Lessons to Learn

Chapter 17

A/N: Thank you guys for your patience! Another chapter finally! Things are getting more serious. I hope you enjoy it, and please let me know what you think! Your reviews always make my day! Stay safe!

It had been a while since he had last been at a hotel. His job demanded frequent trips and even though, he never left home and family for long, Robert was very familiar with hotel rooms. But since the innovations at the main branch in London had called for his entire attention lately, he realised he hadn't left London for months. He had been absorbed in his bubble of contracts, negotiations at the bank, and arguments at home.

As he now stepped into the foyer of one of the most upscale hotels in Leicester, he nearly felt as if he'd forgotten how to be a proper business hotel guest. The peaceful, nearly lifeless, atmosphere in the lobby was so very different from his London day-to-day life. He wasn't sure if he belonged, or rather if he could pretend that he belonged until he really did. Until he was one of the busy business guests, immersed in the purpose of their trip and fully distracted from their life at home.

The trip to Leicester had appeared on Robert's schedule pretty short on time. His presence was needed unexpectedly at an important negotiation at the Leicester branch of his bank. The clients were big fish and agreeing on a contract would be a great deal for the entire financial institute. But the high demands the clients expressed had to be discussed with the boss himself, and it was best to do this in person. So, Robert was already clearing his schedule and making a mental list of what to pack before he arrived home after work and could tell Cora and the girls about his trip on short notice. Neither of them seemed to care anyway so it wasn't very hard to get into the car early the next morning and speed off to Leicester.

The ride on the motorways set him in a nearly excited state. It was as if the strings that tied him to his responsibilities and the chaos at home were getting more and more irrelevant with every mile he covered. There were like spider's threads that stretched on and on and never broke. But he was sure he felt considerably lighter while he sped down the motorway, ignoring the sticky spider's threads that stuck to him like pitch. He wasn't even bothered by the congestions that always came up on the route from London to Leicester.

When Robert finally arrived in Leicester, he first sought the hotel he would stay a night at. This was the moment he really dipped into the waters of business life as he only experienced it on his business trips. Now he stood there in the foyer, not really knowing if he was still as effortless at being this professional as he had been not long ago.

He approached the counter and the whole setup seemed strangely surreal to him. The top of the wooden counter was polished exceedingly so that the nearly black wood could have also been put to use as a mirror. The young lady operating the computer made a perfect – too perfect – image as well. She wore a royal blue uniform, cut just for her silhouette, hugging her body in all the right places. Her hair was pulled back tightly into a low bun. With each step, Robert could watch how the lights above the counter produced a wandering glossy reflection on the honey-coloured hair. As he was close enough for her to look up (which she didn't do immediately; she was much too busy on her computer), he noticed how symmetrical and flawless her face was. She looked like one of the women on the TV programs at the kiosk. After undergoing the same retouching process, they all looked the same. Blonde, slightly tanned, with silky and unblemished skin and a snow-white smile. The lady before him did not smile teeth-exposing but Robert didn't doubt that her teeth would be just as bright white as of these levelled cover girls.

Robert harrumphed. The woman raised her brows before she lifted her gaze from the screen. Her expression was otherwise unchanged and entirely neutral as her voice proclaimed in the sugariest tone, "I'll be right with you."

Robert nodded and waited patiently. From up close he could see that her skin really was silky and unblemished. It was matte and contrary to the hair, caught no reflection at all. If he would take one step closer, he could see the fine hair on her skin. But instead, he focused on the label on her chest. It read, 'Katy'. Then, her head turned up and she immediately focused on Robert. The corners of her mouth went up. Her smile was automatic.

"What can I do for you?"

"I booked a room for a night. It's on the name Crawley."

"Let me take a look." Her head turned back to the screen of her computer and her fingers chased over the keyboard at a murderous pace. "Ah, I see. We arranged the business suite for you, Mr Crawley."

He nodded as Katy fetched a key from somewhere under the counter without moving an inch away from her spot.

"Do you need any assistance with your luggage, Mr Crawley?" she inquired in her sing-song voice.

Robert shook his head. "I'm totally fine."

When he stepped into the lift a few minutes later, London was even farther away. He was excited about his hotel room. He was ready for his business meeting. He felt like he was right where he needed to be.

The hotel room that awaited him didn't disappoint. It was spacious and light and picture-perfect. Robert parked his luggage in a corner of the room.

