"Punk," he said softly, using the triplets' childhood nickname for her, smiling as she looked up. The sadness in her face lifted a little as her eyes brightened at the sight of him.
"Oh, Brandon!" The tears filled her eyes, but she dashed them away, almost fiercely, with the back of her hand. She got up and hugged him tightly. "What's this?"
"A painting of Darren. I... thought you might want something of him."
This time the tears did fall, as Verity looked at her brother's exquisite painting. He had captured Darren in the midst of laughter. "It's wonderful. He was always laughing, wasn't he?" she said wistfully. "I miss him so much."
Brandon touched her face awkwardly. He was good at capturing emotions on canvas, but dealing with people, no, that was Cameron's forte.
Verity smiled at him, she knew the effort Brandon was extending. "Help me put it up?" Brandon nodded in relief.
"Ah, that's exquisite, Brandon!" Larry said, admiring the portrait as he came in. He noted with amusement that Brandon looked glad to see him. Larry thought it was quite possibly the only time Brandon had looked happy to see him.
"I'm going to go, Verity," Brandon said tentatively. He kissed her on her forehead. "See you at Mama's for dinner tonight?"
Verity nodded, and gave him a fierce hug. Brandon returned it, but he was surprised. Verity was not known for displays of affection.
"And how are you faring, Verity?" Larry asked gently.
She sighed, "I have my moments. Sometimes I think I'm getting control of it, then I start weeping for no reason."
Larry looked at her for a moment, "Have you talked to your father about it?"
"Dad?" Verity said in surprise. "Why Dad?"
"He came very close to losing your mother once," Larry said softly, "There were moments when we thought she would not make it. Your father went through a great deal then, and went through more during her recovery. He's one of the strongest people I know."
"Darren was afraid of him," Verity said, half to herself.
Larry remained silent, but his eyes encouraged her to talk. When she didn't say any more, he said quietly, "Grief may seem unbearable, but it is a healing process. There are five discrete stages of grief, but the length of time a person spends in each stage varies from person to person, event to event. It's important to note that life will be painful if you are stuck in one of the first four stages until you move to the fifth stage, which is acceptance."
He touched her arm to get her attention, "You shouldn't be ashamed of what you feel, regardless of what you feel. You shouldn't be afraid to acknowledge anything, even if it is guilt for something you did, or failed to do. Your family loves you, they'll be there for you. I'll be here for you."
Gently, he brushed the tears away, and pulled her in for a hug. "Talk to your parents, Verity. They're hurting for you. They need you too."
Verity nodded, and hugged him tightly. "Thanks, Uncle Larry."
Larry smiled, he loved it when she called him Uncle Larry. "You know where to find me if you need me."
"I'll always need you, Uncle Larry. Thanks for being you," she whispered.
-----
"She looked like she was in a lot of pain, and I didn't know what to say," Brandon said softly to Jasmine.
"Brandon," Jasmine hesitated, "I don't think there's a good time to say this, but I've been thinking that perhaps we need some time apart."
He looked at her thoughtfully, then he sighed, "I hate to say it but I think you're right."
Jasmine looked surprised then relieved, she hadn't expected this calm reaction. She hugged him. "I like you a lot, Brandon, and I don't want to lose that, so I'm glad you agree. It's just that when I look at my parents, or yours, I feel like there's something missing in our relationship. I just don't know what it is. I've just never said anything because I didn't want to hurt your feelings. But, life is too short, isn't it?" She was thinking about Darren now.
Brandon held her close, "I'll always be here for you, Jasmine. But you're right about the relationship. And you have a decision to make, don't you? Whether or not to go to MIT?"
She nodded, then laughed, "Dad is having a cow over that."
Brandon grinned. Charlie was always funny when he got worked up over something that had to do with Amita or Jasmine. "That's when I realized that maybe I wasn't the right person for you, Jas, when I didn't have a cow over the fact that you might be leaving for MIT."
They were quiet for a moment, lost in their own thoughts.
Then Brandon said, "I wonder if Verity is taking it so hard because she regrets something about her relationship with Darren?"
-----
Hannah watched Verity walk slowly up to the house, wondering why she was there so early. Her heart ached to see the sadness in her youngest daughter's entire demeanour. The spring in her step was gone. The smile on her lips, the mischief in her eyes, all gone. Hannah sighed sadly.
"What is it, Hannah?" Colby asked gently.
She shook her head, "Just watching Verity."
He joined her at the window, wrapping his arms around her to comfort her.
"All the air's gone out of her," Hannah said regretfully.
He kissed her, murmured a soft, "I love you." And went to meet Verity at the front door.
Verity looked up to see her father looking sympathetically at her.
"Baby girl," he said gently.
She remembered how she used to hate it when he called her baby girl. But today, it was the most wonderful thing she'd ever heard. Tears started streaming down her face, and she sobbed out one word. "Daddy." And ran the rest of the way up to the front door, throwing herself into her father's arms.
Colby picked her up, cradled her close to his chest, and let her cry. He rocked her like he used to when she was a little baby, as he settled into the couch, crooning to her, comforting her.
The storm of tears passed, and Verity began to breath more evenly, hiccups coming less and less frequently.
"Talk to me, baby girl."
Between hiccups and soft sobs, Verity blurted out, "I just feel so guilty. He was so good to me. He loved me, and told me so, time and time again. He was so selfless. But I didn't love him the way he loved me. I just kept putting off telling him, because I didn't want to be alone. I was a selfish witch and I didn't deserve him. Now he's gone. And I'll never have the chance to be honest with him. To tell him that I did care, and that I did appreciate him. I didn't even have a chance to tell him goodbye!"
Colby gathered her close again, aching for her.
"I miss him so much."
"I know, baby girl, I know. Darren was a good man, Verity. And he knew you better than you realize. He chose to stay with you even though he knew you didn't feel the same way about him, because he loved you. He was happy with you. Don't begrudge him that. He always did what he could to make you happy while he was alive. He wouldn't want you unhappy under any circumstances."
"I'll do better, Daddy," she whispered, "I won't be so self absorbed next time. I promise."