Post by Kira & Lee Norris on Jan 1, 2008 19:20:50 GMT
It was like… like something out of someone else’s life.
Which, in a way, it was.
At Dublin airport, the second Kira and Lee stepped out with their luggage, they were completely swarmed by a massive group of people Lee recognized, but did not know. There was crying. And laughter. And hugging. A lot of hugging. Lee was forced to let himself to be hugged and kissed repeatedly by his sister and his mother- two perfectly nice, fun, kind women, he’d found… but it was still awkward. Kira too, seemed uneasy with this massive family reunion- she explained to him soon after the whole story behind them running away, and that only served to make Lee more awkward. The thing was… as his sister, Bethany, had explained to him… well, his memory loss was what made them all see sense. He had… in effect… fixed the broken family.
Funny how he hardly felt part of it.
The holiday… all this time off… and Christmas, and stuff… it’d been nothing short of amazing. His presents were amazing. His parents were amazing. His aunt and uncle were amazing. His sister and her fiancé, Jason, were amazing. And Kira was pretty awesome too. Even so, he couldn’t help feeling like he was playing the stranger’s part. At Orchid Hill, it’d been easier. His friends had been there, and Maddie had been there and it’d just been… better.
But this family stuff just took some adjusting to. He tended to think about Orchid a lot, and Kira was happy to engage in any conversations about it- that is, except for when the topic of Maddie rolled around. That just got her mad- sometimes scary mad- and usually it was followed up by her yelling at him for dancing with Sophie at the formal.
“Princess Sophie!” she snorted, turning to him from peeling the potatoes over the sink. “You’re just fuel for her arrogance- you know that? How could you fall for that act anyway? And you- you just coming from Madeleine and saying- saying that-”
“I did nothing wrong,” Lee growled; for what felt like the hundredth time. Whether he actually believed it or not, he’d forgotten. “Nothing! I’m single- she’s single- all I did was dance with her.”
“You were flirting shamelessly with that little… ugh, what would the French call it?”
“Leave her alone,” Lee said sharply. “She did nothing wrong either.”
“Lee,” Kira dropped the potatoes all together now, swinging around to face him. “How could you do that to Madeleine?”
He wished she’d stop asking her that. It just made all those stupid feelings came rushing back. Guilt. Shame. Anger. You know… all that crap.
“Don’t you care, Lee?”
“Yes,” he said gruffly. “Yes, of course I care. Hurry up and finish those, though. Mum said-”
“Aunt Vicky should’ve given you a job to do then, if she wants it done so quickly,” Kira said bitterly, picking the peeler back up.
“I dusted today.”
“Doesn’t count.”
“And vacuumed.”
“Again with the not counting thing!”
“Besides,” Lee smiled, “you wanted to help.”
Kira sighed. “It’s not like Mum let me anywhere near the turkey this Christmas.”
He laughed. His Aunt Rachel was more than a little bit of a control freak. She was probably one of the most precise people he’d ever met. It was funny; the contrast between Kira and her mother. Although in looks they were eerily identical, in personality, they were poles apart. Aunt Rachel was refined; uptight- neurotic and controlled. A strange sort of tension always seemed to furrow her brow- like she was under some invisible amount of pressure- but Lee had no idea what this pressure was.
Kira, on the other hand, was light, carefree and dreamy. Everything she owned seemed to have a miraculous will of its own- to jump up, run away, and hide itself in the strangest of places. If he was honest, he was actually a little relieved Kira hadn’t helped to stuff the turkey. He probably would’ve found several different coins and hair bands in his dinner plate alone.
Not nice.
“Hey, kids,” Bethany bounced into the brightly lit kitchen, swinging past Kira and reaching for a sweet, red apple from the fruit bowl. She picked it up, tossing it in the air and catching it like it was a ball; then poked her head over Kira’s shoulder. “Irish stew. Typical!”
“Or soup,” Kira laughed. “Your mum’s pretty inventive when it comes to spuds.”
“God,” Bethany said darkly. “No kidding. I know I’m Irish, and it’s meant to be our stable food and all, but sometimes I get seriously sick of the stuff.”
Lee laughed. “I like ‘em.”
“Yeah, well,” Bethany held up the apple. “I’ll take some of this any day.”
“Yuck,” Kira said primly. “I really don’t like apples.”
“I like ‘em.”
“Shut up, Lee,” Kira laughed at him. “You’re a guy. You’ll eat anything.”
