Chapter II:
Mother Knows Best,
Father's Trying His Best
Philip ran home that day, letting his excitement run wild. He quickly made his way up the front steps of him childhood home, bursting through the door and dashing towards the kitchen. "Mum!" Philip hollered at the woman seated at the kitchen table. The woman looked up from her letter and beamed at her eldest son.
"Hello Philip. My, what has you in such a good mood? I haven't seen you this excited since you were accepted to Kings." Eliza Schuyler Hamilton adored all her children, but she adored Philip a bit more than the rest, though she would never, ever admit it. After pulling out that chair and sitting in it backwards, which his mother hated, he grabbed her hand gently.
"Guess who I saw at the market today?" Eliza opened her mouth but her son didn't actually give her time to guess before he spoke again. "Theodosia Burr!" His face lit up just letting her name roll off his tongue. Eliza grinned widely at the thought of her late best friend's daughter. She had always adored the little Burr girl, just like she would one of her own children.
"That's wonderful, Philip! Did you recognize her? I haven't seen her in months." Eliza said, now thinking of the last time she had seen Theodosia. It was a run in outside the library in town. Theodosia loved to read.
"We didn't recognize each other at first, but she definitely looked familiar. Once I heard her speak, I knew it was her. She speaks so eloquently, like she always has. She looks different now though." Eliza giggled.
"Philip, she was ten years old the last time you saw her, she's grown, matured and began to become a young woman! Of course she's changed. She's a fairly pretty girl, don't you think so?"
"Fairly pretty? Try extremely pretty. I don't ever remember her being pretty." Philip said, running his fingers through his long, thick curls.
Philip managed to get another giggle out of his mother. "It sounds like you have a crush on Theodosia Burr to me."
The boy leaned back. "What? A crush on Theo? No! I can just appreciate attractive people, such as her and myself." Eliza smiled sweetly at her son.
"You're so much like your father it catches me off guard sometimes." Eliza stood, folding up her letter. She made her way to the doorframe into the living room. "Philip?" The young man looked up at his mother. "Mother knows best."
The curly haired boy let out a loud groan. "I don't have a crush on Theodosia Burr!"
—————
Theodosia Burr wasn't sure if she wanted to share her reunion with Philip, especially to her father. Yes, she was overjoyed that she had got to see him again, but she wasn't quite sure her father would feel the same way. As soon as Theo skipped into the library in her home, she met her father's gaze. "I thought you were going to the market."
Theo made her way to her own desk and sat down at it, prepping herself to write a letter for Philip. "I did."
Aaron Burr arched an eyebrow, turning to look at the young woman who had his eyes. "You didn't bring anything back with you."
Oh, right. That why she went, or at least that's what she told her father. "Oh, I guess I got distracted." She shrugged, gathering the things she needed to being writing. Aaron stood from his seat and stood behind his daughter as she wrote, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Philip? Philip Hamilton?" He peeked at the letter. "You're writing to Philip Hamilton?" Theo closed her eyes before taking a breath and turning to her father.
"Yes, father. I'm writing to Philip. I saw him in the market today and we decided to catch up with one another." Her quill glided across the page so easily while writing to him. Just thinking about the Hamilton boy made her heart flutter. She had forgotten how happy he made her feel, even when he wasn't around.
"Alexander informed me on numerous occasions that he was away at boarding school. What is he doing back in town?" Theo giggled softly as she wrote.
"Father, you are aware it's summer, right? Boys do get time off from their studies, and Philip finally decided he wanted to come home for the summer holiday." She was happy he did too. She was already writing to him about when they should meet again.
"How does that make you feel, seeing the boy again after all this time apart?" Burr asked nervously. He was never good at talking about boys with his daughter. He didn't think she should have any boys in her life at that time.
"How does it make me feel? I'm ecstatic! Philip was my best childhood friend and just being apart all this time will give us the chance to catch up, even maybe rekindle our friendship." Theo did feel bad about the fact that she had stopped writing to him. It ate her alive for years, but now, a weight was lifted. She stood up from her place at the desk, noticing her father's silence. "Is something wrong, Daddy?"
Aaron Burr loved his daughter dearly. Ever since his wife died, Theo had been the only thing that kept him going, the only thing that could get him out of bed in the morning. The only reason he was still alive. That girl was his whole world. Now, Aaron had two options. He could say what he wanted to say, or say what his daughter wanted to hear. He could tell his daughter to stay away from that damned Hamilton spawn, or, he could tell her how wonderful it is that they reunited. He decided to make his daughter happy and keep his thoughts for another day. "No, dear. Everything's fine. I'm just happy to see you so happy." And he was. Theo hadn't been that happy in ages, since before her mother died.
—————
"Alexander." Eliza said softly as she stood in the doorway of her husband's office. "Dear, we've received a letter from President Washington." Alexander poked his head up from his endless writings. He turned around in his chair, facing his wife.
"What's it read, Eliza?" He asked, adjusting the pair of glasses that rested on the brim of his nose. Washington didn't usually write to him without his knowing.
"He's throwing a ball." Eliza said with a grin. "How exciting! We're invited." Alexander stood and walked to his wife.
He peered over at the letter. "Very." Balls were nostalgic for the Hamiltons. Eliza and Alexander had met at a winters ball. "I have to get back to work now." He placed a soft kiss on his wife's cheek.
"Alexander."
"Eliza, I'm very busy." With that, Eliza left, shutting the door to his office harder that she had intended. Eliza made her way down the stairs, seeing her son writing at a desk, just like his father.
"What are you writing?" Eliza asked him. Philip jumped and slammed his arms over his parchment so that his mother couldn't see.
"Nothing!" He looked up at his mother, his cheeks deep red. "I-it's nothing." Eliza smiled softly.
"If you say so. I know you're not writing to Theodosia." Eliza joked as she sat on the couch on the other side of the room.
"T-Theo? I'm not writing to her." Philip spat. He quickly shoved his writing into the drawer. He didn't lie to his mother, he wasn't writing to Theo. He was writing about her. A poem.
"We've been invited to a ball by President Washington." Eliza beamed. "I believe you're old enough to attend as well." Philip groaned loudly in disappointment. "You know, Theodosia was at the last ball the President threw. I'm assuming she'll be a guest at this one."
Philip stood up from his chair. "Do I have any dress clothes?" He asked, sitting beside his mother.
"You seemed opposed to attending. Theodosia didn't happen to change your mind, did she?"
"Of course not." Of course she did.
—————
A ball! Don't be afraid to leave your thoughts, they're very helpful to me. I hope you guys enjoyed. Hopefully I'll have another chapter up soon!