Chapter 8
Remington
Politics and Ponderings
“I dare say, Lady Eva, I’m afraid I’ve run out of crumpets,” I said, voice pitched a little higher as I lifted the micro-plate set in front of me.
“Goodness me. What a travesty,” Eva declared, pressing the back of her hand against her forehead. “I have failed as a host.”
“No, you’re an excellent host,” Miss Belle Savannah Caroline Scarlett Genevieve the Third insisted in a much higher tone than mine and definitely wasn’t just my youngest daughter pretending to speak for her. “The best in all the land!”
How the doll spoke with no head, I wasn’t sure.
But every time I broached the subject of possibly fixing it or getting a new one, Eva would insist that Miss Belle Savannah Caroline Scarlett Genevieve the Third (always said fully and never abbreviated) was just fine and that the doll preferred being that way.
Who was I to argue? If there was one thing I had learned in the past four years since Eva became more verbal, it was that her toys lived a complex and ever-changing life full of political intrigue and scandal.
“You know,” I reminded gently, looking to the empty doll chair to my right. “Mr. Tropolopicus also loved your hosting and your scones.”
Eva let out a long-suffering sigh. “If only he hadn’t been exposed for tax evasion. He’d probably still be king of all the stuffies.”
I looked to the worn giraffe toy, whose head peeked out from the closet he’d been banished to. “Alas,” I agreed. “He always was a gracious ruler.”
“Indeed.”
I didn’t know where my daughter had picked up her fancy-time talk, but it was pretty cute to hear her try to put on an old-timey British affectation along with her light dusting of Southern and Creole accents. While she wasn’t the biggest talker, she came alive whenever she put on a character.
“At least he’s not residing in the death pit.”
Eva nodded in a way that reminded me so much of her sister, who was lounging on the couch, reading an age-appropriate retelling of Scheherazade. Although they were two very different souls, it always tickled me when their mannerisms lined up.
“The death pit is eternal.”
I glanced over to the laundry basket in question, which was full of citizens of Toyland that had somehow violated the law or otherwise run amok of whatever social conventions my daughter decided existed that day.
“Now, about those crumpets…?”
“Oh my lanta! How could I have forgotten?”
She stood and went over to the kitchen playset I’d gotten Addy when she was younger. While my eldest was never super interested in it, Eva loved it. She still liked to incorporate it in her playtime even though she was supposed to be “too old” for it now.
I didn’t pay attention to that “too old and too young” bullshit once kids were past the phase of putting choking hazards into their mouths.
If Eva wanted to have tea parties with water and the Oreos she had in the oven of her playset, then that was fine by me.
And if Addy wanted to read books that were meant for eighth graders, why stop her?
As long as nothing was actively harmful, I wasn’t going to prevent my kids from getting joy out of the things that brought them said joy.
As she returned with my sweet treat, my phone rang on the floor beside me. Normally it was always on silent, but I had a few emergency numbers that always came through at full volume.
It was my sister-in-law, Ana. Fearing the worst, I answered quickly. “Hello?”
“Hey there, Remy! Long time no talk!”
Her tone told me the call wasn’t dire, which was a relief.
“Yeah, it’s been a while, is everything okay?”
“Yessirridee, everything’s copacetic, but I just wanted to touch base with you. You got a minute?”
“Yeah, I do. Gimme one second,” I said before I returned my attention to my daughter. “Do you mind if I take this?”
“Go ahead, Daddy. Me and the girls have a lot to discuss anyway.”
“I’m sure you do.”
“Oh, but before you go, could you please invite darlingestest Meat to the tea party in your stead?”
“Meat?” I murmured, racking my brain for who that was. I tried to stay mostly on top of the biggest players in my daughter’s world, but I was stumped on that one.
“Yeah, you know Meat. Addy won him for me at the school fair last year.”
Jeez, that was a deep dive into my memory banks for a moment, but then it finally hit. “Are you talking about the chick stuffie with the blue hat?”
“Yeah! Meat!”
“Right. I’ll go invite him.”
I got up and went to find the toy in question. It took me a minute, and I made sure to invite him with lots of loud, exaggerated language, then put him in my spot before I headed to the office.
“All right,” I said as I closed the door. “I have a bit of privacy. Eva is playing, and Addy is reading.”
“Quick question; is Addy ever not reading?” Ana asked.
“Sometimes she takes breaks to plan world domination or teach us a new word.”
“I know a boss bish when I see one. But anyway, I just wanted to touch base with you about some stuff.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah!”
The conversation stalled, which made my curiosity switch back over to anxiety. She had something to say that she didn’t want to say.
“Was that it?”
“Huh? Oh, uhm. Nah, just findin’ my words. If I recall right, y’all are coming to the big ol’ holiday jamboree, right?”
“Sure am. Made sure to RSVP early enough so the girls and I could get our cabin.”
