Like Foliage In the Woods (Its a Strat thing )

[Straw Buckett]

Summer was ending and autumn brought with it a cold chill to the air. To a particular blonde scruffy haired Australia wizard, the climate was in complete reverse to his home town. Now should not be the time of unpacking jumpers and long pants but dusting off the old swimming cossies and getting the surf board waxed and ready. Alas nay, he was doing the opposite and what was worse was his children were now growing centimetres by the hour and soon he’d have nothing but a blanket to fit them when winter was about. With both parents working, Straw was fortunate enough to have enough galleons in the bank to afford clothes unlike others he knew. It was however the taking of the triplets to the shopping centre he dreaded most. Alone he was useless and easily defeated, but with Kat’s motherly advice and perspective by his side, plus a second set of arms to assist, together they were an unstoppable duo. They were both highly trained in the fine arts of nappy change while bottle feeding juggling three at a time. Straw has often made the comment that they should forward this to the Olympic committee and make it a new sporting event.

Be in all honestly if Straw had any say in what the children wore he would be quite content to just buy them dress in Superhero and Disney costumes all day and all winter really. It was fun and easy. The costumes were cute and long in the sleeves thus solving the growing and warmth issue. Right?

Today however was grandma day. Hyacinth had been and gone, taking the whole lot and offering to take them shopping, that was mostly grandmother duty so she didn’t object when Straw mentioned the growing issues. She was actually terribly enthusiastic about the idea of having the triplets to herself all day.

So Straw had a day to himself… What was a man of the house to do with no children and wife to occupy him? After moments of sitting on the couch eating last night’s mexican and watching Muggle football, he quickly died and he found himself bored and missing people. It wasn’t long before he noticed how disgusting the place had become, no longer could he sit in his own filth and ignore it. Figuring he should probably do something about it, Straw switched on some music and began to clean topless to the beat. Ironically they were Kat’s tunes to which he’d grown quite fond of. He’d never admit it but couldn’t help singing loudly to all her songs including the remixed version of the Titanic Theme song when it popped on. Straw wanted to do something nice for the ‘little woman’ anyway. There had been something strange about her lately. To him, she seemed distant and Straw only assumed she was tired but then his mind began to play tricks.

To be honest, to Straw, Kat had been acting off for the past few months. He had an uneasy feeling about it and felt she wasn’t the woman she used to be. No longer taking part in his spontaneous shenanigans or seeming interested in him at all really. At first Straw blamed himself and had attempted to spice things up but sadly he couldn’t help but feel it wasn’t anything to do with him but simply her. It was almost like she seemed to take no pleasure in spending time with him anymore. Whether it be a sensual massage or romantic dinner to special family outings, Straw got the feeling Kat was becoming depressed. He didn’t know what to do, he’d never dealt with depression before and frankly was a little scared on how to handle it. More than anything he wanted to help his wife but whenever he mustered the courage to talk to her about it the convocation was always deferred and he never got the chance.

Straw was often left wondering what he’d done wrong. He was trying to be the best husband that he could be. He loved her and sincerely hoped she understood how hard he was trying to cheer her up. Straw felt he was not the only one having issues though, he believed the children were suffering as well. More often Straw found himself looking after them alone while she was away. He never second guessed it but an uneasy feeling had begun to form uncomfortably in his stomach.

So wearing nothing but his gym shorts, Straw set about, using his wand for help, vacuuming, scrubbing both the kitchen and bathroom and doing several loads of washing. In his mind, Straw planned to get this out of Kat one way or the other. The night would not end without him knowing what was going on in her head.

Finally, after hours of running about to the tunes of Celine Dion, Spice Girls and Taylor Swift, he managed to tidy the flat, successfully cook her favourite dinner which was Pad Thai, and laid out a romantic table for them both to eat. A bottle of her favourite champaign cooled in a bucket of ice upon the nicely set table and to ensure they were completely alone, Straw made sure the kids slept over with Hyacinth. They’d have a couples night in with A new release DVD (one he assumed would be a winner in her books). And to top it off Straw dressed himself in a nice shirt, the one she always made him wear to parties (as it matched his skin or something) and that cologne she bought him for his birthday.. Hopefully Straw could finally weasel this depressed Kat out and entice the woman he married back into their lives.

[Kat Samuels]

The first thing she had done was call Hyacinth and check on the children. They were still sleeping and she apologised for waking the woman up, but it was important that she looked after the children for the day. It was essential. The conversation she was about to have was not something she wished her children to witness. Kat was willing to do a lot of things in her life that she probably shouldn’t, but emotionally effing up her children was not one of them, no matter what anyone would think.

She had left Cole a few hours ago, before the sun had risen, but she hadn’t been ready to return home and walking the streets of London felt too shameful. She was not ashamed, perhaps she should have been, but she wasn’t ashamed and yet the streets were no place for her now. Instead she went to Kelly’s.

