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Post by Lina Harper on Nov 24, 2008 0:39:20 GMT -5
Lina was a romantic girl, though this did not end with Cyrus. She was one of those girls that saw the romance in everything in daily life. And she saw the importance of family.
Her own mother was disappointed in her, which was hard for her to take. She hated feeling like a failure to anyone, and her father wasn't even speaking to her.
Which was fine, she told herself. Mara an Cyrus were her family too, and she loved them both to death. And if Cyrus couldn't see her as family until his parents were on good terms with him again, then she was going to try her damndest to make that happen.
She sent an owl to ROland, Cyrus' older brother, asking him to please meet her. The way she saw it, he was the only one who could help right now. And while he gave off that cold apathy, he had always been kind to her.
So she and Mara waited, sitting inside the ice cream parlour.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Nov 24, 2008 0:56:48 GMT -5
Roland was surprised to receive the owl from Lina, although he probably shouldn't have been. After his discussion with Cyrus a few days earlier at the Three Broomsticks, he understood why Cyrus was delaying in marrying Lina. Of course, he thought his little brother was being a git, as always, but at least now he knew why.
He responded in the affirmative, since he was back in town indefinitely. Although he'd really rather be working, he could see the wisdom in handling the family affairs, too.
Roland wasn't a man who was concerned with his appearance... he simply dressed in plain black robes and ran a comb through his hair before he headed out to meet Lina. As he walked through the doors of the ice cream parlor, he scanned the room quickly until he spotted her. And she had Mara with her.
He didn't smile as he approached her. "Lina," he said politely. "How good to see you again." He glanced down at Mara, with just the faintest ghost of a smile on his face. "She's growing fast."
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Post by Lina Harper on Nov 24, 2008 1:04:21 GMT -5
Lina, however, smiled when he arrived, and stood to meet him. She wanted to hug him... she hugged everyone... but refrained. "Roland, thank you so much for meeting me. I'm sorry about meeting you here, but I couldn't really take Mara into the Three Broomsticks or any place like that."
Calm down, Lina, she told herself, and don't babble so much.
"How are you?" She asked, taking a breath and slowing her words. She had a tendency of speaking quickly, and had to work not to.
Glancing at her daughter, she nodded. "Yes, she is. She's 9 months now, can you believe it?"
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Nov 24, 2008 1:18:37 GMT -5
Lina's energy and enthusiasm was contagious, and if Roland hadn't been so tightly controlled, he might have laughed. Instead, his lips quirked upward in one corner. "It's perfectly fine," he said, barely glancing at his surroundings. "I would have worried if you had suggested one of the pubs." Of course, the ice cream parlor was hardly the kind of place Roland was known to visit, and he looked singularly out of place here, among the bright colors and lights, with little children giggling all around him. "I'm quite well, thank you."
"Nine months already," he said. He slipped into a seat across from her, gazing again at the sleeping baby. "She really is beautiful. How have you been?"
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Post by Lina Harper on Nov 24, 2008 1:32:28 GMT -5
Lina smiled at Mara. She was a beautiful girl... every mother said their child was beautiful, but she knew for a fact that she and Cyrus had created a truly beautiful child. She was excited to raise her... she just didn't want to be an unwed mother.
She looked back at Roland and shrugged. "I've been all right... the same as always, I suppose." She always felt like she was a little unrefined around Roland, though through no intention of his own, she was sure, and she sat up just a little straighter.
"I'm sorry I bothered you about meeting me, if it was any trouble finding the time," she also quickly dopted his way of speaking, or tried to anyway. "I just... I need your help."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Nov 24, 2008 23:09:55 GMT -5
If Roland had suspected that she felt unsophisticated in his presence, he would have been surprised. He didn't think of himself as refined at all. In fact, he was very unsure of himself in personal situations such as this. It was almost an act he put on for the world. He wasn't comfortable letting others see his emotions.
"It's no trouble at all," he said. "I just got back into town a few days ago, and I'm currently between assignments." When she told him she needed his help, he nodded in understanding. "I thought you might. It's about Cyrus, is it not?"
