For the remainder of the summer, Louise had done her best to mind Alexandra. After the conversation they had that one evening, things had been tense between them but neither of them chose to address it. While she continued to play with the children and allow them to express themselves as they always had, she tried to do at least one thing a day that wouldn't set Alexandra on edge. If the other woman noticed, she didn't say anything. Alexandra remained cool and distant towards Louise, and chose to pretend that Louise didn't exist.

Louise didn't mind, but it did become especially awkward whenever Louise would join Maudie and the other ladies in town for tea or lunch. Even in a social setting, Alexandra would refuse to look at or address Louise. While Louise noticed had obviously noticed Alexandra's stand-offish behavior, she didn't realize the other ladies in town did. After tea one day, Maudie (who was still staying with Stephanie until her new house was ready) asked her to come back to Stephanie's. The solemn look on Maudie's face made Louise nervous. Obligingly, Louise followed Maudie and Stephanie back to Stephanie's house and the two women sat her down at the kitchen table. Before Maude could say anything, Stephanie sat across from Louise with a huge smirk on her face. "So, what did you do to her?" The woman asked. Louise furrowed her brow.

"What did I do to who?" She asked.

"Stephanie, if this wasn't your house I would throw you out." Maudie said, crossing her arms. "What she means is, why in the world is Alexandra acting the way she is?"

Louise shrugged. "Beats me." She lied, not wanting to imagine the look on Alexandra's face if Stephanie twisted anything Louise said and started some nasty rumor.

Maudie gave her cousin a look. "Honey, she didn't even look at you today."

"From my experience with her, she only ignores you if you did something to wrong her." Stephanie winked. Though she was trying to look serious, Louise knew that she was probably loving all of this.

Louise scoffed. "If she thinks I wronged her, she's got another thing coming."

Stephanie raised her eyebrows as Maudie sat up. "Now, we're getting somewhere." Stephanie winked. "What did you do?"

"Stephanie, please." Maudie glared. "Why don't you go do something useful?"

"Don't you dare tell me what to do, Maudie—"

"If you two are going to bicker like an old married couple, I'm just gonna go—"

"You sit right back down," Maudie warned. "I am curious as to why Alexandra Hancock is giving my cousin the cold shoulder."

"I just want to know what's got her corset too tight." Stephanie smirked, making Louise laugh.

Louise rolled her eyes. "I thought it was nothin'." Louise said. "She pulled me aside one day to talk about how the Finch family is a fine family and the way I romp around with the children is disgraceful."

"Did'ya ever hear about their cousin Joshua?" Stephanie winked. Louise smiled and nodded, Jem had told her about how their cousin Joshua went all sorts of crazy and tried to shoot the president of his university. "If Alexandra thinks that's fine, then she's delusional."

"She claims he has a beautiful soul." Maudie said, rolling her eyes. "Now you listen here, Louise. You just mind your own when it comes to Alexandra—"

"I do!" Louise exclaimed, sitting up straighter. "Maudie, I've never done one thing to bother her—"

"Yes you did, honey." Stephanie said, shaking her head. "Atticus brought you in here because it's painfully obvious that the children like you more than her—"

"That's not my fault." Louise said, crossing her arms. Maudie and Stephanie both shook their heads.

"You're the closest thing that Jem and Scout have to Jean," Maudie said as Louise tried to interrupt her. In response, Maudie put her hand up. "Just listen for a minute. Yes, they obviously have their father, but you're Jean's sister—heck, the two of you were inseparable your entire lives! You are the closest thing they have to a mother and it makes Alexandra Hancock's skin crawl."

"I don't understand why that should be a bother." Louise said as Stephanie cried out.

"Honey!" The other woman exclaimed. "Alexandra was never one to hide how she disliked Jean. Why, everyone in town knew it—I'm quite certain Jean herself knew!"

Louise's face grew hot as she formed her hands into fists. She knew that Stephanie had the tendency to exaggerate certain things so it was hard to tell if she was actually telling the truth. If she was, however, then Jean had never once expressed how Alexandra treated her to Louise, Edie or anyone else. Louise stammered for a few moments before Maudie sighed.

"Alexandra isn't the most…pleasant person to be around," Maudie said, looking at her cousin seriously. "No matter who you are, you always need to mind your p's and q's and behave a certain way. You know Jean better than I did—she was never one to stand for that, and neither are you. I honestly think it's the Buford in you," Maudie took a moment to chuckle to herself. "Alexandra came here with the intentions of forming Jeremy and Jean Louise into little boring things like that grandson of hers, but she never expected you to be here, messin' up her plans."

