Chapter 24: The story of Julie, Sylvia, and Michael

It was December 22nd, a week or so after Suzanne's Christmas play. He lay awake in bed, his mind swimming.

There was lots of talk at VanDosen's about a big Christmas party being held in the Alps, and they had been asked to cater it. It was a big party, and apparently the job of the year.

Basta had just started to wrap his head around the whole idea of Christmas. He understood the story behind it, thanks to Suzanne's Christmas play, but around the house there had been chatter about Santa, and Christmas presents. There were murmurs about Christmas trees, and Adriana had bought a pine wreath and hung it on the door. Julie had placed a glass bowl of peppermint candies on the coffee table (Basta made regular stops at the candy dish). And Basta had noticed a change in the children. They started to behave more, they seemed very excited.

The young man tossed and turned, tangling his legs in the sheets. He was too warm, and felt sweat beading on his chest. He sighed, and swung out of bed. He decided he was thirsty, and padded soundlessly upstairs, to the kitchen. Basta was surprised to see that the kitchen light was on. He was taken aback to see Julie standing over the sink, her head bent low. She was dressed in a night dress, with a robe overtop.

"Julie?" He said softly, hoping not to startle her. Her head came up, and she turned around. Basta was a bit surprised to see that her robe was untied, showing off the deep V if her night dress. She quickly did up the ties, covering herself up. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine... what are you up to?" Her voice was tired. Basta realised that there was something wrong with the woman. He had begun to notice it earlier in the month; her being constantly tired and unenthusiastic.

"I'm thirsty. I wanted some water. Are you sure you're ok?" Basta felt slightly guilty for pushing to topic. But he knew that he secretly wanted Daniel to get him to talk about his problems when they were together. Basta figured that since Julie was a woman, she would be more opting to talk about it. Not that women naturally opened themselves up to Basta or anything.

"I'm just tired" she said with a sigh. She reached into a cupboard and selected a glass. She wandered over to the sink, and filled it for Basta.

"Thank you" he said, taking the cup. He knew that there was more to Julie than just tiredness. There was something else. He was just about to turn and leave, when Julie spoke.

"I miss my husband" she blurted suddenly. Basta froze. It took everything in him not to cringe. He didn't have any relationship advice to give.

"I'm sorry to hear that" he murmured awkwardly, hoping she wouldn't cry. He became even more agitated when he heard her sniff. Oh merciful lord he thought. He wanted to get the hell out of that living room. He frankly didn't want to know what happened to Julie's husband. He took a long hard stab of water. Julie made her way to the living room couch, and sat down. Basta didn't know what to do. He stood awkwardly in the kitchen, wearing nothing but his army pants. He really did wish he had a shirt on (he felt self conscious about his arms, even in the dark), and he was reluctant to sit beside Julie. When he did, he kept his feet planted on the ground. He didn't prop his heels up on the coffee table, like he usually would.

"He died" she said, her voice low and sad. "He committed suicide two years ago."

"Julie, I'm so sorry." Basta's voice took on a sympathetic tone. He really did feel bad for the woman. He himself had experimented with suicide, so naturally, the topic touched him. Julie began to cry, and she bent her head as she wept. Basta considered putting a hand to her back, but instead he tried to comfort her through words. "If he committed suicide then there was something wrong with him. There's nothing you could have done." He kept his voice low and soft, and became confused when Julie began shaking her head. Her shoulders shook as she struggled to contain her sobs. As she shook her head, she began to look up. She dabbed some tears from her eyes, and took a deep shaky breath.

"It was because of me" she whispered.

"Oh no, it surly wasn't..." he began, but Julie cut him off.

"I had an affair." She squished her eyes shut. Basta noticed a tone of disgust and regret in her voice. "I kept it a secret, then I got pregnant with Sylvie." Basta was becoming very uncomfortable. He didn't want to hear anymore of Julie's story, but he couldn't bring himself to walk away. "When Michael found out, it devastated him." Tears plopped onto Julie's limp hands. They looked like worn out gloves, tossed into her lap. "It was just too much for him, he was always so sensitive. He hung himself in the tool shed. I told the children that he had just passed away in his sleep." Julie couldn't control herself any longer. She cried hard, but quietly enough so that the children upstairs couldn't hear her. Basta didn't know what to do. He set the water glass down on the table, and relaxed a bit on the couch. He put a hand to Julie's shoulder, and pulled her head into his chest. She relaxed after a while, her body quivering as she controlled her sobs. Eventually his heartbeat lulled her to the point where she just sniffed. The tears were cool and wet against Basta's bare skin. He wasn't exactly comfortable having the woman cuddled up against him, especially since he was lacking a shirt, but he didn't squirm away. Instead he put a hand on her arm, and let her soothe herself. When he thought she had fallen asleep, he began to wriggle away. She spoke.

"Having you around has been really good for the kids" she said softly. "I was nervous at first, but I think it was a good choice. They really look up to you. Especially Martin..." She sighed shakily. Basta was officially put at the end of his comfort zone.

"I'm happy I could help" he managed to say. Though he found it hard to keep his composure. "Good night." He got up after Julie had straightened out.

"Good night" she said. Her voice sounded more even.

"Good Morning" said Mr. VanDosen, when Basta appeared in the restaurant for his waiting shift.

"Good morning, sir." Said Basta. He felt sleepy, as he didn't get much sleep. Julie's confession at 3 in the morning didn't help much either.

"I was wondering if you were free on December 24th."

"Of course, sir."

"Excellent. I need you and Daniel and Jerry to cater to a huge event. It's a bit of a ways away, and will take a while to drive there."

"It's no problem to me, sir." Basta strained to remember who Jerry was.

"Excellent" said VanDosen. "Usually it's very hard to find staff on Christmas Eve. Daniel isn't too happy I'm making him work!"

"Well I'll be there." Basta forced a smile at the short, round man. When VanDosen left, Basta sighed to himself. He wondered if this big party was the same event that the Nazis were planning. Though he highly doubted it. He went to work, taking orders, fetching food, though his mind was elsewhere, thinking about Julie and her story. Julie just seemed so nice, he wondered why she would ever do something as skanky and wrong as adultery. Maybe her husband wasn't enough for her he thought. Then he remembered that Anna was cheating on Landa. Then again, Landa wasn't really her boyfriend. Then Basta' stomach tied in a knot when he remembered that Alessandra. Though had hadn't technically cheated on Anna, considering they weren't officially "together" and also considering the fact that Anna probably never wanted to see him ever again. Basta sighed ruefully. To his embarrassment, the man sitting at the table he was waiting looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. Basta compressed his lips and walked away.

When Basta got home after work, he explained to Adrianna that he was working Christmas Eve. The older lady said that was alright, but he would be missing a nice supper.

Before supper, Basta played with Sylvie on the floor. He couldn't help but stare at the little girl's face. Now that he was informed, Basta could see the differences between Sylvie and her siblings. Her hair color, for one, was blonde, unlike the reddish and copper colors of her siblings. The little girl's storm grey eyes widened as she looked at Basta. She giggled, and pushed a wooden ducky across the floor. Basta lay on his stomach, and watched the girl playing, occasionally snatching the ducky away from her, or making a silly face.

A/N:

Sorry for the shortness of this chapter, guys. I hope you enjoy anyways.

Remember to review! ;)