rebeginning [alyona]

17th January

Valera had been up early, though as ve was the only one in the house it wouldn't have mattered if ve'd been awake at 4am. Grigory being away for work again gave vir plenty of time alone, and ve had grown to like things that way. The house wasn't exactly tidy, mainly due to vir ongoing memory issues meaning ve simply forgot where ve'd put things or alternatively, forgot to actually tidy up, but that was hardly a problem either. What was the Accio spell for if not for summoning lost objects, anyway.

This morning though, ve had had a mission. It was vir sister-in-law's birthday and as it wasn't what one would call a special birthday (as in one with a zero or a five on the end) there wasn't going to be too much fuss made. In fact, Valera had heard Alyona say that she didn't really care much for birthdays any more. One the one hand, ve understood the sentiment, but on the other ve wasn't about to let the day pass completely unmarked. Thus ve had spent the morning making a birthday cake that contained a special ingredient - lemon vodka. True, it wasn't home distilled which ve now knew to be Alyona's preference, but it was at least purchased locally and the cake, now freshly baked and removed form the oven, spelt heavenly.

"You don't need to test it yet" ve told virself as ve mixed the syrup in a bowl, even managing to resist the temptation to lick the spoon. Until the syrup was finished and poured in a careful, thin stream all over the cake and the coconut sprinkled on top, anyway. Then ve sampled not only the scrapings of the bowl, but the vodka as well, telling virself that it was only an hour before lunch and that was a perfectly acceptable hour to be drinking vodka. Besides, it was only a little taste.

While the cake was cooling Valera changed into charcoal grey wide-legged pants, low-heeled boots and a dark green sweater, then glanced into the mirror and decided that vir hair would look better black with that outfit. A quick colour-changing charm, some eyeliner, and ve was satisfied with vir appearance.

Now everything was ready ve packed the cake into a large box purchased for the occasion, left the house and apparated the short distance to the Artistic flying school. Alyona would be working in the offices today preparing the new season's marketing and advertising materials. Valera had timed her arrival to just a few minutes before lunchtime and made straight for Alyona's office, knocking on the door ready to offer the time honoured "Happy Birthday!" greeting as soon as it was opened.

@Alyona Tikhomirova

Birthdays were not of any importance any more and they hadn't been for many years. Alyona hadn't celebrated her birthday since, probably, her 40th which had been over a decade ago. This year everything was different anyway. The current situation called for different priorities.

Anton hadn't even slept at home that night. Again. Alyona wasn't upset about it because, by now, she had gotten used to it and she didn't really miss his company much. Anton hadn't been of any help with Aglaya in the past months. Truth be told, Alyona was mad at her husband for leaving her alone with everything. He just hadn’t been there when he had been most needed. He had been hiding in his workshop for most of the time. For all that Alyona knew he could even be having an affair. However, she doubted that was the case, he was way too passive and too obsessed with his work to be of any interest for another woman.

Alyona had gotten up particularly early this morning. The woman didn't want to run into anyone when she entered the artistic flying school. Today was just like every other day. She would be working all day and focus on the important tasks at hand. While nothing really seemed to be back to normal, she was still trying to stick to the old routines. They made her feel in control and, although there were many things to worry about and to organise, regular work was piling up as well.

After having spent the morning in the company of Natalia Sergeyevna, discussing the marketing strategy for the new season at the artistic flying school, Alyona retreated to her office, going through her notes. The meeting with Natalia that had been most unnerving due to the fact that the other witch wanted to start the new campaign and wanted to hear from Alyona if Aglaya was really back now and would volunteer for that or if they should ask Svetlana or Anatoliy instead. Naturally Natalia took the opportunity to tell Alyona that Aglaya’s recent interview had come as a surprise and told her that she thought that Aglaya hadn’t really presented the school and the family in a good light. It was true, of course. Alyona secretly agreed with Natalia. However, she was not going to tell the other witch this much. Her daughter had gone through enough already, she didn’t need her own mother turning against her now.

Alone in her office again, Alyona rubbed her temples. The headache, that was almost always there, was intensifying again. She wondered how it would have been had she told everyone that she’d take the day off and had just apparated to some faraway place where she could, for once, relax without feeling that she had to carry the weight of the whole world on her shoulders.