There was still time left until he had to show up at the bank to meet the customers. It was late morning, and it had been his plan to use this time to eat something. The hotel had a restaurant that didn't look too bad, and there were also the places in Leicester he visited regularly when he was here for business. But as soon as his bottom sank into the soft mattress of the wide hotel bed, exhaustion took hold of him. It wasn't even eleven a.m. and Robert felt the heaviness settle into the muscles of his shoulders, arms, and legs. He couldn't explain what had been draining him of his energy. He didn't feel overburdened. He had things under control. He hadn't slept too bad (apart from Cora's restless rolling around beside him his sleep wasn't disrupted). So, factually Robert should have been in a good form. But there was no helping it. He was exhausted, and his eyelids were drooping undoubtedly. He didn't have to consider it long. He wasn't that hungry. The short two hours he had were best used for a power nap.

Robert opened the fly of his pants and he sighed when he had to get up to strip them down. As he stood with his pants pooled at his feet, he caught a glimpse of himself in the full-body mirror. His hand fumbled with the buttons of his shirt. His bare legs looked oddly misplaced. He was so nicely and properly dressed waist up, and then there was this unfitting state of undress waist down. Robert looked himself in the eyes, frozen in his movements, and he saw the empty gaze, the numb expression of someone who didn't even notice they had stopped feeling anything. Slowly, Robert's fingers started moving again and continued working on the row of buttons on his crisp white shirt. As soon as his shirt was opened and slipped from his shoulders, he only looked like a tired man, and the frightening vision from the hollowed-out person vanished.

Stripped down to his underwear, Robert pulled back the fresh sheets from the hotel bed and laid down right in the middle of the wide bed. With a sigh, he snuggled into a comfortable position and enjoyed the luxury of having a whole wide bed all to himself.

Sleep came quicker than he thought, but it was very light sleep. Images and dreams wove into his slumber and they were all still very clear to him when he woke up again later. In his first moments of relaxation, the face of Katy invaded. She smiled her flawless smile. Her blonde hair beamed golden from within. As she came closer and closer, the velvety skin of her hands grabbed Robert's lower arms. And even though her vision exuded such a warm light, a disturbing iciness ran through Robert when she touched him. 'I'll be right with you,' she cooed, but it sounded more like a threat. Her grip got tighter around his wrists. She looked at him totally unbothered but applied an inhuman strength to his arms. Robert tried to shake off the unpleasant images but the next thing that appeared before his inner eye was her hands dripping with blood from her fingertips. There was no doubt it was his blood.

Robert rolled over in bed, pulling the blankets tighter around him and hoped for nicer dreams. And after a few minutes of calm and deep breathing, he found himself in a more peaceful sleep. After a while, he dreamt of not being alone in bed. He felt her arms around his waist. Her warm breath hit his back in a sleep-like pattern. He felt entirely at peace. At some point, he felt her cheek press softly against his. Then, her bell-clear voice purred, 'Robert, you're such a sleepyhead. You're missing out on so much fun.' He rolled over and took her in his arms. Her resulting giggle made him want to never let her go, and he buried his face in her chocolate tresses of hair. Softly, he heard her voice, murmuring unintelligible things and humming sweet melodies for the rest of his dream. He held her close and let himself be lulled in by her soft sounds. It felt like seconds but really, the minutes run by while he hung onto the image the sweet dream projected. When he wanted to bury his nose deeper into her hair to smell more of her intoxicating scent, he woke up, realising she wasn't with him. He was clinging to one of the countless pillows of the hotel bed, trying to find the scent of Cora somewhere in there. He sighed.

A glance at the clock told him he had slept long enough that it was already time to get ready for his appointment. He got up, being at least a bit refreshed for the impending mission. Getting back dressed, he went to the bathroom to comb his hair back into shape. While standing in front of the bathroom mirror, he realised something weird.

He missed her.

He wasn't even gone for half a day and he really did; he missed her. He sensed that it actually wasn't about the hours he was in Leicester now. There was the possibility that he had been missing her for much longer.

Robert felt like he had stumbled upon a big puzzle. He had realised something but it made no sense to him. He was missing the explanation and the instructions. But one thing he knew. He wanted his sweet Cora back and a world without problems and complications.

