The Hutchins and Mojica Renovacy, Chapter 6

Chapter 6 Locking Horns.
“We’ll come and meet you at the library,” Uiara had said. “And do our homework there.” Now, walking past Reggie, she looked over her shoulder and read what Reggie had written about the joy and the sacrifice. Instinctively, she refrained from commenting on it, but filed it away.
“Later,” she thought. “When we can be on our own together.” That would mean getting out for a walk together. There wasn’t a lot of privacy in the house! Regina moved on to writing her next cookery book, blissfully unaware that Uiara had seen her blog. Next to her, the six children were busy with their homework, the older ones helping the younger ones where necessary. “We need to go back soon.”
One by one, as they’d finished their homework, the children had drifted over to the games tables.
“This was fun, though. Let’s do it again tomorrow,” Tesni said.
“Viriato used to bring us here to do our homework,” Uiara said, remembering.
“Yeah,” said Desmond. “But we couldn’t play games afterwards. It was all homework and then more work.” At the mention of Viriato’s name, Henrietta and Charlie’s faces changed from being bright with fun. Charlie’s went resentful and mutinous and Henrietta just looked sad. Had Regina missed something between those two and Viriato? She must watch more carefully. He needed to learn to cook, Viriato decided. He couldn’t expect Uiara to do it all. Not and hold down a good job. And how hard could it be? He’d start with mac ‘n’ cheese (thought the actual truth was that he didn’t know what to do with most of the contents of the fridge). Shaving the cheese for the sauce – that was easy. Viriato didn’t see what all the fuss was about with cooking. The song and dance Regina made of it… He cleaned up as he went along – none of this, “I’m focussing on the cooking times, the cleaning up will wait,” nonsense for him! Okay, maybe this wasn’t so simple. Coming out of the bathroom, having showered off the day’s dirt, Viriato was pleased to see Tesni home and already starting on her homework – and then he realised that there was someone else with her. Someone male. All his protective elder brother instincts kicked in straight away. Tesni couldn’t get involved with anyone! She was too young! She was going to go to university – by the time she was old enough, they should be able to afford it. Desmond and Uiara and Eugenio would be earning by then, getting up their career ladders. Uiara would have to plan the timing of her children round her career… He sat down at the table with them and read, slightly to Tesni’s disappointment. But Viriato was determined to keep an eye on her. “Gosh, Henrietta, you’re as fierce as Tesni when it comes to playing dominoes,” Desmond said, laughing. “Where is she tonight anyway?” The library trips post-school had become a winter feature of their lives.
“She went back home with Marcus – you know, Marcus Malifa? They said they needed to work together on something,” Uiara said. “She asked me if it was okay, and I said yes. But we’d better go soon.”
“Can we finish the game first?” Henrietta asked hopefully. If she wanted any time at all with Marcus, it was going to have to be outside in the snow, Tesni decided.
“Come on Marcus! Let’s build a snowman!” She deliberately tried to sound as young as possible as she dragged Marcus outside.
“What’s with the snowman stuff?” Marcus asked, shivering slightly.
“Silly. I wanted some time alone with you, and without my big brother glowering at us both.”
“Ah,” said Marcus, and set to making the snowman in case Viriato was spying on them. Which he was – through Tesni’s bedroom window. But all he saw was two children making a snowman. Luckily, he couldn’t hear their not-so-childish conversation. “Really in the spring?”
“Yes. We’ve saved enough money, you and I, and Reggie hasn’t needed it this winter.”
That had been the deal with the horse money – winter was always the hardest time financially, and if the family had needed the money, then they would have given it gladly.
“As long as there’s no major disasters like the cooker exploding.”
“And what’s left, if I find a cheaper horse, Reggie can have.” The twins high-fived each other and went back inside. This Christmas, finally, they had more than one decoration! And enough spare money to buy a family present or two – they chose board games. Currently, Desmond was staring in disbelief at his Scrabble letters – and at the board where Reggie had just put down ‘prolix’. On a triple word score. Mind you, Henrietta and Charlie were being just as fierce over the Ludo board. “Where is everyone, Desmond?” Viriato asked, coming in from the cold.