He smiled. “You make me sound like some kind of animal.”
“You’re a guy,” Kira repeated slowly, glancing at Bethany. “What exactly is he missing here…?”
Bethany chuckled, shaking her head and making her soft, dark curls bounce. “He’s a guy. Enough said.”
Lee pulled a face, but chose not to respond.
“Anyway,” Bethany giggled, taking a bite of her apple. “Me and Jason are heading out to cinema tomorrow- are you guys coming?”
Kira nodded. “Yeah, yeah, I’d like that… what are you going to see?”
“Anything that’s on,” Bethany grinned. “The cinema plans to surprise us.”
“What if it’s wick?”
“Even better.”
“Well, count me in then,” Lee smiled. “I haven’t been to the cinema before…”
“Well, you have,” Bethany corrected him. “You just don’t remember. You know- no big deal.”
“None whatsoever,” he sighed, looking over at Kira. “Okay- you do or don’t want any help?”
Kira glanced at him. “Em… well… you could probably help me peel these…”
She hadn’t really gotten very far.
“Okay,” he smiled, getting up from the kitchen table now, and crossing the room to the sink, where he picked up a knife and a potato. “Can I’ve the peeler?”
“Pfft, no!”
“I’m the guy. I’m incompetent, so I need all the help I can get.”
“I don’t care,” Kira grinned. “I’m the woman. I’m entitled to anything that makes my job that bit easier.”
“Right on, sister,” Bethany sighed, rolling her eyes to the heavens. “Have fun, you two.”
“Will do,” Kira called dully as Bethany exited the kitchen.
Lee stared at the knife in his hand for a few seconds. “I’m going to end up cutting myself, and bleeding out all over the potatoes, aren’t I?”
“Emo!”
“Thanks.”
“Sorry,” Kira sighed, and Lee felt a thrill of warning. “Serve you right though, after what you did to Madeleine.”
Lee dropped the knife angrily. “Kira!”
She pressed her lips together, tucking a free lock of her long hair behind her ear. “I’m just saying.”
“I know you’re just saying,” Lee said crossly, unable to help it. “I know- okay? Of course I feel bad! But what more do you want from me?”
She didn’t answer; just went on peeling the spuds slowly, and carefully.
Lee returned her token of silence, concentrating instead on the spuds, of which he was somehow managing to strip of their skins about five times faster than Kira. She ignored this though, her careful, steady pace and glazed blue eyes telling him she’d travelled off into her own little world once more.
Lee let his mind wander too, and his eyes were drawn to the back window. Out in the garden, he could see Bethany coming out of the house, dropping the remains of her apple in his Mum’s compost heap as she passed. She followed the little paved path to the patio in the middle of the garden, where his mother sat on a deck chair; her nose in one of the Austen classics. Bethany sat down on another of the deck chairs, laughing as she spoke, when suddenly, from behind the hedge, a football rolled past, and Jason came jogging into view of the window.
Jason was tall- taller than Lee, at least, and sort of gawky in what Kira told him was a ‘lovable’ sort of way. Jason’s hair was auburn- a calmer version of its previous (and according to him, traumatizing) ginger days. Bethany’s face lit up at the sight of him, and she jumped up. Jason reached her, panting slightly from his football, but embraced her all the same. She laughed at him, kissing him on the lips lightly, and he laughed too, returning her kiss…
Kira looked up, and smiled vaguely at them both. Then, suddenly, she looked at Lee.
“You and your sister have an extraordinary ability to make people barf.”
He jumped. “What?”
“You and Madeleine,” Kira began, then bit her lip. “Oh, god. I hate not being able to say.”
Lee felt his heart sink like a rock, as he watched Bethany and Jason together- ridiculously, stupidly in love with each other, and ridiculously, stupidly happy just to be with each other. People like that should get a room.
“People like that are so lucky.”
Lee glanced at Kira again, and a small frown had creased her forehead now. “How’s… Deron?”
“I don’t know,” she said softly. “I don’t see him as much as I used to. He’s always so wrapped up in… well, I don’t know what. Stuff. Commitments. You know.”
He didn’t. But he nodded anyway.
She sighed, glancing at the clock. “By the way, Lee… for tonight, if I’m asleep… Merry New Year.”
“Merry?”
“Oh, yes,” Kira blinked, frowning at him. “Don’t you want it to be merry?”
He laughed. “That’s pretty quirky, Kira.”