There still was the meeting he had, but in front of the hotel bathroom mirror, Robert made a resolution. He would ride back to London as soon as he was done here the next day and would try getting her back. He would overlook all her critical behaviour – that didn't matter to him at this moment – for the sake of getting the sweet and light-hearted Cora back he loved so dearly. There was so much he had missed out on over the course of the last months.

Cora took each step down the stairs with great caution. Her head felt twice its size and the hardly bearable pressure in her skull was only triggered further with too sudden movements. A headache was something particularly nasty, Cora thought. God, how she envied people who didn't know headaches on a regular basis! Thinking that there really should be people in the world who thought headache could only result from a blow on the head made her angry at those people.

Cora was on her way down to the kitchen to make herself another cup of tea. Until now, Cora had been finishing off some school stuff, first in her study, then upstairs in her bed because she was freezing and sick. She had been having a cold for the last couple of days already and had tried keeping it at bay. Her thermos flask had been filled with herbal tea instead of coffee the last days at school, and she had tried to speak as little as necessary during classes to spare her irritated vocal cords and throat. Now that it was Friday evening, she was at home and had the prospect of a weekend in her own four walls to take it easy. Well, at least somewhat easier. She still had tests to grade and lessons to prepare apart from running a household, but at least she could stay inside.

Now, that it was nearly time for dinner, she decided that she was done with working for today. The rest had to be done tomorrow. She was glad that she didn't have to conjure up an elaborate hot dinner because Robert wasn't there. Even though the girls usually were very capable of nagging for something 'delicious', they had been rather sweet and understanding the last few days with Cora getting sick. Robert though had seemed more annoyed than anything else with Cora's compromised state. With him being in Leicester for the night, Cora could spill some contents from the fridge on the dinner table with a clear conscience. This would take one stress factor away.

With her head still pounding nastily, Cora reached the feet of the stairs. Her woollen cardigan was wrapped tightly around her body, and still, the cold crept up on her. It was moments like this that Cora condemned the big house they lived in. These old English walls never grew warm enough. It wasn't due to the size; mother had said on one of her first visits. She had said, the English only needed to learn how to heat grand old buildings properly. But still, about twenty years later Cora was freezing her ass off. Reaching the feet of the stairs, Cora tightened the sash on her cardigan and thought the sash somehow seemed longer than usual. It nearly appeared as if her waist was as slim as in her adolescent years. She snorted as she walked toward the kitchen. Her body was not the same as it had been when she had met Robert, and it hadn't been for a long time already.

The kitchen was well-occupied when Cora entered. Mary and Sybil sat around the kitchen counter and seemed to be already taking care of their appetites themselves. Sybil was scooping a mango yoghurt while Mary was making herself a sandwich, chatting animatedly with her younger sister whose mouth was occupied.

"But I think you must have seen Mabel already. Remember? She was the one we met when Rosamund took us shopping last time," Mary said.

"Oh, de one wif de snappy tongue? And who wore de same coat as you?" Sybil produced through masses of yoghurt.

Mary noticed her mother standing in the doorway and rolled her eyes. "Sybil, don't talk with your mouth full!"

Cora walked to the kitchen sink and began filling the kettle with water. "I see you're already having something to eat," she said without turning her head to her daughters. "Does that mean we don't need to have dinner today?"

"No, no. We're fine," Sybil hurried to say. "You better have some rest."

"Mama, I've got a question," Mary chimed in. Cora set down the kettle and switched it on before turning around to face her eldest daughter.

"Yes, dear?"

"You'll probably go to bed early tonight, right?"

"That's very likely. Why?"

"Because with Papa gone, I wanted to take the chance and have some friends over. And I just wanted to make sure that we're not bothering you when we spend the night in the living room. You won't need it, do you?"

"No, I don't. It's alright."

"Thanks, Mama!" Mary reached out and rubbed Cora's arm as she smirked nearly triumphantly.

Cora turned back around and opened one of the kitchen shelves to fetch herself a nice big cup. "Just make sure to not be too loud and not break anything. Your father would be livid," Cora added half-jokingly.

"Of course," Mary gave back.

Cora poured the boiling water into her cup when Sybil had to say something.

"But won't you need something for dinner, Mama?" she asked. Cora turned around and saw her daughter's blue eyes looking questioningly at her. Sybil's elbows were pressed into the tabletop and she leaned forward in anticipation. Her cup of yoghurt lay fallen over and empty next to her. Mary was now the one busy eating.

"I'm not hungry, dear," Cora replied. "I've got my tea," she added and demonstratively lifted her cup.

