Sight For Sore Eyes, Tag: Eloise

June 21st 2012 2:30pm

Sarah’s hand was raised and she was ready to knock on Eloise’s door. She hesitated and moved her hand away sweeping it over and down the back of her hair. She was showing up unannounced. Sarah began mulling that over. Her timing might be off. Eloise might not be home and if she was there was no guarantee she was alone. Her nose wrinkled in thought as she turned her head to her left to glance down the sidewalk at the other homes lines up in the neighborhood. Sarah began to laugh. Leave it to Eloise to marry a rich pop star and inherit everything he’d had. While she may have been a bit envious she wanted that life for Eloise. Their childhood wasn’t easy, hadn’t been for any of them and Sarah wanted better, for all of them, herself included.

She should have called first but then that would have ruined her surprise. Sarah so enjoyed springing surprises on her sisters. Their reactions were always priceless. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Sarah wasn’t one to get nervous and she certainly wasn’t now she was just thinking that she should have called. It was too late to worry about it now and she shrugged her shoulder at nothing in particular and knocked on the door. It wasn’t a very loud knock and she rolled her eyes at herself then she began banging on the door as loud as she possibly could, snickering under her breath.

A car drove past. Some sports car Sarah hadn’t ever seen before and she huffed. Pretentious ass, she thought to herself. No way Eloise was going to let all of this go to her head. Simply not possible. While waiting for her sister to answer her door Sarah stepped back and looked up at the house getting a real good look at it. It was nice, far nicer than any placed either of them had ever lived, until now. Eloise may have had a rough time of it after her old man went missing but damned if she didn’t hit pay dirt when he vanished. Sarah wasn’t sorry he was gone she was relieved.

After asking Des to keep an eye on her sister things had begun to change. Feelings got involved between the two and Sarah couldn’t have been more pleased. Of all the Pritchard girls if any of them deserved a happy ending it was Eloise. Sarah felt with Des in the picture she was one step closer to getting that happy ending. Hell, maybe she’d fine one for herself, wouldn’t that be something she thought to herself. Pulling herself out of her musing she refocused on the door in front of her. While she waited for Eloise she tapped the toe of her shoe to a tune that she’d heard on the radio on the drive over that was now stuck in head.

Eloise had taken some time away from the library due to getting a small role in a movie she had auditioned for. It was filming not far outside of Evergreen, so she wouldn't even have to be away from Desmond and Teyla.

The windows of the house were opened wide to let the fresh air into all the rooms. Including the top level which had once been her and Chad's bedroom but was now currently being used as an attic - albeit a very large attic. It was still not a place she liked to go anymore. It wouldn't be for some time to come yet, she was sure. But it was alright by her. She actually preferred the smaller and cozier rooms of the lower levels.

When she wasn't studying the script, her day had been spent in cleaning the house and baking. She was also working on a menu for the night's dinner. Eloise figured that with Desmond working all day today she would do the cooking and all so he could just kick back and relax when he got home. The cookies she made were something she had done on a spur of the moment. They had just gone into the oven and Eloise was taking care of the dishes when she heard the knock at the door.

Not having expected anyone or having expected anyone who had come by unannounced to ring the doorbell, Eloise jumped and dropped the mixing bowl she had just washed onto the floor as Teyla started barking her fool head off and ran to the door. "Damn it" she swore, glad it was plastic not glass. She picked it up and dropped it back into the sink.

"Teyla, back" she called. She had to repeat the command again to get the dog to obey. "Sit. Stay" she commanded again. Teyla obediently sat and stayed, but was tense and ready to spring at the newcomer if he or she presented a threat to Eloise. She cautiously cracked the door open and peeked out, making sure Teyla was visible - just in case.

"Sarah!" she cried out when she saw who it was. The door was flung wide and Eloise launched herself at her sister, grabbing her in an enthusiastic hug. "When did you get here? And why didn't you tell me you were coming? Come in" she said, all in a rush, releasing her sister and stepping aside with a gesture to the interior of the house. Teyla was pacing around with her tail wagging a mile a minute, having picked up on the tone of Eloise's greeting and knowing from that it was alright to be friendly. "Oh, and this is Teyla" she added, indicating the German Shepherd.