She apparated into her friends spare bedroom and curled up on the bed, alone with her thoughts for what felt like hours. In truth, it had been hours, because when she slipped out the bedroom door the sun was starting to rise in the sky and Kelly was sitting in the kitchen having her morning cup of tea. Kat didn’t say anything to her, just gave her a look, but that was all Kelly needed and she was thankful for that. She slipped out the front door and into her own apartment in silence, shutting the door behind her and leaning back against it with a sigh.

The place was spotless. That was the first thing she noticed. There were candles spread across the lounge room and blankets and pillows forming a nest upon the lounge. On the table was a DVD. Well this made things worse, if that were at all possible. She was off sleeping with another man while her husband planned a romantic date night for them at home. Perfect. If Kat had one thing, it was timing. If she was going to mess everything up at least she could always without fail do it at the time that would cause the most impact. Some would call it a flair for drama, she liked to call it bad luck.

She slipped down the hallway and opened their bedroom door, expecting to see her husband tucked up in bed. He wasn’t. She sighed and kicked off her shoes, padding across the floor to the ensuite, she needed to clean herself up. It was one thing telling Straw, but she really didn’t need the evidence of her late night activities staring across the table at him over breakfast. She wasn’t that cruel. Looking in the mirror she took in her appearance – wild eyes, mascara smudged on her cheeks, hair a tangled mess down her back. She was a mess, but she looked awake, she looked rested – there was colour in her cheeks and life in her eyes. Last night Kat had had the most fun awake she had had in a very long time, but afterwards she had also had the best sleep she had had in years, no matter how fleeting it had been. There in Cole’s bed she had slept for what felt like years.

She washed her face and brushed her hair and teeth, leaving her hair down to hide the small bite marks on her neck. Her lips were swollen, she couldn’t hide that, but at least she wasn’t wearing her indecencies to breakfast anymore. With a final glance back at her reflection, Kat left the bedroom in search of her husband.

When she found him in the kitchen, she faltered, tears forming in her eyes but she blinked them back furiously. He was asleep at the table, candles nothing but a waxy pool and dinner stone cold beside him. He had waited up for her. Waited and she had never come for him; God, he deserved so much more than this. So much more than she can give him – half herself and half a life.

But she let him sleep.

Most nights he would fall asleep before her as she lay awake, staring at the ceiling and wondering how long she could do this for. When she was younger, she would have said forever, but reality can be far far different from what you dreamed when you were seventeen. She had married the love of her young life, the first boy she had ever loved. She should be happy. Kat was never good with should. Expectations were the one thing she would try to shake as long as she lived. Lying there in bed at night she would fight with them over and over and over again. They expected her to run, because running was what she did. The expected her to be happy. She had a family; she had Straw. The two crossed each other out with every breath she took until she didn’t know what to do anymore, but then she would roll over and see her husbands face sleeping beside her and she would forget. When Straw slept he was seventeen again, and when she watched him, she wanted to be seventeen again with him.

She let him sleep, but she didn’t dare watch him this time.

Instead she busied herself, she made a cup of tea and sat down at the table decorated for the last date they would never get to share and she waited. She waited for him to wake, but not once did she look up from her swirling cup of tea. She didn’t have the strength to fight over this anymore.

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[Straw Buckett]

The moment he opened his eyes, Straw’s heart sank. Lazily, he open and closed his eyes several times, not willing to come to terms with the fact his wife had not come home last night and he’d fallen asleep waiting at the table. It was just a bad dream, something he’d laugh about later… no, this was real, as real as half eaten pumpkin smeared under his forearm. Raising his head, Straw’s hazy eyes found Kat sitting opposite him. She was silent, playing with a cup of tea and not looking at him. She’d never waited for him like this before, she’d never paid him this much attention either and to be frank never went to so much effort to tell him something, he’d always had to find out the worst possible way. Making these observations Straw came to the not so surprising realisation that something was very wrong.

A knot of bitter disappointment sat uncomfortably in his chest as he picked himself up from the table and sat back in the chair. Watching her, he frowned and crossed his arms. Straw could literally read her like a book, they’d known each other for seven years, loved each other for six, married for almost four, Straw knew every bit of Kat Buckett Samuels. And in all those years together never once had Straw ever given up on them. With a promise of forever and a day, of something bigger and stronger then love, Straw had always stayed true. Loved her with his heart. He had always loved his wife but the woman in front of him now.. she was not his wife.

Did you know that Straw’s favourite person in the whole world was Kat?! It wasn’t Logan, it wasn’t his children, it wasn’t Kelly, Queety, Ivy or Hyacinth. It was Kat. Straw’d never idealised her, he’d never held her on a pedestal or higher then himself. He just simply loved and cherished her. They were it, to him, what movies and love sonnets were made of. Yes, he loved her, he was her husband and she was his wife. He would do anything and everything for her. He waited years for that moment she’d promised him so many years ago and he’d sacrificed so much for her. Given her everything she wanted. Yes.. Straw Buckett’s favourite person was Kat but looking at her stilled figure, swirling her tea, not looking at him… Straw safely felt he could bet, that within the next few moments, Kat would and forever never be his favourite person ever again.

