They're Playing Our Song: 25th of December (3a)
By C.
Disclaimer: ABC owns 'em. The subtitle is from Everything But the Girl's "25th of December "; the song hummed is Jann Arden's "Hangin' by a Thread".
AN: Ok – so it's slightly delayed...but unfortunately, it's not like they're using Liza for anything else so...there will also be the mentioning of a character which will be introduced later on...I hope you enjoy him as much as the characters will.
And I see forests and its the 25th of December, and my old man plays the piano for Christmas, He plays the piano for Christmas,
And we're all there, all the aunties and uncles, and the angle's on the top of the tree, Up there on the top of the tree
-25th of December
Wednesday, December 24, 2003 – 6.38 pm
'The plan was simple', Liza reassured herself as she slammed her car door shut with her foot. She would go to the porch, knock on the door, deposit the armload of gifts onto whoever opened the door and would march back to her car, pick up Stuart and Marian, and spend Christmas with the Chandlers and Colby. She would retire to her old bedroom and spend her evening watching bad Christmas specials and working on the data files for Chandler Inc's upcoming acquisition of Hunter Industries and Wei Securities. The blizzard would have no impact on her. She wouldn't let it.
As she made it to the porch, she realized that she wouldn't be able to knock at the door, her arms laden down with presents from Mia. This would not be the last thing to go wrong this evening. Liza kicked the door with her foot, vowing Mia would pay her back for making her scuff her favorite boots, and for making Liza drop off the gifts she had forgotten, and on top of all that - for making Liza wait in the snow and suffer a bad hair day. From outside, she could hear the laughter and the yuletide joy emanating from inside the Martin house and it made her sick. To calm the swells in her stomach, she ran over her plan once more – so engrossed in her planning perfection that she didn't realize that the door opened before her. "Santa- " the smirking familiar voice began, "You're a little early."
"Well," replied Liza, thrusting the gifts towards Tad. "I didn't think coal would weigh so much, but there you have it. Goodnight!" And with a turn of the heel, she began her decent down the porch stairs. "You can come in, you know." Tad called out after her. "Have some eggnog and partake in the Christmas spirit."
"Bah-humbug!" Liza replied from the lawn. "Besides, with such a charming offer like that, how could I accept?"
"Charming offer? You want a charming offer? I'll show you a charming offer!" And with a crash, Tad dropped the armload onto the floor and grabbed some snow from the porch and formed it into a snowball which he let loose at the back of Liza (which missed her by a mile) and shouted, "How's that for charming, now are you coming in or not?"
"Well, Tad," She bent down and formed a carefully crafted snowball of her own, "Someone has to show you how to not throw like a girl!" And with perfect aim, she threw her snowball. It was truly a magnificent sight, gliding through the air like that – that is until Tad stepped back and the ball hit Joe Martin square in the chest as he stepped in front of the door to see who his son was yelling at.
"Great arm, Liza." He called out to her, wiping the snow off the Rudolph from his sweater.
"Thanks Doctor Martin."
"Would you like to come in? We can discuss you joining the hospital's soft ball team."
"I'd really just prefer to crawl into a hole right now, but thanks for the offer!" She shouted back, humiliated beyond belief. (From inside the house, Opal's voice was heard commenting on this.) "I'm afraid we're all out of holes, but we have plenty of eggnog. Come in for a few minutes. Let the storm ease up." After a moment's hesitation, Liza sighed and agreed to come in. And from the moment that door closed behind her – Liza knew she was in for a very ... evening (she couldn't even think of the word to use to describe what sort of evening this would be) based on the Pine Valley citizens which were gathered in the Martin's living room: Opal, Ruth, Mia, Simone (Liza had to hide her double take on that one behind the act of shaking off some snow), Jamie and Brooke. "Merry Christmas," she offered weakly, feeling ill.
For the first hour awkward conversations abounded around Liza, none of which were aimed at her and her eyes trained to the storm outside the windows. She attempted to make a break for it at one point, rising and declaring that the storm had lightened, only to be shut down by Tad (who had spent the past hour with everyone but her), and being half-heartedly invited by Ruth to stay for Christmas dinner.
So began the second hour of her ordeal: being seated around the table with the Martins, keeping her head down and her answers limited to monosyllabic words. Feeling removed from her element and surrounded by people who had made no attempt to hide their contempt of her made Liza oddly quiet and melancholic for Christmases past: Jake falling out of trees and huddling with her for warmth, sleeping on her father's lap while they waited for 'Santa', and holidays at the dorms when they were in school. The children of the divorced and depressed gathered around to commiserate and compare horror stories. Liza was proud to remember she always won, thanks to Tad and Marian. A smile unconsciously rose to her lips as she recalled spending a Christmas eve with Peter in ... a bar of sorts. Peter. Peter would know how to get through a night like this.