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Post by Lina Harper on Nov 24, 2008 23:37:44 GMT -5
Lina frowned sadly and nodded. "Yeah, it's about Cy. How'd you guess?" She half laughed when she asked this. She suspected that Cy talked to his brother about as much as she did.
"It's almost Christmas, and I always thought Christmas was about family... so I wanted to see if you and I could figure out how to get him talking to your mum and dad. I don't... I'm not so worried if they refuse to like me or Mara," though she thought they were insane for not loving that girl, "But he should be on good terms with them."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Nov 24, 2008 23:56:02 GMT -5
Roland raised an eyebrow. "Actually, I think I might have an easier time getting them to accept you and Mara than of them making up with Cyrus," he remarked. "Once they see your little girl, they won't even remember that they were angry in the first place. That's why they refuse to see her, you know. They know once they see her, they'll adore her so completely that they'll just give in. But Lina, you have to understand. The tension between my father and Cyrus goes way back. Mother may be easier to convince... but she's the one who's angry with you."
He shrugged. "Personally, I think they're both being idiots. Mara is their first grandchild, and they should be doting over her. It's not likely that I'll be having children anytime soon, and Jamie and Ama are too young still. They should be enjoying this time, and not be wasting it being angry and bitter. I'll talk to them and see if I can influence them a little."
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Post by Lina Harper on Nov 25, 2008 0:09:37 GMT -5
"Roland, I swear, I don't care if they don't like me. I'm not family."
She paused, hesitating as she considered this. She sighed. "I should be, though," she told him honestly, and then shook her head. "But it's foolish that they won't accept Mara, and certainly Cyrus. I'd really appreciate it if you spoke with them, though. I know you shouldn't force things like this... I just know how important it is to Cy."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Nov 25, 2008 0:32:23 GMT -5
Roland paused for a moment, considering. He knew full well that his father, in particular, had issues with Cyrus that went way back. Most of them weren't even Cyrus's fault. His father simply found his second son lacking, in comparison to Roland.
Roland had never set out to be his father's favorite. It had just happened that way. Roland was the classic over-achiever. How could Cyrus have competed with that? He wasn't nearly the slacker their father made him out to be; he simply wasn't Roland. Luckily for Jamie, he didn't get those comparisons, and Ama certainly didn't.
"I can't make any promises," he said quietly. "But I'll talk to them and see if I can at least get them to agree to see the three of you. It may take more than just a few words from me to heal the split between them."
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Post by Lina Harper on Nov 25, 2008 0:54:31 GMT -5
"I know it's not that easy," Lina said, nodding. "I just know I can't do it alone. It's been over a year since they even spoke to me." Thirteen months, to be exact, but who was counting? "And I don't expect us to be able to fix everything... just maybe get them started."
She leaned back. He already said that he would help her, so she should let it go. "Ayay, thank you." She didn't really know what else to say. "I appreciate anything you can do."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Nov 25, 2008 17:06:52 GMT -5
Although he didn't really blame Lina for the situation, he was actually a little annoyed that it had come to this. Both his parents and Cyrus were being stubborn, the way he saw it, and neither of them wanted to be the one to give in. So now Roland was forced to ride to the rescue and try to fix something that wasn't really his problem. If Lina had not asked for his help, he probably wouldn't have stepped in at all. But he liked Lina. She was good for Cyrus, and, based on what he'd seen of her, she was a good mother as well. She didn't deserve this.
"For what it's worth, I disagree with my parents' attitude," he said carefully. "But I also disagree with Cyrus. He should marry you, and he should not care whether our parents will be there to witness it. If they want to miss their son's wedding, let it be on their conscience."
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Post by Lina Harper on Nov 25, 2008 17:43:28 GMT -5
Lina smiled softly. "It means a lot. It doesn't help, but it's nice to hear you say it. I understand why he wants to wait." She was pretty sure Roland didn't care, or have any desire to hear any of this, but he had sort of opened the floodgates for her. "My parents won't be there either... but that was a choice they made, and I'm not going to lose Cyrus over it. I just wish he felt the same, sometimes."
