Sybil Crawley (
adifferentlife) wrote2013-12-20 02:08 pm
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Christmas Lunch
The best way to celebrate any holiday is to share it with people that one care's about, Sybil is sure of that. It's why she's organised this, a luncheon for any and all that she's friends with. It's not something she's done before, and it feels very adult to be hosting a party within her own home. It's not something she ever imagined doing in such a small space, or without a staff to support her, or even before she was married with her own home, but those aren't things that are considerations here.
Instead she's let everyone know when to come and to bring something to share with the others. She's ordered in the main part of the meal, a roasted turkey instead of a goose and a roast of lamb as well. There's champagne and wine, and she has the record player Kaine gave her in the corner playing christmas carols by Bing Crosby. There's a small tree of real pine with strings of beads strung through its boughs and little elecric lights twinkling. Henri has helped her to decorate and do the cooking that she's tried, even if most of the cookies she made needed to be thrown our they were so burnt.
Once people start to arrive she relaxes, allowing herself a glass of wine once she's sure everything is in order and things are going well. At some point there is nothing else she can do, other than talk to her guests; her friends. It's nothing like a Christmas at Downton, but her second one here in Darrow and it feels like the Christmas it's supposed to be.
Instead she's let everyone know when to come and to bring something to share with the others. She's ordered in the main part of the meal, a roasted turkey instead of a goose and a roast of lamb as well. There's champagne and wine, and she has the record player Kaine gave her in the corner playing christmas carols by Bing Crosby. There's a small tree of real pine with strings of beads strung through its boughs and little elecric lights twinkling. Henri has helped her to decorate and do the cooking that she's tried, even if most of the cookies she made needed to be thrown our they were so burnt.
Once people start to arrive she relaxes, allowing herself a glass of wine once she's sure everything is in order and things are going well. At some point there is nothing else she can do, other than talk to her guests; her friends. It's nothing like a Christmas at Downton, but her second one here in Darrow and it feels like the Christmas it's supposed to be.
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She looks around, not wanting to say more. "You can open it. It's all in a backpack so won't look amiss."
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"Yeah, I already put it over there," I say, pointing to a box that isn't quite as large as the one she's giving me. I was just going to let her open it on her own later but since she's put me on the spot with her gift I can't back down.
"And this is... really thoughtful," I tell her as I open up her gift. And it is, because I'm always needing more of this stuff. "I promise to try and make it last by being as careful as possible."
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"Try to not need it. For me."
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I mean it, too. I'm not reckless, I don't take too many unnecessary risks but I'll figure out how to be more safe. For her. Which I'm pretty sure makes me crazy. I have no idea what to do with friendships like this.
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"Have you met Henri?"
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I give a tight smile and squeeze her hand back. That little gesture of hers, how easily she does it, is one of the most comforting things anyone has ever done to me. It makes me feel a little less like a monster.
"I've, uh, seen him, I think," I say. Which is true. As soon as I learned she had someone special like that in her life I stalked them a little bit but I'm not going to mention that.
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"Can I threaten him?" I ask. I probably will regardless of what she says but with Sybil I at least try to be civilized about my behavior. "I mean, warn him that he better not hurt you or something. Not just threaten him for fun."
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"I'm fine, thank you," I say, giving him a smile. I'm terrible and smiling, it generally looks sinister when I do it, which is fine.
"I'm Kaine," I say, offering my hand to shake. I won't crush his hand but I will apply maybe a bit more pressure than would be normal.
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Sybil immediately wonders if introducing them was the best idea, but decides that it was. They are, after all, both people who are extremely important to her, of course they'll do their best to get on. "Henri, this is my dear friend, and Kaine, Henri."
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Not that I've asked all that much. I'm happy for her but digging into Sybil's love life isn't something I'm comfortable with. She is happy though, that much is easy too see and if Henri is the reason... then good for him.
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"About a year and a half," I say with a nod. It's longer than I've spent anywhere else in my life, which is a really weird thing for me, especially since I might like it.
"What part of France are you from?"
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"I should leave you two to get to know each other," Sybil says, knowing she's a party to get back to. She kisses Henri quickly, and squeezes Kaine's hand one last time before heading away and to the kitchen.
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"I've been to Paris before, very nice city."
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"You're not missing much," I reassure him. Not a lot of people outside of Texas really enjoy being in Texas. Of course, a lot of people still imagine it's just one step away from the wild west. That's pretty much how I thought of it before going there.
"I don't think many Europeans would enjoy Texas."
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"It's about as opposite of Europe as you can get," I say. It's not necessarily a bad thing, the people of Houston are pretty great. It's just a completely different culture there is all.
"When are you from?"
If I know that, I can have a better idea of how to explain it to him.
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