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The Kaylock Twins'
message 101:
by
๖ۣۜSαᴙαh, The Supreme Overload
(new)
Jul 20, 2013 06:55AM
Ben grimaced and after a minute, he asked, "Am I still to work on his case?"
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Bert had been pondering over that."If you wish, yes. If anything comes of it I will still testify for him...but just to honour the promise I made to help him, that's all." It's not for her.
Ben nodded. Alright, buddy.He sighed, rubbing his hands along his short, red hair. He had not heard from Kitara and it was starting to bother him. He knew it was not his place to be upset with her because surely she had a busy life but he had expected some kind of reply soon. Even if it was a no. She's probably already written, you fool, and the letter is on its way now.
He knew that he should care more about this whole Vivian thing, but he was still heartbroken over Iyonna and it was taking over all of his waking thoughts.
What? Who's written?Bert looked at his brother, perplexed.
"Kitara," Ben blurted out loud before he thought. Then, realizing what he did, he groaned. "I'm sorry, Bert. I... there's a lot that's been going on in my life recently that I haven't told you."
"I figured as much..."Bert leaned back in his chair. "Did you want to talk about it?" he asked quietly, his voice concerned but not demanding.
"I feel like a fool bringing it up now," Ben sighed. "It's so... insignificant compared to everything else." He stood up then, dressed only in his night bottoms, his feet and torso bare. He rubbed his short hair again. "Yes, I do. And no, I don't," he sighed.
"Maybe tonight we could retire to the cave?" Ben suggested. "I need some time to sort out my thoughts."
"Alright," Bert said with a smile, but deep inside he was quite worried for his twin. He'd noticed that Ben had been acting very strange even before all the Kaylock melodrama had happened.
Ben walked over and clasped his brother on the shoulder, wordlessly.He had nothing else to say at the moment.
***END OF SCENE***
Once the boys had been washed and dried and put to bed, and once he'd seen to Amelia as well, Bert made his way down to the private room he and Ben had claimed as their exclusive space. Ben wasn't there yet, so Bert settled down at his piano, idly picking out a ditty or two before his instincts took over and he began playing Mozart.With a start he realised it was Vivian's favourite and he slammed the piano lid shut over the keys, burying is face in his arms.
Ben walked in as Bert slammed the piano lid shut, his face grim. He said nothing, knowing it would be pointless. Instead, he poured two glasses of brandy and set one down on the piano in front of Bert.
Bert straightened up."Sorry about that," he said as he left the piano, taking his brandy with him.
"Don't be," Ben said. "It will take time."
Ben cupped the bell-shapes brandy glass in his large hand and smiled at his twin as he pushed his issues out of his mind. "So," he said quietly.
"So," Ben repeated. "What now?" he laughed. "We're both so... fucked up."
"Your turn to spill your guts," Bert told him with a small, wry smile.
Ben sighed, rubbing his short hair. "Alright." He proceeded to spill his guts, telling Bert everything from the beginning in excruciating detail of when he first met Iyonna, of every date they've had, what they did, the catastrophe at the opera and how he dealt with it and finally of her departure to Boston and of his request to Kitara to look out for her. "So I'm waiting to hear back from Kitara," he finished. He walked up to pour himself another glass of brandy, his emotions a wreck. He could practically visualize her standing right there in front of her and every time he thought about her letter, he wanted to break down. His blue eyes smartened with tears and he dug the balls of his palms into his sockets.
Bert's heart broke for Ben."I'm sorry, brother mine," he said softly, going over and putting a hand on Ben's shoulder. He's never seen Ben like this and it hurt.
"It's alright," Ben shrugged. "Like I said: insignificant in the greater scheme of things."
"No. No, it's not insignificant," Bert said firmly. "Ben, you're...you're hurting in a way I've never seen before. I'm sorry for not thinking of what you might be dealing with on your own before dumping all of my shit on you."