"They're not even her children to make plans for!" Louise said, nearly shouting and causing Stephanie to jump. "They're Atticus' children, not hers, not mine. She's sickenin' and I'm just goin' to go over there and give her a piece—"

"No." Maudie said firmly. "Honey, I understand how you're feelin', I really do—but can you imagine what you goin' in there and causin' a scene would do to Atticus? He's already got most of the town against him, he doesn't need his sister and his wife's sister makin' his home life a livin' hell, too."

Louise slumped down in her chair, feeling slightly defeated. Maudie was right. She knew that Atticus was the subject of ridicule in the town, and people were not shy to also express their feelings to her, Alexandra and the children. Atticus usually chuckled everything off and attempted to make a joke of it, but Louise knew it took its toll on him. Atticus frequently secluded himself in his office, where he would attempt to read, usually looking defeated.

Louise sighed. "What are we even talkin' about?" She asked, finding herself growing annoyed. Maudie flashed her a sympathetic look.

"Honey," Maudie said. "All I'm tryin' to say is that Alexandra has her own agenda, but don't pay attention to her. Don't go telling her off and act foolish, but don't let her get to you."

"She doesn't get to me." Louise said stubbornly, though she knew that probably wasn't true.

"We all know who the children would rather be with." Maudie reminded her, giving her a little wink.

Louise sighed, standing up. "I'm goin' to see what they're doin'." She said. "Maybe I'll throw 'em in a puddle of mud just to really make Alexandra happy."

"That's the spirit," Maudie said sarcastically.

"Honey, if you ever feel like you wanna kill the woman you can always visit here." Stephanie said as Maudie and Louise exchanged glances. "Maudie and I are nearly on top of each other, but we wouldn't want Atticus to have to defend his sister-in-law for the murder of his sister."

Rolling her eyes, Louise chuckled. "Gee, thanks." She said before she left.

Walking back to the Finch's house, Louise merely decided that she was going to pretend that Alexandra didn't exist. She would only address her when she needed to, and wouldn't go out of her way to talk to the woman. It may be tense, but at least it was better than her confronting the woman. When Louise got back to the house, she was slightly surprised to see that neither of the children were outside. It was nearly evening, Atticus was due to arrive home soon and usually Jem and Scout waited on the porch to meet him. She decided that they were probably trying to get on Alexandra's good side and were sitting in their rooms reading and being as quiet as possible.

First, she went to Jem's room. Usually when Jem and Scout read, they would sprawl themselves out on the floor of Jem's room, but neither of them were in there. For some reason, Louise began to worry. She felt slightly relieved when she went to Scout's room and found her niece sitting on her bed, flipping through a book. "Hey," Louise said, making Scout sit up.

"He-ey, Aunt Lou." She said dully as she stretched her arms.

"Whatcha doin'? I was thinkin' I could take you and Jem for ice cream or somethin'." Louise said with a smile. Scout, who usually jumped at any opportunity to do something with Louise, did not seem too excited. "Honey, is everything alright?"

"Aw yeah, I'm fine." Scout said. "But Jem ain't."

"He's not?" Louise asked, sounding alarmed. "Baby, where is he?"

"He's not hurt or nothin'," Scout said quickly, noticing Louise's concerned look. "He's just sad."

"Why's he sad?"

"I reckon it's 'cause he misses mama." Scout shrugged. "He gets like that sometimes, so I just let him be when it happens."

"Did he tell you he missed mama?" Louise asked, trying not to frown.

"Nome, but he didn't need to. He used'ta get like this all of the time when he was younger, so I just knew it." Scout explained.

Louise sighed to herself and felt bad for Jem. "Do you know where he is?"

"He's in the treehouse." Scout said simply.

"I'm gonna go see him real quick," Louise said. "But when I'm done me and you can walk around town or somethin', and he can come if he's feelin' better."

"I don't know if he'll let you up there," Scout said as she laid back on her stomach. "He never let me up there when he got upset, but I think it's worth a try."

Louise smiled at Scout, who then resumed flipping through her book. She crossed through the living room and was about to go outside when Alexandra cleared her throat. "Where are you going?" She asked. "It'll be time for supper soon."

"Just outside." Louise responded coolly before nearly slamming the door behind her.

She stood by the ladder that led up to the treehouse and examined it for a moment. Trying to disregard her fear of heights, she climbed up a few steps so that her head was visible from the opening. She saw Jem sitting there with a stack of football magazines, though he wasn't looking at any of them. She felt a little pang of anxiety in her stomach; he looked sad, and she wasn't sure if she could help him. "Hey," she said softly, giving him a small smile. Slowly he looked up at her.

