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Vivian's New Start
message 1051:
by
Raina-J.
(new)
Aug 22, 2013 08:07PM
"How is Anne?" Vivian asked after a moment. "Have you written to her to tell her the good news?"
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"Well, I sent her a short letter just before I left the barracks. She'll probably receive it soon, though I think we better prepare for her barging in," Joeri commented.
"That's alright," Vivian assured him. "She cheers me up. It must run in your family." She gave him a small smile and felt herself beginning to get drowsy again from some new medication she'd been given by Dr Fairburn. It was supposed to make her sleepy to help her body recover faster from her accident, and she fought to keep her eyes open. Vivian didn't want to miss any time with Joeri out of habit, forgetting he was home now for good.
Giving a soft laugh, Joeri noticed how she was fighting to keep awake. "Don't worry. I'll be here when you wake up," he said softly, trying to reassure her. "Get some rest and call for me if you need me."
Vivian nodded and slid down into her covers until she was lying down properly. Shakespeare stopped chewing on his rag to put his head on her thigh, his eyes gazing up at her worriedly.She patted Shakespeare's head reassuringly and looked up at Joeri through her eyelashes. "Don't go too far," she murmured drowsily.
Joeri smiled and bent down to kiss her forehead. Then he slowly rose up to his feet. "I'll just be in the blue room. After all, I don't have anywhere to be," he replied.
Vivian nodded, her eyes falling shut. "I love you," she murmured, already half-asleep.
"And I love you, mijn schaatje," Joeri said over his shoulder, then he slipped out of her room quietly.
*END OF SCENE*
Dear Joeri,I am most pleased to hear the news of your homecoming and it just kills me that I've been busy the past couple of days. I know I'll be free later on this week, so perhaps we can meet up. Pater has much on his plate right now, so I think it best we delay the inevitable just a little longer. Would it be all right to meet me in the park on Thursday? I'll bring the picnic this time, so just make sure you arrive there at noon. I still have many things to tell you, but for now, let's just leave it to I missed you and I'm glad you're back!
Love,
Anne
*END OF SCENE*
Joeri sat back in the alcove, a book opened in his lap, but his mind was somewhere else, the words blurring together. He was thinking over his night at the cemetery and the strange woman he met there. And also, the upcoming Thursday when he'd meet Anne again.
Vivian was able to slowly make it up and down the stairs with help but as always she'd been so stubborn about it that when Bridget and Joeri weren't around she was taking them on her own anyway. Trouble was, now she wanted to amble about and she couldn't.Vivian leaned on the railing and called down, "Joeri? Joeri, I can't walk down."
Hearing his name, he clapped the book shut and headed towards the foot of the stairs. "All right, coming to the rescue," Joeri called up, smiling as he climbed the stairs.
Vivian waited patiently, leaning a little heavier on the railing as she would have liked to normally. She smiled at Joeri though as he approached."What have you been up to?"
He gave a shrug. "Nothing much. Tried reading, mostly thinking, though," Joeri answered as he came to stand next to her, then offered his arm.
Vivian took the offered limb and asked, "What were you thinking about?"
As Joeri walked with her slowly, he told her, "Do you remember the night I came in late the other day? Well, the reason I was late was because I ran into a woman at the cemetery."
Vivian looked up at Joeri with an arched brow. "A woman in the cemetery?" she repeated.
He nodded, smiling slightly. "Strange, I know. But she was lost and I gave her my services. Æliyah was her name," Joeri answered.
Vivian gave Joeri's arm a squeeze as she made her way down the stairs at a snail's pace, taking each step one at a time with her free hand clutching the railing. "Always the hero and gentleman," she teased lovingly. "And how is Anne?"
Joeri flashed her a grin at her commented, not bothering to deny it. "Doing well, I believe. I'll be meeting her later this Thursday," he commented.
"Oh, that's lovely," Vivian remarked happily. She made it to the landing and leaned heavily on Joeri's arm. Everything still ached terribly, but she was determined not to let it get the better of her.They resumed making their way to the blue room and Vivian added, "I can't wait to see the boys again."
Though he was still worried, Joeri made sure his expression was calm and patiently waited on the landing with her. When they resumed walking, he nodded in agreement. "It would be fun to see them again," he replied. "Perhaps we can arrange to meet up with all of Bertrand's family some other time."
"Once I can keep up with the rest of you again," Vivian said, making it to the blue room without a hitch and settling down into the sofa. She gave Joeri a small but bright smile and rested her head against the arm of the sofa.
Joeri picked up the book he was supposedly was reading before and replaced it on the bookshelf. When his back was still to her, he said over shoulder, "I'm thinking of going around town soon to look for a job. You'll be all right being here by yourself?"
Vivian nodded, her flaming curls falling over her face. "I think so, with Bridget here to help and Shakespeare to keep me laughing," she replied. "Where are you thinking of looking?"
