Post by Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford on Jan 27, 2008 21:22:34 GMT
The phone rang once, before Madeleine quickly pressed the end call button.
Nope, she didn’t feel ready to do this.
Should she be this nervous? It was just phoning her parents to tell them the news – it wasn’t as though there was something that she’d get into trouble for. She hadn’t been suspended, she hadn’t been smoking or drinking, she wasn’t pregnant.
She was just engaged.
Just.
Of course, she couldn't wait to tell them, but it was potentially explosive news, and Madeleine wasn’t exactly sure how her parents would react. Her dad… well, her dad was bound not to be pleased about it – although, Madeleine knew that, contrary to what Lee thought, her dad actually liked him. Still, he wasn’t exactly going to be happy about her getting married to him, especially at fifteen. She was foreseeing shouting, possible risk of a heart attack…
Her mum’s reaction would be more temperate. At first, she'd protest, saying that they were too young to make that kind of commitment, that they should wait a few years before making that commitment - really, the things that everybody was going to say to them.
Madeleine was sure that after the initial shock, her mum would be supportive of them - under the condition that there were no kids until school was over.
Which was totally fine by her.
She hit the first few numbers of her mum's phone number, before cancelling them out again.
It shouldn't be this nerve-wracking - and she'd have much preferred to tell them in person, or with Lee beside her. But they were at the other end of the country, and she'd decided that it would be best if Lee wasn't there to hear the possible explosion coming from the other end of the phone.
It would also be so much easier if she knew that Shaun was at the other end of the phone. Because she knew that Shaun would like Lee - and Shaun wouldn't try and convince her that she was making a mistake. Shaun would be thrilled. And if Shaun was still alive, he would have married Cecelia already. And that would have made him qualified to explain to their parents that it was going to work.
Madeleine was just going to do her best to explain that she was making the right choice.
Hopefully it would work.
She finally dialled the full number, and let it ring.
Her mum picked up on the fourth ring. "Hello?" her soft, familiar voice spoke.
"Hi, Mum," replied Madeleine, already apprehensive.
Rhiannon answered immediately, in an anxious tone. "Madeleine? Is everything okay? You don't usually-"
"Oh no, don't worry, I'm fine. I just have some news."
"Yes?"
The words made her smile. "Lee's memory came back."
There was a pause, then a released breath. "Oh, thank goodness. How is he?"
"He's... he's great. Really... really great."
"And are you two...?"
"Yes, we ... we are."
"That's wonderful, Madeleine."
And that's not even the best bit...
"Yeah, it is," she answered honestly. "But... I have a bit more news. Good news. Well... fantastic news, really."
She could almost see her mother's expectant expression as she said, "Which is?"
Madeleine sighed. "There's no way you can get up here in the next few days, is there?"
"No," she answered slightly suspiciously. "Why?"
"Because... well, I really want to tell you this in person..."
Another pause. "Please tell me that you're not pregnant."
Madeleine laughed. "No, nothing like that! I said good news."
"Well, spit it out then."
She took a deep breath.
Here goes...
"Lee asked me to marry him."
The pause was much longer this time, before her mum eventually replied. "And you said?"
Madeleine rolled her eyes, thankful that her mum couldn't see. "I said yes. We'll not be getting married for a few years, but I didn't see the point in waiting-"
"Please tell me you're joking."
She recoiled immediately from her mum's tone. Harsh, hostile, it was something Madeleine had never heard coming from her mother's lips.
"Well, no, I'm not joking, it's hardly something to joke-"
"Madeleine Baudelaire, are you stupid?!
Madeleine jumped, startled at the venom with which these words were spat.
"You are far too young to be engaged! You are still at school, you are fifteen years old-"
"Mum, be fair, I'm almost sixteen-"
"You are still too young! For God's sake Madeleine, I thought you had a bit of wit about you - you cannot get married at your age; you barely understand what the word means! You cannot possibly decide who you are spending your entire life, especially to a boy you've only known for - what, six months!"
"I love him, mum," she interrupted quietly.
"You don't know the meaning of the word," was snarled down the phone.
A white haze of rage settled over Madeleine at that. Oh, so she wasn't in love, was she? She'd been driving herself to the breaking point over a mere crush? She'd come back from the dead because of an infatuation, had she?
"No mum, I know exactly what it means. I love him - you know that."
"You're fifteen-"
"Stop saying that!! Madeleine cried. "I'm old enough to decide-"
"No you are not!" her mother shouted. "You are not old enough; you are not an adult! Have you even thought about this seriously-"
"Neither was Shaun, did you talk to him like this?"
That was followed by a low hiss. "Don't you dare talk to me about your brother, young lady."
"He's my brother," Madeleine growled. "I have every right to talk about him."
"It's completely irrelevant."
