#((so i'm gonna tentatively say it's nothing more than a rumor-at least; i certainly hope it's a rumor))

[theheadlessgroom]

"O-Oh, yeah?" Callahan asked with a small smile amidst his trouble thoughts, amused by the pair's disappointment, which was clear on their face when their mother mentioned it, with Erika pouting, "Phoebus is boring." She was also of the opinion that the Beast wasn't nearly as cool as a human, so clearly, her parents affection for monster-human romances was rubbing off on her.

"Why can't she be with Quasi?" Lon asked, arms folded as Colin shrugged with a wry smile of his own, "I, uh...I don't know, lad. Guess you'd have to take it up with the writer."

"Well...Esmeralda may not have ended up being romantically involved with Quasimodo," Josephine ventured to suggest, saying, "But that doesn't mean he lost out on having her in his life. They may not be a couple, but clearly, she still treasures him as a friend, and I think that's very important too."

Though Erika couldn't completely argue with that logic, she still felt firm in her belief that the pair should've been together in the end, something that made Randall chuckle-he was sure that belief would only further be solidified once she saw the 1923 film. Phoebus, while not the cad he was in the novel, still wasn't as heroic (or as humorous) as his animated counterpart, a very boring, safe romantic interest compared to Quasimodo, in Randall's opinion, and he was sure his children would agree.

But such lighter topics didn't linger for long: While Josephine took the empty bowl of popcorn back to the kitchen, asking the twins to come and help her clean up (with August tagging along, the Burke parents both having sensed the tension in the room, and felt it'd be best to give the Paces a little space), the Pace brothers, as soon as they were alone, moved to embrace not only their brother and sister-in-law, but their nephew and his wife as well.

"Wil...he told us everything," Colin confirmed shakily, fresh tears sprouting in wide blue eyes, with Wilhelm nodding to Randall and Emily, "I hope you two mind me telling 'em before you could, but we just got to talkin', and...well, it all just came out."

"I understand, Pa," Randall nodded back, his heart breaking for his uncles, who looked so shaken, all their jovialness, all their light-heartedness, having been replaced by a silent horror and heartbreak, now that they knew the awful truth.

Their brother battled discrimination and alcoholism, and died a lonely death in a lake, leaving their widowed sister-in-law to work to provide for her son, even in the face of their neighbors hatred, dying too young from a terrible illness. Their nephew was overlooked and underpaid, and was beheaded for the crime of loving a woman, who was strangled by a wicked man who loved nothing more than her money, and wouldn't stand for that money slipping through his fingers.

"I just...I'm so sorry," Callahan whimpered, saying, "I-I just wish...I just wish we'd known, if only we'd known, if we could've been there, maybe..."

"Cal..." Wilhelm began, placing his hands on his brothers' shoulders: The last thing he wanted was for them to feel guilty, not knowing what was happening to him in the States, but it was too late, both Colin and Callahan had an unshakable, overwhelming sense of guilt, a string of what-ifs filling their minds.

@beatingheart-bride

"It's an old Pratt family recipe," Josephine explained, saying, "My family used to make it for farmer's markets when I was younger, we used to sell it by the bagful; it was always very popular, so we oftentimes sold out very quickly. It's been a long time since I made it, so it felt good to get back in the kitchen and make a batch-especially with two great little helpers."

"We helped!" Lon declared proudly through a mouthful of popcorn, and even Erika smiled a little and nodded-it had actually been really fun, helping Grandma Josephine out. It was a lot like being in the kitchen with Grandma June, and that helped Erika feel a little more at ease about pitching in.

And watching her favorite movie also helped her feel a little more comfortable being around these new family members, admittedly, able to forget about her anxieties in favor of colorful animation and wonderful music, with the hot, sweet kettle corn being an additional bonus. Laying on her stomach watching the movie, Erika felt more content than she had the day before, and smiled as she relaxed. Maybe this visit wouldn't be so bad after all!

Meanwhile, Lon, sitting up beside his sister, was still trying to figure out what this "burlesque" was that his family kept talking about-it involved dancing, performing, but the specifics he couldn't quite figure out. When Esmeralda began her dance at the Feast of Fools, Lon turned back to ask his great-grandmother curiously, "Is that burlesque?"

"Ah, not quite," Josephine chuckled amusedly, though she could see some similarities there, between herself and La Esmeralda: Performing flirtatious, provocative dances for an appreciative audience (with some disapproving figures in the crowd as well), being looked down on because of it, but still remaining kind despite all that? Yes, that all sounded rather familiar to her...