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[andhiswife]

Greta hesitates outside her own front door, apprehension stilling her hand. It's stupid, really. She didn't do poorly, or embarrass herself, or any of the other things she feared might happen. She'd actually done well. They all had; the judges and the hosts had gone on about what a difficult decision it was.

Part of her is relieved, even. She'd been wanting to get her life back, and now she has it -- minus next weekend, of course, when they'll all be gathering to watch the grand finale. Things can finally start getting back to normal. She can think about Christmas, and their upcoming anniversary, and other things that are more about them and not just her.

But it was the hosts who delivered the bad news back in the tent, and now she has to be the one to share it. However she feels about being out of the running, it seems vaguely unfair that it's suddenly her job to tell people. There's no cheerful way to spin I lost.

There's a quiet snuffling on the other side of the door, followed by an impatient, canine groan. Well, there's no use hiding out here; the dogs know she's home, which means Thomas does, too. She shakes her head, then lets herself inside.

Sadie and Cú mob her immediately, and she seizes the excuse to focus on them, letting them sniff her hands and then ruffling their ears. "Yes, yes," she murmurs. "I'm home."

Comments

[andhiswife]

Well, then. Greta blinks, not having braced herself for outright denial. It’s flattering, in a way, but it’s one thing to argue that losing isn’t the worst thing and another to argue that it happened at all.

So she pats her lap invitingly, hoping she can coax Saoirse over for a brief cuddle before they eat, and gives Thomas a slightly hapless look. “It was a very tough challenge,” she explains. “I don’t think any of us did our best work. But they had to send someone home at the end, and they picked me.”

“It’s not all bad, though,” she adds bracingly. “It means things can start going back to normal, and we can spend more time reading or playing games. I’m rather glad of that, to be honest.”

[very_sharpe]

Thomas hides a smile at Saoirse's blunt denial. It's sweet, actually, and he can't blame the little girl for not liking the idea. Greta's a wonderful baker, and Saoirse is rather bias.

"It's how things go sometimes, in competitions," Thomas says to the little girl as he finishes setting the table. "Not everyone can win first place, but your mum did wonderfully, and you and I both know how talented she is. That will never change."

[selkiesaoirse]

Saoirse tries to wrap her head around this. But no matter how she looks at it, it just sounds like the people on the show think that there's someone better than Greta. That's how it is in footie: one team wins because they're better, because they practiced longer or differently from the other team, or maybe got a lucky shot in.

She thinks about that for a moment. A lucky shot. One moment when the keeper is a moment too slow, or there's a bug, or a bird, or a blade of grass that's just right for a shot to go in the net instead of the keeper's mitt.

Maybe this was the lucky shot that got Greta out of the game.

She frowns, because she still doesn't like it, but she supposes they're right. This is just the way of it.

"And... You're not upset?"

[andhiswife]

Thomas's words might be meant to reassure Saoirse, but they leave Greta feeling better, too. She had trusted him to not be disappointed -- or perhaps just assumed he wouldn't be, because of the adjustments he'd had to make and the stress it had injected into their household, and because of his own clear-eyed awareness that it was just a silly television show (something he'd had to remind her of on several occasions, often while picking her up off the kitchen floor). But it's still a relief, hearing him speak of it calmly and insist she did well, and she gives him a warm, grateful smile.

Saoirse doesn't look entirely convinced, though Greta can just about see the gears turning inside her head. "I'm a little disappointed," she admits, because she suspects the lass would see through any outright lies. "But I'm mostly relieved that I don't have to worry about it anymore, and that we can go back to normal."

[very_sharpe]

Thomas returns Greta's smile and gives her a wink. Of course he's proud of her. Through all her breakdowns and uncertainty, through all her triumph and determination, he's believed in her. That isn't going to stop just because she didn't win a silly competition.

"And it's alright to be disappointed," Thomas adds when Greta admits to it. "Of course it is. But now we're going to find out who will win, and it will be fun. And you don't have to worry so much about me burning dinner."

Despite his comfort as a sous chef, Thomas is fairly certain Saoirse side-eyed him the first few times he made dinner in Greta's stead.

[selkiesaoirse]

Saoirse considers this all a moment longer, then nods her head at last.

"Well. Alright. I suppose not worrying about burnt dinner is good. And now we can snuggle more on the couch. There are new episodes of PUMA Squad to watch, too!"

PUMA — Pubescent Unique Martial Artist — Squad is a show about five young teens with strange abilities, who use these abilities to fight crime. There are usually interesting vocabulary lessons in each half hour episode, and it's one of Saoirse's favorite shows to watch.

[andhiswife]

Greta levels a playfully incredulous look at Thomas's self-effacing joke -- he's come far enough in the kitchen that she can't even imagine him burning dinner -- but if it helps jostle Saoirse into a better frame of mind, she won't argue the point.

"We certainly can," she agrees, curling her arm around Saoirse and pulling her close, just long enough to press a kiss to her hair. She could take or leave PUMA Squad, but there are worse things for Saoirse to watch, or for her to knit to. It's the thought of downtime that appeals more than anything else. "Maybe we can pick out a book after dinner, and all of us can have a good snuggle. Provided you're all done with your homework, of course. Otherwise, it'll just have to be me and Thomas," she says. She punctuates it with a heavy sigh of regret, as if that would be a terrible shame, but then winks at him in turn.