Claudia - 1995
"All right, Cloud. You want to come over to the Lockharts' with me?"
Cloud shuffled his feet. "We weren't... invited," he said.
Claudia rolled her eyes. "You really think we need an invitation to check in on a neighbor? Especially to bring them my famous pineapple upside-down cake?"
It was only canned pineapple, of course, and it wasn't famous. A tiny little place like Nibelheim had never seen fresh, but not even the canned stuff had graced the shelves of the general store in some time. Shinra's war had disrupted all manner of supply chains, not to mention the things they decided to commandeer for the war effort. Claudia sometimes imagined soldiers camped on the battlefield, eating canned pineapple.
She wouldn't begrudge them a few comforts, but she'd rather the whole affair were just over with. The newspaper stories regaled them with Shinra's victories, as though they fought for the whole world. Claudia didn't know a lot about Wutai, but she did know they made the best fireworks. She'd grown up watching them every winter solstice, but Cloud hadn't seen them since he was five. Was Shinra protecting him from that?
"How come they get the cake...?" Cloud mumbled. Maybe he was just upset she hadn't made it for him. She'd been saving that can for a special occasion, after all, and his birthday wasn't too far off.
"Because it's good news," Claudia reminded him, "and Thea loves pineapple. Will you get the door for me?"
Cloud huffed, but he dutifully crossed the room to the door and held it open. He was either going to be the moodiest teenager, or he was doing her a great favor and getting it all out of his system in advance. Was it possible for a teenager not to be moody?
"Thank you, Cloud," she said as she carried the cake out the door.
The Lockharts lived right next door, and Claudia thought it a shame that they weren't better friends. To an extent, she understood why. It was a small town with small town sensibilities, and certain things like having a child out of wedlock just weren't done. People limited their association with her, and that wouldn't have bothered her if it didn't extend to Cloud. The adults never said anything to him directly, but all the kids knew he didn't have a father, and though they didn't understand why there should be anything wrong with that, they took their cue from their parents.
The other year when Thea had started calling her Mrs. Strife, she'd been grateful. Mrs. Strife, the sympathetic widow. Thea had enough clout as the mayor's wife that the pretense was spreading, and it was much better for Cloud if she'd had a husband and lost him than if she'd never had one at all. Thea's daughter Tifa wasn't even a full year his junior. They'd make great friends.
It was Tifa who answered the door with a bright smile that hadn't graced her face since her mother had gotten sick. "Good afternoon, Mrs. Strife!" she said cheerfully.
"Good afternoon, Tifa," Claudia replied, smiling right back. "Do you think your mother would be up for a visit? I brought some cake."
"Yeah, I bet she'd like that," Tifa said, opening the door wider to let her in. Cloud trailed after. "Everyone's always bringing casseroles," Tifa added, making a face.
"Casseroles are nice, but you get sick of anything after a while," Claudia agreed. "I know Thea always had a sweet tooth. I heard she's got her appetite back, so I thought she might appreciate a change of pace."
Tifa nodded. "She's been doing a lot better. The doctor said she's out of the woods."
"I'm very glad to hear that." Claudia had overheard as much at the general store, but no one had told her directly. It was good to hear it from Tifa, with all the optimism it brought to her voice.
"Is that pineapple?" Tifa wondered, peering at the cake in Claudia's hands.
"That's right. There's no way any of you are sick of this, is there?"
Tifa giggled. "Definitely not," she agreed. She glanced past Claudia at Cloud and asked, "Did you help?"
"Uh... a little," said Cloud. Claudia smiled and kept her mouth shut. Cloud's 'help' had amounted to using the can opener, because somehow he'd developed the notion that baking wasn't manly, but the mere hint that Tifa might approve cast that notion into doubt.
"Mom said she's gonna teach me," said Tifa. "I'm gonna help her out when she starts cooking again."
"I'm sure she'll appreciate it," Claudia said with a glance at Cloud that he pretended not to see. "What about your father? Is he at home?" Surely he would have heard them in the foyer by now.
Tifa shook her head. "Mom sent him to the store with a list. There's a couple things on there we don't really get anymore, so... He might be a while."
"Did your mother include those on purpose?" Claudia wondered. Brian hadn't gotten out of the house much in some time. A trip to the store was a small start, but it might be good for him.
