Telling the family was easy, compared to what we had all been through together it was painless.
"I thought you were already engaged," Maddie said from her perch by Nick. She was rubbing the small bulge on her mid-section. A pang of jealously hit me but instead of the bad taste in my mouth that usually followed, I felt hope and some impatience overfill me. Stan and I had opted for a short engagement. November, we agreed on. It was when we had met again for the first time. Autumn was always our favorite season, the falling red, orange, yellow leaves was so picturesque.
Since it was the end of July though, we only had 4 months to plan. 4 months to plan, 1 year of being married and then 9 months of pregnancy brought me 29 when I had my first child. Our first child. When Stan and I had discussed it the week previously, we had both decided we wanted a big family. I, being an only child, was always lonely and Stan loved his siblings so much he wanted to let our children have the same opportunities he had.
Keeping the secret from every one was satisfying yet difficult. As I headed off to work each day I would have to avoid Amelia completely. I knew if we talked anymore than five minutes I knew I would accidently spill the beans. Stan and I had promised each other we wouldn't tell anyone for a week, keeping those 7 days free of any wedding plans. We both agreed Mum would go crazy when she heard. I felt Stan sigh next to me. He was obviously thinking about the same thing as me.
"I thought you were already married," Tyler piped in, tearing his gaze away from the wizard chess he was playing with Abby.
"No, we were not married before. Thank you for paying attention, Tyler," Stan said annoyed. He stopped mid groan to look at Mum who had not broken into tears like we had so thought.
"I'm so happy," She said after a pause. She was overwhelmingly calm as compared to what I had thought. "Well what are you waiting for?" She asked impatiently and as expected she threw us into wedding details the second after we sat down again.
"A muggle wedding," I said sternly. I wanted more than anything for my mother to come to my wedding, my last relation. I had told her the same day at lunch. She was unsurprised as well. She just nodded as I told her and continued drinking her lemonade.
"I can't say I'm surprised. It was time you settled down," She had said as though remaining single was my choice.
Although Stan didn't mention anything about it, I wanted to invite his father and his family as well. Stan's estrangement with his father had been just as deep as it had always been. Besides a brief conversation at Maddie's wedding, I don't think they had talked at all. I wanted them to make up but I dare not mention it. Stan always got touchy with the subject of his father and I didn't want to break our euphoric mood. Mum however dove into the subject bluntly.
"You've told your father, haven't you?" She said, talking to Stan. The look in her eyes meant she knew he hadn't.
"Not exactly…" Stan said trailing off. He didn't look his mother in the eyes. If he did though, like I did, you could see fury mixed with concern for her oldest son.
"Tell him. Right now in fact." Mom said sternly. "Take Abby with you as well, it's his weekend," She finished in an after-thought. Stan opened his mouth to protest but Mum's gaze cut him off. I had to compress a smile. I hoped I could do that with our kids. Stan sulkily took Abby's hand and we apparated next to the unkempt hedges. I had only been there one time and now it looked just about as out of place as it had before. Truthfully it was a beautiful house, but the strange color of the door made it look like it belonged with a circus. It was like a veil cloaking the house, reminding everyone else that although they seemed like it, they weren't quite normal.
Abby bounded up the steps on the porch as if she owned the place. She rang the doorbell before Stan had time to protest. He grabbed my hand in an afterthought and looked at me for the answers. I smiled reassuringly at him.
"Sometimes you just need to forgive and forget," I whispered as the door opened. I felt awfully hypocritical, since with my own father I had done the exact opposite. I forgot it as I saw Sunny's figure open the door. She welcomed Abby with a hug before she even realized we were standing there. Her smile faded immediately and stared at us strangely. Her glossy pink lips formed an 'o' and she looked in shock.
"Oh my goodness! Brooke! Stan! It's been too long, really it has been! Come in come in," Sunny said ushering us. Abby had disappeared to a room to play with her half sisters. I didn't see Stan's dad but by the time we reached the kitchen I already caught a glimpse of his graying father. He looked considerably older since I had seen him at the wedding two months prior. He seemed to take on his wife's comical expression before he regained his composure. "They've come to stay for dinner." Sunny said lightly taking the place next to her husband. I heard Stan clear his throat.
"We've already eaten. So has Abby," He said gruffly in a voice deeper than usual. I just stood rooted in my place unaware how to act in this certain situation. I wondered if I should play submissive like Sunny had who seemed very interested in her glass of water. I awkwardly sat next to her as Stan stayed standing up staring his father down.
After a few uncomfortable moments of silence, Stan's father cleared his throat.
