Chapter Text
The Thanksgiving evening was winding down, snow softly falling outside, leaving a thickening blanket on the ground. The fireplace crackled peacefully as the females in the family showed Marianne old photo albums, while Brutus snored loudly. Bog was upstairs tidying his bedroom—not that it really needed any. He just wanted to be away from his family for a while. Khadija helped her mother to bed and excused herself to change into pajamas and meditate.
Alice sighed as she looked at her husband.
“I swear that man could wake the dead,” she grumbled, causing Marianne to giggle.
“Why don’t you send him off to bed, Alice?” Griselda suggested.
Alice sighed dramatically before yawning, “I think we’d both best get to bed. We gotta get up early to get to my mothers for dinner tomorrow. Oof!” She stood and stretched her back, yawning again, then walked over to her husband. “Brutus, c’mon you jet engine. Let’s go to bed.”
“Huh?” The rotund man snorted awake and glared at his petite wife, but complied. He was too tired to argue.
“It was so wonderful meeting you, Marianne!” Alice stood before the young woman, arms out.
“It was wonderful meeting you as well!” Marianne let out a small laugh as she stood, before getting squished in Alice’s bear hug.
After some polite good nights, Marianne was left alone with Griselda. It didn’t take long before Bog’s mother was laying the heat on her.
“Sooooo,” she started, her gravely voice inquisitive, “what are your feelings for my son?”
“W-What? Oh god...” Marianne grumbled and sunk into the couch. She knew, knew as soon as everyone was gone that Griselda would be on her about how she felt about Bog. Ugh! She was so embarrassed.
“Oh relax, dear,” Griselda waved her hands in a sassy fashion. “I just want to make sure you aren’t gonna crush my only child’s heart.” For emphasis on crush, she made a fist and pounded it into her other palm.
“Uh, well, I don’t think I’d do that,” Marianne managed, feeling slightly uncomfortable.
“I know you won’t, dear. It’s just...” Griselda let out a sad sigh, the only kind a mother could give. “It was hard to see my boy go through so much pain all them years ago.”
Marianne was shocked for a moment. It just occurred to her that she never even once considered how Griselda felt about who Bog dated, or how she felt when her adopted granddaughter died. She was only concerned about Bog, which was understandable, but he was close with his mom and—she was sure—took her feelings into account.
Damn... She thought, how rude of me...
“Griselda?” Marianne sat up and looked at the older woman, “I’m sorry for what happened to Emily. It must’ve been hard on you too.”
The wrinkles softened around her tired grey eyes as she smiled, taking Marianne’s hand.
“You’re a good girl, Marianne. You’re good for my Boggy, too. He’s been needing some lovin’, and I betcha he gets plenty from you!” She said with a wink.
“What? N-no!” She was sure she looked like an anime character when they get embarrassed. “We’re just friends.”
Griselda was a shrewd woman who was very perceptive; bah! Anyone with eyes could see how those two felt about each other! No matter. She wouldn’t interfere with them as long as her son was happy.
“Mmhmm,” she gave Marianne a knowing wink. “So, is it just friendship you want with him?”
“I...” God, what did she want from Bog? Nothing really, except... well, all of him. Marianne wanted everything. She loved him. He was amazing and made her feel like she could do anything in the world. And when he kissed her, oh how she melted. His eyes were so beautiful and showed so much emotion, especially when he smiled. All in all? She wanted to be more than friends with him. But she couldn’t very well tell his mother that!
“I don’t want to ruin what we have,” Marianne finally replied after a minute or two. “Bog makes me happy. He makes me feel good about myself. He truly is my best friend, and I don’t want to loose that.”
Griselda nodded knowingly. Her keen eyes missing nothing. Not the way the young woman smiled as she said those words, nor the slight blush on her cheeks. Oh yeah. She had it bad.
“Well okay then. You’re just friends.” She picked up the photo album they were looking at and closed it. Just then the grandfather clock in the dining room chimed 24 times, signaling it was now midnight. “Good gracious; I didn’t realize how late it was! Why don’t you head off to bed, dear, and we’ll talk more later.”
“Um, sure. Okay. Goodnight Griselda. Thanks for having me over today.” Marianne stood and hugged the mother of her “just friend” before sheepishly heading up the back stairs to Bog’s bedroom.
“It’s always a pleasure to have you, dear!” Griselda smiled widely as she watched the young woman go. She gave a silent prayer that Bog would get enough courage to tell her how he felt. Because gosh darn it! She needed some grand babies!
