NIEE caramel smoothie
Authors: Marina and Casey
Story: Nothing is Ever Easy universe, post-NIEE
Challenge: Orange 7 (what were you thinking?), FOTD (trepidation) [Marina]; Guava 9 (may lightning strike me), Trail Mix 10 (dining room) [Casey]
Toppings/Extras: Caramel, Sprinkles, Smoothie [both]; Malt (Trick-or-Treat from 1306 - “Yet despite this imperfection, he was clean looking and respectable looking/And you’ll never find a mother who doesn’t appreciate a natural man” (Love Affair - Regina Spektor)) [Marina]
Word Count: 1,469
Rating: PG
Summary: Eva finds out who Dean’s dad is. She is not happy.
Notes: We have enjoyed tweaking Eva and Carrie’s backstory for this universe. Last leg of the 1k and also a malt!
After she and the hired help had cleared the dinner dishes from the dining room, Eva took a basket of mending and a lamp out to the porch to wait for Carrie. She must have stayed late at Dean’s, she thought, frowning at the darkening sky and hoping her daughter was not taking the road back alone.
Rattling wheels assuaged her worry a few minutes later. Out of the gloom rolled a rickety wagon, bearing a man on the front seat and the two teenagers in the bed. Eva rose from her seat as it pulled up in front of the inn, but stopped short when the driver hopped down to help Carrie out and she got a good look at his face. Is that Sorin Dakamar? Oh, gods, it is. Numbness coursed through her limbs, followed by a white-hot rage she had not felt in years.
Carrie gave Dean a quick kiss and let Sorin lift her out of the wagon. “Night! Thanks for the ride,” she said.
“You’re welcome, Carrie,” Sorin replied, with a wink, as he climbed back up to his seat. Eva clenched her fists, keeping silent with difficulty.
Carrie waited by the road, waving, until the wagon disappeared. She then turned, beaming, toward the porch. “Hey, Mom!” she called. “Sorry I’m late. Dean’s dad invited me to dinner and said he’d drive me home, so-"
“Carolina Morales Michaels,” Eva bit out, through gritted teeth, “when the hell were you going to tell me that Sorin Dakamar is your boyfriend’s father?”
A confused expression flittered over Carrie’s round features before apprehension wrote over it. “Oh, no, I’m sorry, I didn’t even think about it.”
“You didn’t even think about it? It never occurred to you that I might want to know that important detail?”
“Mom, I…I really honestly didn’t, it doesn’t even matter-"
“It matters, Carrie!” Eva pointed accusingly in the direction of the departed wagon. “That man is the reason you don’t have a father. You should have told me the second you found out.”
“Okay, yes, I’m sorry.” Carrie hopped quickly up the porch steps. “I should have told you, but I really, honestly don’t care.” At her mother’s horrified look, she stammered on. “I just don’t, okay? I-he’s Dean’s dad. I love Dean. Sorin’s been nothing but nice to me. I just know he’s really sorry for it and-I don’t. I don’t care.”
“I care,” Eva said sharply.
Carrie clutched her sketchbook tightly to her chest, looking about to burst into tears. “But Mom, you’ve met Dean, you know he’s not like that. It doesn’t matter who his dad is, he’s still Dean.”
Eva deflated a little at this. “Carrie,” she said, lowering her voice, “I know that.”
“So…you’re not going to tell me not to see him anymore?”
“No.” She held up a hand. “But I want you to be careful. Don’t you dare stay for dinner without telling me again. In fact, I’d prefer it if you brought Dean here instead of going to his house all the time.”
“Mom!”
“I mean it. You may not care, but I do, and as long as you live under my roof, you do as I say.”
“Mom.” Carrie took a step forward in protest. “Sorin’s not going to hurt me.”
Eva folded her arms. “Don’t make me say it again, Carolina. That man and his brother started a civil war in our country and hurt countless people, not just us. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me before. I’m so angry I just-" She shook her head. “Just go inside. I don’t want to discuss it anymore.”
