Leoben knows what falling entrails sound like. (ex_notnice309) wrote in an_ill_wind, @ 2009-07-01 19:56:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | - 1980/07 july, evangeline yaxley, leoben yaxley |
Who: Leoben and Evangeline Yaxley
When: Wednesday, 01 July, 1980; dinner-time.
Where: Yaxley Manor
What: Preparing to go to dinner.
Rating: PG
Status: Completed log!
As per usual, Evangeline was running late. She was not nearly as bothered by this as she should be, but that was because she was running late for dinner at her uncle's home. What would Clement, Sophia, and Walden care if she and Ben arrived a few minutes late? Uncle Clement couldn't leave the house anyway, it wasn't as though he had other plans. He would likely enjoy the prolonged company, and be grateful for their tardiness. Well, perhaps that last bit was pushing it, but Eva was running late for a very particular and important reason: she could not for the life of her find something to wear. It had begun simply, she had picked out a dress earlier that morning to wear, so she had taken her time preparing for dinner, but trouble arose when she went to actually put on the dress. For some reason, the gown--one that had fit her perfectly many times before--simply would not zip up. Attributing this to her increased breast size, Evangeline tossed the dress aside and took another one, but this time, she could barely zip the dress past her bottom before the zipper snagged. And so she tried another, and another, and another, growing further exasperated with each failed attempt until finally it seemed she had tried on every dress in her closet and not one would fully button or zip. And then it happened, Evangeline was able to get into a dress. It was certainly not a dress she wore often, but it fit her well enough, and all she had to do was button three buttons over her bust, and she would be ready for dinner. But try as she might, no matter what position she sat in, or how much she adjusted her breasts, she could not get them to close. It seemed at one point that she had it, the button had slipped into the button hole, but the second Eva let go...the button popped off the dress completely and bounced against the wall. That was it, that button had been the final test to Eva's patience. She couldn't take it anymore, and all of a sudden she felt the tears brim over her eyelids as she came to a realisation: she was fat. That was when, in the middle of her closet, surrounded by heaps of clothing, Evangeline began to sob. Leoben was wandering around the entryway, fully dressed and waiting on his wife, as was fairly typical. He was always on time or early and that was simply how he'd been since he was an adolescent. It was his luck, he supposed, that Evangeline always seemed to be running behind. But this was not a very pressing matter. Dinner with the family. The only family Leoben really dared to name as such. It was when ten minutes or so had passed, that Leoben checked his watch and let out an exasperated sigh. "Gobbo," he called, the satisfying crack of the elf apparating at his feet at least confirming that something was correct in the world. "Yes, Master Leoben! What can Gobbo do?" the elf bowed. "Go upstairs and see that my wife is on her way." She was crying into the purple cotton dress that she had actually ripped the seams of this evening when the elf popped into the closet, landing right on her silk evening gown from Paris. Pausing her tears for only a moment, Eva looked up to see what had dared to interrupt her sobbing session, and she was hardly pleased to see the house elf. "What?" She tried for angry, but a sob escaped her lips as well, making a rather bizarre tone to speak to a house elf with. "Mistress Evangeline, Master Leoben requests your presence immediately." The elf was rushing her? How dare that tiny excuse for a being try and move her along? What did he understand of enormous breasts and a bulging waistline? She could grab onto fat from her hips and stomach! She had not been able to do that since childhood! Her dresses would not zip up and this elf wanted her to go downstairs and meet her husband? Go to dinner where she would do nothing more but undoubtedly get even fatter? "Get out." Her consonants were sharp despite the tears rolling down her cheeks. "But Mistress--" Gobbo began hesitantly. "I said out." "But Master Leoben said--" "OUT! YOU VILE CREATURE!" And to emphasise her point, Evangeline threw a gold high heeled shoe at the elf, hitting it square in the chest. Gobbo stumbled back a bit before popping away once again, looking incredibly hurt. The sight of his pathetic eyes overwhelmed Eva with a sense of guilt she had never felt before towards elves, and she began to sob even harder. Now she was fat and horribly mean; how was she supposed to be a mother with traits like that? A crack at Ben's feet again and Gobbo stuttered out: "M-m-m-master Leoben, Mistress Evangeline sent Gobbo away." Leoben rolled his eyes and swept past the elf. "Useless creature," he snapped at it and then went up the stairs himself, feeling a stab of irritation. Honestly, he despised being late and they were supposed to be there over ten minutes ago. It was simply the principle of the thing. "Evangeline," he