Myrtle always thought of New Orleans as a bright and sunny place. Which was funny because bright and sunny were not two words she had ever used to describe her sister. She sometimes wondered exactly what went through Fiona's mind when she accepted to run the department down here instead of staying in Boston. What did Fiona want with the city of Jazz? Fiona didn't have one musical nerve in her body. This place was too colorful for someone who only ever wore black dresses. Myrtle thought to ask many times, but she never did. She knew she wouldn't get a valuable answer anyhow. Perhaps the move was only meant to do the obvious; put more distance between them.
The warmth hit her like a solid wall, when she got out of the car. She had taken a taxi from the airport this time, as Fiona could not be bothered to send her butler as she used to. Such a pity. Myrtle enjoyed the company of Spalding. She didn't mind the silence, she filled that herself quite easily. The maid was far worse, looking so uptight all day long, as if the whole world smelled nasty to her. The world was full of wonderful smells!
Myrtle took a whiff of Louisiana air. It smelled so clean compared to that of New York. The streets here looked cleaner too. While New Orleans had a colorfulness of its own, these outskirts of it were much quieter than New York and they didn't burst with the same spectacular mess of life from constant motion and ever shouting people as in her city of home. It was a shame, because Myrtle appreciated the burst. And she had more than once toyed with the idea of getting lost in the vibrant musical nightlife of New Orleans – a good disco never failed – but she didn't object to a week in the quiet sun to visit her family. Even if only one of them ever acted happy to see her.
"Auntie Myrtle!" She turned her head to watch her beautiful little niece come running towards her with her blonde hair dancing around her head. It caught the fading autumn sunlight and it made it shine like a halo. She was the light of Myrtle's life, the apple of her eye.
"Darling!" She crouched down and the girl almost knocked her over as she collided with Myrtle's open embrace.
"I'm so glad you're here! Mommy keeps saying you're going to run out of money soon and can't come visit us anymore."
"Nonsense dear, she's just teasing." If Fiona ever listened to a word she said, first thing on Myrtle's list would be to make her stop using half-truths as joking material.
"I have a surprise for you!" Cordelia said. Her eyes shone with excitement. "Mommy promised she wouldn't tell you, so I could show you."
"That sounds lovely, darling! Oh there he is. Friend! Come here, help me with these!" Myrtle waved Spalding over as he appeared in the shadows of the doorway. He stepped out and shuffled across the aisle to her aid. He looked so pale in the sunlight it made Myrtle think of a withered vampire, although she wasn't sure the poor man even had teeth. Cordelia visibly winced, when he walked by her and she tugged at Myrtle's hand to lead her inside.
Fiona stood tall in the doorway, draped in a black dress of course, one that suited her slender figure and even took away a few years of age. If only there had been a finger to put on it. Myrtle would have loved bear the title of the family fashion icon, but sadly, this seemed to be another fight her dear little sister planned to win. Fiona said nothing before Myrtle reached the steps.
"Hello Myrtle."
"Hello sister. I see dear Spalding is in fact still alive, any reason he couldn't pick me up today?"
"Getting used to servants, are we? Didn't think you would, living in that broom closet of yours. If you insist on knowing, he was busy picking a monkey out of a tree in the back yard."
"Mommy, please don't say that."
"I didn't ruin your surprise now, did I?"
Myrtle made her way inside. She was so used to welcomes like these that she hardly noticed Fiona's words. She didn't meddle with the bickering between mother and daughter either. More often than not, this was their language.
Inside the maid greeted her with her usual aura of reluctance.
"Can I take your coat, Mrs. Snow?" She asked with a sour look on her face. She appeared extraordinarily bitter today for some reason, but Myrtle couldn't be bothered with such gloominess and placed her own sunglasses over Delphine's eyes.
"There you go dear, enjoy yourself for a change."
Delphine said nothing, and did nothing to remove the sunglasses, but walked away with the coat. Myrtle looked around the entrance hall, spotless as always. Many things could be said about the dry, corpulent maid, but she did her job. Fiona didn't need to lift a finger, which Myrtle imagined suited her just fine. A leftover from their childhood, no doubt.
As she looked around a small figure appeared down the hall.
