Sofia, Amanda - Christmas Gifts
Dec. 25th, 2006 06:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsAmanda has one last gift to give, and summons up the courage to brave the lion's den.
It had taken Amanda all Christmas Day and part of the evening to summon up the courage to impart her final Christmas present. The rest had been easy, even Betsy, but this... well, to be honest, it was pretty lame. But she hadn't wanted to leave anyone out, and so she'd racked her brain for something to cobble together, and at the time it had seemed like a good idea. Only now... it looked rather pathetic, really.
"Oh stop being such a big girl's blouse," Amanda growled at herself, and knocked on Sofia's apartment door, her other hand, holding the gift, behind her back.
There was a long moment of silence, almost enough to give perfect reasoning for a retreat, before Sofia finally opened the door, the thick curls she had worn around her shoulders for the holiday, pulled back into a ponytail. She looked younger and beaten, all in an instant. "Amanda," she said, stepping back enough that the girl could enter if she now chose.
"Sorry to bother you," Amanda said, taking a breath and stepping into Sofia's apartment. It was the first time she'd ever crossed the threshold, and she strove to not be too obvious in her curiosity. "I, um, I brought you something. Christmas present. It's not much, but... well..." She trailled off awkwardly. "Just wanted to do something, seeing how we're all cooped up here together."
"You're no bother," Sofia replied, her voice lower but not quite back to it's regular, even neutral so much as it was, perhaps, soothing.
While Sofia's office had been done in powerful colours -- deep cranberry, rich browns -- her home was something altogether different. The palest of dove greys coated the walls, while wide, battered planks of oak mapped out the floor. A small sectional, cloud white, divided the room into a place for reading and, behind the back of the couch, meditation. Of what Amanda could see of the kitchen, and the small open crack the bedroom door was open, they were done in a blue cousin of the grey.
"Sit," she continued, but it was more an offer than what would normally, especially from her, be a demand. She took one piece of the sectional, a book she'd obviously been reading earlier held open on the arm, and a knit throw laying in a heap nearby. "I appreciate the gesture."
"'S not much," Amanda began, bringing her hand out from behind her back so she could perch on the edge of the couch - nice furnishings always made her a little nervous, in case she made a mess or dirtied something. But she liked the look of it - Sofia's apartment was rather soothing, in its way. "Any way, I know you like plants and all, and I had this growing myself, so I did you up a cutting..." And with that, she handed over the gift.
It was, as she'd said, not much. A mug, slightly chipped, that had been filled with potting mix and a small lavendar plant added. Amanda didn't grow anything besides herbs, but she figured Sofia would appreciate something growing, what with various small hints. Red and gold Christmas ribbon, scavenged from a gift from someone else, had been tied around the mug in an attempt to make it festive.
There was a silent pause, as Sofia took the mug in both of her hands, staring at it. Finally, she brought the plant up, stroking the frail little cutting with one fingertip and her face broke into a white smile. "I get headaches," she told Amanda, with no other explanation, having faith that the girl would know what she, and how much the gift, meant.
The lavender was set on an arm's reach table -- for small meals, or drinks, one could safely assume -- and Sofia raised herself from the couch to come beside Amanda, encircling her torso with both arms and
no warning. "Thank you. I love it."
The girl let out a small, surprised noise and stiffened, just for a moment. But then she relaxed, awkwardly returning the hug, the normally-hard lines of her face softening. "Um, you're welcome?" she hazarded, not really sure how to deal with the situation, but so very pleased at the reaction. She'd done something right by Sofia, it seemed.
The tender moment was cut abruptly short by the shrill ringing of the telephone; Sofia noticeably started, took a breath and pulled away, with a wry smile. "You'd think the telemarketers would ease on Christmas. Just a moment?" she asked, retreating at a clip towards her bedroom.
"Um, yeah..." Amanda sat back, knee jiggling nervously as she looked around Sofia's apartment, for wont of anything else to do whilst the older woman was on the phone - it seemed wrong, somehow, to just up and leave. As her gaze glanced off the room features, she realised there was very little in the way of personal effects - no photographs, no pictures, no little knick knacks that were obviously gifts from someone well-meaning but possibly a bit clueless... all those little things you acquired as a matter of course, being part of a family. It was, in a strange way, like Remy's apartment. Only with a better colour scheme and nicer furniture.
The call continued, Sofia's voice rising and falling in the next room, too soft for the words or tone to be heard. Amanda felt a bit like a burglar, sittig here and casing the place whilst Sofia was gone, so she got up and padded over to the bedroom door, intent on letting Sofia know she'd let herself out. But as she reached the partially-closed door, she paused. Sofia's voice was audible now, sounding tight and strained and yet almost pleading, trying to keep things together. Totally unlike the Ice Princess they all knew and made jokes about.