called, rounding the corner to her chambers. "Why aren't you dressed?" It was only after the question had left his mouth that he realised she was crying. Had he ever seen her cry before? He couldn't remember. Ben's tone only sent the tears faster down her cheeks. Not only was she fat, and doomed to be a horrible mother since she was so cruel to small creatures, but now she had angered her husband! She was a useless wife who could not even fit into her own clothes. "I--I--I--" She was stammering. She had never in all her years stammered. Stammering showed weakness and Evangeline Yaxley neƩ Macnair was not weak. She just could not fit into anything. "I can't seem to fit into any of my clothes!" She successfully held back the tears for that statement, but the moment she stopped talking, they began to flow freely once more. Leoben blinked, eyes flicking down to her abdomen for a moment. She didn't look like she was showing. Which was rather the point. But it wasn't as if all her clothes had simply shrunk. So he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, willing himself not to be angry. It wasn't as if her diet had changed very much. That he was aware. "Very well," he said finally. "I will owl your brother immediately that you have taken sick and we will not be present. Gobbo," crack! "Make dinner. No. Mushrooms." Crack! Ben eyed his wife for another moment, thoroughly unsure of what to do with her in this situation. Honestly, this was not what he'd bargained for when she had told him she was pregnant. It had better be a boy. "I apologise." Eva sobbed, her hands consistently wiping the tears that would not stop. Why couldn't she stop crying? She had prevented the tears time and time again every time one of these silly little emotional swings started, but now it was as if she would flood the manor with all her tears. She didn't even want to begin thinking about the dresses she might have ruined with tear stains, that would start her up again. "I did not expect this to come on so quickly. My mother told me weight gain barely affected her until her twelfth or thirteenth week. I should not have listened to her. I should have--" But once again, she was overcome by sobs at the realisation that not even her mother would be able to help her through this pregnancy. It was a rare moment when Ben didn't know what to say. He paused and then crossed the room to help his wife to her feet. "Do not apologise for carrying our child," he said as firmly as he could. "We will eat at home and then you will owl the Healer for an appointment to assure that this is all very normal. And then you will owl the seamstress to have your dresses refitted. It is of little consequence." Gratefully accepting Ben's assistance, Evangeline placed her hands in his own and allowed him to help her to her feet. His firm words seemed to be the key to making her tears stop, for as he spoke she could feel them subside. This was just a symptom of her pregnancy. This entire evening was of little consequence in the grand scheme of things. It was likely that this silly outburst was completely normal; girls could not expect to be continuously shopping for their expanding size. She nodded her head to his list of tasks she would complete after dinner, feeling calmed by organisation and a plan. "Of course." She wiped what she hope would be the final tear of the evening from under her eye. "Thank you." Leoben watched some of the -- what, hysteria? something like that, in any case - drain from Eva's face and gave a small nod. "Of course," he said simply. It was almost as an afterthought that he placed a gentle kiss to her lips. "I am going to change. I will see you downstairs for dinner shortly," he added. Evangeline accepted her kiss as she had accepted everything from Leoben tonight, gratefully. It occurred to her that she might ask him to assuage some of her fears concerning motherhood, but she did not allow herself to. Her husband had been kind enough to her tonight, and she would not burden him farther with the silly worries of a girl who was simply in the midst of a hormonal imbalance. That's all this was, she reminded herself as she watched Ben leave her dressing area, a hormonal imbalance; in the coming hour, she might very well feel perfectly fine once again. Once Ben was gone, Evangeline turned her eyes to the task at hand; cleaning herself up for dinner as well. A look to the floor of her dressing room substantially narrowed down her options as to what to wear, and she certainly could not wear the dress she had on now! It was missing a rather revealing button! Hadn't she just had this problem. For a moment, she felt the tears well up again, but this time, Eva did not let them come, instead, she pushed them door, put the dresses away with a flick of her wand, and selected, instead, the day dress she had worn all day today. Ben would not care--or likely notice--that her dress was not appropriate for this time of night. It was, as he had said, of little consequence. There were far more important things than Evangeline's dress at a dinner for the two of them. She was carrying their child, and if he (and she hoped against hope it was a he) preferred that his mother wear a day dress in the evening, then so be it. |