"But you'll need something in your stomach," Sybil copied the words Cora often had had to use with her daughters. Now Cora sighed.

"That's sweet, Sybil, but–" she set to say but her youngest daughter interrupted her.

"We'll find something you'll be able to get down. How about some rusk? A broth? Yes? Come, it's just like another tea!" Sybil jumped up from her cross-legged sitting position at the kitchen counter and rummaged through the kitchen shelves.

"Alright," Cora said, more to appease her daughter and acknowledge her sweet effort than because she felt like she needed something in her stomach.

With a yell of triumph, Sybil indicated that she had found the broth, and Cora's head responded with an intense pounding. A groan slipped through her lips. Her daughters didn't seem to notice. Sybil was busy pouring Cora a broth with the rest of the hot water and Mary was absorbed into the contents of her phone while munching on her sandwiches.

"Sybil, what do you think about these?" Mary asked with her eyes glued to the screen of her phone. Sybil skipped to her sister and looked over Mary's shoulder.

"Oh, they look delicious!" she called out. "They will love it!"

"What is it?" Cora asked weakly.

"Some muffins Mary and I want to prepare for later," Sybil explained with a wide grin.

"How sweet!" Cora couldn't help but smile at her daughter's obvious joy. She was very happy that they got along so well right now. This always meant something less to take care of. Her daughters were taking care of each other for a change, and Cora wouldn't complain. "Sounds like a perfect girls' night to me," she added with as much of an enthusiastic smile as she could muster.

"Well, it–" Sybil began but didn't get to finish her sentence.

"Yes, thanks for letting us do it," Mary said. Then she squinted her eyes a little at her mother. "I think you better get some rest now. Sybil, give her the broth already."

"Oh, right!" Sybil leapt to the cup of broth. "Wait I'll help you carry it," she added when she saw Cora standing there with her cup of tea already.

"Thank you, darling."

Sybil followed Cora out of the room and up the stairs. Her chatter accompanied them all the way, and Cora didn't have the energy to shush her daughter, even though, it made her headache worse. Sybil's chitchat hushed Cora and made her more silent than she already was at the moment. When they reached the bedroom, Cora sent her off with a "Thanks" that was merely a breath.

The sound of the lively steps down the stairs made Cora heave a sigh of relief. She crossed the room slowly because her legs felt so heavy. She put the two cups onto a small side table and turned on the lamp standing on it. Her thoughts were still with her daughters. Their preparations for their girls' night reminded her of Rosamund and herself and how they too were sometimes in eager anticipation for one of their girls' nights. She tried to remember the last time they had done this. It had been a few weeks ago and had been more of a lazy get-together with their husbands. It was nice too, and in her current state, Cora couldn't imagine ever being able to do more than this. But still, it had been rather unusual for their girls' nights. The one prior to this was a more adequate representation. Their jolly night at the bar with Robert picking them up afterwards seemed like it was ages ago.

It reminded Cora that she had to give Rosamund a call soon. Lately, it just had been too busy, but Cora really cared for the relationship she had with her sister-in-law, so she wanted to maintain it properly. But this wasn't for today.

Cora tried to make herself comfortable for the evening with her hot beverages close at hand. She didn't notice how the time flew by.

The constant ring of the doorbell had made Cora's head snap up at first every time. But after the fourth or fifth time, she got used to it. Only shortly, Cora wondered how many people Mary must have invited – the girls knew how little their father liked big house parties wreaking havoc in his sacred four walls. Cora considered for a second if Mary maybe had forgotten that her mother was still in the house but probably, she thought it an even better justification that no harm was done when Cora was there. But very quickly Cora's mind dropped the topic of the events downstairs. The animated voices and the repeated ring of the doorbell faded into the background of her conscience, and her head sank weakly against the backrest of the armchair she was occupying. Her lower body was wrapped in a knitted blanket and her feet laid on a footrest.

For a split second, an image appeared before her eyes; familiar yet faraway, like something from another time. The scene was very much like this right now, but Robert was sitting on the footrest, her feet in his lap. His thumbs drew patterns over the arches of her feet, lightly pressing into the worn-out muscles and eliciting a sigh from her lips. He looked up at her, his eyes attentive, and joy spread on his face as he took her in. Just as quickly as it appeared, the vision vanished. The footrest was vacant apart from her feet, and the room that was shrouded in the dim light from the grey skies behind the windows seemed lifeless in comparison to her bright memory.

