Happy & Sad

@poppydrakos​

Oscar was surprised at the words that came from the young man’s mouth. His jaw clenched at the thought of neglectful parents. In turn, his were overbearing and constantly butting into his life even as an adult, but it was better than the alternative he was describing to him. Parents chasing the next high shouldn’t be called parents at all. He didn’t have kids, didn’t want kids, but he knew how a parent should be with their kid. “Okay,” he nodded his head, “I am going to help you.” Oscar wasn’t expecting any money, not from Cal. “We’ve got a few things to do, getting permission from them and if we can’t do that due to their,” he paused a moment, “we can prove them unfit and you can go through the process of legally adopting her. I can’t promise, not right now, that she won’t have to temporarily be placed in a foster system but I will do everything I can to make sure that doesn’t happen.” 

-

Cal listened to Mr. Collins, taking every word in so that he could commit it to memory. He wasn’t sure what he even wanted to do yet, if he even wanted the lawyers help. He certainly couldn’t pay him for any of his time. Had he said that already? He just wasn’t sure if getting custody of her legally was the right choice for Laney, or him. Laney and him. He just needed to know his options. “We can--” But Mr. Collins continued and explained that they may not have to get ahold of them. So Cal’s mouth shut as he continued to listen. Laney being in foster care made his stomach turn. “Alright ah--you know I can’t pay ya anythin’ right? So ah--I don’t expect anythin’ from ya and I’m not even sure I can do this. Involving Laney’s parents is ah--that could be bad--I don’t know if I want to put her through that--definitely not foster care.” His head shook softly as he rambled his stream of consciousness thoughts. “Thank ya, Mr. Collins, for your time.” Cal put a hand towards the man, readied to leave with all of this new found information. He needed to talk to his mom, and probably Scarlett. He needed their advice. And he needed to spend some time with Laney and get his mind right. This was all a lot to process.

…

Quinn rolled her eyes at his words, shaking her head. “That is probably the cheesiest thing anyone has ever fucking said to me.” If he hadn’t been standing on a float she would have knocked her hand into his shoulder to push him back. No one ever really had the guts to talk to her like that so when he did it always threw her through a fucking loop. Her eyes didn’t remove from his face despite the fact that his hand had lingered around the wrench. She took a step back, shoving her hands into the back pockets of her shorts as she tilted her head to the side. “Where would you want to go, Cal?” 

-

"Oh I call absolute bullshit on that. You cannot tell me you don't get cheesier lines at the Karaoke Bar." Cal knew how bar going types were all too well. He'd been hit with his own sets of cheesy lines from time to time. But he imagined that Quinn was dealing with it constantly. She was just way to beautiful not to, especially with all those people limbered up with their liquid courage to go up to her. "Mmm, ya up for an adventure Cohen?" He was surprised he'd said those words in the first place. But he hadn't been to his 'spot' in a long time. And he figured it would be more interesting than hitting up Pit Stop which he'd been about to say before he changed course.

·

Sloane let a smirk come along her features as she walked over towards the bar, settling her arms down on the surface as soon as she got there. “What can I say? I’m just obsessed.” She teased as she slipped onto the bar stool as she glanced down towards the drink he placed in front of her. She reached out, plucking the umbrella from the cup and placing it against her lips as she tilted her head to the side. “Aw, Mr. Meyer… Did you remember my favorite drink order?” She grinned as she let her blueish green hues land on him. “I’m doing fine though… How about you?”

-

Cal loved that smirk of Sloane's. It let him know they were on the same wave length. It let him know that he could have a great time with her without any strings. Normally a smirk from a girl was just a smirk, but with all the weight on his shoulders, that smirk meant a lot to him. "Well I mean I can't exactly blame you, now can I." Cal blinked softly, watching her with the umbrella. "Remembering drinks is a part of my job Ms. Campbell, helps with the tips." Of course, remembering her drink held more weight than most. He finger tapped his temple. "Good. Yeah--I'm alright. Mom's is good, Lanes is good. I'm good."

x

She smiled and shrugged. “I’ve had time to think about these things.” She said softly and saw the hesitation from the man, so she went carefully as she moved her daughter in to play with the other little girl. She wanted to show him she was okay, but could understand the hesitation. She had that too with people. “I am. Helps having this one.” She grinned and looked at her daughter. “But I have a lot of experience with kids working at the daycare.” She explained. “I’m Dominique, by the way. Dominique Hargraves.”