"No, it's not! It is perfectly relevant-"
"Have you thought about what marriage means? That means you will be spending your entire life with him - your life hasn't even started yet! And what about careers, children-"
"Well, at least he's marrying me before he gets me pregnant," snapped Madeleine.
This was insane - her mum would never react like this! Rhiannon Baudelaire was calm, quiet, soft. Madeleine hadn't expected this...
There was a silence.
"Don't you dare speak to me like that," her mum answered, her voice strained, sounding close to breaking point. "I am your mother."
"I thought you would be supportive."
"Don't be ridiculous," Rhiannon snapped. "You can't get engaged at your age. You need my permission-"
"Actually, I don't. I need your permission to get married, until March, anyway. I don't need it to pledge myself," Madeleine said quietly. "I would really, really love for you to support me here, Mum. But with or without your 'permission', I'm doing it anyway."
Another silence.
"That's it," her mum said, her voice close to tears. "You can talk to your father about this."
"No, Mum-"
But she was already gone, leaving Madeleine cursing, close to tears herself.
Behind the phone line, she could hear the raised voice of her mum, with the deep mumble of her dad's.
He eventually came on the line.
"Alright, Madeleine, what's just happened?"
"Well, Lee's memory is back," Madeleine started angrily. "He proposed, I said yes and I phoned wanting to share the good news with you, but apparently-"
“Okay, stop.”
Her dad’s deep, calm, reassuring voice stopped her in her tracks, and would have done even without the words it had spoken.
“Wait… you’re not mad?”
“What? No, I’m not mad – just go over this, from the start, okay?”
Thankfully, he kept silent as she recounted the events of the last 19 hours, listening intently.
“… everything, Dad, I told him everything, and he didn’t care about any of it. You know how much that means,” Madeleine finished quietly.
“Did you tell all of this to your mum?”
“I didn’t get a chance,” she said bitterly.
He didn’t reply for a second. “She’s a bit upset.”
“I know,” she responded. “I just… I hoped that you’d be happy.”
“I am,” he said. “You’re just a little too young-”
“I know,” Madeleine interrupted, rolling her eyes. “I know. Mum made that crystal clear. But I … I love him, Dad. And I know he loves me too. Were you honestly not able to tell that?”
Stephen Baudelaire exhaled a long sigh before he exhaled. “Yes, I was able to tell that. And believe it or not, so was your mum. If you’d seen yourself over Christmas…”
Madeleine suddenly felt uncomfortable. She knew she’d been bad, but…
“Are you sure this is what you want?”
She nodded, even though she knew that he couldn’t see her. “More than sure.”
“And you know what it mean-“
“Yes, I do know,” she responded, rolling her eyes again. “I know. And I really, really want this.”
“Well, then I’m happy for you,” her dad said softly. “And so is your mum… she’s just a bit shocked, I think.”
Madeleine snorted. “Really?”
“I’ll talk to her,” he promised. “Okay?”
She paused before answering. “Okay,” she replied weakly. “Do you think she’ll come around?”
“She will,” he said confidently. “It’s just a shock. And after Shaun and Cecelia-”
Her voice was even smaller this time. “What do they have to do with this?”
Her dad’s voice was soft this time. “Cecelia killed herself after Shaun died.”
“Yes…?”
“If something happens to Lee… can we be sure you’ll stay behind?”
And that silenced her.
Because… if something did happen to Lee… if Lee – and her mind flinched away from the thought – died… would she be able to keep going? She’d almost lost any grip on herself or reality when his memory was taken, if he died…
Madeleine swallowed before she answered. “I can’t… I don’t know how to answer that, Dad-”
“Exactly-”
“-but I’m going to ask you a question. If you didn’t have me, and something happened to Mum – would you stay behind?”
“Irrelevant,” her dad said. “You’re young; you’ve got your life ahead-”
“Of me? Yes, I know. And I know I want to spend every minute of the rest of my life with Lee. All of it,” she cried, failing in keeping a quaver from her voice. “I’ve got years ahead of me, and I know what I want. I know what I need. I don’t want to waste time. We’re in a war, either one of us could be killed at any second.”
Another pause.
A long one.
“Well,” her dad said finally, his voice breaking slightly. “Congratulations, then.”
Madeleine sighed, relieved, her face relaxing into her smile. “Thank you, Dad. You’ve no idea what that means.”
“I think I do,” he chuckled. “God, you’re getting married.”
Hearing the phrase come from her father’s lips just confirmed it – and doubled the excitement.
“I’m getting married,” she giggled.
“I thought I’d have another ten years or so to wait for this,” he said, in a tone of mock gloom. “My baby girl’s grown up too fast.”
Madeleine laughed, suddenly a lot more optimistic. “No, she’s still your baby girl, daddy... you’re just going to have to share her now, is all.”