"My, who's this little one?"
"This is the surprise! Come on Misty, come say hello to my Auntie."
At Cordelia's voice, the little one slowly came around the corner and walked towards them. She seemed insecure on her feet. As the child walked closer, Myrtle took in her every feature, from her pale skin, tight on her bones, her clear blue eyes and the wild mess of blonde hair that made her head look so big on her petite body. Myrtle looked at her in wonder, then up at Fiona, who rolled her eyes, and back at the child, who Cordelia called Misty.
The child seemed to be studying her equally. She shot a glance at Cordelia and Myrtle couldn't see what answer she got, but a little smile appeared on her face. She looked back at Myrtle, who crouched down again to take her in properly, and she reached out a hand to touch Myrtle's flaming red, frizzy hair. Her head cocked to the side and curiosity sparkled in her eyes. Her hand dropped again and she said: "Hello, Cordelia's aunt."
Myrtle couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her. There was something strange and compelling about this little one.
"Hello my dear child. You can call me Myrtle. What marvelous little creature might you be?"
"I'm Misty", she simply said. There was another smile hiding in her features, waiting to break out. Myrtle could see it teasing the corners of her mouth and it made her mimic the gesture. She took the little girl's hand and looked up at Cordelia, who was bursting with joy, and Fiona, who looked like she was slightly bored, but couldn't think of something better to do.
"Well tell me about this little one!" She looked mostly at Cordelia.
"We- well I found her in the woods a while ago. Well she found me and we don't know, if she has parents or a home so we took her home and now she lives with us!"
Myrtle looked up at Fiona in utter bewilderment: "Is that true? You have taken her in?"
Fiona shrugged. "Couldn't quite let her stay out there and be alligator food, now could I?"
"No no no, of course not! I'm just… Well, surprised. How old are you, Misty?"
There was a fraction of a moment, where Misty's gaze shifted to Cordelia's face and back, before she said: "I'm five… years old." She held up her fingers too, as if for safety measures.
"My, and abandoned… It's a pleasure to meet you, Misty."
Misty grinned and moments after she and Cordelia ran down the hall and outside.
"No running!" Fiona yelled after them, but they were already gone. "Jesus, these girls. I swear that one is bringing anarchy to my house."
"What a strange child she is…" Myrtle mused. She strolled through the house and found a window from where she could observe Cordelia and Misty. There was something different about Cordelia in the presence of this strange little one. The shyness, the hesitance, it all seemed to have loosened its grip on her just a bit. "Is it true she has no home?"
"Not one we know of", Fiona answered and poured herself a drink. She didn't offer Myrtle one. Myrtle still couldn't quite shake the fact that her sister, her egocentric loner of a little sister, had taken a child into her home just like that. It must be because of this connection Myrtle sensed between the two girls, a friendship even Fiona wouldn't deny her child.
"Do you plan to adopt her?"
Fiona, who had just raised her glass to her lips, lowered the hand again. "Why would I do that?"
"Don't play the fool sister, you work with the law. You know very well this child can be taken from you, if you don't have the papers. I would hate to see her go."
For this she received a scoff in the taunting manner, Fiona had mastered from a very young age. "You don't know her. Who'd want to claim this little devil?"
"I would just hate to see Cordelia loose her. One glance at her and it is obvious the girl is good for her. Cordelia still doesn't have many friends in school, does she?"
Fiona looked out the window at the girls playing, seemingly turning it over in her mind.
"I don't know, Myrtle. One child is more than enough. Why don't you take her? You wanted one, didn't you? Last thing I heard, your tubes are still blocked."
"You know I don't have the resources, don't be silly", she answered, purposely overhearing Fiona's last comment. "Dear departed Mister Snow didn't leave me much, as I'm positive you're already aware of."
She left Fiona then, with the excuse to go check on the girls. They had left her sight and Cordelia was often the center point of her visits, so she sought her out as much as she could. It was unusual that she had left Myrtle alone with Fiona this quickly, but Myrtle didn't mind. Not if a new friend was the reason, she didn't feel the need to hover.
She found them both near the greenhouse outside in the yard.
"Myrtle!" Cordelia called as she stepped onto the porch. She waved her over. "We have something to show you!"