Carrie stared at her a moment longer, then shoved open the door and stomped inside. It slapped against the opposite wall before falling shut with a loud smack. Eva shut her eyes against sudden tears and slowly resumed her seat on the bench. She still had one more shirt to mend before she could sleep.
***
She woke up early the next morning, as she always did. Heart-shattering revelations aside, there was work to do, and she set about doing it with just as much vigor as before, if not more. She swept the floors, set the tables in the dining room, folded clean bedsheets, collected the used ones, and gathered Carrie's soiled laundry. She did not notice when her daughter slipped out shortly after breakfast.
Several hours later, after she had hung the clean clothes on a line in the yard off her room, she went back inside to clean up the dirty lunch dishes. She had not made very much progress when the receptionist poked her head into the dining room. "Eva, you have a visitor waiting at the desk."
"Please ask them to come in here," Eva said, without looking up.
A moment later, someone new entered and there was a pause before a male voice said, "I take it you are Ms. Morales."
Eva scooped up a handful of silverware and dumped it in a nearby basin. "I am," she said. "Sorry to ask you to come in here, but I have a lot of work to do today, and-" Turning toward the doorway, she faltered, feeling as if a very cold hand had suddenly pushed through her ribcage to clutch at her heart.
Sorin Dakamar gave her a crooked smile. "I take it you recognize me then."
"I'm not likely to forget your face for the rest of my life," she said flatly.
He shrugged. "I suspected as much. I've been informed that you recognized me last night."
Damn it, Carrie, Eva thought. She whirled rigidly back to table and snatched at the plates. "Gods' breath. I don't believe this."
She heard him let out a breath. "Look, I'm sorry, both that you had to find out that way and that...well, that I'm me."
"It's about thirteen years too late for sorry," she snapped.
There was a moment's pause. "Unfortunately, that's about all I have to give," he said quietly.
"What did you expect me to say?" She all but threw the plates into the basin and moved down to get more. Seeing Sorin, talking to him, was like reliving Cliff's death all over again. She felt the same draining pain in her abdomen, the same vice-like pressure on her lungs, the same rubbery weakness in her knees-but this time she could not lose her grip, could not break down. Not in front of him. "How could you just...why?"
"There isn't a good explanation, even if I wanted to try and give you one," he said, a heavy, bitter sense of shame coloring his voice. "I don't expect you, or anyone, to accept my apology, but I really hope you can keep from taking who I am out on my son."
"I'm not interested in punishing Dean or making my daughter hate me," Eva said.
Again, she was answered by silence. "Thank you," Sorin said then, feet scuffling the floor.
She looked up again then, crossing her arms defensively over her chest. "If you see her, will you please tell Carrie I expect her home for dinner?"
He blinked and nodded. "Of course."
"Thank you."
He hesitated a moment, holding her gaze. Her jaw set. "Anything else? Since you're here."
"You..." he started and then shook his head. "No. I can find my way out."
Eva nodded once. Sorin glanced at her again and then turned to leave. He was almost out when he abruptly turned around. "It was Carrie's father, wasn't it? Who we killed."
Hearing him state it so plainly nearly knocked her over. She let go with one hand to grip the table edge. "Yes, it was. The very first day."
Sorin nodded slowly. "That makes unfortunate sense since most of the bloodshed was that day." He paused, obviously thinking hard and cringed. "Carrie would have only been, what, about three?"
"Two-and-a-half," Eva said.
He exhaled, shoulders slumping as his eyes slid past her for a moment, going distant. "We did and caused a lot of terrible things."
Eva ground her teeth together, feeling even angrier than before. How could he be so reasonable, even penitent? Gods, no wonder Carrie was taking his side. "I remember."
He drew his gaze back to hers and seemed to read something there. "I'm sorry, I should go."
She nodded and turned back to the dishes. "Please don't forget to remind Carrie about dinner."
"I won't," he said. This time, he did not look back as he vanished towards the front door.
Once he had gone, Eva's knees gave out. She landed on the bench so heavily that it tipped and dumped her on the floor, but she ignored the pain, making no effort to get up again. Instead, she wrapped her arms over her head and began to sob.
