Chapter 29 Cam W — The implosion #2
“Yeah, well, don’t worry. Babies aren’t an issue now are they darling?” She turned to Seamus, who had by now realized that this had gone beyond the standard Bard sister drama. “Jules …” he began, touching her arm.
“Fuck off!” she spat back. “And don’t sit there like you’re perfect, Cordy.
You are the opposite of Miranda, but just as problematic.
You have an issue in life, and you hide under Miranda’s skirts, asking her to do the dirty work of fixing things.
Miranda’s a catastrophic drama magnet and you’re a fucking indecisive doormat and I’m sick of being the reliable, patient one. ”
“Hey,” Damon interjected angrily. “That’s enough.”
“I never asked Miranda to do shit,” Cordy seethed at her older sister.
“She took on Harrison because she wanted to, and because it made me feel better. That’s what she does when she loves someone.
It was more fucking helpful than your standard matronly act of constantly telling us all to grow up and move on!
You’ve been an old lady since you were 12.
You should thank us for making your life less beige.
I mean you married an accountant for fuck’s sake. ”
“Hey,” Seamus said, looking wounded.
“Enough!” boomed Theo. “Enough. The last time I let you all run a conversation like this without guardrails, we ended up with a ‘peace llama’ in the living room.” He made quotation marks with his fingers.
“It was a baby goat, Dad,” Cordy said quietly. “And we found little Bodhi a good home.” Leah nodded sagely in agreement. I guess I could see which parent passed on the crazy gene. Juliet stood in her seat, wiping angry tears from her eyes.
“Juliet,” Seamus warned, low.
“Don’t ‘Juliet’ me.” She didn’t look at him; she looked at Miranda and shook her head.
“I’m the reasonable one and as usual, you two gang up against me.
I either go quietly and willingly into your messes, or you leave me out completely.
Well, I’m done. Fester in your own dramas.
‘Thank’ him again and kill him, Miranda, but I won’t be there to pick up the pieces. ”
“That’s rich. You two always ganged up on me,” Miranda shot back.
“Why can’t Miranda be more responsible like Juliet?
Why can’t Miranda be as stable as Cordelia?
Oh, Cordelia bought a home.” She mimicked Leah’s voice.
“Too bad it was with an asshole, and I was the one picking up the pieces. And where the fuck were you, Jules? Working a million hours a week as usual.”
Furious that Miranda had turned against her, Cordy stood angrily. “Sorry I couldn’t foresee my boyfriend fucking a teen chipmunk in our house! At least Harrison knew that Grandad was dead.”
Theo rubbed his temples and stared hopelessly at Leah, who quietly said “Girls!”
Juliet stormed out with Seamus close on her heels with the car keys. “Leah, Theo … everyone … I’m sorry. It’ll be okay.” He left quietly.
Cordy and Miranda glared at each other, but while Cordy looked the picture of fury, Miranda appeared about ready to break.
She turned to me. “I’m sorry,” she said in a small voice, the words barely making it out.
“For the drink. The step. The kite. For all of it. I wanted to say thank you without blowing your secret. Which is dumb, and I’m—” She faltered, palms open, like she could catch the confession if it fell out of her.
“I am catastrophic. I fuck everything up.”
I held her gaze. “No, you don’t,” I said quietly. “Don’t hide. Just sit with me. Eat some healthy potatoes.” Leah, while obviously upset, nodded, determined to get rid of the unbuttered potatoes.
Miranda shook her head, pushed her seat back, and left the house with a quiet close of the door. Cordy huffed and sat straighter in her chair. “Well, I can hardly storm out of my own house, but if anyone needs to criticize me further, I’ll be in my room.” Damon followed close behind her.
Lucy pulled a ‘yikes’ face and offered to help Leah and Theo clean up, which they gratefully accepted.
While we moved about cleaning, Lucy prattled on about some new lip stain, with Leah responding politely as though World War III hadn’t just erupted.
Theo worked in silence, scraping plates and putting away leftovers.
As I left, Leah patted my arm. “Sorry about all the injuries, Cam. Don’t let tonight scare you off,” she said in that soft-but-earnest tone only mothers seem to manage.
“We haven’t had a fight like that in at least a year.
And at least this one didn’t damage the inflatable Santa again.
Gosh, we’ve gone through a few of those.
Or the slow cooker, so we’re definitely improving. ”
I nodded blankly, trying to imagine what sequence of human decisions could involve damage to both a Christmas decoration and kitchen appliance. And why was Santa repeatedly made into collateral damage?
“Miranda … she’s unpredictable, yes, but she makes life brighter in ways you don’t always see straight away. She’ll make you laugh when you least expect it, and if she loves you, she’ll stand beside you through anything. Loyalty is her backbone, even if her methods are … unconventional.”
She gave me a small smile, half weary, half hopeful. “You deserve someone loving, Cameron. But loving doesn’t always mean safe. With her, you’ll never be bored, and you’ll never be unloved.”
Amen. I couldn’t think of a happier future.