How Green Becomes Wood

"And her brothers," Daizi laughed, "No, I think she'll be incorrigible. It's very kind of her to be so active, though. I don't know what I would do if she wasn't active. But honestly... and I know this is naïve, I'd rather her be wild than a peaceful little child who sits silent on the couch all the time. I've waited so long, I want her to be loud and to run and just be very alive."
 
Sally chuckled softly. "Ah, Daizi, you are not naive at all. As much as it can be exhausting, exasperating, and even infuriating at times, having an active child running through the house screaming about their latest passion... it can also warm a cold heart in a way you never expected. As long as you've managed to get some decent sleep and a cup of coffee or two. It will be really hard some days, but other days you'll never want them to leave your side. It is a ridiculous oxymoron, but one that exists in parenthood."
 
"I don't drink coffee, but... I don't know, I hope she's not one of those kids that just shrieks, when she's a toddler it's fine, but I mean when she's a kid, but besides that... And even if she's loud and screaming, I know she'll be gentle. I can't imagine Dark and I raising a kid who isn't gentle," She sighed happily curling up a bit more in her chair, "Dark said the sweetest thing about it, you know... Because Xander is very uncomfortable with pregnancy and doesn't really like babies, and he was saying he didn't know why anyone would want one, and I didn't really have a good answer--I get too emotional, she's my baby, right, so I'm desperate to have her and can't imagine not wanting her--but Dark... Oh, he started talking about how much he loves me and how special it will be to have a child who is like me, and how even though we have less time together, raising children with me makes him feel more connected to me, and I just about died right there, I couldn't even cry because it hit too deeply."
 
"Shrieking and gentleness take a bit of training. Shrieking is all about teaching them when it's okay, giving them places where it is okay to shriek, and giving them alternatives when it's not okay. It's simple in theory, rather simple in training, actually, but requires a lot of patience and so much repetition," Sally sighed. She fell quiet when Daizi told her how Dark had responded. "Daizi, my darling, I do believe you have discovered the unicorn of men," she said contemplatively. "It's enough to make even me tear up, and I am not much of a crier."
 
"Oh you don't need to tell me, I've known for years how singular he is. I never even know how to express it, even to him it's hard. He loves me so much, and so completely, and he isn't afraid of ashamed of it. He used to be afraid, long ago, but he came from such a difficult home..." Daizi paused for a few moments, "We really do love each other. I could be so flowery about it, but that's the truth of it all. We love each other. And it breaks my heart that the twins... Well, they don't believe it can be real, and that it can last. It doesn't make me insecure, but it hurts to know they think love isn't real. Xander thinks all marriages eventually turn toxic. I had hoped by now watching Dark and I he would've learned otherwise, but... I haven't checked in for a bit, about it, but last time I did his opinion hadn't changed much."
 
Sally made a soft noise of pity. "That's such a shame, poor thing. Try not to worry too much about it. Much easier said than done, I know. He's had fourteen years to learn the wrong way, and you haven't had even a full year yet to show him the right way. And I do mean show. He seems the type who will not accept your words, but the more he witnesses how you two weather the bumps and bruises of life, the more he's going to see the light." She sighed softly. "Jack and I always had a very... tumultuous, a very passionate marriage. We fought all the time about the silliest of things, and we still do upon occasion. We never did even once consider separating, but that's all we knew. I came from a very strict, quiet, virtually emotionless household where you did not air your grievances, you dealt with them through petty revenge and passive-aggressive conversation. Jack's family was all about airing every tiny bit of laundry amongst themselves whether or not it was theirs to air. To their credit, if you were an outsider, you would not hear one word about it, and anyone inside the family would say nothing but good things, but within the family... My word. So, when we got together, heaven knows how, all we did was fight. Until dear Peter was four years old. One evening, we'd had a particularly nasty argument. I cannot even recall what it was about, but I think I said or did something rather snide because of some small offense, and Jack called me out on it. Later, I found Peter crying in his closet that Mummy and Daddy hated each other and were going to kill each other. His Nana liked soap operas, and of course, that was one of the story lines. I fetched Jack, and the three of us sat in that tiny closet and talked about it." She paused, and warmth seeped into her voice. "That was the first time we'd ever sat and calmly discussed our problems. It was such a freeing moment, Daizi, I cannot even describe. We promised Peter we were never going to hurt each other, separate, or anything like that, and we've done our best to never fight. If we do and he sees it, we make certain he sees us apologize to each other, as well."
 
