Chapter Two Thousand Two Hundred Seventy-Eight
16th February 1974
Tempelhof, Berlin
“You do know that they have been arguing about you?” Angelica asked Marie Alexandra from the doorway of her bedroom. Curiously, Sophie’s dog Sprocket had evidently decided that Angelica was his person while Sophie was away, and he was sniffing around Marie’s room.
She was going through the extensive collection clothes and makeup with the intention of taking a walk to the market as someone else. It only took a bit of work, but the pale young woman with red hair who Marie saw in the mirror could vanish for a little bit. Of course, the old joke about how wherever you go, there you are had grown increasingly apparent as time wore on. This wasn’t helped by the University students who made up much of the staff of the market making a game of seeing through her various disguises. The trouble for Marie was that she didn’t want to be recognized, she just wanted to feel anonymous for a short time. The University students quickly figuring out who she was happened to be a reminder of how there were aspects of herself that she couldn’t change, which she found annoying. Marie also lacked her mother’s obsessive need for fitness, something that had infected Sophie. All of that combined to make Marie’s appearance, well… average. There was no other term that could be used, something which Marie found annoying.
Now Angelica, who meant well but was going about it the wrong way, had just reminded her that her parents had been arguing about what was going on with her. For the life of her, Marie could not understand why Suga had decided to act as an intermediary between her and her parents a couple days earlier. That had disrupted the equilibrium of this household.
“I know Angi” Marie replied, “And I wish they wouldn’t.”
With that, Angelica walked up and hugged Marie. She was rather surprised by that kind gesture. Marie supposed that it was an Italian thing, but they tended to like large families and Angelica had been alone for most of her childhood. She had delighted in finding herself the youngest in a large diverse family, taking things like Sophie’s inferiority complex or Tatiana’s need to be a complete bitch at times, and lately, Marie’s own drama in stride. She even got on well with Gretchen Schultz who stayed with them when Nancy Jensen was out of town.
“I cannot believe all of this is yours” Angelica said, her attention instantly diverted by the things that crowded every horizontal surface. Like every other girl who had set foot in Marie’s room over the last few years, Angelica found the collection that Marie had amassed over the last decade irresistible. It wasn’t just the various costumes and theatrical supplies, but books, toys, and various items that had just interested her at the time.
Marie could only hope that Angelica didn’t become a constant nuisance like Sophie had been before she had found other interests.
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The conversation had consumed every moment they had been together for the last two days after the Empress had decided to get involved on Valentine’s Day. Doug had tried his level best to make that day special. His plans that had been unfortunately dashed and every difficulty and frustration had come to the fore. Tatiana was following in Kat’s footsteps, much to her profound disappointment. Malcolm seemed to have vanished. And now there was this problem with Marie Alexandra.
What was unsaid was that Marie was special to Kat in ways that the others were not, even Tatiana and Malcolm. Before she had been born, Kat had made some serious choices and that was reflected in how they interacted with each other. That also made Kat a bit resistant to letting her go.
“I made some calls today” Doug said, “The Canadian Embassy and the Dean of Admissions at my old University. They would be overjoyed to have Marie, especially with her being a legacy admission. This is one of the top Universities in Canada and they have a Liberal Arts program that seems like it was made with her in mind.”
It was the same University that Doug and his father had attended. That made it extremely easy, but there were other considerations though. He was aware that he had only mentioned this as a possibility, not that he would go ahead and make those calls. There was also one other thing that Kat brought up herself.
“Margot will see this as some kind of victory” Kat muttered, “Her living in Montreal.”
Margot, Doug’s mother had never liked her. To Margot, Kat was one of those hated Huns who had killed thousands of soldiers from the British Empire, including more than fifty-thousand Canadians, radically altering the composition of the country in the process. Not that Kat had passed up any chances to needle Margot over the last three decades either.
“I wouldn’t go that far” Doug said, “You know as well as I do just how difficult Marie can be at times. With how she delights in being unconventional she will drive my mother up the wall. McGill was also affiliated with the Presbyterian Church until fairly recently, knowing that Marie has no issues going there will also be like an itch she cannot scratch.”
Kat was amused by that, but there was a bit of sadness.
“It would have to be up to Marie though” Kat said, “Living an ocean away for several years might not suit her.”
Her, or you? Doug thought to himself but didn’t say it aloud.
“Of course,” Doug said, “She will have a chance to go there this summer to take the tour, she might still decide to stay closer to home.”
Even as he said that Doug knew that Marie Alexandra would probably jump at the chance. What Suga had told Kat about Marie needing some distance to figure out the direction of her life was something that was impossible to ignore.