Title: Out of the Mouths of Babes
Category: TV Shows ยป Veronica Mars
Author: GwenhwyfarRose
Language: English, Rating: Rated: K+
Genre: Angst/General
Published: 05-07-11,
Chapters: 1, Words: 832
Disclaimer: Veronica Mars and all of its characters are not mine. I just pull them out to play with them from time to time. I also stole a line from Definitely, Maybe, which I don't own either, but it was one of the things that fueled the creative fire.
"Mommy, do you still love Daddy?"
It's question that shocks her at five thirty on a Tuesday afternoon, but she doesn't let it show as she keeps chopping up the carrots and dropping them into the salad bowl in front of her. Instead she pulls chicken strips out of the fridge to add to her chopping block and looks at her ten year old daughter.
"Depends. Are you a vegetarian this week?" She asks with the same serious tone that her child used on her.
It takes Penny a minute to consider it and when her daughter shakes her head in a negative she realizes that she's not about to get away with not answering the question. "Why does it depend?" Penny thinks about her question for a moment then rephrases. "What does it depend on?" She asks instead.
She knows she's stuck. For a woman hell bent on not lying to her children, there's no real way for her to answer the question without baring her soul to her ten year old daughter. So to buy herself some time she pops a cherry tomato into her mouth and pretends to ponder the question. It only works for so long, and after she swallows she knows that if she doesn't answer soon the question will come again.
"It depends on your definition of love." She decides, stealing a chopped celery piece out of the salad and offering a tomato to her child. Penny looks unamused for a split second, and she could swear that her daughter never looked more like her father. "If you're talking the 'true love always' kind of love that your aunt and uncle have for each other then no, I don't still love your daddy." She pauses and watches as confusion fights understanding on Penny's face. "But if you're talking about the affectionate kind of love that I have for your Uncle Wallace, then yes, I still love your daddy."
Penny nods and then frowns. "What's the difference?"
And once again she's back to wondering where her child comes up with the questions. She's stumped again and this time she's not entirely sure how she's going to get out of it. "I love your daddy." She says after a moment, trying her hardest to choose her words very carefully and not chop her fingers off all at the same time. "But I'm not in love with your daddy."
"Are you in love with me?" Penny props her head up on her hand on the counter and she looks up indignantly when her other hand gets popped trying to steal a piece of green pepper that her mother is chopping now.
"Daddy, do you still love Mommy?"
It takes him a minute to realize that the question really did come out of his ten year old daughter's mouth before he smiles and drops the piece of beef that he's pulling off of the skillet onto her plate. "Depends." He answers after a moment, watching her play with her hair while she waits for a response. "Why do you want to know?"
"Because Jamie said that you and Mommy don't love each other any more and that's why you got divorced."
The look on her face is her mother's look and he can't resist pulling her into a hug and kissing the top of her blonde curls. "Your cousin couldn't be more wrong." He tells her as he wraps both arms around her one more time before moving to the other side of the kitchen island and concentrating on the beef. If he burns another meal his children really will start to make fun of him. "I happen to love your Mommy very much."
"True love always' kind of love, or affectionate kind of love?" Penny asks and her father shoots her a look from the other side of the room.
"Why are you suddenly so curious?" He deflects the question perfectly as he pulls the salad from the fridge and sets it on the table with the beef, sliding the already cut pieces onto his sons plate.
"What kind of love do you have for me and Kay Ray?" She tilts her head to the side the way her mother does and he knows that he's toast if she flips her hair.
He thinks for a moment, returning to the fridge to grab the milk and then looks at her on his way back to the table. "The never-ending kind." He kisses the top of her head again as he pours the milk into glasses and then sets it on the island. "Now go wash up and tell your brother to get ready for dinner."
One her way out of the kitchen she pauses and with her back to him she wonders. "If people can fall out of the 'true love always' kind of love, can they fall out of the never-ending?" Once it's out she shakes her head and leaves the room to do what she's told.