After picking politely at some of the food placed on her plate, Liza quietly excused herself and slipped into the Martin kitchen with her laptop. It was antisocial behavior, she realized, but necessary to get away from all the mindless chatter and the crackling logs and the heat rising from the mashed potatoes and the fire in the fire place. The kitchen was, strangely enough, cooler than the dining room and more peaceful. Here she could work on her documents in peace, she explained to herself, unpacking her laptop and starting it up, her absence was probably welcome. Aside from the looks of pity tossed to her by Mia and even Simone, she had hardly been acknowledged. While that hurt in some bizarre way which she had never thought possible, Liza had learned a long time ago that hurt is useless. Best to keep working – eventually the hurt would fade and the millions would grow. So she called up a random playlist of music to block out the festivities and set herself to work.
An hour (or two, or possibly three) later (she really wasn't keeping track anymore), the solace of the kitchen was intruded upon by the entire clan, their arms filled with dirty dishes and leftovers. Like an assembly line, they began the arduous task of bagging, foiling, wrapping and tupperwear- ing the remains. Liza continued to work for a couple of moment, but found herself unable to concentrate once Jamie and Tad began a swordfight with the thigh bones off the turkey, flinging little bits of meat everywhere, including Liza's laptop screen which seemed to attract a particularly greasy piece of dark meat. It was at this moment her cell phone rang, sparing the younger Martin men her wrath. "Hello?" She picked up, ignoring the glances Ruth, Opal and Brooke tossed to one another over the turkey carcass. "Jonathan? What time is it there? How is it going? In ENGLISH, please. The only German I know is 'willkommen' and 'Goldshlager'!" (Somewhere behind her, Simone applauded her competitor's drink of choice.) "What? NO! That's ridiculous. He's lying through his teeth! How do I know? Because Wendy just e-mailed me from Beijing with documents that show them getting rid of all their liquid assets. That's how I know. Tell him you're insulted and go to your room and pack up. You're coming home. When he finds that out, he'll stop you before you can put the little shampoos in your suitcase. Call me back. Oh, and Jonathan? Merry Christmas." She hung up, rose from her seat, took off her glasses and made her way through the bodies where Simone and Mia were having a particularly difficult time with the dish washing duties they adopted. Smiling, she relieved them of their task and set them forth to help Ruth with whatever was left. "Oh Liza, don't worry about that, I'll do that in a minute" Ruth called from the living room where she was wiping the table down. "It's alright Mrs. Martin, I don't mind." And with some half-hearted arguing on both their sides, Ruth left Liza alone in the kitchen to wash the dishes while Mia watched, perched on the island counter. "What are you doing?"
"Washing dishes."
"That's obvious, Liza. I mean, why are you acting like this?"
"Like what?"
"Like this sulky child? A prissy princess? I don't know – like an idiot?"
"I'm acting in a manner in which they expect me to act. I hate to disappoint, Mia, you know that."
"How do they want you to act?"
"Like a bitch. Pass me that dish? It makes it easier for them to continue this vendetta they have. Thanks."
"Do you hear yourself? Vendetta? They are not the Gotti clan, they have no vendetta against you. They treat you the way they do because you act the way you do."
"You're sweet, Mia. Sweet, but naive. They don't like me. They think I'm ... I don't know ... tainted trash set to destroy the lives of their little boys. It's not tonight, Mia-it's always. They simply tolerate me."
"They don't still-"
"Don't still what? Mia? Hate me for ruining Tad and Dixie's marriage? Corrupting Jake? And what they think is breaking him and Ally up? They have a list of wrongs I've done them, and if hating me makes it any easier for them to get over it, so be it."
"So your contrition is to act like a snotty bitch? I'm sorry. I don't believe that. I think they really did want you to stay tonight, and you turned it around and made the entire situation awkward for them. I think they see through you Liza. I think they see through this act and know that you're this amazing person."
"Mia," Liza lifted her wet hands from the sink and dried them on a dishcloth. "Listen to this-" She grabbed her sister's arm and dragged her to the door where they both listened carefully to Ruth, Opal, Simone and Brooke setting the table for dessert:
Ruth: Well it was nice of her to offer to do the dishes, I suppose.
Simone: Sure was.
