Prologue
Sybil squeezed the lapel of her coat around her neck and shivered. She hated snow and more than anything, she hated snow in London when her car was refusing to start, forcing her to take the subway to go to work. And of course, Larry wasn't in town to give her a lift…
She was already several minutes late and she was beginning to prepare herself for her colleagues' complaints. However, she couldn't resist the temptation to stop to buy a good coffee at one of her favorite place. She drank a sip of the hot and strong beverage before shivering again against a gust of wind.
She hated this weather in the Capital and would have given anything to escape a few days under the sun. If only an urgent mission could come from an exotic Island…
As she was nearing the front door at last, a car drove in high speed by her in the street and drove into a pool of melted snow, splashing the sidewalk as much as her. Surprised by the cold water, she let out a little cry, stopped walking and took a big breath. She wanted to scream but restrained herself: it wasn't necessary to make a show in front of the Red Cross building and the car was already far away anyway.
She shook her coat and entered the building, her chin high and proud and, after having greeted the receptionist, she waited for the lift. She still had ten floors to go and then, in a few minutes, she will be at last safe and warm in her office.
Sybil Crawley's office
February 2012Squeezing preciously her mug of hot tea between her hands, Sybil made her way through the open space to reach her office after the daily briefing. Unfortunately, everything was quiet and nobody needed her at the other side of the world. She had to face it; her bikini will have to stay at the bottom of her drawer.
She passed by her boss office and looked at the man standing in front of the door, almost standing at attention. It was her boss's chauffeur and not without feeling a pinch in her heart and her belly like each time since two years, she closed the door of her own office behind her.
Inevitably and despite herself, her thoughts went to Tom Branson. She was wondering what her friend could be doing at this time. Was he cursing against London's snow too? Was he walking along a beach near his parent's home in Ireland? Was he working or was he in holidays? Did he have a wife…kids perhaps?
Sybil shivered at this idea and she took the frame sitting on her desk.
Tom…
What had he become? Since this long conversation they had in the garage putting an end to all their hopes, she never saw him again. It was like if he had vanished from the earth but also more cruelly, from her life. Oh, she knew by her "fiancé" he left the next day of this catastrophic conversation but, despite all her tries, she had never been able to find out what he had become or where he was living. Mme Hughes, her parent's ruler seemed to really not know and when she had the guts to ask Tom's mother, the woman wasn't exactly very welcoming and she just said coldly that « he was fine and that it was all she needed to know. » Regarding Bates and Anna, she was suspecting them to know something but, by respect for their friendship, she never pushed it…
She had had a pretty hard time with this silent disappearance, realizing that by saying « never », she really had not only put an end to any hope of a relationship with Tom but also to their friendship. And that was the hardest thing maybe, what was hurting the most. She would rather have him yell at her, talk about his anger, or cry even maybe. But instead, an absence and a silence heavy with meanings had taken over the presence of her friend that had been a constant for so many years.
She couldn't resent him. She knew what she had said even if today, she still was wondering if her decision had been the good one. And most of all, she knew how Tom could react when he was feeling hurt. And she had hurt him big time: with her lack of courage, with her decision, with her words.
So, like he seemed to have resigned himself to vanish from her life, she stopped to ask questions and had gone on with her life. And if it hadn't been easy at the beginning, she, little by little, had got used to his absence. Larry then had taken more and more importance in her life, taking over more or less this empty feeling in her heart. Sex from time to time, a few dinners out gave her the feeling of not being alone. They were living at his apartment, at hers, everywhere at the same time and she still couldn't really define their relationship even if, the ultimate goal she knew it, was a wedding to save her parents from ruin. Because it was what had forced her, in the first place, to refuse Tom's proposal. Tom had been her parents' chauffeur but also her friend for a long time and, to leave with him would have been a real bad joke to her family and the circle she was coming from, even in the 21th century.
As she was about to say yes to Tom even if their relationship never had been a physical one except for a few kisses and touches, her father had announced the bankruptcy of the family business and the loss of their fortune, crisis having hastened the things along with a bad management. Larry Grey, the son of one of the family's old friends, had then announced that he wanted to marry Sybil. And his family was doing more than well. In one word: they were rich. So Sybil had resigned herself or rather, she chose to be faithful to her family and didn't listen to her heart. She chose to save her family rather than her happiness and she regretted her choice almost every day now. Yet, almost two years later, they still were unmarried even if the Grey's family had helped her family to erase the debt.
Larry was her fiancé, her lover and a friend sometimes but she struggled to see more. She often thought about it but she couldn't really define her feelings for him. Larry was often shinning by his absence and, in these moments, she hated him more than anything. But when they were reunited, she forgot everything and was generally surprised to find his company rather nice and to be eager to see him again. But was it love? She was wondering sometimes if it wasn't for her only a way to replace Tom's absence.
Sybil didn't know. But what was very real was that, each time she was visiting her parents, everything was reminding her of the man she had once loved, her best friend but also, the man she had lost.
Her thoughts were interrupted by someone knocking at her door.
"Come in!" She called out, putting back down the frame in front of her.
"A delivery for you, Miss Crawley", said Cathy whose voice was muffled by a gigantic bunch of tropical flowers hiding her face. "From Larry Grey".
"Oh!" Exclaimed Sybil seeing the beauty of the bunch.
Cathy put the bulky bunch down on the desk and Sybil eagerly, took the note that a little Tahitian doll was holding in her hands.
"Does he have something to be forgiven for?" Asked Cathy.
"He was in Paris."
"It's very nice of him, Miss", noted Cathy. "It must have cost him a fortune…"
Sybil threw a knowing smile to her.
"You can leave now."
"I'm leaving", said Cathy rolling her eyes before closing the door behind her.
Sybil knew that Larry wasn't particularly liked by her colleagues, nor her friends. But when he was acting like this with such romantic gesture, in these brief instants where she could feel desired, everything else was not important anymore.
She opened the note and immediately recognized the fine writing of Larry.
« I can't wait to see you. It seemed an eternity. Join me to the Gauguin at 7PM. Bringthe Tahitian. »
Sybil chuckled because Larry was only gone for two days. She caught the little Tahitian and laughed even more seeing that her loincloth was moving with her hips. Larry often had this kind of little considerations and Sybil couldn't deny that she loved them.
To be continued...