Twenty
By the time Nessa came over the next day, Boq's sisters had warmed up to Elphaba. Which was helped by a small fact Boq had let slip to Iva.
"Is it true you're dating Fiyero Tiggular?" she asked of Elphaba over breakfast.
The whole table stilled and everyone looked to Elphaba, who blushed.
"Well, yes," she replied honestly.
Dassah's jaw dropped. "You are?" she exclaimed. "For how long?"
Elphaba had to think about that. "About five or six months, I guess."
"Do you miss him?" Ria asked and Elphaba laughed gently.
"I only saw him yesterday morning before we left Shiz," she reminded the little girl. "But I'm sure I will miss him."
"Do you love him?" Iva asked, and Elphaba flushed again.
"Yes," she answered quickly, and the two younger girls giggled.
"Alright that's enough," Bfee said as Dassah opened her mouth to ask another question. "Let Elphaba eat her breakfast."
Elphaba smiled gratefully at him.
When Nessa arrived, she had her own question for Elphaba.
"Would you like to come over for dinner tonight and meet my mother?"
Thankfully for Elphaba, this question was much easier to answer. "I'd love to," she replied.
"Boq, do you want to come too? Momma's making lasagne."
Boq's face lit up. "Yes! Her mom's lasagne is the best," he told Elphaba.
"What time should we come over?" Elphaba asked.
"Around six is fine," Nessa assured her.
Emese entered the room and Boq quickly turned to his mother.
"Mom, Elphaba and I are having dinner at Nessa's tonight, okay?"
"Sure," Emese agreed. "And what are your plans for today?"
"I thought we could go into Munchkin City," Nessa suggested. "There's some bookstores there I know you'd love, Elphaba."
"Sounds perfect," Elphaba grinned.
"May we please borrow the buggy?" Boq asked his mother, who nodded in agreement.
"Yes. But be sure to be back by four. Your father will need it then."
So, the three spent the day in Munchkin City, sight-seeing and window shopping. Elphaba, still habitually cautious with her money and spending, caved and bought a book or two.
Elphaba could see the Munchkins staring and whispering as she passed by. She wished she could say it didn't bother her, but it did. But for the sake of Nessarose and Boq, both of whom looked embarrassed, she held her head high and pretended she could ignore them all.
"So, what's your mother like?" Elphaba asked Nessa over lunch, as they sat out in the sunshine.
Nessa paused for a moment in thought. "I don't know," she laughed slightly. "She's my mother. I've never had to describe her any other way."
Elphaba chuckled. "Well, tell me about her."
"Well, she's originally from Gilikin, from one of those old wealthy families… kind of like Galinda."
"A socialite," Boq supplied.
"Yes. And she met my father when she was eighteen and he was visiting Gilikin, they were married a year later and she moved here. My father was five years older than her, but Momma said it was love at first sight. Father became Governor soon after they were married, and then… they had my sister."
Elphaba recalled what Nessa had said about her sister, who had been born stillborn, and nodded sympathetically.
"And then I was born two years later," Nessa finished, forcing brightness into her voice.
"What does your mother do now?" Elphaba asked.
"She's an event co-ordinator," Nessa replied proudly. "She always threw the best parties when Father was alive; so it seemed only natural for her to plan other people's parties. She does benefits, weddings, parties… anything really. She's the best in Munchkinland. She's also done a bit of interior decorating."
"That sounds nice," Elphaba smiled. "It sounds like she and Galinda would get along really well."
Nessa and Boq laughed. "I think so, too," Nessa giggled. "But I'm sure she'll love you too."
So, just before six o'clock, Boq and Elphaba headed next door to Nessa's house. Nessa greeted them at the door, and ushered them into the small living room.
"Momma? Boq and Elphaba are here!" Nessa called out.
Boq took a deep breath. "Mmm… lasagne smells great, Mrs Thropp!" he said loudly.
A laugh met them in reply. "Boq, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Melena?"
A tall, thin woman entered the room. She looked to be just taller than Elphaba, and she had the same fine bone structure and colouring as Nessarose. She was smiling as she entered the room, but as her eyes landed on Elphaba, the colour drained from her face in a matter of seconds until it was ashen grey.
