Big news

EVERYONE!
I have made a decision.

This is a story blog right now. After reading many legacies, I have decided to change it. This is now going to be a legacy blog!

I will also be moving to WordPress with this blog.

Click here to go to the new website, or copy and paste the link below into your browser :)

thespottedwingslegacy.wordpress.com

They'll never know.

Nancy had paid their last bill. There was no money left.

She knew there was no use keeping it from anyone. She told everyone. They had no reaction, they had been preparing for this news for a long time.

But Holly sometimes felt as though something were watching her. She couldn't quite put her finger on the feeling.

Something was going on. The fireplaces were lighting themselves just before everyone woke.

Meals were appearing upon the counter in the morning, still steaming hot.

But Holly didn't complain. Someone was looking out for them, someone cared. And so she simply continued on as though nothing was happening.

But one day, she felt an excrutiating pain in her stomach.

She knew instantly what it was. Panic gripped her, and she called out to Malcolm for help. Malcolm rushed to her aid, with Nancy close behind. Geffery came last, and, as a doctor, guided Holly through childbirth.

Hours passed.

Finally, it was over. Geffery and Nancy left with the child, Malcolm staying by his exhausted wife. A few minutes later, Geffery and Nancy entered the room again. They each held a baby girl.

"Twins?" Malcolm asked hoarsly. Geffery nodded, forcing a smile on his face. Nancy followed suit.

"Twins?" Holly asked, lifting her head. She stared at the two girls, as though she didn't think they could really be there.
     "Twins," Nancy repeated, handing one girl to Malcolm.
     "What should we name them?" Geffery asked.
     "Lili," Malcolm said. "I've always wanted a girl named Lili."
     "What about the other one?" Nancy continued.
     There was a pause. Finally, Holly responded, "Lila. Lili and Lila."
     They all agreed silently. Geffery handed Holly Lila and, taking Nancy by the hand, left Holly and Malcolm alone with their children.
     "Malcolm," Holly said urgently. "You...you know how someone's been cooking the meals, and paying the bills, and...you know?"
     "Yes," he replied, staring at his daughter.
     "Well... well, they spoke with me. I couldn't see them, but they spoke with me. The other day. In this room."

Malcolm looked from his daughter to his wife. "Wh... what did they say?"
     "They said that... that they could take our child. They could take care of them." Holly looked away.
     Malcolm didn't respond instantly. "Take... take them?"
     "Yes," Holly replied. "And... I think they should. Take them away, take them somewhere else and take care of them."
     "I..."
     "I love our children," Holly added quickly. "But... I believe it's best for them. We can't take care of them. We're out of money. They deserve better than this."
     "I..." Malcolm seemed at a loss for words. Finally, he said, "I... I agree. They deserve better than this. One day, when we're back on our feet, we'll meet them again. But not now. They deserve better."
     He took both children in his arms and put them each in a crib. "Take care of them," he said into the air. "We will see you again, my children. Just not now."
     Malcolm led Holly from the room, leaving the twins alone.

The twins were gone in the morning.

Coping

Everyone copes with things differently. No one in the Langraab family took the shock well. Every night, they would settle down in the four chairs of an isolated room to talk. They talked about what they had done that day, what was going on in politics, but no one ever mentioned the trouble they were going through. It was as though they were each trying to fill their gaping holes of loneliness.

"I read an amazing book today," Malcolm would say, night after night. "And it inspiried me. I'm working on a new novel. I think you'll like it."
     "Oh, Malcolm, the last book you wrote was wonderful," Holly would respond.
     "Oh, yes, I agree," either Geffery or Nancy would say.

During the day, they would interact individually.
     "It will be so exciting to have a little one running around!" Nancy cooed, although truly worried how they would support the new child.

Holly knew that everyone in the house was worried about the unborn child, but she said nothing. She hoped they would have enough until the child could support themselves.

The only person she expressed some of her worries to was Malcolm. He always knew how to calm her.

Malcolm never showed his doubts around Holly. He knew that she needed all of the support she could get.

Nancy and Geffery were always strong around each other. They never showed any weakness.

The truth was, Nancy was the most worried of them all. She was the one who payed the bills, and the money left in the bank was getting extremely low.

She didn't want to tell anyone. She didn't want anyone to worry. The only person she wanted to tell was Geffery, but she wanted to bring up the subject lightly.

"Can you imagine?" she asked him over a friendly game of chess. "Soon there's going to be another little one around here."
     "I know," Geffery replied, not sure where the conversaion was going. "Remember Malcolm?"
     "Malcolm was a darling," she said. "Hopefully Holly is as lucky."
     There was a pause. Finally, Nancy took a deep breath.
     "We...we're getting a bit low on cash," she said quietly. "I don't know how many more bills I can pay."
     Geffery glanced up. "I know," he replied. "I've been keeping track. I think we can make it a bit longer. It will be okay."
     Nancy breathed a sigh. When Geffery said that, everything seemed so much better.

Everything was going to be okay.

