A/N: Bit of a time jump here!
oolong-sama PM me if you're still reading this! :]
Song: Winter - Joshua Radin
Christmas at Downton was in full swing, as children, three of them now, lit up the house much in the same way the large tree in the hall did. The family had gone off to church that morning, and Tom and Sybil did the same, bringing both Madeleine and their youngest Rian, with them. He was three months old now, and Sybil hated taking him out in the cold, but knew that for things like mass and doctor's visits, it was necessary.
Madeleine wore a sparkly green dress, contrasting with Sybil's deep burgundy gown. Tom told both of his girls that they looked stunning as he watched Sybil get their daughter into her frock earlier that day. When she was done, the little girl spun around, happily accepting her father's praise. "Fank you, Dhadai," she said, climbing onto his lap so she could stare at her baby brother sleeping soundly in his arms.
"Rian so sleepy" Maddie complained, pulling at her younger brother's toes.
"You used to sleep a lot too," Tom commented with a smile at his daughter.
"Noooo," Maddie sing-songed before hopping down to inspect what it was her mother was doing still sitting at the vanity. Her attention span was almost non-existent, a fact that got her into trouble more than Sybil or Tom would ever like to admit.
As Sybil saw her daughter approach she put down her powder and turned to her. She picked the child up and set her gently in her lap. "Why don't you go down with Papa and see what they're making in the kitchen?"
Tom shot Sybil a look and smirked at her, knowing all too well why she didn't want them in the room. Madeleine had taken an instant liking to watching Sybil apply her makeup before dinner each night. It was something she did little of, just a few presses of powder to the cheeks and a little rouge to her lips. Still, Sybil couldn't bare the thought of her child thinking these things were important, even if they did sometimes make Sybil feel a little more secure.
Tom grabbed for Madeleine's hand, and with Rian still in his arms, walked out of the room with his children.
Sybil brushed out her hair once more, doing her best not to relax the finger wave too much. A knock sounded at the door and Mary came in, holding her son, Max. The child was only a month older than Rian, but already he was louder, and larger than his cousin. "Where are Tom and the kids?"
Sybil turned to her sister after clicking the light on her vanity off. "I just had him bring them downstairs so I could continue to get ready. Where's Matthew?"
"Downstairs with Papa and Mama. You know, Sybil, she is a little girl. You used to play in Mama's makeup. It's not going to kill the girl to mimic that. Little girls are supposed to emulate their mothers. It's natural."
Sybil sighed. "Are you the nurse now?" Mary rolled her eyes then returned her attention to her son, still sleeping soundly, swaddled into her chest. "What about you? A girl next, do you think?"
Mary shook her head. "One is alright for us. Actually, it's plenty. I don't know how you and Tom do it…"
Mary was exhausted, but she took to motherhood just as Sybil had imagined she would. They did have a nanny, one that Madeleine often watched take care of her cousin. The elderly woman would smile at the child and then Madeleine would add: "I like dolls too."
But Mary breastfed, something that Sybil had encouraged her to do when she was first found to be pregnant. Initially Mary rejected the idea, but then it caught on, and a week or two ago, Mary even told Sybil that she couldn't imagine doing things differently. With a kiss to the cheek she thanked her sister for helping her through everything.
It was just the two of them now, with Edith living in London with Aunt Rosamund. She wrote to her sisters and the rest of the family every week, doing her best to leave them all little notes that meant something different to each of them. Mary and Sybil would laugh about it, and as they did, they wished Edith the best. She seemed happy, and they hoped that it was true. They always said that she'd find a man, but maybe that was something little girls just say to one another because it's what they're brought up to believe. It became less and less likely the older she got, but she was a wonderful aunt and her journalism career was really taking off, and Sybil told her those things were important too, and on a good day Mary would agree.
Tom and Sybil had gone to see her when they were in London for their anniversary. They stayed at a quiet Bed and Breakfast downtown and then went up to Eaton Square the day after their arrival to take Edith out to lunch. When they returned to Downton days later, they relayed all that Edith had told them about her job, the introduction of women into the news, and how she was acclimating to city life. What they didn't reveal was how Edith had brought a boy with her to lunch, one she swore to Sybil that was just a friend. Tom remembered Sybil lighting up at the prospect, the two laughing on the train ride back to Downton as they thought how if it weren't for Sybil, Edith would never keep such a thing secret, much less have the courage to obtain a relationship without her parent's consent.
