4 - Bird - Draft

As Darcy approached her teen years, she became increasingly interested in all aspects of life on Wahid. Her mothers encouraged this. It wasn’t just to prepare her for being ruler over these people, but to create a well rounded, understanding woman.

The girls had been reading and hearing about a group of local gang members who were trying to fight gang violence. They wanted to talk to them and learn from them more than anything else.

“Moms, Darcy and I have a huge favor to ask. Before you say no, we want you to think about it carefully. There are so many upsides to this,” Juanita began rambling.

The sisters had planned this out in great detail. Nothing was too small or not considered. Their moms always sat together on the couch and watched tv at 7pm every night. This was their happiest time of the day. They were relaxed and together. It was the perfect moment and Juanita was blowing it.

“Darling, it would help if you stated your desire before continuing. You have lost your audience,” Frannie interrupted.

“We want  to meet with the gang members who are working on gang violence,” Darcy blurted out. This is why Juanita did the talking. Why anyone talked instead of her for that matter. She had absolutely none of the grace or tact of Frannie or Juanita. Henrietta was blunt but she knew when to deviate from her usual bluntness. Darcy was clueless.

“Okay. Why?” Henrietta piped up. She was always cool as a cucumber, especially with Darcy. She best understood how her mind worked and how to handle her “uniqueness” as they called it.

“Okay. We’ve been reading about their work. We have no knowledge of the gang world. These people are trying to change it from a place of knowledge. You’ve always taught us to listen to all stakeholders, especially those we disagree with or who are more affected by a decision. You also have us talk to people who we know nothing about. To not accept, you would be going against your own teachings. Is there anything that would supersede these standards?” Darcy stated plainly. She had secretly hoped to slide by the issue of safety. That was the one thing that she had a hard time debating against, love. Love always wins.

“We need some time to think about this considering the possible safety issues, of course,” Henrietta glared at Darcy for those last two words. She wanted to let Darcy know that she knew her move even though she was putting a graceful end to a difficult conversation.

Frannie still had her mouth gaping open from Darcy’s first words when the sisters headed to their room. Once the last swish of Darcy’s long dress disappeared from view, Frannie looked towards Henrietta in cinematic slow motion.

Henrietta sat patiently, trying not to laugh at Frannie’s shock. It didn’t matter how long they’d been together, Frannie was still naive and Henrietta still found it hilarious as well as adorable.

Henrietta had to look in her lap once Frannie locked eyes on her. Frannie assumed that it was because of the gravity of the situation but it was because she knew that if she was looking Frannie in the eyes when she began speaking, she’d piss her pants from laughter and a huge fight would break out. Household peace and dry pants was the way to go. Henrietta found it hilarious that Darcy and Frannie were similarly forever clueless.

Henrietta sat there staring at her lap, patiently waiting for Frannie to speak for what felt like an eternity. “What. Was. That?” Frannie managed to eke out before turning into a nonsensical jumble of words that were flying out fast and furious.

This is when Henrietta glanced at her watch while still staring at her lap. She liked to time Frannie’s rants. The longer the rant, the more hurt or upset she was. This one lasted twenty minutes, a new record.

Any outsider who watched the evolution of Frannie would be shocked. She would slowly go from nonsensical ramblings to understandable words and then sentences. Her anger would be replaced with a business like calm, at an even slower rate. She began with her first reaction and try to make arguments for this stance. Eventually she’d feel guilty for not considering the other side and angrily argue the opposite side. The arguments for the opposing viewpoint would get more understanding until she was exhausted from going through every argument that she could think of. Henrietta didn’t even bother listening until this last stage. Everything before it was unimportant.

Even during the last stage Henrietta would continue to stare at her lap in silence. She was waiting for the eventual question. “Did I miss anything?”

Henrietta always found it amusing that this was Frannie’s first question. Most people would ask their partner’s opinion. It never entered her mind though. She was working through the problem at hand and assumed that Henrietta would comment and guide the process along the way. It took several fights before Henrietta finally understood the way that Frannie thought. It was easier to understand her and Darcy for that matter, than for them to try to think like others all of the time, which was incredibly hard if not impossible for them to do.

They spent hours discussing how they felt and what was right for several hours before passing out in each other’s arms. They knew that the girls were right. This would be a good experience for them in so many ways. It didn’t mean that they weren’t terrified of the known and unknown dangers. They just had to work through it and come to a place of acceptance.

The next morning they began working on the details of their meeting. They wouldn’t give the girls a definitive answer before they were confident in every detail. While their safety was their top concern as mothers, they had the additional concern of national security given that the heir to the throne was involved. Any problems could impact them all in the worst possible ways.

The first meeting with the gang members was set up in a nondescript diner on the outskirts of town. Henrietta had to go alone. They knew that it was the only way. They couldn’t risk the lives of the girls yet. The mothers also couldn’t leave the girls orphans by both risking their lives. Only one mother could go and Frannie wasn’t very good at making a good first impression. A running family joke was that in a crises, Frannie and Darcy would be the first and probably only ones killed.

