They went to Luna at the western end of the Crossing because Camilla felt like celebrating and it was her nephew Colin's place so it was the best place in town and it was also pretty. It was early evening, only a few people were sitting at the bar, just two tables filled, no one yet on the dance floor. They were four for dinner this evening. They were all people she liked and Camilla felt happy and successful and satisfied. It was an auspicious moment and it would have been perfect if Gabe were alive and here.
"What do you think Gabe would do with the studio?" she asked them at large.
Heydon said, "Gamble it away like he did everything else."
The other two sat very quietly and stopped eating. Camilla stared at Heydon. Heydon looked right back at her. Heydon never believed her about Gabe and didn't care and wouldn't talk to her about it except to say things like that. If he wasn't the man she loved she would have killed him by now but that's why she loved him, that he said what he felt and wasn't afraid she would kill him for it.
Gabe never needed a spotlight, nor would he be redeemed by that final action. If he was here tonight, he would smile at that.
Camilla reached for her glass of wine and said in the absolute silence of her own long grief, For you Gabe, wherever you are. I miss you.
Camilla definitely seems content right now, though for how long? I'm sure she has something up her sleeve. ;) She is such a dynamic character.
ReplyDeleteCan you recommend any chapters that I can read up on about Gabe? Just as a refresher for myself sometimes I'll read through previous chapters that have feature the same characters.
It's Camilla's time to step offstage and let others share the spotlight. She's pretty smug but her feelings might be different if she'd seen who/what was sitting in the corner watching them. Is he a ghost? Is he real? If he was real, I doubt he'd show up for the first time at a restaurant but who knows. (My fault she doesn't notice. That shot is just not working.)
DeleteI'll see if I can find any chapters about Gabe that make any sense. You know how it is with stuff you wrote a long time ago, it doesn't work any more. There's one set of chapters that probably show his personality and character pretty well and include meeting Rayne.
Thank you for reading this and continuing to support us. By the time we wrapped up this long series I'd pretty much burned out and had to take a break from everything for a while. We both want to continue but with characters who haven't been in spotlight, some of them the new generation, and in a completely different way.
Thank you so much!
I did see that guy sitting in the background and wondered who it might be, now I'm intrigued! Enjoy your break ladies and look forward to when you return. :)
DeleteETA: A better last shot and better last paragraph. Gabe is not the most important person (dead or alive) in her life - Heydon and her children hold that position - but he's her virtual brother so he's next in line.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to think Heydon is wrong about what Gabe would do. I'd like to think Gabe would have grown more by now. Even after all this time Camilla is still fiercely protective of him and is memory. I'm with Jennifer on early work with Gabe. He's a dynamic character that I wouldn't mind reliving again :).
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure Heydon is wrong, but some of Gabe's bets went bad because he overestimated his ability, or because he risked himself for a friend knowing it might come back and hurt him, not because he was just arrogant. He wasn't the martyr Camilla has come to believe he was though.
DeleteI'm going to take a look at the old stuff and see what I can put together about
Gabe. A lot of it is unrecoverable but can be written up when I don't have shots. It will take a new blog but that's not much of a problem. It would be fun to bring him back.
Thank you so much for always making me feel better about all of this.