"Oh, hey Aunt Lou." He said quietly.

"Whatcha doin' up here?" She asked.

"Just thinkin'."

"Mind if I come up with you?"

Jem paused for a moment, before sayin': "won't you be scared?"

"I won't mind it too much."

"You can come up." Jem said softly. Louise was honestly surprised, she hadn't expected him to allow her up there. It took her longer than it should have to climb up the ladder and slide herself into the treehouse, but she finally steadied herself up there and slid next to her nephew.

"What's wrong?" She asked, feeling out of breath from her struggle.

"Nothin'."

"I don't believe you."

Jem sighed. He opened his mouth as if he were to say something, but closed it and instead looked at the stack of magazines sitting to the side of him. Louise wasn't quite sure what to do. Louise didn't consider herself a naturally maternal person, but this is something that a mother should do (though if Jean were here, this predicament probably wouldn't happen). Louise exhaled slowly and patted Jem's head, but quickly stopped herself, not knowing if Jem liked his head being touched. "Scout tells me you're missing your mama." Louise said softly. Jem, still not looking at her, shrugged. Louise bit at her lower lip—what would Jean do in this circumstance? How did Jean used to comfort Simon and Clara when they were upset when they were children?

"Um," Louise cleared her throat.

"It just seems like Aunt Alexandra pretends mama didn't exist." Jem admitted glumly, nearly breaking Louise's heart. If she wasn't furious with Alexandra before, she definitely was now.

"How's that, baby?" She asked, frowning.

"I don't think she liked her," Jem said softly. "She keeps tellin' me an' Scout about how we need to live up to the fine Fitch name and be little beacons of hope in Atticus' lonely life and she just acts like mama never existed."

Louise felt her heart sink, and then felt even worse when she didn't even know what to do. "Things haven't been goin' too well for your Aunt back at the Landing," was she actually trying to defend Alexandra? "Sometimes when people are stressed they don't act very nicely."

"You don't know her very well," Jem said, finally looking up at her. "That's how she always is."

Louise wanted to say something along the lines of: well maybe if her corset wasn't tied too tightly she would be able to think rationally, but held back. "She is much stricter than your mama." Was all Louise could think of saying.

"She acts like mama wasn't a lady, but I think she was a much better one than Aunty." Jem thought aloud, making Louise smile weakly to herself. "I overheard Aunty telling Atticus that he was raising us to be disgraces, and by having you here it's only makin' it worse."

Now Louise was livid. Feeling her face grow hot, she tried not to look too angry in front of Jem. "Did you hear what he said to her?"

A small smile flickered on Jem's face. "He said somethin along the lines of he was tryin' his best and that you made me an' Scout the happiest he's seen us in years." Louise smiled to herself, thankful that at least Atticus found her useful.

"Well I'm especially happy to be here with you," Louise said, smiling weakly at Jem.

"Do you know what I miss most about mama?" Jem asked seriously.

"I do, baby."

"Her laughin'," he said quickly. "She always woke up in the mornin' laughin', like she already knew that it was going to be a good day before it even started."

Louise smiled. "I miss that, too."

Jem looked away from her and sighed. "I can't remember if she laughed the mornin' she died, but I don't think she did. Maybe she knew somethin' bad was gonna happen."

Louise shrugged. "It might be frustratin', but there's some things we'll never know." She said sadly.

He made a little noise as if he was trying to stifle a laugh. "I don't think Aunty ever laughs."

"She's too genteelly bred for that, darling." Louise said dramatically, making Jem chuckle.

Jem smiled to himself again. "She used'ta make all my food look like happy faces or try to make it look like animals," he told Louise. "She would get a piece of bread and would use blueberries for eyes and a piece of banana for a nose and said it was a bear."

Louise chuckled. "Did it look like a bear?"

"Nome, but I never told her." Jem said. "I liked it anyway."

"I bet that made her real happy." Louise smiled.

"I think so," Jem said seriously. "She would do it every morning, and the entire time she'd be laughin'."

"You were very special to her," Louise said seriously. Jem smiled, and she paused for a moment. "Sweet, did anyone ever tell you about your cousin Simon?"

"Simon Finch? Well Aunty—"

"No, not him." Louise said gently. "Your Aunt Charlotte's son, I mean." Jem looked confused as he furrowed his eyebrows in thought.

"I remember his name from somewhere," he said slowly. "But I don't think that anyone's ever talked 'bout him."

"You probably saw his grave, he's buried next to his mama." Louise explained. "Your mama's buried near them, on our family's plot."

