Chapters 5 and 6
May. 19th, 2004 06:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mynewplaceChapter 5:
Mike Reeves had been talking for weeks about changes being made in his company. He told his parents on the phone that it was almost certain he would have to move, but it hadn’t yet been determined where. There were positions available as the head of marketing in Denver, Dallas, and Surrey, England. He knew where he wanted to go, but he couldn’t admit to his parents that he’d had this in mind for over two years now, so he drew out the decision-making process as long as he could with everyone around him. He was sure they’d be convinced that he had done everything in his power to avoid the job in Surrey by the time he had to tell them they were moving.
"I’m not really worried about the kids, Mom," he said. "They’ve known that there was a possibility of a promotion and move with this job for several years now; Mary and I had always prepared them for that. When the decision is made, they’ll be ready to accept it, I hope."
In March of 1992, Mike started dating. He tried his best to make it look like he was going out with at least three different women before settling on one, although most folks at the office knew that he had been sleeping with Elaine for over two years. By May, he had introduced the children to Elaine. Randy was receptive because he was too busy dating to care too much about what his dad was doing. Being a teenager, he also had a sense of self-centeredness that was hard to penetrate.
Violet dutifully shook hands with Elaine upon meeting her, noticing her pink nails, (not too long), and beautiful auburn hair, tied back at her neck.
"How are you, dahling?" Elaine asked, "I’m terribly sorry about your loss. I liked your mother very much, you know." Violet’s murmured thanks were enough to satisfy her father, while her mind churned. She couldn’t recall ever meeting anyone at her father’s office with a British accent. Why hadn’t she met Elaine?
Out of the corner of her eye, Elaine was watching Violet mull these things over in her head. "Remarkable!" she thought. "I can practically HEAR her thoughts turning! I wonder if she’s ever shown any signs of extraordinary talent. . ."
On the July 4th holiday, the Reeves grandparents were in for a visit, and Mike had an announcement. He gathered his family again in the living room and told them that the promotions had all been decided. Despite all his attempts, he had been chosen for the Surrey job.
Randy jumped up immediately "I can’t BELIEVE that you are going to agree to this! Dad, I know that we have been warned about moving, but honestly, to an entire other country? I only have one year of high school left!"
Mike looked appropriately chagrined - "Randy, I know it’s a huge deal. And I am willing to talk about finding a way for you to finish school here. But I want you to come over for at least a month this summer, to help us settle in, and get accustomed to the idea. I’d miss you too much if you just stayed here."
"And so would I", thought Violet. "Daddy, we still haven’t gone through all of mom’s things. Will Grandma and I have time to do that before we go?"
"Yes, Princess, I’m sure you will. I don’t plan to leave until the end of the month. We’ll call Grandma Connally to come down and help you out this week, alright?" He sat down and hugged her up onto his lap.
"Princess, can you ever forgive me for moving us all away like this?" Violet just sat, quiet and still. She was sure she could, someday, but right now her heart was just too heavy.
Grandma Brigid Connally came immediately, as expected. The Reeves were planning to stay another few days, and Granny B decided to bunk in with Violet, at least until they vacated the larger guest room.
"Oh, I suppose I could sleep in that fifth bed downstairs, but I’d rather come up here. We can sit up and giggle and tell ghost stories!" Violet knew that the ghost stories were just to ensure she was asleep before Granny B started in her snoring, but she didn’t care. She was so glad to have her there. She told the most wonderful stories about growing up in New York City in the 1930's, with flappers and rum runners, where it seemed that every cop in her neighborhood was named O’Malley and went to the same parish church, and the best cooks were her friend Rosa Boletti’s mama and Sarah Hinzman’s grandma. She’d tell about the fun they had dressing up in her older cousin’s dresses and beads, clumping around in her high heel shoes.
