Side - Prelude 6

~ Far Away ~

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"Purple I know you know the rules!!!  I also know you can abide by them when you want to!!!!"  I heard the prison guard saying, I started laughing in my head but carried on kissing Manderine  "You've got Five minutes, then you can both sit down!!"

I know, I said I wouldn't do this - but I just can't not - I love her and I can't switch it off - I have resigned myself to a life of torment and heartache.

They are getting used to my weekly visits to see Manderine and these guards are not unreasonable if you stay on their right side, I learned that from my own stretch inside, quite often they let us get away with things that we shouldn't be doing.

Still, I can't afford to push my luck in this place, not even an inch, the last time I crossed this guard on this side of the prison, he sparked me out and I got myself living here for a stretch, there is no way I am letting that happen again, I can't afford to for the twins sakes!!!!  This guard had been on the men's wing while I was inside but we never spoke about what happened the day I lost the plot and he always treated me fairly.  Thankfully I never saw the Jerk who's jaw I broke, I was told he quit his job not long after to join the police force instead.

"Prelude where are the twins again??  Why didn't you bring them?  I am beginning to think you are keeping them away from me on purpose"

"They are with Mulberry and Ice, here I've took some pictures to show you."  I said quickly to try and distract her, but I know it's not going to work for long.  She isn't impressed, she likes the pictures but really isn't happy that I hadn't brought the twins to see her again.  "I'll get them printed off for my next visit, I just haven't had time this week."

While they were babies it was easy to bring Storm and Parsley in to see her because they were too young to understand anything, now they are walking and talking and taking everything in, it's different.  They will soon start asking questions that I still don't have the answers for - I am torn not knowing what is the best thing to do for them.

Me and Manderine have a serious conversation that needs having, but I'm really not looking forward to it, because I know she is really not going to like what I have to say. 

I am torn between letting or not letting her see the twins.  It's not that I am trying to be spiteful and punish her by keeping the twins away from her - it is more for them - I really don't like the idea of them having to grow up knowing where she is and why she is in here and mostly I'm worried about them suffering in future as a result of everything she has done.

"Come on spit it out, you're fidgeting I can see something's bothering you!!"  she is watching me warily.

"I'm sorry Manderine ................ but now that the boys are getting old enough to understand, I haven't decided if I'm going to let them see you yet."  I bit my lip waiting for the explosion.

"Oh no you don't!!!!  Don't you start - I've already got him stopping my other kids from coming to see me - you can't do this to me Prelude!!!!!  My girls were babies when I came in here, they are never going to know who I am, now you want to do the same with our twins!!!.  Why would you want to hurt me like this??!!!"

"Manderine I really am not doing this to hurt you!!"  I said then added stupidly  "although I can think of quite a few reasons why I should .............."  She didn't let me finish what I was saying, she started going off on one in her usual fashion, but I did kind of ask for it.

"SHUT UP!!!!  Let me speak or I'm just getting up and walking out of here - I'm warning you, I'm sick of you screaming at me, we need to talk about this properly for the boys sakes, not have a slanging match!!"

"So come on then Storm, start talking and you'd better make it good!!"  She seriously needs to stop calling me Storm!!!

Trying to explain to her how I felt and why I am keeping the twins away from her wasn't easy, especially as she couldn't see past the fact of me not bringing them in to see her.  For once I was actually glad when the visiting hour was over so that I could walk away from the argument, hoping that over the next week she might think about some of things that I've said to her.

I really hate the thought of the twins having to grow up visiting their Mother in this place, it is bad enough them knowing their mother is in prison, even worse knowing why she is in here!!  Knowing that she's a murderer, responsible for their Uncle and Cousin being buried in the cemetery, for Alpines brain damage, Ice's face, for Lilly, for Tapestry's problems.  How are kids supposed to deal with this?!

She can't see how this might affect the boys in the future.

and she definitely doesn't seem to see the situation she has put me in.


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Since being released from prison, my life has taken on a lot of changes.  As I expected our parents have disowned all three of us for having mixed berry children, as far as they are concerned they only have one grandchild, Wisteria, the other's they are not even interested in seeing, not even Storm who is completely purple, because he has green blood running through his veins according to Dad.

After a lot of grovelling I managed to get my job back at the theatre and am now living back in my own house with my three boys, and of course I am a single father again.  Lilly is also now back at home with Mango even though she is still in a coma.  Mango has had part of the house converted and has taken compassionate leave from work and is looking after her himself with the help of agency nurses.  We have all had to pull together to take our part in helping Mango to look after Lilly and their children.

Manderine, I completely gave up even trying to fight it, the twins put pay to any hopes of me forgetting about her or keeping away from her.  Mango and Mulberry have had to accept that I love her and am constantly in contact with her because of the twins and because I can't turn off my feeling and keep away.  They don't like it but it doesn't cause any trouble anymore as long as I don't talk about it, but it is always the first thing that they throw at me in an argument.

"Where is Mango?"  I asked Mulberry after I had spent my hour sat reading to Lilly.  We take it in turns to spend time with her talking and reading to her, hoping it might help to wake her up and while we are spending time with her it gives Mango a break and time to spend with the triplets.

"He's just popped out to the chemist to get Tapestry's medication, he shouldn't be long."  he replied.  "Prelude I needed to talk to you - the twins - they keep calling Ice Mommy, she doesn't mind but, they are asking questions that I can't answer - you need to work out what you are going to tell them - we all need to know what we are supposed to be saying to them."