They disappeared into the greenhouse and Myrtle hurried after them.
"Girls, you're not supposed to be in here! It's no place for children!" She stepped inside the moist atmosphere. The light had been turned on, but she couldn't see the girls anywhere. The flowers and plants in here were all sorted out in neat rows and cared for. Most of them were alive, because Cordelia tended to them. Fiona never cared much for nature. She liked clean, white walls and spotless furniture.
"Where are you two? Come out this instant!"
Misty appeared from under one of the tables, crawling on all four. There was dirt on her face and somehow it suited her. She looked more real with a little mud on her, looked more at ease. She stared at Myrtle without speaking.
As Myrtle crouched down to her, Cordelia appeared around the corner.
"Misty got the keys from Spalding", she said. "Well, she took them. She's very sneaky." There was adoration in her eyes, when she said this.
"Put them back and I won't tell your mom, can we make that deal? Now what was – what happened to your hand dear?!" Myrtle caught the sight of Cordelia's little hand. A bleeding cut raced across her palm, the blood reflected the light. Myrtle reached out to look at it, but Cordelia stopped her.
"No Auntie, that's what we wanted to show you. Just look."
Myrtle withdrew her hands with hesitation. She looked as Cordelia crouched down beside Misty and held out her bleeding hand. The little girl looked up at her and a silent question and answer seemed to pass between them. Myrtle would have marveled over this strong, newborn connection, but her train of thoughts was stopped as Misty moved. She put her hands around Cordelia's, staring at the contact with a stunning focus and held still. When she moved her hand away again, the cut had vanished. It was as if it had never been there. Only a bit of blood marked where the line of injury had been. Misty licked her thumb and wiped it away.
Myrtle lifted up her glasses, as if she suspected they were making her see it. But the wound was gone.
It took Myrtle a few seconds to process what she had just seen. She fought her mind's attempts to rationalize it, because this was… magic. All the while the two girls stared at her, their eyes sparkling as they waited for her words.
She looked at Cordelia first. "In all my years… Did she really make it go away or are you tricking me?"
Myrtle took her hand, examining it, just in case her eyes were telling her lies.
Cordelia smiled. "She did. She can heal people! Isn't it amazing?"
"Did you show Fiona this?"
Cordelia shook her head. Of course she hadn't. Fiona would have been far more cautious with her words, if she had.
"I think you best not yet. At least until Misty can be sure to stay here. Your mom is accepting of many things, but we wouldn't want her changing her mind, would we?"
A fraction of joy drained from Cordelia's face. "Of course not. But did you like it?"
"It was unlike anything I've ever seen!" She turned to the little one and cupped her face. "You are extraordinary."
Misty smiled.
O0O
The first time Misty saw Cordelia cry was a late October afternoon, two weeks after Myrtle had flown home to New York. She was sitting underneath the piano in the living room, when Cordelia came home at the end of a school day, slamming the door behind her.
"Christ", her mister hissed from her office room, which led right out into the hall. "Cordelia, you know I hate it when you slam the doors!"
Cordelia didn't answer, but stormed up the stairs. Misty didn't catch more than a short glimpse of her, but it was more than enough to know that something was wrong. She crawled out from under the piano, left the puddle of leaves, she had been playing with, behind – that fat lady was going to get really mad at her, but she didn't care – and went upstairs to find Cordelia crying behind her closed door. She hadn't slammed this one.
Misty opened the door to find Cordelia lying atop her bed, soft sniffles coming out between the hands she held over her face. She sat up straight as soon as Misty peeked inside, but once she realized it was her, she seemed to calm down again. She wiped the tears from her eyes with the corner of her sleeve.
"Oh hi Misty", she put on a brave smile, but Misty wasn't fooled. She crawled onto the bed to sit beside her.
"What's wrong?" Misty asked.
"It's nothing", she said, but Misty didn't accept it. She kept staring at Cordelia, waited patiently for her to answer. Finally, Cordelia sighed. "It's this girl, Madison. She's in my class. She's always picking on me, calling me things. Now she's calling me two-face, because of my eyes."
An anger built in Misty's little body, a rapid fury rising against this faceless girl. She didn't notice that her hands had curled into fists, before Cordelia laid her own on top them and unfolded them.
