Chapter 10 - The Living End
(...the kitchen...five minutes later...)
It had been a crazy week for the Turner family. Tim could barely remember his actions of the last few days, but he had a feeling that there was a lot to answer to. He blows on his cup of freshly brewed coffee and watches his wife bring her own steaming mug to the table.
He places his cup down. "Virginia, I can't begin to tell you how...how sorry I am. I really wasn't myself. I..."
"Tim..." She rests her hand on his. "...you shouldn't beat yourself up over this."
"But the things that happened...the things that came out of my mouth..."
The brunette pats her husband's hand. "You didn't mean them, did you? I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen you get angry in life. I'd even have fingers left over. If you don't let out your anger every once in a while, it will end up bursting out like it did with me and the kids."
"But I don't have it in me to get angry...at least I thought I didn't", he murmurs before taking a sip. "Irritated, perhaps, but not angry." Tim takes another sip, but starts to choke a little; that night at the hotel has returned to him. He coughs repeatedly, prompting Virginia to run to him and pat his back.
"Are you all right?" She stands in front of him as he regains his breath; the treatment worked.
"No. The other night, when I came home late...I was at the Hilton. Trixie Tang was there. I went up to her room..." He folds his arms on the table and buries his tear-streaked face in them. Virginia looks at him intently, but there seems to be more hurt than rage on her face.
Tim raises his head. "And Veronica was with her, and we just...I lost control. I know that nothing I say will ever make this better, but I am so very sorry. I'll do whatever I can to make this up to you."
Virginia sits back in the empty chair. She grabs Tim's hands. "Do you know why I fell for you all those years ago?"
The young man wipes his eyes. "Why?"
"Unless you have some kind of strong personality, people tend to ignore you. In school, no one paid attention to me. I may as well have been wallpaper. Then, one day...I guess you were being chased, because you ran into the nearest hiding place, which happened to be the girls' bathroom." Tim smiles nervously. "I was washing my hands, and there you were at the door. You talked to me; you acknowledged my existence. The only person close to my age who talked to me was Vicky. My nine-year-old mind may have made more of the conversation then there was, so I pursued you with all I could. I promised myself that you'd be in my life, no matter what."
"What does this have to do with...?" She puts a finger to his lips.
"There are all kinds of bullies out there, meaning to do physical harm, emotional harm and even sexual harm. If we can survive people like that, then we can survive anything."
With strengthened resolve, Tim gets up from his chair and picks up his wife. He kisses her deeply, and feels his tears returning. With a moan, she breaks away.
"But know this, Timothy Turner: you have a long way to winning back my trust."
"I know." He wraps her in a big hug and rests his head over her shoulder. "I know."
(...outside the Turner home...the next day...)
There's an old saying that goes 'Actions speak louder than words'. Tim could've spent his time apologizing, but Virginia was content to have him doing things for her.
Cleaning out the rain gutters was such a thing. Given the grunts emanating from his mouth, this was not a task he particularly enjoyed, yet here he was. The young man reached a work gloved hand into the trench and scooped out yet another handful of leaves. How long was it since these were last cleaned? Tim takes a breath and rests on the ladder a bit.
A window next to him opens. "So, how's it going?" A sparkle in the eye accompanies Virginia's question.
"Grueling. I'm almost done, though."
The brunette folds her arms on the window sill. "Well, that's nice." She takes a breath. "Tim, do you like your job?"
He looks down. Heights were never much of a problem for him. "Are you sure this is the right time or the right place?"
"I really want to know." Apparently, such details are unimportant to her. "Do you like your job?"
Tim sighs deeply.
"It's a simple 'yes or no' question."
There were times when it wasn't so bad, but there were also times where it was quite boring. Tim weighed these options in his mind. "No."
"I want you to do something for me."
"What's that?"
"Tomorrow, I want you to look for a new job."
"Look for a job? But I--"
"You walked out on the old one. Whether or not you were yourself, there must've been something behind it. And I want you to be happy. Don't you want that?"
Tim bows his head. "Why are you so good to me?"
"Someone has to be." Virginia blows him a kiss and closes the window.
(...the living room...moments later...)
The dark-haired woman walks down the stairs and sits down at the computer. The blinking cursor resided at the end of a fresh paragraph on the monitor:
The young woman stood at the cliff's edge. She shook, almost like she was crying, but in fact, she was laughing. She hadn't kept in touch with her friends for so long. Maybe, she thought to herself, it was for the best. After all, what reason did she have to keep them in her life? One of them might end up finding out where the bodies are buried.
