Chapter Eight - Veronaville
Content warning: This story contains mature themes and is not be suitable for minors. For this chapter, adult references.
1/7 Chorus Court, East Veronaville
“Did I tell you my niece is pregnant too?” Kent asked as they sat down to breakfast.
He had received a terse phone call from his father the previous night, updating him on his niece and announcing that his presence was required for dinner the following week. Because Consort Capp didn’t ask; he told.
“She’s in the same trimester as you actually. It was quiet the night for romance apparently,” he continued dryly.
Bianca rolled her eyes at the comment. The loss she’d experienced that night still hurt immensely, but with Kent’s love and support, it had became a little easier each day. It had also been the night she had conceived their child. Kent had affectionately nicknamed the baby Bug after Bianca’s original assumption of having a stomach bug had turned out to be morning sickness. Even as the thought of the baby she carried made her smile, she couldn’t help the tiny pang of grief at the nickname, remembering the similar names she and her brother had had for each other.
“Your father must have been pleased to hear that from his teenage granddaughter,” she remarked.
“Lucky for her he’s preoccupied with his upcoming nuptials,” he reported.
“Someone’s marrying your father?” she asked incredulously.
Kent couldn’t help but chuckle as that had been his initial reaction as well. “Kaylynn actually, she was the woman who just moved out of number two. I met her once or twice, although I’m being ‘formally’ introduced at their engagement dinner next week.”
Bianca’s face fell, “Number two, as in next door?” she asked anxiously.
Kent was taken aback by her frightened tone. He tried to remember if she had said anything about being friends with their old neighbour, wondering if she was worried about the woman’s decision. “I assume she knows what she’s getting into,” he assured her.
“It’s not that,” she said quietly. “It’s just, all those times we heard the door and would joke it was the boyfriend again,” her voice wavered, “all that time, he was so close.”
Kent found his response to her fear was stronger than the voice in his head reminding him it was his family she was talking about. Instead he could only think back to Bianca tearfully asking who could order a whole family to be murdered, and he only being able to think of his father. “Look at me,” he said firmly and she raised her gaze to his face, “I would never let anyone hurt you.”
She smiled weakly, “I’m sorry, I’m being silly. It’s probably just hormones,” she offered in explanation before returning to her meal, hoping that would end the conversation.
“It’s not silly if it’s real for you,” he told her gently. “Please don’t ever hide what you’re really feeling.”
Bianca knew her response, while involuntary, was illogical. How could she still despise the Capps, as she had been raised, when Kent was from that very same family and she couldn’t even imagine a life without him in it? How could she, in all rationality, hate anyone from a certain bloodline to which her own child would belong?
She sighed at the futility of it all, “It’s just so ingrained,” she told him honestly. “The fear and distrust for your family, it’s all I’ve ever known.”
He could only nod in sad acknowledgement.
While Bianca silently finished her breakfast, Kent found himself distracted. He could remember clearly that hatred for the Monty family had been laid down as a commandment within his family, although he couldn’t ever remember a reason being given. His meeting with Bianca had been utterly by chance. They had both been in the literature section of a bookstore Downtown and had effortlessly fallen into conversation. By the time the two of them recognised they were supposedly enemies, it had been clear that they got along far too well for that to be a possibility.
“Are you okay? You’ve hardly taken a bite?” Bianca commented.
Kent was pulled out of his thoughts by Bianca’s voice, “I was just thinking about how we grew up, how hatred and conflict was all we knew. I don’t want that for our child,” he said gravely.
“Sometimes I feel like this town is poisoned,” Bianca admitted. “I use to wonder what it would be like to have a fresh start in new place and leave it all behind.”
Kent was silent for a moment before smiling, “Why don’t we?” he asked earnestly, “What’s keeping us here?”
She felt a flutter in her abdomen, unsure if it was excitement or their child’s agreement with the suggestion. “I’m here because you’re here,” she replied, “and you’re here because your family is,” she assumed.
“My family is in this room,” he told her sincerely. “Let’s do it. We’ve got the opportunity to make sure our child is never part of this.”
Bianca could only smile in wonder at the very idea of being able to raise their child away from the violence that tainted Veronaville. “Yes,” she agreed, “let’s do it.”
Capp Manor, East Veronaville
Bottom jumped up and down impatiently at the sight of the squirming black bundle in Consorts hands and couldn’t help but let out an excited squeal.
“Is that noise entirely necessary?” Consort asked his young ward. But his tone didn’t hold the harshness it once did, indeed it hadn’t since Kaylynn had accepted his marriage proposal and moved in. Consort had scoffed at her assumption she would continue working and instead she found herself free to spend her time making the manor feel more like a home and filling a maternal role for the young orphan.