Jem's eyes widened a little bit. "I think that must've been where I've seen it. Why?"

"When your mama was twenty, she was watchin' over him and Clara and Libby—Libby was not even a year old yet. But anyways, Simon was tryin' to be a daredevil and was tryin' to jump off of a branch into a little pool that your mama made for the kids to swim in," It wasn't until she began telling the story that she realized how long it had been since she had talked about Simon. "Well, your mama told him to stop doin' that and went inside real quick to put the baby in her crib and while she was gone he didn't listen to her and he jumped and snapped his neck."

Jem's mouth hung open a little as she told him, and he sat himself up straighter. "That's awful."

"It was," Louise said, chuckling awkwardly. "Your mama had been a right old mess after and blamed herself for it. She swore on her life that she couldn't ever let herself have children because she couldn't bear to lose 'em." Jem looked perplexed, but before he could say anything Louise continued, smiling slightly. "And then she met your daddy and he helped her not feel so guilty and obviously she changed her mind about having children. She thought she jinxed herself or somethin', though, because at first she thought she couldn't have a baby."

Jem was nearly twelve, but Louise couldn't help but to wonder if this was something appropriate to talk to him about, but she figured this was something he needed to know. He was still smiling, so she took that as a sign that he was alright. "Really?" He asked softly after a few moments.

"Really," she affirmed, clapping her hand on his knee. "And then two years after your mama and daddy got married, you came. I've been through nearly everything with your mama and I still swear to this day that she was at her happiest when you were born. She called you her miracle baby and would never let you out of her sight. You and your sister were the best things that ever happened to your mother."

Jem leaned his back against the wall of the treehouse, still smiling. Louise remembered Jem as the six-year-old boy, nearly traumatized by the fact that his mama wouldn't be coming home. Jean would be proud, Louise thought to herself, Jean would be so incredibly proud of the gentleman her son was becoming. "I bet anything," Louise said slowly. "That your mama is watchin' down on you from somewhere and is so delighted about what a good person you are. I know I am."

"I hope so," Jem said.

Louise smiled at him and gave him a side hug. "I'll leave you alone now," she said as she inched herself towards the entrance of the treehouse. "I figure you don't want your old Aunty spendin' the entire evenin' with you."

As she cautiously made her way towards the ladder, Jem cleared his throat. "Aunt Lou?" He asked, making her stop in her tracks. Making sure her feet were steady on the ladder, she looked up at him.

"Yes, sweet?"

"Thank you."

She smiled at him. "Any time, baby." She said, before slowly making her way onto steady ground.

Once she entered the house and got a glimpse of Alexandra sitting in Atticus' chair sewing a stupid rug, Louise was suddenly filled with anger. It was at that moment she decided that she detested the woman. Ultimately, Louise blamed her for Jem feeling so upset that afternoon. She also feared that this dastardly woman would give Scout the wrong impression about her mother since Jean was no longer here to defend herself.

Well, Louise was here to defend her.

"Atticus is taking his supper in his study," Alexandra said dully, not looking at Louise. "So you may eat whenever you want."

Don't tell me what to do, Louise thought to herself. "Alright." She replied tensely, beginning to make her way back to Scout.

"What is the matter with you?" Alexandra asked, making Louise stop dead in her tracks. Slowly, she made her way back to the living room.

A thousand possible responses flooded her mind, but clenching her hands in her fists she told herself not to make a scene for the sake of Atticus. "I don't know what you mean." She replied, her voice a higher pitch than usual.

Alexandra still refused to look at Louise, which made Louise angrier. If you're going to blame me for you being a stupid old hag, at least look at me, Louise thought to herself. "You seem especially…agitated lately." Alexandra said coolly.

"I guess I'm just tired," Louise lied.

"I told you that you shouldn't sleep on that flimsy cot," Alexandra said. "It's your stubbornness that is the root of your problem, dear."

Louise snapped. "Maybe my problem is you." She said, nearly whispering, her hands shaking at her side. Finally, Alexandra looked up at her, her eyes wide.

"Excuse me?"

"I as well as everyone in this damn town know you didn't like Jean, and that's just fine you can feel however the hell you want," Louise said coolly. "But Jem is up in that treehouse absolutely distraught at the fact that you are trying to negate his mother's existence!"

Alexandra nearly threw her rug on the ground. "I don't know who filled your mind with such ideas but I will assure you that you are being absolutely ridiculous right now."

"Am I really?" She asked bitterly as she threw her arms in the air. "Because both Jem and Scout are well under the impression that you did not like Jean. And frankly, they're afraid of you!"

