Subject: [OTL]: [Wisdoms] Findings Date: Sat, 5 Jun 1999 14:00:55 EDT From: Trumpetlee@aol.com Disclaimer: Pete, Kitty, and Romany are marvels. Jake, Connie, Neena, and Darien are mine. The four bottles of vodka, speeding ticket, two fish halves and a cleaver are JB McDragon's. She said I could use them. Lou Zealand belongs to the Jim Henson Company. Lou is the Muppet that throws fish. Beetle Juice isn't mine either. Much thanks to Luba. She was a very big help! Findings Lee Tybird "All I'm saying is that it's been over ten years, you barely say a word about her to the kids, and I think it would be nice." "I don't wanna go ta London!" Kitty's eyes widened and she went pale as she stared at her husband. She crawled from her spot on the end of bed over to where he was sitting, and put a hand up to his forehead. "Pete, darling, are you sick? I thought I just heard you say you didn't wanna got to London." "You did," Pete replied, rolling his eyes. "I'd go fer some pub crawling, or ta go see Romany, or John, or ta go do an Intel job fer Jardine, or even ta go see the Excalibur lot, but I ain't goin ta go clean out my mum's old house. You take the kids an' go do it. I got the key." "Either we go as a family, or we don't go at all," Kitty replied. "Fine. I ain't goin'. I got a class ta teach." "Amanda could take over." "Not goin'." Kitty sighed. "Pete, say I do take the kids and go. You'd be stuck with the quote unquote 'spandex brigade.'" "Dom's here." "Ah," Kitty smirked. "You must remember. She wears spandex, too." "...I could deal." "Pete, it's bad enough that we have a hard time staying in touch with my mother," Kitty said. "All the kids know is that yours was shot to death, and Harold thought it was your fault at one time. You never said anything about her to me, except what she said to you that one night. Neither of us had very normal parents, or normal circumstances growing up, but I think it's important for the kids to know a little about their family." "Me mum's dead an' me dad's a bloody git. Yer dad's with the Japanese Mafia, and yer mum's divorced from him," Pete declared. "Wot else is there for them to know?" "What kind of people they are and were," Kitty said. "And you could pick up some stuff from your childhood you haven't seen in a while." Pete raised an eyebrow. "A bunch o' old, dusty bongs?- Oww!! You hit me!!" "We're going." Jake looked around. "This place is bloody huge!" he cried. "You grew up here, Dad?" asked Connie. "Yeah," Pete said. "'Fore me parents split. After that, I started switching between this house, me dad's place an' yer aunt Romany's place." "How long do you think it'll take to clean this place out?" asked Kitty. Pete sighed. "Haven't a clue. But we better get unpacked and started." "I hope you don't mind my coming along," said Romany, who came up behind them holding Darien. "I sort of wanted to be here." Pete smirked. "I wanted you here, anyway." "Check out that staircase!!" Jake cried. He ran to the top of it, got on the railing and began to slide down. "Careful, Jake," said Kitty. "Don't know how sturdy that thing is." "I haven't been here in more than fifteen years," Romany commented. "It's good to be home." "Everything looks the same," Pete replied. "There ghosts here, Daddy?" asked Neena from Pete's arms. Pete chuckled a little. "Don't think so, Angel. Though, ya never know with old places like these." "Don't go there," said Kitty. She began to walk up the staircase that Jake had slid down. "Pete, Romany, lead the way." The two began to lead the group up the stairs. Kitty spotted many pictures on the walls. She took one down and smiled. "Cute little drooling, toothless, Pete." Pete stopped, his eyes wide. "Gimme that!!" he cried, snatching the picture. "It's not like I haven't seen them," said Kitty. "What, you thought Romany never showed me family photos?" Romany smiled brightly. "Those were some good conversations, don't you agree, Kitty?" "Of course!!" Connie and Jake began to laugh wildly. "Enough," said Pete. "I knew coming here was a bad idea." Romany lead them into a master bedroom. "This was her room," she said. "Look at all the different pictures," Connie