***
“You are so beautiful, Marianne. Will you.... No! Would you like to be...my girlfriend?”
Bog paced his bedroom trying to think of how to ask her out without ruining whatever they had. Ideas sprang from telling her how he felt, which of course was risky, so he scratched that. Another was quitting his job at the salon so he wouldn’t be dating his boss. He also thought about just asking her straight out. The disgruntled man flopped facedown on his bed and groaned.
“No, that’s stupid. She’d just think I like her for her body.”
Now that he wasn’t afraid of falling in love with her, he felt weird. Like a door had been opened. But why did he feel so...confident? Relaxed? He knew Marianne had to like him back—at least a little bit anyways—but he wasn’t one hundred percent certain she’d want to date him. And “will you be my girlfriend”? Ugh! How cliché.
Before he had the chance to dwell any further, he heard a light knock in his bedroom door.
Grunting, he sat up and said, “Come in.”
Khadija practically fluttered in closing the door behind her. She had changed into some long, peach colored flowing robes, a white tank top, some cloud patterned pajama pants, and fuzzy boot-slippers. Her soft, slippered feet carried her over to Bog’s bed, which she sat down cross legged on next to him.
“Greetings cousin,” she grinned, showing her perfect white teeth. They practically glowed compared to the contrast of her mocha skin. Her onyx eyes had a devilish glee to them, which caused Bog to make a face at her; nearly squinting one eye and turning the other side of his face into a near scowl.
“What do ye want?” He grumbled, not particularly in the mood for her oddness.
“Well...” she practically sing songed as she reached into her robe pocket and produced a thin tube.
Recognizing the black tube, Bog got a small sideways smile, his mood instantly lightening.
“Is that...?”
Her grin widened as she pulled out a professionally rolled joint, “What else would it be?”
“Heh. I guess I’m not surprised. But we can’t smoke that in the house. Mom would kill us.”
“Pfft! Please!” Khadija rolled her eyes (almost as well as she rolled the joints), “We aren’t teenagers anymore. And besides, your mom would probably join us!”
“True,” he relented then sighed. Growing up, Bog and Khadija were partners in crime. Whenever Plum and Khadija would visit his family in Scotland, they and his other cousins would get into all sorts of mischief. Then when they moved to the states, Khadija was the only friend he had till he met Thang and Berkeley. It always amused Bog that out of all his moms siblings, Plum was the only one to have a daughter (well, until Hannah and Susan were born.) And she was just as, if not more, eccentric than her mother...
“So, are you gonna partake with me, dear cousin?” The dark skinned woman teased.
Bog pursed his lips together, debating. The last time he smoked was before he adopted Emily. Coincidentally, that was when Khadija actually gave him a reading. It wasn’t what he’d hoped for and he got mad at her for it. Looking back now, everything she said was true...
“I don’t know, Deej,” he rubbed the back of his neck, “I kinda want to keep a clear head. I-I don’t...” Bog stared at the rolled up herbs debating on whether or not he should smoke it. He enjoyed getting high, but didn’t know if doing that around family was a good idea. Of course, nearly everyone had gone to bed already. But then there was Marianne. How would she feel about it? What would she think of him if she caught him getting high with his cousin like young teenagers? “I’m tempted, but I think I’ll pass for now.”
She smiled at him, putting away the tube, “Okay. You can keep that one if you’d like.”
“Okay. Cool. Thanks.” He put the joint in his beside table and turned to see his cousin studying him.
After a moment Khadija smiled slyly. “You love her.”
“W-what?” Bog was caught off guard. “I don’t know what yer talking about.”
“Marianne. I see it. I can sense it.”
“Whadda’ya mean?” He squinted his eyes, annoyed by her shrewd keenness.
“Well, for one, you took her opinion of smoking weed into consideration.”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean anything,” he instantly got defensive. “S-she’s my boss.”
“Oh, of course. There is that small detail. But it’s more than that, Bog. When you’re around her, it’s like all your pain fades away. When I was around you before, there was this...haze surrounding you, like a bunch of muddied colors. Now though, your aura is shifting between colors. And that’s okay! Here,” she reached into her pocket and procured a crystal, “this will help when your souls feels overwhelmed.”
