24th of June
There was a knock at the door.
Edith trotted over. Whoever was on the other side knocked harder. Edith reached out to the handle. She paused. She wiped the her sweaty hands on her apron. More knocks joined. She stood on the small stool and unlatched the door. She put it aside and pulled the door open.
Mrs. Tan bustled in and yanked Ronan and Emrys in behind her.
"Where's your mom?" Mrs. Tan said. Saccharine. Edith frowned and pointed to the stairs. Mrs. Tan pushed past her and went upstairs. She did not see Edith's mother in time to get out of her way.
"Woah!" Her mother exclaimed as she tried to steady the paint bucket. One or two drops spilled out on to the carpet, unnoticed by the adults.
"Ah, Angelica! I need a favour."
Her mother inclined her head and Mrs. Tan launched into her story. Edith automatically tuned most of it out and looked at Ronan and Emrys.
"...Órla needs her mommy..." She caught.
They idled by the door and refused to meet her eyes. She frowned and tried to listen to the adults.
"So, could you take them for the rest of the day?"
Edith's frown deepened. It was only nine in the morning.
"If they can help with the painting."
"Well, alright..." Mrs. Tan said, as if she was the one doing them a favour.
She fled their house like there was a crocodile nipping at her heels. Edith slipped her arms around Ronan and Emrys and marched them upstairs.
"I'm going to take a call..." Her mother said and Edith brushed past her into Edward's room. She grabbed two of his ratty old shirts and stuck her tongue out at him when he yelled at her. She marched back into her own room.
"Put these on and grab a brush." Edith ordered as she chucked the shirts in their faces.
"But we've never seen your house before! Don't you want to give us a tour?" Emrys cajoled.
"Nice try. Maybe after we're done." Edith said over her shoulder as she dipped her brush in the paint.
"You haven't even started?!" Ronan blanched. Edith cackled.
"Get to work."
---÷---
"Say..." Ronan trailed off with a look on his face that screamed trouble. Edith scowled at him, as if she could rid the dumb thoughts from his head.
"Where is your furniture going to go?" He said offhandedly as he painted a broad stroke above her window. She indicated where they had always been and he grinned.
"I saw your living room is also green. Do you still have the paint?" He asked innocently. Wary, but not wanting to lie, Edith nodded.
"Why don't we paint something in the spots that'll be covered up? It'll be fun, I promise." Ronan said with an impish grin and Edith mulled it over.
Her mother wasn't as strict as theirs and probably wouldn't care if she tried some balloon dart painting, as long as she didn't get it on the carpet.
"Fine, I'll go get it." Edith grinned and they cheered. She got up and went into the hallway, where she ran directly into her mother.
"Edith! How are things faring?" Her mother asked as she patted down her hair.
"Good, would you mind leaving us be?" Edith whispered. Her mother's face pinched and she squinted at Edith, "They want to be sneaky and paint some stuff on the wall in the darker green. They've promised to keep it where the furniture will hide it." She elaborated.
Her mother laughed and muffled it when Edith quickly brought a finger to her lips.
"Come, I'll give you the key to the shed." Her mother whispered. Her mother led her to the lockbox where they hid all their valuables. And keys, too. She didn't know why they were kept with things that were only used once or twice a year but this was her mother's house and she made the rules. This was the very first time she'd actually been able to see into it so she tried to get a good look in case it was her last.
Passports, birth certificates, a marriage certificate, a divorce certificate. All things she would expect to find in a lockbox. But in one corner was a thin green book, shredded into itty bitty pieces and painstakingly put back together. Her breath caught in her throat as she read 'Bernard' on the cover.
Her soul ached for her mother. Edith couldn't imagine her pain, to have held on to it for thirty years...
Her mother slammed the lid shut and locked it.
"Lock's a bit rusty, just fiddle with it and it'll open." Her mother said through gritted teeth. Edith squeezed her mother's hand as she handed over the key and darted out the back door. She didn't think she'd ever be strong enough to be any comfort to her crying mother.
She tugged open the shed's door and sidestepped one of the more eclectic decorations that used to be on her wall. She thought it was rather cool but knew her friends wouldn't think the same. The main reason why she never had anyone over. To her mom's house, that is. If she brought anyone- no, if she brought Ronan or Emrys to her dad's house, they would be shunted into the street.
She lugged the paint bucket inside and up the stairs. Ronan snatched it out of her hands before she could step through the door.