"Are you going to talk to them tonight?" Mary asked, standing so that she could rock Max more easily.
With her lips shut tightly, Sybil nodded. "I think so. Do you think that's okay?"
"They're not going to be mad, darling. Just be honest with them."
Sybil was standing next to her sister staring down lovingly at her godson. He may have been bigger than Rian but he was still so small, and Sybil suddenly missed when Madeleine was this size. That time seemed so like lightyears away.
"And what about you?" Sybil asked, doing her best to keep her mind trained on something other than what her and Tom had spent all their time lately discussing. Last night, it was revealed to Mary and Matthew, and they agreed with the younger couple and even went as far as to offer their support. Sybil and Tom smiled, graciously accepting both, though neither were ever doubted.
"What do you mean what about me?"
"Are you going to Manchester or is that just wishful thinking?"
Mary smiled thinking back to the night before, when after Tom and Sybil were done sharing their news, Matthew offered some of his own. He had been asked to take a solicitor position in Manchester. The firm was extremely successful, but their head attorney had just died and asked that they find another solicitor with equal talent to continue running his practice. Matthew was honored that he was offered such a position, but Mary seemed hesitant.
"I don't think so," Mary stated plainly, confirming what Sybil and Tom had thought in bed last night. It would have made Matthew happy, but he'd never sacrifice his life here with Mary to achieve that. He was also growing accustomed to life here at Downton, and with the baby, they practically had their own wing of the house. He couldn't complain really, and it wasn't as if he didn't enjoy his work here.
"Are you ready?" Mary asked, blinking away what Sybil thought was a tear. Perhaps Mary did want Matthew to take the job in Manchester to bring her away from all of this, no matter how much it terrified her.
The two girls walked downstairs, both in the outfits they would remain in the for the rest of the day. Lunchtime was right around the corner but before that they had promised Madeleine she could open some of her gifts.
Though Robert and Cora had wanted to spend a lot on the child, Sybil and Tom quickly asked if they could refrain from doing so. Not wanting to incite another argument with their daughter and her husband about the simple way of life they always mentioned loving, Robert and Cora let it be, and settled on smaller gifts they knew their granddaughter would love. In a way, it was a challenge for them, but Cora spent the last month and even some time before that making sure the gifts they bought Madeleine were practical but still everything the child had asked for.
The entire family filtered into the drawing room, where a smaller christmas tree was set up and beneath it, all of the family's presents. They were kept in here so that when local residents came to view the tree in the foyer, the hall didn't appear "cluttered" as Carson had put it. This tree was much smaller, though still of substantial size and grand enough to accommodate all of the presents beneath it. They had been accumulating, growing especially after the large box of gifts from Martha arrived last week. Still, throughout the past week everyone had spent time wrapping gifts in secret and placing them haphazardly beneath the tree atop all the others.
"Mama, look!" Madeleine screamed as she let go of her mother's hand and ran toward the tree. Sybil looked to Tom who still had Rian pressed softly into his morning jacket. The child was fast asleep and had been most of the morning, using his father's shoulder as his own personal pillow. Tom didn't mind either, for as much as he loved Madeleine, he loved Rian. As father's often are, Tom was proud to finally have a son.
"Madeleine Sophia, please wait until we are all seated, alright love?" Tom called out, watching as Maddie was already busy making piles of gifts for herself away from the shadow of the tree. Sybil laughed, knowing the child could not read but was most likely only claiming gifts that were hers anyway. But she obeyed her father, and stood at attention as he and Sybil entered the space in between the two sofas in the middle of the room.
"Do you want him?" Tom asked, referring to the child just beginning to stir on his chest.
Sybil beamed, carefully taking Rian from his Papa. The child began to cry and Sybil immediately shushed him, pressing his swaddled form into her shoulder. She tapped at his back and when she looked over, Robert had come to sit between her and Mary on the couch.
On the other side of the room, Tom sat on the floor with Madeleine, forcing her to be patient as she unwrapped each gift and then said thank you to the respective giver. Cora sat on the armchair near them, smiling and laughing as her granddaughter showed her all of the gifts Santa had brought her. Tom looked to Sybil, both of them sharing a look that only they knew. Sybil looked away, unable to think of all of that now.
"How's my grandson?"