"Maybe," Tifa answered with a knowing smirk. "Anyway, you can take that upstairs to the sitting room."
Tifa led the way upstairs. Excepting the empty old mansion, the Lockharts' house was the biggest in Nibelheim, and there was indeed a small sitting room adjacent to the master bedroom. There was a cozy table set for two that Claudia imagined was quite lovely to have breakfast at. Family photos sat atop a short bookshelf, and treasured knickknacks sat safe behind the glass of a curio cabinet.
Claudia set the cake down in the center of the table and followed Tifa into the bedroom.
"Mom, Mrs. Strife came by to visit. She brought pineapple cake."
"Oh? I haven't had good cake in ages." Thea sat in bed, propped up against the pillows, an open book lowered onto her lap. She was still pale, but there was color back in her cheeks. "Thank you, Claudia," she added, smiling up at her.
"I thought it might be a nice afternoon treat," Claudia said.
Thea nodded. "When Brian gets back from the store, we'll all have some. Tifa, why don't you show Cloud your room? You can keep an eye out for your father."
"Sure." Tifa nodded and grabbed Cloud by the hand with the ease of someone who'd never had much experience being lonely. Cloud gave her a startled look, but he didn't protest being led out of the room.
"She's in good spirits," Claudia observed, and returned her attention to Thea. "I heard you're on the mend. I hope it wasn't exaggerated."
"No," Thea said, a relief in her voice as she confirmed it. "The fever's gone, and I'm feeling stronger every day. The doctor still wants me resting in bed another week to be safe, but..." She made a face.
"Oh, I'm sure he just wants you to take it easy," said Claudia. "Don't go climbing Mt. Nibel, and you should be all right."
Thea laughed. It was a soft laugh, but it came and went without triggering a coughing fit. The bedroom window looked out over Claudia's roof, and she'd heard that cough often over the past few months.
"No, no Mt. Nibel for me," Thea agreed. "I thought I'd start with making it to the piano in Tifa's room. It's been ages."
"It's in Tifa's room?" Claudia wondered. Thea had given lessons, and Claudia had always assumed the piano sat in a more public spot.
"She's terrible about practicing, so we thought that might help," Thea explained. "We moved it up there a few months ago, and... Well, I'm glad now. I'm not sure I can make it all the way downstairs yet."
"Give it time. If your appetite's back, then it shouldn't be long."
"I hope so."
"Is there anything you're craving?" Claudia asked. "Tifa tells me you're all sick of casseroles."
"Oh, I put all my cravings on Brian's list," said Thea. "I don't think he's going to find any of that coffee, though, the kind from down south? I miss the smell of it."
"I know what you mean. The war can't end soon enough, as far as I'm concerned."
Thea nodded. "It's good that Cloud's still young," she said. "I heard some of the older boys were thinking about leaving for Midgar, until Mr. Kiefer talked them out of it."
It was a sobering thought. Cloud was much too young to think of it, not even nine years old yet, but the war had stretched on for three years now, and no one was quite sure how much longer it would endure. Surely it would be over before Cloud could entertain any such thoughts for himself.
"Good for him," she said aloud. "We don't need any of our boys running off to fight somebody else's war."
"It's not entirely somebody else's," said Thea. "It's their reactor."
"Well, let them take it back if they want to," Claudia declared. "We'll manage."
Thea smiled. "I like that attitude. I know Gramps is always complaining about it. Maybe he's got a point."
"I can't say I remember too much about what it was like before they built that thing. I must've been six or seven. But there were more trees, weren't there?"
"A lot more," Thea confirmed. "My papa used to take us hiking on Mt. Nibel all the time. Not up to the peaks, I mean, but the lower slopes had a lot of good trails through the woods. It would've been nice to take Tifa."
Claudia was quiet for a moment, because the first thought that popped into her head was something scandalous, but she thought she was safe with Thea. "I hear there are a lot of mountains in Wutai, you know."
"Claudia!" Thea exclaimed, but she was smiling. "You aren't suggesting a vacation there?"
"Why not? You'll be on your feet by the time the war's over, and once Shinra clears their damn troops out of the port, it's not so far. Right?"
Thea shook her head. "I think there's places to hike closer than Wutai," she said. "But I take your point. It would be nice... to take a trip together. Brian's been so good to me, he deserves a break. And no child should be cooped up inside all the time."
