May 6, Spring, year 36
Everyone is up and about again, except for Alan. Well, to be fair he's up and about, he's just the only one still wearing bandages.
And I just heard something break…
The thump-and-crash was followed by a familiar hiccupping wail that attested to Meredith somehow having been involved.
"Momma!" Mirei yelled. "Make Alan stop being a pain!"
Claire let out a long, patient sigh, leaving the sanctuary of her sewing room to assess the damage.
In his attempts to bug Mirei by poking at her with a crayon, Alan's cast had accidentally hit the cup of juice Mirei had been drinking. Said cup had hit the youngest member of the family on the head before hitting the floor and breaking.
Wisely, neither younger twin had attempted to move the crying child, considering how she was practically surrounded with shards of glass.
For a moment Claire made a mute plea for her husband to come home—he'd gone to help Griffin fix his stove almost an hour ago, Jamie was out in the barns caring for the sheep and cows, and Lauren was at her lessons in magic with the Harvest Goddess today—before pointing at Alan sternly.
"Child if you want that bug net back before winter time, you will behave," she said sternly. "Room, now!"
Green eyes widened in surprise, then his head lowered in shame and he slunk off as ordered. Claire turned to Mirei.
"Get the broom and dustpan from the kitchen," she nodded. "And put on something more sturdy than you socks for goodness sake!"
Not about to attempt to incur her mother's ire, Mirei hopped as quick as she could, first shoving her feet into her shoes then running for the kitchen. Claire reached carefully over the shards of glass and picked up her still-wailing youngest, cradling the child gently to her chest.
Meri would need a bath, and her clothes would need a washing, but soothing her would have to come first. After all, juice cups hurt.
Mirei returned with the broom and dustpan, and traded them for her crying, sticky little sister. Claire caught the displeased look and tapped her daughter sharply on the nose.
"Go fill the tub kiddo," her voice hinted at the displeasure. "I'll handle the glass and get the pair of you some clean clothes. Wash her carefully, mind. You didn't like soap in your eyes any more than she does."
"Yes Momma," the blue eyed girl winced a little. "I'll be careful."
"Good girl," and Claire's smile was a touch wry. "Go on now, clean up before your father gets home. I know he'll want the bathroom after working with Griffin's stove."
Meri's wails were dying away to hiccups and sniffles, a blessing to Mirei's tortured ears. Hurriedly the nine-year-old moved to the bathroom. Skye could be worse than Aunt Muffy when it came to taking hours in the bathroom…
Sighing, the farmer crouched down to examine the remains of the cup. Even if she could fix it, it wouldn't be good to drink out of anymore. The cracks would collect drink remains and begin to mold and that would be that.
"It was one of my favorite cups too," she muttered to no one in particular. "That boy of mine is in need of a good talking to."
She was almost tempted to extend the groundation period, but knew well enough that his broken arm limited activities he liked more than being confined to the farm did. The pieces of glass clattered together in the dustpan, and Claire swept the floor twice more to ensure that she had gotten all the pieces she could with the broom. Following the transfer to the glass recycle bin—a habit that had started with her parents and extended to her, the glass would later be given to Patrick and Kassey—the blonde pulled out the vacuum cleaner.
At which point Skye returned home, covered in grease and smelling of propane fumes, which made Claire grimace a little.
"Do I dare ask what happened?" he tipped his head slightly.
"Alan was bothering Mirei, and dropped a glass of juice onto Meredith. Said glass broke when it hit the floor, and I've spent the past twenty minutes getting as much of it as I can with the broom. Girls are in the bathroom cleaning up, you'll have to wait. Talk to him?"
"Looking like this?" Skye gestured at himself, streaked with grease, a touch of oil, and food remains.
"Please?" Claire gave him a tired, worried look. "I know he's having a bit of a hard time, but it's driving me batty. The way he chooses to act out only makes me have to lengthen his punishment, and at this point it's not really counting for anything…"
Only the fact that he didn't want to get grease on her kept him from reaching out to hug her. She was worried, it was her prerogative as a mother, but it was also part of her duties to see him punished for his misdeeds.
"Alright, I'll go talk to him."
Alan was curled in a sulking lump in his bed when Skye walked in after a quick, sharp knock.
"So, why not tell me what happened?" Skye suggested mildly. "Sulking about your punishment won't change it."
"Momma's not being fair," the boy whined. "I just wanted to play a little, but Mirei was being boring! I didn't mean to break the cup…"
"No, you probably didn't. But that's the thing Alan, meaningfully done or not, you still caused the accident, and hurt your little sister in the process."
The child sniffled, hiding his face in his knees. Skye shook his head lightly, sympathetically. He never meant to cause trouble, but in that respect he and Mirei truly were identical. They never stopped to fully think things through.
