a father, a son, myself

“Ah, that sounds much more manageable. Has she had any big breakthroughs with what the new restaurant will look like? You’re not going to be one of those places with a giant fish tank at the front, are you?” she teased him. “Oh, I wasn’t aware I had been hired as your friend. If that’s the case, you’re several years late on a lot of paychecks,” she joked, going out of her way to try to be more funny than usual if only to distract him from his current troubles. “Was there anywhere else you wanted to go after we get through with this store?”

“No. There’s already an enormous fishtank right in front of the restaurant... the ocean. We don’t need a small one.” Henry joked, leaning against the nearest wall as he looked at his friend, knowing that Mia was just teasing him... as usual. “Damn, well I’ll pay you somehow, someday. You’ll have to stick around for that, however. And I get we can go through it. I’m mainly being stubborn and trying to get note of some prices, so I’m certain the people I’ve hired won’t trick me with high prices.” 

Isabelle couldn’t quite place her feelings at the moment. On one hand, she was excited to spend the night out with one of her closest friends, someone that had proven time and time again that she could count on, someone she was comfortable with. On the other hand, her enthusiasm dwindled the second she thought of going out past a certain hour, traces of insecurity shining through her glimmering facade. After all, it was on a night much like this that she’d had her ‘accident’. 

For Henry’s sake though, the brunette sucked it up and put on a brave face, donning a show stopping outfit suitable for any night out. She was determined to make the best of her time with him, since she felt responsible for making him smile like he had done on so many occasions. With a soft huff, Isabelle pulled out her phone and let Henry know she was on her way out of her place and en route to their spot they’d agreed to meet at. It only took her fifteen minutes to arrive, greeting the tall man with a bright smile. 

❝You’ve done what no man has managed to do in give or take three years: I’m out past eight and I’ve actually done my makeup. You should be proud of yourself.❞

As time passed he looked at the clock in front of him, his fingers tapping against the cold hard glass of his beer merging the rhythm of the song that was playing. It had been a long time ever since he found himself in a establishment that was surrounded by drunk people, and while the environment as a whole should already lift up his mood. It didn’t. In fact, he had been merely murmuring the lyrics of the songs that were sang while drinking and texting Isabelle until she had arrived.

His light eyes that contrasted with the low light of the room, turned to face the brunette, his beer stopping mid air as he smiled. “You look, quoting Joey Tribbiani because I’ve Friends way too much... You look, stop eating hot. Which is highest level if I’m not mistaken.” Motioning his body up, he greeted her with a hug and offered the seat next to him, waiting until she was comfortable enough, to get back to his own chair. 

“Thank you, I’m flattered. Maybe it means that I have some value, or that I’m so miserable you had to. But you know what? I’m going to stick with the first option,” he joked, a smile spreading on his lips before his attention was back to his drink which reminded him of a simple question. “Would you like something to drink?”

“Hey, I never said anything about you not being a bad guy. I’m just saying, that poor guy has enough on his plate without being bombarded by a 12 year old wanting to show off decoration ideas from pintrest, though I am sure they’re nice decorations.” She nodded in agreement, “Yeah if you’re thinking of going with blues and greys then maybe just a little bit of purple as an accent color? That’s a thing right?” She laughed, “I’ve pretty much reached the extent of my home designer knowledge here.”

"Beatrice wasn’t there, but she made sure I’d take notes of her incredible ideas and I found my way to share them all through the meeting, or at least those I was able to understand the purpose behind it all,” he replied, smiling once the memories reached his mind. “I hope it’s a thing, I’ll text her later so I can get to know if our bright idea could work and hey, no worries, I usually hire you as a full time friend, no need to be my designer as well. But thank you for sharing some ideas.”

❝That is a big responsibility, choosing the right song is basically the one thing that really defines how great the karaoke jam session is going to be. Thank you for trusting me.❞ She laughed, crossing her arms as she turned to face him again. She could tell Henry’s spirits were lifted once again and she was grateful she managed to help in some way. ❝Alright, sure. We’ll make a night of it.❞

"You’re saying that as if I didn’t trust you before, nonsense, I know I can.” Winking at her, he looked at her again, spending a few more minutes inside of her establishment, at least glad that he found company later that night. “Good, I’ll see you later then. You have my number, you know where I live and same goes back to you, so there’s no way you could skip it.” Leaning forward against the counter, Henry kissed her cheek before motioning his body up. “Don’t forget it!” 

It was understandable Henry didn’t act like himself around her, yet it didn’t exclude the fact that it was uncomfortable even for someone like Mary. She was carefree and for that reason only, dealing with restrained people proved to be a challenge. There was so much pushing one could go through and, currently, the brunette didn’t feel like she could come out strong with her strangely playful manners. For that, she simply let him take the situation in his own pace, not saying anything to his own analysis.

