With his old guitar resting on a side of the couch idly nearby, the former musician shifted his position to face his friend, a bright grin plastered on his features. He wasn’t used to play or make music anymore, not after his wive’s death. Playing guitar had turned more into an activity to bond with Isabella, who at least once a week demanded a lullaby to be able to sleep to which her father happily complied. The love and passion Ari had once felt for music that led him to making a career out of it at twelve years old  had vanished out of nowhere. 

lucy wasn’t ready to find her… brother in law? ex-brother in law? funny how she had never stopped to think about what her relationship with aristóteles would be now, especially before attempting to show up at his doorstep. the thought got an unintentional scoff from her — at herself, sure, but he didn’t know that. the moment she caught herself, she placed her hand on her lips as an attempt to stop any more of her often unintentional attacks towards anyone, in her odd attempts to feel better. funny how she thought she was ready to deal with it — it wasn’t even about ari. it was about nat, about how much she missed her, about how bad she had treated her sister and her partner. it was about guilt and shame and a lot of unprocessed grief, which unfortunately often translated into anger. ah fuck, she should’ve stayed home! 

the tone in his voice was not unreasonable. if anything, it was well deserved. but still, even though she knew this, lucy’s eyes welled up: all of those emotions piling up and that tone he gave her were what tipped her over the edge. but she refused to let the tears fall; she used her thumb to wipe any trace of water off her face, before anything would roll down her cheeks. “larga historia,” she half-admitted, as it really was something to discuss at another time. despite every single emotion going through the velasco woman right that moment, she knew where her priorities were. and again, aristóteles’ skepticism was something she had to respect — as painful as it was. “¿dónde está?” she asked, not as concerned as her tone would’ve implied, but curious and impatient. her heart thumped in her chest, so hard she wondered if it would stay there for much longer. her eyes darted around the man’s proximity, but once it was clear bella wasn’t with him, her hazel eyes tinted red by the tears she refused to let fall, settled on him. and his question, again, made sense. lucy’s heart ached so much for how things had happened that she couldn’t get herself to explain everything in that moment, in the middle of a staten island sidewalk. “no, no — mi papá… se regresaron a méxico… ya tiene rato. y pues… por eso mismo. ¿no se acercaron nunca?” she asked, her eyes welling up again. “¿nunca te preguntaron por ella?” her voice cracked mid-question. they never asked her about nat, or about her. by process of elimination, she figured ari wouldn’t have received any questions either. after a hard sniff and a quick fix to her hair, lucy looked back at the young man. “¿te puedo invitar un café, o algo? necesito… necesito pedirte una disculpa.”

Ari would be lying if he said there wasn’t anger and pure, unadulterated hatred clinging to his chest reserved only for the Velasco. In the years he shared with his wife, the psychologist had worked to make them the happiest he could; a task the family made almost impossible. The Velasco had been a tight-knit family before in-laws appeared, according to his wife. Her and Lucy had been the closest to best friends any sisters could be, not to mention Nat had been a daddy’s girl through and through. Breaking free from the Velasco family had been, in Nat’s own words as freeing as it had been heartbreaking. They, from all people, had caused more heart ache than any other person in his wive’s lifetime and that was something he couldn’t simply forget. 

“Helping people. When I needed help from everything I had going on when we lost Bella’s mom, therapy was the one constant helping hand in my life. I hope I can do the same for the people who trust me with their hardships. And I get sweets and stuff every once in a while, so tha’s a bonus.”

You can blame my college roommate, she was obsessed with it last year. Me? Sansa? I’m lacking the gingerness, but maybe I could pull off a wig? Hi, I’m Frankie.

I definitely will. I grew up a fan of his music so I’m glad the world is catching up. Sounds like your college roommate and I could get drunk and listen to some of his songs. And hey, a wig is easy to get and I think you’d definitely pull it off. Then all you’ll need is some fur, faux of course. Try lacking a gap between your front teeth. Frankie, pleasure to meet you. I’m Aristóteles, but you can call me Ari.