said. Pete looked down at pictures of him and Romany and their parents. They were all from different time periods. Most from his teen years. One was his kindergarten picture. He smiled and picked it up. "You were so cute," said Kitty in a devastated tone. "I was hell ta put up with," Pete replied. "Were you ever," said Romany. Pete looked up at his sister. "Guess we're all takin' the guest rooms?" Romany shrugged. "If the two of you and Darien wanna take your old room, the other three kids can share mine, and I'll take this one." Pete nodded. "Sounds good. Let's go unpack. We'll meet in the main dinning room ta decide wot ta do about dinner." Romany's old room... "God!!" cried Connie. "Serena an' Aunt Manda would have a field day in here!" she sifted through the different mythology books, and Wican books and such. Neena sat next to her with a small pouch full of stones. She took a handful and held them out to Connie. "Pretty." Connie nodded. "Yeah." "Did you know this place has been up since before the first world war?" Jake asked, looking up from his laptop computer. He'd looked up the information on the internet. He had his younger brother in his lap. "Wow," said Connie. "It survived the second? After the Blitz?" "Guess so." "Wow." Romany's current room... Romany Wisdom sifted through the many pictures of her family. She found ones of distant relatives and ones she knew well. She leaned back on the old bed and something fell into her lap. She looked down and saw a small yellow book. It was locked, but the key was on top of it. Engraved on the book's cover was the word "Caitlin's." Romany looked at the diary with interest and opened it. "All right, Mother. Let's see what made you tick." Pete's old room... "Y'know, I never got the opportunity to sneak into a guy's room," Kitty said with a smile. "How many girls did you sneak in here in your wild days?" "A few," Pete replied. He looked around the room at the many posters, tapes, and records. "Emerson, Lake and Palmer," Kitty commented, looking at a poster. "They're good!" Pete cried. "I've always liked them. They're British, too." Kitty looked at another poster. It had the two Muppets, Statler and Waldorf on it. "The two old guys in the balcony, Pete?" Pete looked up. "Huh? Oh, yeah. They were me favorites." Kitty shook her head. "You're sick." Pete laughed. He stopped for a moment and sat down on the bed. Kitty sat down next to him. "You really did care about your mom, didn't you?" Pete nodded. "No matter wot kinda shit she said ta me, I can't help caring." Pete got up. "She was my mother, y'know?" "I know," said Kitty. "I'm sorry." She got up and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm sorry I dragged you here. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea." Pete shook his head and sighed. "I've been putting this off fer too long, luv. I gotta face this. I guess this is my way o' facing her." Kitty smiled. "Just hang in there." "But I don't wanna got ta the basement," Jake moaned. "This place is freaky enough!" "Quit pullin' a Joey," Connie snapped. "I wanna see it 'fore dinner. Maybe there're dead bodies here." "Yer gross!" "Shut up an' follow me." The two walked down the dark stairs of the basement. Connie turned her hotknives on for light to guide them. They got to the floor, and they heard a squeak. Jake let out a yelp, and leaped into Connie's arms. Her hotknives automatically turned off. She glared at her younger brother. "Wot the bloody hell is wrong with you? It's just a rat!" "'Just a rat,' she says." Connie dropped Jake. "OWW!!" "Get up, an' let's move," Connie ordered. She walked down into the main room of the basement. It was dusty and unfinished. She saw numerous spiders and roaches crawling around. She turned her hotknives back on and started walking. "You there Jake?" "Uh-huh," he said in a nervous voice. Connie walked further into the dark. She bumped into a large chest, making an "oof" sound. She took a step back and put her fingers up to the large box. "Jake, help me open this thing," she said. Jake sighed and stepped forward. Connie turned off her hotknives, and the two began to open the chest. "On