Who: Miriam and Caius When: early afternoon, Monday, January 15th Where: the D’Onofrio house Status: Complete
If the weather had been better, Caius would’ve invited his mother out for lunch or tea or something to chat with her, or asked her to come to the office. But it was still snowing and bitterly cold, and he was aware of how much more sensitive other people were to the temperature. Besides, this was probably a talk better kept in private. He’d left the office early since there wasn’t a lot to do, and verified through text that Miriam was at home. He told her he wanted to talk to her, and drove straight to Overlook. What Shayna Mae had told him had him worried, and he thought he would get the most direct answers from Miriam herself. There was no time to go through his father’s deflections when it came to this.
Caius was dimly grateful that Sera’s car wasn’t in the driveway when he pulled up, so they would be able to speak freely. He walked up to the front door and let himself in, scraping his shoes off on the mat before he stepped inside. “Mom, I'm here,” he called into the house.
Despite the absolutely abhorrent weather, Miriam was in the best of moods. She’d spent her morning at the gym, then came home to pamper herself with in-home spa treatments before setting up in the kitchen. With the holidays behind them, there was no real reason to indulge in baking, but she decided to do it anyways, thinking she could always wrap them up and gift them to friends. It was something to do with it so cold outside, and she lit a fire in the fireplace to truly set the mood.
“In the kitchen,” she called out to Caius, then stepped over to wash her hands before putting on a fresh pot of coffee. She was curious what her son wanted to talk to her about, but tried not to spend too much time worrying about it before she found out. With all that he had going on, it was impossible to guess what might be up.
The house was warm and cozy and smelled of baking as Caius headed toward the kitchen. It was a nice, nostalgic sort of feeling, and for a strange second Caius thought that nothing bad could possibly be happening. The part of him that was tired of all of the bullshit urged him to turn around and go home, or just hang out with his mom in her lovely kitchen and eat cookies and drink coffee and be happy. But Shayna Mae had emphasized that these were mood swings, not just dips. He shrugged out of his coat and draped it over the back of a chair before he stepped in close to Miriam to kiss her cheek. Hadn’t they just done this? It felt a little surreal. “Hello,” he said to his mother. “How are you feeling?”
“Hi, honey,” Miriam smiled as she hugged her son. He was looking so much better now that all the troubles with his memory and Reagan’s magic had been squared away. It finally felt like things were returning to normal, something Miriam thought was virtually impossible. It had been so long since some plague hadn’t been threatening her family that worrying about some supernatural threat had almost become the norm. “I’m feeling fine. I went to the gym this morning and it gave me just the boost of energy I needed. What is it they say that working out does? It had that hormone or whatever, the one that makes you feel good. Anyways, I thought it might be fun to bake a bit. You can take some home to Reagan.”
“Endorphins?” Caius suggested, smiling faintly as he stepped away again to give her some room to work. Taking cookies home to Reagan was such a normal domestic thing, he had that sensation of cognitive dissonance again. Surely his mother was fine, just look at her. “It smells really good though, thanks,” he added, glancing toward what she was doing with her hands. Caius studied her lovely face for a moment, recalling the concern in Shayna Mae’s eyes as she talked about Max. She wouldn’t have come all the way into town to talk to him for nothing, right? “Have you been feeling well in general?” he asked, tilting his head a bit. “Anything ... out of the ordinary?”
“Yes, endorphins,” Miriam grinned, glad Caius had been able to follow what she was trying to say. She’d been feeling a bit run down when she woke that morning, but a trip to the gym and her spin class had picked her right up. “I’ve been okay,” she said, moving to pour both of them a cup of coffee. “We all have our days, of course. I think this weather’s been getting to me. I cleaned the house from top to bottom one day and you know how much I hate to clean,” she laughed lightly. “Your father’s been tired lately. I think he might be coming down with something. Sometimes I think I’ve got it too, but then it passes. I’m sure it’s just this time of year. There’s always something going around.”
She seemed downright cheerful and totally fine, but Caius couldn’t take that at face value. Especially not with the mention of his father being worn down. Anthony didn’t get sick, not with normal bugs, or the depressing effects of the cold weather. “How’s your injury, Mom? The one from the fog?” he asked, still watching her face. Caius didn’t want to come right out and blurt ‘I think there’s something wrong with you,’ but he definitely wasn’t going to be surprised if she started confirming the same symptoms that Max O’Reilly was having. Miriam would probably deny that there was any connection, but if it was there, it was there. “Has it fully healed already?”
