*Sunday dinner-closed to Carwood and Jane Lipton*

[lt_blade]

Sonya would've lied if she said the disappearences lately didn't leave her affected. Besides the fact that only a few of them were even close to being friends, it never failed to remind her that she was still here and not back in Earthrealm. There were also fewer and fewer people that she could consider herself close to: on the one hand, it meant she didn't get as torn as others when they faced disappearances, but it felt strangely isolating.

It was for this that she was overcome with the desire to hold a sunday dinner for Jane and Lip. The mess with Rapture over..she hoped she could still consider them neighbors, and it would've been nice to cook for someone other than herself and the twins (who were at the moment in the 'will/won't eat stage).

Said twins were in a makeshift play pen with blocks and stacking rings, while Sonya started preparing for dinner. Since getting the pottery wheel, she was able to make some proper cups,plates and serving dishes, and with an outdoor kitchen she was able to make a dinner of seasoned goat shish kabobs with tomatoes and eggplant (wooden skewers instead of metal), along with some  rice and a simple salad-peach turnovers from the bakery served as dessert.

Eccentric yes, but then in a strange way it was fitting, and she wasn't sure eating a heavy meal would've been appreciated even in the evening weather.

She set about burning some dried lemon grass around the picnic table to keep the bugs away. It was probably too much to hope for to make this a common thing, but in lie of any other sort of cozy gathering-she'd take what she could make of it.

Comments

[bennet_beauty]

Jane was grateful to have a meal as a distraction. There seemed to be a large number of people departing and it was good to have somewhere to go. She held Emmy in her arms and rocked her gently, keeping her quiet so that she did not disturb the company.

[niceofyoutoask]

"How's the little lady doing?" Lipton asked, leaning over to put his hand on Jane's back and look down at Emmy. "I can take her for a bit if you need a break."

[bennet_beauty]

Jane rocked Emmy gently, staring down fondly at their daughter. "She does seem to take solitude and great loudness in turns, as though she wishes to make herself known. Luckily," she whispered. "I believe that now is a time of peace." Perhaps she did not feel forgotten or overlooked and was willing to sleep on.

[niceofyoutoask]

He smiled, fond. "Well, I know better than to disturb the peace." Emmy may be the youngest, but there wasn't much danger of her being actually forgotten any time soon.

[bennet_beauty]

Jane regarded the other children playing nearby before giving Carwood a rather amused look. "I don't think that the peace will last very long, whether we want it or not," she admitted. "The others will want to play with her soon, you know."

[niceofyoutoask]

"Well, that's true." He followed Jane's gaze to the children. "Duckie's done pretty well as an older brother so far, hasn't he?" He hadn't been particularly worried about it, but it was a tricky transition for any child to no longer be the youngest.

[bennet_beauty]

"He's sought my attention, but he does seem rather content knowing that there is a younger sibling that he can now mold in whatever way he chooses," Jane said, giving her middle child a knowing smile. "You were the eldest, were you not? As I am?"

[niceofyoutoask]

"Yes ma'am." He said warmly, his arm draped around her shoulders, keeping voice quiet so as not to disturb Emmy. "So keeping Rob, Nancy and Mary out of trouble fell to me. Rob was the one to really watch out for."

[bennet_beauty]

"I had both Kitty and Lydia to worry about," Jane admitted, but in the way that she enjoyed dealing with their issues, though Lizzy had always believed them to be wanting of certain traits. "But honestly, I do love them as much as I love Lizzy or Mary. They were all my sisters," she said, turning into Carwood's arms and pressing a kiss to his lips. "I do wonder if our Lydia will be as responsible as us."

[niceofyoutoask]

He would dearly have liked to have met her family, but that wasn't meant to be. "So far so good," he smiled, nodding to where the kids were playing. "She takes after her mama, after all."

[bennet_beauty]

"I do think she takes more after you!" Jane said, a bubble of laughter upon her lips as she let out her admittance, which she had felt deep in her heart. "You are very caring and responsible and kind, Carwood. I see that in her."

[niceofyoutoask]

He smiled, almost sheepishly pleased to hear that. "You think so?" In his mind, Liddy was his daughter, but he was too conscientious to forget that really, he was only her stepfather. He hoped he was a good father to her, and it warmed his heart to hear that Jane thought she might take after him a little bit.

And to think she'd almost been taken from them.

"How much do you think she'll remember of Rapture?" He said, even more quietly than before, even if there was no chance of any of children hearing him.

[bennet_beauty]

Jane glanced over to Lydia and where she was playing with Duckie and the twins. "I do hope she remembers nothing at all," Jane spoke, her voice grave. "But I do fear that she is of the age in which memories will start to form and if they are as singularly terrifying as what I imagine she endured, I do not know how quickly it will fade."

[lt_blade]

"Do you want anything to drink? Tea maybe, or some cider I got from Robb Stark-non alcoholic." It was a good break from tea and she could serve it to the girls if it wasn't fermented.

She was in the process of putting dinner on the table, but that didn't mean she was so rude as to neglect getting her guests something before hand.

Both girls looked up from their playing at the mention of drink. "'ider" Josephine called out, waving her arm.

'Cider, what'." So what if her own manners were lacking, that didn't mean she couldn't try to instill some of them into her girls.

"Pwease."

That was close enough for her.

[niceofyoutoask]

"Hey there," Lipton said with a wide, friendly smile, Duckie held on his hip and Lydia at his side holding his hand. "Look at this spread!"

He turned to Lydia, placing Duckie down on his feet. "How about you two go see what the twins are up to?"