Ben's eyes smartened with tears again and he downed his drink. He shook his head and said, "I brought it upon myself. I could be happy right now. I could be with her.... I chose to let her go."
Bert didn't have to ask why he'd chosen to do that and he put his arm around his twin's shoulders.But why would you let it matter if you care this much?
Because I'm a Kaylock, he thought simply. And that was the truth of the matter. There was no other alternative.
"It's not so much a name as it is a death sentence," Bert muttered bitterly.
Ben nodded. "Yeah."He felt horribly deflated.
Bert took another sip of brandy and ran his free hand over his face."I don't think you need to worry about Kitara's answer," he said a moment later. "I daresay she'd help you out, because she seems that sort of person."
He gave Ben an encouraging pat on the shoulder. "And I'm always here for you, Ben," Bert added quietly. "I've always got your back."
"I know, buddy," Ben gave his brother a grin. "You're right about Kitara. I think so too. Even though you caught on that I was worried about her replying," he chuckled.
"And...don't give up just yet," Ben added after a moment. "You never know...it could very well work out in a way that will be...favourable." He smiled encouragingly.
Ben smiled. Then he added sheepishly, "I'm sorry you were the... second to know, Bert."
Bert waved it away. "Don't worry about it, Ben. I don't have all the answers sometimes, you know."He grinned and gave Ben a fraternal squeeze around the shoulders.
"Just don't be afraid to come talk to me when you need to vent," he said.
"Thanks, buddy," Ben grinned.He hugged his brother.
Bert hugged Ben tightly, feeling relieved that he and Ben were all on the same page once more with everything. As they stood there, Vivian was completely out of his mind. He didn't even think once about her, let alone bother to inform his twin that she was now an engaged person. Because at that moment, the only sibling who mattered anything all to Bertrand was Ben.
***END OF SCENE***
The days since Vivian's departure turned into weeks, and towards the end of August, Bertrand came down for breakfast one morning ahead of the family - as he usually did, now that he had officially taken up his post at the Courts - to find a package sitting on the table next to his plate. As he poured himself tea and helped himself to toast, he regarded the paper-wrapped parcel curiously.It had been delivered by hand, as there was no address on it. When he had finished his toast Bertrand decided he couldn't take the suspense anymore and opened it. There was a dark blue box inside that Bertrand recognised immediately as being from the jeweller's shop that the Kaylock family used almost exclusively, and with a heavy heart he lifted off the lid.
The silver-and-pearl comb he had given Vivian for her birthday lay inside on the black silk interior. If he had not seen her wearing it on her birthday Bertrand wouldn't have been able to tell if she'd ever worn it it - there was nothing to indicate its one-time use, not even a strand of red hair caught somewhere on it.
Bertrand lifted it up and turned it over in his fingers, a lump forming in his throat. He set it down on the table and looked back again at the box and lid, unsure what he was looking for until he actually saw it: a cream-coloured card folded in half, stuck to the inside of the lid. He peeled it off and unfolded it.
In her elegant, slanting hand, written in the dark green ink she'd used ever since she was old enough to have her own stationary, only a few lines were written:
"This above all - to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as night follows day, thou canst not then be false to any man."
There was nothing else and as the hot tears pricked his eyes Bertrand literally tore the box apart, looking for something - anything else. There was nothing. He sat at the table with his head in his hands, his blood roaring in his ears, unwilling to let the tears fall.
Suddenly no longer able to eat, he gathered up the debris littered around his place at the table as well as the comb. He put the torn packaging and wrapping paper into the rubbish bin in his study as he gathered up his things for work, leaving the comb and the card in his desk drawer.
Bertrand took one last look at the card before shutting and locking his desk. He knew what she was trying to say, and wished she had used her own words. But he knew his sister's ways, and knew that she wasn't trying to defend herself or justify what she had done.
She was telling him that she understood why he had done and said everything that night.
But you don't, Vivian. You don't.
