One Night In Brooklyn | Bucky Barnes 1940's

Epilogue - Saturday, September 6th 1998

There was an apartment somewhere in Brooklyn that had stood almost empty for 2 months. It had a long hallway with a bedroom at the end. A kitchen and living room that opened up to each other and a large balcony. The floor was mixed wood and black n' white tile. It only had one bathroom.

It had been lived in for many years.

There had been many birthday parties, and christmases, and the occasional thanksgiving. There had even been a New Years eve or four celebrated here.

Katherine Barnes had spent most of her childhood in this very apartment with her brother Vincent, and their parents. And each and every corner of it held a fond memory.

She had her mothers dark hair and wide, large eyes; but they were very blue. She had her father's jaw and dimpled chin. She had her mothers defined cupid's bow.

"I can't believe grandpa kept all of her things" Hannah whispered, her fingers carefully running across the neatly folded clothes in her grandmother's drawer.

Her sister, Heather walked over to take a peek. She reached into the drawer and pressed one of the blouses to her face. "It still smells like her" She chuckled to herself at the strong Lilac scent.

"Alright girls, just make sure you pack everything neatly. I'll finish up in the kitchen" Katherine ordered her daughters. It wasn't her usual way, to sternly delegate tasks. But the recent loss of her father had taken a toll on her.

"Okay, mom. Just shout if you need us" Hannah smiled, but when she met her mothers eyes she could feel the sorrow.

Kathrine nodded and headed out of the bedroom.

There were many fond memories here for her daughters as well.

Hannah looked around the bedroom, gently touching the rocking chair that sat in the corner next to the dresser. For most of her childhood, they had lived just up the street, and when she moved away for college, one of the hardest parts was going from seeing her grandparents every weekend to seeing them maybe twice a year.

"Where do you wanna start?" Heather sighed, her arms crossed as she sat on the bed. She had been the only one that had taken some convincing to bring along. She was still working through the grief, in her own way.

"Dresser, I guess? Most of it is folded already" Hannah shrugged.

Heather sighed and jumped onto her feet, starting with the bottom drawer. She carefully moved all the clothes onto the bed and folded together one of the boxes to start packing.

"What are we gonna do with all of this stuff?" Heather asked carefully.

"I don't know... maybe start putting some stuff in a 'donation' pile and the other things in a 'keep' pile?" Hannah sighed.

The sisters shared the heavy silence. It was unfathomable to them, on some level, to have to choose what stays and what goes.

"Do you remember this?" Heather laughed, holding up a blue scarf. "Grandma refused leave the house without it, when she started to...you know, forget" She mumbled.

Hannah reached for it, running the soft fabric through her fingers.

"...Maybe don't make a donation pile yet" She looked up at her sister.

"Okay" Heather nodded.

Hanna wrapped the scarf around her neck, and folded together a box of her own.

Their grandmother had begun showing signs of confusion and forgetfulness a couple of years before she passed. And it went quickly downhill from there. In the end, she only remembered tidbits here and there. But she never had any trouble remembering her husband. His voice would often help her steady herself, whenever she felt confused. Music also helped. And he would let the speaker play for hours on low. And sometimes it would make her seem more normal. And you would be able to have a conversion with her. The most concerning part was how angry she got, when she couldn't remember you.