“Uh, okay...” Bog felt the weight of the quarter sized rock in his palm. The layers in the brown and yellow gem reminded him of the color of Marianne’s eyes. He stared at it for a minute, not really understanding but decided it didn’t really matter. Half the stuff his cousin did didn’t make much sense. “What is this rock for?”
“Ack it’s not a rock, it’s a type of crystal!” Khadija mocked offense.
Bog just rolled his eyes.
“Ahem, this is a tigers eye.” She picked up the gem and did that thing girls on tv sales shows do with their hands. “This is a powerful stone that will help you rid yourself of fear and anxiety. It should help you to make decisions without having a fuzzy head, clouded by your emotions.”
“Uh-huh.” He took the gem back. “And tell me, how does this all work?”
“Well, the Tiger's Eye crystal helps to transform the toxic emotions of anxiety and fear and turn them into healthy emotions like courage and self-confidence. It helps you shift your perspective so you can see a way through the problem. If you start doubting yourself, draw on the energy of the Tiger's Eye; it will help provide stability for your jumbled thoughts.”
“Uhh, right. And what do I need this for?”
Khadija looked at Bog like he grew a third eye. Had he gone simple? Was his brain not working? She decided to explain it plain and simple so he would understood. “It’s to give you courage to tell Marianne how you feel.”
Bog groaned internally and ground his teeth. At first he was annoyed, but then he remembered Khadija could damn near read his mind, so there was no point in even trying to hide his feelings.
“I...don’t want to admit you’re right.”
“Oh I know,” Khadija’s whimsical voice had a near giggle to it, almost like she was waiting for this moment.
“But I don’t see how some pretty rock—excuse me, “crystal”, is gonna help me with anything.”
“Why are you such a cynic? Bah, whatever,” she waved her hands around as if to dismiss the topic. “Whether you believe in the gems energy or not, you should hang onto it.”
Bog sighed, relenting. “It’s just...kinda weird is all.”
“What’s weird?”
“That you’d think a rock will help me stop being anxious or whatever.”
Khadija smiled, and let out a slight breath as if to say “Silly cousin, of course it will help.” What she instead said was, “If you don’t want it, give it back then.”
“Ah...well...” Bog faltered for a moment, not sure what to say. There wasn’t really anything he could say to his cousin that she couldn’t deduce herself. He knew she knew he’d keep the stone. It always creeped him out that she could just look at people and practically read their mind. Years ago, she read his palm and did all her whimsical voodoo or whatever. He had asked about love, success, and if he’d be happy. Khadija told him true love was on the way; he’d be successful in everything he did; as far as happiness though, she told him that was too subjective to determine, and instead said that she saw a great heartbreak in his future. This was around the time he starting hanging out with Kiah, so of course Bog thought his true love would be her. Boy was he wrong.
Khadija sighed, knowing full well what was troubling her very troubled cousin.
“Bog, listen, Marianne’s good for you. I can tell she really cares about you. She has this lovely pink aura that radiates when you’re near her.” She placed her hand on his and smiled. She knew he had finally found his true love, but she couldn’t exactly tell him. He had to discover that on his own.
The two of them sat silently for a minute before Bog cleared his throat. Khadija tilted her head curiously but waited for him to speak.
“You know...it’s strange, but I think I can actually see a future with Marianne. And I think that’s what scares me.”
“Oh Boggy, I understand. Truly I do. But wanna know a secret?” She leaned in with a mischievous smirk on her face.
Seeing her face actually made Bog chuckle, “Uh, I’m actually not too sure.”
“I can see you having a future with Marianne.”
“Okay, you can stop that now you spooky witch.”
Khadija laughed and clapped her hands together gleefully. “Spooky witch indeed!”
“Well, you are!”
Just then the bedroom door creaked open.
Marianne peeked her head in sheepishly, “Uh, Bog I was—Oh! Khadija!”
“Marianne,” Khadija smiled warmly while Bog leapt up from the bed and stumbled over his own feet to stand up.
Marianne giggled and opened the door all the way and stepped in the room. There wasn’t much in there except Bog’s bed, which was pushed up against the wall, a beside table, an old oak dresser that had seen better days, a near empty clothes hamper, and what looked to be an artists desk. There were numerous framed drawings and paintings on the walls, many looked like they could be tattoos.
“Well, I'd best be getting off to bed,” Khadija said with a forced yawn. She practically glided across the floor over to Marianne to hug her. “Good night, darling! Till we meet again!”