The thing was, he was waiting for his family to accept her, and the way she saw it, correctly at that, was that they were never going to accept her while they thought there was still hope that Cyrus would leave her. Maybe it would the marriage that finally made them accept her again.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Nov 25, 2008 23:48:05 GMT -5
There were times when Roland, frustrated with his brother's hesitation, seriously considered asking Lina to marry him instead. Love wasn't something that entered Roland's mind, at least not for him. And if Cyrus was unwilling to marry Lina and Mara legitimate, he wouldn't hesitate to do it himself. But even if he wouldn't marry her, at least he was living with her, and helping to care for the baby. That signaled to him that Cyrus wanted to take responsibility, and that he had some affection for the girl. But it was still frustrating to him that Cyrus was delaying for what, to Roland, was a trivial reason.
"Forgive me for saying so, but your parents are fools, too," he said. "Everyone is over-complicating this situation and wasting time being angry and disapproving. If they had just accepted this for what it was... a baby... you probably could have been married by now, and no one would even remember how or when the pregnancy happened. I wish I had been in town when this all started, perhaps I could have stepped in."
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Post by Lina Harper on Nov 25, 2008 23:58:39 GMT -5
"My parents are fools, I'll give you that." She said this so casually that it was obvious she had just come to accept it. But the casual manner was a front as well, to hide how disappointed she was.
"You know, even if you had been here when all of this started, it wouldn't have mattered. I didn't..." She sighed. Cyrus had probably already mentioned it anyway. "I didn't tell anyone for a long time. So it was kind of my fault. I was just worried that someone was going to try to talk me out of having her."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Nov 26, 2008 0:14:22 GMT -5
Roland could understand that... she was young and scared. He couldn't begin to imagine how it must have been for her. Still, he couldn't think it was her fault.
His eyes drifted over to the baby in her carrier. He, for one, was glad she had kept Mara. He rather liked being an uncle, even if he was secretly terrified to hold the baby. "She deserves better than this," he said. "You both do."
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Post by Lina Harper on Nov 26, 2008 0:25:08 GMT -5
Lina followed his gaze and smiled at her beautiful little girl for a moment before she looked back at Roland. Quietly, she agreed with him. But she didn't want him to think that Mara was lacking in anything.
"She may not have grandparents at the moment, Roland, but she's got everything she needs. I promise she's living a pretty good life. Not traditional, I'll give you that, but she deserves the best of everything and I'm... Cyrus and I... we're trying to give it all to her."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Nov 26, 2008 0:47:44 GMT -5
Roland nodded quietly. He understood what she meant. Still, he wished his parents--and hers--would stop being so stubborn and see the baby. She was impossible to resist, even for him, and he couldn't stand to see his parents behaving this way.
"I know," he said. "And not that it helps much, but she has me, too. Whatever I can do to help, I will." Although, the idea of babysitting made him very uneasy. But he didn't want to admit that to her.
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Post by Lina Harper on Nov 26, 2008 0:58:11 GMT -5
Lina laughed that bubbly, genuine laugh of hers, though she was quiet and careful not to wake Mara. "You know what? When she's sixteen and starts dating, I may remind you that you said that, so that you and Cyrus and my brother can put fear into her boyfriend's head."
She was only kidding, but she appreciated Roland beng there. She wasn't afraid to ask for help, but she knew that Jensen was a better candidate for babysitting.
"I'd ask you if you wanted to hold her, but it takes so long to get her to sleep most of the time. I know she'd be thrilled to see you if she were awake, though."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Nov 26, 2008 1:35:06 GMT -5
Roland's mouth quirked up in a sly half-grin. "I believe I can handle that," he said. "I'm already making plans to do the same thing with whatever young man decides to take an interest in Amandine."
He glanced again at Mara, who always seemed to be sleeping when he saw her. As a result, he hadn't held the baby yet. "No, don't worry about it," he said. "She needs her sleep. And I should probably be going. I'll need to check in at the Ministry again soon... there's a meeting coming up."
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