Two days prior to her unexpected arrival at Eloise’s door Sarah had met up with Theo. A stranger she was going to marry for better or for worse. And then there was Simon. Always Simon. Why they’d not ended up marrying each other was beyond her, aside from the fact that the moment Sarah felt things were getting serious she’d run for the hills. She’d run so many times that she’d somewhere along the way gotten lost and now he was marrying someone else.

None of it made a damn bit of sense but what did make sense and always had was her sister. Eloise. She’d been a distraction from the day she’d been born, still was, but a wanted distracted. Those few times that Sarah felt grounded was all thanks to Eloise.

If she kept up this line of thinking it was going to completely ruin her reunion with her sister and that was unacceptable. There was no one that Sarah was closer to, outside of Simon, than Eloise. She, like herself, had been dealt a rough hand but she’d come out on top of it. Eloise was living in the hills and engaged to a man that was her meant for her, if you believed in that sorta thing. For Eloise she believe it, not so much for herself. With a shake of her head she cleared it and focused on the door in front of her, she was about to start pounding on it.

Before she was able to knock again the door opened up and there stood her sister. The look on Eloise’s face was just as Sarah had imagined it would be. Her eyes had lit up and she’d literally thrown herself at her. With a soft chuckle Sarah caught her sister up in a sisterly embrace. She couldn’t have stopped smiling if her life had depended on it.

Sarah pulled out of their embrace and delicately brushed her hair back behind her ears and out of her eyes while her gaze skimmed over her sister. She hadn’t changed all that much since she’d last seen her and Sarah wished she could have made to move to Evergreen sooner but she’d had a few loose strings to tie up first, at least she’d written and called.

”I’ve only been here a couple weeks at most. I thought that I’d surprise you. I guess you’re surprised.” An amused glint entered her eye as she looked down at the german shepherd pacing between them. Sarah stepped through the door and into the house shutting it behind her. ”Well, hello Teyla, aren’t you something.” Her eyes swept back over to her sister. ”You’re doing very well for yourself. Details, let’s hear ‘em, leave nothing out. And for God’s sake tell me you got some liquor in your fridge.”

"A couple of weeks?" Eloise's eyebrows rose in surprise. If Sarah had been in town that long, why hadn't she come by sooner? Why had she waited this long? Or... was it that she had come by, and no one had been home? She knew Desmond wouldn't have kept it from her had he known of her sister's presence in town. "Yes, you could say I'm surprised." A little hurt too, that her sister had been in town for weeks and hadn't dropped by sooner or at least phoned.

Eloise stood to the side and smiled a little at Teyla's antics. The dog certainly was something. A pain in the arse sometimes, but mostly loveable and sweet. Her bad moments were more about mischief and play than viciousness. Big as she was, Teyla was still very much a puppy in many ways.

Leading the way to the kitchen, she grinned and shook her head at the comment about liquor. "No, sorry. We don't have any in the house at all." They just didn't go through it enough to bother keeping any on hand. Eloise wasn't old enough to drink legally in America, and while Des might have a drink every so often he wasn't an alcoholic.

She wasn't at all surprised when Sarah demanded details. Eloise would have done the same, if their situations had been reversed. "Have a seat. Make yourself comfortable." She gestured to include the entirety of the kitchen, not much caring where Sarah sat. There was no food currently on the table or the counters, so even those were fair game as far as Eloise was concerned.

"There's so much to tell, I don't even know where to begin" she admitted. She hadn't yet told any of her sisters let alone their mother that she was engaged once again. Their mother would have demanded to know if he was rich like Chad had been, and Heather would have insisted that Eloise had only agreed out of desperation or grief or some such nonsense. It would have been well meant, but rather insulting to Eloise to have it implied she didn't know her own mind. Anne... well, who knows what she would have done. She had only just started speaking to Eloise again recently. And Sarah... well, Eloise was fairly sure she wouldn't mind the way the relationship had turned out. But she was still somehow afraid to tell her outright. Enough careless comments had slipped though that it wouldn't be that hard to figure out if anyone paid even a little bit of attention to Eloise's comments.

Eloise went back to the sink and filled the tea kettle. That went onto the stove to boil. Two spoons and two cups were taken out of their resting places, and the box of tea bags was brought down. Once that was done, she returned to the dishes. There weren't very many left, but Eloise hated leaving work half finished.