“Uh, good night!” Marianne managed awkwardly. She wasn’t...not uncomfortable, but not sure how to behave around Khadija. Maybe it was just because she was Bog’s cousin, or maybe it was because Khadija was so perceptive that it threw her off. Regardless though, Marianne did really like her.
“Night Deej,” Bog said with a little wave of his hand. Despite being the way she was, he was glad to have spent some time with her.
After he shut the door behind his cousin, Bog and Marianne were finally alone. He was the first to clear his throat.
“Ahem, so uh, are you glad you’re staying the night?” He asked almost sheepishly.
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?” Marianne teased as she sat on the bed.
“Well, i guess I thought that you’d want to go home, cuz of... yeah.” Bog rubbed the back of his neck. He still couldn’t believe that she’d want to stay, but then again, if the roles had been reversed he certainly wouldn’t be going anywhere.
“Bog, look—“
“No, no! I-I get it. I do. Really.”
Marianne made an affirming grunt sound and stood up, stepping closer to wrap her arms around his neck. “Good. I’m glad you understand.”
They kissed sweetly before Marianne pulled back and gestured to the walls, “Hey! Did you draw all these?”
“Huh? Oh yeah. Yes. These are my favorite pieces I’ve done.” There was a touch of pride to his voice as Bog indicated his drawings.
“Shut up! No way!” She lightly smacked his chest in playful disbelief. Her eyes grew large as she looked at them with new admiration. There was so much detail and realism to his drawings that they almost looked lifelike. A few looked three dimensional, as if they were about to come right off the paper.
“Heh, are you impressed?” Bog chuckled, slightly embarrassed. Many people have complimented his work, but hearing it come from Marianne made his pride swell.
The wide-eyed woman snapped her head back and looked him dead in the eyes and said, “Design a tattoo for me.”
“Are you sure?” Even though it was question, he couldn’t contain the excitement he felt. Already ideas popped into his mind.
Suddenly feeling rather foolish and abrupt with her request she fumbled over her words, “Oh, uhm, I mean, only if you want to.”
“I want to,” he said with a huge grin.
That made her smile widely. “What do you have in mind for me?”
“A full back piece,” he said without missing a beat.
“Oh c’mon! Be serious!” Marianne groaned, throwing back her head.
Bog just laughed and sat down on the bed, pulling her with him.
“I’ll need a few days to come up with some sketches, but you gotta tell me some ideas of what you’d like.”
“Hmm...” she put her finger to her lip and tilted her head to the side, “Well, it’ll be my first tattoo, so I want it to have meaning. I mean, it will cuz you’re designing it... You know what I mean.”
Bog nodded. A lot of time for a first tattoo people wanted it to have some meaning. He had so many he couldn’t remember what his first one was. But this was for Marianne; the woman he loved. Of course he wanted it to be perfect.
They talked for a while about what kinds of designs she liked and where she’d want it on her body, deciding between her ribs, shoulder, and upper thigh. Bog was thinking of her mother’s favorite flower, as well as Dawn’s and Marianne’s, with a purple morpho butterfly resting in the flowers. He wanted it to be a surprise, maybe a gift to bring in the New Year. He wouldn’t mind doing it for Christmas, but he had another gift in mind for that holiday.
It was half past 1 when the pair ended their tattoo conversation and laid quietly together in the bed. Bog was laying on his back with one hand under his head and the other around Marianne. Even though he felt like the day dragged on, it ended well. The next day was Marianne’s birthday and she had already made plans with Dawn and some friends, so he planned on using the day to move some stuff to her house. He didn’t want to be impetuous and say “their house” just yet. Whatever was happening between them was...nice. It felt right, like Marianne had always been a part of his life. He wanted to share everything with her. But, he was still slightly apprehensive about what their future would be like. Would she leave him for someone better looking? What if he did something stupid and she didn’t want to have anything to do with him anymore? Even though he wasn’t afraid of falling in love with Marianne, there was still this voice in the back of his mind making him doubt her staying in love with him.
“What’re you thinking about?” Marianne turned her head to look at Bog in the eyes.
He stirred a bit, not realizing she was still awake. “Mm... Nothing important.”
Marianne yawned and rolled her eyes.
“Ahhhhhhh...” she stretched and snuggled closer to him. “Whatever man. I’m tired.”
Bog smiled as he pressed his lips to her forehead, “Good night, my tough girl.”
“Mmm,” she hummed happily, feeling safe in his arms, “G’night, Bog.”