The Fine Print: DK and HBO own them; we just take them out to play.

Note: Dana makes with the angst again in this chapter—she can't help herself—these characters just scream out for it; though we now know what those "other duties" were that Iris was going to be so busy with. More Norman torture follows too. That poor, poor man.

Red Red Wine

Chapter Five

by Dana (twinb80)

Sofie was just about done cleaning up the living room when Brother Justin and Miss Iris returned. They both appeared happier and Sofie was glad to note that they weren't fighting with each other anymore. She watched as Brother Justin went back into his study and saw Miss Iris go into the kitchen. Sofie trailed after her and brought the wine bottles into the kitchen. She quickly threw the bottles away and waited to be told what needed to be done next. Miss Iris was humming to herself and didn't seem to notice Sofie standing there. Sofie took the opportunity to study Miss Iris. She appeared much happier and was even glowing a bit if Sofie saw right. She wondered where Brother Justin and his sister had gone off to for such a long period of time. When Brother Justin had grabbed Miss Iris's arm and taken her to their car Sofie had been left with her mouth hanging open. She didn't know that much about sibling relationships so she couldn't tell if Brother Justin's reaction to Miss Iris's comment about him not knowing certain things was normal. Instead, she had watched as they both got into the car and drove off down the road. Even the guards at the gate had been taken aback at them arguing like that. She watched as the car got tinnier as it drove further away and wondered where they were going in such a hurry. When she could finally not see the car anymore she had stood up and went inside to clean up the living room.

The hardest part about cleaning up the living room had been getting rid of the wine stain left on the carpet by Sofie. She had spent almost a half hour just scrubbing the stain before it started to go away. As she scrubbed the stain she had sang softly to herself "You Are My Sunshine." Sofie liked that song but some parts of it were sad. The stain finally disappeared and Sofie stood up. Her back ached and she hadn't realized how long she had been bent over on her knees scrubbing the stain. She put her hands over her head and gave herself a good stretch. She had then picked up the washcloth and water bucket and headed back to the kitchen. After putting everything away she then decided to check on Reverend Balthus since he was now in her care. Just like Mama. Sofie sighed and tried not to think about her mother. Once they had been so close and then as Sofie grew older the arguments had began till the point came that Sofie just wanted to get away from Mama. She never thought her mother would try to kill her though. Small tears formed in her eyes and Sofie wiped them away with her hand. No, she wouldn't think about Mama right now. Now she had to check on Reverend Balthus and make sure he was doing alright. She found him in his room sitting on the only chair in there. A book was on his lap but he wasn't reading it. Sofie had tried to be kind to him but she could tell that he didn't trust her completely yet.

"Reverend Balthus how are you doing? Can I get you anything?"

He said nothing but continued to stare past her. Sofie wondered if the poor man was lost in the past. She couldn't blame him if he were. She knew that he was a good man and he had been kind to Brother Justin and Miss Iris when they were children and Sofie wished that there was something she could do to cheer him up. She sat down on the bed and glanced at the book in his hands. The title read "Great Expectations" and she wonder if Reverend Balthus would like her to read to him. She leaned forward and tried to gently take the book from him. His hands held tightly to the book as if it were a lifeline on a sinking ship. Sofie sighed and look around the room. She didn't know what to do since she couldn't hear Reverend Balthus's thoughts like she had with Mama. Her hands found a thread on his bedspread and she began to play with it. The silence bothered her and she began to talk just so the room wouldn't be so silent.

"You know, I can read to you if you want. My Mama taught me how when I was really small so I would know how to read the cards. Thats a fortune cards ya know. Me and Mama did that. Read the cards at the Carnivale. Have you ever been to a carnival?"

Norman shook his head a little and Sofie took that as a sign that he wanted to hear more about her past life. His eyes appeared to focus on her and she smiled at him, happy that he was now in the present and not the past.

"You know what we used to do in the Carnivale? We used to wake the people up who were in the towns and came to see us. Yup that was us. Townies is what we used to call the people. When I was a kid, townies used to get a kick out of me reading the cards. Of course it wasn't me reading them. Mama read the cards and told me what to say. But the townies sure did eat it up. Not that Mama ever lied. Nope she didn't need to do thatMama could see. Past. Present. Future. It was all the same to her."

At this Sofie got quiet and she all of a sudden didn't want to talk about Mama anymore. Instead she began to ramble on about yesterday and how she and Miss Iris had gotten so drunk that Sofie had woke up the next morning wondering if the event had really happen. Sofie talked about how she had gotten Miss Iris to dance just like Libby had taught her. And how much fun they had just singing and spinning around on the carpet like two little kids. Sofie smiled as she remembered how kind Miss Iris had been when she had accidentally mentioned being with Ben. She didn't mention this to Reverend Balthus but told him instead how nice Miss Iris had been and how she had even told Sofie stories about Brother Justin as a little boy and as a teenager.

"You should have heard some of those stories Reverend. They were great and it was nice to hear how much you and your late wife had loved them so. That's a good thing to have as a little kid -love. My Mama loved me but...You know Miss Iris told me she and Brother Justin went to a carnival once. I wonder if they ever went to the one I worked at? Nah, probably not. Maybe before my time though. I know carnivals used to be a big thing to go to. That's what Mama used to say. Miss Iris told me how Brother Justin had won her a prize at one of the booths once. Aint't that nice? Reverend Balthus...?"

