WHO: Gregory, Camila & Anabel Marple. WHEN: The first Christmas after Camila disappeared. WHERE: The Marple Abode. SUMMARY: It's a Family Dinner where they talk about Things. WARNINGS: None.
As Camila Marple sat at her parents dining room table clad in a festive Christmas sweater she stared at her plate and tried to think of an area of conversation that they hadn’t yet exhausted. It was her first visit back since she’d left nearly everything and try as she might the slight sense of awkwardness hadn’t dissipated yet. But it would. It had to. Maybe with one more drink and a little more small talk.
“So -- how’s work?” She asked the room.
Anabel didn’t open her mouth to respond, trusting her husband would fill the silence, instead she took a bite of her steak, her eyes carefully trained on her daughter. She had a handful of questions she’d been wanting to ask Camila for a while, but she was willing to wait until the time was right.
“Oh, work’s... fine.” Gregory usually didn’t have all that much trouble filling silence. Honestly part of his job was calming owners as part of taking care of their animals. His fork hung in the air for a moment as he looked up at his daughter. This was not exactly a situation he had been anticipating until, well, they were faced with it. “Making sure people don’t get puppies and kittens for Christmas just to give them back next year.”
The pause seemed more weighty. He should probably eat, eating seemed like an excellent idea. “How’s... whatever you’re doing?” he added.
Camila watched her mother out of the corner of her eye before turning to look at Gregory as she answered. “I’m uhh -- well, it’s assistant work really, for a director -- smaller pictures but I’m learning a lot, making connections, everyone has to start somewhere.”
“Of course,” Anabel agreed easily. “Making connections to people is important to achieve your career goals. Although, we might know more about it if you’d shared your ideas with us.” She shrugged her shoulders. “How did that figure into your strategy?”
“That’s true.” Gregory motioned towards Anabel with the elbow closest to her. It was probably the gentlest way to put it, certainly. “You gave us a bit of a surprise. That is your mother’s area though.”
And the time for small talk was officially over. Camila leaned back in her chair as she tried not to look too much like the moody teenager she’d once been. There was no good or easy way to explain her reasons for leaving to anyone, let alone her parents.
“I --” she sighed. “I suppose I felt like if I didn’t leave then I never would.” She could feel the tension headache building. “I’ve been busy but I’ll try to call more.”
The answer wasn’t good enough for Anabel’s tastes and that was clear on her face. “Does that sound like a good excuse to your own ears?”
“It’s just, well, that doesn’t exactly provide an explanation.” Gregory set his fork down. There was a conversation to be had and it had been in the works since Camila had left.
“I don’t know that this is the sort of thing that has an explanation.” Camila started, pointedly blowing past the word excuse and all that it might imply. This was a conversation she’d attempted to practice in her head several times but it never got easier. “It happened, and I’m sorry I didn’t handle it better, particularly where you two were concerned. But it happened and it’s -- over now I can’t undo it, I can only move forward.”
Anabel took a sip of wine while she listened to her daughter. “We aren’t the only people who expected you to treat them differently,” she pointed out. A cold stare was her daughters only response. “Though I think we have a right to know when you decide to make another big move like that.”
“I would hope so.” Gregory looked to his wife for a moment, reaching out to take her hand before facing his daughter again. “We’re worried. It's all been very abrupt.”
“You don’t need to be worried,” sure she could have planned the move slower but in all honesty that hadn’t been working out. Julián wouldn’t leave his parents business, they’d been fighting more than usual, it had just happened. Sometimes you had to rip the band-aid off without thinking of the small burst of pain that would follow.
“I’m sorry that I didn’t deal with it better at the time and I will warn you of anything else that happens in the future. But it’s done now, I have a job, an apartment, a life.” She sighed before adding one last thought in a chipper tone. “And I’m home for Christmas, that’s nice, right?”
At least that was something Anabel could agree on - her daughter’s returning home was something she looked forward to. “Yes, it is. Though you should call more when you’re not here,” she added quickly. “Are you planning on seeing anyone else during your visit?” It probably wasn’t the most delicate way she could ask about Julián but it was Anabel’s best attempt at being subtle.
“Not that we don’t want to spend more time with you.” Gregory amended to the end of Anabel’s sentence. Not that it needed to be said but maybe it did. “But I’m sure there are plenty of people that wouldn’t mind seeing you.” Possibly Julián, though he wasn’t entirely sure how that would play out for either party.
“I haven’t made plans to see anyone else,” Camila shook her head ‘no’ as if to emphasize the point. Truthfully, well … “I missed you two.” There. She’d said the mushy thing, and once she’d admitted it aloud it was easier to relax back into her chair.
The admission was enough to make a genuine smile come to Anabel’s lips. “Well, we missed you too. I’m glad you’ve finally deemed it time to return for a visit.”
Gregory couldn’t help but be disarmed by the admission, his smile glowing bright. “And you’re always welcome here. More often, if you’re able to make the trip.”
Camila’s bright smile echoed her parents as she returned her attention to her food. “Maybe, we’ll see.”