"Of course. Yes, father, I know you're busy, but you were too busy for my birthday- no, I'm not taking a tone with you, I'm merely- Fine. Fine. You'd already booked the plane ticket, I don't see why you- yes, you explained to me that you didn't see a point with the quarantine already, I heard you. I'm repeating myself because I would have, I mean to say, you simply didn't ever arrive, and I would have like- right. Of course. No, Derek couldn't see me, he's- I didn't say that Derek's excuse was more valid than yours! He just didn't happen to promise me he would spend Christmas with me and then randomly not show up, without so much as word! He somehow managed to remember my birthday, and we're not even related! I am perfectly calm, don't you start your goodbyes and hang..."
Sofia slumped, a breathy sob echoing in the dark room, as she gingerly returned the phone to it's cradle, hand still resting along it's back. "...up on me." There was a sniff, a deep breath, and she turned around, the edge of her finger up against the wet of her eye to wipe off the smudged makeup there. It was in that position that she froze, caught in the sliver of light from the doorway and Amanda's pitying gaze.
"They're more mean this time of year," she said briskly, pushing through the door and the girl and back into the living room. "Well, you've filled your alloted Christmas time with me, and didn't even have to spend all of it in the same room. Aren't you lucky? You may go."
Amanda's instinctive reaction, born of years of being pushed away, was to close up herself, say something scathing and rude. But... She remembered the expression on Sofia's face as she'd taken the plant, the almost pleading note in her voice as she spoke on the phone, and suddenly she saw things a lot more clearly than she had before, understood why Sofia behaved the way she did.
Sofia's mask, after all, wasn't that different from Amanda's own.
"No worries," she said, careful to keep any kind of pity out of her voice, allow Sofia what dignity she needed. Just the casual, friendly tones she used with Wanda or Pete, every day. "I'll let you get back to it." She gave Sofia a smile, a genuine one, making a gift of it. "I'll see you later, Sof."
Making an affirmative noise, Sofia picked up her book again, determinedly avoiding Amanda's eyes as she blindly tried to find her place. She gestured carelessly at the door, rereading the word
'unceremoniously' over and over in the middle of the page. "Feel free to let yourself out."
With a nod, Amanda went to do so. About to close the door behind her, she paused, stuck her head around the corner of it and said, softly: "Merry Christmas."
Then she closed the door, the click loud in Sofia's quiet apartment.
It had taken Amanda all Christmas Day and part of the evening to summon up the courage to impart her final Christmas present. The rest had been easy, even Betsy, but this... well, to be honest, it was pretty lame. But she hadn't wanted to leave anyone out, and so she'd racked her brain for something to cobble together, and at the time it had seemed like a good idea. Only now... it looked rather pathetic, really.
"Oh stop being such a big girl's blouse," Amanda growled at herself, and knocked on Sofia's apartment door, her other hand, holding the gift, behind her back.
There was a long moment of silence, almost enough to give perfect reasoning for a retreat, before Sofia finally opened the door, the thick curls she had worn around her shoulders for the holiday, pulled back into a ponytail. She looked younger and beaten, all in an instant. "Amanda," she said, stepping back enough that the girl could enter if she now chose.
"Sorry to bother you," Amanda said, taking a breath and stepping into Sofia's apartment. It was the first time she'd ever crossed the threshold, and she strove to not be too obvious in her curiosity. "I, um, I brought you something. Christmas present. It's not much, but... well..." She trailled off awkwardly. "Just wanted to do something, seeing how we're all cooped up here together."
"You're no bother," Sofia replied, her voice lower but not quite back to it's regular, even neutral so much as it was, perhaps, soothing.
While Sofia's office had been done in powerful colours -- deep cranberry, rich browns -- her home was something altogether different. The palest of dove greys coated the walls, while wide, battered planks of oak mapped out the floor. A small sectional, cloud white, divided the room into a place for reading and, behind the back of the couch, meditation. Of what Amanda could see of the kitchen, and the small open crack the bedroom door was open, they were done in a blue cousin of the grey.
"Sit," she continued, but it was more an offer than what would normally, especially from her, be a demand. She took one piece of the sectional, a book she'd obviously been reading earlier held open on the arm, and a knit throw laying in a heap nearby. "I appreciate the gesture."
"'S not much," Amanda began, bringing her hand out from behind her back so she could perch on the edge of the couch - nice furnishings always made her a little nervous, in case she made a mess or dirtied something. But she liked the look of it - Sofia's apartment was rather soothing, in its way. "Any way, I know you like plants and all, and I had this growing myself, so I did you up a cutting..." And with that, she handed over the gift.
