Who: Anthony and Miriam When: Evening, Sunday, October 15 Where: Home Status: Complete
It had been a rather busy couple of weeks in the D’Onofrio household. Dealing with Caius and Reagan’s marriage, among other things, had kept Anthony busy behind the scenes, but he managed to keep a rather convincing facade of allowing Caius and Reagan to believe they were working on the problem alone. He knew Caius thought he could handle just about anything now, but Anthony knew better. This curse wouldn’t remain dormant while he and his new wife struggled to find a remedy and Anthony was torn between stepping in to keep them safe, or keeping his hands clean and allowing them both to deal with the consequences of their stubbornness.
It wasn’t raining at the moment, so Anthony stood outside on the back patio, drink in hand, as he smoked a cigarette. Fog had settled in again, rolling over the ocean toward the town, although he knew immediately that this wasn’t the “fog” that had caused so much damage a couple weeks before. That was a shame, really. Anthony had enjoyed the chaos and he wondered if maybe he ought to liven things up around Point Pleasant in the upcoming weeks. He had been far too quiet, allowing things to simply happen as they may, but it was difficult to relinquish control very long.
Most of the time Miriam was fine not being a witch. It didn’t impact her daily life and she’d gone long enough without magic to know how to navigate her way through like anyone else. But when her son was dealing with a generations long family curse, she wished she had at least a little magic in her blood. Or a better understanding of what it entailed. It had always been something between Anthony and Caius, a part of their father-son bond. Even though she knew Seraphina wished it differently, she was glad it wasn’t something her daughter had to deal with. It made her wonder if that excluded her from the curse, or if it would have infected her regardless of her abilities.
The sun was setting when she poured herself a glass of red wine and went to find her husband out on the back patio. Her heels clicked on the tile, the only sound she made announcing her presence, quiet once she stilled. She waited, wondering if he would speak his mind or if she’d have to push. Usually she let him have his way, or let him think he’d won, but when it came to her children she would not back down. If he didn’t have a plan, then she’d find a way to act on her own, witch or not.
Anthony heard the sharp click of heels and knew immediately it was his wife. Miriam appeared beside him and he took a puff from his cigar once before looking over at her. He knew what was on her mind, and he knew she still had questions. He didn't have too many answers for her, and Anthony knew that wouldn't please her. "Caius has the journals," Anthony explained after a moment, his gaze shifting back out over the water. "Veronica gave Reagan theirs. He'll come to me soon when they don't find anything. And if he doesn't, I can push things along a bit. Tighten the noose. Not much more we can do but wait."
Miriam’s lips tightened down into a frown, not at all pleased with his answer. She could be a patient woman when the situation called for it, but waiting just so that their children could fumble their way through seemed like a dangerous waste of time. “Those journals have been pored over ten times already. Surely they don’t expect to find anything new,” she said, pausing to take a sip of her wine. “Is there anything I should know that’s not in the journals?” It would be like her husband to leave out the incriminating details. If someone had died in an attempt to break the curse, she couldn’t imagine it being spelled out.
Anthony cocked a brow at his wife. That type of question had all the red flags of being a trap, and he had no intention of falling into it. He knew Miriam felt a little out of the loop, but it was difficult to explain magic in such a way that she would understand. It would have been easier if she had been a witch, but she wasn't. So all he could do was try to placate her as much as possible as not to rock the boat that was their marriage. Thankfully Miriam rarely made a fuss about it. She was strong and independent, and didn't need Anthony to coddle her. Thank the gods for that, because Anthony couldn't stomach coddling anyone. "Such as?"
It felt to Miriam like she was trying to put a puzzle together without knowing what the picture was. Anthony wouldn’t let her read those damn books, so she didn’t know what might be missing. And if he wouldn’t tell her, would he tell Caius? She was used to him pulling the strings, but had never feared for the safety of her children’s life because of it. While she didn’t think he would ever purposefully hurt them, his need for control was grating on her this time more than usual. “I don’t know,” she said tightly. “I can’t read them, so I can’t see the holes. Do you have a plan for when he comes to you?”
