December 26th. Boxing Day to Niles, Maxwell and those folks across the bridge from Buffalo. C.C. got out of bed and paused for a moment, wondering why her stomach was all knotted up. She ambled her way into the shower and then remembered; Noel and D.D. were coming today.
"Great," thought C.C., sticking her head under the shower nozzle. The doctor had finally given her the OK for her to get her entire head wet, and it was a wonderful feeling. "I don't need their pity. Neither one has been around to visit me in ages. Why else would they come?"
After breakfast, C.C. returned to her room and selected a peach-colored linen suit. The color and fabric were a bit light for winter, but the brightness of the jacket lifted her spirits and complemented her complexion. She applied her makeup and then carefully styled her hair, taking pains to cover the shaved spot as best she could. She sighed and appraised herself in the full-length mirror. "As good as it's gonna get," she decided, and headed downstairs.
C.C. settled herself in the living room, where she noted that Niles had already ignited a cheery blaze in the fireplace, and waited. Nanny Fine drifted in and complimented her, "Miss Babcock, don't you look fab!" Fran instinctively rearranged the magazines on the coffee table and then went to the mirror and smoothed her miniskirt. "It's going to be so nice to see your brother, again," Fran continued, still eyeing her reflection, "oh, Ni-yules! I think I heard a car pull up!"
The doorbell rang and Niles materialized to answer it. C.C. heard them before she saw them.
"Merry Belated Christmas, everyone!" Noel's voice boomed. Oh, God, C.C. wondered, was he drunk already at this hour? He bounded into the living room and swept C.C. up into his arms in a bear hug.
"Cheer down a bit, brother," C.C. said to him, stretching down with her feet to touch the floor. He released her from his grasp and read her expression.
"Just high on holiday spirit, sis," he grinned.
D.D. entered the room, chatting animatedly with Fran, who was flipping through a large volume of some sort. They both paused and looked up at the same time, as if they were surprised to see C.C. in the room.
"Miss Babcock," Nanny Fine gushed, "look what your sista brought with her! These pictures are just too ca-yute!"
D.D. hugged C.C. lightly and kissed her on the cheek. Everyone took a seat and Niles took drink orders as they settled in. C.C. looked over at Fran and realized the big book that so enraptured her was a photo album.
"D.D.," she asked, a bit irritated, "why did you bring that, for heaven's sake? Where the hell did you even find it, for that matter?" The Babcock family was hardly sentimental; they gathered annually to have a formal portrait taken, but as far as snapshots went...well, C.C. couldn't recall posing for any.
"Well, Miles phone me late yesterday and said you'd been feeling a bit nostalgic...."
"Niles," C.C. corrected.
"Yes, well, he called and said maybe I had something sentimental that I could bring for you. So I had dear old Frothingham root around in the attic, and he found this."
"We thought maybe some pictures would help trigger your memory," Noel added.
"There's nothing wrong with my memory," C.C. spat out angrily. What right did that Scrubbing Bubble have to phone her family? Nostalgia, her ass. If he hadn't been so sneaky, creeping up behind her at the Nativity scene...
"Well," Maxwell interjected, clearing off a large space on the coffee table, "whatever the reason, I know we'd all love to see some of C.C.'s baby pictures, wouldn't we?"
Everyone scooted their chairs closer, and Fran laid the large album out flat on the table. The three children positioned themselves on the floor in front of it, eager to see Miss Babcock as a kid. Brighton could hardly believe she'd ever been a child; he was certain she'd been born wearing a conservative, three-piece suit.
Niles dispensed the libations and then stood out of the way, but within gawking range as D.D. turned the pages.
"How old were you there?" Grace asked C.C., pointing to a snapshot.
Before C.C. could answer, D.D. said "that was taken on the Vineyard, at our summer home, back in, oh, what year was that?"
"We don't remember," C.C. stated evenly, eyeing her sister.
D.D. caught C.C.'s meaning and quickly backtracked. She realized that as much fun as it might be to reveal her sister's age, doing so would also tell how old she herself was.
"Oh, it wasn't so very long ago, when we were all young," she breezily replied.
"Who is that chubby little boy lifting his shirt over his head?" Maxwell asked, indicating a candid picture taken on the beach.
"Um," Noel responded, trying not to laugh, "that's C.C."