Moments before, Cora had been happy about being able to put her feet up for a while, being cuddled up in a cardigan and a blanket on her armchair. But in the wink of an eye, a minuscule flashback had been enough to make her feel lost. She hated the feeling that surrounded her lately and seeped through her skin deeper and deeper into her core. She constantly felt as if something was missing and it hollowed her out. But it was a ghastly thought and she tried to shake it off as quickly as possible. Such dark and dismal thoughts had no place here. That was a rule Cora had lived by always. She wouldn't let that change now.

The first guests stood casually chatting around the kitchen counter, and Mary basked in the feeling of joyful anticipation. She had been wanting to do this for so long. It was a shame that it had taken so long until she threw her first college party. But now the moment was finally there, so it didn't matter anymore.

The doorbell rang again, and Mary pushed herself away from the kitchen counter she was lazily leaning against.

"If you guys want to, you can already go over to the living room," she said to the handful of friends in the kitchen. "You can send my sister to her room. She's only eating all our snacks anyway," Mary added as she saw Sybil still lounging on the sofa in the open living space next door.

Mary left the kitchen and walked down the hallway to open the door once more this evening. It was Evelyn, one of her fellow students but also a distant friend of the family. It looked like he got all dressed up even though, this party was pretty much last minute. His hair was all shiny and orderly combed. He wore a shirt that showed no crease or wrinkle. He smiled at her, his eyes glinting with something that could be hope.

"Hey, Evelyn! Come in!"

"Thanks. I brought a little something for you," Evelyn said as he stepped through the doorway. He extracted a bottle from the pocket of the jacket he had thrown on.

"Oh, but that really wasn't necessary!"

"It's alright," Evelyn waved off. He held the bottle out for her. "It's a red wine from the vineyard of my parents. This one is my favourite. I thought you might like it too."

"I'm sure I will like it," she replied and indicated the way down the hallway for him. Mary followed him to the kitchen.

"Can I offer you a drink?", she asked and pointed to the top of the kitchen counter that was covered with a bunch of liquors, already brought from the present guests. The colourful bottles clattered the kitchen counter rather picturesquely. Even though Mary didn't plan on seriously indulging in the alcoholic joys (she wanted to stay a responsible hostess if her mother was already so kind as to accept this party without further question) at least the image they gave off was quite pleasing. All the pinks and purples and blues of the spirit drinks already looked so pretty.

"No, thanks. I won't drink tonight. I still have to drive home," Evelyn declined with a polite smile.

"Well, but we'll find something else for you. You will not be left high and dry," Mary said. She was determined to make him comfortable. Everybody should enjoy this party as best as possible. Her first college party should be kept in good memory by everyone. She started listing all the non-alcoholic beverages they had and Evelyn listened. When Mary kept going and going, he interrupted her softly.

"I'd be very happy about a cup of tea if that makes no trouble," he suggested.

Mary smirked amusedly, "How very posh, Mr Napier." He laughed. "That won't be a problem."

As Mary took the kettle and filled it with water, Evelyn took a seat at the kitchen counter behind her. The muffled voices of the other guests in the living room drifted into their togetherness. Mary wasn't that much of a tea drinker, and more especially, she only very rarely made some tea herself. She was unsure how much water had to be boiled to satisfy Evelyn's wish for tea, but she opted for a bit more just to be safe.

"What sort of tea do you want? My parents have a bunch of them," she said once turning the kettle on. Before Evelyn could utter an answer, Mary discovered something lying next to the water kettle. It was Mama's phone.

"Just have a look," she added and opened the respective kitchen shelf for Evelyn. She took her mother's phone with the intention to bring it to her shortly. As Evelyn was skimming through the collection of teas, though, the phone screen lit up, and Mary couldn't help but read the incoming message. She had no idea what to make of it. It was highly confusing at the least and quite worrisome at the worst. As the screen already turned dark again, the words still haunted Mary's mind over and over.

Oliver: I don't want to bother you but, please Cora, I don't want to be played with…

The message had been cut short after this. Mary had to know what this all meant. She fought with herself about what to do. She knew she would have no peace until she found out what was going on, but she considered herself someone who respected privacy. Mary was torn.

If this was really bad, Mary had to step in. Of course, everyone would be furious but Mary would accept it in order to do the right thing, and maybe save what was still to save. And if it wasn't that bad, well, what difference would it make then anyway?