"Is your mom coming?" Ronan whispered. He had a tiny brush made for detailing in his other hand and she wasn't sure she wanted to know how he got it. As long as he put it back after.
She smiled, "Something came up with work, she's gonna be busy for a while."
"Fantastic!" Emrys exclaimed as he reached for the bucket.
"Hold on, we have to wait for the paint to dry before we can start." Edith pointed out as she snatched it back and lifted it out of reach.
"That'll take forever!" Ronan moaned.
"Just let it dry for a while and it'll be fine. If you start painting with this now it'll be covered by the actual paint." Edith said.
They grumbled but got to work on the last patch. Edith grinned at their backs. This was going much faster and was far more fun than if it had been just her and her mother. She was kicking herself for never inviting Ronan over before.
Emrys too. While she hadn't known him nearly as long as she'd known Ronan, his personality was far more similar to hers which made it easier to get along. Easier to fight too, but they hadn't gotten in any serious arguments since they'd met. Only over the best character in the Artemis Fowl series. It was Juliet Butler. Emrys disagreed. He said it was Foaly.
(He was dead wrong.)
She still preferred going over to their houses, though. Ronan's house was fun and it was very nice to see Venus and Squid's mother and gruncle-dad.
She loved going over to the Lloyds, Mrs. Lloyd was always so welcoming. Being around all the books was simply heavenly. It was why she came over so often. Well, she only came by because her dad's house was a five minute's walk away and he wasn't always home.
She sat back on her heels and admired their work. It was... obvious that they didn't know what they were doing, to put it lightly. The good thing was that the carpet was clean. That was all that was good about their paint job.
"We'll start the second coat where we want to paint things so that it'll be dry by the time we're done with the rest of the room." Edith said as she wrapped up their paintbrushes in cling film.
"This is going to take a couple of hours to dry, and then we're doing another coat which will take another couple of hours. We might not be here that long." Ronan pointed out.
"Your mom said you would be here all day. If we give this coat four hours to dry like the can says, we'll be doing the second coat by three. If we give it another four hours we'll be painting by eight. Your mom will probably get here before sundown, which is at ten. Plenty of time." Edith reasoned.
"Okay, you're right. What do you want to do while we wait?" Ronan said as he tried to scrape the paint from under his fingernails. Unsuccessfully.
Edith peered out the window. The streets were eerily quiet for this time of day. She vaugely remembered hearing about a big match coming up.
"Wanna climb the big tree?" Edith asked.
"Do I?" Emrys sighed from where he was sprawled out on the floor.
"Yes you do, you baby." Ronan said as he not-so-gently nudged him with his foot.
Emrys groaned, "What's so special about this 'big tree' anyways." He whined.
"It's the biggest tree for a long while and it won't topple when you try to climb it. One time Sean tried climbing one of the smaller ones and... Well, I'm sure you remember that time he was wrapped up like a mummy for weeks."
Ronan hauled Emrys off the floor no matter how much he tried to squirm out of his grasp. Emrys came to his senses and walked down the stairs by himself once he realised Ronan would drag him down. Edith slipped on her shoes and popped into her mom's office while they tied their laces.
"We're going to be at the big tree while the paint dries. We have our phones on us and I'll update you if we go anywhere else." Edith said. Her mother only lifted her hand from the keyboard for a second to give a thumbs up before she went back to her frenzied typing.
Edith snagged the spare keys off the rack and the three of them went out the door.
"I can't believe you tell your mom that you're going out. And she doesn't make you bring your brother!" Ronan exclaimed with his hands in the air as she locked the door.
"Well, there's really nothing to worry about. I don't live in the middle of nowhere like you or the middle of a bustling town like Emrys. I'm right in the middle." She said as she twirled a loose lock of her hair between her fingers.
"Still. Unfair." Emrys huffed and crossed his arms. His nose was tipped to the sky and she thought he looked like a right brat.
Edith laughed, "Not my fault your parents are overprotective." She cooed.
"Overprotective, you say? When yours are so much more? Well, *maybeç not your mom." Emrys scoffed.
"Man, how and why do you think I come over so often? Dad leaves me home most days!" She scoffed back as she clasped her hands behind her back.
"Really?" Ronan asked with his head tilted like a curious dog.
"Yep, he usually goes to the gym or to meetings. I obviously can't go with him."
"And he lets you come to my house?" Emrys asked, his eyebrows disappearing under his fringe.
