Harry and Laura left for their honeymoon not too far from the city, they would be back in a few days, and that left her all alone in her new role as wife. Alone with Daniel and the children trying to settle into her new life and the family's daily routine.
In the morning the children went to school and Daniel went to work, which left her wandering around the big house not knowing what to do. Most of her time was spent in the small room that he had arranged to look like a music room. They had even put in a piano and a few other instruments. The acoustics were good and Deanna could sing without the sound traveling through the rest of the house.
That first week she decided to stay out of the way so she could see how she could fit in. In the morning they would all eat breakfast together and then Daniel would drop the kids off at school on his way to work and in the afternoon when they returned, the older ones would lock themselves in their rooms and he in his office. The only one who didn't seem to want to leave her alone was Jonathan who would run into the house looking for her.
As the days went by it became a habit to wait for them to return, but she was getting bored. While she was at the University all her days were hectic with classes, meetings or outings. Now she spent all her time indoors or walking in the park. And even though she spent her afternoons playing and helping the younger one with his homework, the days were endless.
Daniel just watched her, they interacted very little. There were whispers in the house because they slept in separate rooms, but no one asked why. The truth is that after that night in the hotel, it became increasingly difficult for Daniel to live with her, to see her coming and going or with the child hanging from her arms. Jonathan had become so attached to her that he could not deny them anything, and he had talked to her at length about what she should or should not do with his children.
He didn't want them to form too deep a bond because he already knew the endgame. But strangely enough she was adapting quite well to all his demands and had stopped being so confrontational, however, he could see that something was missing, something was no longer there and he couldn't put his finger on what it was. He was grateful that she had taken that attitude to try to make things bearable, but he had a feeling that she was losing her momentum.
- You said you wanted to take private singing lessons, right? -
- Yes, I did.
- I talked to some people who recommended a list of the best teachers in town, study it and tell me which one you want to go to - The smile on Deanna's face got bigger and bigger as he spoke.
- Really? -
- Yes and don't worry about the costs -
- Thank you, Daniel! -
That's what he missed, the frank smile and the sparkle in her eyes. To see her happy. He wanted to do everything in his power to see her like that always, to hear her laugh, to make her eyes sparkle when she looked at him. He had the need to do it, to be the one to provoke her joy, to be responsible for her smiles. It gave him great satisfaction to finally be able to give her something she wanted and seeing her reaction was even better.
But the mood changed a bit with the arrival of the newlyweds from their honeymoon. They stopped by their house to bring them the gifts they had bought on their trip, especially for the children. And Daniel again got that strange feeling of seeing Harry and Deanna and the relationship they had.
- Deanna, come see what we brought you! -
- What is it? -
- This was Laura's choice, but this... I picked it out - A big hat with a yellow bow.
- I love it, Harry, thank you -
- Here, put it on. Let me see how it looks on you - Deanna put it on, but it was a little lopsided and Harry helped her straighten it.
Daniel watched them, the confidence, the affability with which they carried themselves, why couldn't he do that with her?
- That's better, I knew it would look good on you -
- That's great... you know me, kid -
- Of course I do! Where's the little grasshopper? -
Jonathan walked over to receive his gift and very happily went straight to Deanna to show it to her. It had already seemed to Harry that those two had a connection since the night of the party, Jonathan had been looking for her to hold him and that only happened with him or Susan. He thought it was wonderful that the boy had found one more person to open up to, it was progress.
The gift was a board game with chips and cards and Harry suggested they play it. He was curious to see how Dean would communicate with him. The three of them sat down on the floor and started playing. To Daniel it was as if they had forgotten about the rest of the people there, even Laura was left out. Harry was hogging the attention of his wife and son. He was jealous. During the days they were away, Deanna only focused on him or his children, there was no one else to distract her from her little world.
- I'm going to start taking private voice lessons -
- That's good, Deanna. Do you already know where? - Laura asked
- I did a little research and it seems that Professor Kinley is the best.
- Kinley? Wasn't he the one who taught at the University? - asked Harry
- I don't know –
- Yeah, that's him. He got fired because he messed with one of the students -
- He did? I didn't know, but from what I've read he's one of the best.
- You're not going with him - Daniel said. The rest just stared at him.
- He has a postgraduate degree at the University - Deanna said.
- I don't care; my wife is not going to lock herself up with a guy with that background.
- Come on, Daniel, don't you think Deanna can handle it? The guy's a pushover, but he's one of the best - Harry tried to help her.
- It's not up for discussion, it's my decision -
- You're being a fool again, brother -
- It's none of your business. It's my house and it's my rules -
- Never mind, Harry, I can find someone else - Deanna told him.
The expression on her face, the happiness of being able to take classes, the joy of seeing her friends again, vanished. Back fell that imperceptible mantle over her. In a few days, Daniel was managing to turn her off. And Harry realized that right away, he had put her friend in the lion's den and was eating her. But Deanna was not the type to be easily intimidated or defeated.
Daniel also noticed the slight change in her and was annoyed. He had managed to get a smile out of her and now he was taking it away again, he was going crazy trying to make things work right and along came Harry to turn everything upside down, to hog her attention. He wanted him to get the hell out of her house and never come back, they had a rhythm to life, she was adjusting well.
-I think Daniel has her locked up in the house," he said to Laura when they returned.
- Do you think so? I was watching them and they seemed to get along quite well, even with the children.
- That's not the Deanna we know, Laura. Didn't you notice how she ducked her head when Daniel imposed himself? -
- Maybe she's just trying to make her situation not so difficult -
- No, there's something else going on between them. How else is my brother gonna make it? I shouldn't have asked her to marry him.
- Give it time, Harry, I'm sure Dean can work it out, it's not easy to get along with your brother.
But Harry felt uneasy, guilty. That woman wasn't the Deanna who shone when she spoke or sang, she wasn't her usual energetic, optimistic self. She was going to end up becoming a worthy wife to her brother if she continued like this. A year of living like that was too much even for someone with her spirit. He had to talk to her to find out what was going on.