Some of Violet’s favorite stories, however, were the ones that Granny B said were 'God’s honest truth, as my own dear Grannie told ‘em.' They were about the old country. Now, Granny B had only visited 'The Old Country,' County Kerry, but her grandmother Rose and mother had come with Rose’s brother on a ship in 1906. Rose O’Malley traveled as a widow in order to hide her shame at having a child out of wedlock, and in hopes of starting a new life in America. Before Rose had gotten pregnant, she had been training with a wise woman in the village to be a healer. Violet always thought, privately, that surely there would have been something she could have done to prevent herself from getting pregnant, or even ending it before anyone knew, but she was glad that it hadn’t happened that way. She loved her Granny B, and loved her all the more fiercely at her pride in having come from a family that overcame such prejudice. But her Granny B’s talk of fairies and witchcraft that came along with her tales struck Violet as a bit silly. Granny would swear they were true, that mysterious things went on in the old country, and that Violet "would be wise not to scoff so quickly at things she couldn’t see with her own eyes." Good advice, she supposed, but this WAS the 20th century.
Chapter 6:
Violet went through her mother’s jewelry, picking out a ring for her cousin, and a bracelet for her aunt, then placing the rest in small silk bags in her jewelry box. Granny B came to the door and watched, then sat beside Vi on the bed.
"I’ve brought you something."
Violet opened the package, wrapped in print paper, and revealed a beautiful rosewood and cedar box, much like the one she was packing that had belonged to her mother. There was a small shelf attached to the hinges which lifted out of the bottom as you opened the lid. The bottom was padded and lined with red velvet. There was a small gold key on a satin string lying in the tray.
"All the O’Malley girls have received such a box, usually on their 16th birthday. I knew you’d need something to keep your own jewelry in, something more solid than that little music box with the ballerina. . ."
Her grandmother’s words trailed off as Violet hugged her. "Granny! It smells just wonderful!"
"Well, that’s the rosewood and cedar. Your key will open your mother’s as well. Its just a little skeleton key, really. Of course, the older ones don’t have keys, they didn’t need them. But that’s of no matter now. Here, let’s see what I can contribute to this little chest."
Granny pulled out of her pocket another silk bag, just like the ones that held Mary’s jewelry. A gold ring tumbled into Violet’s hand, a little large but it would fit on her first finger. It was her mother’s claddaugh, an Irish symbol used on wedding bands, with hands holding a heart with a crown. The heart was a rose colored stone. Violet’s eyes filled with tears - she’d thought it had been lost in the accident, or stolen. She looked at her grandmother expectantly.
"Violet, this ring contains my heart stone. I’ve always promised your mother not to fill your head with what she called ‘foolish nonsense’, but its time I told you a little bit more about us."
"My grandmother Rose wasn’t just training to be a healer before she came to America. She had a little witchcraft training, too. Just a ‘wee bit’, she used to tell me, because her parents were firmly planted in the Church faith, and they didn’t put any hold in the nonsense that there were witches in the village. Most the village turned a blind eye, and some even went to the old women for healing. That’s mostly what my grannie was training for, too. But she knew first hand that there was more afoot among those women than just the occasional love potion."
"The old woman she studied with, Braeneg, gave her this stone and told her to keep it with her at all times. She had put a spell on the stone to tie it to my grannie’s heart, and whoever held it could summon her at will. She gave it to me, and whenever I was frightened or needed something, all I had to do was hold it tight and concentrate on her. Somehow, she knew I needed her, and she would come to me as soon as she could."
"There’s a lot about how it was used that I don’t remember, or couldn’t explain if I tried. But she said when she died, her bond to the stone would be broken. Since she had given it to me, the stone had bonded to me as well, and whomever I chose to give it to would be able to contact me somehow."
"I don’t expect the contact will be as strong as it was between me and my grannie, but I do figure that if you ever needed me, all you’d need to do is hold this and call for me, and I’d know. I should at least be able to get to you by phone or letter, if nothing else."