Opal: But did you see how quickly she took off from the table? And how she didn't even eat? Holier than thou, on Christmas, too.
Brooke: Maybe she wasn't feeling well.
Ruth: Well then I hope the snow clears soon, so she can go.
Opal: And the looks she kept tossing to Tad?
Simone: I didn't see any looks.
Brooke: It can't be easy for her, here with us.
Simone: But I suppose I couldn't monitor every glance she gave, right?
Opal: I just know the sooner she leaves, the happier we'll all be. Right, Ruth?
Ruth: I suppose. It's just that – why couldn't she be sweeter or something, more like Mia or Simone, rather than –
Brooke: Herself?
Ruth: Well yes. I just don't-
"Well, now what, Mia?" Liza asked as she returned to the sink. "Try hearing that – to your face – every day."
"So, you're going to hide in the kitchen? Let them keep saying those things about you?" "It's true, isn't it?"
"But – Tad doesn't mind."
"Yes, Tad does. Do you think it doesn't affect how he sees me? Knowing what Ruth and Opal say about me, compared to what they say about you two? I won't make him choose what to believe Mia, his parents or his friend; because I know I would lose in a heartbeat."
A moment of silence passed between the two sisters as Mia let Liza compose herself. Finally, she grabbed a dishcloth and moved towards her sister. "Here, let me help."
"Thanks Mia- but you should go out. They'll be missing you. Someone has to represent the Colby girls!" So Mia left her sister alone with the dirty dishes and a laptop full of music.
Liza didn't actually mind doing dishes. It gave her a productive excuse for escaping the family activities as well as provided her a time to think. She got that so rarely nowadays with the upcoming acquisition; any time not spent at the office was spent with Colby. Her mind raced in a hundred directions, none of which she particularly enjoyed. She sighed and continued the task at hand, all the while humming softly with the music, "Oh look at me, at all I've done, I've lost so many things that I so dearly love. I lost my soul, I lost my pride, oh I lost any hope of having a sweet life. So I cry, cry, cry – oh the salt inside my body ruins, everyone I come close to..." Behind her, the door opened and someone made their way to the fridge. "My heart is barely hangin' by a thread, hangin' by a thread".
"So-" Tad's familiar voice interrupted, "This is where you've run off to."
"Look at me Tad, I'm not running."
tba...
By C.
Disclaimer: ABC owns 'em. The subtitle is from Everything But the Girl's "25th of December "; the song hummed is Jann Arden's "Hangin' by a Thread".
AN: Ok – so it's slightly delayed...but unfortunately, it's not like they're using Liza for anything else so...there will also be the mentioning of a character which will be introduced later on...I hope you enjoy him as much as the characters will.
And I see forests and its the 25th of December, and my old man plays the piano for Christmas, He plays the piano for Christmas,
And we're all there, all the aunties and uncles, and the angle's on the top of the tree, Up there on the top of the tree
-25th of December
Wednesday, December 24, 2003 – 6.38 pm
'The plan was simple', Liza reassured herself as she slammed her car door shut with her foot. She would go to the porch, knock on the door, deposit the armload of gifts onto whoever opened the door and would march back to her car, pick up Stuart and Marian, and spend Christmas with the Chandlers and Colby. She would retire to her old bedroom and spend her evening watching bad Christmas specials and working on the data files for Chandler Inc's upcoming acquisition of Hunter Industries and Wei Securities. The blizzard would have no impact on her. She wouldn't let it.
As she made it to the porch, she realized that she wouldn't be able to knock at the door, her arms laden down with presents from Mia. This would not be the last thing to go wrong this evening. Liza kicked the door with her foot, vowing Mia would pay her back for making her scuff her favorite boots, and for making Liza drop off the gifts she had forgotten, and on top of all that - for making Liza wait in the snow and suffer a bad hair day. From outside, she could hear the laughter and the yuletide joy emanating from inside the Martin house and it made her sick. To calm the swells in her stomach, she ran over her plan once more – so engrossed in her planning perfection that she didn't realize that the door opened before her. "Santa- " the smirking familiar voice began, "You're a little early."
"Well," replied Liza, thrusting the gifts towards Tad. "I didn't think coal would weigh so much, but there you have it. Goodnight!" And with a turn of the heel, she began her decent down the porch stairs. "You can come in, you know." Tad called out after her. "Have some eggnog and partake in the Christmas spirit."
"Bah-humbug!" Liza replied from the lawn. "Besides, with such a charming offer like that, how could I accept?"
