Bitter Sweet; Ch 2 - Salt with Sugar

Kelly arrived home a bit later than Francis that evening; she had forgotten her phone but had enjoyed the peace and quiet of not being disturbed while she had been able to really settle down in a cosy corner of the library and read the entire science journal.
Stopping for a moment on the front pathway she noticed her Aunt Stacy’s car was parked on the front right side of the front lawn. Their fathers’ sister never visited outside of the holidays as she was a teacher in Oasis Springs.

Coming inside, she saw everyone but her mum sitting around the dining room table.

Aunt Stacy looked like she’d been crying, then she noticed that everyone looked as though they’d been crying.

“What’s going on?” She asked frowning slightly, her chest felt tight.

 Her Dad looked at her, his face expressionless like one of his blank canvases. “Kelly sweetie; you’re home.” His voice was also flat. “Come and sit down honey, there’s something we need to tell you.”

Kelly slowly took a seat feeling her stomach turn into a block of heavy ice.

Her Dad composed himself and cleared his throat. “Uh... Kelly your mum’s had an accident today while she was swimming and at the time, none of us were home so, she... uh... well you see, the paramedics they tried to...”
 

“Kelly honey... It’ll be ok...” Her aunt tried to comfort her but Kelly instantly snapped at her..

“No, it’s not OK. You’re saying mum’s... that she’s...” Kelly couldn’t bring herself to say the word that described her mother’s condition.

Kelly stood up from the table stopping anyone from saying anything more to her. A lump formed in her throat as she went upstairs to her room locking the door.

Curling up on her bed the tears she had fought back downstairs now flowed soaking her pillow as she cried herself to sleep.
 

The next morning, Kelly slowly came downstairs soon after she’d woken up knowing that she had to face the truth sooner rather than later, as awful as it was.

She had heard her father during the night talking to a policeman who had come from the hospital to confirm her mother was being taken to the morgue. Bianca had drowned while everyone had been blissfully unaware off doing their own thing. The onetime Kelly had forgotten her phone and not gone back for it like she usually would have; maybe if she’d gone back to get her phone she could have done something.

Aunt Stacy was already sitting at the dining table with a cup of coffee; she looked like she had not slept well as their eyes met.

“Morning cupcake, how are you?” Her aunt had called her cupcake since Kelly had baked her first batch of cupcakes when she was five and they had turned out better than any professional baked goods her auntie had tasted.

At first Kelly wasn’t sure what to say and just stood looking at her aunt feeling uncomfortable.

“I’ll... I’ll just get a cup of tea Aunt Stacy.” Was all she could think of to say; numbly she went and got a cup of tea then came back and sat down opposite her.

Again, they both sat in silence for a while trying to avoid eye contact, finally Kelly spoke.

“I... I’m not sure how I’m feeling but I need to ask. Who... who found her?”

Her aunt looked right at her before looking back down at the table and sighing.

“Your next door neighbour, he’d come outside to do some gardening and saw her float...” She stopped talking and looked back up at Kelly who swallowed hard to keep her tears back.

Again silence took over the room; the sound of footsteps on the floorboards upstairs let both of them know that the boys and Devon were awake and would be making their way downstairs soon.

Kelly stood up. “I should make some breakfast.”

Feeling like a robot, she left her tea on the table and went over into the kitchen to make pancakes, but even that seemed to be a drawn out chore as she paused every few minutes staring blankly out the window.

She kept hoping that she was having a horrible dream and about to wake up any moment with everything normal and happy again.

Sighing she blinked back tears as her next thoughts wandered to the funeral, after the policeman had gone, she had been woken again hearing her aunt and father talking in the hallway landing near her room, about how the funeral was going to be held in afternoon tomorrow, or today as it was now; her mother’s will had apparently instructed things to be done in a specific order.
 

At the end of breakfast, Devon and Stacy waited until Samual Francis and Kelly had gone back upstairs to get themselves ready for the day.

Stacy looked at Devon pursing her lips for a moment.

“I take it Kelly doesn’t know yet, I’m right aren’t I?”

Devon returned her look and with a sigh he nodded.

“Bianca was going to tell her on the camping trip next week, you know roasting marshmallows over an open fire under starlight.” Another sigh heavier than the first increased the sadness in his eyes. “I don’t know what to do now...”

“AH but wait, you’re littler sister just might.” Stacy smiled sightly at her brother. “There’s a sister academy in Windenberg. They specialise in cases just like our families, where information has been lost before it could be properly passed on; and well...” She paused as if she was unsure she should continue.