"Now, I don’t have any magic of my own, really. I’m not saying I could hop on a broomstick and fly to you or anything (Violet’s eyes rolled at the very idea) But I do believe that this will strengthen the bond between us. I tried to use this stone to win your grandfather’s heart when he was young-God rest his soul- but he was a bit lacking in imagination. So I took it back and just used my physical charms instead. And believe me - they worked wonders! Then after your mother went away to college, I had it set in this claddaugh and gave it to her. It worked fine then, and she had it on her the day she died. That bond was strong, and I felt a terrible pain when she left me."
"I want to see if you can try and make it work for us. Get far enough away that I can’t hear you call, and lets see if I can feel it. Will you try that?"
Violet nodded, and got up. She walked down the hall, and outside onto the driveway. The road curved a little to the left before meeting the main highway, and she walked to a tree in the neighbor’s yard. "This should be far enough away." Violet shook her head. She couldn’t believe she was indulging this whim, but it was her beloved Granny. She took the ring in her hand, and thought about her Granny B, picturing her in her mind sitting on the bed. She saw her Granny’s face become a little surprised, and she could see her in her mind’s eye, getting up and coming to the door. Violet peeked around the tree, and watched as her Granny came out the door, looked up and down the street, and stepped off the porch. She stood there for several seconds, Violet would have said "almost sniffing the wind", and turned left. She didn’t walk down the street, but across the yard, through the neighbor’s grass, and over their driveway. The tree was at the far corner of their property, in a grove. But Granny B made no hesitation to come straight to Violet, who never moved a muscle, just gazing with larger and larger eyes as her Granny came toward her.
Violet started to ask just what had happened, when Granny said "I’ll tell you what happened! A picture popped into my mind just like turning on the television. I saw you leaning against this tree in this grove. You know, I’ve never noticed these trees before when driving up to your house. But after I got outside, my feet brought me here of their own accord."
Violet grabbed her Granny by the waist and hugged tight. "Honestly, Granny, I don’t know what to think! It scared me a little, but, it was just so amazing! Do you think it was magic, really? Or was it just love?"
Granny laughed loud - "Violet! I think you’ve struck on a real chord there. Love is magic, after all. Oh, there are other kinds of magic in this world, but I’m sure it’s the love and the blood between us as much as anything else honey."
Mike Reeves had been talking for weeks about changes being made in his company. He told his parents on the phone that it was almost certain he would have to move, but it hadn’t yet been determined where. There were positions available as the head of marketing in Denver, Dallas, and Surrey, England. He knew where he wanted to go, but he couldn’t admit to his parents that he’d had this in mind for over two years now, so he drew out the decision-making process as long as he could with everyone around him. He was sure they’d be convinced that he had done everything in his power to avoid the job in Surrey by the time he had to tell them they were moving.
"I’m not really worried about the kids, Mom," he said. "They’ve known that there was a possibility of a promotion and move with this job for several years now; Mary and I had always prepared them for that. When the decision is made, they’ll be ready to accept it, I hope."
In March of 1992, Mike started dating. He tried his best to make it look like he was going out with at least three different women before settling on one, although most folks at the office knew that he had been sleeping with Elaine for over two years. By May, he had introduced the children to Elaine. Randy was receptive because he was too busy dating to care too much about what his dad was doing. Being a teenager, he also had a sense of self-centeredness that was hard to penetrate.
Violet dutifully shook hands with Elaine upon meeting her, noticing her pink nails, (not too long), and beautiful auburn hair, tied back at her neck.
"How are you, dahling?" Elaine asked, "I’m terribly sorry about your loss. I liked your mother very much, you know." Violet’s murmured thanks were enough to satisfy her father, while her mind churned. She couldn’t recall ever meeting anyone at her father’s office with a British accent. Why hadn’t she met Elaine?
Out of the corner of her eye, Elaine was watching Violet mull these things over in her head. "Remarkable!" she thought. "I can practically HEAR her thoughts turning! I wonder if she’s ever shown any signs of extraordinary talent. . ."
On the July 4th holiday, the Reeves grandparents were in for a visit, and Mike had an announcement. He gathered his family again in the living room and told them that the promotions had all been decided. Despite all his attempts, he had been chosen for the Surrey job.