Anthony turned a bit more directly toward Miriam, though his stance remained casual as he drank some more of his scotch. He could understand her concern for Caius, but it irritated him a bit that she was this concerned. She ought to know he was in the driver's seat, no matter what Caius thought. His son had grown more powerful, and he was letting it go to his head. There was still so much Caius needed to learn. "I always have a plan, love," Anthony pointed out, a small smirk quirking at his lips. "Do you think I'm just going to throw Caius out into the water and let him sink or swim? It's necessary to give him the space he craves right now. But he'll come to me. And if he tries to resist my help, I'll give him no other option. Who knows, maybe he and Reagan will actually succeed in discovering something no one else has been able to. He's become quite powerful in his own right."
It irked her that he had a plan, yet he didn’t seem interested in sharing it with her. No, she wasn’t a witch, but she was adept at problem solving when given the chance and might’ve been able to lend some new insight to an issue that had literally been chasing their family for centuries. “I think time is our greatest enemy in this instance. The clock is ticking. What happens if something like the fog rolls through town again? Just because he’s the stronger witch does not mean he’s safe, and even then, if he kills her it will destroy him,” Miriam said, pausing to take a sip of her wine. She was forcing herself to remain calm, though she knew her emotions brewed close to the surface. This concerned the safety of her child. She would not stand down just because the men wanted to preserve their egos. “I don’t like waiting while they rehash something that’s already been done. If you have a plan, act on it.”
Anthony sighed, placing his glass down on the stone railing that surrounded the back porch. "Miriam, darling, you need to be patient. Nobody understands that the clock is ticking more than I. Caius knows what's at stake, as does Reagan. I'm giving them enough time as I deem fit. If they've made no progress, I will step in. You need to have some faith in me. Have I ever failed before?" No, no he hadn't. Anthony has his hands in nearly every pot in this tiny, little town, and in time, he would control it on every level. Caius was his son and heir, and he wasn't going to let him fail, or die. He would kill Reagan himself before Caius suffered for it. "The frustrating aspect of this curse is that there is no set timetable. It works on its own time. I'm not opposed to pushing it along if Caius drags his feet, but I have a feeling our son is exhausting himself searching for a solution. Don't we owe him the chance?"
Miriam sighed and swallowed back her frustration. Anthony was right. He’d never failed her before. It was just that the stakes had never felt quite so high. He’d given her everything she’d ever wanted, but it felt like it could all be ripped away in a second. If he had the ability to break the curse, she had the feeling he’d have done so already. He wasn’t the kind of man to let things sit unfinished. “How was this handled last time?” She asked. “If I it’s generational…” The curse was still around, so clearly he didn’t break it. But if it didn’t affect him previously, then maybe Anthony hadn’t cared. “Give me something,” she asked him, setting down her glass and stepping up to him. “I need to feel productive. I can’t even help think on a solution with limited information and I don’t like being left in the dark.”
"It wasn't handled," Anthony said simply. He had already told Caius about his history with Veronica Kelly in confidence, and he wasn't about to tell his wife. "And it's not generational. It's skipped generations before, Mir, depending on the family and the children involved. The only way this curse truly ends is if our bloodlines are wiped out completely. Or, if Caius finds a solution..." He took another puff from his cigar, studying his wife. "You're not in the dark, sweetheart. You know as much as you need to know. Veronica and I have tried magic to keep them apart. The curse, or maybe their love for each other, I don't know, brings them back together. I've asked Caius to end the marriage and walk away. Eternal emotional pain is as much of a punishment of this curse as death, but he wouldn't do it." He reached out to brush a bit of Miriam's hair behind her ear. "We have a few options. But nearly all of them would make our son extremely unhappy if he knew we were behind any of them. So if you want to take that risk, tell me. Otherwise, we give Caius and Reagan a bit more time, and if they come up empty handed, we step in."