It was, as she'd said, not much. A mug, slightly chipped, that had been filled with potting mix and a small lavendar plant added. Amanda didn't grow anything besides herbs, but she figured Sofia would appreciate something growing, what with various small hints. Red and gold Christmas ribbon, scavenged from a gift from someone else, had been tied around the mug in an attempt to make it festive.
There was a silent pause, as Sofia took the mug in both of her hands, staring at it. Finally, she brought the plant up, stroking the frail little cutting with one fingertip and her face broke into a white smile. "I get headaches," she told Amanda, with no other explanation, having faith that the girl would know what she, and how much the gift, meant.
The lavender was set on an arm's reach table -- for small meals, or drinks, one could safely assume -- and Sofia raised herself from the couch to come beside Amanda, encircling her torso with both arms and
no warning. "Thank you. I love it."
The girl let out a small, surprised noise and stiffened, just for a moment. But then she relaxed, awkwardly returning the hug, the normally-hard lines of her face softening. "Um, you're welcome?" she hazarded, not really sure how to deal with the situation, but so very pleased at the reaction. She'd done something right by Sofia, it seemed.
The tender moment was cut abruptly short by the shrill ringing of the telephone; Sofia noticeably started, took a breath and pulled away, with a wry smile. "You'd think the telemarketers would ease on Christmas. Just a moment?" she asked, retreating at a clip towards her bedroom.
"Um, yeah..." Amanda sat back, knee jiggling nervously as she looked around Sofia's apartment, for wont of anything else to do whilst the older woman was on the phone - it seemed wrong, somehow, to just up and leave. As her gaze glanced off the room features, she realised there was very little in the way of personal effects - no photographs, no pictures, no little knick knacks that were obviously gifts from someone well-meaning but possibly a bit clueless... all those little things you acquired as a matter of course, being part of a family. It was, in a strange way, like Remy's apartment. Only with a better colour scheme and nicer furniture.
The call continued, Sofia's voice rising and falling in the next room, too soft for the words or tone to be heard. Amanda felt a bit like a burglar, sittig here and casing the place whilst Sofia was gone, so she got up and padded over to the bedroom door, intent on letting Sofia know she'd let herself out. But as she reached the partially-closed door, she paused. Sofia's voice was audible now, sounding tight and strained and yet almost pleading, trying to keep things together. Totally unlike the Ice Princess they all knew and made jokes about.
"Of course. Yes, father, I know you're busy, but you were too busy for my birthday- no, I'm not taking a tone with you, I'm merely- Fine. Fine. You'd already booked the plane ticket, I don't see why you- yes, you explained to me that you didn't see a point with the quarantine already, I heard you. I'm repeating myself because I would have, I mean to say, you simply didn't ever arrive, and I would have like- right. Of course. No, Derek couldn't see me, he's- I didn't say that Derek's excuse was more valid than yours! He just didn't happen to promise me he would spend Christmas with me and then randomly not show up, without so much as word! He somehow managed to remember my birthday, and we're not even related! I am perfectly calm, don't you start your goodbyes and hang..."
Sofia slumped, a breathy sob echoing in the dark room, as she gingerly returned the phone to it's cradle, hand still resting along it's back. "...up on me." There was a sniff, a deep breath, and she turned around, the edge of her finger up against the wet of her eye to wipe off the smudged makeup there. It was in that position that she froze, caught in the sliver of light from the doorway and Amanda's pitying gaze.
"They're more mean this time of year," she said briskly, pushing through the door and the girl and back into the living room. "Well, you've filled your alloted Christmas time with me, and didn't even have to spend all of it in the same room. Aren't you lucky? You may go."
Amanda's instinctive reaction, born of years of being pushed away, was to close up herself, say something scathing and rude. But... She remembered the expression on Sofia's face as she'd taken the plant, the almost pleading note in her voice as she spoke on the phone, and suddenly she saw things a lot more clearly than she had before, understood why Sofia behaved the way she did.
Sofia's mask, after all, wasn't that different from Amanda's own.
"No worries," she said, careful to keep any kind of pity out of her voice, allow Sofia what dignity she needed. Just the casual, friendly tones she used with Wanda or Pete, every day. "I'll let you get back to it." She gave Sofia a smile, a genuine one, making a gift of it. "I'll see you later, Sof."
Making an affirmative noise, Sofia picked up her book again, determinedly avoiding Amanda's eyes as she blindly tried to find her place. She gestured carelessly at the door, rereading the word
'unceremoniously' over and over in the middle of the page. "Feel free to let yourself out."
With a nod, Amanda went to do so. About to close the door behind her, she paused, stuck her head around the corner of it and said, softly: "Merry Christmas."
Then she closed the door, the click loud in Sofia's quiet apartment.
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Date: 2006-12-26 04:13 am (UTC)It's a good thing it's bloody Christmas.
(:DDDD)
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Date: 2006-12-26 06:05 am (UTC)