“El sol de México himself? I’ll take that as a compliment, I have to work on my kick when singing. Has anyone ever told you you look like Sansa Stark? Remarkable.”

“I was in a reality show already, actually? When I was a kid. It was one of the ones that had singing contests, and they had a bunch of ten-to-fifteen-year-olds staying together in some big house, learning about music? It was actually pretty fun. I came top three and no, you cannot google it to find any videos, sorry. Anyway, my desire to be on screen kinda died down after I turned fifteen, already had my shot.”

“I guess my daughter is a very lame answer huh? Yeah, there are many people I’d like to spend more time with, people I’d like to get to know better. Friends, others...”

“I’m willing to bet money that I feel worse. If you weren’t hogging all the sheets, I’d probably still be buried underneath a mountain of pillows,” Xyla responded in an equally raspy voice before pulling the plush duvet blankets closer around her naked chest. Despite her reckless college years filled with shameless hookups and waking up on the other side of town , it had been years since Xyla had woken up to a nameless stranger in her bed. She blamed that on being in failed relationships for the greater part of the last five years, but regardless, most people were up and out before sunrise. 

After a quick sip from the bottle in her hand, she handed it to him as a peace offering. “Here. You need to hydrate so you can tell me everything you do remember about last night,” Xy said with a small smile, hoping to ease awkwardness in the room help piece together the last twelve hours.

“If my head wasn’t killing me I’d make a very lame joke about the sheets I can’t quite land right now” he offered helplessly caressing his forehead before untangling himself from the duvet and pulling himself up, searching for a piece of clothing as he tried to yet again make himself panic less about the ordeal. He knew Bella, his daughter, was with her grandma so there was no real reason to feel guilty about it other than not remembering anything about the night and knowing the other didn’t either, but it didn’t stop him.

Asa shot him a rueful smile. He’d never been good with this sort of thing. He was already a bit awkward- it didn’t help that he’d ghosted this poor man who’d literally done nothing wrong. He was as handsome as he’d always been sitting there, and Asa just kept feeling the guilt building in his gut. He sighed, brushing fingers through his pushed back hair gently. “Work. Yeah, it’s… fantastic, actually. A lot of projects upcoming and… there’s whisperings of a possible award nomination for best illustrator for a YA novel series? Which I don’t think I ever considered was a… thing?” 

He sipped his coffee gently, setting it back down. “I know, I know… it’s…” He gestured vaguely to his head. “…maybe it would be better not to speak of it.” Asa looked over at him, and he couldn’t help laughing. “I look good? I don’t believe that. I’m sleep deprived and I don’t think I’ve left my apartment in days. You’re the one who looks somewhat presentable. How’s Bella?”

Aristóteles wore his heart on his sleeve on the day-to-day. He had learned to separate his work self, a more poised, attentive Ari who tried his best to conceal from his normal, expressive and open self. Alas the bright grin and rush of excitement upon hearing about his handsome friend’s news wasn’t a surprise. “That’s amazing, congratulations man, that’s really cool. I need to get my hand on that series, what’s it called? Look at you, all up and ready to kick ass of all illustrators. Despain will be proud” he grinned.  

The young man nodded, shifting in his seat. Maybe not speaking of it would be a good decision, against his better judgement. Maybe they could leave whatever happened behind if none addressed the relationship they once had. A chuckle. “Please, you know you’re hot even if you are a hermit. I’ve seen the comments of fans online” Ari hinted, arching a brow playfully. At the mention of Bella, he couldn’t help but beam. “She’s great, thanks. A force to be reckoned. I got called from her school the other day because she talked back to a teacher who was being a dick to a boy. I’m gonna have a field trip once she hits puberty.”