"I never got to apologize," Stan's father started awkwardly. Stan blushed; he was obviously not expecting this. "I didn't mean to hurt you and your family." It sounded strangely impersonal to hear Mr. Shunpike call Stan's family not his own. Stan seemed to be thinking along the same lines. He kept his mouth shut though and Mr. Shunpike went on. "I'm not good with words, you know that. Well maybe you don't. I can never get what's in my heart to translate into words. I wrote a diary. I don't know if anyone ever-"
"I read it," Stan interrupted in a stranger voice still. Was that a waver I heard?
"Oh," Stan's dad said faltering. "I know maybe what I did was wrong but I had to do it son. I would have stayed there if I hadn't made you miserable. You already were, maybe you don't remember. Your mother and I were always fighting." Stan looked at the ground. He mumbled something I couldn't catch. "What?" Stan's father said again.
"You could have stayed. You could have visited. Anything." Stan said and I looked away as I saw tears well up in my fiancé's eyes. I felt it then increasingly harder to swallow. "Look, Brooke said to me today forgive and forget, I'll try to do that but you can't expect me to be so happy right now," Stan said looking away. "That's not why we came over here at all," He gestured to me. I had had tried to look like I wasn't eavesdropping but it was hard when they were only 2 feet away from me. "Brooke and I are engaged to be married. I'm sure Mum will force me to invite you all to the wedding, it's in November." Stan said proudly. Sunny squealed next to me, and Mr. Shunpike looked over at me for the first.
"I don't think we've met," He said thickly extending his hand across the table.
"How strange, I thought we had," I replied coolly as I shook his hand. There was no longer any doubt in the room to whose side I was on. It reminded me of an encounter I had seen the same week between my students. Charles, shy and somber, had gone over to Dorothy and in his terms told her off. Of course all he had said was "You swerve a little jerky," but Dorothy was so appalled she burst into tears. I calmed her down enough to practice again but she was so shaken she didn't have the heart. I had always sort of disliked Dorothy, her attitude was atrocious, and so I encouraged other children to push past her. I hadn't realized that Dorothy, although older and more experienced, was still a child. Mr. Shunpike stayed silent. Sunny was uncomfortable, I could tell by the way she shifted every two seconds. I, unlike Sunny, enjoyed the silence. It was a sort of challenge in my mind, who ever talked first lost.
"Um… Brooke and I have to go now. It's Sunday, you know, we've got work tomorrow." He said, losing my imaginary game. I had almost forgotten how late it was. Past 8 for sure, to wake up at 6 the next day I needed my beauty rest.
"You never told me where you worked, Stan, nor you Brooke," Mr. Shunpike said as we walked to the door.
"Stan works on the Knight Bus. He is the conductor," I said proudly, glad that Sunny was out of earshot. I heard the girls moan as Sunny told them to go to bed.
"Oh, that's nice," Mr. Shunpike, said surprised.
"Yeah, you know, he had to apprentice there to have enough money to support the kids you abandoned," I said testing him. Apparently my own motto was forgotten.
"Brooke!" Stan said offended. His face was stretched with worry and I knew that he had forgiven his father, though he may never admit it.
"I get it. I know it. I am doing my part now. I pay for Tyler's education and I'll pay for Abby's. If it's money you want then I'll give it to you. I just want to see my kids again," Mr. Shunpike said. His voice was dripping with sadness and I regretted saying those things to him. No longer did Stan's father stand in front of me, but it was just an old man. He was an old man who just wanted to be loved by his children again. I didn't know if Stan saw what I saw, and if he did he didn't show it. His face was solid and for once I couldn't read it.
"What if it's too late? Father… Dad… I do forgive you for whatever you did. I really do. Come and visit some time, but I don't expect us to have the old comradeship we used to have," Stan said simply and apparated away not even bothering to wait for me. I gave an apologetic smile to Stan's bewildered father.
I apparated away within in seconds and returned home. I had opened the door expecting to find Stan sulking on the couch but instead the home was barren. I knew he needed some time to think. Instead of having a release like Paul's, who went and mowed the lawn once a week, Stan stored his feelings. In one burst he would have them all. He sometimes disappeared like this every couple of months and I would always find him next to me the morning after. I never asked where he went; maybe I was scared to know. A part of me resented that Stan couldn't just tell me his feelings. I understood how he felt sometimes though; I had some things I just didn't want Stan to know. I had Amelia to spill my secrets to and although Paul and Stan were friends, they weren't as intimate as us. Amelia and I even had a riff growing between us. Since the camp opened we have both been extremely busy. We just had nothing to talk about right now. I'm sure we would get over it but now it was just a silent phase. We saw each other every day, five days a week, we did most everything together. The camp thankfully was in its last week. All we had left was the big quidditch match that I felt extremely confident about.
That Friday, I arrived at work with a big smile on my face, ready to win our handcrafted trophy. It was only when I reached the gates that the lightning storm started. The annual quidditch match was to be cancelled immediately. Before I knew what I was doing, My eyes had filled with tears and I was sobbing quietly into Amelia's shoulder.