“That’s awesome. I always make sure to get one of those. I’d love a camper like Annabelle and her hubs bring, but I just can’t justify it when we’d only use it twice a year and the kids would outgrow it lickety-split!”
“Same here. But Annabelle only has one cub so it makes sense for her.”
“Yeah, it do, it do. But anyway, enough beating around the bush, I suppose. Why I’m calling is because I know everyone’s been missing you and wants to connect, but I wanted to make sure you were really up for this and hadn’t been pressured out of obligation.
I know our elders mean well, but sometimes they can be a little… well, ya know.”
I did, but I didn’t say as much.
“No judgment either way, but if you need a break or more time to heal, I can come up with a cover story. I just wanna make sure you’re not being pushed into doing anything you’re not ready for, ya know?”
I’d really lucked out with my community and support system.
Technically, my sister-in-law and I weren’t related at all anymore.
Her sister had died, eliminating my bridge into her direct family, but no one would know it by the way she still talked to me, still checked in.
I truly felt cared for even if sometimes I didn’t feel like I deserved it.
“Thank you for double-checking, Ana, but even though I’m nervous, I’m sure I want to go. It’s time. Besides, the girls are practically beside themselves with excitement.”
“Really? You wanna go?” I could hear her hoping against hope in her voice.
“I promise I do.”
“Hell yeah! Maybe our cabins will be close together. My littlest has been asking if she’ll see Addy this year so she’s gonna be thrilled when I tell her y’all are gonna be there.”
“Really?” I murmured. “I hadn’t realized they’d made that much of a connection.”
“I think they interacted at the funeral more than they did two Christmases ago, and apparently that made an impression on Valencia. At least, if I had to guess. You know Valencia isn’t much for explanations.”
“I do indeed.” Like Eva, Valencia wasn’t much of a talker, but her case was more extreme.
She had been diagnosed with selective mutism as a child.
Valencia had come a long way since then, but still, I was pretty sure I could count the amount of times I’d talked to her on a single hand.
“I’m glad to know that they were able to bond a bit.
Those weren’t exactly the easiest times. ”
“No, they were not,” Ana said with a sigh. “But if that was the price we had to pay for the time we had with my sister, I’d gladly pay it over and over again.”
“So would I.” I meant that right down to my soul. Although losing my wife had been agony, the pain was worth it for all the joy, love, and healing we’d experienced together. Our story was so much shorter than I had wanted, but I would forever be grateful that it existed.
“Hey, this might not be any of my business, but I still see you as my brother, so I want to remind you of something that my sister very much made known.”
“Oh?”
I didn’t think there was anything she could tell me about Zara that I didn’t know already, but then again, sibling bonds were a lot different than matrimonial bonds, so who knew?
“I don’t know why, but recently it’s been put upon my heart to remind you that Zara wanted you to be happy. She knew you had so much life left to live, and she always bragged about how big your heart is and how you feel things so deeply. She never wanted you to wallow.”
Huh.
My heart lurched a little, and the superstitious part of my mind reared forward. Had Zara sensed my emotional infidelity from the grave and sent her sister to warn me? That… didn’t really sound like my wife’s style, but the sliver of guilt in me sure agreed with that sentiment.
Not to mention that thirsting over a human woman whose son was in recovery from a near-lethal illness was borderline creepy. And while I could be a lot of things, creepy was not one of them.
“Why bring that up now?” I asked curiously. Part of me wondered if I should be offended, but mostly I was just puzzled as to why the impulse was big enough for her to call me out of the blue.
“I honestly can’t say. Maybe it was born out of me worrying about you coming to the jamboree too soon.
Maybe I’m just a worrywart in general! It’s been on my mind a lot, and I wanted to make sure you remember that.
A lot was going on around that time, and I can’t imagine the pain of losing a spouse, so I wouldn’t blame you if you’d forgotten. ”
“I hadn’t forgotten,” I said, although if I was entirely truthful with myself, I did remember that particular statement a bit differently. “But thank you for checking in on me. For checking in on us. It really does mean a lot, Ana.”
“No problem. Remember, we’re family. No matter what has happened, Zara chose you, and you’ll always be a brother to me.”
Maybe I really was sensitive, but it seemed like lately those around me really knew exactly what to say to cut through all my defenses and touch me deep in my heart.
“Thank you, Ana, really.”
“Don’t you worry that big noggin of yours about it. Family is as family does. Now, I’d love to stay and chat a bit longer, but I do gotta run. Unless there’s anything else you wanted to talk about before we see each other for Christmas?”
“No, I think I’m good for the moment. I’ll see you soon.”
“I’ll see you soon,” she echoed. “Be safe now, y’all.”
“Will do, and you too.”
With that she hung up, and I was left sitting there alone in my office, mind suddenly very full. Well, wasn’t that interesting?