A knock on the door disrupted her train of thought and Alyona was actually relieved. Daydreaming was not going to make anything easier for her, anyway.

“Come in, it’s open,” she said, wondering who was on the other side of the door. She wasn’t really expecting anyone, not at this time anyway.

Originally Valera had planned that as soon as the door was open ve would sing a birthday song. However, as ve heard Alyona's voice ve changed vir mind, thus saving anyone within earshot from a distressing experience. Valera's singing voice was slightly less tuneful than a kneazle dealing with an imminent hairball. Just a spoken "Happy birthday" then, which ve called out in a cheerful voice as the door opened.

The box containing the cake, levitated a few feet in front of vir with a non-verbal spell, entered the room ahead of Valera and came to rest on a clear patch of the desk. Even through the box Valera imagined ve could smell the cake and hoped it was going to taste as good as it smelt. That was what ve was trying to think, anyway. The under-thought was that vir relationship with Alyona - in it's current state - was still rather new and hopefully ve hadn't miscalculated terribly by baking a cake.

Did the vir sister-in-law even like cake?

Oh, well. Too late now. Best just to assume everything was fine. Not many people would be upset by the appearance of a surprise gift...well, unless that gift happened to be an unexpected dog. Valera still found it strange that Aglaya had just been gifted an animal without being prepared or even knowing how to care for it. Ve wasn't going to say anything about it though, because at least that situation had settled down now. The thoughts drifted through vir mind in the space of a couple of seconds, and then ve opened vir mouth to speak.

"Hope you don't mind..." ve began, then "Don't worry, nobody knew what I was bringing in so you aren't about to get a whole string of visitors" ve suddenly thought that Alyona might want to keep her birthday private. Maybe she would be celebrating with Anton this evening...or maybe, Valera thought with a twinge of unease, she wouldn't. "I know how hard you work so I thought you might be tempted to skip lunch, I could summon some tea if you like?" ve suggested, still standing a little awkwardly in the doorway.

Two words, four syllables. Alyona looked at her sibling-in-law obviously bewildered for a moment. Her hands which had only just been lifted to her temples to massage them dropped onto her desk as she watched Valera enter her office and approach her together with a floating box. It took her maybe a moment too long to compose herself, offer a smile and react to the unexpected visitor.

“Thank you,” she said, still sounding surprised. “I didn’t really expect anyone to…” her voice trailed off.

Alyona looked at the closed box for a moment. She felt she could smell some baked goods from the inside and for a moment hesitated to open it. Then she lifted the lid and glanced inside the box. Valera’s words made her look up at ve again. She felt that the smile she had just forced onto her face had faded already and renewed the smile, this time she felt she might actually be doing a better job at offering a genuine smile.

“That’s really kind of you, thank you so much,” the healer said, leaving it open if she was thanking vir for the cake or for the thoughtfulness to hide that she was bringing cake so nobody else would intrude her office.

“Please take a seat,” she muttered as she flicked her wand to open a cupboard and summon plates, cutlery and cups for them. “Tea…” she added looking around a little distractedly. Alyona didn’t really want tea but, even though the relationship with her sibling-in-law had recently changed for the better, she wasn’t sure if she could trust vir with what she’d rather drink. She still held her wand in her outstretched hand, unsure what to do. Again there was this stinging headache and she closed her eyes for a second before turning to Valera again.

“Are you sure you want tea?” she asked, almost willing her sibling-in-law to ask for some of the home brewed vodka.

Alyona sounded tired, worn even and Valera immediately felt sorry for her, a sentiment ve felt sure vir sister-in-law wouldn't appreciate. But her words - the tone as much as the content - spoke volumes. She clearly hadn't expected anyone to celebrate her birthday, perhaps hadn't even expected anyone to remember it. That in itself wasn't so strange once one was an adult, but Valera had an uncomfortable feeling that vir brother hadn't remembered. Or perhaps he hadn't been home... Ve didn't want to ask, and decided in that moment that bringing the cake had been the right thing to do.