She laughed too. “I know. I’m awesome like that.”
Which, in a way, it was.
At Dublin airport, the second Kira and Lee stepped out with their luggage, they were completely swarmed by a massive group of people Lee recognized, but did not know. There was crying. And laughter. And hugging. A lot of hugging. Lee was forced to let himself to be hugged and kissed repeatedly by his sister and his mother- two perfectly nice, fun, kind women, he’d found… but it was still awkward. Kira too, seemed uneasy with this massive family reunion- she explained to him soon after the whole story behind them running away, and that only served to make Lee more awkward. The thing was… as his sister, Bethany, had explained to him… well, his memory loss was what made them all see sense. He had… in effect… fixed the broken family.
Funny how he hardly felt part of it.
The holiday… all this time off… and Christmas, and stuff… it’d been nothing short of amazing. His presents were amazing. His parents were amazing. His aunt and uncle were amazing. His sister and her fiancé, Jason, were amazing. And Kira was pretty awesome too. Even so, he couldn’t help feeling like he was playing the stranger’s part. At Orchid Hill, it’d been easier. His friends had been there, and Maddie had been there and it’d just been… better.
But this family stuff just took some adjusting to. He tended to think about Orchid a lot, and Kira was happy to engage in any conversations about it- that is, except for when the topic of Maddie rolled around. That just got her mad- sometimes scary mad- and usually it was followed up by her yelling at him for dancing with Sophie at the formal.
“Princess Sophie!” she snorted, turning to him from peeling the potatoes over the sink. “You’re just fuel for her arrogance- you know that? How could you fall for that act anyway? And you- you just coming from Madeleine and saying- saying that-”
“I did nothing wrong,” Lee growled; for what felt like the hundredth time. Whether he actually believed it or not, he’d forgotten. “Nothing! I’m single- she’s single- all I did was dance with her.”
“You were flirting shamelessly with that little… ugh, what would the French call it?”
“Leave her alone,” Lee said sharply. “She did nothing wrong either.”
“Lee,” Kira dropped the potatoes all together now, swinging around to face him. “How could you do that to Madeleine?”
He wished she’d stop asking her that. It just made all those stupid feelings came rushing back. Guilt. Shame. Anger. You know… all that crap.
“Don’t you care, Lee?”
“Yes,” he said gruffly. “Yes, of course I care. Hurry up and finish those, though. Mum said-”
“Aunt Vicky should’ve given you a job to do then, if she wants it done so quickly,” Kira said bitterly, picking the peeler back up.
“I dusted today.”
“Doesn’t count.”
“And vacuumed.”
“Again with the not counting thing!”
“Besides,” Lee smiled, “you wanted to help.”
Kira sighed. “It’s not like Mum let me anywhere near the turkey this Christmas.”
He laughed. His Aunt Rachel was more than a little bit of a control freak. She was probably one of the most precise people he’d ever met. It was funny; the contrast between Kira and her mother. Although in looks they were eerily identical, in personality, they were poles apart. Aunt Rachel was refined; uptight- neurotic and controlled. A strange sort of tension always seemed to furrow her brow- like she was under some invisible amount of pressure- but Lee had no idea what this pressure was.
Kira, on the other hand, was light, carefree and dreamy. Everything she owned seemed to have a miraculous will of its own- to jump up, run away, and hide itself in the strangest of places. If he was honest, he was actually a little relieved Kira hadn’t helped to stuff the turkey. He probably would’ve found several different coins and hair bands in his dinner plate alone.
Not nice.
“Hey, kids,” Bethany bounced into the brightly lit kitchen, swinging past Kira and reaching for a sweet, red apple from the fruit bowl. She picked it up, tossing it in the air and catching it like it was a ball; then poked her head over Kira’s shoulder. “Irish stew. Typical!”
“Or soup,” Kira laughed. “Your mum’s pretty inventive when it comes to spuds.”
“God,” Bethany said darkly. “No kidding. I know I’m Irish, and it’s meant to be our stable food and all, but sometimes I get seriously sick of the stuff.”
Lee laughed. “I like ‘em.”
“Yeah, well,” Bethany held up the apple. “I’ll take some of this any day.”
“Yuck,” Kira said primly. “I really don’t like apples.”
“I like ‘em.”
“Shut up, Lee,” Kira laughed at him. “You’re a guy. You’ll eat anything.”
He smiled. “You make me sound like some kind of animal.”