“Chelle wears sweaters all the time- it’s the only consistent thing my mom buys for me at Christmas time.” Gus laughed. The tiny chihuahua got cold very easily and was known to shake at the drop of a hat. “She’s just too small. Needs something to keep her warm. I’ll have to get a purple sparkly sweater for her, surprise Bella with it.” He was sure the little girl would love seeing her furry friend all ‘bedazzled’.

He took another long sip of his wine and laughed. “I’ll cook for you then. And Bella. I bet I could find something you both like, even if she’s a picky eater.” Gus leaned his face against his palm, elbow propped up on the counter. He wasn’t expecting Ari to say that he was proud of him. His face flushed and he shot him a glare. “Don’t go gettin’ soft on me, Ari. You’ve had one sip. I need at least two glasses before I start getting mushy.” He tapped his own wine glass, shaking his head sheepishly. He sat back a bit, sighing. “I’m fine. I have my bad days but I’m doing alright.“ He said simply, brushing his dark hair out of his face.

“Wait… a plastic baby Jesus. This sounds familiar. And very religious. Do people eat the baby by accident? And it sounds like it’s not great luck if you have to buy everyone tamales.” He added with a grin.

“Don’t give her ideas man, I’m telling you. She’ll get you one of those purses where you carry your dogs all the time and ask you to bring her wherever you go so she’s never cold or alone. But don’t get the sparkly sweater, we’ll get it for you. Bella will be so happy. If we suddenly come to you with a pet carrier and a thousand sweaters, I am not responsible for that. I can never say no to that girl, it’s the eyes” Bella, who’s face was identical to her mother’s and made Ari’s days torturously beautiful every single day.

The psychologist grinned, shaking his head “Don’t worry, she’s far from a picky eater. She was eating mexican food before turning one so we got her used to a lot of flavors really early in life. She is allergic to shellfish but the rest? We’ll eat anything. She even tried crickets once” he shared. As Gus mocked his words, Ari could only muffled a laugh and roll his eyes playfully. “Shut up, you know what I mean, man. I’m a therapist and shit now, I get payed to say that so I get to do it once for free to a friend who really makes me proud. If you get all mushy I’m taking the wine from you” he warned, guiding his friend to the living room so they could be more comfortable, cheese plate and wine bottle in hand. “Bad days are fine, bad days are human. You’re not letting them control you and that’s more than many can say.”

 A hum. “Very religious. Yet again, all of Mexico is very religious so it’s on brand. But it’s also an excuse to gather around with some friends and just have a good day, you know? And there are many stories of people who have tried to swallow the plastic figures because they don’t wanna pay the price, yes. But it’s hard. This year, there are a lot of baby Yodas taking the place of baby jesus. Weird celebration, I know.”

“Ah, good to know.” He said with a laugh, grinning over at the man and the little girl which if he had to assume, James would have guessed it was his daughter. “I’ve never been here and all those milkshake options sound incredible.” James added a few seconds later before he glanced back up at the menu with a shake of his head. “I was gonna go with my old standard of mint chocolate chip-” He trailed off with a shrug. “Have you been here before? Is there anything you’d recommend?” James asked as he looked back over to the man, the gentle smile never once leaving from his lips.

At the sound of the word milkshakes, Bella immediately brightened up; tugging at her father’s coat excitedly. “Guess someone got into the milkshake high” he chuckled, taking Bella’s hand before turning his attention to the other at the question. “Well, our go-to normally is the first candy bar we see, right Bell? Sometimes strawberry” he grinned, shrugging lightly. “They have kit-kat flavor, which sounds insane but it’s actually nice. But if you like mint chocolate chip, they may still have candy cane” Ari offered. “Anyway, whatever you choose is on us, right Bell?” the man directed his gaze at his daughter who in response, grinned bashfully at the young man.

“Thomas, James, Llewellyn, Dillon, Asa, I’m gonna throw Sean in the mix. But my list could be ten pages long.” // @thomascoleman, @jamesselroy, @llewellyn-reed, @dillonwolfe, @asaxholland, @sean-oshea