Alexandra's mouth hung open for a few moments before she quickly shut it. Louise took that as an opportunity to continue talking. "You basically tell them that they're failures because they're not these perfect little rays of sunshine for Atticus, but you're the only one who sees it like that! Can't you accept that they are perfectly happy with the way they're livin' even if it doesn't amount to your standards?"

Alexandra sat up stiffly and was nearly glaring at Louise. "I am simply trying to assist them in becoming the lady and gentleman that society will expect them to be—"

"They're fine the way they are." Louise said, crossing her arms.

"This isn't something you would know much about." Alexandra snapped back.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You don't know how to raise children," Alexandra said seriously, crossing her arms. "It's all good and fun for you to be the aunt to come here and play around with them, but it's seriously going to detriment their development. You're making them think it's acceptable to be wild."

Louise stammered for a moment, feeling stung. "For your information, there are people wilder than me."

"I'm not talking about those people, I'm talking about you." Alexandra said.

"Well, have fun tryin' to change me," Louise said bitterly, preparing to leave the room. "Because I don't give a dam what you think."

Before Alexandra could even say anything in response to that, Louise nearly ran down the hallway. Without knocking, she opened the door to Scout's room and quickly shut it behind her. Scout, who was still situated in her bed, jumped up from being startled. Sighing, Louise muttered an apology and sat down on the cot that had been placed next to Scout's bed.

"You alright, Aunty?" Scout asked, looking confused.

"Just fine, sweet." Louise said quickly, though her hands were still shaking.

"Is Jem alright?"

"He is, baby."

"Atticus was tired today," Scout said, laying herself down today. "He didn't even want to eat supper."

"He probably had a lot of work today," Louise explained.

"Were you talkin' to Aunt Alexandra?" Scout asked, making Louise flush. She was thankful that Atticus was nearly deaf in his left ear—maybe he hadn't of heard her from his office (though she could've sworn she hadn't been loud).

"Mm hmm," Louise nodded.

"Are you mad at her?"

"I'm just a little agitated, sweet."

"Did you ever get agitated at mama?"

"Just once, sweet." Louise replied honestly, thinking back to her own wedding. It was as if Jean knew her sister was going to end up being unhappy in her marriage, and had tried to stop it. That was the first and only time she and Jean had a serious argument. And, of course, Jean had been right.

"Did mama ever get agitated at you?"

"Probably many times," Louise chuckled as she looked at her niece. "I reckon I was a pesky little sister."

"I bet mama liked it," Scout assured her.

"You're a sweet kid."

"Aunty?"

"Yes, sweet?"

"You can sleep in my bed if you want, if it'll make you feel better." She said, smiling. "I wouldn't mind if we shared."

"That's awfully nice, I think I may just take your offer." Louise said, making Scout's smile grow wider.

-o-o-o-

That evening had progressed as usual. Eventually Jem had climbed down from the treehouse and ate supper with Louise and Scout. After her argument with Alexandra, Louise had found that the woman had retreated into her room and wasn't going to come out for the rest of the evening. With the absence of both Atticus and Alexandra, Jem had decided to sleep on the cot in Scout's room and the three of them were going to stay up late making up ghost stories. It made Louise genuinely happy that Jem still enjoyed spending time with his kid sister. After they had quickly eaten their supper, Louise told them to go off and get ready for bed while she cleaned the dishes.

Instead of going straight to Scout's room after she had finished cleaning up, Louise found herself knocking on Alexandra's door. "Come in," Alexandra responded in a muffled tone. Almost nervously, Louise opened the door. Alexandra was in her nightgown and situated under her duvet, a book laying open next to her. When she saw it was Louise that knocked, it was almost as if her expression had hardened. "Yes?" She asked coolly.

Louise sighed, looking down at the ground. "I-I just wanted to apologize," Louise said softly. Apologizing had never been an easy thing for Louise. "Um, I was out of line earlier—"

"It's fine." Alexandra responded shortly.

"I mean it," Louise said, finally looking up at the woman. "I don't want there being any—"

"It's fine, Louise." She said again, though Louise didn't believe her. "Is that all?"

Louise felt stung, and found herself standing up straighter. "I suppose it is." She said.

"Goodnight, then."

"Goodnight, Alexandra." Louise said as she turned to leave.

"Louise?" Alexandra asked as Louise was about to close the door. Peeking her head in the room again, Alexandra said: "we can look into buying you a proper bed this week."

"I wouldn't worry about it, I'll probably go back to Montgomery soon." She said quickly. She closed the door before she could observe Alexandra's reaction.