Empty Heart

Jack knew his daughter would question the hug given to her by him. He didn't ant t tell her that her brother wasn't coming to the party that night. It was only morning, so there was still time for him to get on his flight and land. He was visiting some friends of the Robertsons who lived in Baltimore for a little while, after a long flight from Florence a few days prior, but tonight he was coming home, and that was what mattered. He hadn't answered anything that Selma-Lynn had sent him, because he wanted to catch up with her in person.

Jack didn't like princesses, per se. he just kinda figured his daughter would want to be 'normal' for a night. he knew she was different, and that wasn't necessarily bad, but if she could just be normal for once, he'd be happy.

Jack smiled at her and said "You look... adorable, sweetheart. You look like a pretty goth princess. But your friends will be dressed in pink. Don't you think you should be, too?" Jack hesitated visibly, not even trying to hide it now.He was a bit worried about her, to say the least. He didn't want her party to be ruined by her friends leaving. He knew that this party meant the word to her, as it was essentially the last human thing she could do before she took her true form. But tonight would be the most fun she had even had, and he'd ensure it.

Jack grinned back when his daughter smiled. He loved seeing her smile like that. It was a treasure every time she did. When she asked what was wrong, though, his heart nearly stopped. It plummeted as he said "Sweetheart... Maxie isn't coming. He told Daddy to tell you that he isn't gonna make it." He brushed a stray hair from her face and said "it's not your fault, sweetie. He just... he's busy. Bee can still come if you want. And even if Max was able to come, I'm sure she still would, even if just for you, my darling."

Jack sighed when Selma-Lynn pulled away from him and had her little mini-fit. "Alright, alright, sweetheart, but you need to tell Mommy and I what you DO want, then. We have eight hours until the party, so we have some time to make the party how you want. " She was actually kind of scaring him with her fit. When she said that Max not coming was okay, Jack sighed. "He made it most of the way, sweetheart. But if you really want him to come, I can see about getting him on the red-eye. Unless he has a flight booked."

Jack knew his daughter was sad, but when she really showed it, he stroked her hair and said "Baby girl, you wanna answer that? It might be Maxie" simply to try and lighten her mood. He watched as she asked, looked up him,anger in her eyes, and then sadness.

Max had indeed tried to call his sister, a few times, actually. He tried to call again while driving to the airport in Baltimore with his and Selma-Lynn's Aunt Lucy. He'd chosen to stay with her before coming to his parents' house. The flight was only a few hours long, but he was still tired from the flight from Florence.

Jack looked at his daughter, smiling. "I'll see what's up, sweetheart, just for you. But you might wanna check your phone, in case he tried to call you." He smiled when she said she was a witch with dog ears. "Ah, I see, sweetheart," he said. "You're still adorable, sweetie, even for a doggy witch." He kissed her cheek, then smiled wider at her.

Jack loved seeing his daughter smile, so when she did, he smiled back at her. He had always told her “Smile, and the whole world smiles back at you.” He nodded when she asked her question and responded “Of course, sweetheart. If you need anything, let Mommy or I know, okay?” With a final kiss to her temple, he was gone.

After he left, even though Max didn’t know that their father had been with Selma-Lynn, Max tried calling her again. “Kid, if you don’t pick up I’ll be super angry” he muttered to himself. The lady sitting next to him in the terminal looked at him as if he was crazy. He raised a brow and covered the mouthpiece, telling her “It’s my little sister’s birthday. I’m trying to call to wish her a happy birthday before I come down there.” The lady nodded and went back to her knitting.

Jack knew his daughter didn’t like being around too many people, so he went downstairs to talk with Iridessa. Upon going down there he smiled at Iridessa and said “Well, the birthday girl doesn’t seem to want all her friends over today, so we’d better let them all know. Maybe we should just let one friend come. I mean we’ll be there, and Bee, and Max is going to surprise her, but I honestly think it’s better if she’s around her pals for the day. Don’t you think so, sweetheart?”

Jack only wanted his little girl to be happy, even if she was adopted and didn’t know it. They’d tell her when she was less angry and stressed. She had a lot on her mind, so at least that much was apparent.

Jack smiled back at his wife, a smirk stretching across his face after. “I know, and everyone will be dressed the exact opposite of Selma-Lynn. Plus we got the cake custom-made, and it cost us a pretty penny. That stuff ain’t cheap, love” he said, his voice dropping to a whisper. “Besides, just to buy some time until the party really gets going, Remus is helping us fly Max all over the country. Baltimore, Chicago, New York...” Jack sighed, smirking.

When his sister picked up and yelled at him, Max was taken aback. “Jeez, I can’t call to wish my little sis a happy birthday without getting yelled at... What’s so wrong with that? I know everyone thinks you’re gonna turn into a demon, but I call BS on that. You’re a sweet little girl, and that means the most to me.” Max sighed. “Look, kid, I’m in an airport right now. The flight is supposed to be only 3 or so hours long, but if it’s delayed at all in getting to where it needs to be, I will let you know; deal?” Max was very good at deception. He’d deceived his teachers into thinking he was a real robot last Halloween.

((Whooooo seventeen sentencesssss!))

Jack smiled and asked “What’s funny, my love?” Then he looked at her as she spoke and gasped as well. “Oh, that’s right! Go ahead, sweetheart. I will be here when you come back.” He kissed her softly and then let her go.