"Charming offer? You want a charming offer? I'll show you a charming offer!" And with a crash, Tad dropped the armload onto the floor and grabbed some snow from the porch and formed it into a snowball which he let loose at the back of Liza (which missed her by a mile) and shouted, "How's that for charming, now are you coming in or not?"
"Well, Tad," She bent down and formed a carefully crafted snowball of her own, "Someone has to show you how to not throw like a girl!" And with perfect aim, she threw her snowball. It was truly a magnificent sight, gliding through the air like that – that is until Tad stepped back and the ball hit Joe Martin square in the chest as he stepped in front of the door to see who his son was yelling at.
"Great arm, Liza." He called out to her, wiping the snow off the Rudolph from his sweater.
"Thanks Doctor Martin."
"Would you like to come in? We can discuss you joining the hospital's soft ball team."
"I'd really just prefer to crawl into a hole right now, but thanks for the offer!" She shouted back, humiliated beyond belief. (From inside the house, Opal's voice was heard commenting on this.) "I'm afraid we're all out of holes, but we have plenty of eggnog. Come in for a few minutes. Let the storm ease up." After a moment's hesitation, Liza sighed and agreed to come in. And from the moment that door closed behind her – Liza knew she was in for a very ... evening (she couldn't even think of the word to use to describe what sort of evening this would be) based on the Pine Valley citizens which were gathered in the Martin's living room: Opal, Ruth, Mia, Simone (Liza had to hide her double take on that one behind the act of shaking off some snow), Jamie and Brooke. "Merry Christmas," she offered weakly, feeling ill.
For the first hour awkward conversations abounded around Liza, none of which were aimed at her and her eyes trained to the storm outside the windows. She attempted to make a break for it at one point, rising and declaring that the storm had lightened, only to be shut down by Tad (who had spent the past hour with everyone but her), and being half-heartedly invited by Ruth to stay for Christmas dinner.
So began the second hour of her ordeal: being seated around the table with the Martins, keeping her head down and her answers limited to monosyllabic words. Feeling removed from her element and surrounded by people who had made no attempt to hide their contempt of her made Liza oddly quiet and melancholic for Christmases past: Jake falling out of trees and huddling with her for warmth, sleeping on her father's lap while they waited for 'Santa', and holidays at the dorms when they were in school. The children of the divorced and depressed gathered around to commiserate and compare horror stories. Liza was proud to remember she always won, thanks to Tad and Marian. A smile unconsciously rose to her lips as she recalled spending a Christmas eve with Peter in ... a bar of sorts. Peter. Peter would know how to get through a night like this.
After picking politely at some of the food placed on her plate, Liza quietly excused herself and slipped into the Martin kitchen with her laptop. It was antisocial behavior, she realized, but necessary to get away from all the mindless chatter and the crackling logs and the heat rising from the mashed potatoes and the fire in the fire place. The kitchen was, strangely enough, cooler than the dining room and more peaceful. Here she could work on her documents in peace, she explained to herself, unpacking her laptop and starting it up, her absence was probably welcome. Aside from the looks of pity tossed to her by Mia and even Simone, she had hardly been acknowledged. While that hurt in some bizarre way which she had never thought possible, Liza had learned a long time ago that hurt is useless. Best to keep working – eventually the hurt would fade and the millions would grow. So she called up a random playlist of music to block out the festivities and set herself to work.
An hour (or two, or possibly three) later (she really wasn't keeping track anymore), the solace of the kitchen was intruded upon by the entire clan, their arms filled with dirty dishes and leftovers. Like an assembly line, they began the arduous task of bagging, foiling, wrapping and tupperwear- ing the remains. Liza continued to work for a couple of moment, but found herself unable to concentrate once Jamie and Tad began a swordfight with the thigh bones off the turkey, flinging little bits of meat everywhere, including Liza's laptop screen which seemed to attract a particularly greasy piece of dark meat. It was at this moment her cell phone rang, sparing the younger Martin men her wrath. "Hello?" She picked up, ignoring the glances Ruth, Opal and Brooke tossed to one another over the turkey carcass. "Jonathan? What time is it there? How is it going? In ENGLISH, please. The only German I know is 'willkommen' and 'Goldshlager'!" (Somewhere behind her, Simone applauded her competitor's drink of choice.) "What? NO! That's ridiculous. He's lying through his teeth! How do I know? Because Wendy just e-mailed me from Beijing with documents that show them getting rid of all their liquid assets. That's how I know. Tell him you're insulted and go to your room and pack up. You're coming home. When he finds that out, he'll stop you before you can put the little shampoos in your suitcase. Call me back. Oh, and Jonathan? Merry Christmas." She hung up, rose from her seat, took off her glasses and made her way through the bodies where Simone and Mia were having a particularly difficult time with the dish washing duties they adopted. Smiling, she relieved them of their task and set them forth to help Ruth with whatever was left. "Oh Liza, don't worry about that, I'll do that in a minute" Ruth called from the living room where she was wiping the table down. "It's alright Mrs. Martin, I don't mind." And with some half-hearted arguing on both their sides, Ruth left Liza alone in the kitchen to wash the dishes while Mia watched, perched on the island counter. "What are you doing?"
