53 Ganymede

Episode 23 - Departures

The sweep of the broom's coarse bristles against the hardwood echoes through the cold, cavernous rooms of the apartment, emphasizing their emptiness. Claire sighs and, noticing the chilly phantom of her breath rising through the air, pauses to close the nearby window. Reaching for the broom once more, she is overcome by a feeling of disorientation; the silence and vacancy of the room renders it almost unfamiliar. She longs for the perpetual mess of children's toys, strains to hear the high-pitch wails of a fussy baby, but every indication that the Gallaghers had ever inhabited this space has been systematically removed and sanitized.

Although the results are haunting, Claire can't help but recall the day spent packing and cleaning with fondness. Everyone from 53 Ganymede Avenue -- aside from Marcus -- had come to help. Declan had even joined them, taking extra care with fragile items and landing each step as he carried one end of a heavy dresser or awkward chair down the stairs. For the most part his luck had held out, and the only casualties were a wine glass and his own toe when he set down the dresser a moment too early.

Afterwards, when Claire would ask who had helped them, no one seemed to be able to remember. They would scratch their heads and shrug their shoulders, or point vaguely at whoever happened to be nearby.

There were a couple of exceptions to this strange phenomenon, namely the Gallagher children and Lucy. Wesley had given Declan several mistrustful looks until Claire had explained that he was a friend at which point he smiled politely and watched him curiously from a distance. Rory, ever-fascinated by strangers, had actively vied for his attention. This last turn of events had confused the other adults to no end and Claire was fairly certain most had come to the conclusion that "Deck-anne" was simply Rory's new imaginary friend.

Lucy's ability to remember Declan was more complicated. Claire had introduced Lucy to Declan one night, had run up and down the stairs to demonstrate the knocking on the ceiling, clearing any of the girl's doubt about the strange phenomenon of the downstairs attic. And yet she'd had to remind Lucy multiple times today who Declan was.

"Oh right, right," Lucy would say when Claire had told her who "that strange man" in the kitchen was. Claire would turn a corner to find Lucy examining him from across the room, to which she'd explain, "It takes a minute, but I think I'm getting it now. There's just something... slippery about him. But I think it's getting easier."

Declan hadn't seemed to mind, he had just seemed happy any time there was an opportunity to help. Claire recalls his warm smiles at finding Rory following him around like an imprinted duckling, and sighs again. If only they could have stayed a while longer.

"Penny for your thoughts?" The deep voice reverberates in the emptiness and Claire startles, clutching her broom to her chest. Marcus chuckles from where he leans against the doorway.

"Don't sneak up on me like that," Claire chides, and she can tell by his half-cocked smile that his stealth had been very intentional. She frowns at the wrinkles in his collared shirt and the week or so's worth of stubble darkening his cheeks and chin. "You coming or going?"

He shrugs, "Both, usually."

"Are you at least staying long enough for dinner?" Claire asks, noting the savory tang of baking bread and herbs wafting up from the kitchen, "There's tons of food. Art and Sara insisted on a big dinner. Everyone is going to be there."

"Nah," he answers, pulling away from the wall and looking at the floor, "I'm not a family dinner kinda guy. Besides, I have a feeling there's somewhere I need to be."

"Maybe you're already there."

"Nice thought, kid," he says.

Claire crosses her arms and raises an eyebrow, frustrated by her own melancholy and determined not to be influenced by Marcus' dramatics. "So what's up then? The Gallaghers are downstairs in the kitchen or out by the van if you want to say goodbye."