"You're welcome" ve said, glancing around the office briefly before sitting where Alyona had indicated "I like to bake sometimes, so I thought I'd bring something a bit special..." but the older woman seemed distracted. Ve hesitated, unsure what the problem was. Perhaps she was on a diet and was uncomfortable about eating the cake? It seemed doubtful, but was the only explanation Valera could immediately think of, until she spoke again. It was something in the way she asked whether ve was sure ve wanted tea...

Valera offered a conspiratorial grin. "With the amount of vodka I put in that cake - and of course, it would have been wrong of me not to sample the ingredints to check their quality - I don't think I should have anything else if I want to apparate safely home later" ve said with a wink "but as it's your birthday, if you want something else I think that would be perfectly fine." Ve went ahead and summoned enough tea for them to share, quite expecting that ve would be the only one drinking it and telling virself not to feel any concern and certainly not any judgement. For today, they could pretend that Alyona just wanted some vodka to celebrate her birthday, and anything else could be dealt with later. Merlin only knew, the poor woman had had enough to deal with in recent months with poor Aglaya's poisoning, it was hardly surprising if she wanted a little self-medication.

Raising vir wand again, Valera cut two generous slices of cake and put them on the plates, thinking belatedly that perhaps ve should have brought the leftover lemon vodka as well. 

It meant a lot to Alyona that Valera had remembered her birthday and it was very kind of vir to bake her a cake. The healer felt quite touched by this gesture. She felt certain that Aglaya would congratulate her and have some sort of present, too. Anton, however, hadn't been home for the night and Alyona suspected that he would not show himself all day although she was certain that he remembered her birthday very well. Their relationship wasn't the same anymore, though. They weren't close anymore; far from it. Anton avoided her and, while at first she had felt left alone, Alyona had realised by now that she was quite relieved that he wasn't around.

"Something special?" Alyona asked absentmindedly, catching just the last bit of what Valera had said. A self baked cake was special, that was true. It was a fine gesture. Valera had taken the time to make the cake for her. Yet, Alyona wasn't sure what her sibling in law meant by special in this case.

Soon enough it became clear what was special about the cake - Valera had put vodka in it, large amounts of vodka by the sound of it. Alyona smiled self-consciously, thinking that ve knew her far better than she was aware. She wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad sign at this point but decided to just go with it and try to enjoy the moment rather than to overthink it all.

"You could use the floo network," Alyona suggested as she summoned a bottle of home made vodka and two glasses. Although the healer was scared of being judged and knew that it wasn't a wise plan to drink during work hours, she felt that she needed just one vodka shot now. She poured them both a glass. If Valera chose not to drink vir glass then Alyona would empty that as well. There was no way she'd waste the delicious liquor anyway.

"Thank you," she muttered as Valera handed her a plate with a rather big slice of cake. "It looks really delicious," she added a genuine but tired little smile spreading across her face. She couldn't remember when she had last had such a treat or when anyone had last made something for her.

Valera snorted unattractively with amusement. Ve hadn't even considered taking the floo network home; it wasn't something ve was entirely comfortable with after drinking, not since an old friend had admitted to ending up in one of the seedier districts of Minsk after slurring her speech following a night out. As long as it was only a single glass, that shouldn't be a problem though.

"I could..." ve agreed, vir expression suggesting that ve would need very little convincing. It was Alyona's birthday after all, and suddenly Valera had the amusing idea that whilst everyone else was either working or training, they alone would be taking time off and...well, celebrating ve supposed. It was a better word than drinking, anyway, though the idea made vir think that they were naughty teenagers back at school again, even though Alyona was almost ready to graduate by the time Valera had been born.

Ve laughed, then took the glass and downed it in one. There! Then ve blinked and shook vir head slightly, the logical part of vir brain whispering that this was a really bad idea, and they should be setting an example for everyone else. Should? Oh, whatever! "That's good. One you brewed?" ve asked, putting the glass back and raising vir eyebrows in a gesture that clearly said please fill the glass again immediately. Only then did ve reach for the cake and try vir own creation.

"Mmm...I'm definitely a good cook!" ve joked, leaning back in the chair and feeling more relaxed than ve had for weeks. Ve was still concerned about Alyona and didn't want to ask after Anton - having not spoken to vir brother for some weeks either - but at least they were doing something fun. Maybe if ve could persuade Alyona to finish work early they could head out to a restaurant or something.

