"Martin! You can't possibly be thinking about going out like that!"
Martin jumped guiltily. He didn't know why he felt guilty, it was the tone Elizabeth had used when she had exclaimed. Like he should feel guilty.
"What?" He asked, fixing his glasses timidly.
"Your tie!" Elizabeth marched over with a tsk, "It's all knotted. Now hold still and let me fix it."
Martin obeyed, watching her rather dissappointedly as she swiftly untied his admittedly pathetic attempts. Then, she began to smoothly perform all the necessary passes and loops, talking steadily the whole time.
"Remember to hold the passenger door open for her. Don't forget to compliment how she looks, and remember to try to make conversation. Avoid talking about the Latin origins of the corsage you're giving her, got it?"
Martin only nodded.
Sometimes, he despised how kind-hearted and...and...motherly Elizabeth could be. He had wanted to take her to the prom, not Molly Cooper. He still resented Molly for asking him, and with Elizabeth present. There was no way Elizabeth would have let him refuse Molly's ask. In fact, she had practically answered for him, jabbing him in the ribs and insisting that it was a wonderful idea because Martin hadn't asked anyone else. When she said it like that, Martin couldn't very well retort that it was because he had been intending on asking her. All he could do was accept Molly's offer and listen dazed as Elizabeth made all the arrangements for him. She arranged the time he would pick Molly up, helped him get a corsage, and even picked out his suit for him.
You can't blame Martin for being a little sour. Why did Elizabeth have to be so conscientious and...amazing and perfect?
"Perfect." Lizzy gave Martin's tie one last tug, "You're all set now. Got the corsage?"
Martin lifted the pink flowered corsage in reply.
"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Martin asked almost beggingly.
"Of course not." Elizabeth said laughing, though she did give him a sympathetic look, "You couldn't pay me to be a third wheel. Besides if I did go, you would ignore Molly and only talk to me like you always do."
"I still can't believe nobody asked you!" Martin was a bit grateful no one had, but also indignant, because who wouldn't want to take Elizabeth? She was divinely beautiful!
Elizabeth fell into an uncomfortable silence and glanced to the side.
"What is it?"
"Well... Maybe one or two boys did ask." She paused, and then amended her statement, "Well five did, but it doesn't matter. I told you I just don't feel like going."
"I don't feel like going either, but it's prom we're talking about!"
Elizabeth only smiled, it was a little condescending.
"You're just nervous." She patted his shoulder, "You'll do fine, just remember those dancing steps I showed you."
Martin sighed, but bit his tongue from saying anything stupid.
/
"Do you want to dance?" He mumbled to Molly.
"No, thank you, Martin." Molly said graciously. So they both stood there kind of awkwardly. Martin felt miserable, this was not how he had wanted his prom to go.
When he could stand the awkwardness no longer, Martin excused himself and volunteered to get them both punch. He was gone only five minutes, but as soon as he turned around to head back to Molly, she was already gone. There she was, dancing with Mike, her ex-boyfriend.
Martin understood right away. He had been used, just so Molly could get stupid Mike back. He should have been furious, upset, he should have been offended. Instead, he was already running out the door, a big smile on his face.
/
Elizabeth lifted her head in surprise from the book she was perusing. Someone was pounding almost frantically at the door. She ran to it, motivated by the knocker's urgency. She threw it open and was taken aback by Martin's presence. He was panting, his suit was rumpled, and his hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat.
"Martin! What on earth are you doing here?" Elizabeth was alarmed, "Is something wrong? Where's Molly? Are you alright?"
Always thinking responsibly.
"She ditched me for Mike." Martin shook his head, huffing.
"The nerve!" Elizabeth's brilliant blue eyes flashed, "How dare she!? After all that work you put in too!"
"I don't mind." Martin shook his head with a grin.
"Did you run from the school all the way here?" Elizabeth's eyes widened in realization. Martin only nodded his head.
"Get inside. You need something to drink, otherwise you'll be dehydrated. Take that jacket off too, so you don't ruin it. And loosen your tie." Elizabeth fussed over him, but Martin didn't budge. For once in his life he was going to be stubborn.
"No. I came to ask you, Lizzy, will you go to prom with me?"