“And what? Don’t do that Stacy.” Devon’s eyes narrowed slightly in annoyance.

“Well, you know the private buyer who’s commissioned you to restore those ‘portrait’ paintings for the past several years?”

He nodded keeping his eyes on his sister.

“Well, he’s the Chancellor of the sister academy, and they’ve still got a spot available for this year that flows on Collage. Kelly can still go to the specialised collage she needs to, just like you and Bianca planned for her.”

For a moment Devon sat thinking over his sisters’ proposal, he knew Kelly would be crushed about being further away from home, but throwing her in at the deep end wouldn’t be fair on her either.

He nodded. “Stacy, all of our funds were tied up in the other collage. There’s no way that I could afford to pay another lot of fees out, what can you...”

Stacy smiled “I’ll call tomorrow and organise everything for Kelly, right down to the last detail if you like? And don’t worry about the fees; I’m owed a few very large favours.”

The lounge room clock chimed eleven; they had two hours before they were due at Kelly’s funeral. A daunting thought.

Devon nodded to his sister. “Thanks Stacy, I owe you for this.”

Stacy smiled shaking her head. “No you don’t, I’ve loved Bianca like a sister and one of the perks of being a head teacher, I get to meet other head teachers, principals and make serious, reliable connections. How else do you think the Chancellor got your number to commission you to restore those paintings?” A warm smile spread on her face, Devon shook his head smiling back, they both got up from the table to go and get ready for the funeral.
 

Kelly was in Francis and Samuels’ room talking to Francis. He had been one of the first to come home and actually saw their mothers’ lifeless body before it had been taken away.

“I don’t think I can do this sis. Maybe I just...”

“Don’t say things like that. You’re twice as mentally strong as anyone I know.” Kelly felt odd being the one giving supportive advice instead of being the recipient like she usually was.

“What I am supposed to do?”

“What we’re all going to do, say our goodbyes even though it’s not fair and too soon.” She took a breath and took her brother gently by his shoulders looking him in the eyes. “Then, we keep going. She’d want that, don’t you think?”

For a moment brother and sister gazes held, before they both shed silent tears and hugged each other tightly as if they were each other’s life rafts in a stormy enraged sea.
 

After the funeral, Bianca’s urn was bought back home and placed on a side table in the lounge room at the bottom of the stairs, so that every day they would walk past her.

For a few moments everyone stood absorbing the reality that Bianca was really gone.

All the little things that had made their house a home, and had brought their family together, were now sealed in a elegantly decorated copper urn.

Guests who had come for the reception and had now gone, had left so much food that going into the kitchen felt more like walking into an all you could eat buffet.

“I don’t know if I’m really all that hungry.” Kelly mumbled as her eyes wandered over the sweets, quiches and bread set out on the kitchen counters.

“Come on Sis,” Samual coxed. “We can’t all just let ourselves wither away and get sick, just have a little bit ok?”

With a sigh, Kelly cut herself a piece of cheese loaf bread; this also coxed everyone else to grab something to eat from the assortment of foods.

At the table everyone sat picking and nibbling at their food without speaking, it seemed the reality was still sinking in.

 

Kelly was the first to finish as she‘d gotten the least amount of food, as she was finishing off putting away the leftovers in the fridge, her dad came over.

“Sweetie, I’ve got to talk about the academy you were going to go to.”

Kelly sighed and did her best to hide her disappointment, but it showed in the green depths of her eyes. “I, I don’t know if I even want to go anymore Dad. I mean...”

Devon quickly realised that as sad as Kelly was, Windenberg being further away than Willow Creek and might be a blessing in disguise for her.

“Sweetheart listen,” He gently took her arms as she lowered her head, tears dripping from her eyes to the kitchen floor. “There’s a sister academy that’s a little further away over in Windenberg, you can always come home on long weekends as well as the holidays. And I could come and visit with your brothers.” Devon lowered his head slightly smiling as warmly as his aching heart would let him.

Kelly raised her head slightly and looked at her father through tear soaked lashes, she smiled back and nodded.

She choked back a sob. “You and mum... you both worked so hard to help me get into the academy, and I do want to go.” She paused pursing her lips to stop herself from crying and took a deep breath in then let it out in a silent whistle. “It’s just... with everything that’s happened, being further away from everyone than I was expecting, is a bit of a shock is all.”

Devon hugged Kelly and she hugged back tightly.

