Sooraya and Angelo: reminiscing

[xp_dust]

Sooraya and Angelo have dinner and reminisce about someone they lost.  

"You know..." Sooraya commented, sniffing the air appreciatively as she took a seat at the table. "... that smells really good. Like it's something with a lot of spices?" 

 

"Would you expect me to give you something that isn't good, little sister?", Angelo answered with a grin.

 

"Not really... I guess I'm just not really used to it?" Sooraya turned thoughtful. "I mean, you've got to admit that most of the time it's me cooking or we're meeting up for dinner somewhere... Not that I mind!" She almost immediately added. "It's just a nice change of pace. So what's on the menu for today?"  

 

"It's a birria", he said cheerfully.  "Don't worry, I made sure all the meat's OK for you to have."

 

"Birria? I think I've had it before, but it's been a while." Sooraya frowned as she searched her memory. "You might need to help a bit... wasn't it some kind of stew? I had it with tortillas I think?" 

 

"Yes, it's a stew."  He brought it over to the table.  "I think we probably had it at Mama's sometime."

 

"Looks like it fits perfectly with the weather." Sooraya gestured at the rain clattering against the window, the wind whistling around the stonework. "You'd think with it being nearly March we might get some spring weather, but this is just cold, rain, wind and more variations of the same."

 

He glanced up at the window and made a face.  "Hopefully it won't last too long like that."

 

"I was out  a few days ago. The snowdrops are out and the crocuses and even the daffodils are starting to peek out of the ground. So it must be coming..." Sooraya suddenly grinned and reached over to lift the lid of the pot. "Spring fever must be right around the corner. We haven't had so many young ones for a while. I wonder what we're in for..." 

 

"And a sudden influx of Guthries", he said with a grin.  "Mind you, they can't get up to worse things than my set did.  I hope."

 

Sooraya rolled her eyes at him affectionately. "You know, better not share too many of those tales. You might just give them idea's and they definitely don't need the inspiration." She held out her hand for Angelo's bowl, scooping up a healthy portion of the stew for both of them. "On the other hand... I'm not worried about most of the Guthries I think... but our purple haired cat girl on one hand..."  

 

He held out the bowl for his serving. "Yeah, and the hate on she seems to have got for little Hope."

 

Shooting him a bit of a startled look, Sooraya shook her head: "It's a little more complicated than that with Sharon..." She started, tentatively feeling her way with how much she could share. "She did make mistakes in how she handled some things. But Sharon came here with her own issues, just like all of us did... and needed more support then she knew she could ask for."

 

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not taking sides here", he said quickly.  "I haven't even met Hope yet, just seen what's been going on the journals.  You know this Sharon better than I do, too."

 

Sooraya took a moment to scoop up some of the stew with the tortilla, closing her eyes in delight as the spices exploded across her tongue. "Sorry, that was maybe a little harsh of me..." She finally spoke after she'd swallowed the food. "I've grown to love both little Hope and Sharon quite a bit, even though I haven't known them that long... I might be a little defensive." 

 

Angelo grinned at her.  "Got yourself a couple of adoptees, did you?"

 

"I wouldn't go that far yet..." A small smile played around lips as Sooraya added: "But I totally sound that way, don't I? It's kinda weird though, Ange, to experience it from the other side. It has made me wonder about a lot of things..." 

 

"And think about a certain person?" he asked more quietly.  "I think he'd be pleased to see it."

 

"I don't light the candles that often anymore... mostly just on birthdays, other important days... But the last few weeks I've been lighting his again. Not all the time, but often." Sooraya confessed softly, her stew mostly forgotten. "I wonder how he did it sometimes... and if I'm doing it right. Sometimes I imagine what his face'd look like if I told him some of the shenanigans..."

 

"I thought about him a lot when I was working with Frank", Angelo admitted. "Even borrowed from his playbook when I was Frank..."

 

"Frank... It's been a long time since I thought about him. Didn't you get him to punch you in the face?" Sooraya shook her head ruefully. "Though that definitely sounds like something Nate would have done. Let me guess, he did the same thing with you?"   

 

He returned an equally rueful smile.  "Yeah.  It seemed like a good idea at the time... and yeah, he did.  I can't remember exactly why now."

 

"I can't say that it's one I've ever used that one... nor have I tossed people in the lake..." Sooraya grinned at the memories of Nate's stories. "But I've taken plenty of other pages from his playbook and not just with the kids. He would have been so proud of your legal work, you know."   

 

"And of what you've done", Angelo countered.  "I don't know.  Sometimes I think about looking to see if there's a Nate Dayspring here... but what if he was totally different?"

 

"I've thought about it too sometimes... not just Nate. Yvette too and so many others. But I kinda felt it wasn't fair to them if I went looking for them. If I meet them... sure, that's one thing. But to find someone and project my expectations onto them... of a person who isn't here anymore... it doesn't feel right." Sooraya dropped her eyes, studying her stew intently as she quietly added: "It helps that I know that those we lost are waiting for us."  

 

Angelo nodded.  "And we've seen just how different the new people can be.  They just have the same names."

 

"In some cases it might be better not to know even." Sooraya simply concluded, thinking of the descriptions she had heard of little Hope's Cable. Sometimes they still settled in her stomach like a bunch of rocks. "I rather just..." She paused, searching for words. "I'd rather just keep their spirit alive and carry it forward.... if that makes sense?"   

 

"It does." He reached over and squeezed her hand.  "Keep lighting the candles."

 

"In more ways than one." Sooraya returned the squeeze, her eyes shimmering with just a bit of a wet sheen. "But I'm sorry... we're letting all the stew you worked so hard on get cold..."  

 

"Good thing about this stew.", Angelo said with a determined grin, "it reheats." 

 

Comments

[xp_icarus]

Oh this made me so emotional, great log guys

[xp_darcy]

This is really beautiful. I love their friendship.

[xp_catseye]

"Keep lighting the candles."

This was a very sweet log. It is sometimes startling to realize just how much time has passed and how many people have been lost over the game's run.