Max sighed. “Sel, I’m not getting on a plane to Denver. I’m actually going to Chicago on my next flight. I have an assignment for school to do, and I have to travel around the country to do it. Kinda like Around the World in Eighty Days. You remember that story?” When she became excited that he was coming, Max sighed and said “I dunno if I can make it to your party tonight, kiddo. I know it would mean the world to you for me to be there, but right now... right now, college is kinda my priority. Tell ya what. I’ll get you some souvenirs and send them to you. ” When she claimed not to be troublesome, he chuckled and said “Yes you are, sweetheart.” When she told him that she almost got mauled by the neighborhood crab-ass’s dog, Max gasped. “You went into his yard? How many times did I tell you not to do that? You could have gotten killed, Sel!” Now Max was almost yelling. He even got some weird looks from the other terminal patrons.

Max was about to speak, but was cut off by his sister, who was acting quite strange, to say the least. When she hung up on him, he was left with a beep-beep-beep on the other end. If she'd given him room, he would have said "No, I've told you already, I’m going to Chicago... Look, kiddo, I will try to be there, but, if it doesn't work out, then... then it doesn't work out.”  He was surprised when she brushed it off as nothing. He could only wonder if his little sister was okay. She had changed her opinion so suddenly, and that wasn't like her, not at all. Scratch that - surprised didn’t even cover how Max actually felt. It was more like shocked. He knew it was important to her that he be there, and she’d always be his top priority, no matter how much college also meant to him. Selma-Lynn was his sister, and that meant more to him than the shiniest and sparkliest of rubies.

The whole terminal looked at him, and one elderly woman even asked “I suppose you love her enough to get on that plane and get home to her?” Max had to nod. “Yes,ma’am, or as we say in Italy, signora.” The lady raised her eyebrows and asked “Are you fluent?” Max smiled and replied “Sì, io sono fluente. Italiano è una lingua difficile da imparare, ma penso di aver fatto.” [Yes, I am fluent. Italian is a hard language to learn, but I think I have done it.]

~~~~

Once 4 o’clock rolled around, Jack came up the stairs and knocked on her door. “Selma-Lynn? Sweetheart, are you okay?” He slowly came in and went over to her. “I could hear some of your conversation from downstairs, sweetheart. Are you alright?” Jack sat on her bed and stroked her hair. “You’re right, Sel, it’s your party and you can wear and do what you want. You don’t need to wear any amount of pink to please anyone, hon; the only person you really need to please, at any given time, is yourself.” His heart dropped when he saw the sheen of dried-up tears on her face. “Do you wanna talk about whatever’s bothering you? You know I’ll listen, baby girl...” He pulled her into his lap and slowly rocked back and forth, holding her close.

"Selma-Lynn," Jack said in a soft voice – not stern, because he didn’t want her to think she was in the wrong – “Sel, you know Maxie loves you, and you know he’d swim the Mediterranean if it only meant seeing you again. But college also means a lot to him, and he needs this opportunity. Maybe he’ll come back to the states and get hired onto the New York Times as a journalist like he’s always dreamed. Then he could come see you all the time.”When she spoke, Jack smiled and said “Of course, baby girl. If you need anything, I’m downstairs with Mommy.” He knew that his daughter was upset, but he was trying his hardest to help his little girl in her time of sadness. He wasn’t one to get upset anymore, being that, once his little girl went full demon, things would get more serious and she’d be easier to piss off.

Max texted Bee and said ‘Is the plan working? I wanna be a complete surprise for her, and I want to have a sort o truce between us, even just for a day. Can we just do that, for my sister?’ He hoped she said yes, because if they fought, Selma’s demon might be awoken earlier than midnight. He knew his sister was an emotional child, but tonight was the night where she’d be happy as a lark – or so he hoped.

Downstairs, Jack was wrapping a last-minute gift he hd bought or his daughter – a new cell phone, a Nokia Lumia. Once he was done, he stuck a sticker on it that said ‘To Selma-Lynn, from Mommy and Daddy’. He put an envelope underneath it, with a card that had a note inside it. On the front of the card, there were a couple characters from Wicked – Elphaba and Galinda/Glinda. Jack had done all the drawing on the card himself, and Iridessa had helped him with the curvy writing on the inside. On the front was the scene from ‘For Good’ and on the inside was a drawing of the Emerald City.

Jack hoped his daughter would calm down in the next 20 minutes, before guests started arriving. He looked at his wife and said “Can you go check up on her, love? I think she’s gotten sick of seeing my face.” He laughed, showing that he was joking with the latter sentence. Kissing Iridessa, he smiled. "I love you, my darling... You are the embodiment my inner strength, Iridessa."

Max got Bee’s text and smirked. ‘Why don’t we just not fight, period? I honestly think I figured stuff out, figured out how not to be a complete ass to a girl. And uhm…^///^’ Max stopped the text there, unsure now if he was ready to profess his newfound love for Bee. He felt like he was ready to try again, to apologize for what he’d done, and start over. Then he sent another text saying ‘Wanna move to Italy? College there is awesome! Awesome parties, awesome people… and I know there’s a really good teaching program at the college I go to.’ He smiled and laughed a little to himself. Finally, he texted her and said ‘Thanks, Bee, for everything you’re doing, for me, for my family… for my sister. That means a ton to me.’

Jack smiled and nodded, following his wife. He loved her enough to do as she'd asked of him. Iridessa was his love, and he was never going to give up on her.

Max nodded and sighed. 'Remus said you really wanna become a teacher, so I thought I'd help you live your dream. I know that would mean leaving my sister, but Selma-Lynn is a big girl. She can handle it. Besides, Mrs. Sanchez, the teacher for that program, is super nice. It's not like I'm not gonna give you time to think about it. Even if you joined mid-year you would probably still be able to catch up. So yeah, just think about it and get back to me whenever you've made a decision." Max smiled as he sent the text.