Title: The Treachery of Images (1/5)
Pairing: gen
Rating: K
Disclaimer: Title from a Magritte painting. Lookitup. LTM not mine.
Summary: If she were perfectly honest with herself, she'd admit that looks could be deceiving.
A/N: This is another ficlet. I saw the painting and was struck by… this. Hope you enjoy, thanks to all who read and comment.
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The famous pipe. How people reproached me for it! And yet, could you stuff my pipe? No, it's just a representation, is it not? So if I had written on my picture "This is a pipe," I'd have been lying!- Magritte
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~The Treachery of Images~
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For a week or two Emily fancied herself a photographer. She dreamt of working for National Geographic and traveling the world. Armed with her dad's old 8mm, she figured she'd get her start at home using her parents as worthy subjects.
There's a picture of her mom and dad from a few years back. It was taken at breakfast. She's thinks she tried making omelettes that ended up being scrambled eggs. She made toast as well, but that burned. She doesn't recall the holiday or occasion. Perhaps it was just because.
Her mom had reached out and wiped some crumbs from her dad's face. Emily caught the exact moment that her dad's eyes made contact with her mom's. The look on his face was a combination of gratitude and love dusted with caring.
Two weeks later, they told her they were getting a divorce.
That picture got ripped in half on a sunny Sunday afternoon. She taped it back together a couple weeks later, once her anger dissipated.
She still keeps it in her wallet, just behind her newly minted driver's license. Occasionally, Emily catches her dad casting that look, but it's only at her. Well, her and one other person, but it certainly isn't her mom. Emily figures that if she has to share her dad and his caring looks, it might as well be with Gillian.
Sometimes she wonders what happened to the happy couple in the picture. If she were perfectly honest with herself, she'd admit that looks could be deceiving. Just ask her dad.