Return to Europe

Chapter 6

As much as Oliver hated to admit that Fred was right, Audrey's twins were not as sweet and innocent as they seemed. They were just as mischievous as their mother. Unfortunately, they were also as cute and Oliver found himself enjoying them driving him crazy. Even the most annoying things that a child can do, he suddenly found cute. He would have made a terrible father. Discipline just wasn't his things when there were four bright green eyes pleading him not to get irritated.

Luckily, they didn't have the energy of their mother, yet. As soon as lunch was over, they watched TV and colored the rest of the time until dinner. Nothing too active, which relieved Oliver. Oliver had to wake them up off of the couch for their macaroni and cheese dinner. Seeing they were still tired, he put them to bed right after their dinner and bath.

"Ol-ee-ver, will you tell us a story?" asked Mary Grace. "Mommy always tells us about this magical girl and her friends when they were in school. Do you know any stories like that?"

"It's probably not the same as your Mommies, but I know some stories about some magical people. Will those do?"

"I guess so," said Mary Grace through her yawns.

"Let me think. Okay, I got one. At a school, a special school, not too far from here, where only witches and wizards could go, there was a student named Timia. She was a very powerful and good witch. She was smart and very talented. Her best friend, Wronski, was also very smart and athletic. One summer, Timia decided to throw Wronski a birthday party at her house on the beach..."

Audrey leaned up against the door frame so that neither Oliver nor the girls could see her. She smiled as she listened to his story, remembering all the fun they had had together when they were younger. He might have used the names of their pets at Hogwarts for the main characters, but she knew that word for word, the story was about them. His stories definitely went right along with the ones she herself told her daughters. Sensing that his story was coming to and end, Audrey cleared her throat and entered the room, pretending not to have heard Oliver's bedtime story.

"I just came to get the girls in too bed, but I see you handled that. I am quite impressed. I hope they didn't give you too much trouble today."

"Not too much. I grew up with the Weasleys and was friends with you. Nobody is too much for me to handle." The two laughed.

"Well, I was about to grab a drink and go sit out in the garden. Care to join me?"

"I'd love to."

The two sneaked out of the room and down the stairs, careful not to wake anybody. It seemed Audrey and Oliver were the only ones not worn out by a day of shopping or babysitting. Oliver got two glasses as Audrey pulled the wine out of the cooler. Oliver poured them each a glass as Audrey grabbed a bowl of grapes from the fridge. They continued outside, still not speaking.

"So, Mr. Wood, are you telling my daughters Quidditch tales?" Audrey finally broke the silence as the two sat on the garden bench.

"Not exactly. Anyway, they might enjoy a good Quidditch tale. I could tell them about the good old days, when Gryffindor had the greatest captain ever and their mother made the position of Chaser look easy. You are going to teach your daughters how to play while you're here aren't you?"

Audrey felt a real smile spread. "Well, I am pretty sure I lost my touch. When it comes time for their first Quidditch lesson, I might have to call you."

"I'd love that," Oliver said in an almost whisper. Audrey's heart began to flutter. The tone with which he responded, could he possibly still care about her? Realizing what he said, he knew he had to cover himself up. "Your girls are great, and they definitely deserve to learn Quidditch from the best!" he said with a smirk. Leave it to Oliver to ruin Audrey's perfect though.

"You know, there is nothing like sitting with a good glass of wine, looking up at the stars. When I was in Atlanta, you couldn't see the sky look like this anywhere. I am definitely not a city girl. Of course, I can't imagine the night sky looking better than it does in Britain. The last good sunset I saw was probably from the Astronomy Tower in our seventh year. "

"Yeah, you really saw a lot of the night sky from the Astronomy Tower Audrey. Don't forget, I know exactly what you were doing up there."

"Of course you do. I did actually go up there to see the sky until you found better things to occupy our nightly visits."

"Oh, to be young again. You know, I never thought I would mind growing up. Suddenly, it's hitting me, though."

"Oliver, we're not that old."

"Oh, but we are. I'm going to be one of 'those guys'. You know, the single, washed up athlete with nothing but a few trophies to show for his life."

"Oliver Wood, that is not true. You have so much more to show for that. You have a family who loves you, friends who are proud of. Hell, you might as well be a Weasley the way everyone around here brags on you. I knew every time you blocked a goal or got an honor. Damn it Oliver, you have so much going for you. You have a place to call home and people to spend your free time with." Audrey felt herself beginning to tear up. "I'm almost jealous of you, and you know how much I can't stand to be jealous of other people," Audrey said with a tearful laugh.

"Audrey, you have nothing to be jealous of. You're family is proud of you. I'm proud of you. You have managed to raise those two girls what seems to me perfectly all alone. And you are smart and well respected. Even Percy admires your ambition and hard work. It doesn't matter where you are Audrey, here will always be home and we will always be here for and care about you. God damn it Audrey, they only reason you don't know that is because you don't seem to care." Audrey suddenly looked up.

"What do you mean I don't care?"

"Until you arrived here yesterday, all most of us knew about your life was that what we had heard from the twins and Percy. Nothing about what was really going on with you. Even when you were in college, all I heard about was cheerleading and class, until the day I found out you were getting married. I didn't even know there was a guy in your life. And then I saw you two together. So what if you didn't love me anymore? I thought we were still friends, and something like meeting a guy you ARE in love with is something you should tell a friend. You could have at least prepared me for your little announcement. None of us knew anything about it. Couldn't even come to tell anybody yourself. The twins were crushed. And all you cared about in our lives were our careers. You could have read the damned paper to find that out. Did you really care about anything real? Like how I was doing after I watched you walk away, without you ever turning back and wondering if it hurt you even half as much as it killed me? You hurt all of us along the way, but we got over it. If that's not love, then I don't know what is. But you don't give a shit. As soon as this weddings over, you'll go back to your little life in the American suburbs." Oliver got up and walked out of the garden, leaving a speechless Audrey.

Why the hell didn't he ever tell him how much he was hurting? It took him ten years to tell her that she wasn't only one dying inside when she walked away? Why in the hell hadn't he come after her? And what did he mean "I saw you two together"? How had he seen her with Chris? Yes, Audrey came to Britain a couple of months after she and Chris got engaged. But Chris was not with her and Oliver had never seen her anyway. She came to see him one last time to make sure she had made the right decision marrying Chris. She couldn't possibly marry one man if she and Oliver were still in love. The noises she heard coming from his bedroom made her realize that he had moved on and was a good thing she was, too. "Agh!" she screamed as she finished her wine and walked back inside. All this frustration made her need another drink and a long time in bed.