Heat Wave solo

19 June 2004, 6 o'clock in the morning

The stifling heat woke Olphie far earlier than she intended on her first Saturday of summer holiday. Her bed creaked as she rolled over to peak at her sleeping younger sister, Marguerite. She still had a few more days of term, and at seven years, she and the twins, six-year-olds Fae and Arnoux, were the only Bercegeays to be fully integrated into the school system. Though the twins still looked mighty tiny, Marguerite, in Olphie's absence, adapted a sort of maturity from being the eldest sister that resonated even upon her sleeping form.

The past year had seemed to be a dream, in more ways than one. Olphie craved owls from her friends and maybe even a homework assignment from her horribly boring Astronomy class. As she stepped off the Hogwarts Express, Olphie took in the gray plumes of smoke that emitted from the train one last time as families around her joyously reunited. Even though she knew that her family was unable to meet her at the station, her eyes scoured the platform as she searched for those familiar faces, hoping to conclude her dream year with a happy conclusion. Instead, she navigated the terminal alone, money in hand to pay for the fare to get to the Bercegeay household.

 The family's eyes had all glowed in pure joy as they welcomed their eldest daughter and sister back into the home for the summer. Olphie couldn't help but feel her eyes glisten with tears as she took hug after hug from parents and siblings, hopeful that the dream wouldn't end, even if she was no longer surrounded by magic. As they ventured off to bed, one by one, each child kissed Olphie on the cheek and said, in their sweet, childish voices, "Night night, Oofie."

Exhausted in the happiest way possible, Olphie retreated to bed with Marguerite, and Olphie conversed happily with her younger sister about the happenings of the family. Marguerite had reported that the neighbor next door, who watched them in Olphie's absence, wasn't nearly as fun as Olphie and smelled slightly of moth balls, and that Mum and Dad were so happy to have their daughter home again. She asked Olphie to talk about her year, but as Olphie told elaborate stories of zooming through the air during Flying lessons, Marguerite's heavy breathing turned to snores. Olphie couldn't help but smile. They'd have all summer to catch up, hopefully sometimes just the two of them, since Mum and Dad were used to watching the children without Olphie. Olphie knew how hard being the older sibling could be and wanted to give that support to her sister.

After watching Marguerite's shoulders rise and fall in their sleepy rhythm for quite a few minutes, Olphie determined that the sticky heat would not permit her to sleep further. Olphie got up, creating another groan from her bed. She figured it would be best to go downstairs in the quiet, anyway, as she was unused to the children's chaos after missing it for an entire year.

As her feet padded down to the kitchen, however, Olphie realized that Thérèse and Eponine, now two, had beaten her. Coffee wafted from the kitchen, mixed with the forgotten scent of tobacco; Thérèse puffed from her cigarette as she spooned cereal into Eponine's mouth. Her mother smiled as she greeted Olphie, and with a release of smoke, she said, "How'd you sleep, dear?"

"Well, but it's hot," Olphie returned. "And you? How about you, Eponine?"

The two-year-old flashed a toothy grin as she munched on her cereal, happily and waved at Olphie. "I sleep big girl!" She giggled. Olphie looked quizzically at her mother, who explained, "We just transitioned her from the crib; your father and I figured it was time to put the crib away for a while. Quite a few changes here!"

"Where is father, anyway?"

"In the bathroom; he'll be out soon. Eponine came to wish us good morning early, snuggled right in there!" 

Now that her mother had mentioned it, Olphie could hear the rushing water flowing through the pipes. Her senses still needed to wake up, but now that she was more attuned, the eleven-year-old also noticed that her mother looked particularly cheery this morning. Normally, last summer at least, when the children had woken her up early, Thérèse had been guaranteed to be in a lousy mood, more apt to get frustrated throughout the day and insist that Olphie deal with whatever tantrum was at hand. Marguerite was older, sure, but she was not old enough to handle the siblings in the same way Olphie had been able to. Perhaps, in Olphie's absence, Thérèse had had some emotional growth herself?

Olphie's lips curved upward at the thought of her mother's newfound independence. She loved her siblings, of course, but she had worried about Thérèse. For someone who wanted a large family, Thérèse had an incredible lack of skill with children. Olphie had worried that she would flounder without her eldest daughter, especially given Victor's long work hours.