Sarah felt guilt. She shouldn’t have waited to long to spring her surprise on Eloise. There was no real excuse for it and even if she could have miraculously come up with one it wasn’t in Sarah’s genetic makeup to bullshit. She was as straight a shooter as you were likely to get. She shrugged her shoulder and spoke the truth. ”Yeah a couple. I wanted to get settled in. Get my affairs in order, now that I’ve done so, here I am.” Sarah wasn’t going to enlighten her sister that she’d put in at the Vow to be married, not yet.

”Come on El. You know me. I like surprises. This was a damned good one, I need a pat on the back yeah?” Sarah was grinning from ear to ear, thoroughly pleased with herself for showing up unannounced out of the blue. Teyla was a cute one, charming as all get out but she was here to see Eloise so she shooed the dog away.

That oh so familiar grin of Eloise should have told Sarah that the house was dry, no liquor to be found. She’d hoped though. With a playful roll of her eyes she commented back. ”That’s a damn shame. Now that you know I’m in town we gotta stock that fridge for when I visit. Not gonna cause problems with Des is it?” She didn’t want it to but Eloise knew she liked the drink, no reason she couldn’t keep some around for when she visited.

Seeing her sister motioning for her to sit Sarah did just that. She pulled out a chair at the table and plopped unceremoniously into it, stretching her long legs out in front of her and crossing them at the ankles, her eyes not straying from Eloise for a second, waiting to hear some details, which weren’t forthcoming, apparently. From the look on her sister’s face she wasn’t going to be sharing too many details, and Sarah rolled her eyes once again.

”How ‘bout the beginning? Let’s hear it, El. Come on. This is our reunion I need to know what’s been going on.” Eloise wasn’t getting out of sharing details that easily. Sarah, as her older and of course wiser sister, had a right to know. How could she possibly see that Eloise was done right by if she knew nothing that was going on with her. Not acceptable, and the look on her own face would prove as much. Sarah wanted Eloise to find happiness. God knows she wasn’t likely to find it herself with Simon getting married to what’s her damn name! She damn near groaned just thinking about it and shook her head clearing it before focusing her full and undivided attention on her sister who was prattling around the kitchen making tea. Still she got nothing out of Eloise and for a moment there her being tight lipped was of great concern to Sarah. ”Just fill me in, I’ll settle for that, for now.” Her words and her tone, most importantly, brooked no argument.

Eloise should know how stubborn she was. If Sarah wanted something she would not stop, come hell or high water, until she’d gotten it. She got comfortable in her seat and inclined her head towards Eloise. ”You mind adding a spot of honey to mine?” Sarah did smile, she didn’t want to start off on the wrong foot here but she was concerned and wanted to know what was going on with her sister.

Eloise shrugged her shoulders slightly, and pouted another moment. "Yeah, I s'pose" she replied somewhat sulkily. There was nothing to be done for it though, so she dropped the matter. It wasn't really that big of a deal. Besides, her sister was here now and there were more important things to talk about.

"I don't think so. But I'll ask him just to make sure." The dog padded into the kitchen after them, her nails clicking softly against the floor, and sprawled herself out in a sunny patch by the sliding glass doors to nap. Eloise would swear that at least half the time the silly dog thought she was part cat or something.

But where to begin updating Sarah on the news? "Well, you already obviously know the beginning part of it. Me coming here and signing up. Getting married only to have him die a few months later" she started, going from the beginning. Not even Sarah had been told Eloise's real reason for coming to Evergreen. Nor had she been told that Preston lived right next door. That part had been mere coincidence. The only thing Eloise had initially planned on was getting back together with Preston. Then that fell through and she ended up going into the Vow. That her match through them had turned out to be rich enough to live in the Hills was no doing of her own, nor had the location of their house been any doing of hers.

"And you know about Des coming to live with me" she continued, brushing away the other thoughts that tried to crowd into her head. The request for honey made Eloise nod. She paused in her narrative and added some honey to Sarah's cup, and sugar to her own. She brought both cups over and set them on the table just as the timer went off for the cookies.

She would continue in her own time, and pushing at her to go faster would do no good. She was just trying to work up to telling her sister flat out about being engaged to Desmond. Sure Sarah liked him well enough as a friend, but would she approve of them being romantically involved? Eloise certainly hoped so, because she wasn't about to give him up. No way in hell. Not after the things they had been through together to date, and not with as close as they had become. Hopefully it wouldn't come to a fight though. She had already had more than enough of fighting with sisters over the men she got involved with. The cookies were scooped off the baking sheet and left on wire racks to cool a little.