Randy jumped up immediately "I can’t BELIEVE that you are going to agree to this! Dad, I know that we have been warned about moving, but honestly, to an entire other country? I only have one year of high school left!"
Mike looked appropriately chagrined - "Randy, I know it’s a huge deal. And I am willing to talk about finding a way for you to finish school here. But I want you to come over for at least a month this summer, to help us settle in, and get accustomed to the idea. I’d miss you too much if you just stayed here."
"And so would I", thought Violet. "Daddy, we still haven’t gone through all of mom’s things. Will Grandma and I have time to do that before we go?"
"Yes, Princess, I’m sure you will. I don’t plan to leave until the end of the month. We’ll call Grandma Connally to come down and help you out this week, alright?" He sat down and hugged her up onto his lap.
"Princess, can you ever forgive me for moving us all away like this?" Violet just sat, quiet and still. She was sure she could, someday, but right now her heart was just too heavy.
Grandma Brigid Connally came immediately, as expected. The Reeves were planning to stay another few days, and Granny B decided to bunk in with Violet, at least until they vacated the larger guest room.
"Oh, I suppose I could sleep in that fifth bed downstairs, but I’d rather come up here. We can sit up and giggle and tell ghost stories!" Violet knew that the ghost stories were just to ensure she was asleep before Granny B started in her snoring, but she didn’t care. She was so glad to have her there. She told the most wonderful stories about growing up in New York City in the 1930's, with flappers and rum runners, where it seemed that every cop in her neighborhood was named O’Malley and went to the same parish church, and the best cooks were her friend Rosa Boletti’s mama and Sarah Hinzman’s grandma. She’d tell about the fun they had dressing up in her older cousin’s dresses and beads, clumping around in her high heel shoes.
Some of Violet’s favorite stories, however, were the ones that Granny B said were 'God’s honest truth, as my own dear Grannie told ‘em.' They were about the old country. Now, Granny B had only visited 'The Old Country,' County Kerry, but her grandmother Rose and mother had come with Rose’s brother on a ship in 1906. Rose O’Malley traveled as a widow in order to hide her shame at having a child out of wedlock, and in hopes of starting a new life in America. Before Rose had gotten pregnant, she had been training with a wise woman in the village to be a healer. Violet always thought, privately, that surely there would have been something she could have done to prevent herself from getting pregnant, or even ending it before anyone knew, but she was glad that it hadn’t happened that way. She loved her Granny B, and loved her all the more fiercely at her pride in having come from a family that overcame such prejudice. But her Granny B’s talk of fairies and witchcraft that came along with her tales struck Violet as a bit silly. Granny would swear they were true, that mysterious things went on in the old country, and that Violet "would be wise not to scoff so quickly at things she couldn’t see with her own eyes." Good advice, she supposed, but this WAS the 20th century.
Chapter 6:
Violet went through her mother’s jewelry, picking out a ring for her cousin, and a bracelet for her aunt, then placing the rest in small silk bags in her jewelry box. Granny B came to the door and watched, then sat beside Vi on the bed.
"I’ve brought you something."
Violet opened the package, wrapped in print paper, and revealed a beautiful rosewood and cedar box, much like the one she was packing that had belonged to her mother. There was a small shelf attached to the hinges which lifted out of the bottom as you opened the lid. The bottom was padded and lined with red velvet. There was a small gold key on a satin string lying in the tray.
"All the O’Malley girls have received such a box, usually on their 16th birthday. I knew you’d need something to keep your own jewelry in, something more solid than that little music box with the ballerina. . ."
Her grandmother’s words trailed off as Violet hugged her. "Granny! It smells just wonderful!"
"Well, that’s the rosewood and cedar. Your key will open your mother’s as well. Its just a little skeleton key, really. Of course, the older ones don’t have keys, they didn’t need them. But that’s of no matter now. Here, let’s see what I can contribute to this little chest."