Assuming they were still upright after the vodka cake, that was.

Alyona heard Valera’s snorting laughter and realised that taking the floo network drunk was about as risky as drunk apparition. She assumed that her sibling in law could probably walk home but she didn’t bother to share this thought. They’d figure it out when the time came and that was not going to be too soon.

Pleased that Valera drank the vodka, Alyona put down her plate, took her glass and emptied it, too. She was more than pleased to hear that ve liked the drink and nodded. “Indeed. I think the home brewed vodka is still the best,” she smiled a little. These days she drank more than she should. She drank to benumb herself but it didn’t really help as much as she hoped it would.

Quickly Alyona refilled both their glasses, grateful to have a drinking companion. It was time to try the cake and the familiar taste of vodka made her smile again. “That’s a great cake, Valera,” she said, “It’s delicious.”

After eating half of her piece of cake she put the plate down and took a sip of vodka again. “Thank you,” she said, feeling somehow strangely touched by the fact that Valera had not only remembered her birthday but also made her such a special cake. “This cake is probably the best thing so far this year.” Alyona bit her tongue to stop herself from adding that she would not share it with Valera's brother, her husband. However, chances that she'd even see him today were rather low anyway.

Perhaps they should put a charm on the door so there was no danger of being disturbed...it could be embarrassing if two mature adults were found drinking vodka and eating cake in the middle of the day when they were supposedly working. And then there was the shop...technically ve wasn't expected to be working today but it was rare that Valera didn't at least look in and check that everything was okay, that no extra stock was needed...

Oh, well. Live a little, yes? Besides, Alyona definitely had looked as though she needed a lift.

Secretly Valera was becoming a little concerned about vir sister-in-law's drinking, though ve hadn't mentioned it to anyone. On the times ve had visited Alyona's house there always seemed to be a bottle in the room, or a glass in the sink, and ve suspected those where the ones the older woman hadn't remembered to put away. But on the other hand, ve could understand exactly why the vodka was so appealling these days, and that was a large part of why ve hadn't said anything. If Aglaya hadn't had the problems with her stalker...if Anton was actually able to communicate and behave like a husband and father...if - oh, a hundred other ifs. Truth be told though, Valera suspected that if ve had as much stress in vir life as this woman, ve might well become best friends with a bottle as well.

Anyway, ve was hardly a responsible relative, having actually made a cake with enough alcohol that it would have felled anyone unused to the liquor after a couple of slices. Certainly this wasn't something that could be served at a childrens' party...ve smirked at the thought. "I'm glad you like it" was what ve said, the smile becoming more genuine "I'd tried the recipe before but I think I've got it just right now because..." ve snorted again "I doubled the quantity of vodka the recipe suggested!" Ve looked at the refilled glass, offered a quick toast, and downed it in one.

Responsible adults? Pah! Then ve shook vir head, unsure how to respond to the compliment. The cake was good, but not that good... "We should do something else amazing!" ve suggested suddenly, putting down vir glass within easy range for Alyona to refill it "we could go to a restaurant for dinner...or shopping! I could do with a new pair of shoes..."

“You doubled the quantity of vodka?” Alyona asked, half amused, half appreciative. The more vodka the better. That, at least, was how Alyona felt lately. She sometimes already had vodka for breakfast and although she wouldn’t admit this to anyone as she knew that this wasn’t good at all, she was used to drinking by now. She felt she was missing something, had this strange itching desire to pour herself a drink when she hadn’t had one in too long.

It was hardly of importance now. She wasn’t, her birthday wasn’t… None of that mattered when her daughter was still in danger, was still a shadow of the person she once had been. The worst realisation that Alyona had had was that she hadn’t been aware of Aglaya’s problems, hadn’t known about the stalker although the person seemed to have written to her for quite a while already. She, as her mother, hadn’t noticed anything. It was shameful.

Glad for the distraction Alyona nodded without even really thinking about Valera’s suggestion. “Could you really make the time?” she asked, grateful that Valera was offering to keep her company. “I suppose, I could take the afternoon off. In fact, I probably should if we continue drinking and eating your delicious cake.” She smiled but it turned out more like a grimace.

