It's Definitely Not All Mary Poppins

The Winds May Blow, But Who's to Know Exactly What It's Bringing (1)

The children screamed. Elliot threatened Yang with every swear word and curse he knew. Lilliana sobbed and begged for him to take Matthew back. Elliot held Matthew's arm, asking over and over what he could do, desperation in his eyes. Lilly tried to read him, tried to sift through the emotions in Matthew's eyes to find the source.

They said nothing. Yang and Matthew withdrew into the house, cowering under their own types of cover.

Days ticked by. Nothing changed no matter how much the children willed it. No matter how much Liza or Toby begged Matt to leave. No matter how much silence stretched between words.

And the air in the estate on Cherry Street became strained, tense with discomfort and rage. The cold that no summer could melt was now hard ice, exasperated only by the ongoing restoration efforts – as scaffolding continued spreading and curtains needed to be drawn for privacy, more and more rooms became off-limits, and the symphony of work started growing to its crescendo.

The house – its walls a gentle tan and fieldstone, the roof edged with its brass patina'd decorative facias and capped with slate – was stripped back to expose sagging roof frames, dryrot, and faulty wiring. The list of everything wrong with the house seemed to grow week-to-week. From a distance, the home that surely was dropped out of some science-fiction novel from the 60's, that had settled more than anything Matthew had ever seen, looked ready for demolition.

Inside, it was quiet, settling into the hillside it was built on.

Matthew started searching for ways to escape.

He handed a small booklet to Lilly. "Something red." Another booklet was given to Eli. "Something made of wood, something that was used for cooking, and something you like." Two more booklets landed in Danny and Emily's hands. "Draw what you find, write your own description of the thing, and then tell me why you picked that one when you finished."

Danny eyed his friend before glancing back down at the booklet. "If I'd known this'd be more school, I wouldn't of come."

With the amount of bargaining Matthew had to do to even let Danny's mother come on their weekend excursion, the sentiment prickled his skin. He bit the inside of his cheek. Hard.

Eli nudged his friend. "No, it's cool. We find the things and get to draw them. It's like making our own book."

Despite this, Danny seemed unconvinced.

Clearing his throat, Matthew kneeled before the four children. "You guys can work together, but you all need different artifacts. I'm looking for at least sixteen combined."

Emily raised her hand. "Do we haveta stay in this exhibit?"

Matthew nodded. "We're just in Mesoamerica right now. Me and Ms. Culpepper will be around, so if you have questions, find us. We'll decide which exhibit we move to next after we finish here, okay?"

Eli raised his hand next. "Can we go to the French Revolution?"

"That's not an exhibit, Eli," Audrey said on cue.

He scoffed. "There's a war exhibit."

"Ooo," Danny cooed. "They have warship models, right?"

"Hell yeah."

"Language, Eli," Matthew warned, "and we will decide the next exhibit democratically, you potato."

Lilly giggled.

"Go on." Audrey waved them off. "Remember that Mr. Schroeder is at the cafe if you guys get lost. You all have your maps, right?"

Taking Emily's hand, Lilly's eyes sparkled. "Emily, I saw stuff made of jade and if it isn't for some ceremony, I'm gonna be really sad."

Emily gasped. "Me, too. Show me. Showme, showme, showme." The two girls skipped off.

Danny nudged Eli, pointing over his shoulder in the opposite direction the other two trotted off to. "I saw spear heads over there, I think."

Eli grunted. "It's not the same." Still he followed his friend in the other direction.

For a moment, Matthew and Audrey stood silently, stepping apart to let awkwardness come between them. The museum exhibit was equally quiet, the children's voices fading, lost in the cavernous space.

It was Audrey who broke the silence. "...how was driving over here?"

"Fine," he said too sharply for his own liking. Matthew sighed and started pacing. The too-white Honda Civic that had taken Lloyd spot in the carport was now replaced with a black Toyota Prius, but both cars were an impromptu countdown; he had not heard anything from the garage restoring his little blue Bug. He ran his hands up his arms. At times, Matthew could still feel where Yang had grabbed him, held him down. His stomach turned at the ghostly sensation.

Driving the Prius felt like cheating, like letting Yang win still. He regretted every time he had to climb into the car.

"Well, I'm glad I could chip in for the rental," she whispered, "and I'm sorry Lloyd's taking so long."

He almost snapped back, but something in him deflated at the comment. "Thanks...for chipping in." Indeed, the Prius was a mark to pay Liza and Audrey back somehow, a car not under Mr. Yang's spending power. Compared to the Civic, the Prius was a godsend.

But Matthew seethed, now. In his eyes, under his skin, Matthew seethed quietly, and his friends were almost always on the receiving end. His temper was shorter with them. His patience was thinner. He couldn't lose it in front of the children; that'd be a bad example. But Audrey was there. Liza and Toby were there.

He hated himself when it happened, but it was easy and made him feel better. He knew it was wrong. He knew he shouldn't. Audrey bore most of it, and Matthew's sorrow lifted a little when that rage was let out on her. At times, Matthew wondered what it would feel like to shove her in front of a passing bus. 'If it weren't for her, none of this would've happened,' he reasoned childishly, angry at his seeming inability and defenselessness.

"Hey." Audrey gently touched his shoulder.

Matthew snapped himself away from her.

Audrey sighed through her teeth. She didn't say anything for a moment. "...haven't seen you in this in years."

He glanced down at himself, noting the graphic tee that wrapped a little too snug around his torso; the jeans he was wearing barely reached his ankles, making his outfit a mismatched mess. Matthew had purged nearly every piece of clothing from his closet in the days after it happened – years of shirts from high school that had been gently stretched out, jeans faded in the knees, socks with holes developing in the soles, underwear with racing stripes that developed over the years – leaving Matthew with a near-empty closet and a mountain of clothes he could barely look at anymore. Everything reminded him of Yang holding him down. Everything reeked of that moment that Matthew could remember more clearly that he was afraid he would open his eyes and he would still be there.

Matthew glanced down at himself, Audrey's words disgusting him to such a degree he didn't know who he was anymore. "Well...guess that means I have to get rid of it."

"Want to go shopping sometime this week? Eli's looking like he needs a new winter coat, anyway."

"I'll go on my own damned time, Ms. Culpepper."

Audrey said nothing. She swallowed, nodded her head, and walked away. Somewhere into the exhibit to let Matthew stew.

And the guilt came in waves. Waves so tall Matthew could drown himself in them, but he couldn't bring himself to apologize. "If she hadn't come back," he muttered through his teeth, the justification more and more empty than before. Something in the back of his head told him to get over it, that it happened and he couldn't go back and change things.

His phone pinged.

A/N~
thank you all for your patience while i took a break - it was much needed lol. but now i'm back and more than ready to start tying up ends and giving people good endings! i have some major things planned for the story, but for now, my lips are sealed. hope you enjoy the final stretch!