"There's... something more, though" she finally said, sitting down at the table. Best to just have out with it. Eloise had already made up her mind and was stubbornly sticking to her decision, no matter what. "See... the thing is... one thing led to another, and I know you probably didn't mean for this to happen but Des and I are..." she paused in frustration when the words froze on her lips. Using a trick she used when on camera, she set herself apart from the moment and thought of it briefly as another role. It helped her push through her nervousness and just say it out loud. "We haven't set a date yet but we're getting married."

With the potentially explosive news out in the open now, Eloise calmly took a sip of her tea. "Now. Your turn. Spill it. It's only fair you fill me in on your doings now that I've filled you in on mine" she continued, as if she hadn't said anything out of the ordinary. A small glimmer in her eyes and the way her lips quirked at the corners gave away the fact that she was most definitely happy about the engagement.

Sarah saw that oh so familiar sulking look cross her sister’s face. Maybe surprising her out of the blue hadn’t been such a good idea but the deed was done and there was no changing it now. No one could lay on a guilt trip like Eloise, even if it wasn’t intentional. ”Christ,” she muttered under her breath, sweeping a hand over the back of her hair.

”I should have called to tell you I’d moved here. I’m sorry that I didn’t.” She flashed a smile that she was confident Eloise would see as genuine, because it was and that she’d be forgiven. Sarah was thrilled that her sister would talk to Des. Surely they wouldn’t begrudge her a drink while she was over, she wouldn’t expect them to drink with her unless they wanted to. ”That would be great thanks. You know me and liquor.”

Now seated comfortably at Eloise’s table she watched in amusement as Teyla plopped down in a circle of sunlight filtering in through the sliding glass doors. Her eyes closed and her tail thumped against the flooring, Sarah chuckled softly at her before looking once again at her sister. Sarah did know the beginning of Eloise’s story and she nodded her head in order to ‘say’ so. ”I remember. I’m sorry you had to go through that. I should have been here, no excuses.” Sarah wished that she had been here but the truth of it was she was back home in merry old London living it up. Her family should have come first and she greeted, silently, that they hadn’t. She would not make that mistake again.

”Yeah. That was some good news. I was so relieved that he was here for you El. Still am. Des is a good guy. Better than most.” Sarah did think fondly of Des she wouldn’t have entrusted her sister’s welfare with anyone she didn’t think highly of. Seeing that Eloise had added honey in her tea she smiled kindly at her, Sarah’s way of thanking her without coming right out and saying it.

Sarah slid her glass closer to her and she watched Eloise curiously waiting to hear more of what her sister had to say. They were catching up, this was good, and Sarah never stopped worrying about her sister. Instead of having more information for her Eloise busied herself scooping cookies off a baking sheet. Miss Homemaker, yet it suited her and Sarah couldn’t have been happier. It was good seeing Eloise this way, it warmed her heart even if she wasn’t one to get all lovey dovey. The cookies were transferred from their cookie sheet to a cooling rack and their scent filled the kitchen making it feel all the more homey. It wasn’t until that task was complete that Eloise joined her at the table.

The moment Eloise said that there was something more Sarah quirked a brow and leaned forward in her seat. She didn’t harp at her sister to spit it out, she’d let her speak at her own pace, she felt that would be easier for her sister to open up and talk to her. Sarah had missed such talks. Eloise literally left Sarah on the edge of her seat, sitting up on the edge of it she tilted her head a bit and waited for her sister to complete her thought. When she let it out Sarah released a breath and nodded her head. For several minutes she sat quietly and studied her sister. Marriage. To Des. Sarah’s heart beat a mile a minute, this was exceptional news!

She did not reply right away but hesitated in case Eloise had anything else to say about it. She didn’t. Instead she asked after Sarah as though she were already ready to change the subject. ”Wait, not so fast. Married? You and Des? I’m getting invited right?” she asked, smiling from ear to ear, practically giving her blessing on the two of them marrying. ”Fair is fair. I signed up with the Vow and I got paired up. His name is Theo Laing. I don’t know a whole lot about him. He’s young, about five years younger than me. We met up two days ago. And uhh, I haven’t contacted him since.” Now was a good time to sip at her tea, and watch her sister over the rim of her glass awaiting her reaction. She’d made a promise and God help her she’d tried to keep it, she really had.