-

“Seems like there’s never enough time in the day with kids.” He shook his head softly, running a hand through his hair. Just thankful that she had calmed down. It was already bringing his heart rate down. “Right--yeah--I thought that’s where I knew you from. Your sister comes by the bar a bit--work at the uh--Barnyard.” Hargraves was a name he knew, maybe a little too well. He admitted, holding out a hand for her to shake. “Nice to meet you, I’m Cal.”

As Cal started right off the bat with asking if he could keep things confidential, Oscar knew that it was serious. While he knew that it typically required a payment, the lawyer wasn’t going to ask. It was clear that the young boy needed help with something and though most people wouldn’t find him to be a stand-up guy if they knew about how he treated his marriage at times, but he wasn’t going to turn down helping Cal. “Absolutely,” Oscar nodded his he head to the man, “anything you say stays with me.” 

-

Cal nodded curtly before running his tongue along his bottom lip. He still wasn’t convinced this was a good idea. The young man lifted his eyes to meet Mr. Collins’, to face down what he was about to do. He managed to find a sense of comfort in them, which ended up giving him the courage to continue, that and Laney’s picture in his hands. He placed it on the table, and slid it towards Mr. Collins. “Uh--I’m raisin’ a kid that isn’t--biologically or--legally mine. Been raisin’ her for years now and um, always lookin’ over my shoulder and shit. Parents--left her with me--come by every once in a while but then they--they chase down their next high. She calls me dad. I’ve raised her since she was a baby Mr. Collins. And uh--I’d like to have custody of her. I don’t have any money so--not like ‘m ‘expectin’ anythin’ from ya but--if you could just let me know if I got any options, I’d appreciate it.”

Quinn had mainly been finding different places to stand in. Mostly because she was avoiding a certain brother of hers. In the last few weeks, the blonde had discovered the real reason her father spiraled into the drunken mess he was. Somehow he had a whole ass other family in the same town, different neighborhood and after the death of her mother he got stuck taking care of the one in Eris. She had to avoid her father’s place because she didn’t think she would be able to not loose her shit on him so she had been in the ring at the fight club practically every night since unless Dylan put his foot down and told her no. Her gaze lifted up to find a shirtless Cal in front of her. Her eyes drifting down his torso slowly before clearing her throat as she turned her head to look over at the wrench. Reaching down, she plucked it off the surface of the table and held it out towards him. “A little hot, Meyers?” She mused.

-

Cal looked down at his body when she made the comment, finding that a smirk had suddenly reached his lips. The man took the moment to show that he was eyeing her as well, but truth be told, Cal had taken in how hot she was the moment she came into eyesight. It was hard to miss. Smirk and all, the man shrugged, “Guess I wanted to try and look like I belonged anywhere near you.” His eyebrows lifted as took the wrench from her. His hand lingered on for a beat before removing it from her hand so he could tighten the nut around the bolt. He jumped down from the float, thrusting his shirt over his shoulder as he ran a hand through his sweaty, matted hair. “Alright, wanna get outta here? I did my job for today. All the Fall Brookian’s can have their festivities safely now--or whatever.” Normally he didn’t care much for Fallbrook festivities. But when it came to Laney, he wanted her to bask in all that wonder and glory. However, his mom was with her right now.

Oscar nodded his head, noting the quietness about the young man before him. He hoped he hadn’t said anything to offend him in their brief interaction thus far. As a lawyer, he knew that he didn’t always have the most approachable look to him. His brow raised as Cal spoke of his work and Oscar nodded his head, “Of course,” he gestured to the seat, “feel free to take a seat.” He wasn’t supposed to be working but the way Cal was acting, Oscar had a feeling he was going to want to hear him out. “What can I do for you, Cal?” 

-

What an idiot--asking him for help at the fucking Cherry Blossom Festival. He was obviously trying to have fun like everyone else and Cal was about drop his sob story on him. His thoughts plagued him as he waited to see what Mr. Collins response would be, shocked to hear that he was willing to listen. Something about his answer made Cal feel slightly more at ease. He took the seat he’d been offered across from the man, thinking of Laney to give him the strength to continue. To keep himself on track in fact, he pulled out his wallet that had a picture of her in it for moments like these. “Right so--if I tell you stuff you can’t like, tell anyone else right? That’s like, against the law or something?” From what little research he’d done he thought that was true, also his mom loved Law and Order so he’d seen a lot on there too.