So calmly, in a deep voice, arms still folded over his chest, his shoulders squared to her, frowning and his lips pursed as he bit his lower lip he spoke.

“What have you done?”

[Kat Samuels]

She heard his breathing change, the slow deep breaths quickening as he struggled to slowly wake. She felt her own breath suck in, unable to stop herself. This was the moment to brace herself before the storm. She heard him stir across from her but she couldn’t bring herself to look at him yet. She knew he would be looking at her, taking in her appearance and choosing the right words. Let him look. Part of her hoped he would be angry; it would make it easier.

He wasn’t angry.
Not yet anyway.

When he spoke, he was calm and controlled, as he always seemed to be with her. She knew beneath the surface though there would be doubt. How could he not doubt her now? How could he not have doubted her for the last year? She had slowly but surely retreated away from him and the life they had built together and into her self - into the shell of the woman she was becoming. She was becoming more and more like her mother every day, a woman so far removed from reality that no matter how much destruction occurred her around her she would not wake. Kat didn’t want that to be her anymore.

So when he spoke, she looked up to meet his eyes, more present than she had been in months. She saw him properly for what may be the first time this year. He was older, there were dark circles beneath his eyes and scruff on his chin and he looked weary. Her slow disappearance was taking a toll on more than just her, she had just been too selfish to notice before now.

She had two choices, she could ease into this or she could just tell him, it would be like ripping off a bandaid.

She chose the latter.

“I slept with Cole last night”.

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[Straw Buckett]

"I thought so." The words slipped out smoother then he'd thought. Her own words did not surprise him, why it didn't surprise him was the bitter sweet pill he'd been dreading. His eyes stayed on her, his face unmoved and closed off. There was a long silence between them, it was his turn to speak but the disappointment he felt was clearly and better expressed in his own silence. Straw was not angery, he was not broken hearted and nor was he about to burst into tears, his wife, his love had died a few months ago and the person whom sat in front of him he did not recognise.

Straw reached acrossed the table and poured him self a glass of distilled water. He let it sit there ever so nicely in his mouth before swallowing. The feeling was refreshing, cooling the dry roughness that tickled his morning throat. Straw knew he could ask why but already knew the hurtful things she would say. He'd heard it all before, he knew how this scene plays out. What was the point in asking when he really didn't want to know. Straw didn't want to hear the words because he didn't care anymore.

"I'm done," he'd stood up and left the table. Straw didn't pack a bag, he just grabbed his wand and jacket. Why would he want anything from here? Nothing in the house mattered to him and he was determined to just go see his children. He was so tired of never knowing what Kat wanted and finally now he felt there was really nothing left he wanted to hear from her. Whatever he could do would never be enough as well as any words she could say. A normal relationship wouldn't have to constantly deal with this mess, this wasn't normal. In Straw's mind he didn't want a piece of her crazy anymore.

"I don't know what you expected from this but you've really ruined everything now."

Straw finally turned his back on Kat and left the apartment.

[Kat Samuels]

It was his disappointment that hurt her the most. She deserved his anger, perhaps even his hatred, but his disappointment hurt. He had loved her so much – so much that he was disappointed when she had failed him; disappointed that she had failed to not hurt him, despite a lifetime of pain between them. She had failed to love him better. She loved him so much, but not enough to go against her own instinct.

She loved destruction more.

He left her there; she had watched it all as though removed from herself. She had watched as she sat there silently, hands still resting on the tea before her as he took his wand and jacket and left. The sound of the door shutting behind him echoed in her ears. I don’t know what you expected.

I don’t know what you expected.
“I expected this.”

There was no one there to hear her now but she answered him just the same. She had always known that their love would destroy them; you cannot give half of yourself to someone else and expect to survive forever, especially not when the other half belonged to someone else. There was nothing of her left, nothing of the girl that gave herself away so willingly. If she had stayed much longer she would have killed him too – the boy she had loved at seventeen, and that wasn’t fair. There was so much love inside him and she was slowly suffocating it with every moment that died against her outer walls. He was an army trying to save a castle filled with ghosts. He couldn’t win.

So maybe she had ruined everything, but he had gotten out alive, he could survive her yet. That was more than she could say for most.

She exhaled, letting out the breath she had been holding for months and stood from the chair. She felt lighter, emptier. He was gone from her – when he had left he had picked up his wand, jacket and the piece of himself that had been struggling to survive inside her. She was alone now. Her legs gave way underneath her as she took her first step alone in years and she fell to the ground on her knees.

She didn’t cry.

Kat Samuels did what she always does, she picked herself up again and turned on the spot leaving behind the life she had tried so hard to fit inside and returning to the only one that always made sense. With a loud crack she appeared in the spare bedroom – her bedroom – in #109. She didn’t take anything with her, leaving behind all her worldly possessions to collect dust; the only sign of the life she had led was a small band of skin lighter than the rest of her upon her left hand.

She had left the ring behind.