The Twelve Zenati Pt. 25

"Okay," Olivia said. "Good luck tonight. Don't get dead," she gave a small smile as the men all swung to look at her in shock at her words.

"I'm Ella, remember," Marcella said softly and turned to go back to the bathroom rather than watch her sister leave. Her emotions were too close to the surface, and she felt raw and exposed now.

*****

Vivienne smiled as she pulled up in front of the teapot tree and looked at the brightly coloured house. This woman was eccentric in so many ways, but when she took you into her home, she made you feel like a close and much-loved family member. She got out of the car and pocketed her keys. She felt better just looking at the house. A window on the top floor banged open before she even made it to the door to knock.

"So that cheeky boy has finally let you out of the marriage bed, has he?" she cackled. "Come in, come in and let me see what he has wrought then."

Vienne shook her head and let herself in making her way to the kitchen once inside. This was the heart of the home, and each time she had been here, Madrina had insisted on tea for her guests whether they liked it or not. Madrina was already there unsurprisingly and was filling the teapot as Vivienne took a seat at the well-worn table which had been set with cups and tea cakes.

"Here we are then," Madrina brought the teapot with her to the table and sat taking Vivienne's hand in hers. "Now tell me how my cheeky boy is treating you?"

"Gideon is wonderful to me in every possible way," Vivienne said with a wide smile. "But I came to see you and find out how you are. It seems so long since I came to visit you."

"Ah," Madrina nodded. "So, we are to be friends then?"

"I thought we were friends already?" Vivienne frowned.

"And, so we are but perhaps also something more. Perhaps family? I am a mother of sorts to your cheeky husband and his brothers. They found peace here when their own mother used them as pawns in a life-long game against her husband," she said.

"I'd like to know more about that," Vivienne said. "I may have mended fences with my mother in law, but I still don't understand why she would use her children like that. Gideon explained the curse to me and that until he experienced it himself, he hadn't been sure it wasn't if his mother was right and it was just family legend."

"It is true that it is a family legend and only affects the men of the Zenati line. If the daughters marry into another family line, their sons remain unaffected. It is said that each man will suffer through trials to prove his love and have it returned. Gideon's trials were few while Genesis's trials have been hard-fought and won for he has the love of Olivia, and now they face their trials together. It is Noah that concerns you, as well as the fate of your one true friend in our city, Marcella," Madrina said in explanation as well as showing that she knew why Vivienne had come with her questions.

"Yes. Marcella," Vivienne nodded. "I have to admit I miss her so much I feel a little lost. I want to be able to help her, but every time I try to do something to help it only hurts and hinders so I have come to find out... I don't know exactly what I have come to find out only that for once I went with my gut feeling rather than my logic and that brought me here, I am looking for answers and ways to keep Marcella in not only my life but Noah and his brother's lives. Do you think Noah will leave with her if she chooses to leave once she has done what she came to do?"

"While magics of old can bring people in proximity to each other, each person can choose their fate. It will be a difficult path for Noah for many great decisions loom in his future with or without his heart's needs met, and only time will show him the way forward. He will not leave his brothers, for the ties that bind him here are stronger than even he knows," Madrina patted her hand. "Marcella has a more difficult path to follow, and one only she can navigate. She will be caught between the head and the heart as others have been before her and will be after her."

"They might not end up together?" Vivienne cried out. She'd come here for reassurance that everything would turn out the way it was supposed. She thought that the curse would outweigh Marcella's damaged heart and psyche but now," she sighed not wanting to think about what it would do not only to Noah if she left for good but to his whole family especially her husband and his huge heart.

"Each person has the right to choose their own fate; you cannot choose it for them. Your needs shouldn't matter when assisting your friends to find their way," Madrina advised. "Even as we speak, Olivia has appealed to her sisters' sense of protectiveness and asked her to stay and help her."

"Olivia was meeting Marcella this morning?" Vivienne asked, stunned by that news.

"It is a necessary charade for the ones that watch them. They are quite safe this morning I assure you," Madrina said. Picking up Vivienne's now empty cup and peering into the depths. "That is not something for you to worry about right now. You will be busy enough in the coming months with a difficult pregnancy. Your son will not make this time easy for you," Madrina cackled. "Zenati men are never easy, even as babes and little boys."

"I'm not, I mean I don't think...," Vivienne stared at Madrina and then down at her lap.

"You are, and you should know if you look deep within yourself," Madrina nodded knowingly.

"I'll make an appointment with my doctor this afternoon," Vivienne said. She had thought she was too old to be falling pregnant this easily. She had thought she might need some assistance from a fertility clinic when they were genuinely ready once all the drama had settled down. A flutter of excitement travelled through her, and her hands rested on her small belly. "You really think I could be?" she asked in awe.

"I do, so let's talk about dates and how you will tell that cheeky boy of mine that he will be a father next year," Madrina gave another wicked chuckle and poured more tea for them both. It would do well for Vivienne to have something else to occupy her mind rather than the fate of her friend who may be persuaded to stay to care for her friend if not her sister.

*****