December 27, 1893 - Bixby House, Bartonburg

Eighteen-ninety four had to be a better year, Rufus thought grimly as he entered his parents home. As it had been for months now, the house was eerily quiet, everyone keeping to themselves. Nothing like the happy home Rufus had grown up in. His muscles tightened as they always did when he remembered the cause, remembered the pain. And, as he always did, he brushed it aside. His parents, his brothers, they needed him to be strong now.

Perhaps he ought to have brought the children with him to brighten mother's day, but he only intended to check in on his family before heading home for the evening and hadn't wanted to add to his parents' burden with the joyful balls of energy. They alone seemed unburdened by the events of the year and he could only hope that would remain the case, that he and Tuni could continue to shield them from the tragedies that had befallen their family.

"Hello?" He called out into the quiet house.

Open to a member of the Bixby family

  

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BEE-utiful set!

With Christmas come and gone, Alvin could only feel a sense of relief. Without Sloane and with Wally still on the long road to recovery, it hadn't been as joyous as it could have been. Everybody had been able to fake it for the youngest of the Bixby clan, but Alvin suspected even Rufus' children could feel the tension. Needless to say, Alvin was very much looking forward to the new year.

Currently he sat at the small kitchen table, working on a broom design he and Penny had recently discussed. Things seemed to be going well on that front. He had reached out to some contacts in the tree farm industry to see about getting some specific pieces for Penny to work on. His designs were coming out better than he could have hoped for, likely better than anything he had designed in the past even. It was a strange sort of feeling to be involved with brooms again, even in a limited capacity.

"Kitchen," Alvin called out when he heard Rufus' voice resonate through the house.

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Alvin's voice was quick to reply and Rufus followed it even before the direction had been revealed. Saying, "Where is everyone?" As he entered the room. The kitchen was warm compared to the rest of the house, but quiet as well. Rufus's face was cold from the wind and snow and grateful for the warmth as it thawed his cheeks.

His eyes caught on what Alvin was working on as he slid into a chair next to Alvin. It had been so long since he had seen his brother do anything with brooms that it gave him a slight bit of hope to see the sketch before him. Not wanting to accidently say the wrong thing, Rufus tried for casual. "That'll have nice draft." Indeed the broom looked like a dream to ride.

  

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BEE-utiful set!

"Not sure honestly, Ma might've taken Wally to the hospital for treatment." It was a long road that Wally had to continue to work on, but it was getting better, or so Alvin hoped.

"We'll see," Alvin shrugged as his brother sat down to join him. "Miss Fawcett and I have two started designs ahead of it, but like to have options in case something doesn't work out." The quidditch broom was coming along, thanks to some input from Theo on the current ones in use. The other one, meant for travel, would come next, once they figured out the first, or got too frustrated with it.

"Still working through them." He said as he leaned back. 'I was going to make some tea?" Alvin had lived on his own long enough to sort of know his way around a kitchen. The basics anyway. "What brings you by?"

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this delightful Alvin set brought to you by MJ

The thought of his younger brother in the hospital for anything, even something such as a treatment that might help him, made Rufus's jaw tighten, his teeth clench together and the fresh pains of the past few years spring forward. What he would have done to go back to the years when they were all safe and happy again? When the biggest mistakes had been his own foolishness.

So instead he allowed himself to slip into the wind of a conversation he was familiar with. He and Alvin had sat and discussed brooms since they had been children. There was a different tinge to the conversation now, with the new currents that had entered, with names of others who once would never have even been thought of. But Rufus was glad to see that Alvin was talking about them, that he was doing something about it. Alvin's pain and disappointments in life made Rufus ache. He wished that there was a solace his brother could find in life, as Rufus had in Tuni. Instead Alvin had no one to turn to. Perhaps Miss Fawcett might provide him with that? "How is it working with Miss Fawcett?" He ventured casually.

"Tea sounds wonderful. It's bloody cold outside. Besides, Tuni is much more likely to give me coffee than tea, and I simply can't get over the taste." His wife's preference for the bitter drink still baffled him, even all these years later.

  

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BEE-utiful set!

At his brother's agreement, Alvin stood to start the kettle. He lit the stove and got the water boiling while he pulled the fixings out. Boiling water seemed like a critical skill in his time abroad, so much could be cooked that way, even if he'd mostly survived of eggs and pub food.

"Seems to be going well. She's incredibly talented, so I'm hoping she can turn those into something that'll perform well." And sell. He motioned to the sketches on the table nonchalantly. Alvin was smart enough not to get his hopes up too high about anything taking off, but he kindled just enough hope to keep him going. "Hopefully we can get that wood to work, it's dense, so unbreakable, but heavy and a little hard to work with." The field maple really was a good choice for quidditch brooms, but he worried they wouldn't get past the hardwood's weight.

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this delightful Alvin set brought to you by MJ

Compliments to the lady were promising, yet Rufus couldn't help but notice that Alvin seemed oblivious to the underlying question. "With you designing them I'm sure they will be wonderful." Sure Alvin had created a few duds over the years when it came to his brooms, but Rufus trusted Alvin's designs, more often than not they seemed to work out for the better.

"Have you considered cherry wood?" Rufus asked, "I remember you experimenting with it right out of school. I was impressed at the shock resistance."

"What does Mis Fawcett think of the maple?" Having lived with a woman, and his own mother's nagging, Rufus deftly turned the conversation back to the woman in question. Perhaps he was wasting his time, but there was a small kernel in his mind that needed to help his brother in whatever small way there was. Even if it was just introducing the idea of opening his eyes to a woman he was working with.

  

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BEE-utiful set!

Alvin didn't have much of a frame of reference as to what would or wouldn't be successful. He'd never made anything that had made it big, just a few personal brooms over in the States for people that had liked his work. He really needed something to take off and that would become a little more widespread for him to consider himself it a true win.

At the inquiry of the cherry wood, Alvin shrugged. "Similar problems. Not quite as unbreakable. Still dense and a little heavy as a hardwood." The field maple would be truly wonderful if they could get it to work. "She seems confident we can get the right combination of shape and charms to make it work." Penny had worked with Grimstone after all and he seemed to have figured out the right tricks to make things work. Alvin could only aspire to have half of his success in the business.

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this delightful Alvin set brought to you by MJ

Rufus nodded at Alvin's explanation. "I trust the two of you will be able to make the maple work then."

He sighed and then looked down at his mug. "How is mum?" As much as he liked discussing brooms and woods and helping Alvin he couldn't avoid that he was the eldest and did indeed need to look after everyone. His mother included. Especially because she wouldn't tell him herself.

  

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BEE-utiful set!

Alvin sure as hell hoped so. This model was going to be his grand return to the industry; it had a lot riding on it, figuratively and literally.

"She's alright. I think being able to focus on Wally helps." The near constant care his brother currently needed was a good distraction for his mother from the loss of their sister. Sloane's death had nearly broken the family and Wally's attack had been the final straw. Now that he was awake and home, it was much better. "She likes having someone to fuss over." Fiona Bixby was no weak woman, but her children were her everything. Alvin couldn't suffer the pity of being looked after and she knew that, so had never pushed even the wake of his own accident and Sloane's death. Unfortunately for Wally he didn't get the same reprieve, but it was good for the both of them. His mother was truly the best of them and he tried to be more like her as he had gotten older.

"I help when I can see she needs a break. It's a lot." Alvin had gotten pretty good on reading when to step in lately. Being home helped everyone, even if he felt like a child again. He'd been out on his own and independent, living back with his parents while he got back on his feet was a low blow.

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this delightful Alvin set brought to you by MJ