Let's Try Friendship

Posted on Fri 11th Oct, 2019 @ 10:20pm by Purulence Addams & Ignatius Collins
Edited on on Tue 14th Jul, 2020 @ 4:41am

1,486 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: A Diplomatic Affair
Location: Addams Family Home, Deck 1554
Timeline: MD-04

Ignatius left Experiment Number Six to continue with her tea and climbed the steps to the front door. He gave four brisk raps of the knocker, as if he were rapping out the first notes of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, and waited.

Upstairs, Purulence cocked her head as she listened to the faint sounds of the door knocker. "Are you expecting someone?" she asked Ischemia. "I'm surprised Six let anyone in."

"No, I have a small social circle, but none would come here. If Six passed someone, and the gate, then it will be someone acceptable. Wash your face, and I'll go see who it is. I don't think anyone else is home right now, not even Thing." She didn't bother slipping her shoes on before going downstairs to the door.

Opening it, she was surprised to see the man from her recent discussion with Purulence. "Oh, what a surprise, Mr. Collins. What can I do for you?" Ischemia didn't stand back from the door or invite him in verbally.

"May I speak to Purulence?" Ignatius asked. "We were talking in the park nearby, and she became upset--or afraid; I'm not sure which--took off running like a shot. I was hoping she came here. I want to make sure she's safe--and find out what set her off."

Ischemia eyed the man. He seemed sincere, and she knew Purulence needed to talk with him, and wanted to besides. Seeming reluctant, she stood back far enough for him to enter. "Mr. Collins, before I permit you any farther than the foyer, I must ask. What are your intentions toward my sister? You're a rich young man, and you have traveled the galaxy. My sister is a valuable treasure to me, and to each member of the Addams family, but what is she to you?"

Ignatius paused to think. He chose his words carefully. "I'm ... not sure yet what she is to me. I'm powerfully attracted to her, and I think she is to me, as well. Neither of us knows why. That's bugging both of us. So right now, I just want to become friends with her and see if there's something deeper than just this bizarre attraction. I don't believe in love at first sight. Love takes time and patience. It takes work. It's magical, but it's not magic. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

"Not really. I'm not a big proponent of letting the heart rule," Ischemia said dismissively, "but I do sense your sincerity. You can take this as a warning or advice, as you choose. My sister is ... fragile. If you hurt her, an entire family will land on you like an avalanche. Have a care in developing your friendship."

"Yeah, the avalanche already happened--or at least a good-sized boulder--and he wasn't even a member of your family," Ignatius said with a wry look. "I'll tread carefully."

Ischemia motioned toward the sitting room. "Please be seated inside. I'll have some tea brought while I let Purulence know you are here. Whether she comes down is entirely up to her."

Turning away, the woman walked up the stairs at a steady, but not hurried, pace, and at her sister's door, she paused a moment, wondering if she should simply have chased the man away. With a shake of her head, she knocked on the door. What to do about this situation was entirely up to her sister, who seemed to have more than one opposing opinion on the subject.

"Purulence, it's just me." she turned the knob and stuck her head in. "If you want a chance to speak to the cause of your distress, he's sitting downstairs in the main parlor. I'll have some tea sent in, and make myself scarce, because I really don't think you need a chaperone. Be careful, but if you want to take a chance, then take it. The past is over, and the future is in your own hands."

Purulence blinked. "He--He came after me?" She thought of her ex-fiance, Henry Thornton. Henry would never have run after her; he would have considered it demeaning. He'd have yelled invective at her for running away from him. Ignatius? Ignatius had called after her, asking her to wait.

"Did he say what he wants?" Purulence asked, clearly stalling.

Ischemia debated how much to say. She didn't want to interfere, prejudice things in either direction. She didn't want to see her sister hurt again, and she didn't exactly trust the wildness she sensed each might be capable of displaying ... or indulging. On the other hand, none of it was her business. Purulence was an adult and could make her own decisions.

Finally, she said, "He mentioned something about wanting to become friends, and possibly see if there was more between you than that."

Which was pretty much what he'd said in the park, Purulence thought. She sighed. At least Ignatius' story wasn't changing with his audience, the way Henry's would have. "There isn't," Purulence said, "we don't even know each other." She paused. "But I agree with what you said earlier, and these feelings between us aren't going to go away just because I want to ignore them." She looked back at Ischemia. "I need to fix my face first. Could you let him know I'll be right down? And Ischemia? Thank you." Purulence gave her sister a quick hug.

"Anything, any time, you know that, sweetie," her sister said, returning the hug. "I'll keep him occupied with tea, and perhaps a regaling of Addams history. Then he'll be so glad to see you, he won't even care if your face is dirty." She let go with a laugh and gave Purulence a small push toward the bathroom. "Go on. Trust me, I won't chase him off." She watched as her sister rushed into the bathroom, with perhaps a little spring to her step.

Shaking her head, she headed back down to the parlor, stopping to pick up a tea try in the kitchen. "Thank you, Cousin Cookie. I'm not quite sure what we did without you."

"Oh, go on with you now," Cookie said, and she might have blushed the tiniest bit.

Ischemia carried the tray in and set it down in front of Ignatius. "Help yourself," she said. "Purulence will be down shortly. Try the shortbread biscuits. They're a specialty of Cousin Cookie's and I've never met anyone who didn't like them." She poured a cup of Black Dragon tea and set it on the table next to her chair, and then seated herself with her feet folded under her and watched the stranger her father had brought into their home. What did he know about this man and his family? Did he expect from the beginning that her sister would be attracted to him? Or was it possibly Mother who'd been making matches?

"Cookies by Cookie?" Ignatius said as he took a small plate and put a couple of shortbread biscuits on it. "Thank you. She did do some cooking on the Crimson Assurance after Pubert and Gloriana took over the ship. It was a welcome change from the replicated crap they had been serving me--which really is faint praise; Cookie's food is much better than that."

"Of course it is. She's an Addams of the New York Addamses. We always excel at whatever we do. Purulence is no exception, though she sometimes doubts that. Have you seen her artwork? She's an amazing woman, and that's what you have to keep in mind at all times." She waved her hand in a circle and said, with half a smile, "I know, I know, you're a Collins of the Collinsport Collinses, and you're amazing, too."

Ignatius gave Ischemia an odd look at that remark. "No more so than any other human being on the planet," he said. "And yes, I have looked at Purulence's art--I spent a good two hours at her website gallery. Her paintings are quite good--luminous, startling, unusual. I bought the one showing the two cupped hands. How the hell did she paint that at age 13? The feeling for how alive they are--you get a distinct sense of the people who sat for each of her portraits. Her landscapes and still-lifes are good, but they aren't nearly as interesting to me as her portraits."

Hearing her sister's soft tread on the stairs, Ischemia stood, saying, "I'm glad to know you appreciate her art, a mark in your column. I believe she'll be appearing shortly, so I'm going to make myself scarce. If you are bored, I'm sure Thing will happily converse with you." Being sure that Thing would absolutely not communicate with Ignatius, the middle Addams sister left the parlor and wandered out the front door to search for Experiment Number Six. She was sure to have an interesting perspective on her aunt's love life.

 

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