"Your mother is a bit out of sorts right now, so here's what I would do," Alan looked up hearing his father's soothing tone. "Firstly, apologize to Mirei for bothering her and Meredith for dropping the cup on her head. Then, try to conquer your usual lazy nature and help out as best you can with one arm on the farm. Claire would appreciate it very much, and it's the thought of the matter that counts. And later, when you have those impulses about bugging your siblings, think it through."
Alan sniffled, rubbed his nose with his good hand, and nodded. Skye could tell that the green-eyed boy was not entirely convinced, and smiled a little.
"I'll tell you a story here quick, about something I got in trouble for when I was about your age."
Alan's eyes widened.
"You?" the child asked, incredulously.
"Me," Skye nodded, grinning. "My own younger sister was always following after me, and we certainly weren't twins. And when I got my younger brother it never ceased. So finally I decided to trick them into leaving me alone.
"I couldn't do it by my usual means, my mother had strictly ordered me to keep an eye on them since I was the oldest. Which meant I had to trick them into walking away on their own."
Skye's grin turned rueful, as Alan's eyes went wider, the boy leaning forward in his curiosity.
"So I gave them a treasure map and told them that at the end of it was a wonderful prize of chocolate and candies. In truth it led to an empty cellar room in the palace that was all but forgotten by any of the inhabitants, with a door that swung shut easily and stuck fast.
"I had several hours to myself after that, but unfortunately my mother found out… and if you think your grounding is bad, I'll tell you it has nothing on the punishments my Mother and Father could come up with."
"Are we ever gonna meet them?" Alan asked curiously.
"Probably not," Skye's expression seemed to close down. "They would attempt to change all of you from who you are, and I will not have that happen."
A knock at the door made Skye jump.
"Bath's free honey," Claire's voice was muffled slightly thanks to the wood. "And clean clothes are waiting. I'm going back to my sewing."
"Thanks," he called back.
"Daddy?" Alan asked tentatively as Skye turned to leave. "Is Momma really mad?"
"I wouldn't think so," and sea-green eyes were bright with warmth. "Just a bit stressed. Now remember, apologize to your sisters, and don't slack kiddo."
"Okay Daddy."
Claire retreated back to the sewing room, closing the door firmly behind her. After the bath Meredith had been more than willing to lay down for her nap, and Mirei was reading a book, which meant that she could get back to work on the dress she was attempting to make for Lauren.
Not that she was the only girl-child that Claire was making dresses for. Alicia, Allison and Melissa were all going to be allowed to join in the 'official' dancing next year, and each set of parents had commissioned Claire's sewing talents for their daughters.
And there was… something niggling at her, that made her want to have them all finished soon. As though she wouldn't have a great deal of time to work on all of them. It was silly, but the urgency was there, and it made her spend every free moment she could get in her sewing sanctuary.
So far, all she had were several designs, each based around the looks and personality of each girl.
Since Melissa was so a-social—she preferred to spend time alone with her music as opposed to anything else. The only exception was when she agreed to spend time with Jamie and/or Laurie—the design was a simple and straightforward one. It would very likely end up a deep ocean blue.
Alicia was definitely Muffy's daughter, always the life of every discussion. A shorter, more flippy skirt would suit her, with just the barest of lace edgings which would hint at the girls femininity… maybe dark purple? The girl was streaking her bangs in a way that was similar to how Karen's hair was naturally, so purple wouldn't go too amiss.
Allison, her eldest niece, was a tricky one. The color was easy, a soft, dark red to bring out the red highlights n the girl's auburn hair, but the design still eluded Claire. In truth, the girl was about as feminine as a brick. Or Ann…
The farmer grinned slightly at the though, pencil moving absently in thought. Allie certainly had inherited the snap-temper of the line, so a dress… that swirled like fire. Yes, that would do perfectly.
Lauren's dress was already half completed. Pale blue-green satin was folded neatly, already cut into the pieces it would eventually be sewn into… if she could convince her daughter to stand still for longer than ten minutes so that she could double-check her measurements.
Chuckling softly, she reached for the discarded journal, and returned to her writing.
I'll be calling Gotz at the end of the week to start on the renovations to the girl's room. He's a quick worker, shouldn't take too long, and the bed afterwards will be Meri's first bed.
And then there will be more room for the girls in general, I know Laurie's been complaining about the lack of room to spread out. An eerie echo of myself and Jill, thank goodness we didn't have any more siblings.
Designing is all done, next comes the choosing of the fabric, and the measuring of the girls. I wonder if Jill will let me borrow Alicia for a couple of days so that I can use her instead of a dummy…? I'll have to give her a call and ask.