“We said you could have a pet if you continued to get good grades which you have and we’re very proud of you,” Kaylynn told Bottom, who was still bouncing in anticipation. “But,” she added, “a pet is a lot of responsibility. You’ll have to make sure he has food and water, and-”
Consort interrupted, “She’s about to wet herself Kaylynn, can’t we just give her the damn kitten?”
Kaylynn turned and frowned at Consort for interrupting her important message about responsibility; sometimes she found it hard to believe he had previously raised four children. “Fine,” she conceded, “but when she forgets to clean the litter tray, you’re doing it, not me.”
Consort handed the mewling kitten to Bottom who once again squealed in excitement. Consort grimaced but instead of scolding her, asked her what she was going to call him.
“Lucky,” she said thoughtfully, before placing the kitten carefully on the ground and wiggling her finger in front of her new pet. Consort chuckled, a black cat called Lucky, the irony made him smile. His fiancé’s refusal to hold a wedding ceremony on the other hand, did not.
As Kaylynn and Consort moved towards the house, he raised the issue again. “You’re being unreasonable,” he told her, “this is your first marriage and you deserve no less than for it to be done properly. I don’t care how few people attend.”
“Who am I going to invite, my exes and their wives?” she asked patiently. “It would be a frivolous waste of money to hold a ceremony for the one guest who is coming to dinner tonight anyway. This can be our celebration for both our engagement and our marriage and we’ll take care of the formalities later.”
“Weddings are frivolous, isn’t that the bloody point,” he cried exasperatedly. He might have considerably less money than he had seven months ago, but he still had enough to hold a wedding. Consort was a man of tradition and he found it incredible frustrating, especially knowing Kaylynn had probably been planning her wedding since childhood, that she was being so stubborn on the matter.
“If I wanted frivolity Consort, I’d be a fool to marry you,” she told him plainly before turning and heading into the house.
Consort’s gaze moveded from her retreating form to his outstretched hands; seeing the blood he always envisioned there, couldn’t help believe that she was regardless.
------------------------------------------------------------
Kaylynn was nervously pacing in the sitting room when Hermia approached. Technically she had met Consort’s son before, but that had been quick and inconsequential greetings as neighbours, not being introduced as his father’s fiancé.
“You really shouldn’t be so nervous,” Hermia told her.
“Well I guess it couldn’t possibly be worse than your reaction to your grandfather and I dating,” she commented wryly.
“Probably not,” Hermia acknowledged. “But, it’s more that Capps can smell fear,” she replied, keeping her tone as solemn as possible.
“Must you say these things with such a straight face,” Kaylynn questioned.
“It wouldn’t be as funny if you knew I was joking,” she replied seriously.
“Is it so wrong for me to want him to at least not dislike me,” Kaylynn asked.
Hermia was bemused by Kaylynn’s concern about what her uncle would think of her. Perhaps after giving up on trying to live up to the levels of achievement set by her sister, Hermia had simply become indifferent to the opinions of others. Hermia had always believed there was more threat in actions than opinions, and when it came down to it, wasn’t what she thought of herself more important?
But part of the relationship they had established was one of helping each other navigate the madness of the Capp family. Hermia gave Kaylynn the heads up if Consort was in a mad mood and Kaylynn would help sweet talk her grandfather into doing things, like allowing her to redecorate Juliette’s bedroom so it could actually be Hermia’s and not a shrine to her late sister.
“Seriously though, you have nothing to worry about. Uncle Kent’s actually very reasonable,” she assured Kaylynn. “In fact, despite the fact he’s as queer as a two headed turtle he’s having a baby,” she looked around to make sure her grandfather was still in the other room, lowered her voice and continued, “with Bianca Monty.”
Before she had a chance to explain the hatred her family, inexplicably to her, had held towards the Montys, Consort had entered the room and looked at her warningly, “Enough. I won’t be speaking of that unpleasantness, and nor shall anyone else.”
At that very moment Bottom offered her the perfect escape by calling her over to see whatever new thing the kitten had done. As Bottom seemingly replayed everything the kitten had done over the last four hours, Hermia checked her over her shoulder to make sure she hadn’t left Kaylynn in an uncomfortable situation.
Instead she found Consort smiling and gently reassuring his fiancé. Seeing the person her grandfather endeavoured to be for Kaylynn was so very different to the Consort Capp she had grown up with. Since seeing a documentary on snakes at school years ago she had likened him to a Viper, ready and waiting to strike; but now he seemed at ease, content even.
She just hoped this engagement celebration went better than the last she attended.