"For the next few days at least, I think she'll be perfectly happy to be cooped up," Claudia reasoned.
"Papa's back!" came Tifa's shout from the next room. Feet pounded across the floorboards.
"Unless you want to send her running through the streets shouting the good news," Claudia amended just before Tifa appeared in the doorway.
"Why don't you and Cloud help him with the groceries?" Thea suggested. "Let him know there's cake waiting. The sooner everything gets put away, the sooner we can eat."
Tifa nodded and raced down the stairs. Cloud followed in her wake. The front door opened, and Tifa's excited chatter drifted up the stairwell.
It wasn't long before the five of them were gathered in the bedroom, Claudia and Cloud on the window seat, Brian and Tifa on the other bed. Thea finished her cake almost as quickly as the kids, and Brian offered her the last few bites of his.
As Brian collected the empty plates, Claudia retrieved the rest of the cake, and she followed him back downstairs to tuck it safely into the refrigerator among the casseroles and fresh groceries. They'd be eating well.
"Thank you," said Brian. It was a little stiff, but earnest. He had never shown her the warmth that Thea had, which wasn't surprising given his position. The town had elected him mayor, and he wasn't a mayor who bucked tradition.
"You're very welcome," said Claudia. "It's good to see her doing so well. She deserves it. You both do."
He nodded. "And Tifa... Well. It's a relief."
A relief that she wouldn't lose her mother so young, that he wouldn't have to raise her alone. Claudia smiled sympathetically.
"Would it be all right if I dropped in again next week?" she asked. "I have some new recipes I'd like to try."
"I think Thea would like that. Everyone's been... a bit on eggshells with her. You're not like that."
Claudia huffed. "Well, I'm going to take that as a compliment."
"I did mean it that way," Brian said sheepishly.
"Do you need any help with the dishes before we get out of your hair?"
"No, but thank you. And Cloud, too, for helping with the groceries." From the way he said it, Claudia could tell he was still a little unsure of Cloud, but it was a tentative offer, and she took it.
"Tifa's going to be a good influence on him, I can tell."
Brian smiled softly. "I'll have your cake plate washed for the next time you come by, too," he promised.
Claudia returned the smile and nodded. "I appreciate it."
Cloud was waiting for her in the foyer. Tifa saw them out with a wave and a "See you soon!" and they stepped out into the afternoon sunlight. The sky overhead was clear and deep, deep blue.
"Well, it seems like you survived the ordeal," she remarked to her son.
"It wasn't so bad," he acknowledged.
"How was Tifa's room?"
"Big," said Cloud. "She's got a piano, and a desk, and she told me all the names of her stuffed animals."
Claudia couldn't help a pang of regret. She couldn't afford to give Cloud his own room or as many toys as the other children had. She'd even made some of them herself, misshapen little plush chocobos and painted wooden knights. He was a good boy and he never complained, but she didn't doubt he felt the difference.
"All of them, huh?" she said aloud. "Any good names?"
"She's got... a lizard called Valvados. She says he's a dragon but in disguise. He's got a lair up on Mt. Nibel."
"Does he terrorize the rest of them?"
"Uh-huh. But he never wins."
Claudia nodded in satisfaction. "Well, that's as it should be."
"...we're going back again next week?" Cloud ventured.
"Yep," Claudia confirmed. "But I'm sure Tifa wouldn't mind if you went around sooner and asked if she'd like to play."
"I guess not."
Claudia smiled and ruffled his hair. Knowing Cloud, he might not work up the courage to ask this week, but maybe after a few visits, he'd feel more comfortable. Or maybe Tifa would drop by herself.
"How about a walk with your old mom, for now? It's a beautiful day."
"...okay."
The valley north of the village wasn't what it used to be. The few remaining trees were withered, and most of the birds had gone save for the crows. But the grass was still green, and wildflowers bloomed under the summer sun.
It was a beautiful day, and Claudia felt optimistic. Thea was getting better, Cloud was making a friend, and the war would be over soon. If Wutai won, then maybe they'd sail across the ocean and shut off the reactor, and the trees would come back. Probably not, but it didn't hurt to imagine that, like Valvados in his lair, it wouldn't win in the end.