"Well, he doesn't know how often I come over *and he doesn't know you live thereç." She mumbled, refusing to make eye contact.
Emrys huffed. "Look, mom always loves your visits and would probably choose you over me if she had to. You'll always be welcome. I don't care what you do to get there." Emrys said. Blunt but sincere, the only way the partially emotionally constipated idiot could express himself.
Edith smiled and looped her arms through theirs and squeezed Emrys' arm when he looked at her with wide eyes.
"Those trees are pretty big, you sure Sean toppled one?" Ronan asked as one of eyebrows tried to mimic Emrys'.
"Saw it with my very own eyes. You see that little one? That's the replacement." Edith said gravely as she pointed to the not so small tree that was dwarfed by the twenty feet tall ones surrounding it.
"Sean is not that heavy." Emrys protested.
"Nah, the trees are just fragile." Edith laughed, "A good gauge of if it's climbable is to see if it's thickness is at least twice your own. If it is, you're good to go." Edith said as they trekked up the hill.
Emrys stumbled as he tilted his head back to look at the top of the tree.
"Yeah, it's hundreds of years old. Try not to break any branches."
Emrys whipped his head around to stare at her. "You want us to climb a piece of history?" He asked incredulously.
Edith scoffed as she ran a hand over the bark, "They cut down hundreds of 'pieces of history' to make way for construction. This one may be the only one left, but it's certainly not too special to not climb on."
"Yeah, you've climbed up plenty of centuries-old trees at my place. They're not that uncommon." Ronan said as he tried to find a good foothold.
Emrys paled and plopped down at the base of the tree. "I'm- I'm just going to sit this one out."
"Trees are made to be sturdy. They would have lived to grow this big if they weren't." Edith said as she watched Ronan get so far ahead of her.
"Still." Emrys huffed as he starfished on the grass.
Edith shrugged, "Suit yourself."
She looked up and tried to spot Ronan, a difficult feat since he was wearing green and blending in quite well with the leaves. Her heart lept into her throat. Ronan had gotten way too high up incredibly quickly.
"Ronan! Don't go any higher!" She called.
He huffed, "Are you genuinely concerned or do you not want me to be so far ahead of you?"
"Genuinely concerned!" She shrieked as he went to grab another branch which immediately snapped.
"Duly noted." Ronan said as he scrambled down to a branch thick enough to hold his weight. He still clung to the trunk though, smart boy. Edith slowly scaled the tree, careful not to look down lest she lose her nerve.
Her foot slipping out of a hollow spot when she was halfway up still caught her by surprise. So did landing on a soft body instead of the wet grass or the sharp seeds. She flipped over and found Emrys groaning under her.
"My god! Are you okay?!"
"I'll live." He wheezed. His eyes were screwed shut and Edith realised her knee was digging into his ribcage. She sprung to her feet and tried to take him with her but he stayed nestled in the roots.
She frowned, "Are you sure? That would have been quite the fall if you hadn't been my cushion."
Emrys flushed and gulped down air like a drowning man.
"Yep." He squeaked.
"Really?" Ronan said. Her eyes flicked to him. He was hanging upside down by his knees on one of the lower branches.
"Stop that." She hissed. "Your mom is going to kill you." He stuck out his tounge at her.
"If I don't first." She added when he swung more enthusiastically. He stopped. He stared. She stared. She could barely hold in her giggles as his face got redder by the second. But she did. And he huffed and crawled back down the tree. She hid her smug grin from Ronan but not Emrys. They locked eyes and she reflexively winked at him. His face turned bright red and her eyebrows scrunched together.
She wasn't sure why he turned red but she already knew that he was certainly not a bastion of rationality. She shrugged and turned to Ronan just in time to see him catch his loose shirt on the very last branch. She winced as the tearing seemed to echo throughout the clearing.
"Shit..." Emrys grimaced.
"I'm so sorry!"
"Don't worry, I don't think Ed even remembers that he has that." She consoled as he tried in vain to keep the shirt closed. At least he had another one underneath.
Emrys fished around in his pocket and dumped a pile in her hand. She closed her hand and raised an eyebrow at him.
"Safety pins."
"Why the hell do you just have these in your pocket?"
He flushed and shrugged, "Dad says to always be prepared."
"O-kaaay." She drawled as she pinched the cloth together, "Why'd you give them to me though? You have hands, so does he."
"I'm still catching my breath and it's really a three handed job." Emrys stammered. Edith pouted but obliged.
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