His Cure

Fatherhood and Other Dreams

"Elizabeth!" Hosea called me from across the camp. "Everything okay?" I asked as he walked towards me. "Sort of. Would you do something for me?" "Sure, what is it?" "Go with Arthur." "Where's he going?" I asked as I looked around for him. "To see Mary." "Mary-Beth?" I questioned, confused. "No, no. Mary Linton. She's Arthur's ex-girlfriend." "Uh..." I responded, not exactly sure what to say next. "Hosea, why on god's green earth would I do that?" "I know it's an odd situation but, well, she has a sort of hold over him. She has a habit of using him and making him do things for her. I told him to leave it but you know what he's like." "Yeah, I do... but I don't know Hosea... you know how me and Arthur are..." I replied as I contemplated it. "I know Liz but I'm asking you. Do it for me. You don't even have to talk to her, just make sure he doesn't do anything stupid." "I..." I began but quickly trailed off, hesitantly. Arthur and I were sleeping together and now I was about to meet his ex? I knew this was a terrible idea but before I could shut it down, Hosea added, "Please, Elizabeth. For me." Which caused me to sigh before saying, "Okay, fine, but I ain't happy about this." "Thank you. He's over by his horse." I nodded as I began walking towards the hitching station. I really didn't want to do this.
"Hey, where you off to?" I asked Arthur as I walked up next to him. I decided against telling him about me and Hosea's conversation. "Just into town." He vaguely responded. "Great, I'll come with." I replied as I hoped onto Wish. "You don't have to do that..." he awkwardly responded as he mounted up. "I need to head into town anyway." I said as we began to ride up the path. "Seriously, you don't want to come." "And why's that Morgan? Don't want me to meet Mary?" I asked with a smirk. "What? How did you...?" "Hosea asked me to come with you." "Why?" He seemed just as confused as I was. "Said something 'bout her using you or something? I don't know. I'm just doin' as I'm told." I replied as we got closer to town. "She..." he began as if he was going to defend her but quickly decided against it. "Ain't this gonna be awkward?" Arthur asked after a moment. "Why? Because she's your ex and we're having sex? No, not at all." I answered sarcastically.
***
"Arthur!" A girl called out from a balcony as we walked past a house. "You came!" "I came." Arthur replied with a slight smile. "Wait there I'll be right down!" She said before disappearing back inside her house. "I'll be over there." I quickly said, really not wanting to be a part of that awkward conversation.
I couldn't hear what they were saying but I could see them. I wasn't jealous. What?! I wasn't!
After a moment they stood up and began walking down the street as Arthur ushered me over. "What's up?" I asked as I walked next to them both. "Arthur... who's that?" Mary awkwardly asked as she stared at me. "That's Elizabeth." "That wasn't exactly what I meant... why is she here?" She questioned, she seemed slightly annoyed at my presence. "I'm really not sure." I added, answering for Arthur. "Does she know...?" Mary whispered to Arthur as to not let me hear. "About what?" "About us, Arthur!" She continued to whisper but I quickly rolled my eyes. "Yes, I'm aware." I answered, causing her to jump slightly. "If you want to have a private conversation you're gonna have to be a lot quieter than that." "Who are you?" She asked me as she looked me up and down. "Literally no one." I replied, not wanting to have this conversation. She quickly looked at Arthur who then explained how and when I met the gang. Thankfully he left out the parts about me and him having sex.
