incitethemuse Behind the velvet rope
"What're you doing, Gran?" Chloe squirmed into her grandmother's big chair alongside of her. She watched as Gran Kennedy's fingers ran over the pairs of stockings on her lap. Even at five years old Chloe knew what stockings were - they were what ladies wore to cover up their legs and look pretty when they wore dresses. Not that Chloe liked wearing dresses herself and she definitely didn't want any tight squeezey things on HER legs.
"Cutting up these old stockings, mavaurneen" Maureen held up one pair, "see? This leg has got a run but the other one is fine. So what to do? What to do?"
Little fingers reached out and ran over the slippery material. "Get new ones?"
"Don't want to throw them away. They're still half good."
Chloe watched as her grandmother cut off the leg of one stocking and pair it with another stocking with just one leg, putting the pieces together to form a whole pair.
"We don't want to waste what we have." Gran's arm slipped over Chloe's shoulders tucking her against her side. "Use it up and wear it out, make do or do without. That's what my mother always said. You remember that. No matter how much or how little you have there is always someone who has even less. That's why being wasteful is a very bad thing.
She can't help wondering what her grandmother would think about her life now: how comfortable Chloe is behind the wheel of a car that costs as much as a house, or the way she takes a helicopter to meet Oliver's jet, or the fact that once on the jet she'll open up her laptop to access the satellite that was Oliver's Christmas present to her. There is a safe in the townhouse that holds more jewelry than she'd ever considered owning.
It's a very different world than the one she grew up in. A fact that Lois seemed to remind her of with each visit. Chloe doesn't think about it so much herself anymore; it's just Oliver's way. He gives gifts - generous, extravagant and amazing gifts. Sometimes when she catches a glimpse of herself in the Astin's rear view mirror Chloe can't believe she's the same girl who grew up eating peanut butter and honey sandwiches six nights a week for a year when her father was laid off and now she's behind the velvet rope. For the most part she and Oliver maintain a lower key profile but part of Oliver's cover demands a certain level of visibility so they go out. They're seen, they're photographed and speculated on and none of it bothers Chloe too much because she knows it's in aid of the cause. There's something bigger that they both believe in and work towards. But that doesn't take away the odd feeling of being shown to the best table with Oliver in a restaurant that she wouldn't be able to get so much as a reservation at by herself.
It feels less like a velvet rope and more like a fun house mirror.
"Cutting up these old stockings, mavaurneen" Maureen held up one pair, "see? This leg has got a run but the other one is fine. So what to do? What to do?"
Little fingers reached out and ran over the slippery material. "Get new ones?"
"Don't want to throw them away. They're still half good."
Chloe watched as her grandmother cut off the leg of one stocking and pair it with another stocking with just one leg, putting the pieces together to form a whole pair.
"We don't want to waste what we have." Gran's arm slipped over Chloe's shoulders tucking her against her side. "Use it up and wear it out, make do or do without. That's what my mother always said. You remember that. No matter how much or how little you have there is always someone who has even less. That's why being wasteful is a very bad thing.
She can't help wondering what her grandmother would think about her life now: how comfortable Chloe is behind the wheel of a car that costs as much as a house, or the way she takes a helicopter to meet Oliver's jet, or the fact that once on the jet she'll open up her laptop to access the satellite that was Oliver's Christmas present to her. There is a safe in the townhouse that holds more jewelry than she'd ever considered owning.
It's a very different world than the one she grew up in. A fact that Lois seemed to remind her of with each visit. Chloe doesn't think about it so much herself anymore; it's just Oliver's way. He gives gifts - generous, extravagant and amazing gifts. Sometimes when she catches a glimpse of herself in the Astin's rear view mirror Chloe can't believe she's the same girl who grew up eating peanut butter and honey sandwiches six nights a week for a year when her father was laid off and now she's behind the velvet rope. For the most part she and Oliver maintain a lower key profile but part of Oliver's cover demands a certain level of visibility so they go out. They're seen, they're photographed and speculated on and none of it bothers Chloe too much because she knows it's in aid of the cause. There's something bigger that they both believe in and work towards. But that doesn't take away the odd feeling of being shown to the best table with Oliver in a restaurant that she wouldn't be able to get so much as a reservation at by herself.
It feels less like a velvet rope and more like a fun house mirror.