Don't I know it, I haven't been able to think about much else for a while now, and this was the reason why I wanted to speak to Mango, I hoped he would be able to help me work away around it all.

"I really don't know what I am going to say to them - I can't decide what to do!!"

"Well you need to hurry up and decide,  Storm has already asked me where his Mommy is - I told him to ask you because I didn't know what to say to him."

"Have you said anything to them about Manderine??  You haven't been calling her Lime in front of them have you?" 

"No, I try to avoid the subject of HER you know that, I've said nothing to them but I'm warning you Prelude, it won't be long before they are asking all sorts of questions and I'm not having you laying into me when I say the wrong thing - Get it sorted!!!"

If it was left up to them the twins would never see Manderine, it's so clear cut for them, tell the twins she has faded, don't tell them who she is or where she is and forget about her, it is the best thing for them.  Maybe they are right but It's far from easy for me, and I have a decision to make - and it will probably be the decision that they are not going to like very much.

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I'm taking the twins to see Manderine, but I'm still really not sure that I'm doing the right thing for them - I just hope that I'm not about to make a big mistake because I am too selfish to let go.

Storm goes racing off down the corridor, he's always in a hurry that kid, he doesn't walk he runs everywhere.

"Storm slow down, you don't even know where you are going yet!!"

"Where me going Daddy?"  he asked

"You are going to see your Mommy."  I told him not really expecting them to understand, Storm just carried on running straight a head leaving Parsley miles behind.  "Storm you are going to have to slow down so that Parsley can keep up."

"Me seeing green Mommy?"  he said as he carried on running off.  "Green Mommy, Daddy"  he repeated.   Where the fudge has he had that from?!

"Storm who told you that!?  Who told you green Mommy?"

"Unky Berry."  he sat down for a minute and started to rock backwards and forwards holding his feet as he jabbered away  "Jupi's Mommy blue, Stormie Mommy green, Tappy's mommy no colour like Affair, Mango owange, Daddy purple, Ruby red, Sunny lellow - me clever colours"  he got up and started running off again.  I couldn't help but laugh at him - he is definitely the brighter one of the two and I know he will be the first one to understand what is going on here.

"Me greeen, Stormie purple"  Parsley suddenly joined in as he ran after Storm trying to keep up with him, both of them now shouting out everyone's colours as they are running along.

I also had to laugh at Mulberry, he looks after the twins while I'm at work, and it looks like he has found an amusing way to teach them their colours, although I'm not sure how he got to telling them that Manderine is green!!.

I held the door open for them and they both went charging into the room without a care in the world.   Manderine just sat there watching them, she didn't know she was getting to see them today, I had only decided this morning that I was going to give into her and bring them with me.

"Greeen lady" Parsley said

"Nooooo green Mommy"  Storm told him.  Manderine started laughing at them.

Manderine jumped up out of her chair and dived on me, as I got close to where she is sitting, nearly sending me flying backwards, I struggled to stay on my feet.

"Calm down!!!"

"You brought them, I can't believe you actually brought them!!!" 

"Don't get too excited yet, Manderine you have to promise me something, or this will be the last time I bring them into this place to see you!!"

"Anything!!"

"You are never to tell them why you are in this place, what you have done and especially not to who you have done it ............ and you are NEVER to say another bad word about Lilly or call her a colourless freak again, especially not in front of the twins."

She started to pull faces, I told her I meant it and if she didn't agree she would only be seeing pictures of them from now on.

"What are you planning on doing, are you going to lie to them about me - how do you expect to get away with that?"

Yet again I've pushed Mango's patience making the decision that I made, but for Parsley and Storms sake, we have all sat down and worked out a story to cover the whole sorry mess up.  None of the children are going to be told anything, Sunny's, Alpines, Lilly's, Mulberry's or the twins.  As far as the older children are concerned everything is down to a women called Lime who they have never seen.  Manderine is the twins mothers name - they will hopefully never know that Lime and Manderine are the same person.  Hopefully we can brush it all under the carpet so that the twins don't suffer in the future for what she has done, especially from Lilly and Alpines kids.  We are one big happy extended family and none of them will know the real truth to keep it that way.

It was either that or tell the twins that she had faded and they would never have set eyes on her or known she was actually alive and in this place.  The main reasons for me not choosing this option  is that if the twins in the future found out that she was actually alive all along and I'd lied to them about her fading, I am scared that they would hate me and never forgive me.  Hiding her existence from them would have been really hard for me, my phonecalls and visits would have given us away eventually. It is safer not to go down this route.

I just hope that in the future our cover story is not going to be blown open - and I'm not going to regret this.

Visiting hour flew by way too quickly as usual.

The door opened and the prison guard shouted   
"Purple you have one minute, visiting time's over."

"I'll see you next week!!"

"Okay ............. bring the twins with you." 

"We agreed didn't we once a fortnight!!" 

This is my lot in life -

one visit a week and endless hours of talking on the phone - and this is as good as it's ever going to get!!  Hoping that we are still both alive when she finally does get to leave this place.

Now I just have to learn to live with it ........ and wait.

~The End of Preludes little side adventure ~

or is it??!!

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Song:  Far Away - Nickelback


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While I am just putting the finishing touches to Lilly's next chapter
I thought I would introduce you to our new additions to the second generation of Orchids.

Tapestry - Mosaic - Coral (Lilly & Mango)
Juniper (Mulberry & Ice) - Storm - Parsley (Prelude & Lime)

 and if you haven't guessed already - Tapestry will be the second generation heir.

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