As the parted, Devon took his own deep breath. “I’ll find out tomorrow when you start and I promise as soon as I know, I’ll let you know.”

Kelly nodded. “Ok Dad. If you don’t mind, I think I might go to bed.”

With short nods and brief ‘goodnights’ to her father, brothers and aunt Kelly went upstairs.
 

As dawn broke the next morning, Devon wiped sweat from his brow as he stood back for a moment from a brand new painting to look it over.

He kept thinking that his most meticulous brush strokes, expensive oil based paints and fine lint free canvas did not do his portrayal of Bianca justice.

The picture was from an evening out a year ago; her golden blond hair had hung silkily across her shoulders. She hadn’t been prepared for the picture to be taken, and her expression was a charming unsure smile that had always made Devon heart skip a beat.

During the night, Devon hadn’t been able to sleep, so he had come upstairs to his studio to think.  Suddenly he had the idea that he should capture his wife in a painting, one of his paintings. He was worried that if he didn’t do it at that moment, he might forget something about her that he couldn’t get from a sterile selfie they had taken on his phone.

Her deep green eyes looked off towards the distance outside of the portrait, as his brush added more paint revealing more and more of her beautiful form.

Devon did not notice the sun was rising over the distant mountains as he continued to finish his work only pausing to wipe his eyes clear from brimming tears, change brushes or to get more paint.

The next few months somehow went by in a blur; Devon had upgraded the pool with a new diving block and sensor lights so that if anyone went into the pool, a small alarm sounded on everyone’s mobiles to let them know the pool was occupied.

Devon also worked from home now so that he could keep a watchful eye over his family; a courier came every few days to collect his finished paintings and he would take conference calls on the computer via video link.

Though Stacy had gone back home for the last few months of the school term, she had returned as soon as the holidays started for Christmas.
 

Stacy managed to get the boys and Kelly to decorate the house for the holidays; although it was looking beautiful and cheery as everyone sat eating warm gooey grilled cheese sandwiches and admiring the beautiful tree before sharing out gifts, there was still heaviness in the atmosphere. It seemed that for a while everything would be a sad first ‘without her’ moment.

Devon and the kids didn’t go camping for New Years, no one felt right about it; Stacy did manage to get everyone into the back yard to roast freshly caught fish from the river as well as marshmallows over their fire pit they also set up a tent to sleep out under the stars.
As hard as everyone was taking the loss of Bianca, Stacy was determined to snap them out of it as well. She knew it wasn’t healthy to mourn her forever.

The end of the holidays seemed to suddenly creep up on Kelly, Samuel and Francis. Now it was their time to head off to their last year of school at each of their specialised collages.

On the evening before everyone left home for the first time in their lives, Kelly made a special blue confetti cake for after dinner as a sort of ‘bon voyage’ celebration for them.

There wasn’t much conversation between anyone though; only a few nods with before slowly, one by one they all went to bed.
 

The next day around mid-morning, out the front of the house; Samuel, Francis and Kelly all gathered with their father for their last goodbyes to each other.

All three had spent their entire lives in this house and now they were all separating from each other for the next few months. They’d never been separated from each other for longer than a school trip or sleepover at a friend’s place.

To Kelly’s surprise, Samuel was the one who turned to her first and hugged her tightly.

He spoke softly to her. “Don’t take crap from anyone, ok?”

“Promise, you either.” She smiled giving him a small extra squeeze before letting go.

Francis came over, he was bursting with excitement, and of course he snapped a selfie with Kelly and their Dad.

“I’ll video call you once a week on Monday’s, I want to see that you’re ok. None of that over the phone fake stuff.”

Again Kelly smiled, but she knew her eyes held the sadness in them.

Finally Devon took Kelly in his arms with a strong, warm embrace that made her feel as though time had stood still for a moment while he held her.

Kelly closed her eyes and breathed in his familiar scent, and for another moment she was able to feel as though she wasn’t about to fall apart.

“I can give you the big fatherly speech if you like?” He smiled as he released her from the hug and looked at Kelly an arm’s length away.

She smiled shaking her head with a small laugh. “It’s fine Dad, I’ll call you after I get settled. I love you.”

“Love you too.”

Devon began to say something more to her, but her taxi pulled up giving a short beep of its horn interrupting him.

Picking up her backpack Kelly gave her father on more kiss on his cheek, she paused for a moment more giving her family one last look over before she got into the taxi, she kept tight lipped to stop herself from crying and let herself be driven away to the next part of her life.