Virginia smiles a little and allows her fingers to dance about the keyboard.
"So, how have you been doing lately?"
"Much better, thank you."
(...the living room...a few hours later...)
Virginia lies on the couch, holding the book she was enjoying the previous night. She seems to be truly engrossed in the text.
"Things are going smoothly with your wife?"
Tim walks up to her and kisses her ear.
"Yes. Like silk, really."
The brunette looks up and caresses his face. She returns the gesture. The book slips away from her as she reaches her other hand to him.
"So, the other man is gone?"
"Um...yeah. We sat down with him and talked."
"Are there any more chores that need to be done?"
"He just needs to live his life without any hassle."
"Well, there are some weeds that need to be pulled outside."
"All right." Tim trudges toward the kitchen door. He had a feeling that he'd be working a while to get things back to normal. Taking a look at the pretty, caring woman on his couch, he knew it was worthwhile.
"I can't believe I forgot this the last time we spoke: do you have any children?"
"Yes. A boy and a girl."
(...Thomas and Violet's room...)
The children sit on their beds. Cosmo and Wanda float before them.
"How have they been adjusting these last few days?"
Violet sighs. "I'm so glad that Daddy's back to normal."
"Me, too", concurs Thomas. "Wait."
"What's wrong?"
"You were Daddy's fairy godparents, but you're not, anymore. Does that mean you'll have to leave us one day?"
"If there's one thing I know about my children, it's that they can handle anything."
Wanda sighs. "I'm afraid so, Thomas, but that's a long, long time from now. The important thing is to enjoy the time you have now."
"And besides, if you have people who love you, that's where real magic comes from."
"Oh, Cosmo." She grabs her husband in a hug. "That's beautiful."
"Thank you." The green-haired fairy pulls a tiny slip of paper from his pocket. "And I sure whoever wrote this thanks you, too."
Wanda reads the slip - a fortune cookie fortune - and gives her husband a questioning look...which soon softens. He knew the way to her heart: through her funny bone. Her chuckling soon extends to the youthful charges.
Violet's laughter dies down somewhat. "If we knew before that Daddy was having this problem, couldn't we have helped him?"
"This is one of those things that he needed to take care of himself."
"Besides, from a narrative standpoint, that would've been ridiculous." Cosmo waves his wand and a newspaper poofs in. The headline reads 'Kids Wish Away Father's Malady' (with the sub-header 'Hack Author Takes Easy Way Out').
The laughter resumes with greater strength.
(...Dr. Fenton's office...the next day...)
Tim lies on the couch, under the watchful eye of the psychologist.
"So, that's pretty much it, I guess."
Jasmine adjusts her glasses. "Mr. Turner, it sounds like things are going well for you, so why come back here?"
The young man gulps a bit. "Well...I realize that I may have said some hurtful things the last time I was here, and I wanted to make amends."
"Really?"
"Yes. I didn't want you to think I was some a-hole jerk who goes around insulting people."
"Mr. Turner, this may come as a shock to you, but I've dealt with much nastier patients than you. The key is getting to the heart of the problem without losing it."
(...the living room...that evening...)
"That sounds very effective. I don't think I'll have to worry too much about what's going on."
Virginia is lying on the couch. A hand slowly reaches out and entangles its fingers with hers. "How'd the job hunt go?"
Tim, sitting up and acting as her 'pillow', shrugs as best as he can. "A couple of people said they'd call me. I know what that means."
"It means they'll call you."
"Sure, when I'm old and too weak to do the job. If only I had a chance to work on my resume...", he states playfully.
"Hey! I'm working on my story. Besides, this whole thing kind of inspired me to take the story in a new direction."
Tim takes a breath. "Do you think I'll ever find a new job?"
"Tim, don't think like that. Of course, you will. There's plenty of work out there. The important thing is finding it."
He kisses his wife on her head. "Have I earned your trust back?"
"Not just yet, loverboy." She squeezes his hand tightly but lovingly and sighs. "Not just yet."
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A/N: This is a story that I've had in my head for a while. To me, "Escape from Unwish Island" was a poor way of bringing back the character, made all the poorer by this story. I could bore you with how much I hate what the show has become, but there will be plenty of opportunities for that in the future. For now, I hope you enjoyed this and I look forward to hearing from the faithful few kind enough to leave reviews.
Have a nice day.