Nope, she didn’t feel ready to do this.
Should she be this nervous? It was just phoning her parents to tell them the news – it wasn’t as though there was something that she’d get into trouble for. She hadn’t been suspended, she hadn’t been smoking or drinking, she wasn’t pregnant.
She was just engaged.
Just.
Of course, she couldn't wait to tell them, but it was potentially explosive news, and Madeleine wasn’t exactly sure how her parents would react. Her dad… well, her dad was bound not to be pleased about it – although, Madeleine knew that, contrary to what Lee thought, her dad actually liked him. Still, he wasn’t exactly going to be happy about her getting married to him, especially at fifteen. She was foreseeing shouting, possible risk of a heart attack…
Her mum’s reaction would be more temperate. At first, she'd protest, saying that they were too young to make that kind of commitment, that they should wait a few years before making that commitment - really, the things that everybody was going to say to them.
Madeleine was sure that after the initial shock, her mum would be supportive of them - under the condition that there were no kids until school was over.
Which was totally fine by her.
She hit the first few numbers of her mum's phone number, before cancelling them out again.
It shouldn't be this nerve-wracking - and she'd have much preferred to tell them in person, or with Lee beside her. But they were at the other end of the country, and she'd decided that it would be best if Lee wasn't there to hear the possible explosion coming from the other end of the phone.
It would also be so much easier if she knew that Shaun was at the other end of the phone. Because she knew that Shaun would like Lee - and Shaun wouldn't try and convince her that she was making a mistake. Shaun would be thrilled. And if Shaun was still alive, he would have married Cecelia already. And that would have made him qualified to explain to their parents that it was going to work.
Madeleine was just going to do her best to explain that she was making the right choice.
Hopefully it would work.
She finally dialled the full number, and let it ring.
Her mum picked up on the fourth ring. "Hello?" her soft, familiar voice spoke.
"Hi, Mum," replied Madeleine, already apprehensive.
Rhiannon answered immediately, in an anxious tone. "Madeleine? Is everything okay? You don't usually-"
"Oh no, don't worry, I'm fine. I just have some news."
"Yes?"
The words made her smile. "Lee's memory came back."
There was a pause, then a released breath. "Oh, thank goodness. How is he?"
"He's... he's great. Really... really great."
"And are you two...?"
"Yes, we ... we are."
"That's wonderful, Madeleine."
And that's not even the best bit...
"Yeah, it is," she answered honestly. "But... I have a bit more news. Good news. Well... fantastic news, really."
She could almost see her mother's expectant expression as she said, "Which is?"
Madeleine sighed. "There's no way you can get up here in the next few days, is there?"
"No," she answered slightly suspiciously. "Why?"
"Because... well, I really want to tell you this in person..."
Another pause. "Please tell me that you're not pregnant."
Madeleine laughed. "No, nothing like that! I said good news."
"Well, spit it out then."
She took a deep breath.
Here goes...
"Lee asked me to marry him."
The pause was much longer this time, before her mum eventually replied. "And you said?"
Madeleine rolled her eyes, thankful that her mum couldn't see. "I said yes. We'll not be getting married for a few years, but I didn't see the point in waiting-"
"Please tell me you're joking."
She recoiled immediately from her mum's tone. Harsh, hostile, it was something Madeleine had never heard coming from her mother's lips.
"Well, no, I'm not joking, it's hardly something to joke-"
"Madeleine Baudelaire, are you stupid?!
Madeleine jumped, startled at the venom with which these words were spat.
"You are far too young to be engaged! You are still at school, you are fifteen years old-"
"Mum, be fair, I'm almost sixteen-"
"You are still too young! For God's sake Madeleine, I thought you had a bit of wit about you - you cannot get married at your age; you barely understand what the word means! You cannot possibly decide who you are spending your entire life, especially to a boy you've only known for - what, six months!"
"I love him, mum," she interrupted quietly.
"You don't know the meaning of the word," was snarled down the phone.
A white haze of rage settled over Madeleine at that. Oh, so she wasn't in love, was she? She'd been driving herself to the breaking point over a mere crush? She'd come back from the dead because of an infatuation, had she?
"No mum, I know exactly what it means. I love him - you know that."
"You're fifteen-"
"Stop saying that!! Madeleine cried. "I'm old enough to decide-"
"No you are not!" her mother shouted. "You are not old enough; you are not an adult! Have you even thought about this seriously-"
"Neither was Shaun, did you talk to him like this?"
That was followed by a low hiss. "Don't you dare talk to me about your brother, young lady."
"He's my brother," Madeleine growled. "I have every right to talk about him."
"It's completely irrelevant."
