he had no choice, that we were going whether he wanted to or not. So I grabbed him by the arm to make my point, and he swung around to yank himself free and . . . and . . ."
She clasped her hands together so tightly they shook.
"And what?" Artimus slid closer to her.
"He . . . he hit me."
Shock hit him like a punch to the gut. He questioned what he'd just heard. Esteban hit Rosa? How could that be? Esteban always seemed like a good guy to him.
"I know it was an accident," Rosa continued. "It had to be. But . . . but he didn't apologize. And now . . . Mom told me that Oriana took Rodolfo and left him."
All he could do was just stare at Rosa. Jimmy in jail. Esteban hitting Rosa. His wife leaving him and taking their son. It all seemed so unreal to him.
"I'm just trying to help my family." She turned to him, her eyes glistening. "But nothing I do works. Everything's falling apart! My whole family's falling apart and I . . . I . . . why can't I make everything better!?"
She collapsed onto Artimus, sobbing. He wrapped his arms around her, staring down at her quaking body. He couldn't believe she just fell apart like that. Rosa rarely cried in front of him, or Jimmy or Jared. Sure it happened a few times when she broke up with a boyfriend when they'd been at Salem, but he'd never seen her this bad, this . . . helpless.
He hated thinking the word. Rosa was one of the strongest, bravest people he knew. How bad had things gotten with her family that it reduced her to this weeping mass?
He sensed someone else in the living room. He looked up and noticed Jenna standing a few feet away, staring at them with a mixture of shock and concern.
Worry cut through Artimus. Would Jenna be jealous or upset seeing him holding another woman, even if that woman was one of his best friends?
Instead she sat on the arm of the sofa and put a hand on Rosa's shoulder.
"I heard." She mouthed to him and nodded toward the kitchen.
"I just want everything to be like it was before," Rosa spoke through her sobs.
Artimus held her tighter. Jenna rested her head of Rosa's back.
He had no idea how much time passed before Rosa's crying subsided. Artimus summoned over a box of tissues with his wand.
"Thanks." Rosa wiped her tear-stained face. "Oh Merlin's beard, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to . . . to do this."
"Don't apologize." Jenna rubbed her back. "I know this has to be hard for you."
"That's an understatement," Rosa sniffled.
Jenna bit her lower lip for a moment. "Look, why don't you just crash here tonight."
"Oh no. I don't want to bother you guys."
"It's not a bother," Artimus told her. "After everything we've been through, this is the least we can do. I can transfigure the sofa into a bed and you can borrow some of Jenna's bed clothes."
"You . . . You sure?"
"Yes, we are absolutely sure," Jenna said forcefully.
Rosa looked from one to the other. "Thanks, guys. Thanks so much."
Artimus easily turned the sofa into a full-sized bed, while Jenna brought out extra pillows and blankets, and Rosa changed into some of Jenna's old pajamas. While Jenna went to the bathroom to take a shower, Artimus stayed in the living room as Rosa sat on the edge of her bed. After sighing a couple times, she looked up at him. "I'm sorry about all this Artimus. I should've . . . maybe I shouldn't have come over here tonight to bug you guys."
"Stop apologizing. How many times did I come to you with a problem when we were in school?" Guilt flickered inside him. Rosa usually had advice for him on any problem he told her about. For her however, he couldn't think of anything to help her and her family.
"Thanks." She gave him a weak smile. "It's just . . . I know Jenna's been really nice to me, but having another woman sleeping over in your place, I just don't want her to think . . . well . . ."
"Oh Merlin, don't even think that. She was the one who recommended you sleep here tonight. I think she knows you're like a sister to me. Besides, she's always thought you were cool."
Again, Rosa grinned. "I'm glad to hear it." She took a breath, her expression becoming more serious. "Jenna's a good woman, Art. You two are great together. Don't ever let go of her."
His chest seized as Rosa hit on something he'd been contemplating for several months. Did he have the guts to go through with it, though?
"I . . . I won't."
"Good." Rosa laid down and pulled the blankets over her. "You have to hold on to people like her, Art. You're doing a better job of it than I am. You've got Jenna and Samantha in your life. Me? I used to feel so blessed to have so many people in my life who cared about me. Now . . . Aunt Liana's dead, Uncle Irving's a mess. My parents? Sometimes . . . sometimes I'm just so mad at them. For kicking Uncle Irving off of SMACRAT, for being the leaders of Wizarding America instead of just regular aurors, and how that affects the way people view me at work. Then there's Jared and Jimmy. They just ran out when things got too hard. Esteban . . . I just wanted us to help Uncle Irving, and instead I wind up breaking up his family. Even George. I just wanted to comfort him and . . . he misunderstood and . . . I know we weren't together long but . . . but I think I loved him."
Artimus' throat constricted. He walked over and put a hand on Rosa's shoulder. "It'll . . . it'll be all right."
She sighed. "I wish I could believe that, Art. I really do."
He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. Tremors went up and down his legs. Disappointment welled up inside him . . . and something else. Anger. The four of them had been through so much. They survived Death Eaters in Ovenderburg, an oppressive Ministry of Magic and altered Chupacabra in England, nine months on the run in the Appalachians, the Battle of Helghorst Island. The war brought them closer together.
How was it peacetime could tear them apart?
More importantly, could anything bring them back together?
XXXXX
Artimus sat up in bed, staring alternately between his folded hands and the wall. His thoughts went beyond this room and to the living room, where Rosa slept. He replayed her breakdown, her litany of family problems, talking as though she blamed herself.