Story: Nothing is Ever Easy universe, post-NIEE
Challenge: Orange 7 (what were you thinking?), FOTD (trepidation) [Marina]; Guava 9 (may lightning strike me), Trail Mix 10 (dining room) [Casey]
Toppings/Extras: Caramel, Sprinkles, Smoothie [both]; Malt (Trick-or-Treat from 1306 - “Yet despite this imperfection, he was clean looking and respectable looking/And you’ll never find a mother who doesn’t appreciate a natural man” (Love Affair - Regina Spektor)) [Marina]
Word Count: 1,469
Rating: PG
Summary: Eva finds out who Dean’s dad is. She is not happy.
Notes: We have enjoyed tweaking Eva and Carrie’s backstory for this universe. Last leg of the 1k and also a malt!
After she and the hired help had cleared the dinner dishes from the dining room, Eva took a basket of mending and a lamp out to the porch to wait for Carrie. She must have stayed late at Dean’s, she thought, frowning at the darkening sky and hoping her daughter was not taking the road back alone.
Rattling wheels assuaged her worry a few minutes later. Out of the gloom rolled a rickety wagon, bearing a man on the front seat and the two teenagers in the bed. Eva rose from her seat as it pulled up in front of the inn, but stopped short when the driver hopped down to help Carrie out and she got a good look at his face. Is that Sorin Dakamar? Oh, gods, it is. Numbness coursed through her limbs, followed by a white-hot rage she had not felt in years.
Carrie gave Dean a quick kiss and let Sorin lift her out of the wagon. “Night! Thanks for the ride,” she said.
“You’re welcome, Carrie,” Sorin replied, with a wink, as he climbed back up to his seat. Eva clenched her fists, keeping silent with difficulty.
Carrie waited by the road, waving, until the wagon disappeared. She then turned, beaming, toward the porch. “Hey, Mom!” she called. “Sorry I’m late. Dean’s dad invited me to dinner and said he’d drive me home, so-"
“Carolina Morales Michaels,” Eva bit out, through gritted teeth, “when the hell were you going to tell me that Sorin Dakamar is your boyfriend’s father?”
A confused expression flittered over Carrie’s round features before apprehension wrote over it. “Oh, no, I’m sorry, I didn’t even think about it.”
“You didn’t even think about it? It never occurred to you that I might want to know that important detail?”
“Mom, I…I really honestly didn’t, it doesn’t even matter-"
“It matters, Carrie!” Eva pointed accusingly in the direction of the departed wagon. “That man is the reason you don’t have a father. You should have told me the second you found out.”
“Okay, yes, I’m sorry.” Carrie hopped quickly up the porch steps. “I should have told you, but I really, honestly don’t care.” At her mother’s horrified look, she stammered on. “I just don’t, okay? I-he’s Dean’s dad. I love Dean. Sorin’s been nothing but nice to me. I just know he’s really sorry for it and-I don’t. I don’t care.”
“I care,” Eva said sharply.
Carrie clutched her sketchbook tightly to her chest, looking about to burst into tears. “But Mom, you’ve met Dean, you know he’s not like that. It doesn’t matter who his dad is, he’s still Dean.”
Eva deflated a little at this. “Carrie,” she said, lowering her voice, “I know that.”
“So…you’re not going to tell me not to see him anymore?”
“No.” She held up a hand. “But I want you to be careful. Don’t you dare stay for dinner without telling me again. In fact, I’d prefer it if you brought Dean here instead of going to his house all the time.”
“Mom!”
“I mean it. You may not care, but I do, and as long as you live under my roof, you do as I say.”
“Mom.” Carrie took a step forward in protest. “Sorin’s not going to hurt me.”
Eva folded her arms. “Don’t make me say it again, Carolina. That man and his brother started a civil war in our country and hurt countless people, not just us. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me before. I’m so angry I just-" She shook her head. “Just go inside. I don’t want to discuss it anymore.”
