The attic was dusty and not especially comfortable. Maleta hoped that they wouldn't be sitting up there all evening--it was only lit by one naked lightbulb, and she did not like the dark. Luckily, her mom just dug out a trunk and said that they could go sit downstairs and look at it. It was heavy to carry down the stairs and into Kimi's mauve bedroom, but once Maleta saw how beautiful the trunk was, she decided it was worth it.
It was dark green, as a forest compressed into leather might be, and had brass pieces on the corners and at the lock. Above the lock, a brass nameplate read LAP. Maleta frowned, confused. Those certainly weren't her father's initials. "Mom, why does it say--" she began, pointing at the nameplate, but Kimi just nodded and looked at her. Maleta had the feeling that she should just listen for a little while.
"Those are your great-grandfather's initials," Kimi said. "They stand for Louis Ashley Pickles."
"Ashley?" Maleta snickered. "My great-grandfather's middle name was Ashley?"
"Yep," Kimi replied. "He didn't really think it was a very strong middle name even as a young adult, even though Ashley was still a boy's name then. So Grampa decided to give his son a weak middle name, too. Your grandfather's full name was Stuart Darcy Pickles--and Darcy was indeed a boy's name, too."
"Did he give my dad a weird name like that?" Maleta had never realized, though she had pondered the various parts of her father's existence for most of her ten years, that even this little story about his family would be so enjoyable.
"Yes. Your dad's middle name was Vivian, and his brother's middle name was Janus." Kimi smiled. "That's why we decided to give you a middle name that was usually used for boys, to turn the tradition backwards. Your cousins are named the same way, you know."
"They are?"
"Adelaide Steven and Steven Adelaide. They're twins. I don't think you've seen them for a few years, but Uncle Dil and Uncle Jack send us Christmas cards every year. Shall we open the box?"
Maleta grinned. "Yeah!"
Inside, the box seemed stuffed with all sorts of photo albums, folders, and loose bits of paper. Kimi pulled one out. It was a photo of a woman with dark hair cut in a bob and a man examining his wet hair in a mirror with an expression of mock-depression. They were sitting on the sand and looked familiar.
"This is your father, Thomas Vivian Pickles," said Kimi, pointing. "You might want to go grab a notebook, Maleta, because this is going to be a lot of information all at once."
Maleta went and found her five-subject, then dashed back. "Thomas...Vivian...Pickles..." she replied, writing it down. "But better known as Tommy?"
"Right. And this is me, Kimi Hanako Pickles. My name means "sovereign's flower child", if you need anything like that, and your dad's means "alive twin". Not that either is really true."
Maleta looked down at the floor, unsure of what she could say. "Umm..." she muttered, trying to change the subject a little. "So what does my name mean?"
"Well," Kimi replied, "We don't know what Maleta means. It's an old surname from the French half of my family. I found it very far back in the family tree, and I thought it sounded nice. Your middle name, Virgil, means "strong"."
At that moment, the telephone rang. Kimi looked up, a bit startled. "Oh," she said suddenly. "When's this project due, Maleta?"
"Next month. Mr. Lleonard wanted to give us a good headstart."
Nodding, Kimi brushed her bangs behind one ear. "Let's continue with this tomorrow, then, okay?"
"Okay."
*
AN: Maleta really is an old French surname. REALLY old. As in, I found it on a list of prostitutes from the 1500s old.
Oh, and points to anyone who knows what song this fic is named after without looking it up.
Two hints:
One--It's by that old singer with the big, round glasses. ^_~
Two--It's used pretty prominently in a movie that includes Alicia Witt in its cast.
Thank you, Lil Kimi and underestimated_gurl, for reviewing me! More reviews are always appreciated. :)
See you next time!
It was dark green, as a forest compressed into leather might be, and had brass pieces on the corners and at the lock. Above the lock, a brass nameplate read LAP. Maleta frowned, confused. Those certainly weren't her father's initials. "Mom, why does it say--" she began, pointing at the nameplate, but Kimi just nodded and looked at her. Maleta had the feeling that she should just listen for a little while.
"Those are your great-grandfather's initials," Kimi said. "They stand for Louis Ashley Pickles."
"Ashley?" Maleta snickered. "My great-grandfather's middle name was Ashley?"
"Yep," Kimi replied. "He didn't really think it was a very strong middle name even as a young adult, even though Ashley was still a boy's name then. So Grampa decided to give his son a weak middle name, too. Your grandfather's full name was Stuart Darcy Pickles--and Darcy was indeed a boy's name, too."
"Did he give my dad a weird name like that?" Maleta had never realized, though she had pondered the various parts of her father's existence for most of her ten years, that even this little story about his family would be so enjoyable.
"Yes. Your dad's middle name was Vivian, and his brother's middle name was Janus." Kimi smiled. "That's why we decided to give you a middle name that was usually used for boys, to turn the tradition backwards. Your cousins are named the same way, you know."
"They are?"
"Adelaide Steven and Steven Adelaide. They're twins. I don't think you've seen them for a few years, but Uncle Dil and Uncle Jack send us Christmas cards every year. Shall we open the box?"
Maleta grinned. "Yeah!"
Inside, the box seemed stuffed with all sorts of photo albums, folders, and loose bits of paper. Kimi pulled one out. It was a photo of a woman with dark hair cut in a bob and a man examining his wet hair in a mirror with an expression of mock-depression. They were sitting on the sand and looked familiar.
"This is your father, Thomas Vivian Pickles," said Kimi, pointing. "You might want to go grab a notebook, Maleta, because this is going to be a lot of information all at once."
Maleta went and found her five-subject, then dashed back. "Thomas...Vivian...Pickles..." she replied, writing it down. "But better known as Tommy?"
"Right. And this is me, Kimi Hanako Pickles. My name means "sovereign's flower child", if you need anything like that, and your dad's means "alive twin". Not that either is really true."
Maleta looked down at the floor, unsure of what she could say. "Umm..." she muttered, trying to change the subject a little. "So what does my name mean?"
"Well," Kimi replied, "We don't know what Maleta means. It's an old surname from the French half of my family. I found it very far back in the family tree, and I thought it sounded nice. Your middle name, Virgil, means "strong"."
At that moment, the telephone rang. Kimi looked up, a bit startled. "Oh," she said suddenly. "When's this project due, Maleta?"
"Next month. Mr. Lleonard wanted to give us a good headstart."
Nodding, Kimi brushed her bangs behind one ear. "Let's continue with this tomorrow, then, okay?"
"Okay."
*
AN: Maleta really is an old French surname. REALLY old. As in, I found it on a list of prostitutes from the 1500s old.
Oh, and points to anyone who knows what song this fic is named after without looking it up.
Two hints:
One--It's by that old singer with the big, round glasses. ^_~
Two--It's used pretty prominently in a movie that includes Alicia Witt in its cast.
Thank you, Lil Kimi and underestimated_gurl, for reviewing me! More reviews are always appreciated. :)
See you next time!