Had it only been a few days rather than weeks, Eloise wouldn't have been bothered by the delay. And she wasn't intentionally guilt tripping Sarah. Eloise just sort of... reacted without thinking about it. Unless she was on camera and was trying to convey something specific to the role she was playing. But that was something entirely different.

"Yeah, I know." If she were to be honest with herself, she sometimes wondered if Sarah was or was becoming an alcoholic. Not that Eloise would know how to tell for sure. All she really knew was that alcoholics drank a lot more than most people did. But Sarah was a grown woman, and a stubborn one. Eloise wasn't going to say anything about her thoughts on the matter unless there were some major indicators of a problem. Like Sarah not being able to function well, and personality changes.

Eloise only shrugged at the comment about not being there. She didn't know why Sarah hadn't flown right over, but assumed there was a good reason for it. It never entered into her mind that Sarah - out of all her sisters - might have been too busy partying and whatnot to hop the next flight from England to the States to be with her even for a few days.

"That he is" she agreed. She wasn't aware of it, but a certain sort of smile made her lips curl a little. "I dunno what I'd have done without him here." Sure they had started out as just friends and developing into something more had been unexpected. But Eloise couldn't be happier that things had gone the way they did. Unconsciously, she toyed with the ring on her left hand a little. Yep. She had it bad for Desmond.

When Sarah smiled at hearing the news, Eloise relaxed. It would seem that her elder sister approved. She didn't know if either of the other two would or not, or if their mother would or not. But really, it wasn't their business. She was legally an adult and could marry whomever she pleased. "Well, duh" she said, giving Sarah a look that said she thought her sister was foolish for even thinking that was a question. Eloise would be inviting all of her sisters once a date was set. Her mother was still open for debate. She hadn't truly forgiven the woman for running Preston off the way she had. Yes, she and Preston were in the past now, and yes they had both moved on to other people. But there was still some lingering resentment there in the back of Eloise's mind. That, and she was slowly admitting to herself that her mother was toxic at best.

"Why haven't you contacted him again?" she asked, raising an eyebrow curiously for a moment as she took a sip of her tea. It was more surprising that Sarah hadn't contacted her match again than that she had signed up for the Vow. Eloise signing up hadn't been a secret to her family, so it seemed only natural that at least one or two of her sisters would want to give it a go.

Sarah had made her apologies and that was really all she could do. She knew she’d made a mistake not contacting Eloise sooner but no amount of feeling bad about it was going to change a damn thing. She smiled slightly and then she gave a nonchalant shrug of her shoulder. Luckily her sister wasn’t going to hold a grudge against her for it.

Everyone that knew Sarah knew of her fondness for liquor. Her drinking didn’t hurt anyone therefore she saw nothing wrong with it. It wasn’t as though having a few drinks drastically changed her personality because it didn’t. Sarah was able to hold her liquor better than most men, a fact she got great enjoyment out of bragging over. ”Better than most people actually, not that it’s a bad thing or anything.” There were many things she’d not speak to anyone but Eloise about, primarily her family and their history.

A shrug was given and a shrug returned. It was what it was. Again there was no changing what was or wasn’t done in the past. It was best to let it go, not dwell on it, and simply move on which is exactly what it appeared that both of them were doing. Sarah wouldn’t make the same mistakes twice. She’d be more conscious of keeping Eloise in the loop on what was going on with her from here on out.

It didn’t take a rocket science to see and know that Des had been good to Eloise and done right by her. All Sarah had asked of him was to keep an eye out for her younger sister since she couldn’t be here and Des had done that and more. Sarah couldn’t have been happier with Des and she thought very highly of him, always had. ”hell, Eloise. I don’t know what I would have done without him here. He’s a real stand up kinda guy. You’re a lucky woman but you don’t need me to tell you that.” She winked playfully and brushed her hair back off her shoulder.

Sarah’s gaze dropped to the motion of Eloise fiddling with her engagement ring. It caught the light just right and made her blink. She had a warm and fuzzy feeling when it came to her sister and Des tying the knot. Eloise finding happiness, genuine happiness was a long time in coming. ”I know how I can get so I had to ask. Besides you’re getting married is a big deal and I want to support you in it, both of you. It’ll be a great day all around.” Sarah would make it a big deal. Take Eloise out shopping, invite her out for a spa day to relax before the wedding. Sarah felt such activities would help to bring them closer together. She couldn’t help but feel there was a little distance between them from all the times she could have called, visited or written and hadn’t. Of course that was on her and she’d have to make up for it, some how, some way, and she would.