“Probably you’re more evolved than me - and don’t take this the wrong way, it doesn’t take much for that,” she added up in a quick note before he began to think he statement carried any sarcasm, “but, usually, people aren’t cheering for meeting their exes’ current items. No matter how long it’s been.” The explanation was simply a way to get out of the focus of it. She didn’t want to be seen as the abnormal girl who would make it a big deal about seeing an ex from three years back with someone new, so she blamed it on the entire world that kind of behaviour. Even though she was sure Henry did not fit in the same category - she was certain he wouldn’t care less if he saw her with any of her many lovers. “Yeah, it’s been fun so far,” she lied, stuffing her mouth with her last, cold fries and focusing on the cup of beer she had before her instead. There was no need to add up anymore detailing, mostly because all she did was get high, drunk, flirt around and get pissed by the fact her ex-slash-current-or-not-man didn’t seem to give a rat’s ass about her. 

For once, Mary listened without a retort. Her sharp tongue was resting quietly in her mouth, not finding the proper words to pronounce. In silence, her doe eyes gazed the Australian as he spoke. Once he was done, her look diverged elsewhere, afflicted by displaying any emotions in exaggeration. She kept telling herself that yes, she was emotional, but not the kind that would start crying in the middle of a food festival. His words truly touched her, but she refused to go through the situation he witnessed on new year’s eve. “If that’s what you want, I’ll forget you.” She made a hollow promise, although she intended to keep her end and pretend she had done it, if necessary. At least they were being straightforward, for once.

"Oh I don’t, I wouldn’t be able to find a reason why being more evolved would be a bad thing, and maybe I am, maybe I am not. We’re all different, we all come from different backgrounds, so it’s not as if I could hold something like that against me or against you,” he shared a light shrug along with a smile while his eyes stared at the brunette. “Sometimes it hurts, it makes you feel weird out when you’re forced to see someone new making this person happy, but... it’s inevitable. Changes are inevitable.” He couldn’t know where her words were coming from because their relationship had been ripped off from him and he hadn’t seen Mary moving on, because she wasn’t around. And Jane, Jane was a good exception; ending their relationship as friends never made him feel weird when she ended up finding someone to love, to get married and live happily ever after.

Her words, however, made him raise an eyebrow, unsure of what they truly meant. “You know that I’m not forcing you to do so. It’s just... we’re no longer in that page, and I think it’s unfair to you. A beautiful woman who can enjoy love, and not only love from someone else, but mostly coming from you. It may seem hard to believe, but I do care about you. Specially when I see you this way,” he commented about the state she was next to him, something that wasn’t so clear to get but it was also the same state she was at New Year’s eve, or at least, close enough in his point of view.

And he remained in silence for a few seconds, debating the words inside of his mouth. And since they were having a heart to heart conversation, or the kind of conversation that demanded honest, he felt it wouldn’t hurt to share those things. Because he had moved on from Mary, he was in love, in a relationship that made him feel good and happy about what the future was holding for them. “I know it’s awkward, and you may want to stay away from me due to our past. But whenever you need someone, you can call me. Text me... just know that there’s someone there for you, okay?”

“That poor architect,” Mia chuckled, “It’s nice that she’s taking an interest though. What sorts of decorations has she been showing you? Nothing too outlandish I hope.” She thought on Henry’s question for a moment, “Well, I’m no professional decorator, but I know red is supposed to be a lucky color in China. Or, I don’t know if this counts as lucky, but a deep purple is generally considered a royal color. I don’t know if those would go well together though. You might have to pick one or the other.”

"Hey, I can be a nice guy... in fact, between us both, I’m the nicest one. We were talking about going through some strong textures such as weathered wood, with a color scheme of cool greys and blue tones. And now that you were talking about those colors, maybe we could merge blue and purple, they are somewhat alike, right? I don’t know, I can only pretend I understand what she’s talking about, I’ll look at pictures and tell her if I’ll find it pretty or not.” He replied, staring at Mia, knowing that it was keeping his mind busy which was good.

Walking over to the stand where his collection of opal pieces were, he quickly spotted the necklace he talked about and picked it up. He liked making pieces like this one. They seemed to have a personality of their own when he was creating them. “Here you go. All of these are opal but this one is my favorite.” he told his customer. “I use to take ballet and contemporary but I’m not sure if I would be able to keep up completely with talking about jazz. I’m sure she talks your ears off when talking about all of it though. She sounds well rounded for a twelve year old.” Whereas, when he was twelve, he was trying hard to impress him parents and find his own footing in his family. It was good to hear that this dad was open to letting their child enjoy their passions.  

“She does, sometimes it makes me feel like I’m talking to an adult, so it’s always good when all of a sudden she acts like a kid and I know she’s my cute twelve-year-old daughter who’s just growing up too fast,” he replied with a smile on his lips. It was always a delight to talk about his daughter, the girl who made him so proud. “I’m sure you two would have a lot to talk about. I won’t say next time I’m here, I’ll take her with me... because I fear the idea of Beatrice wanting to buy it all, but at some point you might get to know each other.” The beginning of his comment was a joke, one that maybe the man wouldn’t, but deep down, he was glad that he could’ve made one. “I guess I’ll take this one, is a beautiful piece.”