the count o' shove," Connie ordered. "One, three, shove!" They shoved the lid as hard as they could, and it came off. It dropped onto the floor with a thud and Jake sighed. "We got it open," he said. "Now wot?" "Now," Connie replied. "We look at wot's inside." She began to sift through the box with one hand, using her other as candles. She pulled out various pictures and trinkets. She pulled out a half of a dead fish. "Thass gross!" she cried. She pulled out another half with a cringe. She dropped it, and went on to pull out a speeding ticket, a meet cleaver, a roll of duct tape, and four bottles of vodka. Jake shook his head. "I don't wanna know." "I do," Connie replied. "Pick up the cleaver, the fish halves, and two of the bottles of vodka." "Shit no!" Jake cried. "I ain't touchin' a dead fish!!" Connie glared at him as she picked up two bottles, the speeding ticket and the duct tape. "Do it." Jake grumbled as he picked up the rest of the items. They walked upstairs. "DAD!!!!!!!!!" Pete came rushing down the stair. "Wot is it-" he stopped as he saw what his two oldest children were holding. He began to laugh. "Where'd you get that stuff?" "The basement," said Connie. "Were you Lou Zealand in a past life, Dad?" Pete sighed. "In the kitchen," he ordered. They walked in and the two kids set the items on the table. Pete sighed again. "So, yer curious about the four bottles of vodka, two halves of a fish, duct tape, a speeding ticket, an' a meat cleaver?" The two nodded. "Well, first off, I ain't tellin ya about the duct tape. But I will tell ya about everything else." Pete told a rather wild tale. As he finished, the two looked at each other and back at their father. "Dad," said Jake. "That is the biggest load of bullshit I've ever heard." "Good," said Pete. "It was the story I told to the judge." Connie began to laugh. "You told it under oath?" Pete nodded with a smirk. "You expected me ta tell that truth?" he asked. "That I'd gotten drunk underage, drove drunk in a stolen car, and in my drunkenness, ripped open a fish with a meat cleaver?" Pete shook his head, then said jokingly, "I should disown the two o' you runts fer thinkin that." "Wish I could think up bullshit like that," Jake muttered. "I'd be in a lot less trouble." Pete laughed. "You kiddin me? You'd be in so much trouble, that not even I could get you outta it." "I got a question," Connie said. "Wot, Time Bomb?" "How come you kept the... uh... fish?" Pete laughed. "Sentimental reasons, luv. You'll understand when yer in that much trouble." "Which, hopefully, she won't be," said Romany's voice behind them. "Oh, y'know she will," Pete replied. "She is, after all, a Wisdom." "So am I," said Romany. "I never got into that much trouble. Not as much as you." Pete laughed. "You were weird." "So were you," Romany shot back. "You still are." Kitty came down with Neena and Darien. "Dinner anyone?" she asked. "Just as long as it ain't fish," Jake said. They made dinner and sat down to eat. "Have you ever seen Beetle Juice?" asked Connie. Kitty nodded. "Yeah. It was a pretty good movie." "D'you remember that part where they start singing Day-o?" Kitty, Pete, Romany and Jake nodded. "That's wot this reminds me of." "Connie," said Romany, "you know that can't happen in real life." Pete snickered. "You believe in Alchemy, but ya don't believe in ghosts." "I never said I don't believe in ghosts," Romany replied. "I only said that if there were ghosts, they wouldn't have us singing Day-o." Kitty sighed. "I have to agree. I really don't think they would have us singing. Dancing, maybe, but not singing." "Pete," said Romany. "I need to talk with you after dinner. I found something you may be interested in." "More bongs?