That morning, Henrietta ditched anything that could identify her, dressed in nondescript clothes and tucked enough money for lunch into her bra strap before having Frannie drop her off in another part of town to catch a bus to the diner.

Henrietta usually had the worst family tasks. She was unfortunately the most competent in most situations. Frannie tried to help out but generally made things worse. This left Henrietta overwhelmed and everyone else feeling guilty. The guilt on this was hard for Frannie and the girls.

They nervously waited for her return or her signal that she was in danger. They kept their eyes and ears glued to every news source in the area. They paced. They took turns trying to keep each other’s spirits up and thoughts positive. They ate junk food without even realizing that they were eating. They were the most stressed that they’d ever been.

Henrietta wasn’t as nervous. She was comfortable with everything involved. She just worried about telling them that the princess was involved. Being honest and genuine was the only way to approach them. They had to know. It wasn’t just a risk for the princess. They would be put in even greater danger. If things went sideways in any way, the Queen would unleash the powers of the entire nation against them.

The diner was a short walk from where the bus had let Henrietta out. She sat down at the predetermined booth, looked over the menu and asked for a water with a plate of three lemon wedges from the waitress per their signal.

The booth filled with young men in moments. The waitress never brought the water. She probably signaled her arrival to them. Henrietta wasn’t surprised by anything, certainly not being surrounded by a group of young men in a well lit diner during the day. She remained calm and collected from beginning to end even if her heart skipped a few beats.

After she slowly put down her menu and looked around the table, the leader made himself known. He was just a baby but more grown than the oldest amongst us. Frannie would’ve commented about how well spoken he was. She genuinely appreciated people who spoke properly and were well educated. The racist implications would’ve never crossed her mind, even after her head was rightfully bashed in.

“I’m Bird. That’s my street name. I figure that my given name isn’t necessary for you to know. I hope that this suits you?” He began.

“Nice to meet you Bird. My name is Henrietta. There’s no need for formalities here. My brother lives in your neighborhood. Just be yourself,” Henrietta began on a more formal note than her usual to match Bird.

“Look. I’m not going to waste your time here. You want to know why the fuck I and others want to talk to you. I’m not going to fuck with you here so I want you to level with me too. Okay?” Henrietta said.

“Yeah. I get it. I appreciate that. We’re cool,” Bird nodded.

“I am the nanny to the princess and heir to the throne, Darcy de Narcissus.” Henrietta expected them to not believe her but they only slightly smirked. She continued, assuming that they doubted her. “If you look closely at the famous photo from her birth, you will notice me there. I am listed in the newspaper accounts. My name still appears in the papers on occasion as her nanny. I have carried no identification on purpose so that all other information about me remains private in an effort to protect the princess.”

“I know who you are, ma’am. I’m not stupid. I did my research. I know everything about you. I even know where you live and with whom,” Bird stopped himself right there and put his hand up as if to say stop.

“That isn’t a threat, ma’am. It’s just facts. We wish you no harm. I’m just being honest with you since you’ve been honest with me. Now, I’m assuming that the princess is the one who wants to meet us, right?”

Henrietta was impressed by Bird at that moment. She knew that she could trust him and he knew that he could trust her. It was time to get into the details.

“Since you know me, it will be my whole family. There’s my wife, Frannie, our daughter, Juanita and Darcy, whom we consider our daughter. We’ve been raising Darcy since birth. She is nothing like her mother. Darcy and Juanita both have a great desire to understand every aspect of life from every perspective. They know that the best knowledge comes from the source.

The girls have been reading about what you are trying to do about the gang violence in your community. They respect that you’re a gang member. They respect that you’re trying to unite all sides of the problem into a common goal.

While trying to enrich themselves is noble in itself, under any other circumstances I’d tell them to get this information from the news. Darcy is to be Queen though. I think that exposing her to all kinds of people is not only beneficial for her but the nation itself. It is my belief that she will continue to engage all peoples and consider everyone during her reign. I don’t know about you but I like that future.”

Bird only nodded as he continued to listen to Henrietta.

“We all understand the incredible danger that this meeting will put you in. We will do everything in our power to protect you but we can make no guarantees. The nation knows the whims of the Queen. Under her, no one is safe, not even the Princess.

None of us, especially Darcy would blame you for not agreeing to a meeting. She knows even more than us the capabilities of the Queen. It is a risk she herself would be unwilling to take.”

Bird remained silent well after Henrietta stopped talking. It was a difficult decision that he had probably considered beforehand along with several other possibilities. Like the agonizing decision that she had recently made with Frannie, he was doing the same.

Bird knew that the right decision was to agree to the meeting. Unfortunately, it’s rarely easy to do the right thing. In the end, he agreed. After all, for the pure of heart, right is right and wrong is wrong. There really is no other choice.