He left for work early, for the walls felt like they were closing in.
***END OF SCENE***
His head raging with an intense headache, Bert raised his gaze from the paperwork on his desk when Amelia stormed into his study, a little over an hour late. He looked at her, concerned at her tardiness. "Is everything alright? What kept you?""Freja threw a shoe in town and I had to stop by the stables to get her shod," Amelia replied, crossing over to his side of the desk. Bert went to put his arm around her waist, expecting a kiss from his wife. What he was not expecting was the smack upside the head that she gave him.
"What the..."
Amelia went back the way she came and shut the door before striding over and placing her hands on the edge of Bert's desk, facing him from the other side.
"Three guesses where I went, and three more who I ran into," she challenged.
"Oh, Jesus, Amelia..." Bert leaned back his chair, a hand over his face.
"That's right." Amelia straightened up and looked at her husband, more annoyed with him than she'd ever been since she'd first met him. And that included when he, the rising star of the medical program at his alma mater, had dropped their firstborn the first time holding Timmy.
"I am putting my foot down on this melodrama," Amelia said. "I am three months along and I will not let any of you blood-born Kaylocks stress me out anymore. You, Ben, and Vivian - for heaven's sake, Bert! You're the oldest of the younger three, and those two look up to you! Ben is loyal to you and Vivian needs both of you, don't you see? Do something already!"
Bertrand massaged his temple, sighing. "Amelia, I already told you -"
"No. You did not tell me any good reason for this pettiness," Amelia snapped. "There is no reason, no excuse for this. I'm not saying that what she did was right, but I'm also not saying that how you reacted was right, either. You're both wrong, but you're both still family. So get the hell over yourselves, and do something to give me some peace of mind while I carry your third child into this world!"
She slammed one pale, elegant fist on his desk before staring at him long and hard. Finally she left, leaving her husband with his thoughts and headache.
***END OF SCENE***
Bert had, for the last day or two, treaded carefully around his wife. He did not want to upset her further for any reason and had been very attentive and loving towards her. But between work and home and his family Bert had far too much on his plate already to think about heaping any more onto it. Sitting now in the man-cave, Bert plucked out a ditty on the piano before playing a simple tune.
"Hey, Ben," he said without turning around.
"You're still up, old boy?" Ben asked as he strolled in after bidding Melody goodnight and hailing a coach home. He had his hands in his trousers pocket after tossing his jacket and tie somewhere on the hall floor.
"Can't sleep," Bertrand admitted, his fingers lighter on the keys of his piano so that he could play background music to their conversation. He wasn't even really sure what time it was."Did you go to the old pub, then?" he asked his twin.
"I did," Ben chuckled as he plopped down on one of the couches. "Had a good ol' time too. I will never tire of that place. What's the matter?" he asked then as he reached for the brandy and a tumbler. "Amelia giving you a hard time still?"
"She hasn't brought anything up - vocally," Bert sighed, reaching the end of the piece he'd been playing. He shut the piano lid and turned around, swinging his legs up over the bench before leaning his elbows on the closed instrument. "But every time we've got a quiet moment she looks at me and I can feel her giving me a hard time."
"And you won't do what she wants?" he asked plainly.
Bert sighed. "I...I want to," he admitted lamely, "but it's...hard." He shrugged helplessly.
Ben nodded. "I know," he replied loyally.
Bert ran a freckled hand over his short red hair, shrugging helplessly. "Amelia did add salt to the wound after dinner," he said quietly, "saying that she looked thin and tired. As if that helps."
Ben didn't say anything. He sipped his brandy and waited for Bert to continue. It was ultimately his decision.
"I don't know what to do, Ben," Bert said sadly, getting to his feet to go to the liquor cabinet and pour himself a glass of whiskey.
"So go and see her," Ben told him. "It's what you want to do--it's what you will do eventually. So just do it now."
"And say what?" Bert asked in a defeatist tone.
