Addams Family Beginnings

Chapter 1: Family Beginnings

In a small graveyard just outside of New York sat Morticia Black. She was carelessly yanking flowers out from a nearby grave when a stranger approached. He was very tall. In fact, he was the tallest man she had ever laid her dark eyes on. He had a sort of indescribable charm to him, though he remained silent. She patted the spot on the bench next to her and smiled coyly up at him. With a slight groan, he sat down next to her. "Hello there stranger." She said turning to him conversationally. He startled, and turned for a moment to look around and take in his surroundings. Once he finished looking around, he gazed into her eyes and smiled crookedly.

He was wickedly handsome. With a scar running across his left cheek, he was every bit the rugged man of Morticia's dreams. You could cut a block of steel with his sharply defined cheekbones. Morticia chose to stare at him in wonder for a minute before asking, "Do you have a Name?" He frowned and looked away. He gestured to his throat and made another grunting noise before Morticia finally realized what he was trying to convey. "Are you unable to speak?" She asked softly. He looked away, almost shamefully. She gazed sorrowfully at him for a moment before an idea popped into her head; "Do you have a telephone?"

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a notebook. From this, he tore out a piece of paper and reached once more into his pocket to grab a lime green sharpie. He wrote a sequence of digits on it, folded it into the shape of an origami swan, and passed it to Morticia. He had folded it in such a way that she did not need to unfold it to read it. She pocketed it, and smiled fondly at the man. She caught a glimpse of a smile on his face, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared. She placed her soft, porcelain hand on his knee and for a moment, they just stared at each other, taking in the silence. Morticia looked away, blushing. He had bewitched her, body and soul. Never before had she met a man so alluring.

Moments like this would continue to occur over the next few months. One night they took a walk together through a local morgue. The next, they restocked her supply of chloroform. Everything was perfect. He seemed to understand her on a level that she had never experienced. He actually listened to her, way more than most men. His lack of communication skills surprisingly did not prove difficult, and it seemed as though they could read each other's minds. And there was a certain gentleness to his demeanor that came across in the way he cradled her icy hands in his. Morticia was happier than she had ever been before.

Their relationship progressed steadily over the course of the next year. In this time, their naive young love soon turned into something more. By day, they were exploring the city. By evening, they were already tucked away in Morticia's small manhattan apartment. They hardly ever slept. How would they have time? The young lovers would spend every moment of the night wrapped in each other's passionate embrace. One morning, Morticia opened the door to find a strange envelope placed on her doorstep. Curiously, she picked it up and went to sit at her kitchen table. Pulling a small knife out of a holster on her arm, she got to work opening it up.

When Lurch awoke 30 minutes later, he was surprised to see his lover in tears, staring blankly at the wall. He rushed over to her, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear and cupping her right cheek with his hand. He peered worriedly into her eyes, and once they made contact, she burst into tears. He pulled her into a tight embrace, and held her till her sobs slowly turned into sniffles and the occasional whimper. He pulled away for a moment, and tried to bring her back to words. He stared at her puzzlingly as if asking what was wrong. She shook her head, and gestured at the letter. "It was from my father. He's arranged for me to be married."

Lurch couldn't help but to be shocked by this revelation. His heart swelled with compassion and sorrow for his lover. Why did the world have to be so cruel? He kissed her softly on her cheek, before resting his forehead against hers. He expressed to her that this had changed nothing, that nothing would ever stop him from loving her and that no other man could ever love her the way he did. Nothing would ever come between them, and their souls would be bonded for eternity. Morticia finally looked up, and gave Lurch a quick kiss on his cheek. "Let's make the most of the time we have left together."

After a while of lying in bed together in the aftermath of their relations, Lurch crossed the room and picked up the discarded letter. It revealed that Morticia's father had come into political trouble recently with the government of Spain, and that she was to wed the son of a local Spanish stockbroker in order to save her family. He silently cursed the bastard that would take his love away. He pondered the situation for a moment. Could love triumph? Would they be able to move through the darkness that her father had cast over them? He glanced at his asleep lover, and made up his mind. No matter what, some way or another, he was going to spend the rest of his life with her. He got back in bed and wrapped his long, lightly muscled arms around her. He pulled her in close and smiled down on her. How had he gotten so lucky?

Lurch woke up several hours later. Careful not to wake Morticia up, he climbed out of bed and went to shower. In the cascading stream of steaming water, Lurch stood there contemplating all of the choices he could make. He could end their relationship, but that wasn't something he ever wanted to know. The other option was to continue their affair in secret, but how would they manage that if she was married? He pondered the possibilities of their future together while drying himself off. If they could somehow figure out how he could stay in her life, and not be suspicious, he would be the happiest man (questionably) alive. After dressing, he kissed her softly on the forehead and then took his leave. He started walking in the direction of the local library. Maybe he would find something there that would help him out.