WHO: Rachel Marlow → Andromeda Tonks WHEN: Around 1:30AM on October 18 WHERE: Break Room of Dunhaven Memorial SUMMARY: One sibling's engagement brings out a memory of another sibling's engagement, leading Rachel to be very appreciative of what she has. WARNINGS: None BINGO PROMPT: Said, "I'm fine," but it wasn't true
The announcement would have been impossible to miss. It was right there, alongside all of the other engagement announcements submitted to the newspaper so that anyone with a subscription might be able to read about another's happiness. Unlike the others, this one was much larger, though, and took up nearly half of the page as a picture of the happy couple beamed at one another, occasionally looking out at whoever might be viewing with twin expressions of entitlement. It was almost as though the families were trying to overcompensate; not for a lack of affection, but perhaps to try to distract from the scandal that was created from the last wedding of a member from that particular family.
Andromeda, a willing participant in that particular scandal, stared down at her sister and the way she looked so lovingly at the smarmy face of Lucius Malfoy. Andromeda hadn't particularly liked him when they were in school and doubted that she would now, either. There was no way he was good enough for her sister -- because Narcissa was her sister, she thought, no matter what her family might have decided.
Bellatrix had only recently gotten married before Andromeda had been disowned and she had dutifully worn a dress and acted as one of her sister's bridesmaids. It had been assumed that her sisters would be in her own wedding one day and Narcissa's after.
That hadn't happened, of course. Andromeda's thumb pressed against the smooth metal of the ring on her left hand, though she didn't look away from the newspaper. None of them had been present at her wedding. It hadn't even been acknowledged by them, though she thought that perhaps that was for the best. The day had been perfect. Anything from her family outside of the one she was marrying into would have just put a dark spot on the day.
But still, she couldn't help but feel her heart squeeze at the thought that she wouldn't be there with Narcissa. She wouldn't be there to help her decide on a design for her dress. She wouldn't get to weigh the pros and cons of a spring or winter wedding. She wouldn't help her style her hair the morning of. She wouldn't get to watch her take this next big step in life. And while Andromeda knew that her sister would never want her there and she shouldn't be feeling this sense of loss at the thought, it was nevertheless a solid weight in the center of her heart.
Andromeda heard Ted's movements behind her and she straightened, moving to close the newspaper with one hand while the other tested the edges of her eyes for tears. When he asked her if she was okay, she smiled and was dismissive. She was fine, she told him, though they both knew it wasn't true.
Rachel woke with a start, the alarm on her phone pulling her from the short nap she was able to pull from her lunch -- if one could call it a lunch when it was scheduled at 1AM. She stretched her limbs as she sat up in the uncomfortable chair she had claimed for herself in the break room, even while her mind did the now familiar recalibration after a dream about Andromeda.
She didn't have to wonder where the dream had come from. Rachel had been thinking about Luke and his new engagement to Bridget since the day prior, when he had come to her with his intentions and then began sending her different ring choices. Her feelings about that particular engagement was decidedly far less complicated than that of Andromeda's; she was over the moon for her brother.
Rachel had been there at her brother's side when he was at his lowers, putting off her education to come home and give him whatever support she could bear to give. She had been there in the aftermath of his mistakes and she had checked in as frequently as possible once she had returned to Philadelphia. She had watched his gradual growth into the man he'd become and knowing that he had finally found his heart to be in a place where he was not only willing to give it to someone else, but to also be in a place where he could make a vow to give it to that someone for the rest of their days -- well, it made Rachel very emotional, indeed.
The memory was one that Rachel was almost grateful for. She could usually draw too many lines of similarity between herself and Andromeda. They had both lost so much, albeit in very different ways. But while her heart ached for Andromeda and her particular loss of family, it was moments like this where Rachel was able to simply appreciate what she still had. She and Luke had lost their parents and their other siblings, but they still had each other. There was no promise of forever there; both of them knew far too well that there couldn't be. Forever sounded good in theory, but it never was as long as one wanted in practice.
They had one another now, though, Rachel reminded herself with a smile, pulling herself to her feet and sliding her phone into the pocket of her scrubs. And if Andromeda couldn't be there for her sister, Rachel would just have to make up for it by appreciating her brother as long as she damn well could. It wouldn't be very hard.