The wedding approached in what felt like a matter of days. August, September, October all passed quickly. Maddie was over at the Shunpike's house constantly. I wondered if she even went to her own house. Since Nick's wife was always at the Shunpike's, Nick after coming directly from work, was there too. Always.
"Where do you want to go on your honeymoon?" Mum would ask. I would open my mouth to answer when Maddie started.
"I didn't go on a honeymoon. It's really a waste of money," Maddie would say. I would hit her had she not been in the condition she was in. Her stomach grew bigger each time I saw her and soon she could hardly get off the couch without being helped. That was her only protection. When that sucker was born though…
"What kind of flowers do you want?" Mum asked once.
"I used wildflowers, we have plenty of those," Maddie answered for me. I knew she was just trying to help, really she was but I just wanted to plan my own wedding. It sounded completely snobby if I responded after her saying "lilacs". Of course Maddie was oblivious to it all. She was damn hormonal. She cried for hours and when asked why she would reply with "I forgot". She ate everything in the house and Mum catered to her like a princess. I really hoped with all of my heart I wasn't like that.
Stan was exhausted too. All the free time I had was spent towards planning the wedding, but Stan had no free time. Although Mother offered to pay for the wedding, we both refused and because of that Stan was working double shifts. He would leave before I woke up and he slip beside me in bed late at night. This did wonders for our sex life. We were at it like dogs, humping and grinding to some silent drum. We worked all throughout the long nights and on the occasional days when Stan had the day off. We wouldn't be seen out of the house on those days. My relationship with Amelia had returned to normal too. Now we laughed and joked and I would put my hand on her stomach and she wouldn't flinch away. Even though Amelia was only five months pregnant, she had a stomach equivalent to Maddie's. The day before Maddie's due date and two weeks before my wedding, Amelia told me she was having twins.
"It runs in the family, you see," She said smiling. "My mother was a twin and my aunt was a twin. My dad's sister not my mom's, that would be obvious. I had already set up two cribs in case, but now it's definite." Everything about her seemed to double from then on. Her joy, her laugh, her smile and most of all her stomach were all bigger and brighter. Unlike Maddie, Amelia was like a goddess when she was pregnant. She was the model of what I wanted to be. We giggled now like crazy, the tiniest thing set us off. Paul would walk in and get a glass of water and we would just be sitting there giggling. Mum however hated when I giggled. Her inner evil came out when planning the wedding.
"What? What is so funny about the priest's name being Richard?" She would say angrily and I would just giggle louder. The muggle church was set and the muggle priest (Dick, as his friend's most likely called him) picked. The invitations were sent out and I had picked out the loveliest (and most expensive) white dress I had ever seen. Though it still didn't hit me. It didn't hit me at all that in two weeks I would be married. As the week of our Sunday wedding approached, I still didn't feel nervous… just happy. Then Maddie went into labor.
"Brooke," Maddie said and I walked over to her. The pink blanket nestled in between her arms was her newborn baby. "I know that…" She didn't finish because she was crying. She tried to continue you still, "maaaaaayge iii vvasssnb't the bbest," She blubbered until she got control of herself. I felt bad then for wanting to sock this girl. She was so young and so beautiful, too young and too beautiful. She didn't want what happened but she made due.
"I wasn't the best sister-in-law and I'm sorry. I'm jealous Brooke. I want to be you so bad and plan everything out but now I'm looking at little Julia and I'm thinking how could I have ever thought that she was a mistake." She stopped and sniffed loudly. The baby in between her arms shifted Maddie cradled her more carefully. "I want her middle name to be Brooke. I always thought it was a pretty name. I just want you to know that I'm thankful that you put up with me," She said as her eyes began to drop. She handed me the baby and she fell asleep soon after. I looked at the little baby in my arms, my future little niece. She was so adorable, with eyes that were squinted tightly. I wondered if the were blue like Stan's. On top of her head was a black mop of hair. I stuck my finger next to the baby's tiny fist. Her grip tightened on it and I squealed. She was so beautiful, like her mother. I kissed her forehead. Stan came sometime later, running through the door. He had just been able to get off of work. Abby and Mum had disappeared into the hallway to find snacks and Nick was dozed in a chair. Stan walked over to me. I hardly noticed him; I was too busy staring at this small little bundle of beauty.
I knew how she would be crying all through the night in the weeks to come, I knew how she would color on the walls as she got older and how she was be found snogging with her boyfriend in broom closet when she was a teenager but now she was just so beautiful. I kissed the baby's cheek and Stan kissed mine. From that point on I wasn't nervous I wasn't even mulling over how happy I was, instead I was filled with impatience.
A/N: Only ONE chapter left. Thanks for reading!