Gail Jr sat on the counter by the cash register in her Uncle Abe's Antique Store and stared at the Mayor impatiently, annoyed that she had been abandoned by her Mother and irritated that her Brother was getting to have more fun than she was. This was not fair, Luke got to play hide and seek with the man who had interrupted her Mother earlier; however, she was stuck here where the only enjoyable thing she could look forward to was pressing the buttons on the cash register.
'You'd think bein' the Mayor would mean I'm used to makin' decisions, but I'm spoilt for choice here' Adam said to himself out loud, having no idea what to get Mary for her birthday; however, knowing that he needed to make the effort and get her something special.
Gail Jr rolled her eyes at his indecisiveness, growing bored of his inability to pick one simple thing from all the pretty things that her Uncle Abe had to offer. If this is what being a grown up was, she never wanted to be one.
'That can be arranged' Malcom said appearing behind her and shoved her hard, taking the opportunity to have some fun now that his Son was aware of his Heathen Wife's intentions and knowing her hands would be tied with Lucas involved. Malcolm smiled maliciously as his Granddaughter hit the floor with a loud smack, then disappeared when she screamed in pain before his presence could be detected by anyone in the room.
Adam's eyes grew wide at the unexpected accident, and he ran to the girls aid before the old man Abe could muster up speed with his walking stick. 'Oh dear, look at what you've done silly' he said in a calm tone, reaching for her gently.
Gail Jr stared to protest to his insinuation that she had fallen by herself, then felt the sharp pain in her arm and cried out for her Mother.
'Accuse my Daughter of being careless again and I'll rip your throat out' Gail said through gritted teeth as she entered the Store, instantly sensing Malcolm's mark here and rushing to her Daughter to cradle her protectively in her arms, shoving Adam out of the way abruptly.
'Momma the bad ma-' Gail Jr started to explain.
'I know Love, shush now. You need to be my big strong girl' Gail whispered in her ear reassuringly, cursing herself for being gone and allowing Malcolm to get close in her absence. Clearly finding some of his haunts had started to draw him out and the nasty fool had gotten bold. 'Remember I promised you some fun? What do you say we take off the training wheels and show these boys how it's really done, seen as the men in this line are hell bent on testing us' she suggested, feeling her darkness take over at the thought of Malcolm hurting her Daughter so easily and unable to keep it caged.
Gail Jr clung to her Mother tight for a moment and wiped her eyes when she kissed her sore arm better, then nodded excitedly in acceptance of her Mother's suggestion. The bad man only wanted to show that he could get to them, she understood that from his unguarded thoughts and she would be ready next time. He was not the only one who could play dirty and she opened herself up to the strange power within her which had begun to stir, calling on it's strength to push away her pain and allow her to assist her Mother.
Lucas sat in his car and watched as Caleb rushed into School, not seeing the point of him returning for the last hour; however, happy that the boy was taking to the next chapter of his life. Lucas knew that he should have brought him back as soon as he spotted him with Selena earlier and it had been selfish of him to keep Caleb with them. Truth be told, Lucas had become accustomed to his eldest Son's desire to be with him when he was in Elementary School and he did not react well to change. It was a wonder that he had left the boy alone for this length of time and Gail should be happy that he had made an effort to allow Caleb to follow the rules.
'You're crazy' Luke advised from the front passenger seat, happy that he was allowed up front now that Caleb was gone and being more susceptible to his Fathers thoughts while he was close.
'I'm not crazy Son, I'm honest. So what if I like the boy's company, I went 10 years without bein' able to approach him' Lucas said in his defence, turning on the engine and pulling away from the High School.
'Honest?' Luke asked in disbelief, knowing how much his Father hid certain things.
Lucas shot his youngest Son a look of warning for his open insinuation, then let out a small laugh. 'When you're older, you'll understand how important it is to keep everyone in line to ensure everythin' runs smoothly. When people are privy to the full truth, things become chaotic and people don't like that' he explained.
'Momma does' Luke smiled knowingly, witnessing how well his Mother worked when things were hectic.
'Well she's not like everyone else-' Lucas started.
'Like us?' Luke asked curiously, sensing when he was around other children that he was different.
'Precisely' Lucas nodded, turning onto a long secluded road and pressing his foot down harder on the accelerator. 'We're different from the normal people of this Town, but your Momma and Sister aren't like us either'
'Why?' Luke asked casually.
Lucas laughed and shook his head in amusement at his Son's question, asked as if it was so easy to answer. 'Who knows-' he shrugged honestly. '-The boy's in our line crave order, it's just how we are. Everythin' has been administered with strict precision over the centuries...well, until I came along and ruffled the nest, but even I kept to most of the old order of things'
'No girls' Luke said quietly.
Lucas nodded and squeezed Luke's knee affectionately. 'No girls, no relationships, just good ol' rules and findin' fun new ways to implement them'
'What happened?' Luke asked curiously.
'Caleb...then your Momma' Lucas answered, thinking back to when everything changed. 'Caleb wasn't as acceptin' as he was supposed to be and your Momma knocked me for six when she showed up. I tried to get Caleb back on the straight and narrow, pull him over to our side, but she wasn't supposed to return and when she did the plans had to change'
Luke smiled to himself, sensing both irritation and affection within his Father when he thought back to earlier times with his Mother. Her mood could change as quickly as the weather; however, she always came back to their side no matter how much he sensed she did not want to. He knew she would never stay mad at them for long, just as he knew that his Father could never be truly angry at her, it was just how they were with each other. 'Girl's are crazy' he sighed, thinking of his Mother and his Sister.