Though she was on the lowest floor of the home, Olphie found that the heat would not relent as her hair stuck to the back of her neck. She pulled the hairband off of her wrist and pulled it into a tight bun, then opened the fridge for a cool glass of water. As she did so, the steam from the bathroom crept toward the kitchen; Victor's shower must have finished.

Her suspicions were confirmed when she turned to find her father in the entryway of the kitchen. Eponine giggled happily at the sight of her father, right hand extended as it opened and closed in greeting. Victor tittered joyously in return as he leaned downard to smooch his baby, then his wife, and then hugged Olphie. "How'd you sleep?"

"Good, and you?"

"Well, especially now that you're home," Victor returned with a squeeze. As Olphie sat down, he poured himself a cup of coffee, then sat himself. Olphie made faces at her youngest sister and, unbeknownst to her, Thérèse made faces, herself, toward Victor. With an uncomfortable clearing of the throat, Olphie's father murmured, "Olphie, dear, you have any plans today?"

Olphie looked quizzically at her father, as she tried not to let her excitement show. Had Thérèse and Victor planned something special for her return? Maybe she could get her nails done, or maybe she could get another pair of heels, like they had promised since she was so grown up now? Heart racing at the prospects, she responded, "No! Do we have plans?"

"Well, erm..." Victor clearly looked uncomfortable. Her father was normally confident; had something happened? Maybe his job wasn't going well, Olphie wondered. How could she have been so foolish to not to ask last night! "You see..."

"We were wondering if you could watch your siblings while we had a day out," Thérèse finished as she took a drag. "It's been so hard without you, dear - we need a break."

Olphie wasn't sure if it was the cloud of smoke or the tears in her eyes, but suddenly the room seemed to blur and her parents grew unfocused. Her neck prickled, reminding her of the heat as sweat dripped down it, down her back. She bit her lip, hard, trying to gain control. The room still spun, so she pressed downward more forcefully until she could taste the rusted delicacy of blood on her tongue that brought her back to reality. How could she have been so foolish not to realize that Thérèse had been excited for their free childcare to return, that Victor had been uncomfortable because he never wanted to ask for help. How could she have been so foolish!

She swallowed. The room continued to close around her, the air suffocating her as it strangled her with its arms.

She bit. 

She swallowed.

She answered. "Of course."

Olphie was a student of magic, and it seemed that she had said the magic words, though it was a spell she had not learned in her textbooks. Thérèse immediately extinguished her cigarette in the ashtray before her, jumped up, and squealed, "I'll get my makeup done!" Victor continued to feed Eponine, who cooed in her childlike innocence, unaware of the situation surrounding her. Olphie kept her eyes on her hands, which clutched her water before her, her only salvation at staying cool when faced with these heat waves.

In no less than ten minutes of silence, Thérèse returned and Victor handed Eponine her spoon. With a large smile, Thérèse hugged Olphie and said, "Thank you so much dear! You have no idea just how much we missed you. Now, the others should be up soon, and there's a bit of laundry that you could do, and the children's bathroom is a bit of a mess, but you can clean that, can't you dear? Eponine should be nearly done with her breakfast, and the twins have been wanting eggs, but Henry and Pascale just think they are disgusting, so sausage for them. And milk for all of them, don't let Marguerite tell you otherwise! Don't forget to go out early - it'll be too hot if you wait too long, and...that should be it, I think! Thank you, thank you! We have missed you, dear!"

"I-" Olphie began, head swirling. She had been gone an entire year, needed to acclimate once more, she thought, but Thérèse seemed to think there was no issue, though Olphie could think of many potential problems, beginning with the heat. "I..."

Now was her chance to get them to stay, but her lips curved around the words, "Have fun," ignoring everything that her brain was trying to do. She felt disconnected, she felt out of control, and all she could do was just bite down and welcome the only thing she could control as her parents closed the door. How could she have been so foolish. She was nothing but a maid, a babysitter. The dream had ended as soon as she had gotten off that train.

At least she'd have a few more moments of calm, or so she thought. When she returned to the kitchen, baby Eponine had thrown her cereal onto the floor, still babbling away. Olphie sighed as she grabbed the rag to clean up the mess, hoping that the heat in her tears and the weather would pass soon.