wis·dom
/ˈwizdəm/
noun
the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment; the quality of being wise.
Narnia had always been a free country, until she came along. Jadis was the devil in disguise, and she brought to the kingdom an eternal...
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"We cling to our fairy tales until the price for believing in them becomes too high." – Ransom Riggs
England, 1949
Dinner was awfully quiet in the beginning.
All that came out was the sound of the utensils against the plates or the occasional glass being brought to someone's lips. While Olivia was comfortable with the silence, Lucy was not.
If there was one thing that bothered Lucy the most, it was the quiet. Whenever Olivia saw her, Lucy always had something to do; she kept herself busy. The youngest always had a shore or some extra schoolwork or extra hours working at the coffee shop around the corner ( but Olivia suspected that last one was because of her coworker, Oliver, who was a sweet guy, like a cinnamon roll, and he obviously had a crush on Lucy ).
"Susan," Lucy cleared her throat. "Everything alright in the big city? Seen Mum and Dad lately?"
"Oh, everything's great." She smiled. "I always see Mum and Dad, but they're mostly at the church these days; can't seem to stop praying. I've been promoted to my college's swim team Co-Captain. And even better now because I'm here!"
There was something off about Susan. She was too chirpy, too excited, too giddy. Average Susan wasn't like that; she allowed herself to be happy for a moment and then went back to a regular stoic manner. She was like a robot, a machine.
"So, mum and dad are fairly busy with Jesus, huh?" Edmund asked, and that luring tone of voice set in. Olivia was very familiar with how he spoke, like he was setting a trap. Lucy saw it too, because her pinky finger twitched, a sign of nervousness Olivia had picked up on Lucy a while ago.
Susan hummed in agreement. "Very. Can't seem to go anywhere else but the church." She took another bite of the smoked salmon, gently peeling off the avocado.
"But yet, they found space in their busy agenda to come to my wedding, something you couldn't seem to do."
And there it was: the trap. Peter gulped, setting his fork down and awkwardly taking a sip of his wine. Lucy seemed to find a fascinating spot on the table, and Olivia looked at her nails.
"I see you still haven't got over that."
"I haven't got over many things."
His tongue was sharp, always had been. Arguing with Edmund was like asking to lose. Olivia had once seen her husband go on a debate, defending that gravity didn't exist, and he won. How? That was beyond her comprehension.
Susan gently peeled off the avocado of another piece. "You know why I haven't attended the wedding, Ed." She responded calmly.
"One thing is not to approve," He said. "But you're still my sister. You may hate Olivia's guts, but you're still an important person in my life. You don't get to have an excuse to miss your brother's wedding because you have a petty grudge against his wife."
