RP: Trading Off the Holidays
Date: December 24, 2004
Characters: Megan Jones and her son Ben
Location: 5-B River Place
Status: Private
Summary: The first Christmas for a newly divorced family.
Completion: Complete
Megan's parents had invited her and Ben to their house for Christmas, but she told them she'd come for New Year's instead, while Ben was with Terry. Somehow it seemed important to spend the first Christmas after her divorce at home, with her son. So she'd put up the tree, and the decorations, and taken Ben out to see lights and listen to music. And when they got home, she fixed them each a cup of hot cocoa. Together they had set out treats for Santa and his reindeer, and then she'd put a very excited and squirmy Ben to sleep.
She had never felt so alone as she did when she came back out to the living room where the tree lights twinkled.
With a sigh, she got out the rest of Ben's brightly-wrapped presents and put them under the tree. It would still be fun to watch him open everything tomorrow morning, she told herself. And it was perfectly normal to feel some grief over the dissolution of her marriage. Perfectly normal.
Just then she noticed Bob curled up on the couch, snoozing away blissfully. "I guess I'm not totally alone," she murmured, sitting down opposite him. "Ben wants you to have a stocking too, you know."
Ben snorted a little in his sleep, stretching out his front paws. Megan gave a soft chuckle, but it turned into a half-sob, and she covered her face with a hand. There was no room in being a parent for self-pity, and she knew that better than most people after years of being married to a man so absorbed in his work.
But did he have to turn out to be gay? Megan took a deep, shuddering breath. There was nothing that could be done to change what had already happened. The key was going on from here. She counted as she breathed, four slow counts in, three out, letting her mind drift.
A few minutes later, she roused herself. It was early still, but if she was just going to sit around, she should probably go on to bed. She wasn't tired; she didn't feel like going to bed. But she didn't feel like doing anything. She sighed heavily and patted Bob's back. "Maybe I'll feel better in the morning, eh Bob?"
Her limbs felt like lead, but she dragged herself to a standing position. Feel better in the morning. Right. She could only hope.
Characters: Megan Jones and her son Ben
Location: 5-B River Place
Status: Private
Summary: The first Christmas for a newly divorced family.
Completion: Complete
Megan's parents had invited her and Ben to their house for Christmas, but she told them she'd come for New Year's instead, while Ben was with Terry. Somehow it seemed important to spend the first Christmas after her divorce at home, with her son. So she'd put up the tree, and the decorations, and taken Ben out to see lights and listen to music. And when they got home, she fixed them each a cup of hot cocoa. Together they had set out treats for Santa and his reindeer, and then she'd put a very excited and squirmy Ben to sleep.
She had never felt so alone as she did when she came back out to the living room where the tree lights twinkled.
With a sigh, she got out the rest of Ben's brightly-wrapped presents and put them under the tree. It would still be fun to watch him open everything tomorrow morning, she told herself. And it was perfectly normal to feel some grief over the dissolution of her marriage. Perfectly normal.
Just then she noticed Bob curled up on the couch, snoozing away blissfully. "I guess I'm not totally alone," she murmured, sitting down opposite him. "Ben wants you to have a stocking too, you know."
Ben snorted a little in his sleep, stretching out his front paws. Megan gave a soft chuckle, but it turned into a half-sob, and she covered her face with a hand. There was no room in being a parent for self-pity, and she knew that better than most people after years of being married to a man so absorbed in his work.
But did he have to turn out to be gay? Megan took a deep, shuddering breath. There was nothing that could be done to change what had already happened. The key was going on from here. She counted as she breathed, four slow counts in, three out, letting her mind drift.
A few minutes later, she roused herself. It was early still, but if she was just going to sit around, she should probably go on to bed. She wasn't tired; she didn't feel like going to bed. But she didn't feel like doing anything. She sighed heavily and patted Bob's back. "Maybe I'll feel better in the morning, eh Bob?"
Her limbs felt like lead, but she dragged herself to a standing position. Feel better in the morning. Right. She could only hope.