"I suppose I'm not worried... It just makes me sad for him. For both of them! Because Alec is so codependent... Even though it seems like Alec is interested in one day getting married, he wants to live with Xander forever, so when Xander says he never will, Alec agrees to stay single too. But there's so much with them..." She sighed, and pulling a cozy blanket into her lap, she put her phone on speaker while listening to Sally's story.

"That's so sad..." She said at last, "Poor Peter... I can't imagine... My father never remarried after my mother, so I never had to watch my parents fight... But..." Daizi paused for a few moments to recollect her thoughts, "That's the sort of thing--the fighting--that I think has affected the twins so badly, I think they never saw the resolution of it, they never got to have that moment Peter did... I'm glad he did. Lord knows how damaged Dark still is because of all of his trauma... The different families, though, that I'm quite familiar with. Dark is from Iraq, and obviously I'm Egyptian, and even though we aren't too different, compared to if one of us was from, say, your country, especially if you look from the outside, but we really are from two very different countries at the core of it, and if you add our starkly different socioeconomic backgrounds to the mix, we're from different worlds... We've been together for so long we've more or less sorted it out, but it was difficult for a long time, especially when we first started living together. And my father still cannot stand him... that'll be tough when the baby gets here, my father has never kept a thought to himself in his life..." She chuckled slightly, and then her bright smile could be heard in her voice, "I'm glad the two of you are happy, too. I'm not delusional, even though I believe so strongly in the existence of love, I know a lot of people are in unhappy marriages, but I can tell by the way you talk about Jack you really care for him, too."
 
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"Oh, yes, I do so dearly love him, even if he is incapable of closing the kitchen cupboard doors," Sally said, amusement and fondness coming through strongly. "Those two will figure things out, especially now that they have you and Dark as their examples. Those sorts of wounds take time to heal, but I would say you two are walking poster children for healing and changing your life for the better." She paused and then said in a teasing tone, "And if your dear husband should need a bit of a break for your father, Jack can take him on a photography shoot, and Dark can take Jack to the gym or perhaps to a history lecture. Meanwhile, Peter can entertain the twins, leaving you to have some quality time with your father and baby."
 
"I'll keep that in mind! He'll probably appreciate it... if my father wouldn't think less of him for leaving the house for a bit. Dark can't do anything right in his eyes. So regardless of what happens... I'm not sure if it'll be better if she's born looking like me, so my father can see my face in he, or born looking like Dark, so my father can't continue to deny him. You he'll like, if you have a chance to meet him when he visits, because you love Egypt, but, well, my father wanted a different life for me, and blames Dark for all of it."

Daizi shifted on the couch, rolled up her shirt so she could feel her belly more directly, "See, even now she's flipping around in there! And getting stronger. She's definitely related to my father with how much she tortures Dark--He hasn't been able to feel her yet."
 
Sally laughed aloud. "Oh, dear, that should make your father very proud indeed!" She gave a soft sigh. "Daizi, dear, I should go now, I am afraid. It was lovely to talk with you, and thank you for calling me. I hope your birthday has been truly magical! The older we get, the harder it is to capture that magic."
 
"It will, I'm sure. But one day he's bound to accept him... Eventually..." She sighed, lingering on the thought, "Alright, it was nice speaking with you, too. We have to see each other again, although who knows if you'll recognize me, now. And my birthday has been nice, thank you. I'm not sure the last time I've felt it was magical, but it was more than enough. I really don't need much."
 