'Yes they are Son and they don't belong in our line, yet they're ours' Lucas sighed along with Luke, knowing that he would not change how things had turned out if ever given the option.
'What are we gonna do?' Luke asked, sensing a strangeness from his Sister and knowing something was going down with how strong he felt her from here.
Lucas thought for a moment, then ran his hand through his hair in agitation. 'Let them work it off I suppose, just like we did earlier' he smiled at Luke proudly, happy with how willing the boy was with the punishment of David and his calm attitude afterwards. There had always been a duality with Caleb, like a battle of good vs bad; however, Luke understood that there was no good or bad, this was just how things were and if Caleb struggled to take his full place in the future then Lucas was proud that Luke would not hesitate.
Bobby walked through the busy construction site dragging his feet, in search of his Father. Ever since the article in the Trinity Guardian, his Father had been less hostile when people were watching them closely; however, he did still lash out on occasion and Bobby had discovered that it was best to remain in his good books.
'Ditching School to finish your Father's shift isn't an acceptable way to remain in someone's good books Bobby' Gail scolded reading his thoughts, as she watched her Daughter carefully while she walked on a broken wall playfully.
Bobby gave off a small jump, then relaxed when Gail smiled at him warmly. There was something about this woman that instantly put him at ease, yes she was beautiful; however, it was not just that, there was a kindness to her which always made him smile.
Gail sensed his misconception of her and pushed down her conscience, ignoring her niggling morals and choosing to focus on the task at hand. 'Do you skip School often for this?' she asked, not having the time recently to check in on how Bobby was doing and disappointed at herself for foolishly believing that his abuser would just stop when the pressure was off.
Bobby shrugged, not knowing what was the correct way to respond and smiled when Gail Jr waved happily at him. 'She's gettin' so big' he said, desperately trying to change the subject.
'Yeah, she'll be giving her Brothers a run for their money soon' Gail said proudly, unable to hide her love for her beautiful girl and choosing to not push her previous question with the boy.
'Sometimes I wish I had a Sister, I bet we'd have been best friends' Bobby sighed, always wanting someone else to care for to distract himself from his poor life.
'Not a Brother?' Gail asked curiously, assuming boy's would rather play with boys.
'Oh God no-' Bobby laughed, '-Boy's are too simple and rough, girls actually think and make things better'
Gail could not help but smile, amused by his opinion. Her boys were complex and were far too intelligent for their age, whereas her Daughter was more likely to lash out without thought just to see what happened.
'What are you doin' here Mrs Buck?' Bobby asked finally, realising that she was not going to volunteer the information.
'Oh I'm looking for an unlucky soul to do my bidding, then be discarded. Any suggestions?' Gail answered sarcastically.
Bobby stared at her amused for a moment, then saw something dark pass over her eyes and wondered what would happen if she was not joking. 'My Dad...he's probably plastered by now and no one would miss him if he was discarded' he responded, a hint of seriousness in his undertone.
'Interesting...What would be stopping you from turning me in if he didn't come home?' Gail asked curiously, keeping her tone light so not to fully confirm her intent.
'It's only my home when he ain't there, it's my hell when he is so there'd be no hard feelin's if he just disappeared' Bobby advised honestly, staring deep into Gail's eyes to show that he was not lying.
Gail held his gaze for a moment, sensing the truth in his words then smiled sweetly and placed her arm around his shoulders. 'Why don't you head into Goat Town and check out the new arcade out on Madison Avenue, my treat. I could do with it being tested to justify the amount of funding I managed to get old Judge Harper to put into it, and if you tell the owner I sent you he'll give you a free hot dog on the house' she suggested, taking $50 out of her purse and placing it securely into his jeans pocket as she ushered him gently towards the site exit.
Bobby nodded obediently and rushed off, trying not to trust the hope that he was feeling over his Father being gone for good. Gail Buck was pure and good, he did not doubt that; however, there had been something in her eyes which had stirred up his hopes and he could not contain his excitement as he exited the site.
'Bye Bobby!' Gail Jr exclaimed, then reached for her Mother when she sensed her mood shift. 'He's nice'
'Yes he is and he deserves a little luck for a change. I think it's about time we pay Bobby's Daddy a visit, see if he can help Mommy with a pesky order that she needs to get around...you wanna help?' Gail asked her Daughter, sensing a darkness stirring within her and knowing from own experiences that it was not something which could be just ignored.
Gail Jr smiled devilishly at her Mother, happy that she was finally allowing her to play unshackled without judgement and pointed towards the small building where she sensed Bobby's Father was sitting drinking.
'That's right my heart, he's been sneaking around in the darkness all along but we're going to drag him out into the light-' Gail started in an amused tone.
'-See how high he can fly?' Gail Jr asked excitedly, pointing at the tallest part of the scaffolding to emphasise her question.
Gail glanced at her Daughter cautiously for a moment, a strong doubt suddenly coming over her at allowing her to be involved in her plan; however, she pushed the doubt deep down and took in a deep breath to calm herself, better for her to teach her Daughter than her Husband.
Gail Jr sensed her Mother's acceptance as she approached the small building and a warmth engulfed her, feeling the strong connection and love that they both shared. Her Brother had his fun with their Father, now it was time for her to let go with her Mother and show everyone how to really make Humpty Dumpty this time.
-To be continued-