Carrie stared at her a moment longer, then shoved open the door and stomped inside. It slapped against the opposite wall before falling shut with a loud smack. Eva shut her eyes against sudden tears and slowly resumed her seat on the bench. She still had one more shirt to mend before she could sleep.
***
She woke up early the next morning, as she always did. Heart-shattering revelations aside, there was work to do, and she set about doing it with just as much vigor as before, if not more. She swept the floors, set the tables in the dining room, folded clean bedsheets, collected the used ones, and gathered Carrie's soiled laundry. She did not notice when her daughter slipped out shortly after breakfast.
Several hours later, after she had hung the clean clothes on a line in the yard off her room, she went back inside to clean up the dirty lunch dishes. She had not made very much progress when the receptionist poked her head into the dining room. "Eva, you have a visitor waiting at the desk."
"Please ask them to come in here," Eva said, without looking up.
A moment later, someone new entered and there was a pause before a male voice said, "I take it you are Ms. Morales."
Eva scooped up a handful of silverware and dumped it in a nearby basin. "I am," she said. "Sorry to ask you to come in here, but I have a lot of work to do today, and-" Turning toward the doorway, she faltered, feeling as if a very cold hand had suddenly pushed through her ribcage to clutch at her heart.
Sorin Dakamar gave her a crooked smile. "I take it you recognize me then."
"I'm not likely to forget your face for the rest of my life," she said flatly.
He shrugged. "I suspected as much. I've been informed that you recognized me last night."
Damn it, Carrie, Eva thought. She whirled rigidly back to table and snatched at the plates. "Gods' breath. I don't believe this."
She heard him let out a breath. "Look, I'm sorry, both that you had to find out that way and that...well, that I'm me."
"It's about thirteen years too late for sorry," she snapped.
There was a moment's pause. "Unfortunately, that's about all I have to give," he said quietly.
"What did you expect me to say?" She all but threw the plates into the basin and moved down to get more. Seeing Sorin, talking to him, was like reliving Cliff's death all over again. She felt the same draining pain in her abdomen, the same vice-like pressure on her lungs, the same rubbery weakness in her knees-but this time she could not lose her grip, could not break down. Not in front of him. "How could you just...why?"
"There isn't a good explanation, even if I wanted to try and give you one," he said, a heavy, bitter sense of shame coloring his voice. "I don't expect you, or anyone, to accept my apology, but I really hope you can keep from taking who I am out on my son."
"I'm not interested in punishing Dean or making my daughter hate me," Eva said.
Again, she was answered by silence. "Thank you," Sorin said then, feet scuffling the floor.
She looked up again then, crossing her arms defensively over her chest. "If you see her, will you please tell Carrie I expect her home for dinner?"
He blinked and nodded. "Of course."
"Thank you."
He hesitated a moment, holding her gaze. Her jaw set. "Anything else? Since you're here."
"You..." he started and then shook his head. "No. I can find my way out."
Eva nodded once. Sorin glanced at her again and then turned to leave. He was almost out when he abruptly turned around. "It was Carrie's father, wasn't it? Who we killed."
Hearing him state it so plainly nearly knocked her over. She let go with one hand to grip the table edge. "Yes, it was. The very first day."
Sorin nodded slowly. "That makes unfortunate sense since most of the bloodshed was that day." He paused, obviously thinking hard and cringed. "Carrie would have only been, what, about three?"
"Two-and-a-half," Eva said.
He exhaled, shoulders slumping as his eyes slid past her for a moment, going distant. "We did and caused a lot of terrible things."
Eva ground her teeth together, feeling even angrier than before. How could he be so reasonable, even penitent? Gods, no wonder Carrie was taking his side. "I remember."
He drew his gaze back to hers and seemed to read something there. "I'm sorry, I should go."
She nodded and turned back to the dishes. "Please don't forget to remind Carrie about dinner."
"I won't," he said. This time, he did not look back as he vanished towards the front door.
Once he had gone, Eva's knees gave out. She landed on the bench so heavily that it tipped and dumped her on the floor, but she ignored the pain, making no effort to get up again. Instead, she wrapped her arms over her head and began to sob.