"No, it's not! It is perfectly relevant-"
"Have you thought about what marriage means? That means you will be spending your entire life with him - your life hasn't even started yet! And what about careers, children-"
"Well, at least he's marrying me before he gets me pregnant," snapped Madeleine.
This was insane - her mum would never react like this! Rhiannon Baudelaire was calm, quiet, soft. Madeleine hadn't expected this...
There was a silence.
"Don't you dare speak to me like that," her mum answered, her voice strained, sounding close to breaking point. "I am your mother."
"I thought you would be supportive."
"Don't be ridiculous," Rhiannon snapped. "You can't get engaged at your age. You need my permission-"
"Actually, I don't. I need your permission to get married, until March, anyway. I don't need it to pledge myself," Madeleine said quietly. "I would really, really love for you to support me here, Mum. But with or without your 'permission', I'm doing it anyway."
Another silence.
"That's it," her mum said, her voice close to tears. "You can talk to your father about this."
"No, Mum-"
But she was already gone, leaving Madeleine cursing, close to tears herself.
Behind the phone line, she could hear the raised voice of her mum, with the deep mumble of her dad's.
He eventually came on the line.
"Alright, Madeleine, what's just happened?"
"Well, Lee's memory is back," Madeleine started angrily. "He proposed, I said yes and I phoned wanting to share the good news with you, but apparently-"
“Okay, stop.”
Her dad’s deep, calm, reassuring voice stopped her in her tracks, and would have done even without the words it had spoken.
“Wait… you’re not mad?”
“What? No, I’m not mad – just go over this, from the start, okay?”
Thankfully, he kept silent as she recounted the events of the last 19 hours, listening intently.
“… everything, Dad, I told him everything, and he didn’t care about any of it. You know how much that means,” Madeleine finished quietly.
“Did you tell all of this to your mum?”
“I didn’t get a chance,” she said bitterly.
He didn’t reply for a second. “She’s a bit upset.”
“I know,” she responded. “I just… I hoped that you’d be happy.”
“I am,” he said. “You’re just a little too young-”
“I know,” Madeleine interrupted, rolling her eyes. “I know. Mum made that crystal clear. But I … I love him, Dad. And I know he loves me too. Were you honestly not able to tell that?”
Stephen Baudelaire exhaled a long sigh before he exhaled. “Yes, I was able to tell that. And believe it or not, so was your mum. If you’d seen yourself over Christmas…”
Madeleine suddenly felt uncomfortable. She knew she’d been bad, but…
“Are you sure this is what you want?”
She nodded, even though she knew that he couldn’t see her. “More than sure.”
“And you know what it mean-“
“Yes, I do know,” she responded, rolling her eyes again. “I know. And I really, really want this.”
“Well, then I’m happy for you,” her dad said softly. “And so is your mum… she’s just a bit shocked, I think.”
Madeleine snorted. “Really?”
“I’ll talk to her,” he promised. “Okay?”
She paused before answering. “Okay,” she replied weakly. “Do you think she’ll come around?”
“She will,” he said confidently. “It’s just a shock. And after Shaun and Cecelia-”
Her voice was even smaller this time. “What do they have to do with this?”
Her dad’s voice was soft this time. “Cecelia killed herself after Shaun died.”
“Yes…?”
“If something happens to Lee… can we be sure you’ll stay behind?”
And that silenced her.
Because… if something did happen to Lee… if Lee – and her mind flinched away from the thought – died… would she be able to keep going? She’d almost lost any grip on herself or reality when his memory was taken, if he died…
Madeleine swallowed before she answered. “I can’t… I don’t know how to answer that, Dad-”
“Exactly-”
“-but I’m going to ask you a question. If you didn’t have me, and something happened to Mum – would you stay behind?”
“Irrelevant,” her dad said. “You’re young; you’ve got your life ahead-”
“Of me? Yes, I know. And I know I want to spend every minute of the rest of my life with Lee. All of it,” she cried, failing in keeping a quaver from her voice. “I’ve got years ahead of me, and I know what I want. I know what I need. I don’t want to waste time. We’re in a war, either one of us could be killed at any second.”
Another pause.
A long one.
“Well,” her dad said finally, his voice breaking slightly. “Congratulations, then.”
Madeleine sighed, relieved, her face relaxing into her smile. “Thank you, Dad. You’ve no idea what that means.”
“I think I do,” he chuckled. “God, you’re getting married.”
Hearing the phrase come from her father’s lips just confirmed it – and doubled the excitement.
“I’m getting married,” she giggled.
“I thought I’d have another ten years or so to wait for this,” he said, in a tone of mock gloom. “My baby girl’s grown up too fast.”
Madeleine laughed, suddenly a lot more optimistic. “No, she’s still your baby girl, daddy... you’re just going to have to share her now, is all.”
