how do each umbrella member cope with what happens to John? and how their relationship with Lucy changes because of that?
because i’m sure Danbury tells them to act like nothing happened, in order to follow the lie they all tell her, but i also can imagine some of them, like Michael for example, can’t just pretend that didn’t happened, and it’s hard for them to even look at her without thinking about that evening
also, that was so cute and then so sad, i cried 🥺 can’t wait to read more about this au cause it’s just too good, and you’re such a good writer 👏🏼
Thank you for the feedback!! It really warmed my heart.
Oh you're absolutely right. John's death shakes the entire family to the core, they just cope with it in different ways...
Simon:
Nothing seems to have changed, apart from Simon being harsher and more millitant during training. He is much quicker to reprimand silly mistakes, scold bad teamwork or fooling around.
For years Lucy will wonder why Simon also seems one step away from her, even when he embraces her in a hug.
And for years, Lady Danbury is the only one who patches Simon's bloody fists after late night alley fights.
Kate:
As the eldest girl she comes alongside Sophie to comfort her siblings. She is the most active in reaching out to Lucy, allowing the girl to play with animals, feeling a sense of responsibility that she uses to smother her conlifcted feelings towards the young girl.
And then two months later her entire world turns upside down with the death of her father. And the laughing, smiling, soft Kate they all knew disappears.
Sophie:
Burrows away from her grief by giving everything she has to others and throwing herself into the training room. Other than the funeral, she never cries. Instead she holds Gareth and Kate. She quietens Penelope and lets Lucy slip into her bed. Tries to reach out to Michael but gives up afgter being rebuffed far too many times. Lady Danbury leans on her the most, seeing as she seems the msot adjusted to the change.
Yet Philip always makes sure that Sophie has time in his greenhouse where she can read a book or nap. For he recogises how Sophie;s features change at a rapidity not dissimilar to her days under Araminta's torture.
Penelope:
Wakes up with nightmares weeks after the event. And since that day when Lady Danbury asked her to utter those words, Penelope repeats her matnras. You had no other choice.
And from that day forward she can never look at Lucy for too long without the sickening guilt clogging her throat.
Phillip:
Hides away in his greenhouse with the plants, can't bear to look at Lucy due to the guilt and grief. He's never known how to help, but he knows Sophie, so eh makes sure she spends some afternoons with him in the greenhouse, where her features can settle a little more.
But a month or so after, he comes to the realisation that he knows how it feels to be treated like a monster, and from then on reaches out and cares for Lucy. Plays with her, shows her his plants and carries her on her back.
Michael:
For months he cannot bear to be in the same room as Lucy, otherwise an overwhelming anger runs through his veins and he wants to strangle her. Or because she is the reminder of his failure...his failure to save John.
So he stays away and runs away from the memories with boose and drugs. He bats away all those who try to help him, until its the one year anniversary of John's death and he screams to the sky and suddenly...
"What mess have you got yourself into now?"
And for the first time since that night, Michael's smile is genuine.
Gareth:
Suppresses the trauma until the details are hazy to his six year old mind. He cried at the funeral, and sometimes would stare at the wall for hours before falling asleep, but is soon running around the house, bouncing off teh walls, barely able to keep still.
Everything is fine, everything is good, for he didn't really know John and he still has his favourite playmate Lucy. Everything is fine. Everything is fine.
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December Walks
December walks this season have been plentiful.
Hastings was a good start on the coldest day of the year so far!
I got off the stop before Hastings to walk from St Leonards to Hastings. It was truly freezing, but less than 2 miles. I love December walks, as they are fresh and the sky is amazing as it gets cold, yet stunningly bright.
It’s fab to visit different towns, see the lights and get…
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My Day with Bob Evans
This incredibly flattering and beautifully composed photograph was taken this morning after breakfast at our beloved Bob Evans restaurant, this one just north of Lansing in DeWitt. We were driving south on US127 from Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant where, the night before, I’d given a long anticipated talk to the local student Planned Parenthood chapter about the illegal/unsafe…
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