"It's okay, Misty. It doesn't matter. I've been called worse things."
Misty shook her head fiercely. "Not okay", she said. "She just jealous, 'cause you so pretty."
That made Cordelia smile and the sight soothed Misty. She slouched back into a calmer posture, but held onto Cordelia's hands. Watched the girl chuckle despite her tears.
"You're so sweet. You're my best friend, Misty. I wish you could be at my school. It's just so hard sometimes. Madison's always running it all, telling everyone how she's gonna be a movie star someday and- and she's got them all turned against me. It's so unfair!" Cordelia started crying again. Misty didn't say anything, but gave her space to pour it all out. The more she talked the more upset she became, as if she never got a chance to air out all the bad inside her. She let out until she had no more and the words changed to silent tears.
It saddened Misty to see Cordelia cry like this. Then she remembered something, a vague recollection of what her mama had done for her, when she cried. She had to stand on her knees to reach, so she got up and placed a gentle kiss on Cordelia's temple.
"Don't cry no more, Delia."
Cordelia sniffled, but smiled.
O0O
"Cecily, get Peterson on the phone. I need to pull some strings."
Fiona's secretary flickered through her contacts. She must be the oldest secretary, Fiona had ever hired. It didn't help Fiona's respect for the woman that they were almost the same age, yet miles apart in the hierarchy.
Cecily's eyes got wider when she realized whom Peterson was. "But he's from the adoption agency? Does that mean-"
"All I wanted was the phone number, Pembrooke. And no, you can't tell Marsha from customer support. You can tell exactly no one or you will be out of a job, you hear me?"
Crestfallen, Cecily dialed the number and handed Fiona the phone.
It took only a few months, thanks to her web of contacts, before Fiona had the final paper in her hands. Misty Goode. It sounded absurd. Never had Fiona thought she would be handed any kind of adoption paper. Honestly, she had had enough of the noisy little wild child as it was. Cleaning up after her when she threw at fit over the nightlights at bedtime, making her stop howling after the dogs, and stop attacking the cooling fans. It was exhausting just to watch Delphine do all those things. Even she couldn't shut her up. Spalding seemed downright afraid of her. He winced and walked away like a dog with its tail between its legs, when she growled at him. And growl she did. Fiona thought that perhaps she should have gotten the papers from the kennel instead.
"Cordelia!" She called for her daughter as soon as she came home. She had done all the work now, she damned well deserved to be the one to see the look on Cordelia's face, when she found out.
"Yes?" She appeared at the top of the staircase.
"Come down here. I want to show you something."
Cordelia carefully descended the stairs. Behind her, staying at the top, was Misty. She followed the scene from up there, which suited Fiona just fine.
"Here, read this", Fiona told her and held out the paper. Cordelia took it and as she read, a smile grew on her face. It made Fiona feel like she had done something right for once, obnoxious as their new pet was. Her new daughter, she reminded herself. She would have to be careful to remember voice this right, when speaking to others. Not that she counted on telling many of this.
Cordelia finished reading and looked up at her, eyes sparkling with the light of Christmas morning. "She can really stay here?"
"I still hold you responsible for teaching her manners, but yes she can stay. She's officially your sister now. Satisfied?"
She nodded eagerly. And threw her arms around Fiona's stomach. "Thank you, mommy!" Fiona froze in the spot, unsure what to do. Embraces was something she gave Myrtle. Fiona honestly couldn't remember the last time she had hugged her daughter. She put her arms awkwardly around the girl. Ran a hand through her hair and couldn't help smiling. It became too much and she gave her a small pad on the back.
When she let go, Cordelia had a troubled look on her face.
"Now what, child? It's too late to change your mind."
"No! No, that not it. It's just, I… wanted to show you something."
"Right now? I need to catch up on work. You can't be surprised to learn that this has taken quite a lot of my time."
"Oh", she said. There was something in her voice. Was it relief?
Fiona sighed. "I guess I have time if-"
"No, it's okay." Cordelia smiled and gave her back the adoption paper, so carefully you would think it was made of glass. "It can wait."