The Sheffield family howled with laughter, and C.C. stood up and announced that they'd all seen quite enough family photos.
"No we haven't!" Fran cried, and continued flipping pages.
"Well," C.C. said, looking over Fran's shoulder, "if you're going to persist...I think a certain handmaid should note my hair color in these pictures." She raised her eyes and glared at Niles. "I told you it was natural."
Niles glanced over her shoulder at the towheaded child in the photo.
"Hmmm...I wasn't aware until now that Johnson & Johnson made No More Tears peroxide...."
"Why don't you go play with your friend Les?" C.C. snapped.
"Les?" Niles asked, momentarily confused.
"Lestoil!" C.C. hissed with an evil grin. God, she felt really alive for the first time in a month. For a few minutes, it seemed like nothing had changed, that life was business as usual.
"Oh, what a beautiful gown," Maggie exclaimed at an 8 X 10 photo of C.C. in a lavish white dress.
"That was taken at C.C.'s coming out party. Remember that, Ceece?" D.D. asked over her shoulder.
C.C. had come out? Well, Fran had to admit to herself, it didn't completely surprise her to find out that Miss Babcock was a lesbian.
"That was very brave of you, Miss Babcock, considering that era. Boy, I guess you Blue Bloods will have a party for anything, huh?"
The others looked at Fran with confusion, but C.C., having known the nanny for so long, caught her inference immediately.
"Nanny Fine," C.C. said patiently, as if she was talking to a child, "I did not come out of the closet, I came out at a debutante cotillion. It was a standard rite of passage for young women of our set."
"Oh," Fran said, trying to save face among the muffled giggles, "of course. Sort of like a Bat Mitzvah, but without all the fountain pens."
"There's D.D. and C.C. at one of their horse things," Noel observed, repositioning a photo on the page.
"Not just a 'horse thing,' it was ....oh, something at Saratoga," C.C. corrected him.
"Dressage," D.D. muttered quietly.
"Right, Dressage at Saratoga," C.C. said. She reached over and picked up the photograph. "Mother insisted that D.D. be in the picture, too, even though she didn't win anything."
"Big deal," D.D. snorted. "Daddy always said that if C.C. couldn't marry her horse, she'd stay single her whole life. Guess he was right."
"I took first place in Youth Reserve, and third place overall," C.C. reminisced, ignoring her sister. She placed the picture back into the album and stared ahead into space for a moment. "When I was in Vienna a couple weeks ago, I watched the Lipizzaner Stallions practicing. They were just gorgeous." She sighed. "When I was a kid, I wanted one of those stallions so badly...."
"Why didn't you get one?" Grace asked, knowing the Babcocks could easily afford an expensive horse.
"Oh, Mother eventually discouraged us from getting too involved in riding..."
"She told C.C. that she was going to get as bow-legged as a cowboy if she kept it up," D.D. interjected.
"Yeah, well, luckily she quit in time," said Noel. "By the way, I brought you a present, Parentheses Legs."
He dodged C.C.'s swat and handed her a festively wrapped box. C.C. had air shipped gifts to Noel and D.D. from London, since she'd been shopping anyway. But she was a bit surprised at this gesture from her brother; it had been years since they'd exchanged Christmas presents.
She opened the box and removed a bright red bathrobe, complete with wide, white cuffs and trim.
"Thank you, Noel," she said carefully, examining the garment. "It's pretty, and ...um, well, flame retardant. Thanks again."
"Well," he said, getting the feeling she was less than thrilled with his gift, "I figured if you have to go back to the hospital, you won't mind so much if this robe gets stolen."
"How very thoughtful," Niles muttered as he refilled everyone's glasses.
There was an uncomfortable pause, and D.D. felt the need to change the subject.
"Isn't that a lovely tree," she said, walking over to the Christmas tree. "Who decorated it?"
Everyone turned their attention to the tree and started talking about Christmas. The children showed off their gifts, and Noel asked Brighton to demonstrate his latest Playstation game. Soon Max joined them, and the room was filled with the sounds of conversation mingled with blips and beeps from the video game. C.C. noticed Niles standing off to the side, conversing with D.D. So engrossed were they that they didn't notice C.C. hovering near the kitchen door. She was poised to enter, should they look up, but they kept chatting. C.C. caught snippets of sentences.
"...won't talk about it....prognosis...therapy...can't drive...balance...denial..."