Then came the million dollar question. Sarah wasn’t one to gloss over anything so she laid it all out in the open. ”It’s not right to marry someone when my heart belongs to someone else. I’m hung up on someone I can’t get out of my head. I just can’t do it. I really tried but it’s just not for me, Eloise. I can’t just settle for someone. I shouldn’t have to. And I won’t.” It was as simple as that. Until she were free of the past and the feelings that were wrapped up in it she would not marry someone else. End of story. ”Anyway let’s hear more about you. What else is going on?”

"No, I certainly don't need to be told that" Eloise said with her usual bright grin. And if there was an undertone of giddiness to it, well... she was fully entitled. She was young and healthy, she was engaged to a wonderful man she was in love with and who seemed to be equally in love with her, and her sister was in town.

She got up and gave Sarah another hug. "You're my sister. I wouldn't even think of leaving you out of the invitations" she stated firmly. She hugged Sarah once more and moved over to check the cookies. They were still warm, but cool enough to eat without burning their mouths. She scooped some onto a plate that she then carried over to the table and set down between them.

Eloise listened in silence while Sarah answered her question. "Well. You do have a point about it not being fair to either your match or yourself to marry if you can't fully give yourself to it" she started. She felt almost like a hypocrite saying that, considering she had initially come to Evergreen with the intent to get back together with Preston. The Vow had been a means to that end at first, then a fallback plan since the first had fallen through. But she shouldn't feel guilty over it since she had intended to give things a real try with Chad. She had intended to actually move on and get over Preston since she couldn't have him that way anymore.

"But... I do think your match deserves to hear the truth. He doesn't deserve to just be ignored" she continued, her tone a little sharper than she meant it to be. Maybe if Preston had told her in no uncertain terms it was over she wouldn't have come all this way for nothing. But then she probably wouldn't have ended up with Desmond either.

Either way though, she didn't like the thought of anyone else dealing with what she had when Preston left. The false assumption that they would have something long lasting, the hope that he'd be waiting for her and eager for a reunion just as soon as she could get away from her mother. "Ring him up or drop by his apartment or something. Anything. Just... make a clean break of it. Don't just leave him to wonder, and don't leave him with a false sense of hope."

Seeing Eloise this happy and giddy over getting married was exactly what Sarah needed to see and be a part of. Eloise had her life laid out in front of her and so far she seemed to be headed towards it in a positive manner. Not the same could be said for Sarah but she was genuinely happy that her sister had found herself a good man to spend the rest of her life with. ”Never thought I’d say this but I’m actually jealous of you El.”

That wasn’t an easy truth to admit to but this was Eloise and there very little she couldn’t talk about with Eloise. Sarah gladly embraced her sister and patted her gently on the back. ”And I’d move heaven and earth to be there. No more putting other people before you, that’s in the past.” Another hug between sisters and Sarah was feeling a little bit better about things in general than when she’d first arrived.

”I’ve made so damn many mistakes in the past that I don’t want to make another one. I know that backing out of this thing is the right move for me. I won’t pretend to be happy if I’m not, no one should have to.” Sarah had to wonder when Eloise had grown up, it was as if she’d done so and she’d missed it. Here she was being given sound advice from her younger sister and what was more shocking was that she was going to take her advice. She could not give herself to someone else when she felt in her heart that she belonged with another. Just as Eloise had said it wouldn’t be fair for either of them.

Again she was getting some good advice and like before she was going to take it. Sarah snagged one of the cookies off the plate Eloise had brought over. She mulled over what her sister had said while nibbling on her cookie. Sarah didn’t find her voice until after she’d finished. ”You’re right. I can’t ignore him. I wouldn’t want that either. I’ll call him and explain. I hope he understands.”

