Christmas Lunch

[adifferentlife]

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.

Comments

[radicalize]

"I can't think of any better way to spend the holiday," Lucy says warmly, and it's entirely true. When there isn't really anywhere she fits now, she can't wish for home or the island. At least here, she has her brother and some friends, and that's more than she could have asked for.

[adifferentlife]

Sybil hugs her friend, whispering in her ear as she does. "Could I ask you something? Personal, that is, there's nothing wrong."

When she pulls back her usually pale cheeks are pink and flushed. "Only if you don't mind."

[radicalize]

It's a little unexpected, given the setting, but Lucy has no real reason to object. She shakes her head quickly, a slight crease between her brows. "No, of course I don't mind," she says. Whatever it is, she's sure Sybil has a good reason for asking. "You want to step into the other room or something?"

[adifferentlife]

"Thank you. Yes." It's a good idea, and Sybil is glad Lucy's suggested it. She hasn't meant to ask here, but found herself unable to stop herself from doing so. A hand in her friends, she leads the way to her bedroom, closing the door behind them.

"I- that is to say, Henri and I, we did things." Her face is burning, she's sure red as a berry. She's hoping desperately that Lucy won't judge her on this, is praying for it on some level. "Only I don't really know anything. About sex that is. More than we learn as nurses."

[radicalize]

"Oh," Lucy says, brow raising. It is, admittedly, kind of unexpected, in large part because she's pretty sure no one has ever turned to her for something like this, but now that Sybil has said so, she's pretty sure it shouldn't be. Such things are bound to happen sooner or later, after all, and it isn't as if, had she thought about it before now, she would have guessed that Sybil would have any experience in the matter. "You want me to... bring you up to speed?"

[adifferentlife]

It's embarrassing to ask, but Sybil doesn't know anyone else to go to. "Is it too much? I know it's not something we would have talked about at home. It was expected to just happen on one's wedding night."

[radicalize]

"Oh, no, it's not too much," Lucy says with a quick shake of her head. Unexpected, sure, but it isn't as if she minds. It isn't so far off from what she used to do with her friends when she was in school, though none of them then had very much experience. "I'm... not quite sure where to start, but no, it's definitely fine."

[adifferentlife]

"At the beginning?" She can feel the burn in her cheeks fading as she does her best to be confident and to act as if this were any ordinary conversation. "Honestly, the very start. How does it work? Is it... Is it painful?"

[radicalize]

"A little, just at first," Lucy says, thoughtful, her head tilting to the side. She isn't quite sure how much detail Sybil needs in asking how it works, but that can probably be figured out, she thinks, as they go. There's no sense in getting too specific right off the bat. "It helps to relax, rather than tensing up."

[adifferentlife]

She perches on the end of the bed, unable to keep standing whilst talking about these things. "It's not hard to stay relaxed, at least, at first? The kissing is very... enjoyable?"

[radicalize]

"Oh, yes, very," Lucy says with an emphatic nod and a grin, just a little sly. Enjoyable's one word for it. Probably not strong enough, in her opinion, though still accurate. "And it's not too hard to stay relaxed, no, if it's someone you're comfortable with. Just... be sure it's what you want. That helps, too." She pauses a beat, then adds, still not entirely sure of what Sybil knows and what she doesn't, "You know, there are other things you can do, too, before you go all the way."

[adifferentlife]

"I picked up a magazine," Sybil admits in a rush, her face heating beyond anything imaginable.This is the sort of information that she's after, and the sort that has been in extremely short supply in her life. Even the jokes and whispers of the other nursing students hadn't educated her much. "The ones with fashion in them, and that sort of thing. It suggested 10 things to do in bed to drive him wild and I thought it might help? But it was all about teasing and taunting and wasn't at all practical."

[radicalize]

"Oh, God, yeah, stay away from those," Lucy says, wincing slightly. She isn't too familiar with them, but she's skimmed a few on occasion, out of something like curiosity, and it always seems to end with her drawing the same conclusion. "How they think those are tips is beyond me. I don't think any of the guys I've been with would have liked it if I tried all that." Almost conspiratorial, she then adds, "They can be kind of funny to read, though."

[adifferentlife]

That is something that even Sybil has to admit to, embarassment warring with humour for the first time since she started this conversation. "They are, in a way, if also just strange. Does anyone find them helpful? I don't understand how so many wish to read those things."

[radicalize]

"I couldn't tell you, actually, if anyone finds them helpful, though I doubt it," Lucy says wryly. If anyone does turn to them for help, she has a feeling that it does more harm than good. Some of the things she's happened to read about look more like they'd be painful or pointless. "Especially not as a starting point. It's better to... figure out what you both like first."

[adifferentlife]

"I enjoy when we kiss, and the touching?" She's flushing a deep red, she's sure of it from the way her skin burns. "Henri... He has a very nice chest."

[radicalize]

"Well, that's good," Lucy says, grinning at the way Sybil blushes. This really isn't a position she ever thought she would find herself in, but it really is kind of fun, if she doesn't think about the fact that it's been almost two years since she slept with anyone. "And once the two of you do, you know, have sex, you can figure out what you like as far as that's concerned, too."

[adifferentlife]

"But..." This is the hard part, the part that Sybil has been afraid to ask but needs to. It's not like she hasn't seen a male body as a part of her classes, but this is something entirely different.

"How does one 'have sex'," she asks, her hands folded tightly in her lap. "It was just always assumed that it would happen on one's wedding night. We never spoke of it."

[radicalize]

"Right," Lucy says, nodding, almost sheepish, a hand curling around the back of her neck. "Alright, so... first, how much do you know about how guys' bodies work?" Sybil's in medicine, she knows that, and has at least got to be familiar with anatomy, which saves her an even more awkward conversation, but especially when she barely knows how to do this at all, she might as well figure out just how much there is to tell. She wonders briefly if Henri has any experience, if he might be better to talk her through this, but she doubts Sybil would want to go into anything clueless. She can at least give her friend something to work with.

[adifferentlife]

"I do, mostly. We've discussed it in class, and I've seen the models and the cadavers." The models, however, were plastic, and the cadavers weren't alive. Even worse were the live men she'd seen who were hurt from war; sent back from the lines to recieve care and to heal, only to be sent out to fight again. "Sometimes when the soldiers first came into the hospital we had to bathe them as well. We tried to preserve their decency, but it was difficult, depending on the wounds."

[radicalize]

"Alright," Lucy says again, nodding slowly. It's reassuring, if not entirely surprising. Much less than that, and she doesn't know what she would have said. As it is, there's still no way this isn't going to be supremely awkward, at least at first. Once she's gotten the really difficult part out of the way, that might be a different story. "And you know what happens when they're... sexually aroused?"

[adifferentlife]

"I-" She starts to lie and say that she does, but eventually shakes her head, lips pursed. "When we've... Been together, it's sometimes obvious things are different?"

[radicalize]

"Different how?" Lucy asks. Before she gets anatomical, she really wants to find out exactly where they stand, and as ridiculous as it feels to be continually asking questions, she won't be able to figure anything out otherwise.

[adifferentlife]

Sybil reminds herself that she asked to have this conversation, and that she needs to put aside all embarrassment and act as if this is a class or the hospital. Professionalism will carry her through, she tells herself, squaring her shoulders. "We were kissing, and when he pressed against me, there was more pressure," she says, indicating beneath her waist.

[radicalize]

"Right," Lucy says. It's something, at least, which is better than it could have been, and might well save her the trouble of having to get too scientific. Even knowing how bodies work and why, it's kind of easier not to have to quite go there. "When you have sex... that happens, and then it goes inside you."