C.C. silently fumed. How dare that butler discuss her alleged infirmities with her own sister. If D.D. had questions, why didn't she ask me directly? What did he know, anyway? She shoved the kitchen door open and went inside, looking for liquid sustenance. She started searching through the cupboards; surely Hazel had some cooking sherry stashed somewhere. As each shelf proved innocent of alcohol, C.C. grew more agitated.
"Why won't they just ask me how I feel? I'm fine. It happened, it's over, let's get on with life." Everything had been going so well; everyone had been kibitzing and sniping like old times. But it didn't last. They wouldn't let themselves forget. "Cripes, they didn't fuss over the Butler this much when he had his heart attack! His heart, damn it, now that's serious! I had a bullet in the head, they took it out, end of story. But they treat me like I'm a baby."
C.C. squatted down and started searching the lower cupboards. She was so preoccupied she didn't hear someone enter the room.
"May I help you find something, Miss Babcock?"
C.C. jolted to an upright position, and wheeled around. The sudden movement made her dizzy, and she reached out for the countertop for support. She missed by many inches, and started to topple over. Niles easily caught her and held her against him for a moment.
"Are you OK?" he asked softly, into her ear.
"I'm fine, damn it, fine, but no one will believe me." She turned her head so he wouldn't see the tears in her eyes.
He slowly walked her over to a kitchen chair and sat her down. She put her head down on her arms on the table, and tried to hold back tears of frustration. Niles sat closely by, with his hand gently on her back. He remained quiet and thought he'd let her cry herself out. This was good for her, he thought to himself. But instead of having a good, long cry, she sat up abruptly.
"Isn't there anything to drink in this house?" she asked crossly.
Niles walked over to the Sub-Zero and returned with a bottle of water.
"This isn't what I had in mind," C.C. snarled, but uncapped it nevertheless. "Since you're here, can you fetch me a pain pill please?"
The use of the term "fetch" rankled him, but she had said "please", so he silently left the room and returned with her medication.
She took the pill, followed by a long swig of water, then sat quietly for a moment.
"Why?" she asked no one in particular.
"Why, what?" Niles asked softly, as he took a seat beside her.
"Why does a simple head injury suddenly make me old and feeble?"
"First of all, your injury was anything but simple. Secondly, you've been old as long as I've known you."
The corners of C.C.'s mouth turned up ever so slightly at that remark.
"But what makes you think you're feeble?"
"For crying out loud, my brother gave me a bathrobe. That's a gift you'd give to Yetta, or Yetta's mother, for heaven's sake. My sister gave me a gift certificate to Elizabeth Arden. What do you think I'll get for my next birthday? A free cholesterol screening? Support hose?"
Without thinking, Niles reached over and wrapped his arms around C.C. Instead of balking, she willingly leaned over and buried her face in his shoulder.
"Maybe they were just 'caught short' like you were last year," he soothed, as he gently rubbed her back with one hand. "After all, they weren't planning to visit until I phoned them. I don't think they were making any sort of statement, those were just last-minute gifts."
C.C. sighed heavily. Niles was probably right, but she didn't feel like leaving his embrace just yet.
"Miss Babcock," he murmured huskily into her ear, "you are anything but feeble. You are the strongest, most dynamic woman I know."
C.C. pulled back slightly and looked directly into his deep azure eyes. They sat motionless for a moment, drinking in each other's gaze, when they simultaneously started moving closer. C.C. closed her eyes and parted her lips slightly, when the kitchen door banged open.
"Quick!" Fran yelled, rushing towards the sink. "Max just spilled a glass of burgundy on the rug. He gets so excited over a stupid video game..." She opened random cupboard doors. "Where are the paper towels?"
Niles and C.C. each sat up quickly. C.C. cast her glance downwards, somewhat embarrassed, and Niles jumped to his feet.
"Right here, Miss Fine," he said, producing a roll of towels. "I'll take care of it..." And he rushed towards the living room.
Fran glanced over at C.C., who looked uncharacteristically flushed. She thought for a moment and suddenly realized what she'd seen when she first burst into the room.
"Um, did I interrupt something?" she asked.
"Not at all," C.C. replied, getting up from her chair. "He was just giving me my medication."
As C.C. left the room, Fran wondered exactly what kind of medicine Niles had been administering.