Sweets For My Sweet // Dora

She was happy for them, mostly, but recently Jovi had been a twat about being better than Dora and pushing her relationship with Fin in Dora’s face as part of the proof. It was maddening, partly because deep down Dora knew it was the truth. Fin had less time for Dora now and she felt him being pulled away from her by Jovi, just as her father had been pulled away by her mum. Fin was an easier target for her insecurities if only because he was the one in front of her now, and with Pansy still screeching like a bloody siren, Dora didn’t have the energy to try to calm herself before responding. “What do you care if I have someone else to spend time with? We’re not married!” she threw back his words with a sneer. “You’re not the only one allowed to have a social life! I work all night long at your sodding club, and I’m not allowed to have a bit of fun myself? Shut the bloody hell up, Pans!” Pacing and bouncing weren’t enough to soothe the screaming toddler, and apparently all the shouting hadn’t worked either. The pain in Dora’s head was quickly making her stomach churn and the bouncing and pacing wasn’t helping her either.

His words stunned her and she was frozen silent for a moment, though Pansy continued to wail on her hip. Fin snatched the baby from her arms and it shook Dora’s voice loose. “Fine then! We won’t do it anymore! As if I care!” But she clearly did care, as evident by the liquid pooling in her eyes regardless of the fact that no tears actually fell. He had left the room and Dora turned toward the sink, leaning over it and willing her stomach to settle down and for her head to stop pulsing. Will power was no match for the vampiric hangover she was wrestling with and Dora lurched forward as the meager contents of her stomach were expelled into the sink. Turning the tap on to wash away the sick, Dora stood with her head hung, cool shivers running down the length of her body. A small bark from Mimi nearly made the brunette jump but she moaned softly instead and began to sort herself out. She pulled a pain elixir from the cupboard and grabbed the bottle of champagne that Fin had brought her, then turned and headed out to the back porch, Mimi trotting along behind her.

The afternoon air was chilly but it felt good against her bare legs. Dora sat on the patio sofa and tucked her feet up under herself, pulling the cork from the champagne and taking a drink straight from the bottle. Watching the wind blow around the barren tree branches was rather soothing and with Mimi having climbed up onto her lap for a cuddle, Dora was beginning to feel better.

Mimi was a good dog, but even she left Dora alone at one point to chase off a squirrel that had run up a nearby tree. Dora called the dog to stop barking and Mimi, pleased at her work of defending the house from the vicious wildlife, trotted back onto the porch and curled herself into the crook of Dora’s legs. It had been about ten minutes since her headache subsided, fifteen since she’d calmed down enough to actually take the elixir she had been yearning for since Fin woke her. Dora was looking out over the garden but she saw Fin appear in the doorway from the corner of her eye and she jutted her chin into the air a little higher than she had been holding it before. Dora might have forgotten all about her daughter for a moment, if Fin had not mentioned her. Dora smothered the guilty feeling in her stomach with another sip of champagne before replying “okay.” And then after a moment, “thanks.” Green eyes were still fixed on the landscape but she was more than aware that Fin was still standing there and she chewed on her lip anxiously, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Dora pulled a face of faux outrage as Fin took the champagne bottle from her hands as he sat on the chair in front of her. “Technically, that’s theft and I could have you prosecuted.” She looked at him for a moment, then rolled her eyes up toward the ceiling and shrugged. “But since Pansy loves you so much, I suppose I shall let it slide.”

Mimi sniffed into the air, trying to get at the bottle that smelled all too familiar. This wouldn’t have been the pup’s first drink, though it had been a while since Dora had passed out with anything left in a bottle for Mimi to slurp up off the floor. Dora’s vice these days was not so portable as a bottle of champagne but gave her a far superior sense of carefreeness. Dora pulled the bottle closer to her and rested it on her hip, scratching the edge of the label with her thumb absentmindedly. “Well, that and you’d basically be paying for my lawyer so it’d be a conflict of interest or some rubbish like that.”

‘You’d hire the best lawyer for Jovi if she asked you,’ Dora thought bitterly but she had cooled down enough to know better than to voice her insecurities again. The last thing her hangover needed was another screaming match. Instead, she gave him a small smile, took another sip of champagne, then rested her head on her arm and closed her eyes. It was as much of an apology as she was willing to give her best friend.