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Losing Family - complete
http://www.the-cbb.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=6561

Author:  ChubbyMonkey [ 09 Sep 2009, 13:27 ]
Post subject:  Losing Family - complete

Thanks to mohini for the bunny, and JB for subsequent information.

- X -

It was a balmy evening, the sun setting slowly while bathing the sky with magnificent strands of red and gold, and darkening the trees until they were nearly as black as the lengthening shadows creeping steadily across the grass to the two men sat in the doorway. They were both fair, and both smoking a pipe, though one was showing a definite older age than the other. The only sounds to be heard at the moment were the chirrup of crickets and the occasional rustle of a tree as a pigeon took off from it. From inside the house was the occasional shriek of an excited child, but they paid no attention to them.

They had met to discuss business relating to the great Sanatorium on the hills, battling so valiantly against the dread disease – tuberculosis. But when that had concluded, Dr Jack Maynard, the younger of the two, had been invited to stay for dinner, and now he and Sir James Russell were discussing the advancement of the war. At first it had remained general, the politics involved and where the troops would go next, but it was still close to a time when it had been brought home to them personally.

“It hits a chap hard,” mused Jack after the small silence began to stretch. His face was shadowed by the doorway behind him, expression hidden. “All this death, and illness. It isn’t just what you see, either. When I cam home, Joey had changed, and I know none of you will talk about those days but –“

“But you worry,” finished Jem, when his friend and brother-in-law trailed off. There had been an awful time when they all thought him dead at sea, but he had been returned to them and was now discharged from service. At Joey’s request nobody had talked to him much about it.

“I feel like it was my fault,” he confessed softly, inhaling deeply on his pipe. Once more a silence descended, neither man wanting to talk about their feelings too deeply. They were both quite stoical, in their own way, and despite being almost as close as real brothers, rather than in-laws, they didn’t often say what they felt.

“You know, I fought in the last one,” said Jem eventually, his face darkening slightly. “It’s being away from home that’s the most difficult. You feel like you could deal with it all if you had them there with you.”

Jack’s mind was preoccupied with the letter he’d received that morning. He hadn’t mentioned the news it contained to anyone yet, but it had affected him more deeply than he thought such news would have, and suddenly he found that he wanted to say something. His wife, as much as he loved her, would never understand, he was sure of that, but just maybe Jem might.

“I had an older brother – Bob,” he started, then cleared his throat awkwardly. “I got the news this morning from his wife, well, widow, I suppose.”

“I’m sorry,” replied Jem gruffly. His own sister, Margot, had died near the start of the war, leaving him the guardian of her two children, Daisy and Primula, and even though they had been separated for many years it was still a blow.

Jack glanced out across the trees, and the now black horizon, the first star in the sky. His thoughts were wandering, but he could tell that he was expected to answer. He just didn’t know what to say. How to explain that he had to write a letter to Mollie, his twin and the only real family he had left, telling her what had happened. It went back even longer. They hadn’t been as close to Bob as they had each other because of such a large age gap, but he had been a rock for them in the years when their own parents were grieving, trying their best to come to terms with losing three children. Always Bob had done the best he could to be an older brother to them and now he was – gone.

Then there was his own family, his hopes and fears for them. It had happened to his parents, why couldn’t it happen to him? Why couldn’t the triplets catch something and one morning just be gone? And Joey had always been delicate, what if something happened to her? Life was so transient, and he hadn’t realised how fragile it could be until he got that letter. But even Bob – stable, solid, dependable Bob – had deserted him.

He was saved trying to find something to say by the appearance of David. He sat down easily on Jem’s lap, ignoring his father’s theatrical groan, and began to inform him of the ‘improvements’ he had made to his train set enthusiastically. Not long afterwards his mother appeared to chastise him for interrupting the two men and inform him that it was his bedtime.

“And clean your teeth,” she called after him, smiling. “I’m sorry,” she added to Jack. “He’s such a proper young man and he never gets to see his father usually. You’ll be having all this with Stephen soon.”

“I hope so,” was the response, forced jollity in it. “I should be going, Anna will be wondering where I am.”

Jack stood up, brushing himself down.

“Take care of yourself,” said Jem quietly, also standing up and wrapping an arm protectively around Madge’s waist. “Just call if you need anything.”

“Thanks,” murmured Jack again, but he was once more lost in the trees, and his own thoughts.

Author:  Emma A [ 09 Sep 2009, 13:31 ]
Post subject:  Re: Losing Family - complete

That was a lovely, reflective interlude, Ariel. Thank-you.

Author:  Alison H [ 09 Sep 2009, 14:03 ]
Post subject:  Re: Losing Family - complete

Something that was never really covered in the books - thanks, Ariel.

Author:  Mrs Redboots [ 09 Sep 2009, 15:21 ]
Post subject:  Re: Losing Family - complete

Poor Jack. Thank you.

Author:  PaulineS [ 09 Sep 2009, 18:00 ]
Post subject:  Re: Losing Family - complete

Thanks Ariel. Poor Jack having to write to Mollie so far away.

Author:  Abi [ 09 Sep 2009, 21:20 ]
Post subject:  Re: Losing Family - complete

Poor Jack, what a horribly hard thing for him. Thanks for a thoughtful piece, Ariel.

Author:  mohini [ 12 Sep 2009, 05:44 ]
Post subject:  Re: Losing Family - complete

Thanks.
It was lovely

Author:  KathrynW [ 14 Sep 2009, 18:24 ]
Post subject:  Re: Losing Family - complete

That was lovely, thank you Ariel.

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