“Eugenio, Tesni and Uiara went out. The library, I think. Or maybe the Art Gallery – I forget which. The rest of us are here, in the warm!” That was okay, then, Viriato thought. Tesni would be in the library with Uiara, studying, he hoped. Or possibly watching Eugenio paint. Tesni, however had gone out with Marcus to the winter festival. She knew Reggie wouldn’t mind, Uiara knew where she was – and it was none of Viriato’s business.
“What shall we do first?”
Marcus wasn’t quite so keen on the cold, but he was very keen on Tesni. In fact, for the sake of being with her, Marcus would even get up early on a holiday and go and throw snowballs just for the fun of it. “You two should be doing some cleaning,” Viriato hissed in Henrietta’s ear as he went past her on his way to clean the dirty cooker that Regina was obviously leaving for him to do.
“The outside bathroom’s filthy. And so’s the sink.”
Charlie went over to clean the sink as Viriato attacked the cooker, still not sure why Viriato seemed to dislike him so much now. Desmond took his defeat gracefully and Regina left him to tidy up the games while she went outside to check the mail and tidy up any old newspapers. Just in time to see her daughter cleaning the outside sink in the freezing cold. “Henrietta! It’s freezing out here. What are you doing?”
“Viriato said I had to…” “There is no way you have to do this in this weather. Summer, yes, it’s one of yours or Charlie’s jobs, but not now. Go back inside and tell Desmond I want him to take you and Charlie to the library. Right now.” Regina gave herself a little while outside to take the edge off her anger before going back in. Desmond had tidied up neatly before he’d left with the two little ones, games away, tables back in the right place. Even in her crossness, Regina was softened by this thoughtfulness on his part. But it didn’t put her off her purpose.
“Viriato!” she called. “I want a word with you. Now.” Tesni, skating with Marcus, wished that the day would never end. But it would have to.
“I need to go and meet the others at the library now,” she said. “But it’s been a brilliant day. Thank you so much for coming out with me.” Regina looked Viriato straight in the eyes. And it was he who looked away first, secretly ashamed of what he’d done, but unwilling to admit it. “You. Do. Not. Ever. Send the children out into the snow to clean things. Do I make myself perfectly clear? That was totally unacceptable.”
This was a Regina Viriato hadn’t seen before, almost majestic in her controlled anger. She reminded him of someone – and then he realised that it was his mother, Aurora, confronting a group of boys who’d been tormenting a stray kitten.
No. No. Regina was nothing like Aurora, had nothing in common with her… Uiara could read her brother like a book. And he wasn’t happy. Henrietta was nearly in tears and Charlie had gone into his withdrawn mode. And now, when she thought back to Charlie as a toddler, always laughing and so outgoing, she realised how far from normal this was for him. “Okay, what’s wrong?” And as no one spoke, Uiara went on. “Tell Auntie Uiara all about it. Uiara is wise. Uiara is all-knowing…” This did produce a rather watery smile from Henrietta. “It’s Viriato,” Desmond said bluntly. “He sent Henrietta out in the snow to clean the outside bathroom.” Henrietta hung her head, nearly in tears again. Uiara sat down suddenly, her eyes grave. “Hadn’t you noticed?” Tesni had come up behind them in time to hear what Desmond had said.
“Now that I’m older, now it’s not the three of us together any more, Viriato doesn’t want to know these two. And it’s not fair.” Tesni was very close to both of them. They’d shared a lot of childhood together. “What are we going to do about it?” “Let me talk to Regina,” Uiara said. “As soon as we can get out for a walk together. I’ve got quite a lot I want to talk to her about.”
“My horse,” said Desmond firmly.
“And you will ask her about me getting a part-time job, won’t you,” Tesni added.
“Yes,” Uiara promised. But part of her concern was for her older brother, who seemed to be going so badly astray.