[lt_blade]

Both twins waved over when they saw Lydia and Duckie. Strictly speaking, they were too young to really get the idea of 'sharing', but they could recognize people if they've seen them often enough-Lydia and Duckie being two of them.

Sonya turned towards them before looking back at Lipton. "If we're eating outside, I figured something grilled would be appreciated more than something roasted."

And she wasn't so sure how keen the kids would've been on grilled 'whole' fish.

"You want anything to drink? I have cider, water or mint tea."

Again, it may've been late afternoon, but it was still hot enough that cold tea would've probably been better than hot.

[niceofyoutoask]

He watched as his two oldest joined the twins near the play pen, then took a seat. "I'll have some of that cider if you don't mind, thanks."

He made sure Jane and Emmy were settled, then turned back to Sonya.

"It all sounds great to me. You need any help with anything?"

[lt_blade]

"Cider it is." It was what she was in the mood for and it would've been easier than getting seperate drinks.

"If you want to, you can help me with the tableware inside."

The silverware was on the way when she got the drinks, so extra hands would've been appreciated. Not that she couldn't do this on her own-it was just quicker this way and he did offer.

[niceofyoutoask]

"You got it," he stood, following her inside.

"How're things, these days?" He asked, when they were out of the kid's hearing. He knew Sonya had struggled, with the kids, with losing Hanzo, and it couldn't hurt to ask.

[lt_blade]

She handed him the silverware and plates from the box where they were stored. When he asked her how she was, the mechanical motions of getting things out helped her settle an answer for him.

It was a toss up between which was more disturbing-the numbness she felt from it, or the pain that came because she was numb to it.

"Better..." She let the answer drag, not out of making it a question, but truth was she wasn't so sure. "It's easier..and I haven't been so close to any of the disappearances that it's still painful."

There was some irony in being as isolated as she was-not having to deal with as much pain as she would've otherwise had she did know some of the disappeared.

[niceofyoutoask]

If there was a right way of dealing with a loss like that, Lipton didn't know it. He'd seen more people than he cared to admit fray around the edges because of it, his mother, Buck, and Malarkey just a few of them.

"Better is good," he said mildly, taking the cutlery and plates he was handed. "Glad to hear you dodged the bullets flying around with those disappearances lately."

[lt_blade]

The smile she gave wasn't entirely a happy one-it was the sort of relief one felt after dodging a bullet, only to find someone close to them got it instead.

"It is, but then also consider that..well, I haven't entirely been social lately." She wasn't sure which was more sad-that she stopped going out, or the self awareness that she wasn't hurt because she wasn't being being social. "Haven't really felt inclined to since..well, everything."

Since Hanzo, since seeing the Ship..since Rapture. It just became harder and hard to talk about such things-so she didn't.

She got the cider from where most of the 'cool' food was stored, pulling out two tumblers, before looking back at him again. "You think Jane and Lydia would like some? Or maybe some mint tea instead-both are non alchoholic."

She didn't really trust herself around alcohol in times like this.

[niceofyoutoask]

"Sure, that would save you from having to put the tea on, too." He said easily, figuring it would keep her from having to make several more trips inside.

"Ah, you've got the girls and the ITF - seems like you're still keeping pretty busy to me."

[lt_blade]

She got out several more mugs, managing to balance them and the container as she walked with him outside. Months of multi-tasking with twins came in handy for several reasons, this being one of them.

"Busy yes, but hardly the chance to really connect with people." She said this as a fact, not in a way that suggesting whining or bemoaning.

She wasn't even sure why she was telling him this. With three kids and one of them still an infant, he was pretty busy enough. "Also went back to the catscratch club. With all of the disappearances, Helen's in a lot of need of help-Nyana and Val as babysitters."

With the hours of the place well past midnight, she wouldn't have even considered going back unless she could get one.

[niceofyoutoask]

"That's true," he admitted. "But hey, that what you have Jane and I for, right?" He offered a friendly smile, knowing it wasn't much.

"Yeah, I bet they could use a hand. Children's Office, too - they're still great about taking our little gang, but with Savannah and Danny gone, they've lost some key people."

[lt_blade]

It wasn't much, he would've been right about that, but she returned the smile to show she appreciated the sentiment.

She set the drinks outside on table.

"I've a time dealing with the twins as it is. Your kids I wouldn't mind, since your youngest two are just that young and Lydia's a sweetheart anyway, but any more than that." She shook her head. "They're kids, not soldiers-I wouldn't know how to go that far into discipline or keeping them busy."

[niceofyoutoask]

He shook his head. "Oh, I wasn't suggesting you enlist." He said with a smile, "although I'm sure you'd have the lot of them running drills in know time flat." He put the cutlery down on the table, then shifting the plates so he could start setting them down as well. "Just that there's been a heck of a string of disappearances lately. If this were the ETO, I'd expect a new truck of replacements any minute."

[lt_blade]

"That's actually a favorite game with the girls. Throw a bunch of things around the room and have to see which could get to which toy the fastest and return it to the bucket." She frowned. "Unfortunately it does lead to hitting, which I don't think the parents would take too well to that."

Competitiveness was ingrained in human nature after all-even to little girls less than two years old.

The image of replacements had her laughing, even as she felt nostalgic for the army. "There's something to see. Imagine some of Easy wrangling the kids."

She turned to bring the kids over to the dinner table: Dani toddling off with her hand while Joey wanted to be carried. Both girls were seated at table.

"This little one here already has a good arm." She messed up Joey's hair, making the little girl bat her arms at her hand to try and dislodge her hand with a resounding 'Don't want'.