Oscar looked up, recognizing the young man from The Barnyard. It wasn’t a bar that the lawyer frequented often, but there had been times that he stopped there to have a drink or two. “No, need to apologize,” he smiled politely at Cal as he grabbed his drink cup and set it back on the table. “I was a bit too eager to grab this runaway cup,” he told him with a light hearted laugh. He kept his hand around the cup that had already managed to fall off the table once before. “How are you doing?” He questioned, “Getting to enjoy the festivities instead of working, I see.” He made an obvious observation, “Or at least for now, huh?”

-

“Guess it’s just what people say when they run into each other.” He said quietly, somewhat to himself. Cal shrugged his jacket up on his shoulders. He felt always felt out of place talking to people like Mr. Collins. To his surprise, the guy was actually acknowledging him. “I mean um--fine.” He shrugged, that was also something that people said, to make conversation. It didn’t mean they actually wanted to know how he was doing. At least, he didn’t assume that Mr. Collins actually cared. “Somewhat yeah--I,” Cal paused, deciding to take the plunge, “Actually speaking of work--your work--uh do you have a moment?”

starter for @fallbrookstarters· location: nearby the music venue // cap at 3 

Anyone that knew Oscar would be surprised to see him in casual wear. As a lawyer, the man’s primary wardrobe consisted of suits, suits and more suits. Opting for a more casual look, Oscar settled himself at table that was nearby the music. It was loud, but not loud enough that Oscar didn’t hear his phone ring. On the weekend, from a client. He groaned as he picked it up to see the Caller ID. Closing his eyes a moment before answering, he prepared himself for the conversation. “I told you, it’s a holiday weekend, call me on Monday. Your issue will survive and,” he paused, gritting his teeth, “just don’t do anything stupid before then.” He said to his client before setting the phone back on the table. As he did so, it knocked his empty cup to the ground. “Damnit,” he muttered to himself, getting up to pick it up, but not before bumping into someone first. 

-

Okay Cal, you can do this. It’s time. You know it’s time. What else are you going to do, hide for the rest of your life. You have to do this. For Laney. Here goes. Cal coached himself into approaching Mr. Collins. He’d looked up who the lawyers were in town quite some time ago but wasn’t sure if he could trust them. Also, he obviously had no money to pay them since scraping together enough food and rent every week for him and his family was hard enough as it was. But he also knew that he had to try to figure out what legal options he had with his situation. Maybe. He wasn’t convinced it was the best idea yet since he wasn’t always trusting of the white collar world in general. But today felt like the day when he saw Oscar at the festival. But when he got closer and noticed the man didn’t really seem to be having the best conversation, Cal suddenly thought better of it, instead deciding to continue to walk by instead but as luck would have it he ended up running straight into him. “Oh--fuck ugh, sorry--sorry Mr. Collins.” Never usually one to be nervous, Cal was a wreck, having ran straight into one of his only options for getting full custody of Laney.

x

She smiled softly and nodded. “We’ve all been there. I still do that sometimes. You feel like you can make it, but then they start screaming.” She said before shaking your head. “You’re not rude at all, but if you don’t mind, could I try something?” She asked curiously, hoping she wasn’t overstepping at all. She lifted Ivey out of her cart and put her in the other’s with her toys and smiled as the little girls started playing, the wails calming. “Now we’re fine until they start fighting over a toy.” She laughed.

-

“Erm, yeah--sounds so--ugh simple when you put it like that.” He would’ve chuckled at the thought but he didn’t have much to chuckle about at the moment given his state of affairs. Or maybe it was just that he was also hungry--or hangry rather. “Oh--um--” Cal was ready to protest, not feeling comfortable nor trusting of anyone, especially when it came to his daughter. But she was connected the preschool in town somehow right? “Ah, yeah, I suppose so. You are probably pretty good with little girls huh?”

@quinncohen​

“Well, if it isn’t Annabelle Song,” He’d spotted her on his lunch break from working construction on the new bridge project, roughed up a bit and sweaty from the physical labor he was taking on. He wasn’t really sure what all the fuss was about. But he heard it had something to do with restoring some sort of history to the town, not that that meant a single thing to him. This town was where he lived, but that was about all the thinking he gave the actual town of Fallbrook. Cal hadn’t seen Annabelle as much as he used to, so it was a welcome sight on a boring day, when all he’d rather do is be back home with his girl. “What’ve you been up to these days?”