"True, none of us 'need' all that much," Sally said thoughtfully, "but sometimes it is nice to achieve a few 'wants' now and then. Goodbye, Daizi. Have a wonderful evening! We really must get together soon. If my work will ever relax." She said a few more farewells before hanging up regretfully. It was nice to speak to another adult about something other than work. Her husband didn't fully count.
 
Daizi made her goodbyes, and then hung up. Downstairs, her family was doing... Something, certainly, and she wanted to go seek them out, but, well, Sally had told her it was time to prioritize herself and the child she carried, so instead, she took some time, not a whole lot, but enough, to just rest and really focus on what she had with her. It was always on her mind, but it was difficult sometimes to let herself focus on it. If Xander was around, she tried (and often failed) to not mention her pregnancy at all, because she didn't want to bother him. Sometimes she just couldn't contain herself, but she tried, and hopefully he noticed.

But then, feeling satisfied, she went back to try to find everyone, "Sally is doing well," she said, stretching, "I wish I didn't have to go into work tomorrow."
 
Xander sat on the floor looking through an old farming store catalog, but he looked up when he heard Daizi coming in. "I guess you could always play hooky and let us drive you crazy," he suggested. "You'll never want to pull another one after that, right?" He looked at Alec, grinning, but Alec didn't look up from his book. Xander rolled his eyes. "Alec's reading on the chair. Don't sit on him."

Alec had his nose buried in The Hazel Wood by Albert, and he wasn't stirring. He hadn't moved since he'd picked it up shortly after changing into something more relaxed and comfortable. The most he'd done was mumble a vague acknowledgment.
 
"Thank you for the warning, I'll sit elsewhere," She replied, taking a seat on the very edge of the couch, "And it's tempting, but I really need to preserve my time off. But, you know, once I'm on leave, I'll be the one annoying you everyday. You'll both be begging to go to school even on the weekends to get away from me. What book are you reading, Alec?"
 
Alec mumbled something and turned a page.

"It's called The Hazel Wood," Xander informed her. "It's something to do with fairy tales. Like the old ones, not the girly Disney ones. I'm not sure. A kidnapping is involved somehow? And bad luck? Dunno."

Alec let out a sudden squeak but kept reading without context.

Xander frowned at him. "He keeps doing that. It's really annoying."
 
"Good books will do that to you. And the Disney versions are sanitized, not girly. Girls like death and violence too. How have you been today, Xander? Did you enjoy your trip into the city? Sorry, I don't want to bother you."
 
"Sanitized, then, whatever you want to call it," Xander said, shrugging. "I think girly, I think puffy pink stuff and crying children. Girls are in the middle. Now, women, women are terrifying. How do you go from being pure cotton candy to hiding razor blades in the stuff? Anyway, yeah, the trip was pretty cool. The city is nice during the day. Got some great shops and stuff."

"Nooooo!" Alec moaned from his chair. Xander ignored him.
 
"Girls, even the girliest of them, are never pure cotton candy. They don't throw punches like the boys do, but they will slap you down, they just use their underhand. But you know, there's nothing wrong with being girly. If it makes them happy then..." She shrugged, "I'm glad you enjoyed it. If there's any shops or anything you'd like to visit, let us know, okay?"
 
"Yeah, it's pretty-" Xander stopped short when Alec sat up and stared at him, wide-eyed.

"He's dead! They killed him!" Alec gasped. "I can't believe it! How could they do that? And how could he do that to her? It's not fair! It's horrible! This whole book is horrible!"

Xander nodded. "I'm really sorry about that, that sucks. That's pretty bad."

"Yes, it is!" Alec opened the book again and wiggled into a different position.

Xander waited a moment before asking Daizi, "Do you go shopping there much? I remember you took Alec to some clothes place."
 
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