Before any of them could move or speak, she had fainted.
"Momma?" Nessa called out in shock, sounding panicked.
Boq hastily hurried to Melena's side and turned her over gently. "Nessa, do you have smelling salts?" he asked her.
Nessa looked too frightened to speak for a moment, but stammered to find her voice under Boq's insistent stare.
"Uh, in- in the bathroom cupboard m-maybe," she stammered.
"I'll go," Elphaba offered quickly, wanting to feel useful. "Where's the bathroom?"
"Down the hall on the right," Nessa replied, and Elphaba hurried off.
Elphaba found both the bathroom and the smelling salts easily, and when she returned to the living room, Boq had shifted Melena to the couch.
"Here," Elphaba handed Boq the smelling salts, and he waved them under her nose as Nessa watched on, still looking frantic.
A tense moment later, Melena's eyelids fluttered and opened.
"Momma? Are you okay?" Nessa asked worriedly. "What happened?"
Melena sat up slowly. "I- I'm fine, sweetheart. I- I just…"
Her gaze once again landed on Elphaba, and she seemed to lose her ability to speak.
"Maybe I should go," Elphaba said uncertainly.
"No!" Melena said quickly.
They all stilled, and then Melena seemed to remember something.
"Oh, the dinner!"
"I'll take care of it," Boq offered. "Do you want me to serve it or?"
Melena still appeared shaken. "Just- just wrap it up please. Keep it warm."
Boq nodded. "Sure. I'll do that, and clean up the kitchen. Shall I make some tea?"
She managed a faint smile. "Thank you, Boq. That would be lovely."
Boq smiled and left the room.
Elphaba felt more awkward than ever. "Are- are you sure you don't want me to leave?" she asked.
"No. Please, please stay," Melena asked quietly. "Please, sit down."
Elphaba did as requested, sitting in the armchair next to the couch. Nessa had her chair positioned so she was facing her mother, sitting upright on the couch.
"It's… it's Elphaba, isn't it?" Melena asked unsurely.
Elphaba nodded. "Yes."
She looked at her oddly. "That's a beautiful name."
Elphaba flushed slightly. "Thank you."
"And you're twenty-one?" Melena asked, more urgently.
Elphaba was startled by her tone. "Y-Yes. I turned twenty-one in April."
Melena turned a shade paler again and closed her eyes briefly.
"Momma, what is going on?" Nessa demanded, mystified by her mother's behaviour.
Melena cleared her throat and took a deep breath, turning to her daughter.
"Nessie, did you know that I was pregnant before I had you?"
Nessa frowned. "Yes, Boq's mother told me. That you'd had a baby girl two years before I was born, and she died at birth."
Melena nodded painfully. "Yes. The thing is… sweetheart… that story wasn't exactly true."
"What do you mean?" Nessa asked in a small voice.
Melena had tears in her eyes, and Elphaba wasn't sure why she was still in the room for this conversation.
"I did have a baby, a daughter. But she wasn't stillborn."
Nessa tensed. "She wasn't?"
Melena shook her head. "She- she was born… green."
It seemed as though there was no air in the room.
Nessa's wide eyes immediately flew to Elphaba, who had frozen in her seat.
Elphaba's throat and chest felt constricted. She couldn't even feel her lungs take in air, and was pretty sure they'd forgotten how to do that particular function. There were a million thoughts running through her brain at high speed, but she wasn't able to pick any discernible words or sentences out of the mass.
"I- I don't understand," Nessarose broke the silence in a small voice, sounding confused and injured.
Melena leaned over and took her hand. "Let me explain. To both of you," she said, turning her gaze to Elphaba for the briefest moment.
"When she- you were born, we weren't expecting you to be… to be green. Everyone was stunned. Frex; Omega, the midwife… they didn't tell me at first. I- I thought you were dead," her voice broke slightly as she addressed Elphaba.
"I couldn't hear you crying, and they weren't saying anything… I kept asking what was going on, and eventually… they said you were green. And then Omega held me up so I could see you, and there you were… green. But perfect," she whispered faintly, and Elphaba felt a large lump in her throat.