Sarah laughed softly. So many times she’d been on the dispensing end when it came to advice and now she was on the receiving end. ”I missed a lot didn’t I? With you I mean. Christ, where does the time go? And when did I get this damn old?” Sarah thought of having another cooking but decided against it. She looked up at her sister and tried on a smile but it didn’t form the way she’d hoped it would. It was half hearted at best. ”And while we’re speaking so bluntly......in case you haven’t heard there is this rumor....thing....going around about me and a married man. The thing is....well....he’s not married, yet. He’s kinda engaged.” she replied, wincing slightly. ”It’s utter bullshit. We ended thing a while ago. I thought you should know in case anyone says anything to you about it or tries to drag you into it.”

Sarah's confession of being jealous of her took Eloise by surprise. The idea of anyone being jealous of her was... well, she just didn't understand why they would feel that way. She didn't think there was really anything to be jealous about. "You... you are?" she finally stammered out after a moment of just standing there gaping. "Why?" As far as Eloise was concerned, there was nothing at all to be jealous of.

"Everyone makes mistakes" she said with a shrug, biting into a cookie. She nodded in agreement while chewing the bite she had in her mouth. Eloise agreed with Sarah on that. No one should have to pretend to be happy in their life if they weren't. But neither should they wallow in grief or negativity. Too many people did that and forgot there were good parts to life too.

"Just be honest - and tactful - with him" Eloise said with a shrug. "He might not appreciate it in the thick of things, but once he has a moment to sit back and think about it he'll appreciate it later." However much it might hurt the guy now, it would be a lot worse later when he found out Sarah had been lying to him the entire time if she went through with it in her current state of mind. In the long term, it would be better for everyone involved.

Eloise paused and raised an eyebrow slightly. "Please. You're hardly old" she said with a roll of her eyes. Not even Heather was really all that old, and she was the oldest of the four of them. Their mother was the only 'old' one so far as Eloise was concerned. But then mothers always seemed old to their children, so it was hard to say if she actually was or not.

"You know me. I don't pay attention to rumors and gossip. Nine times out of ten, it's utter rubbish anyway." Eloise took a second cookie and decided that was her fill for now. She didn't want to ruin her appetite for dinner. She considered leaving things there, but just couldn't. If she was going to hear a little about the rumor, she might as well hear it all. And get Sarah's side of the story. "So. Now that you've told me this much, you might as well tell me all of it. What exactly did they say? And what's the story with you and the engaged man?"

Admitting that you were envious of someone else was never easy especially for someone such as Sarah. She was the creator of her own destiny but every now and then she did covet what others around her had. Happiness. A feeling of being settled. Feeling at home. She did want those things but was no closer to having them that she was before moving to Evergreen. With a sigh and a hand raked over the back of her head she nodded in the affirmative at Eloise.

”Yeah, I am. Why wouldn’t I be? You’re with the man you want to be with. You’ll be starting a new life as a wife soon. You’re settling down. Getting your life together. I’m nowhere close to doing that. But I’m not going to settle for good when I could have great, ya know?” Sarah shrugged a shoulder and sipped slowly at her tea watching Eloise curiously over the rim of her cup. Everyone did make mistakes and God knows Sarah made more than her fair share. ”Yep, gotta learn from them.”

It was a bit of an odd feeling getting romance advice from Eloise but she’d found her way out of the drama she’d found herself in. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea to listen to what her sister was telling her, and Sarah was going to listen and take it to heart, act accordingly. ”You’re absolutely right. I’m gonna handle this very delicately. I’m not a complete bitch, I do have a heart.” Not that many people saw that, Eloise being one of the select few Sarah revealed it to.

True she wasn’t that old but sometimes, like now, she felt every one of her twenty nine years. ”Hmm. Then why do I feel like it? Explain that, wise one.” Sarah winked playfully at her sister while she continued sipping at her tea. If was going a fine job of relaxing her, not as well as a tall glass of hard liquor but she was relaxing all the same.

”This one is no damn different. It is rubbish. And if you want the details the rumor, as I’ve heard it, is that is that I’m throwing myself at Simon Sullivan and his brother Russell. Bullshit, every last damn word of it. First off I’m not throwing myself at Simon. He’s a......thing, I’m kinda dealing with. And Russell is a friend, never been more than that. So there you have it little sister, rumor has it that your big sis is a whore and going around with a married man. Simon isn’t married....yet.” Sarah rolled her eyes at all of it and waved her hand to dismiss it all. ”Enough about me and my bullshit let’s hear more about you. What else is going on with you other than your upcoming trading of vows?”