Miriam’s smile fell slightly and her face pinched in with a hint of concern and she rubbed at the place where the wound had once been. It had healed abnormally fast, but she attributed that to her husband helping her, the combination of magic and medicine accelerating the process beyond what was normal. At least, that’s what she assumed. Injuries had never lasted long with Anthony heading up the family. “It’s fine. There’s some minimal scarring, but nothing your father can’t fix. I think it must have looked worse than it really was.”
Caius was keeping a mental checklist of the signs that Shayna Mae had mentioned. The fast healing of the wound, mood and energy swings, bouts of paranoia ... He didn’t want to alarm his mother, but if there was something she needed to be aware of, he figured he might as well be upfront about all this. He gave a soft sigh and took a long swallow from his coffee mug first. “You know the O’Reillys? Well, Shayna Mae came to my house yesterday with a concern. Her brother Max was hurt in the fog the same way you were. And he’s exhibiting some strange behavior now ... drastic mood swings and waking up feeling threatened and paranoid ... have you had any of that?”
Miriam quietly stirred her coffee, all traces of a smile now absent from her expression. She knew without a doubt that something was out there, waiting for her, watching, ready to pounce. There was a threat looming, but she still didn’t know exactly who or what. She’d thought it was Vex, but Anthony had assured her that that threat had been taken care of. Hearing Caius talk about her concerns as if they were a symptom of something else set off alarm bells and she hesitated to answer, not sure where her son was going with this. “Wasn’t her brother in prison?” She asked. “I’m sure he’s got all kinds of problems. Is she sure it has something to do with him getting attacked?”
Caius could tell it was a deflection and that she was starting to become guarded. He couldn’t say he blamed her, he probably would be feeling the same if someone was questioning his behavior like this. It was almost like being told you were crazy, when you felt rational. But Caius wasn’t going to let her brush it off. He did chuckle at her question about Max though, because that was a valid point. “Yes, he was in prison,” he answered, allowing himself a smirk before he smoothed out his expression again. “But she’s sure that this started with the fog. And their familiar confirmed there was something otherworldly involved. They just don’t really know what it is yet.” Caius paused, then added, “You didn’t answer my questions.”
The similarities were unsettling, but Miriam refused to believe that she was being paranoid. Her concerns were valid; she had a crazy man dredging up parts of her past she preferred to keep private. She’d been all riled up for good reason and Anthony had taken care of it. “A lot has happened recently. A man approached me raving about things he shouldn’t have known. He upset me, but for good reason, and your father took care of it. I don’t know that anything else that’s happened could be characterized as drastic,” she said. “But...something has been waking me. Did Shayla say what it was?”
He gave a slight nod -- Anthony had told him about the crazy man and how it had rattled his mother. Understandably so. Caius’s lips twitched upward and he murmured, “Shayna Mae, Mom.” He was pretty sure she knew that, but he still felt obligated to correct her. He was trying to see the O’Reillys as allies. “She doesn’t know what it is yet, we’re trying to figure that out,” he continued. “She said Max has had some bouts of paranoia ... is that what’s been waking you up?” Caius watched her face closely. He’d always thought he knew his mother well enough to know when she was lying, but like most young adults he was discovering that he didn’t really know his parents all that well. “I just want to help, Mom,” he added quietly.
Miriam rolled her eyes as she tried to imagine her son having a conversation with the O’Reilly girl. She could see her planting this idea in his head, creating distrust from within. She hadn’t thought them smart enough to be manipulative on that level, but perhaps she was wrong. She took a sip of her coffee as her mind ticked back to those moments when she’d startled herself awake at night. Paranoia felt like such a strong word, one that meant she was wrong. Or, worse, crazy. “I think they’re just nightmares,” she said, her lips tight, her whole body humming with a quiet, subtle tension. “Something wakes me and I feel like… like there’s someone out there that means me harm. It’s unsettling.”