“I haven’t been shopping in such a long time,” she stated. She didn’t really miss it. New clothes clearly weren’t on top of her list of priorities these days. However, the prospect of just leaving reality behind for just one day and doing something fun was alluring.

“I’d like to go shopping with you…” she mused.

Valera shrugged and made a little mock-sigh. "I know...do you think I should have tripled it?" ve asked, trying to look serious and curious and failing. The vodka ve had already enjoyed, while certainly not enough to cause actual drunkenness, was still enough to make things start to look amusing. Vir lips twitched as ve turned the glass upside-down and grimaced slightly, as if surprised to discover it was somehow empty once again - a grimace that looked almost exactly like a conspiratorial smirk.

It looked like vir plan was working. Alyona spent far too much time locked away worrying about the business. While she was responsible for a good deal of the financial success of the family, that didn't mean that the woman didn't deserve to take half a day off now and then, particularly when it was her birthday. And particularly when she had so much to worry about and needed to take her mind off things. "I can. Grigory's away and it's my day off, so I can stay for as long as you like." In fact, ve fully intended to. Alyona had been alone too much lately and needed a distraction. And while sitting and eating the rest of the cake would be a good plan, it would also end in both of them leaving the office supporting each other and giggling, which was hardly the impression either of them would want to give.

If they were to leave now, on the other hand, it would just look like they were heading out for lunch... "Shall we go, then?" ve asked, putting the empty glass back onto the table, then frowning slightly and pulling out a small notebook and retractable quill. Finish cake ve wrote on the next blank page, and then added the date as an afterthought. Valera's memory wasn't entirely reliable at the best of times, but ve had a feeling that in another couple of hours the note was going to be necessary for both of them.

“Maybe,” Alyona said, smiling a little. “Then again it might not taste anymore like a cake if you had put in more vodka.” It was delicious now. The taste of vodka was pronounced but it still tasted like a cake and not just like vodka.

“That sounds quite good,” Alyona admitted. “I have a lot of work to deal with and… you know… but I suppose it’ll still be there tomorrow.” Her plate was empty by now and Alyona looked at the cake, wondering if she should have another piece or rather leave that until later.

Valera seemed more eager to leave now and that was probably a better plan than to just indulge in more alcohol and cake. Alyona nodded along and then got to her feet. She already felt a bit tipsy but it was just the right amount of drunkenness to still pass as more or less sober and yet feel relaxed and more indifferent than usual.

“So we’ll go for shoes?” she asked though it hardly mattered. The plan was just to go out and think about something else for a bit. “Let’s take the floo,” she suggested, thinking that they’d still be able to pronounce their direction well enough (better than she had done the day she had accidentally ended up in Ireland anyway).

[out]

"Now that's a great idea for a new brand! Cake-flavoured vodka!" Valera said, laughing at the thought. Ve had seen some strangely-flavoured vodkas over the years but doubted whether it was even possible to flavour alcohol with cake. Maybe Alyona should try with some of her home-brewed stuff, ve thought, and then sniggered again and forgot in the next moment what ve was laughing about.

Drinking on an almost-empty stomach probably hadn't been one of vir better ideas.

"Work will always still be there tomorrow" ve exclaimed with an expansive gesture and in a tone that clearly suggested going out was the best thing they could do. Really, Valera hadn't expected the older woman to agree to leave the office quite so readily so that was a pleasant surprise. Luckily ve was already dressed suitably for visiting the town, though now ve realised ve had forgotten vir shoe size. No matter. It was probably written on the sole of the boots we was currently wearing so ve could take one off and check. Or...there was a charm some shopkeepers could use, ve recalled. Perfect.

"Perfect" ve said, mirroring vir thought "shoes, and perhaps a coffee somewhere as well?" Taking the floo would be ideal as well. Nobody would see them leave so there would be no danger of being stopped and asked to assist with anything or offer advice - something Valera felt ve would be singularly ill-equipped to do just now after the vodka cake and shots. Tucking the notebook and quill back into vir pocket ve got to vir feet and crossed to the fireplace. "Shall we go, sister?" ve asked, reaching into the dish for the floo powder.

[out]