Granny pulled out of her pocket another silk bag, just like the ones that held Mary’s jewelry. A gold ring tumbled into Violet’s hand, a little large but it would fit on her first finger. It was her mother’s claddaugh, an Irish symbol used on wedding bands, with hands holding a heart with a crown. The heart was a rose colored stone. Violet’s eyes filled with tears - she’d thought it had been lost in the accident, or stolen. She looked at her grandmother expectantly.
"Violet, this ring contains my heart stone. I’ve always promised your mother not to fill your head with what she called ‘foolish nonsense’, but its time I told you a little bit more about us."
"My grandmother Rose wasn’t just training to be a healer before she came to America. She had a little witchcraft training, too. Just a ‘wee bit’, she used to tell me, because her parents were firmly planted in the Church faith, and they didn’t put any hold in the nonsense that there were witches in the village. Most the village turned a blind eye, and some even went to the old women for healing. That’s mostly what my grannie was training for, too. But she knew first hand that there was more afoot among those women than just the occasional love potion."
"The old woman she studied with, Braeneg, gave her this stone and told her to keep it with her at all times. She had put a spell on the stone to tie it to my grannie’s heart, and whoever held it could summon her at will. She gave it to me, and whenever I was frightened or needed something, all I had to do was hold it tight and concentrate on her. Somehow, she knew I needed her, and she would come to me as soon as she could."
"There’s a lot about how it was used that I don’t remember, or couldn’t explain if I tried. But she said when she died, her bond to the stone would be broken. Since she had given it to me, the stone had bonded to me as well, and whomever I chose to give it to would be able to contact me somehow."
"I don’t expect the contact will be as strong as it was between me and my grannie, but I do figure that if you ever needed me, all you’d need to do is hold this and call for me, and I’d know. I should at least be able to get to you by phone or letter, if nothing else."
"Now, I don’t have any magic of my own, really. I’m not saying I could hop on a broomstick and fly to you or anything (Violet’s eyes rolled at the very idea) But I do believe that this will strengthen the bond between us. I tried to use this stone to win your grandfather’s heart when he was young-God rest his soul- but he was a bit lacking in imagination. So I took it back and just used my physical charms instead. And believe me - they worked wonders! Then after your mother went away to college, I had it set in this claddaugh and gave it to her. It worked fine then, and she had it on her the day she died. That bond was strong, and I felt a terrible pain when she left me."
"I want to see if you can try and make it work for us. Get far enough away that I can’t hear you call, and lets see if I can feel it. Will you try that?"
Violet nodded, and got up. She walked down the hall, and outside onto the driveway. The road curved a little to the left before meeting the main highway, and she walked to a tree in the neighbor’s yard. "This should be far enough away." Violet shook her head. She couldn’t believe she was indulging this whim, but it was her beloved Granny. She took the ring in her hand, and thought about her Granny B, picturing her in her mind sitting on the bed. She saw her Granny’s face become a little surprised, and she could see her in her mind’s eye, getting up and coming to the door. Violet peeked around the tree, and watched as her Granny came out the door, looked up and down the street, and stepped off the porch. She stood there for several seconds, Violet would have said "almost sniffing the wind", and turned left. She didn’t walk down the street, but across the yard, through the neighbor’s grass, and over their driveway. The tree was at the far corner of their property, in a grove. But Granny B made no hesitation to come straight to Violet, who never moved a muscle, just gazing with larger and larger eyes as her Granny came toward her.
Violet started to ask just what had happened, when Granny said "I’ll tell you what happened! A picture popped into my mind just like turning on the television. I saw you leaning against this tree in this grove. You know, I’ve never noticed these trees before when driving up to your house. But after I got outside, my feet brought me here of their own accord."
Violet grabbed her Granny by the waist and hugged tight. "Honestly, Granny, I don’t know what to think! It scared me a little, but, it was just so amazing! Do you think it was magic, really? Or was it just love?"
Granny laughed loud - "Violet! I think you’ve struck on a real chord there. Love is magic, after all. Oh, there are other kinds of magic in this world, but I’m sure it’s the love and the blood between us as much as anything else honey."