Sofie had been rambling on so much that she hadn't noticed that Reverend Balthus didn't appear to be paying attention to her. Sofie sighed again. She thought talking about happy times would make him happy too. She studied his face and found that he was still paying attention to her. She asked him if he wanted her to continue and he nodded his head. Sofie smiled and went back to talking about Brother Justin and Miss Iris.

"Ya know, Miss Iris told me something funny. Well I think its funny to picture it but she told me that once they had been at a carnival and seen one of the ummm how do I say thisone of the Dance Ladies go by and Miss Iris had gotten so red in the face. Hahaha. Can you imagine? Brother Justin at one of the Cooch Shows.giggling. Oh, wait you don't know what that is, huh? Well, a Cooch Show is for gentlemen to go and watch ladies dance. Ya know like ummm..."

At this Sofie didn't know what to say so she decided to change the subject really quick. Instead she talked about how Miss Iris had told her how much fun she and Brother Justin had at the carnival and how they had even gotten back home late because they were having so much fun there.

Norman had been listening to this happily but at the mention of Justin and Iris coming home late from a carnival his mood had changed. If Norman could have, he would have frowned and brought his hands to his head in despair. But he couldn't, so he listened as Sofie rambled on about what was going on down in the valley with the Temple Of Jericho.

He had been awake yesterday evening and heard as Iris and Sofie had gotten drunk and had their fun. Part of him was happy that Iris had gotten a chance to loosen up for once and that she been able to do so without Justin hovering nearby, condemning her. He didn't have any right to do that but Norman knew if Justin were there he would have done or said something to that effect. Norman watched as Sofie's mouth continued to move but his mind was elsewhere. He had heard as Sofie was sent upstairs and Justin had tried to get Iris out of the way before his guests had gotten there. Some of their conversation was muddled and he couldn't understand some of the noises he had heard coming from the living room. But he had been laying there and heard as Justin's guests arrived earlier and had given a small smirk of satisfaction at their arrival. Justin was always so in control now that Norman enjoyed any embarrassing discomfort Justin went through, even the small ones. His eyes had gotten larger when he had heard earlier Justin say that he was taking Iris to bed and she had responded with "Praise the Lord." Justin had laughed and told her "Not for that" and Norman wasn't sure if he had heard right. He prayed he hadn't heard right but knew deep down that he had. Sofie was talking again and Norman tried to concentrate on what she was saying. Something about not realizing how late it had gotten and having to head back to the living room to finish cleaning up the mess. She made sure he was comfortable and told him that she hoped Brother Justin and Miss Iris when they got back would be on speaking terms again. Then she was gone. Norman closed his eyes and waited for Death to find him and take him away from this house.

Later he heard as Justin and Iris came back and he glanced over to the clock on his nightstand. They had been gone for two hours and Norman had wondered where they had gone off to. Usually he knew Justin had meetings in the morning and Iris was busy around the house doing housework or errands. They had been fighting earlier yesterday and Norman had heard as Justin stormed out of the house. Then he had heard later as Justin confronted Iris for being drunk and not being happy about it. And now this. Norman didn't understand. He closed his eyes and began to pray to give him strength to endure another day here. As he opened his eyes he saw Iris walk by the hallway and then stop and turn back around. She was walking his way and Norman didn't know what to expect from her. Iris found her way into his room and sat down on the bed. She appeared happy and refreshed. Norman was taken aback at how happy she was. Lately she and Justin had been fighting every other day and Norman didn't know if he could stand it any longer. As children they had never fought this much but now they were constantly at each other's throats.

Iris was talking to him about something but he found he couldn't follow along. Instead he watched her mouth move and tried to figure out what words she was saying. When that didn't work he let his eyes wander around the room and then came back to looking at Iris. He hadn't noticed before but the top two buttons on her dress were open and he thought she must have opened them to let some cool air onto her skin. The day was very hot and sure to get hotter. Norman did not look forward to this but he was surprised that Iris would leave her dress open like that. Iris was usually so prim and proper but he thought that the heat must have gotten to her. She finished talking and began to help him get back into his bed. She was telling him that she would bring in a fan while he took a nap so that he wouldn't get too hot resting.

He was lying in his bed and as she turned to bring the light blanket over him, his eyes narrowed. Her dress at first glance was spotless, but upon further inspection, his eyes found tiny grass stains and to his observant eyes he noticed that her dress was rumbled in certain places. If one weren't paying close attention, they never would have noticed these things. But Norman had and he wanted to scream out his disgust as his thoughts went racing in his mind. To confirm his suspicions he watched as Iris pulled the blanket to his chin and then hovered over him, checking his forehead to make sure he wasn't running a fever. As she did this, his eyes glanced at her open dress and he found the evidence he was looking for. His eyes traveled over the bite marks and hickeys that Justin's mouth had left. Norman closed his eyes as this thought repeated in his head. Justin had left those marks on Iris's body. It was the only explanation for how they had gotten there. He opened his eyes again and found Iris staring at him. Could she read what he was thinking? Norman didn't know, but he watched as Iris glanced down at her dress and then blushed. She mumbled something about having opened those buttons after Sofie left the kitchen and she had felt the afternoon heat seep into the kitchen then not remembering to do them up again. She looked back up at him and smiled and Norman knew she was lying. She knew he knew it too but said nothing. Instead she opened the window above his bed a little to let in the cool breeze and then she was gone. Norman closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep. Images raced across his mind and he found that he couldn't sleep. He stared up at the ceiling and began to pray again for Death to take him.