She narrowed her eyes, wondering exactly what that meant. Could the curse be active on two sets at once? Or did it jump to Caius and Reagan when they were of age? “Is it always passed to a witch?” she asked, wondering if Sera would have ever been in danger. It seemed terribly unfair that a curse be passed down to someone without magic in their blood, but the whole thing was lacking in fairness. Being told that she knew as much as she needed to know wasn’t exactly comforting. It meant that he was leaving things out. But hearing the options, what Anthony had already thought through or tried, did help. She didn’t feel as blind. Her hands came up to rest on his chest, slowly sliding up to loop around his neck. “Not yet,” she said carefully. “We can give them a little more time. But, should it come to that, please speak with me first. I know you’ll do what you want to do, but I can prepare better if I know before, rather than after.”
"Not always," Anthony said. "The bloodline of our families is more important than the magic gene, but it seems to favor the witches. There's no rhyme or reason to it, Miriam, that's what makes it so unpredictable and difficult to find any kind of pattern to try and stop, or alter. There's not much else we can do right now but try and find a solution, regardless of whether or not that solution comes with a happy ending for Caius. Just trust me. Please." He covered her hand with his own and nodded. "I swear to you that I will keep you informed. If we need to step in, you'll know. I understand this is frustrating. It is for me too, and Caius and Reagan and her family. We just need to work together to finish this, if we can."
Short of reading minds, trusting him was all Miriam could do. She couldn’t think of any reason why he would lie to her, positive that Caius’ life meant as much to him as it did to her. Reagan’s fate was a little less solid, but that was something they could deal with if things became dire. Right now, as much as she hated it, waiting seemed like the best plan. “Okay,” she sighed. “I don’t like it, but it doesn’t sound like there’s a better option.” And now they had to rely on Caius keeping them in the loop. That was something for Anthony to manage, seeing as how she was left out of the discussions concerning the details of the curse. “Have you spoken to him lately?”
Anthony nodded when Miriam seemed to relent. He wasn't sure he would have had the patience to deal with her for much longer if she continued to harp on their options. Anthony felt like he had this under control, and it made his life much easier if Miriam believed that as well. "Briefly, when he came by for the journals. We speak at work, but keep it business. He's still sore about us keeping this from him, but I feel like he's coming around. We can't force him into forgiving us, but I don't believe he'll stay angry much longer. You should try and speak with him," he suggested. "He may go easier on you than me."
Of course he will, Miriam thought. She didn’t know all the details of the curse like his father did. If she had, this would have been seen to years ago… or that’s what she thought. Putting her child in harm’s way was not something she would have allowed. But arguing over the past was pointless and had already been done, so she held her tongue this time. “I can do that. I know he’s angry, but he’s got to see we were trying to protect him. I’ll try to arrange a time that we can talk.” ‘Alone’ was unsaid, but assumed. She didn’t need Anthony there and Reagan would just make things difficult.
He understood the implication that Miriam would speak to Caius without him present. That made the most sense. Caius's hackles were raised anytime Anthony was around, for obvious reasons. "I would avoid using the 'we were trying to protect you' excuse," Anthony said wryly. "He’s not terribly appreciative of that one." He leaned over to press a kiss to the top of Miriam's head. "Let's not talk about Caius anymore this evening. Do you want to get away for a bit? Drive down the coast and see what kind of trouble we can get into?"
Miriam let out a little laugh. “Does any child appreciate that excuse?” It was one thing she’d learned to appreciate as she had children of her own, that her maternal instinct to protect sometimes trumped her children’s need for freedom. It was fine when they were little. As they became adults, they fought back and lashed out, just as she had when she was their age. Miriam hummed softly as he kissed her, eyes mischievous as she looked up at him. “I think that sounds like a marvelous idea. Should I change?”
"That's up to you," Anthony replied with a smile, letting his eyes roam over her. "But the more comfortable, the better." Maybe they would find a dark corner of the coast and make out like a couple of teenagers. As much as Anthony worked, the occasional distraction was necessary to refocus himself. Miriam was good for that. She always had been. "Meet me out front in ten minutes?"
She’d always loved how beautiful he made her feel, the way his eyes seemed to caress her body. Despite her age, she still held his attention. Miriam smiled as she slid her hands down his chest and stepped away. “I’ll be ready shortly,” she said, leaning in and giving him a little kiss before heading back into the house. They could both use a distraction tonight, even if the same troubles were waiting for them in the morning.