Apologies

Malcolm stared at his mother. "Your really mean it?" he whispered.
     "I mean every word of it," Nancy replied sourly.
     Malcolm shook his head. "I can't leave Holly. I love her."
     Nancy's gaze showed no emotion. "Then get out of my house."

Malcolm stared at his mother a moment more, then nodded. He took Holly's hand and led her away.
     "What are we going to do, Malcolm?" Holly asked.
     "We're going to give my mom a day or two to cool off," he replied steadily.
     "Where will we go? My parents wouldn't welcome us in."
     "The gym," Malcolm replied after a moment. "It has food and showers."

When they arrived at the gym, they were both exhausted.

When they woke, Holly walked to Malcolm. "Malcolm," she whispered, looking worried. "I have some...news."
     Malcolm looked at her. "What is it, Holly? Are you all right?"
     Holly avoided his eyes. "I think I'm going to have a baby."
     Malcolm was stunned. For a moment, he had nothing to say. Finally, he found his voice. "I-Holly, that's wonderful! Really? Are you sure?"
     "Nearly positive," Holly replied. "But...Malcolm, what if your parents don't let us back in? We don't have any money, and our parents own basically everything." Tears welled in her eyes. "I'm so worried, Malcolm! What if we can't support our child?"
     Malcolm pulled her close. "It will be all right," he promised.

"We'll figure something out. The library has computers, we can write from them. Hey, it'll be all right, I promise!"

Holly nodded, tears ceasing.
     "I think we may be able to go back to my parents now," Malcolm said. "They had the night to think about it."

********

"Geffery?" Nancy called, walking in the house. When she saw him, she continued, "Geffery, what's going on? What's so urgent? I left work early."
     "You left work early?" Geffery yelled. "But I told you not to! I said so in the note!"

Stunned, Nancy took a moment to respond. Finally, she said, "Geffery, please, don't be angry with me. You said it was urgent!"
     Geffery sighed. "I'm sorry," he responded. "I didn't mean to snap at you like that. It's just...Nancy, I lost my job."
     Silence met his words. It was the loudest silence Geffery had ever heard.
     "That's...impossible, Geffery," Nancy replied. "We own the hospital, they can't fire you."
     "We don't own it any more, apparently. Those nasty Altos offered the manager a deal he couldn't resist. He told me today that they wanted me gone."
     Nancy stared at him. "But, Geffery!" she cried. "What if they own everything?"
    "I know, I know!" he said. "I didn't want you to come home from work early. I don't want them to get the chance to fire you, but now they can, and they will."
     "Geffery, this is terrible!" Nancy sobbed. "How will we pay the bills? Our money will only go so far!"

"Is there anything they don't own?" she asked.
     "The grocery store, at least not yet. We could get a job there, if we needed to."
     Nancy fell foreward and sobbed on her husband's shoulder. "Geffery," she said between sobs, "I can't work at a grocery store!"
     "It would be better if Malcolm were here," Geffery replied, instantly wishing he hadn't.
     Nancy's sobs increased. "Geffery, I'm sorry! I didn't want to throw him out, I don't know what I was thinking, I'd had a hard day at work...oh, but now I don't have work at all! We don't have jobs!" She stepped away from Geffery, trying to control the fits of watery grief. She walked around the room.
     "We could find them," Geffery said."
     "Geffery, Sunset Valley is huge! It would take forever, there's no way we'd find them, and how can we show our faces in public now?"
     "Malcolm wanted to me an author, I know, I bet he would have been good, too," Geffery thought aloud.
    Nancy slammed her fist on the desk she was next to. "Geffery, give it up! Malcolm's not coming back! He's gone, Geffery, gone!"

A knock sounded at the door. Nancy collapsed into the nearest chair, her sobs uncontrollable once more. Geffery pulled himself together and opened the door.

"Malcolm!" Geffery cried, ultimitely surprised. Nancy stood, staring at her son. Finally, she ran to him and sobbed on his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry!" she cried. "I didn't mean any of it, I really didn't! And all of it-you getting married, leaving, and then your father's job, and then mine-"
     "What happened with your jobs?" Malcolm asked.
     "It's those Altos. Not Holly, of course, just her parents. They bought everything and fired us!"
     "I told you they'd do something terrible!" Holly said to Malcolm.
     "You!" Nancy cried. "Oh, Holly, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean anything I said to you, really!"
     "Oh, I understand. It was a shock," Holly replied, a bit dazed.
     "Holly," Malcolm said, nodding toward his mother. "Tell her."
     "Tell me what?" Nancy asked, looking from her son to Holly.
     "Oh," Holly replied, looking down. "Well...I'm expecting a baby."
     Nancy stood, stunned to silence, for a moment.

Then she remembered her joy when she had found out she was going to have Malcolm. Unable to do much more, she raised her hand in a "thumbs-up".

Malcolm, seeing his mother's positive reaction and the look of joy and relief on Holly's face, remembered the thought he had had when he wrote his first novel.

Everything was going to be all right.