Elizabeth's face of bewilderment dissolved into a smile. Only it wasn't a condescending one this time, it was a happy smile.
"I don't have a dress."
"Who cares? I think you look good enough without one, and I'll leave my jacket and tie, so I'm not so formal. C'mon, don't make me the sixth boy you refuse." Martin clasped his fingers together pleadingly.
Elizabeth laughed.
"I only refused the other five because they weren't you, Penderwick."
"Really?" Martin's face lit up, "I only took Molly because you told me to. I was going to ask you."
"Sorry, I thought you were too shy to say anything." Elizabeth winced, "And I was scared you didn't want to ask me. This way, I knew I had an excuse to why you didn't ask me, so I wouldn't be disappointed."
"Well I am asking you. Right now." Martin said firmly, and held out his hand questioningly.
Elizabeth took it.
...
"Jane, no! Put down those scissors." Rosy hurried across the room and snatched the dangerous object out of her little sister's hands.
"But, Rosy!" Jane whined, "I need to make sure they don't fall into the hands of the evil witch so she doesn't chop off Susanne's hair!"
Jane held up the doll in a plea for sympathy.
"Is the witch's name Skye, by any chance?" Rosy looked down unmoving.
"...no comment." Jane mumbled looking to the side in an attempt to look like she didn't know what Rosy was talking about.
"Why does Skye want to cut Susanne's hair?" Rosy sighed.
"She said that if put my princess stickers on her bureau one more time, she would cut all of my daughters' hair off. I know I won't be able to resist putting those stickers on her boring old dresser; so, I've got to hide everything sharp like knives and the scissors."
"All right, that's it! Skye! Get down here now!"
"Now?! I just started figuring out the more complicated and fun side of Euler's law!"
"She's not going to come down." Jane told her.
"I'm not coming down!"
''Euler sucks!" Jane shouted back.
"Take that back!" Skye came thundering down the stairs. Jane started shrieking and running around the room, Skye chasing her. Batty woke up from her nap and began to wail loudly.
"ALL RIGHT! ENOUGH!" Rosalind roared in frustration, "Skye and Jane go outside right now! Play with that soccerball Aunt Claire gave you."
"But-"
Rosalind shot her younger sister a death glare, and Skye shut up, grabbing the unused ball and her little sister like she had been ordered. She slammed the back door behind her to show her disapproval of being bossed around.
Mr. Penderwick peered from behind his office door, summoned by the loud racket. He watched his oldest daughter as she picked up the still crying Batty and tried to clean the living room and calm her baby sister at the same time. She looked tired; so, he stepped out of his office and gently took Batty off her.
"Sit down, Rosy."
"But I still have to clean up, and make sure supper is all set, and-"
"Sit."
Rosalind sat down unwillingly, watching as her father paced back and forth rocking his youngest daughter back to sleep. She was fidgeting and looked restless.
"Daddy, I really do have a lot of-"
"Shhh." Martin shook his head stubbornly.
Slowly, Batty dropped off to sleep and Martin put her back in her cradle, then he sat down next to Rosalind.
"Rosalind, you're so much like your mother. Have I ever told you that?"
Martin could tell that that was not what Rosalind had expected to hear. Her head reeled back in surprise, and then she examined him carefully to see if he was being serious. She looked like she didn't believe him.
"Everyone says Skye's like Mommy." Rosalind said softly, she sounded a little jealous, "Me, Jane, and Batty are like you."
"Maybe appearance wise, and it's true that Skye's just as fierce as your Mommy is-was. But I'm talking about inside, Rosy. Inside, you're just like Mommy. It's a good thing too, because I'd be lost without your help. But, Rosy, your Mommy had her faults too, and just like you, she used to think that everything depended on her. That she had to get everything done, and help everyone. She was so unselfish, she refused to look after her own needs and refused to let anyone help her."
Rosalind listened with a frown.
"Mommy learned that it's okay to take a break every now and then, and spend sometime on yourself. She learned that we are a team, and teams pull the work together, Rosy. You can't do all this work by yourself. I think it's high time we make some sort of schedule so that we can sort out the workload properly. So you have the free time you deserve."
"I have plenty of free time." Rosalind protested.