"You raised your little head and you looked right at me. And the next thing I knew, Frex and Omega had left the room and taken you with them. And when Frex came back… he said you were gone."
A tear ran down Melena's cheek.
"He sent you away. He told Omega to get rid of you… before I got to hold you or really see you," she sniffed, more tears beginning to fall.
"No," Nessa spoke up for the first time since Melena had begun her story. "Father wouldn't-"
Melena was pained, having to tell her daughter the truth about her father whom she had loved so much.
"Nessie, I'm sorry. But he did. He felt that… that having a green child would affect our reputation."
"So, he sent me away?" Elphaba questioned in a small voice.
Melena nodded slowly. "Yes. I- I tried. I begged him to find you, to get you back. I even went to see Omega, to try and find out where she'd taken you. But she wouldn't say. Frex had ordered her not to. She wouldn't say what he'd threatened her with, but she refused to say where you were. I wrote to the Orphanage and the Children's home in Munchkinland, but they said they hadn't seen a green-skinned child."
"I wasn't there," Elphaba said hoarsely. "I was taken to the Ernest Rusch's Children Home in the Emerald City. They found me on the doorstep."
Melena looked positively ill at that statement. "The doorstep?"
Elphaba nodded. "I was fine," she assured her. "I was perfectly healthy."
"Please go on," Nessa begged her mother.
With difficulty, Melena did. "When I couldn't find you, I thought maybe Omega had left you with a family. But when I never heard of anyone having a green child… I thought maybe... she'd killed you. But I was sure... I thought I would know, I'd feel it if you were dead. And a lot of the time, all I could hope was that you had been adopted. I wasn't sure how I'd go about finding you. And if I did... how would I ever explain to you what had happened? I was... so ashamed. For not stopping Frex or for not being able to find you. And the more time that went by, it seemed like you were further and further away. Frex seemed to think the problem would be solved once we had another child… a normal child, he said," she almost spat the word, as though it left an unpleasant taste in her mouth.
"When I fell pregnant with Nessa, he was worried the baby would be green. He insisted I chew milk flowers to prevent it happening again. But they caused me to go into labour too early, and…"
Nessa's eyes were wide. "Wait- you and Father always told me that's why… why I can't walk. Because I was born prematurely."
Melena nodded. "Yes. Nessa, I'm so, so sorry."
Elphaba was trying to make sense of everything she was hearing. "So… if you're my-my mother, that means…"
Nessa let out a soft gasp. "We're sisters!"
Melena smiled faintly. "Yes, I guess so."
Boq chose that moment to re-enter the room with tea.
"Tea, anyone?"
Elphaba rose from her seat and began to pace.
"Elphaba?" Melena questioned her, looking concerned.
Elphaba was shaking and she rubbed her arms to warm herself up. "This… this is a lot to take in," she said, her voice trembling.
Boq paused. "Have I missed something?" he asked the room at large.
"We found Elphaba's mother," Nessa replied.
Boq almost dropped the tray of tea. "Wait- what?"
Nessa nodded faintly, still looking shocked herself.
"That… that was really quick," Boq said, somewhat obviously.
Melena looked at them questioningly. "What do you mean?"
Nessa and Boq exchanged a glance. "The reason we invited Elphaba for the summer, was because she wanted to find out about her parents and we had enough reasons to suspect that they were here… in Munchkinland."
"Didn't really expect they'd be next door," Boq muttered.
Melena slowly rose and approached Elphaba. "There's not a day that's gone by in the past twenty-one years that I haven't thought about you," she said quietly, facing Elphaba and looking her in the eye.
Elphaba was finding it difficult to breathe again, and she definitely couldn't speak. There were tears in her eyes, that matched the tears in Melena's- her mother's eyes.
"You turned out more beautiful than I ever imagined," she said with difficulty.
Elphaba was fighting back her tears, but as Melena gingerly and hesitantly put her arms around her and embraced her, she broke down from sheer overwhelmingly shock of what had occurred in such a short space of time.
She was there being hugged by her mother.
But that was only the beginning.