"Oh. I see" Eloise replied. She admittedly still felt odd hearing that out of her own sister, but when put like that she supposed she could understand a little better. Not entirely, but it made more sense. That anyone would ever be jealous of her regardless was something she didn't think she would ever fully comprehend. "Well, you'll manage it some day." She shrugged slightly. It was good that Sarah had dreams and ambitions. It was something Eloise could understand. She too had her own dreams - dreams that were slowly coming into reality thanks to her hard work at making them a reality.

Eloise was glad Sarah was going to man up - or woman up - about it and be straight with her match. She knew full well Sarah had a heart, even if she didn't show it to many people. Just like she knew Preston had one, even if he likewise didn't show it to many people. It never occurred to her that she might only be seeing the best in people because she wanted to and not seeing the reality, simply because she cared about them.

She didn't miss how Sarah glossed over the parts about the men... how she knew them, what her relationships with them were, and other such things. Especially when it came to this Simon character, or so it seemed. Eloise knew enough to not press the mater though. At least right now. No promises about later, though. "Why are people so bloody mean to each other?" she asked rhetorically, half sulking. She just didn't understand why people couldn't get along.

Glad for a topic change, Eloise perked up a little. "Well... there's a new movie coming out that I've got a part in. It's a bigger role than others I've had. I'm not the star or anything, but I'm going to be getting a lot of screen time. Comparatively speaking, that is." The topic of the movie was almost enough to make Eloise blush. It wasn't pornography... Eloise would never do that. But it was much more risque than anything she had done before, seeing as how it was about the invention of the vibrator and all. She just hoped she could manage to get through her scenes without blushing too terribly much or somehow embarrassing herself.

"I'm not sure how much I'm allowed to say about it, so I don't want to get too much into detail over it." The last thing she wanted was a scandal over breach of contract and whatnot. "Besides... spoilers" she added with a playful wink.

Sarah wasn’t entirely sure that Eloise did see. They were very different women who’d lived very different lives, by choice. And she wasn’t convinced that she would manage it someday. That someday, for Sarah, may not come around. And it wasn’t that bad of a thing, not really. What she wanted, the man she wanted, she couldn’t have. Anything else, anyone else would simply be settling and Sarah was not a woman to settle or second best. She’d never had to and wasn’t going to start now. She offered a pleasant smile at her sister and lifted her tea cup to her lips, ”Yeah, maybe some day.” But not today was tacked on silently as Sarah sipped at her tea.

She didn’t want to get into the who Simon fiasco. It was a cluster fuck and Sarah was best left leaving Eloise out of the drama that surrounded it. There was no reason she couldn’t pin for Simon without anyone else knowing it. She wasn’t going to move on she wasn’t ready to, she may not ever be ready to let the man go. Sarah did have a promise to keep and she was going to find a way to keep that promise and to keep her options open at the same time, it was doable.

Sarah gave a shrug of her shoulder at Eloise’s question. Damned if she knew, though she could be one of those mean people when pushed or provoked. She was many things, a confident woman who made her own path in life, a realist but what she wasn’t was a gossipmonger. If she had something to say about you she had the gall to say it to your face. ”Because they can be and having nothing better to do with their sorry excuse of a life. Gotta love small towns,” she replied in a sarcastic fashion.

She was thrilled when Eloise didn’t dig further about the goings on with Simon. That was a subject best left for another time, not during a reunion between sisters. Sarah couldn’t have been more proud of Eloise than she was in this moment. Her eyes rounded and widened. ”That’s really great, sweetie. I’m happy for you. Baby steps, yeah? You’ll be lead before you know it. Any screen time is good. I know how much you’ve wanted this.” Made obvious by the look on her face, her arched brow she was wanting to hear more about this role her sister had gotten.

Eloise was a bit tight lipped about it and Sarah sipped at her tea a little longer before returning her cup to the table top. ”This is me you’re talking to. You can tell me about it, it stays right here, doesn’t leave this room. And you know me, spoiler whore. Or maybe that’s just whore, whatever. I’m excited for you. Any hot loves scenes in this movie of yours?” Sarah wouldn’t have any trouble doing love scenes as long as her co-star was attractive. She’d be all over that, she thought with a mischievous glint in her eye. ”If there are and you need a stand it, as long as your co-star is hot I'll volunteer. God knows I could use a little action.”