Picking Up The Pieces

Disclaimer: A Series of Unfortunate Events belongs to Daniel Handler.

It makes her sick to see them together.

Fiona sees Klaus, walking, holding hands with that girl — what’s her name? Oh, yes. Isadora.

And strangely, as much as it pains her, she is happy. She loves Klaus, and if you love someone, you want them to be happy, right?

She thinks she is selfish, but really, it saddens her to see him with another.

—

She starts to cry one day, not caring if she is seen, but she doesn’t wish to be ignored either.

And she is not. Fiona looks up and sees a boy looking at her with concern. She doesn’t remember his name, but he highly resembles Isadora.

He interrogates her, questions about whether or not she is okay escape from his mouth and despite not knowing him that well, Fiona has to smile.

“I’m fine,” she says, and gets up from where she sits.

—

What is his name?

The question comes to her all the time and pretty soon, Fiona is so obsessed with knowing his name that she asks Isadora.

Isadora answers, “His name is Duncan, why do you ask?”

Fiona smiles, responds, “No reason,” and saunters away. Duncan.

She likes the sound of that name.

—

Fiona soon becomes disgusted with herself as new feelings emerge — Stop it. You hardly know him. You’re too anxious to get over Klaus.

Both her brain and her heart seem to yell at her, the brain says, He’s too young. How old is he? Fourteen? Fifteen?

She has to admit that it is right, no seventeen-year-old girl should feel this way for a fourteen-year-old boy, but she thinks it over and comes up with this: If she had loved a thirteen-year-old in the past, why not one who is fourteen? It’s one age up.

Age difference or not, Fiona has a sort of odd love for Duncan Quagmire that she either has to stop right this minute or act on before it’s too late.

—

Choosing the latter (and ignoring the lecture her brain gives her), Fiona walks up to Duncan one day.

He says hello, and she says hello, but she is not going to spit out her feelings like a fool.

Instead she gives him a kiss on the cheek and runs off, baffling him.

—

Fiona immediately worries that it’s déjà vu, that it’s going to be an instant failure like her love for Klaus (but was it even love?) and she is very surprised when Duncan finds her.

“I’m sorry,” she says.

But he does not respond in words. He responds with a quick kiss on the mouth.

Now it is Fiona who is left baffled.

—

She wonders what it means.

Does Duncan really care for her or is he just trying to make her feel better? Hopefully it’s not another game of kiss-and-betray, but part of her is sure that Duncan isn’t like that.

Not like I am, Fiona thinks as the tears come down.

—

Upon meeting him again, Fiona wants to end whatever is going on, because she is definitely not going to hurt another boy with a kiss.

She simply states, “You deserve better,” and half hopes that he tells her she’s wrong.

And he does.

As if he’s reading her mind, Duncan responds, “You are better,” and walks over to her.

Fiona does not quite know what it means.

But whatever it does mean, it makes her realize that this won’t be like what happened to her and Klaus.

And as he kisses her, she is certain that she has finally — successfully — been able to move on.