October 19th, 1891 — The Crouch Home, Swallowbury
A month into parenthood saw Melody finally beginning to feel more like herself. Her body had finally grown accustomed to the interrupted sleep and constantly aching chest (at least to the point that she could now think and function normally). The bleeding had finally ceased too, which only helped boost her energy levels. All in all, for the first time since the start of the new year Melody was feeling good.
That her relationship had dramatically improved with Ben certainly helped as well. The pair had gone from almost exclusively avoiding one another to actively seeking time together seemingly overnight. Gone were the long days of loneliness and illness, and in their stead was, shockingly, happiness. Sometimes, Melody thought she died in labor and this was the afterlife. Surely, her life couldn't have changed this much?
Except it had, a fact proven by the first passing thought as she realized her bleeding had ceased: she and Ben could spend the night together if they wished. Obviously, she was still unprepared for intimate relations, but for the first time since their honeymoon he wouldn't have to sneak away like a thief in the night. Melody only had to be bold enough to ask.
It had taken some digging, but she had managed to find the magical card game they'd played in Paris. The deck wasn't nearly as large this time around for she had filtered out any questions that might lead to contention or were overly sexual, but it was a start. Another chance to learn more random details about the other. Hopefully Ben would take to the idea well as her only other ideas involved parties that she was not yet permitted to join.
Once the deck and bottles of whiskey and wine were hidden by a charm in the dining room, Melody had bundled up Nora and went to sit in the garden. There, she cooed and explained the outside world to her daughter until the familar footsteps were heard from behind her. "Hey," Melody greeted cheerfully. "I was just telling Nora about the many thrilling uses of birch trees."
That her relationship had dramatically improved with Ben certainly helped as well. The pair had gone from almost exclusively avoiding one another to actively seeking time together seemingly overnight. Gone were the long days of loneliness and illness, and in their stead was, shockingly, happiness. Sometimes, Melody thought she died in labor and this was the afterlife. Surely, her life couldn't have changed this much?
Except it had, a fact proven by the first passing thought as she realized her bleeding had ceased: she and Ben could spend the night together if they wished. Obviously, she was still unprepared for intimate relations, but for the first time since their honeymoon he wouldn't have to sneak away like a thief in the night. Melody only had to be bold enough to ask.
It had taken some digging, but she had managed to find the magical card game they'd played in Paris. The deck wasn't nearly as large this time around for she had filtered out any questions that might lead to contention or were overly sexual, but it was a start. Another chance to learn more random details about the other. Hopefully Ben would take to the idea well as her only other ideas involved parties that she was not yet permitted to join.
Once the deck and bottles of whiskey and wine were hidden by a charm in the dining room, Melody had bundled up Nora and went to sit in the garden. There, she cooed and explained the outside world to her daughter until the familar footsteps were heard from behind her. "Hey," Melody greeted cheerfully. "I was just telling Nora about the many thrilling uses of birch trees."
![[Image: dqAG6wz.png]](https://i.imgur.com/dqAG6wz.png)
beautiful set by mj