Other images played through his mind. Rosa's other breakdown, this one after her aunt's memorial service. The day Jimmy came to him and explained how he had to leave the Wizarding World. How depressed Jared seemed in the months leading up to his departure to Thailand. Even Mireet didn't look happy being with that Alain guy.
The floor creaked nearby. He looked up to see Jenna return from the bathroom. She closed the door gently so as not to disturb Rosa.
"Hey," she said as she crossed the room and plopped down in bed next to him.
"Hey," he muttered.
She reached down and grasped his wrist. "Still thinking about Rosa?"
Artimus sighed. "I'm actually thinking about all of them. Rosa, Jimmy, Jared, Mireet. I'm also thinking about what Rosa said earlier, about how she expected all of us to remain close after the war. I always thought that would happen, too. I mean, even before we got caught up in the war, we . . . those three . . ."
His head drooped as he pressed himself against the backboard.
"What is it?" Jenna squeezed his wrist again.
His mouth twitched. Sighing, he turned to her. "When I was going to Salem, I wasn't really popular. To be frank, a lot of people simply didn't like me. Some because of who my father is, or because they assumed I was an arrogant rich boy, or because I wasn't athletic or cool. But Jimmy and Rosa and Jared, they accepted me. It was the first time in my life I was part of a group where I felt like I really belonged, where I felt like people actually cared about me. Apart from Hector, I couldn't say that about my own family. But those three, they always encouraged me to believe in myself, to stand up for myself. But before the war, I remember seeing the way they carried themselves, with such confidence. People gravitated toward them, they made friends easily. They never backed down if anyone threatened them, or if they saw some kid getting bullied, they'd jump in and stop it, even if they didn't know the kid. I can't tell you how many times I wished I was just like them. I can't imagine what those seven years at Salem would have been like without them. And if I hadn't been with them during the war, well, I probably wouldn't be here with you right now."
Artimus closed his eyes, his stomach collapsing. "I just miss being with them, being with them the way they were before . . . before everything went to hell."
Several seconds of silence passed. Sighing softly, he looked up at Jenna, who stared at him with a neutral expression.
Worry surged through him. "Oh. Oh, Jenna. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I mean, you're the most important thing in the world to me. I just . . . it's . . ."
"Art, it's okay. I understand." She slid closer to him, rubbing his biceps slowly. "You know, the more I think about it, the more I think you still need them all in your life."
"Really?"
Jenna nodded. "You're really lucky to have friends like that. How many years has it been since you graduated from Salem? Almost five? Yet you still see Rosa, and, well, before they left, you still saw Jimmy and Jared. They're more like brothers and a sister to you than friends. Hell, some siblings aren't even as close as you four are." A crest-fallen look came over her face. "Kinda like me and Sam."
Artimus' brow wrinkled. "What do you mean? You and Sam are close."
"Not the way you four are. I mean, I love Sam, of course. And I know she loves me. But, there's almost a ten year age difference between us. And after our parents died, most times I feel like I'm more a mother to her than a big sister. I wish it wasn't like that, but what can you do? And as for friends from school? There were some girls I was pretty tight with in high school. I can't even remember the last time I saw any of them. Meanwhile, one of your best friends from school is sleeping in our living room tonight because she felt you were the only person she could turn to. That's saying something."
"Yeah. But I have one best friend who's thousands of miles away in Thailand, and another one who just abandoned this world."
"And you'd like to have them back, wouldn't you?"
He nodded. "Yeah."
"Then go get them."
Artimus drew his head back in surprise. "What?"
"Art, Jimmy and Jared are more than your friends. They're family. So is Rosa. And let's face it, neither of us have much in the way of family. You said it yourself, they helped you a lot. Now it's time for you to help them."
He sucked on his lower lip. Jenna spoke the truth. He desperately wanted to help his friends, the only other family he really had outside Jenna and Samantha. But one question dominated his mind.
"Do you think I can do it? Do you think I can get them to listen to me? Do you think I can even come up with the right words for them?"
Jenna smiled. "Think about the day we first met. I was terrified to let Sam go into the Wizarding World. No one was gonna change my mind otherwise. But you did. You were thoughtful, honest, sympathetic, and just really nice. You helped ease my fears, and looking back on it, it was the best decision I ever made. Sam loves it here, and I'm with you."
His heart leapt when she said that.
"If you can help me get over my issues," Jenna continued, "you can help them with theirs. And if you need any help, you know you can always come to me."
Artimus' throat constricted. He stared at Jenna's smiling face. An airy feeling spread through his insides.
He hugged and kissed her, fighting off the tears he felt stinging his eyes.
"Thank you. I love you."
"I love you, too."
He kissed her again, then gazed into her beautiful face as he stroked her hair. How could someone like him be so blessed to have a woman like this in his life?
"So," said Jenna. "What do we do first?"
Artimus looked away from her, staring thoughtfully at the wall. "Considering what Rosa said, Jimmy's probably in the most dire straits. We should try to help him first." He worked his jaw back and forth as more thoughts swirled around his head. "Then again, I don't know if I'm the right person to do that."
"Art, I told you, you can do this."
"It's not that." He shook his head. "It's just, it seems like Jimmy adamant to stay in the Muggle World, no matter how rough things get for him. I'm just not convinced I'm the best suited to help him. But I think I know the one person who is."
TO BE CONTINUED
