It was quiet night in the Wilkinson household. Lena was lounging on the couch, flipping through a book. Aidan sat quietly nearby, reading a newspaper. This was normally how things were in Lena’s family: quiet, but engaged. Things could stay that way all day if they let it. But the silence was soon interrupted by a crashing sound nearby. Lena and Aidan both looked up, then at each other.
“Seth,” they said in unison. Most loud noises like that were because of him, but that was only because he could be a bit clumsy at times. It was trait their mother had passed down, according to Aidan. He did always say that Seth acted a lot like her.
“I’ll go check on him,” Lena said as she put her book down, got up, and made her way to Seth’s room. She opened the door to find her younger brother on the floor, clutching something in his hand.
“Seth, what on earth are you doing?” she asked as she knelt down next to him. “Don’t tell me you were practicing your Quidditch moves indoors. That’s practically suicide.”
“Lena, I’m not that dumb,” Seth said, pouting. “I was just getting my Roderick Plumpton figurine.” He held up his hand, where a tiny Elliot was struggling to escape Seth’s grasping fingers. “He wandered off again.”
“You know, figurines normally stay in place, even though they move about,” Lena said as helped Seth to his feet. “Maybe you should take him back for a refund.”
“No way,” Seth vehemently argued. “Roderick was one of the best seekers in the Tutshill Tornados ever. He’s one of my favorites.”
Lena laughed. “You and your love of seekers.” Of course, she understood why. Seth would be entering his second year at school, where he would finally be old enough to join his house’s Quidditch team. And he was desperately hoping to get the Seeker position. “Come on, let’s play some Wizard’s Chess. Maybe Dad will be nice and give you some hints on how to beat me this time.”
Seth laughed. “You’re on.” He tossed his Roderick figurine onto his bed (much to its annoyance) and hurried after his sister. Aidan only had to glance up and see the looks on their faces to figure out what they had in mind.
“Are we having another Wizard’s Chess game?” he asked.
“Yup,” Seth replied, grinning. “And I’m gonna bet Lena this time.”
“Not a chance,” Lena argued as she got out the board and assembled the pieces.
“Is that a tone of cockiness I hear in your voice, Lena?” Aidan teased, laughing.
“Oh, and like you weren’t the same when you were a kid?” Lena asked. “You always beat Mom at chess, and you never let her forget it.”
Aidan chuckled. “Touché.” His eyes went back to his paper, but Lena could see his eyes mist over with nostalgia, and just a hint of sadness, at the mention of his wife. It was a typical reaction, and one Lena wasn’t sure if it would ever break. It wasn’t that he minded when people mentioned his dead wife; it wasn’t like he couldn’t bear to hear her name. He always just went a little quiet when she came into conversation.
“Lena? Hello? Earth to Lena?” Seth flicked his finger against her head, finally getting her attention.
“Hey, pardon me if I space out once in my lifetime,” Lena said, giving him a look.
“Lena, you space out all the time,” Seth pointed out. “Except when you’re worried that you’ll get an E in Potions instead of an O.”
“Hey, you’re the one who almost got a P in History of Magic,” Lena shot back.
Aidan just laughed amidst all the arguing. Some people might have been annoyed with all the noise, but it was amusing to him.
“Kids, don’t you have a chess game to start?” he asked, finally breaking up the argument.
“Alright, alright,” Seth said. “You move first, Lena.”
“Pawn, to A3,” Lena said immediately, brushing her hair back as her piece moved up one square.
“Pawn, to H6,” Seth ordered, not hesitating in the slightest.
Aidan set his newspaper aside, his chin resting on his fingers as he watched his children order their pieces, going back and forth like a Ping-Pong ball. He was often found that way, gazing at his kids as if they were precious jewels that could never ever be duplicated or replaced. He never understood parents who didn’t like at their children that way. What could be more precious than your own family? It was what Aidan had always valued most, even though his was small, and didn’t have his wife anymore.
“Dad? Dad?”
“Hm?” Aidan was brought out of his thoughts at the sound of his son’s voice.
“Whatcha thinking about?” Seth asked, looking curiously at him. “You were spacing out like Lena was.”
“Nothing,” Aidan replied, shaking his head as he leaned back in his chair. “Nothing at all,” he added quietly, as if he were speaking to himself.
((OOC: Sorry if this sucks, but I've been itching to write about these guys for a while, and I finally had the time to do it. So...yeah. Hope you like it anyway, even if it makes no sense.))
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Subject: A Typical Summer Night 