“You’re a guy,” Kira repeated slowly, glancing at Bethany. “What exactly is he missing here…?”
Bethany chuckled, shaking her head and making her soft, dark curls bounce. “He’s a guy. Enough said.”
Lee pulled a face, but chose not to respond.
“Anyway,” Bethany giggled, taking a bite of her apple. “Me and Jason are heading out to cinema tomorrow- are you guys coming?”
Kira nodded. “Yeah, yeah, I’d like that… what are you going to see?”
“Anything that’s on,” Bethany grinned. “The cinema plans to surprise us.”
“What if it’s wick?”
“Even better.”
“Well, count me in then,” Lee smiled. “I haven’t been to the cinema before…”
“Well, you have,” Bethany corrected him. “You just don’t remember. You know- no big deal.”
“None whatsoever,” he sighed, looking over at Kira. “Okay- you do or don’t want any help?”
Kira glanced at him. “Em… well… you could probably help me peel these…”
She hadn’t really gotten very far.
“Okay,” he smiled, getting up from the kitchen table now, and crossing the room to the sink, where he picked up a knife and a potato. “Can I’ve the peeler?”
“Pfft, no!”
“I’m the guy. I’m incompetent, so I need all the help I can get.”
“I don’t care,” Kira grinned. “I’m the woman. I’m entitled to anything that makes my job that bit easier.”
“Right on, sister,” Bethany sighed, rolling her eyes to the heavens. “Have fun, you two.”
“Will do,” Kira called dully as Bethany exited the kitchen.
Lee stared at the knife in his hand for a few seconds. “I’m going to end up cutting myself, and bleeding out all over the potatoes, aren’t I?”
“Emo!”
“Thanks.”
“Sorry,” Kira sighed, and Lee felt a thrill of warning. “Serve you right though, after what you did to Madeleine.”
Lee dropped the knife angrily. “Kira!”
She pressed her lips together, tucking a free lock of her long hair behind her ear. “I’m just saying.”
“I know you’re just saying,” Lee said crossly, unable to help it. “I know- okay? Of course I feel bad! But what more do you want from me?”
She didn’t answer; just went on peeling the spuds slowly, and carefully.
Lee returned her token of silence, concentrating instead on the spuds, of which he was somehow managing to strip of their skins about five times faster than Kira. She ignored this though, her careful, steady pace and glazed blue eyes telling him she’d travelled off into her own little world once more.
Lee let his mind wander too, and his eyes were drawn to the back window. Out in the garden, he could see Bethany coming out of the house, dropping the remains of her apple in his Mum’s compost heap as she passed. She followed the little paved path to the patio in the middle of the garden, where his mother sat on a deck chair; her nose in one of the Austen classics. Bethany sat down on another of the deck chairs, laughing as she spoke, when suddenly, from behind the hedge, a football rolled past, and Jason came jogging into view of the window.
Jason was tall- taller than Lee, at least, and sort of gawky in what Kira told him was a ‘lovable’ sort of way. Jason’s hair was auburn- a calmer version of its previous (and according to him, traumatizing) ginger days. Bethany’s face lit up at the sight of him, and she jumped up. Jason reached her, panting slightly from his football, but embraced her all the same. She laughed at him, kissing him on the lips lightly, and he laughed too, returning her kiss…
Kira looked up, and smiled vaguely at them both. Then, suddenly, she looked at Lee.
“You and your sister have an extraordinary ability to make people barf.”
He jumped. “What?”
“You and Madeleine,” Kira began, then bit her lip. “Oh, god. I hate not being able to say.”
Lee felt his heart sink like a rock, as he watched Bethany and Jason together- ridiculously, stupidly in love with each other, and ridiculously, stupidly happy just to be with each other. People like that should get a room.
“People like that are so lucky.”
Lee glanced at Kira again, and a small frown had creased her forehead now. “How’s… Deron?”
“I don’t know,” she said softly. “I don’t see him as much as I used to. He’s always so wrapped up in… well, I don’t know what. Stuff. Commitments. You know.”
He didn’t. But he nodded anyway.
She sighed, glancing at the clock. “By the way, Lee… for tonight, if I’m asleep… Merry New Year.”
“Merry?”
“Oh, yes,” Kira blinked, frowning at him. “Don’t you want it to be merry?”
He laughed. “That’s pretty quirky, Kira.”
She laughed too. “I know. I’m awesome like that.”