"When?" Marin raised an eyebrow, "You have school, homework, you've been helping Jane and Skye with their homework, you try to do all the cooking, all the major cleaning, and you look after Batty and try to uphold the peace between Skye and Jane. Do you ever find the time to just sit down and have some moments of quiet? I haven't seen Anna in awhile either, have you had time to do anything with her?"
Rosalind was silent and looked uncomfortable.
"Everyone here is capable of pitching in." Martin reprimanded, "I'm sorry I didn't step in sooner, Honey."
"You have work, and you take care of Batty while we're at school." Rosalind excused on his behalf.
"I can make more time though." Martin corrected, "And I will."
"Now, let's see...Skye is old enough to help me with the yard care, and she can be in charge of all the vacuuming, the dusting, and washing the laundry. Jane can fold the laundry, help with the dishes, and clean up any other odds and ends. I'll clean the bathroom, help take care of Batty, and make breakfast. It's the only meal I really know how to make. You can keeping helping me with the grocery shopping, you'll have to keep making supper and lunch, and generally making sure this household runs smoothly, by covering anything I might have forgotten." Martin wrote everything down on a sheet of notepaper and stuck it to the refrigerator with a lopsided magnet that Jane had made in Kindergarten, "It's settled."
"But-"
"It's Penderwick Law now." Martin said firmly, "See? I gave my signature at the bottom."
Rosalind hesitated, but gave in with a nod after she saw there was no way of wriggling out.
"Good." Martin gathered up his oldest daughter in his arms and hugged her. Rosalind hugged him back tightly, and it was a few moments before Martin realized that she was sobbing against him.
"Rosy?" Martin pulled back and wiped some tears from her eyes. "What's the matter?"
"I..." Rosalind faltered, and then wailed it all out, "I miss Mommy!"
Rosalind reburied her face in her father's shoulder, and Martin did his best to comfort her with little shushing noises and hair pats. When he glanced up it was to find Jane and Skye watching the two of them with horrified expressions. They had seen Roslaind's outburst.
Jane burst into tears and ran over to her father and sister to join in on the hug. Skye looked distraught, but she wasn't crying. Yet. She walked more slowly over to them, her fists clenched and a scowl on her face. She stopped next to Rosalind and awkwardly, painfully, reached up. She paused though, and Martin saw pain flash over Skye's face, before she merely patted Rosalind's shoulder and then ran out of the house. Martin wanted to run after her, but Rosalind and Jane needed him more at that present moment. He'd talk to her later.
"It's all right, my daughters." Martin rocked Jane and Rosalind back and forth soothingly, "I know, I know. I miss her too."
...
They were all weak after their long bout of tears, but also feeling alot better after getting everything into the open air. Except Skye, she came back looking edgy and defiant, but Martin knew if he confronted her she'd grow defensive. She didn't like to be seen as weak.
Martin was glad he had gotten through to Roslalind, she was already looking less harried and more her sensible and practical self as she bustled around the kitchen getting supper ready, and scolded Jane and Skye.
"Skye! Get your shoes off that chair, and drink some water, you're looking very red and you don't want to get dehydrated!"
Rosalind's fussy words brought Martin back to the past with a jolt and he felt a bittersweet tug at his heart. It was almost as if he could see Elizabeth scolding him exasperatedly instead of Rosalind reprimanding her sister, and Martin tilted his head back to stare upwards with a smile.
Thank God, Elizabeth had left him Rosalind. Where would he be without her?
...
Thanks to GM01 for checking up with me to make sure I hadn't died, and helping me decide what to write. Here's another chapter starring Martin, I really do love the Penderwick sisters' father, you know he's doing something right if he's raising those four rowdy girls.
KoalaLover-ABC-123: Glad you liked that little one-shot, I had fun writing it.
Gm01: Thanks for summoning me from my grave of procastination, I can find it hard to get motivated sometimes, and your push definitely helped out. Thanks for helping me decide what to upload too, I was so indecisive it was killing me.
Readwriteedit:Thanks! I love it when you tell me that I made you smile, it makes my day.
Nijibrush: I'm delighted that you didn't see the ending coming, and I'm happy you thought it was a good idea. And yeah, as soon as I thought of the whole, 'one of my otp gets their teeth pulled and has to be put on drugs' I knew it could only be Jeffrey. Poor guy, I do put him through a whole lot.