"Ah, well, I'm not sure," Joeri said with a shrug going to sit next to her. "I guess I can go back to the inn again and work there until I find something else."
"The innkeeper likes you," Vivian reminded him. "He'd probably take you on again without questions."
"I know, but I think I would like an occupation that is more profitable and would provide a better future," Joeri explained, still thinking how his father might react.
Vivian nodded in agreement. "But it would be a start, wouldn't it?" she said. "Maybe somehow working at the Inn would put you in contact with some people?" She shrugged.
Joeri nodded in admittance. "Perhaps. I think I'll pay the innkeeper a visit, then, and figure things out later," he said thoughtfully.
Vivian twirled a fiery curl around her finger, tugging on it slightly. "I can't wait to get back to work...if McCann will have me back, that is," she admitted freely. "I hate being cooped up in here."
Joeri smiled over at her. "You and I are alike in that regard. But I'm pretty positive that McCann would have you back. You are one of the best stable hands, I'm sure," he commented, leaning back and letting his legs stretch out.
Shakespeare trotted into the room and, evidently having gotten used to being up on furniture with Vivian, jumped up onto the couch over her lower legs.Vivian grunted in a very unladylike manner but made no move to chastise the dog. Geoff had warned her not to allow him up onto furniture but given how things had been going in recent weeks, having a dog on the furniture half the time and his fur stuck on it the other half was a small price to pay for feeling safe.
Laying a hand on the dog's back, Joeri gave a small sigh. "Sorry, Shakespeare. I forgot to invite you," he said with a good-natured smile. Looking over at the bookshelves, Joeri commented softly, "Earlier, I had a steady income, despite my circumstances. Now, not so much. Do," he paused, "do you think Geoffrey would still want to give us his blessing to continue?"
Vivian hadn't thought about that. In all honesty, Geoffrey had been far away - physically and, seemingly also emotionally now - for some time that she found herself unable to put herself in his head the way she once could. And that small epiphany bugged her."I...I honestly don't know," she told Joeri, her voice uncertain but truthful. "I...I don't even know if he knows about what happened," Vivian added in a smaller voice.
Turning his head, Joeri looked surprised. "Really? Why is that? Don't you two exchange letters?" he asked.
"We do, but...well, I haven't written to him about it," Vivian mumbled. "Not about fighting with the twins, much less..." Absentmindedly her hand came up to touch her stomach briefly before she moved it to Shakespeare's head.
"Oh. I see." He wasn't sure what he could say and for a moment, he was quiet. Then he gave another soft sigh and ran a hand through his hair. "Can't it be near Christmas already? Then he'll be back and it'll be better to explain everything in person."
"I wouldn't want to write him about all of this simply because it's so easy for writing to be misinterpreted," Vivian said, silently trying to convince herself that it was probably that exact reason that Geoff seemed distant in his letters.
Joeri nodded, basically thinking the same thing. "It is hard to speak of such difficult things, let alone write about them," he agreed. Pausing, he asked curiously, "How has been Geoffrey doing anyway?"
"He seems to be enjoying himself in Boston," Vivian said. "He's sent me some lovely small sketches so far...I can't wait to see what he drew in the blank notebook I gave him." Briefly her eyes lit up: Geoffrey's travel notebooks were among her favourite books in the world.
He gave her a small smile. "You know they say a picture is worth a thousand words. It is nice that you get to receive both from him," Joeri replied. "Is he a talented artist?"
Vivian's green eyes went wide. "How have I never shown you any of his drawings?" she asked, more to herself than anything. She turned to look over her shoulder and pointed out a set of soft-backed books bound in dark green leather. "He drew those for me when I was a child. They're fairy tales."
Joeri looked towards the books. "I suppose you haven't. Now I'll have to take a look," he said, rising to his feet, careful to not disturb Shakespeare. Going over to the shelf, he ran a finger along their spines. "He really must care about you."
Vivian opened her mouth to say something, then shut it. The ton of bricks Bert had dropped on her the night of her incident still weighed down on her and when she thought about it she couldn't breathe. So Vivian just didn't think about it."He always has, I guess," Vivian said finally.
Peering over his shoulder, he thought he detected something in her voice. Joeri paused, then he turned to face her, his blue eyes looking puzzled. "Is there something I don't know about?" he asked eventually.
Vivian shook her head, causing her blazing curls to bounce. Then she stopped herself abruptly. She couldn't lie to him. "I...I need to talk about some things with Bert and Ben," she told Joeri. "Family things."
Joeri studied her, then gave a small shrug as he turned back to the books. "I see. I hope they'll be able to help you, then," he said, plucking one of the books from the shelf.
Vivian thought she might have heard a small prickle in Joeri's voice and she pulled her legs out from under Shakespeare's heavy, furry body to curl up in the corner of the couch."I'm not pushing you away or keeping you out," she whispered quietly.