- OWW! Kitty stop hitting me!!" After Dinner, Caitlin Wisdom's old room... "So wot's up, Romany?" Pete asked. "Pull up a chair, you'll need it," Romany said. Pete did as he was told, and sat down. Romany sighed. "I've been looking through Mom's old diary. I found some interesting things you might want to see." "Okay. Do they have ta do her finding my-" "Pete, if you say the word bong one more time, I'm gonna have Kitty use some of that training on you." Pete stifled a laugh. "Sorry." Romany sighed. She took out the diary and flipped it to a page. "Read." Pete took the diary. "Wot is it?" "Just read. It has ta do with what she said to you the week she died." Pete sighed and began to read. When he was done, he looked up at Romany. "She...she didn't mean it?" Romany smiled at her little brother. "Of course she didn't," she said. "She's our mother. She would never say something like that and mean it." Pete sighed and lowered his head. "So she died fer a stupid misunderstanding. The same as before." "You're not angry at her anymore, are you?" Romany asked. Pete shook his head. "No." He shot out of his chair and began to walk away. "I'm angry at meself. Shoulda never come here." He stormed out the door. Romany sighed and picked up the diary. "Mum, what am I supposed ta do?" "Look at all these pictures," Kitty said in astonishment. "Dad looks so young," Connie said, picking up a picture of her father wearing jeans and a white T-shirt. Kitty nodded. "He looks a little like Jake, with Darien's hair and eyes." Pete stormed past them. Kitty looked up. "Pete, you okay, love?" "Fine." Kitty sighed. "You stay here, Time Bomb. I'm gonna go talk to your dad." She got up and followed Pete into the next room. "Kitty, I luv you an' all," Pete said. "But I'd really appreciate if ya'd just leave me alone fer the moment." "Sorry," Kitty said. "Can't do that. What did Romany say to you that's gotten you all upset?" Pete plopped down into a chair. "She had me read something outta her diary. It basically said that she was sorry she said the things she did, an' that she didn't mean them." Kitty smiled. "Isn't that a good thing?" "Yeah, and no. It means that she died fer a fuckin stupid reason, an' it's still my fault." Pete banged his head on the table in front of him. Kitty stroked his thick black hair. "It was never your fault," she whispered. "You had an argument, she said things to you that she didn't mean, and you took her words seriously. How else were you supposed to take them? She said she never wanted you! I'd do the same thing if I'd been in your shoes. You didn't go, because you didn't want to face her. You didn't call, because you didn't want to hear her say she was glad you weren't coming. It's a normal reaction. You had no idea what was going to go on. But things happen. Not everyone comes out of them okay, or gets reincarnated. It's life, ya silly sod, and you should know that better than anyone." Pete lifted his head to face her. "You're right. I'm bein' stupid. It isn't my fault. It never really was my fault, was it?" Kitty shook her head. He kissed her. "Thanks." Kitty smiled. "Now, you've got a daughter who wants some explanations about some pictures." They got up and walked back into the room. "Dad?" asked Connie. Pete kneeled next to her. "Wot?" "Is this you and Uncle John?" She held a picture up for her father to look at. Pete laughed. "Yeah. We were yer age." "Issat possible?!" Pete stared at her. "Yer mean." "I learn from the best." "She's right," said Romany. A week later... "That's everything," said Kitty. Pete sighed. "Yeah. Let's get outta here." He walked past the mantle piece, and a picture was sitting there. "We missed a picture," he called. Romany and Kitty came over from the front door. Pete picked up the picture and looked at it. "JESUS CHRIST!!" "What is it?" asked Romany. He handed her the picture. "Maybe Neena had a good thought. Maybe this place really is haunted..." "You're being ridiculous," said Kitty. "Not too ridiculous," said Romany, handing Kitty the picture. Kitty looked at the picture. It was obviously of the living room of the house they were standing in. In the picture were Romany, Pete, Kitty and the four kids, with an older woman standing in-between Romany and Pete. Kitty's eyes widened and she looked at her husband and sister-in-law. "That's her," she whispered. They both nodded. "Let's get outta here!" The three made a mad dash for the door. A minute later, Romany came back in, and grabbed the diary from the couch. They'd been going through it, reading it to the kids. She left and closed the door behind her.