"He's in here." Mary said as we stopped outside the stables. "Wait here." She said before heading inside. "I have to ask, what's the deal with you and her?" I asked as we waited outside. "She married someone else 'cause she don't like that I'm an outlaw." He said as he lit a cigarette. "So why ain't her husband helpin' her?" "Died." He bluntly responded as he passed me his cigarette. "Oh, yeah that would make it pretty difficult for him to help." I replied, causing him to chuckle as I took a drag from his cigarette. "Hosea said she was using you to do her dirty work 'n playin with your emotions." I replied as I passed his cigarette back. "Don't you start n' all. I'm an adult, I can make these decisions on my own." He replied as he stamped out his cigarette butt. "Daddy please!" Mary exclaimed as her and a rough looking man walked out. "No! You leave me alone!" He exclaimed as he drunkenly stumbled off. "He looks like a nice guy." I sarcastically said to Mary. "Don't start." She replied, irritatedly before turning to Arthur. "He's up to no good, I know it! We have to follow him!" And off we went, chasing a drunk, overweight man around the streets of Saint Denis. Not where I'd thought my day would be going but oh well.
"You can see why he has such a high opinion of himself." Arthur said as Mary's father threw up in the middle of the street. "Stop it Arthur." She responded as we snuck around the back of a building as to not lose sight of him. "We'll just follow the smell..." I added as we walked past his vomit pile causing her to give me a death glare.
"What's he doing?" Mary asked as we watched from around the side of a building. "He's either buyin' somethin or sellin' somethin'." I whispered as we continued to watch him. "Or waiting on a woman with dubious morals." Arthur added which made me chuckle. "Be quiet Arthur!" She exclaimed in a whisper as her father began to sell something. "That was my mothers brooch!" She exclaimed before quickly turning the corner to confront her father. "You had no right to sell it!" She yelled, getting angry at him as Arthur and I followed her. "Oh look, you've found your outlaw boyfriend again!" Her father exclaimed as he laid eyes on Arthur. "Hello, sir." Arthur said sarcastically before Mary's father laid eyes on me. "And who's this?" He asked as he looked me up and down. "I'm literally no one. Please pretend I ain't here." I said as I leant against the fence. "You sold my mothers brooch?!" Mary continued to yell. "Relax, I'll get it back." Arthur said as he began to walk out of the alleyway. "Don't kill anyone!" She yelled back as Arthur gave a wave of dismissal over his shoulder. "Daddy!" She continued to argue with her father after Arthur had left. "You come here with your outlaw boyfriend and his new girlfriend and expect to tell me what I can and can't do?! No! Leave me alone!" He exclaimed before drunkenly wandering off again. "Daddy, please!" She yelled as he left but he just ignored her.
I awkwardly lit a cigarette and began to smoke it as she sat down on the steps next to me and put her face in her hands. "Are... uh... are you alright...?" I asked, uncomfortably, causing her to look up. "I'm fine. He's just having a rough day." I wasn't sure I believed her but I wasn't going to argue the matter. "Is it true?" She asked after a moment of silence, catching me slightly off guard. "Is what true?" "Are you and Arthur sweet on each other?" I wasn't exactly sure how to answer that. "No." I bluntly replied, hoping she'd drop it. "You live with him, does he ever talk about me?" She asked. "I'll be honest with you, today is the first I've heard of your existence." I replied honestly. It wasn't my job to make her feel better about herself.  "Oh." She replied, clearly disappointed at the answer. I knew I should have just stayed out of it but I couldn't help myself. "Do you still have feelings for him?" I asked as I took a puff of my cigarette before offering it to her but she quickly turned it down. "I'll always have feelings for him but I can't just get past who he is." "You can't force him to change just 'cause you don't like it." I replied. "I guess I was just hoping he loved me enough to give it up." "That ain't how this life works. There ain't no gettin' out." "I guess, I just can't seem to let him go." She said as she looked at the floor. "Well you need to figure it out," I began as I felt myself getting protective. "You can't just lead him on. Either you want a future with him or you don't." "I do want a future with him! It's just..." "You can't force him to change for you. You either accept him for who he is or you leave. It ain't fair to keep him strung along in your confusion." I answered. "I ain't stringing him along! I don't know what to think..." "Alright, but that ain't his fault. You either want him or you leave him. Stop fucking with his emotions." I replied. Why was I getting so protective? Why did I care so much?