"Oh," Sybil said, realizing her father was talking to her and not Mary. "He's good," she said, offering the child to her father. He gratefully took the boy, and like Tom, Sybil watched as his hands stretched the entire length of the infant's body.
"How was he at church?" Robert asked, still smiling at the young boy.
"Good," Sybil said, shocked that her father would ask such a thing. It may have not been a conversation about religion, but it might as well have been. "He slept through the entire mass, really. Madeleine was another story…"
"She's like you," Robert said, leaning into his youngest daughter. "Your Mama used to put flowers in your hair and you used to take them out and offer them to the women sitting around us. They were very amused by you though."
Sybil blushed, looking down to where her hands were clasped in her lap. "I guess she does have some of me then," Sybil said, looking back to her father.
"She has a lot of you. But she's Tom's daughter too, that's for sure."
"Well she hasn't tried to free the horses yet," Sybil reminded, causing both her and her father to laugh.
"No she hasn't." Robert sighed. "You've done good, Sybil. Both you and Tom have done very good with these babies."
Sybil brightened. No matter who it was or when the words were spoken, both she and Tom could never get enough of being complimented on their parenting skills. They knew that the love and affection they showed their children was more than enough, but it was nice when the same world that once barely accepted them, acknowledged it too. "Thank you, Papa."
"Should your mother and I expect more grandchildren?"
"Oh," Sybil blushed again, placing a delicate hand to her collarbone. "We want more, yes."
"And you'll have more children and work?"
A question that would have set Sybil off a year or two ago, only made her smile. It was clear her father was trying and she decided to meet him in the middle and attempt to be civil. In all honestly, the conversation they were having was nice, and she didn't wish for it to end. "I think so. We'll make it work. We've come this far," she commented.
Across the room, Madeleine called for her mother, causing Sybil to look to where the girl held a new doll. Actually, she had the doll in a chokehold, but Tom helped her so that she carried it like a baby. The doll had a porcelain face and porcelain limbs and hair that was curly just like Maddie's. It was blonde though, and the dress she wore was blue.
Maddie ran over to her mother and grandfather. "Granpapa!" She said rather excitedly. "Dolly!"
"Who got you that doll, Mad?"
"Granny Marfa," the child sing-songed, already smoothing back her hair. Now she would know what it's like to deal with her mop of curls each morning, Sybil thought with a small chuckle.
Sybil reached down and touched a finger to the doll. "We'll have to write a letter to Granny Martha later, alright?"
But the little girl didn't answer. She was gone already, scurrying back to where Cora was sitting offering the child another gift. She must have relieved her son-in-law of his duties, because he was standing now, walking toward Sybil and her father.
"Tired, are we?" Sybil teased. "Let me go-"
Tom put a hand to her shoulder and kept his wife from standing. "Your mother said she's fine. Really, she insisted I come over here and she swore it's not just because Carson was staring at me sitting on the floor."
"Well Carson must know that this is how it's done in Dublin. Lucy taught me that," Sybil said, remembering the Christmas they had spent in Dublin almost three years ago. Sybil remembered that Lucy had gotten a doll, and though it was not as nice as Madeleine's, it still meant just as much as the girl went around to each aunt and uncle showing it off. But, Sybil remembered, it was she who helped the young girl name it.
Tom pressed a steady hand to his wife's shoulder, using her as support as he remembered all the same things. He specifically remembered the Christmas Eve when he and Sybil had spent the entire night making love and making wishes. They were far too tired after the town social last night to continue that tradition, but he imagined either tonight or the following morning would provide an hour or two for such activities.
"Who is Lucy?" Robert leaned into them to inquire.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Sybil said with a small laugh. "Tom's sister Elizabeth's daughter. She's beautiful. And she has the most infectious little laugh-"
"And she spent all of our time in Dublin with Sybil. She loved her," Tom added, proud of the fact.
Robert smiled. "She's hard not to love."
Again, Sybil smiled. She found herself doing it a lot today and the fact, now that she thought more of it, made her sad.
"I want a drink. Can I get you anything, love?"
Sybil looked up at Tom. "No, thank you though," she said softly, rubbing a soothing hand to his hand on her shoulder.