Caius could see that she didn’t want to discuss this, she’d gone a little stiff. He could sympathize, but he was glad that she did tell him something. It was a worrisome something, but it was better than being stonewalled, which had been a possibility he’d been concerned about. Still studying his mother’s face, Caius gave a small nod. “Sounds like it, yeah,” he murmured. One could argue that being married to Anthony D’Onofrio meant that there were people out there who meant Miriam harm, but Caius knew they all lived their lives without really worrying about that. They were well protected, so that sort of anxiety was unusual. “How’ve you been feeling mood-wise?” he asked. Caius didn’t want to get pushy with her, but he needed to see if anything else she was experiencing lined up with Max.
Miriam sighed heavily. “I don’t know, Caius, it depends on the day.” Had she been especially moody lately? Miriam didn’t think so, but she didn’t have the advantage of outside perspective. Some days had been good, others had been bad, but she felt like that was par for the course considering what had happened lately. Just thinking about Vex made her hackles rise, even though Anthony said he’d taken care of things. Had she overreacted? Probably, but truths had come to light lately that she’d hidden for so long that she couldn’t help but feel a little paranoid letting people in on her secrets. “I think we’ve all been a little rattled lately, but most days are good.”
Caius could tell she didn’t want to be answering these questions, and part of him was tempted to push her harder, to see if he could create a mood swing to witness himself. But that wasn’t a nice thought to have about one’s mother. Miriam could be fiery, but for the most part she’d been a rather even-keel parent. Caius decided to take what she said under consideration, and ask his father for verification. Anthony would know how she’d been acting in general, maybe better than she did. “Well, I’m glad to hear it,” he said, giving her a little smile before he took another swallow of coffee. “Let me know if more days are bad than good? We don’t really know what we’re possibly dealing with, I want to keep an eye on it, you know?”
Miriam really didn’t like the idea that she was an issue that her son might need to deal with, but didn’t say so, hoping instead that they could drop this conversation altogether. The day had been good so far, but it was so easily soured by the prospect that something was wrong with her. “Of course, but really, I’m fine. I’ll let you know if I feel bad.” Under normal circumstances she wouldn’t have bothered him. Anthony could handle whatever ailments she might be feeling. But he’d asked, so she would keep him updated. Miriam told herself that it was nice that he cared. Not everyone’s son was so attentive.
If Miriam was unwittingly tied up in something connected to the awful attacks on the town by the fog creatures, Caius definitely wanted to know about it. He would be alerting his father too, so Anthony could keep a closer eye on her. Awful as it might have been, if his mother was a victim of whatever this was, his father’s involvement could only be a boon to all victims. Maybe they were lucky that this one had hit close to home. Caius didn’t believe that she was fine, but he wasn’t going to stand there and tell her how she was feeling. Maybe any mood swings she was having weren’t obvious to her anyway, maybe that was part of it all. “Okay, good,” Caius said. He finished off his coffee and moved to take the mug to the sink to rinse it out. “I assume we’ll see you at the casino night on Saturday?” he asked, wanting to move on to something lighter before he left, so he wouldn’t leave her upset.
Miriam knew that she’d been a bit moody, but the bad moods were easily written off and the good ones weren’t exactly something to complain about. Plus, the thought of her son or husband messing with her temperament raised all kinds of walls in her head. They could do as they liked, but the moment they started messing with her she was going to put her foot down. She was glad that Caius moved on, even if she knew that probably wasn’t the end of things. “Of course we’ll be there,” she smiled. “You know I wouldn’t miss a reason to get dressed up. It’ll be nice to socialize. I feel like things have been too quiet since the holidays ended.”
Caius had no intention of trying to manipulate his mother’s moods. He just wanted to stay on top of any potential problems. Shayna Mae had been concerned, and he knew she was a talented witch who wasn’t prone to hysteria. At least not as far as he’d ever seen. And if her familiar was also concerned? It was enough to give Caius a lot of pause. He could sense that their little talk was over for now, but he was sure there was more to come. If not with Miriam then with Anthony. “We could definitely use something festive,” Caius agreed as he put the mug into the dishwasher. “This weather really starts to pile on the cabin fever after a while.” Point Pleasant didn’t shut down for much, but having lots of snow dumping all the time tended to slow everything down. Caius was just glad he hadn’t had to do any organizing for Saturday’s events.