O0O
As happy as Cordelia indeed was, the word still sounded odd in her ears. Sister. Cordelia had always wondered what it would be like to have siblings. The other girls at school talked about it. Queenie, someone who sometimes spoke to Cordelia, when she sat alone during lunch, told her about all her brothers. How they fought all the time. Cordelia had only herself to fight with. Madison always told her that it was because she was so weird looking, her mom was afraid to have any more, but Cordelia knew Madison was an only child too. Cordelia had always wanted a little brother or little sister. Someone to look after. She had tried to picture it; a little version of herself, sharing her features, perhaps even her strange, heterochromatic eyes, someone to talk to everyday, to even fight with and to share her mom's harsh words. She knew it was selfish, but she sometimes wished just that.
Whatever she imagined, it was not this. Misty looked nothing like her, behaved nothing like her and she didn't seem to give much thought to all the harsh words thrown at her. But she was comfort still. Cordelia didn't see her as a sister, but as the friend she never had. And she was more than happy to be able to keep her, so happy she hugged her mom at the news. She received an awkward pad on the back in return, but it didn't matter, because she just wanted to say thank you the best way she knew how. Fiona's thoughts had moved on, before Cordelia could decide, if now was the time to show her, what Misty could do. She figured it could wait.
That night, when Cordelia turned off her nightlight and Misty crawled up to her, Cordelia turned to her with the news.
"My mom has adopted you today. Do you know what that means?"
Misty shook her head, but her eyes were wide open with anticipation.
"It means you can stay here with me forever."
Misty broke out in a wide grin and the two girls smiled at each other, before settling in for sleep. Misty inched closer and nested at the hollow of Cordelia's throat. The curls ticked her, but she wouldn't dream of telling Misty to move.
Another wish pressed on Cordelia. She was hesitant to ask, if Misty could come to school with her, but finally gathered the courage one of the following days. Her mom told her strictly no.
"It's too much paperwork Cordelia, one thing at a time. I'm very busy at the moment, as I believe I told you yesterday."
"But she's just the right age, mommy."
"I will hear none of this. Don't make me regret adopting her in the first place."
So, Cordelia took it upon her own shoulders to teach Misty. Misty, who had reclaimed most of her language by now, seemed eager to learn more. Cordelia started with simple numbers and the alphabet, hoping to teach Misty to count and read a few things within the year. Everyday, when she came home, she sat down, did her homework and then tried to imprint a fraction of knowledge on Misty as well. It was a lot harder than helping her reclaim her lost language, but Cordelia refused to give up.
"Christ, where do you get that patience, girl?" Her mom would ask her, day after day, when she sat down with Misty. In truth, Misty's patience ran out long before Cordelia's.
Sometimes they worked before breakfast, because Misty was less impatient to go play then. Rather, she seemed to connect that once she stopped paying attention, Cordelia would leave for school and so she made an extra effort to sit still. The notion made Cordelia so thrilled that some days not even Madison's cruel words could touch her.
"Cordelia!" Her mom called from the entrance hall. "Come on, child, I have a board meeting in half an hour! If you're not present in three seconds you'll have to ride with Spalding."
Nothing made Cordelia hurry like the threat of spending more time than necessary in the company of the mute butler. She closed the book, grabbed her back and ran to the front door. "No, don't go, I'm here!" Misty followed after and caught up by the time Cordelia had tied her shoes.
Fiona stood by the door, eyeing Cordelia impatiently. Cordelia could feel her stare.
"Goodbye, Misty", Cordelia said, while putting on her jacket. "See you later."
"Bye Miss Cordelia", Misty pronounced dutifully, while shooting a glance Fiona. As soon as she was out the door, Misty leaned in and whispered: "See you later, Delia." And then she was off to the garden.
Cordelia wiped the smile off her face and hurried after her mom.
"I don't like Spalding", Cordelia finally said at the end of the short, silent drive. She expected her mom to scoff and tell her to stop whining, but instead she said:
"Well, he's an odd fellow, but he's on contract. He came with the house. I doubt he'll ever leave it."
Cordelia didn't argue further. When they held up at her school, she gave her mother another hug for good measure, leaving her slightly perplexed.
"See you later", she said before jumping out of the car and heading for class.