Madeleine was nearing the end of her gifts. She had received two coloring books, a box of crayons, a new dress, a kite, and a teddy bear. Sybil wanted to roll her eyes and tell them that it was all too much, but most of the gifts were from Mary and Matthew and not her own parents. They had listened and Mary and Matthew chose not to, deciding that while she was the only little girl, and the only grandchild capable of opening gifts, she was allowed to be spoiled. Of course all that was decided and presents were bought before Matthew and Mary discovered their news. Now, they saw the logic in their request, and hoped they didn't start a tantrum Tom and Sybil would only have to mollify later on.
With both Rian and Max asleep, Sybil took her son from her father and with Mary, brought him to where two bassinets sat by the far wall. Both mothers looked down so proudly at their boys before walking away to let them sleep. "Are you okay, darling?"
Sybil only nodded. "It's going to break his heart," she whispered, choking back a sob.
Mary nodded, bringing her sister in for a hug. "Maybe so. But he'll get over it. He wants us all to be happy, believe it or not. It's just taken him nearly thirty years to realize that he can't give us everything, and that's okay," Mary said, her voice increasing in volume to emphasize her point.
"I hope so. He just always looked at me like I chose the life I have, but I didn't chose it anymore than I chose who I fell in love with. It just happened! And then it got better the longer we were here and now-"
"And now you're leaving again." Mary said, repeating her sister's news back to her. "It's okay, darling. Let's just get through the day." They were walking back to the middle of the room where Maddie was busy brushing the hair of her new doll. She was standing before Matthew, showing him how to do it, then she handed him the brush and the doll and insisted he try.
"My turn?" Matthew asked. He was always such a willing participant.
Part of Mary wanted a little girl of her own, if only so that Matthew could experience the lovely father-daughter moments she often caught Tom and Madeleine in. Max was more than enough, and Matthew was a wonderful uncle. The want of a child was never enough to bring it into this world, and for Mary and Matthew that was all that it was. They wanted a healthy child and they wanted a boy to be able to carry on the name and the estate. They were blessed with both on the first try, and thought it best if they not tempt fate anymore than the two of them already had.
Tom had returned, sipping at a cup of coffee. Sybil smiled as she smelled the liquid, black and steaming. He still drank tea, but he loved his coffee, and Mrs. Patmore insisted she let him make it for her whenever he wanted. Tom originally objected but now, it was a luxury, one that reminded him of home, their home, and suddenly that place was so close to where they were.
"Maddie, why don't-" But Matthew stopped Tom's words, insisting that she was fine.
Near the Christmas tree, Robert and Cora were exchanging gifts. Sybil smiled at the affection shown between the two of them, and guessed that the thing her mother was about to open was jewelry. When she saw the smile creep across her mother's features and her father place a loving kiss to her cheek, Sybil surmised that she had guessed right.
When a frustrated Madeleine gave up on Matthew, she went to the couch and pulled herself up onto the plush cushions. Robert and Cora were done exchanging gifts now, and took this opportunity to entertain the young child so that Tom and Sybil could do the same. Already in the corner of the room, with Mary on the ottoman and Matthew still in the armchair, they were doing the same thing.
"Your father has softened quite a bit. I don't think I thought we ever would have gotten back here."
Sybil smiled. "To Downton or here, in this moment?"
"This," he said, referring to the tree and the tea trays and all the gifts. "Maddie's going to be in for quite a shock soon."
"Do you think she'll like it? Are we cruel to take her away from all of this?"
Tom looked around, to the crown molding above, the room practically overflowing with love. To Tom, it was no different than the wooden beams of the cottage he had told Sybil about after returning from Ireland just this time last year. Things like that mattered, and they already did their best to teach their young children these things. They hoped she would hold onto them even after their departure.
Not wanting to discuss such things, he pulled Sybil into him and kissed her forehead. "I watched you in this very room. After you told me you were going to show your family your new dress, I had to see their reactions but in the end, I couldn't take my eyes off of you."
"I used to avoid your glance then," Sybil admitted, rubbing her lips together to moisturize them. "It was too much."
"We were too much."
"Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast," she whispered, repeating words from her favorite Shakespeare play. And then, as if an idea had appeared to her, she kissed him, chastely because they were still in the drawing room, but with a passion only the two of them could see. "We're making the right decision."
Tom nodded, knowing his wife's words were more of a comfort to her than they were for him. "I think so."
"We are," she agreed. "Oh! I got you something…"
Tom watched her disappear, walking to the christmas tree and then returning with a rather large box wrapped in simple red paper. A giant gold bow sat on top of it, and Tom began to wonder what she had got him. They had agreed to exchange gifts this year and he knew Sybil was going to take this opportunity to pay him back for the book he gave her three years ago. "What is this?"
