Rating: PG
Challenge: Iced Tea #8 “sent to the tower”; Cotton Candy #5 “a confession”
Story: Maybe December
Summary: Allyson tells her mother about different plans for Christmas.
Word Count: 733
Note: Takes place three days after Insisting. And yes this piece is way behind when it comes to time. I'm way behind on everything, so meh :P.
“I won't be home for Christmas.” Allyson took another deep breath, then a long swallow of oolong tea. Better to get everything out now, although she preferred to wait until she called from the airport because dropping the big surprise would be easier via transatlantic phone call. “I'm going to England until the New Year.”
Allyson's mother sank back into the leather chair. Her fingers dug into the knitting which spilled over the arm rest into her lap. It was eventually possible if she could stop ripping apart the skeins and starting over with a new creation this pile of knitting would become another scarf for her only grandchild, because another bit of knitting was another way to feel like she mattered in her daughters' lives. It was her decision to retreat from the world into the safety of her house and its familiar comforts. Of course she never wanted to imagine her daughters would grow up and leave someday. But Allyson left first, followed by Kelly several years later. Time passed across the dinner table when her children and husband spoke about the changes which occurred in their lives. Time moved in half-frozen steps for Allyson's mother. Only holidays were like feast days in her calendar. Daphne held court in the home which functioned as her refuge every holiday season. Nobody dared to refuse the invitation, because she was expert in the creation and maintenance of guilt trips.
Well, damn the floodgates, her mother could pour out any kind of tantrum if she wanted...Allyson needed to go somewhere different, not only for Christmas but anytime, like right now. It was long past time to fully cast off from her mother's guilt trips and bouts for control.
Her mother still hadn't reacted. Instead she continued wrapping the colored yarn around her fingers, loosening then tightening strands of blue and red. It was only a matter of when before some cutting remark or vague comment tinged with guilt came from Daphne.
“What a shame if you aren't here for your niece's first real Christmas.”
“Mom, she's a year old. How much can Eva remember?” Allyson knew her mother would use her grandchild as a tool of blackmail. Of course she loved her niece but it was ridiculous to assume the little girl could notice if she wasn't there for Christmas. “It's one Christmas and New Year's. Next year I'll be here just like always.”
“Next year you might be married. Then you will never come home again.”
“What if you got another grandkid from any marriage I might theoretically enter into with Jamie?”
“Your child wouldn't belong to our family. Any child from your marriage would belong to the Kennans. A boy would inherit Jamie's title at some point.”
“Jamie's already bought the tickets.”
“First class no doubt.”
“Those are comfortable seats for a transatlantic flight.”
“Isn't that nice? It's a lovely gesture. Just don't get used to the good life.” Her mother sniffed. “He'll get bored eventually and leave you.”
Now Daphne was in defensive mode. It was a typical gesture whenever jealousy crept into her mind.
“You just said I would get married and never come around again.”
“Things change on the whims of other people's whims.”
“You always believed that people could never be trusted.”
“People can always be trusted never to be trustworthy.”
“I trust Jamie would never hurt me.”
“Does he love you?”
“Obviously. He's invited me to meet the rest of his family in another country.”
“So why did he wait until this year?”
“I was bound up in the Weaver case last year.”
“Did he ask you then?”
“Yes. I said no.”
“Why didn't he insist that you come along?”
“Because we're adults.”
“But he was pressing you about the matter before summer.”
“Yes, because I'm stubborn.”
“He could have insisted more rather than let you-”
“Decide for myself when I felt comfortable going across the ocean to meet his family. He's a gentleman that way, letting a grown woman make her own decisions.”
“If that's how you prefer to think about the matter, I won't stop you.”
“Good.”
“Go ahead on your little trip if that's what you really want.”
“I am.”
Challenge: Iced Tea #8 “sent to the tower”; Cotton Candy #5 “a confession”
Story: Maybe December
Summary: Allyson tells her mother about different plans for Christmas.
Word Count: 733
Note: Takes place three days after Insisting. And yes this piece is way behind when it comes to time. I'm way behind on everything, so meh :P.
“I won't be home for Christmas.” Allyson took another deep breath, then a long swallow of oolong tea. Better to get everything out now, although she preferred to wait until she called from the airport because dropping the big surprise would be easier via transatlantic phone call. “I'm going to England until the New Year.”
Allyson's mother sank back into the leather chair. Her fingers dug into the knitting which spilled over the arm rest into her lap. It was eventually possible if she could stop ripping apart the skeins and starting over with a new creation this pile of knitting would become another scarf for her only grandchild, because another bit of knitting was another way to feel like she mattered in her daughters' lives. It was her decision to retreat from the world into the safety of her house and its familiar comforts. Of course she never wanted to imagine her daughters would grow up and leave someday. But Allyson left first, followed by Kelly several years later. Time passed across the dinner table when her children and husband spoke about the changes which occurred in their lives. Time moved in half-frozen steps for Allyson's mother. Only holidays were like feast days in her calendar. Daphne held court in the home which functioned as her refuge every holiday season. Nobody dared to refuse the invitation, because she was expert in the creation and maintenance of guilt trips.
Well, damn the floodgates, her mother could pour out any kind of tantrum if she wanted...Allyson needed to go somewhere different, not only for Christmas but anytime, like right now. It was long past time to fully cast off from her mother's guilt trips and bouts for control.
Her mother still hadn't reacted. Instead she continued wrapping the colored yarn around her fingers, loosening then tightening strands of blue and red. It was only a matter of when before some cutting remark or vague comment tinged with guilt came from Daphne.
“What a shame if you aren't here for your niece's first real Christmas.”
“Mom, she's a year old. How much can Eva remember?” Allyson knew her mother would use her grandchild as a tool of blackmail. Of course she loved her niece but it was ridiculous to assume the little girl could notice if she wasn't there for Christmas. “It's one Christmas and New Year's. Next year I'll be here just like always.”
“Next year you might be married. Then you will never come home again.”
“What if you got another grandkid from any marriage I might theoretically enter into with Jamie?”
“Your child wouldn't belong to our family. Any child from your marriage would belong to the Kennans. A boy would inherit Jamie's title at some point.”
“Jamie's already bought the tickets.”
“First class no doubt.”
“Those are comfortable seats for a transatlantic flight.”
“Isn't that nice? It's a lovely gesture. Just don't get used to the good life.” Her mother sniffed. “He'll get bored eventually and leave you.”
Now Daphne was in defensive mode. It was a typical gesture whenever jealousy crept into her mind.
“You just said I would get married and never come around again.”
“Things change on the whims of other people's whims.”
“You always believed that people could never be trusted.”
“People can always be trusted never to be trustworthy.”
“I trust Jamie would never hurt me.”
“Does he love you?”
“Obviously. He's invited me to meet the rest of his family in another country.”
“So why did he wait until this year?”
“I was bound up in the Weaver case last year.”
“Did he ask you then?”
“Yes. I said no.”
“Why didn't he insist that you come along?”
“Because we're adults.”
“But he was pressing you about the matter before summer.”
“Yes, because I'm stubborn.”
“He could have insisted more rather than let you-”
“Decide for myself when I felt comfortable going across the ocean to meet his family. He's a gentleman that way, letting a grown woman make her own decisions.”
“If that's how you prefer to think about the matter, I won't stop you.”
“Good.”
“Go ahead on your little trip if that's what you really want.”
“I am.”
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runaway_tales- Runaway Tales
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Thanks for reading. :)
Thanks for reading. :)