"I'm not trying to hurt him!" She exclaimed as she stood up. "Well, you are. It's not fair." I replied trying to calm down the situation but she clearly wasn't having any of it. "What gives you the right to get a say in mine and Arthur's relationship?!" She questioned. "You have no idea..." I muttered under my breath. "Try me!" She exclaimed, getting angrier. "I'd rather not." I calmly responded as I stood up to face her. "You and him are friends. You don't get a say in what he does with me!" "I never said I did. I was just giving you some advice." "Well your advice isn't wanted! Until you've seen him naked, you don't get a damn say." She yelled which made me smirk. "Alright, so I CAN give my opinion?" I chuckled, I knew I was playing with fire but I was actually starting to enjoy this. "No, I don't mean if you've accidentally walked in on him changing! I mean-! Ugh! You know what I mean!" She continued to yell. I really had to bite my tongue to stop myself from laughing. "Alright, so I CAN give my opinion?" I repeated with a mischievous smirk. "Very funny." She replied, not believing me. I chuckled as I looked at the sky. 
"You and Arthur...?" She questioned as it hit her, shock across her face. "Look, I ain't tryina step on anyone's toes, all I'm sayin' is it ain't fair to drag him along while you're figuring out what you want. You can't make him change for you. He is who he is and you either love him for everything that he is and everything that he comes with or you leave. That's all." "You don't understand! I'm not an outlaw! I don't want to get dragged into that life!" She got angrier. "Then don't." I replied bluntly, wishing I was anywhere else but here. "Maybe you should marry him..." she sighed as she sat back down in defeat. "I'll pass." I sarcastically replied. "I'm serious. Two murderers living happily ever after? It's like a fairytale." She snapped which caused me to take a few deep breaths. "If you think that all we are is low life murderers then you CLEARLY have no idea what we do." I replied calmly, sticking up for the gang.
There was a long, awkward, silence. "Have you and Arthur really... you know... or were you joking?" She asked which caused me to facepalm. "I really don't want to have this conversation with you." I replied. "Right, sure..." she said as she looked at the ground. I lent against the fence as we awaited Arthur's return which really couldn't come soon enough.
"Where's your father?" Arthur asked as he joined us back down the ally. Thank god, I didn't have to make small talk with Mary anymore. "I don't know..." she replied after a moment. "You want me to go find him again?" Arthur asked. "Not really." "Well, let's take a walk." Arthur suggested to her but quickly added, "You coming?" To me as he noticed that I hadn't moved. The thought of going on a walk with Arthur and his ex made me want to claw my own eyes out so I quickly shook my head. "Come on, we've got to get back to the horses anyway." Arthur insisted as he walked towards me and began to lead me with his hand on my back. "Fine." I replied but I wasn't happy about it. They walked together and I walked behind as they began to have a conversation. "I'll take you to the trolly." Arthur suggested as we walked out of the ally. "Oh, I got you your brooch back." Arthur said as he passed it to Mary. "I won't ask." She replied. "Probably best not."
We continued to walk down the street and towards the trolly when Mary stopped and asked, "Hey, what are you doing now?" to which I replied, "Well I was going to go hang myself but if you've got something better to do then I'm all ears." I knew she wasn't asking me but I used sarcasm to cover awkward situations. "I weren't asking you." She replied unimpressed which caused Arthur to chuckle. "Why'd you ask?" Arthur questioned. "Well, I was wondering... if you wanted to do something? Head to the theatre perhaps?" She questioned as I awkwardly went to walk away but Arthur quickly grabbed me by the back of my collar and dragged me back like the way a momma cat carries her kitten. "Oh Mary, I don't think that's a very good idea." Arthur replied as we continued to walk but Arthur didn't let go of my shirt. "Sure, I understand." Mary replied as she walked along next to us. "You can let go." I said as I tried to release Arthur's grip. "You're a proven flight risk." Arthur chuckled as he continued to walk with a firm grasp still on my shirt which caused me to roll my eyes.