Sybil sat back down. With her hands on her knees she leant into Tom, immediately teasing him for asking such a question. "I don't know Tom. Why don't you open it?"
He did, taking his time to reveal the box beneath the paper as he realized this was perhaps the largest gift he had ever received. Next came the top of the box, and then layers of tissue paper beneath. When all of that was peeled back, he saw it, a briefcase made of the most stunning dark leather he had ever seen. "Syb..."
"Just look at it," she urged, not wanting to hear about how much she had spent or the briefcase he already had. She watched him bring it to work in Dublin, and then watched him carry it around to the farms in Downton. It was nice, but the leather was beginning to tear, and the years of paperwork hidden away in its folders had made the item look tired and worn down. "I wanted you to have something nice," she explained. "You can bring it to work with you when we get back. You'll look very smart with it," she added, already picturing him with a higher position at a paper in Dublin.
When Tom went back to his old employer in Dublin, he found that his former boss had passed away, but his son had taken over the newspaper after his death. Always admiring Tom's hard work and vocal personality, his son offered Tom a job, one he had to reject after explaining he was not yet back in Dublin for good. He was assured that the offer stood and that whenever Tom did officially return he could assume his post as political journalist.
"Well I got you something," Tom said, almost as if to one up her. She sighed, but she was curious, wondering what in the world he could ever get her to make all the things she already had just that much better. Her mind drew a blank, thinking that this, just being here with him and their children was enough. She also knew it would all be enough when they returned to Dublin, to start all over again.
Just as Sybil had previously done, Tom walked to the tree and returned carrying a package. It was a little bit smaller than the one she had handed him, but not by much. "It's not as exciting now that you've given me my gift," Tom began to explain.
Sybil ignored him as she made quick work of removing the paper hiding her gift. She beamed, seeing a bag also made of leather hidden beneath. It was like Tom's briefcase, but resembling a small version of Dr. Clarkson's medicine bag. Inside of it, a stethoscope, a scalpel, and a manual Sybil swore she had seen before.
"We've saved enough so that you don't have to work when we get back, but if you wanted to, I figured you should have your own bag."
"Oh, Tom…" Sybil wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a hug. She wanted to cry, but the smile painted across her cheeks kept her from doing so. "I love you," she stated, knowing that those words meant more when they weren't needed. "So much," she added, her voice trailing off.
He said nothing, his mouth unable to speak as his eyes watched her admire the bag. She kept opening and closing it, spending time to rifle through its contents before finally setting it down on the floor. "I'm so happy, Tom."
"We've done good, Syb."
"Yeah, we have," she whispered, unable to take her eyes off of him.
~!~
During dinner, Tom and Sybil had mentioned to Robert and Cora that they'd like to discuss something with them when they had a free moment. Mary quickly piped up, offering to watch Madeleine and Ryan up in the nursery while they talked. Both Sybil and Tom thanked her, leaving Robert and Cora to wonder what it was that their daughters were up to. By now they both understood that things that went unnoticed by them were rarely actual secrets between their girls, even after marriage and babies had taken the place of childlike behavior.
Sybil and Tom kissed Rian and Madeleine and then sent them upstairs. It was Madeleine's night for a bath, and Mary and Matthew assured the couple they would have no problem bathing the little girl. Madeleine beamed, finding new opportunities like these to be adventures, ones she was sure she could conquer. The child was also especially fond of her godparents and found herself clinging to them when her own parents were at work or in town having a night to themselves.
Of course, Sybil and Tom would return the favor, but with Mary not working and Max excelling at napping, those nights were few and far between.
"Should we be scared?" Robert asked as they all sat down. He was doing his best to lighten the mood, even his own tension, as he watched Sybil snuggle into Tom, holding his hand in her lap.
Sybil shook her head. She used the pride she felt thinking about the information she was about to share with her parents to distract them from the ever present cloud hanging above all of them.
Cora joined her daughter. "Are you expecting again?"
Tom looked to Sybil almost to ask her the same question. She laughed, "No, not yet," she said, assuring both her mother and Tom that the option wasn't completely out of the question.
"We're going back to Dublin."
Tom looked to Sybil. He found her words startling, and he wondered when she had even given them time to fall from her lips. He was sure that she would have forced him to admit all of this, but she was confident now, and her statement reminded him that she wanted this just as much as he did.
