WHO: Dell Lloyd & Althea Hobbs. WHAT: After this exchange. Dell has asked someone to cover his shift so that he can be home a little earlier than usual. Althea is, understandably, thrilled to pieces. WHERE: Hobbs House. WHEN: Late Friday night. RATING: TBD. STATUS: Incomplete.
Althea Hobbs had been having something of a dreadful night. After Demelza, who had begged and pleaded and threatened her with her cane, managed to get her out of the shop, she had returned to the house just in time to see Ophelia on her way out. Coraline, who had apparently been having a premature and unscheduled nap courtesy of Aunt Lia, was full of energy. The baby, of course, was fussy. This essentially rendered her return home to a trip akin to Hell. Percy, barely a few months old, was having troubles with his ears. She had taken him to countless doctors and healers, dosing him hourly with ear salve, but nothing seemed to help. She didn't fault the poor dear for his crankiness, nor could she be too upset when he sooked and whined, but it hurt her spirit to have two children sapping her energy on a near-regular basis.
She loved them, of course. They were her children, her babies, and she wouldn't have changed a single thing about her life up until that point. But God help her if she didn't envy her sisters, who had their freedom and their fun. They were able to go out every night if they so wished, and they often did, while she sat at home by herself with two needy infants. Some life for a nineteen year old, right? It was this sense of despair, though, that made the happier moments so much more genuine. And when she received the text message from Dell ten minutes prior, she was thrilled. Beyond thrilled. She was ecstatic and surprised, and it took her a full ten minutes before she could actually respond. 'Got someone to cover my shift. I'll be home tonight'. Her work-a-holic sweetheart was actually going to come home for the night.
After almost dropping her phone in her excitement, she managed to still her shaking hands long enough to send a message back, one of garbled enthusiasm that made her feel a little too clingy and desparate. But still, why shouldn't she be excited? Dell was coming home early for the first time in weeks. She was going to have company. Real company. Not the sort that cried for biscuits before dinner, or pulled at her skirts, or sobbed at every little thing. Just the idea in itself was enough to bring about a change in her, the burden on her shoulders lessening in its weight. Oh, this evening was going to be great.
Taking Coraline by the hand, Althea whisked the children into the bathroom and gave them their nightly baths. Leaving no room for arguments, she shushed their whines and scrubbed them over with lightning speed. Clothes off. Soap on. Soap off. Pajamas on. Like a woman possessed, she was on auto-pilot, and she had them at the dinner table with Lora within the hour. When she was content that they were eating, Cora off her plate and Percy out of his bottle, Althea hurried back into the shower to tend to herself. She wanted to make a good impression for him, to show Dell that she appreciated his company. She hadn't been incredibly kind to him lately, with the pain of childbirth still fresh on her mind, but she wanted tonight to make up for that.
Hurrying back into the kitchen, her hair wrapped tight in a towel, Althea's mind was moving faster than her body could take her, and she looked about in anxiety. She had her favourite dress on, a tie-dyed monstrosity of flowery patterns, but no make-up or powder. It had been difficult for her to feel pretty, especially as of late, and the absence of her war-paint was enough to set her heart a-flutter with nervousness. Goodness. There was no time for her to finish getting ready, and Dell was going to be home any minute. What was the point?
Heaving a sigh, Althea shook her dark hair loose, the damp tendrils wetting her back, and lifted Percy out of his high chair. His expression, contorted briefly in a grimacing cry, went blank as soon as his mother spoke and he curled his chubby fists into her shirt. "Daddy's going to be home soon," she promised, rocking him against her hip. Perhaps it was better to go sans make-up, she considered. Less to wash off later if Percy spat up on her. Always the optimist, she forced a smile to her lips and nuzzled his cheek. "Or he'd better be, anyway."