"Washing dishes."
"That's obvious, Liza. I mean, why are you acting like this?"
"Like what?"
"Like this sulky child? A prissy princess? I don't know – like an idiot?"
"I'm acting in a manner in which they expect me to act. I hate to disappoint, Mia, you know that."
"How do they want you to act?"
"Like a bitch. Pass me that dish? It makes it easier for them to continue this vendetta they have. Thanks."
"Do you hear yourself? Vendetta? They are not the Gotti clan, they have no vendetta against you. They treat you the way they do because you act the way you do."
"You're sweet, Mia. Sweet, but naive. They don't like me. They think I'm ... I don't know ... tainted trash set to destroy the lives of their little boys. It's not tonight, Mia-it's always. They simply tolerate me."
"They don't still-"
"Don't still what? Mia? Hate me for ruining Tad and Dixie's marriage? Corrupting Jake? And what they think is breaking him and Ally up? They have a list of wrongs I've done them, and if hating me makes it any easier for them to get over it, so be it."
"So your contrition is to act like a snotty bitch? I'm sorry. I don't believe that. I think they really did want you to stay tonight, and you turned it around and made the entire situation awkward for them. I think they see through you Liza. I think they see through this act and know that you're this amazing person."
"Mia," Liza lifted her wet hands from the sink and dried them on a dishcloth. "Listen to this-" She grabbed her sister's arm and dragged her to the door where they both listened carefully to Ruth, Opal, Simone and Brooke setting the table for dessert:
Ruth: Well it was nice of her to offer to do the dishes, I suppose.
Simone: Sure was.
Opal: But did you see how quickly she took off from the table? And how she didn't even eat? Holier than thou, on Christmas, too.
Brooke: Maybe she wasn't feeling well.
Ruth: Well then I hope the snow clears soon, so she can go.
Opal: And the looks she kept tossing to Tad?
Simone: I didn't see any looks.
Brooke: It can't be easy for her, here with us.
Simone: But I suppose I couldn't monitor every glance she gave, right?
Opal: I just know the sooner she leaves, the happier we'll all be. Right, Ruth?
Ruth: I suppose. It's just that – why couldn't she be sweeter or something, more like Mia or Simone, rather than –
Brooke: Herself?
Ruth: Well yes. I just don't-
"Well, now what, Mia?" Liza asked as she returned to the sink. "Try hearing that – to your face – every day."
"So, you're going to hide in the kitchen? Let them keep saying those things about you?" "It's true, isn't it?"
"But – Tad doesn't mind."
"Yes, Tad does. Do you think it doesn't affect how he sees me? Knowing what Ruth and Opal say about me, compared to what they say about you two? I won't make him choose what to believe Mia, his parents or his friend; because I know I would lose in a heartbeat."
A moment of silence passed between the two sisters as Mia let Liza compose herself. Finally, she grabbed a dishcloth and moved towards her sister. "Here, let me help."
"Thanks Mia- but you should go out. They'll be missing you. Someone has to represent the Colby girls!" So Mia left her sister alone with the dirty dishes and a laptop full of music.
Liza didn't actually mind doing dishes. It gave her a productive excuse for escaping the family activities as well as provided her a time to think. She got that so rarely nowadays with the upcoming acquisition; any time not spent at the office was spent with Colby. Her mind raced in a hundred directions, none of which she particularly enjoyed. She sighed and continued the task at hand, all the while humming softly with the music, "Oh look at me, at all I've done, I've lost so many things that I so dearly love. I lost my soul, I lost my pride, oh I lost any hope of having a sweet life. So I cry, cry, cry – oh the salt inside my body ruins, everyone I come close to..." Behind her, the door opened and someone made their way to the fridge. "My heart is barely hangin' by a thread, hangin' by a thread".
"So-" Tad's familiar voice interrupted, "This is where you've run off to."
"Look at me Tad, I'm not running."
tba...