"We know," Cora responded, smiling at both her daughter and her son-in-law.
"How?"
"Your mother and I could just feel it. You two have been awfully quiet since Tom returned home last year. But we saw this coming. We knew this was never a permanent thing."
"You're not mad?" Sybil asked, hoping her words didn't encourage things they had yet to acknowledge.
Cora shook her head in negation. "As you both know and will continue to learn, you know what's best for your children. This is something you two have to do, and we get that. We worry about you," she said, her voice rising in energy, "but we know that this is what you want and it's no use stunting that. This is a decision you've made and we respect that."
"It's no use stopping you anymore, Sybil," Robert stated plainly. He and his daughter shared a look, one that left Cora and Tom breathless. It was everything they had always wanted to say to one another: a final truce when it mattered most. They both knew this was their last chance so they took it gratefully, hoping all could be explained and felt before she was on a boat back to Dublin, only to visit on Holidays.
"When are you leaving?"
"We're looking at March," Tom said. He smiled at Sybil, making them both think of the conversation they had last night before bed when they actually began to make plans. All of the thoughts they each had about when to return, where to work, and where they'd live were found to need little compromise to settle on. The things that Sybil wanted, Tom wanted for her and the things he had planned, she trusted him without needing explanations.
"Have you looked at a place to live? What about work?" Robert asked, always thinking more practically than he gave his daughter credit for.
Sybil nodded. "It's all set. I've written to a hospital in a nearby town and they want to hire me back," she said, referring to the job she had received in Malahide before running back to Downton seeking security. "And Tom will get his job back at the paper."
"Things have changed," Tom reminded them. "It's already turning around. The politics are different and everyone had a much better outlook on the possibilities of the Republic to advance."
Catching both his daughter and her husband off guard, Robert agreed. "Of course."
"You must be careful," Cora finished for her husband. "And you must promise to write and send us updates on the children."
"Of course," Tom said, repeating Robert's words back to them.
"We've bought a cottage outside of Dublin."
"Oh?"
Sybil smiled. "It's beautiful. There's a garden out back for the children to play in. And our church is only a short walk into town."
"It has a small library too," Tom added. Sybil looked to him and beamed in agreement. Her eyes were wide now. She found herself missing the home she had yet to live in and she hoped Tom and Madeleine and Rian were somehow all feeling the same thing.
"Sybil?"
The youngest Crawley daughter turned to the door where Mary stood, sticking her head in. This gave her permission to continue. "Maddie is asking for her blanket and Matthew and I can't find it anywhere…"
"Oh!" Sybil yelped, standing up to walk to the door. "I just washed it. I'll get it. Thank you." She excused herself from the current conversation and disappeared out of the room with Mary.
Robert and Cora went to stand, but Tom stopped them, asking for a moment or two of their time. They shared a look, smiling as they both sat back down. "Of course," Cora said, wondering what it was Tom was about to say.
"I just…I just want you to know how much I appreciate everything you've done for Sybil and I. And for our family. I know this hasn't been easy. I know this isn't what you wanted for her but I really hope you're starting to get it. And if not, then that's fine. But I just can't thank you enough for letting us stay here the past few years and for doing everything you could to keep her and the kids safe."
"We'd do it all again if we had to," Robert stated. "She's our daughter and you're apart of this family now too. You're right, it's not what we had planned but you have proved yourself to be a good husband and a good provider and we can't argue that anymore."
"It's too exhausting," Cora commented, causing them all to laugh it off.
Tom looked back up. "But I mean it. She appreciates it. And she loves you both so much." A beat and then, as if he was thinking better of his words, he began again. "She always has. I know you think I probably took her away but I don't want that to be what this is about. I'd stay here if that's what she wanted…"
"You'd stay here for Sybil?"
Tom nodded. It wasn't up for discussion: of course he would. He'd go anywhere she asked him to.
"That's admirable, Tom. But we know now that things like this are just as much her decision as they are yours."
"And that's not easy to admit, either," Robert said.
Tom chuckled. "Thank you." He looked back up. "I can't say it enough."
The conversation died by the time Sybil had returned from upstairs. Quizzically, she looked at Tom, then to her parents, searching for an explanation. It never came, but she suddenly felt comfortable here, even in this place that was no longer home.
2 chapters left!
x. Elle