“Well, I know we just barely made it past Christmas, but I’m ready for spring,” Miriam said as she retrieved a tupperware container from the cabinet and began packing him up a dozen cookies to take home. It was more than he probably needed, but she certainly didn’t need them all for herself. Of course, Sera could always take some to school for her friends. No one turned down homemade cookies. “Do you and Reagan have any plans we might need to be aware of?” She didn’t think so, but sometimes she had to pry a little to get news out of Caius. She kept hoping that he’d have news of a grandchild on the way, something to celebrate since they’d skipped out on a wedding, but so far there’d been nothing. Then again, they’d had their own drama to deal with until just recently, so she probably needed to hold off on asking outright.
He leaned against the counter again and watched his mother load up some cookies. He wasn’t even sure if Reagan would eat them -- not as any offense to Miriam’s baking, she just tended to avoid sweets -- but Caius would gradually graze his way through the whole container. They were all a long way from spring, but he didn’t bother to say so. Miriam knew that. Everybody who had lived in this frozen hellhole for more than a couple of years knew that. He pursed his lips at her question and shook his head a bit. “No, none come to mind,” he said. “We’re just enjoying the quiet right now. We need a month-long vacation to really recover from all the bullshit that’s happened lately, but ...” Caius shrugged. “We’re needed here, so. Just trying to lay low for now. How’s Sera? Any news about anything?”
Miriam doubted the town would fall apart without them, but she understood that her son had obligations he couldn’t just abandon on a whim. Still, if he planned something ahead of time, a vacation could be arranged, and god knew they needed one after all they’d been through. “A month might be a long time, but I’m sure you could arrange for a week if you wanted. I’ve been trying to talk your father into doing a tour of the wine country in the spring. Maybe you and Reagan could join us,” she offered, but didn’t exactly push. She knew a vacation wasn’t really a vacation when your parents were involved. “Sera’s fine. Keeping busy with school. She’s got winter formal this weekend, so she’s excited about that. But that’s about it. Sometimes no news is good news.”
Caius wouldn’t be completely against a vacation with his parents, but he was pretty sure Reagan would shoot that down pretty quickly. Maybe if it was just Miriam, but his wife certainly didn’t trust his father, so that was probably a no-go. “No news is definitely good news in this town,” he agreed with a chuckle. He hadn’t spoken to his sister in a while, considering everything that was going on, and he really needed to call her and check in on her himself. He made a mental note to do that for sure. “We’ll see about a vacation. Spring feels pretty far away still.” Caius straightened up and gave a little stretch. “Are you staying close to home today? The roads aren’t great.”
While spring was still a ways off, it was never too early to start planning in Miriam’s opinion. It gave her something to look forward to other than more cold for days. That’s what it felt like right now, especially when the roads were so bad that they were closing schools and businesses for the day. “I think I’m in for the rest of the day. I’ve already got my shopping done, so I see no reason to risk an accident,” Miriam said with a little shrug. She’d been driving on snow and ice her whole life and considered herself a pro, but there was no reason to go out if she didn’t have to. “You be careful out there,” she said, handing her son the box of cookies. “And tell Reagan to close shop early today. If it starts snowing again, it’ll be worse after the sun goes down.”
Caius knew his parents were capable people who had lived in this town their whole lives, but it still felt natural to fret about his mother at least. He loved her and he wanted to make sure she stayed safe -- from the icy roads as well as everything else that seemed to be happening to her. Maybe it would turn out to be nothing, but Caius would keep worrying until they knew that for sure. He took the box of cookies and stepped in close for a one-armed hug and to kiss her cheek again. “I’ll be careful,” he promised, then smiled a bit. “And I’ll relay the message. You take care too, all right? Let me know if you guys need anything.” Caius didn’t worry about Reagan too much, now that she had her powers back she could melt any ice in her path, but his mom and sister? For sure. He gave Miriam a squeeze and moved away to get his coat.
Miriam hugged Caius, resisting the urge to ruffle his hair before walking with him towards the door. She knew he was a witch and could handle just about anything, but he would always be her little boy and it was just in her nature to worry about him, no matter how capable he was. “Of course, sweetie. We’ll see you soon.” That was the nice thing about Caius staying in Point Pleasant, he was close enough that she got to see him on a semi-regular basis. If there really was a problem, and Miriam hoped there wasn’t, he wasn’t more than ten minutes away.