With a quick motion of her hand, Mary unlocked her mother's phone. Mama wasn't as bad as some other adults that left their phones without a code, but she entered it so slow and open for everyone to see that everyone knew Mama's code.

"I think I take this," Evelyn suddenly said, and Mary only shortly looked up.

"Just serve yourself," she said. Her focus was back on the phone and without questioning her actions further, she opened the new message. In the back of her conscience, she registered Evelyn's efforts at finishing her task of making him tea. A queasy feeling in her stomach surfaced the moment she found herself in the chat with Oliver. Who was Oliver? Mary couldn't remember ever having heard his name before. The message this guy had sent was half an essay. Guys, who sent texts this long really had to be looked at closer.

Mary's eyes ran over the message with growing shock.

Oliver: I don't want to bother you but, please Cora, I don't want to be played with. I had been so sure we had been clear with each other but lately, I just can't read you. Do you even still want it? I told you I was patient if you needed time, but I need to know if this will actually lead to something. I will stay patient if you just give me a sign. I do understand your situation. But you would tell me if you changed your mind, wouldn't you? How about we at least go on a coffee date and talk? About whatever you want :) Just let me know when you have the time.

Mary gulped hard. What was this? She instantly began reading the message from the top again. Oh Lord, what monster had she unlocked? She wasn't as sure anymore that she really wanted to know what was going on. The sinking feeling in her stomach only grew with every second that she thought about the meaning of these words.

"'s everything alright?" Evelyn asked tentatively. As Mary looked up, she saw him in front of her with a steaming cup in his palms. Through the wafts of steam, his grey eyes looked at her with a concerned expression. His furrowed brows made him look a bit like a scolded dog.

"Uhm…" Mary cleared her throat, unable to form a clear thought. "Yea, sure," she said eventually. "I just have to solve something quickly. You can already join the others." She nodded to the living space. "I'll be right with you in a minute."

"Alright." Evelyn's expression was only a little relieved of worry. Mary had more urgent things in mind now, though. She turned around and left the kitchen to seek her mother. She had to solve this now. She wanted an explanation from her mother and assurance that this, whatever this was, would be handled responsibly.

She knocked softly on the door to her parents' bedroom. When she heard no response, she quietly moved the door handle and stepped into the dimly lit room. There was only a reading lamp burning on a small side table in the farthest corner of the room. All the air escaped Mary's lungs in a sigh. The sight of her mother took the wind out of her sails.

Mama was in her armchair next to the side table, wrapped in a knitted blanket. Her head had fallen to the side and leaned in a rather strained manner against the headrest now. She slept tightly. Mary's plans dissolved immediately into clouds of dust. She approached her mother's form, and Mama's state of exhaustion became more visible with every step. Mary discovered the lifeless paleness of her mother's skin. She saw the dark bags under her eyes, the dry chipped skin on her lips. The way Mama's head had fallen to the side, her cheeks seemed pretty sunken in. At last, now was the moment, Mary completely abandoned any intention to put her mother on the spot.

A tiny part of her also worried about Mama seeing that Mary had already read the message, but there was no helping it now. She put the phone down on the table next to the armchair and looked around for a pillow to support Mama's head a bit better. She found one laying at the foot of the bed.

With very gentle movements, Mary tried to put it under Mama's head without disturbing her sleep. She could think of no one who would manage that but her. Mama was gentle enough for that. Mary probably wasn't. She tried it anyway.

Her head was heavy. Mary supported it with her hand and tried pushing the pillow underneath. It didn't quite fit. Mary lifted Mama's head a bit higher. The relaxation vanished from Mama's face, her brow furrowed, and her expression got strained.

"Shh," Mary tried to calm her. From up close, Mary saw wrinkles on her mother's face she had never noticed before. And they hadn't been there when she had slept so tightly. But as soon as she got to the brink of consciousness, whatever worries troubled her mind cut deep wrinkles into her brow and crow's feet into her temples.

Mama blinked confused, and Mary lightly stroked over the dark hair, after she had placed the pillow right.

"Shh," she repeated. "It's alright," she whispered as quietly as she could.

Mama groaned weakly before falling back asleep. Mary made a few steps back and sighed. She would return to the party now. Mary wasn't a fan of deferring problems but she realised now, that sometimes it had to be done that way.