so it goes

“I was with my mom this summer in Germany... I wasn’t even trying to snoop. I was looking for nail clippers and... yeah, I’m shook.”

“Yes. Dust.”

“North Carolina's climate is changing. Most of the state has warmed one-half to one degree (F) in the last century, and the sea is rising about one inch every decade. Higher water levels are eroding beaches, submerging low lands, exacerbating coastal flooding, and increasing the salinity of estuaries and aquifers. That’s terrifying.”

“I’m definitely on the nice list... with certain people.”

𝐅𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐃    𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑     :      𝐉𝐂.     𝐉𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐎    &.      𝐄.    𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐘𝐒𝐎𝐍

𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐒 𝐀 𝐃𝐄𝐄𝐏 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇 𝐀𝐒 𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐎'𝐒 𝐈𝐍𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐑𝐘 ——  ❝ she literally flipped out , i mean maybe i shouldn’t have been as impulsive as i was but i mean , like you said maybe right now it’s the right time , what if i hadn’t said anything ?  ❞ he says but then runs his hands against his face  ❝ i kind of told her that i am still in love with her —– not my brightest moment i know . ❞

Milo looked at him like he was crazy. Was this the same guy who had been through the same horrific events he watched him go through? “And... what about your wife?” He asked him, looking around. “And Mafe? She doesn’t even know this chick. Dude,” he said, slapping his chest. “You don’t think, bro.”

𝐅𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐃      𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑      :           𝐑.      𝐇𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐓𝐎𝐍     &.     𝐄.      𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐘𝐒𝐎𝐍

𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐄𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐋 𝐒𝐘𝐌𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐎 𝐃𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐒 𝐀 𝐒𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐒𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐄 𝐒𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐎𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐏𝐒  —— his next few words cause a chuckle  ❝ you are a hundred percent correct , they are like fucking death . i truly believe that i will never marry again and if i do , a pre-nup will be at the top of my list . ❞ a chuckle escapes and he looks around the bar  ❝ congratulations man , really this place is really nice .   ❞ wrapping his digits around the bottle , he fills the cup to the middle  ❝  you should really join me , if not tonight than maybe another night . ❞

Milo really wasn’t one who needed too much influencing because he’s tempted from the beginning. He shrugged and took the towel off his shoulder, pouring more liquor into shot glasses and a beer to top it all off. “You don’t have to tell me twice to drink, these guys got it,” he said, pointing to the other bartenders. “Thanks, man, I appreciate it. Cheers to being... bachelors,” he said, lifting his glass. 

beckett wasn’t really a man of many words, but he felt awkward just standing there in silence. “ you want a smoke …? ” he asks after a minute, reaching for the pack tucked in his jacket pocket. 

Milo looked at the cigarette and back at his pampas and back at the cigarette and shrugged, putting his tools in the wagon. “Thanks, man,” he said, taking one from him and lighting it up. “I’m Milo,” he said, extending his hand.

A laugh left her lips at his words. “You know, it really isn’t ever day that someone who owns a bar comes out and cuts flowers for it. Like is that a thing? I guess when I’m in a bar I never really notice floral arrangements if there are one.” Grace told the other as she thought through the few times she had managed to go out at night, which wasn’t very often. “Hey, I’m just a vet. Not going to arrest you for taking some flowers. If anything I’ll just encourage it because these are pretty so someone should appreciate them outside of here.”

“Hey, desperate times call for desperate matters. Don’t hate on the grind, ma’am. I’m here to entertain and serve the folks of Mapleview,” he said, shrugging his shoulders, taking pride in his work. “Plus, you haven’t noticed because you haven’t seen a bar so finely decorated. You gotta check it out. Nein’s, you won’t regret it, promise.”

𝑲𝑹𝑰𝑺𝑻𝑰𝑵𝑨 𝑭𝑬𝑨𝑻. 𝑴𝑰𝑳𝑶

if there was anything that made her day any better , it surely was getting some fresh air by the mapleview park . she hadn’t realized how early it really had been , walking through the pavement , the sound of her heels clacking and the rough voice making her do a full stop .  a coquettish smile on rose petals ❛ mh, maybe you can .   ❜ she leans her head to the side observing him ❛ missed me , bello ?  ❜

Milo grinned at her, slowing down his movements and taking in the view. “Well, well, well, look at what the act dragged in!” Milo said, putting down his scissors and dusting off his hands to hug the red-head. “It’s been too long!” He said. “Jeez, huh?” He said, looking at her in front of him. “How’ve you been?”

—Oh no, you just don’t look like any of the gardeners I know—  and Sarahi would know, she spends a lot of her free time hanging around the local parks, even in the wee hours of the morning when parks normally received maintenance. Still looking at the man, she lets out a slight laugh, although she doesn’t want to, and she supposes that anyway, her tone of voice has given her away before, she definitely finds the event amusing. —Do you think you can cut some for me too, please? —.

Milo chuckled, tossing the pampas into the wagon and nodded. “I’m a new gardener, swear,” he joked around and winked at her. Milo had a charming aura to him, it was how he ignored the reality of the chaotic world he grew up in. “Sure, do you work around here or somethin’?” He asked her. “For legal purposes, I’m definitely not Milo,” he said, extending his hand with a grin. 

𝐅𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐃      𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑      :           𝐑.      𝐇𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐓𝐎𝐍     &.     𝐄.      𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐘𝐒𝐎𝐍

𝐀 𝐂𝐇𝐔𝐂𝐊𝐋𝐄 𝐄𝐒𝐂𝐀𝐏𝐄𝐒 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐏𝐒 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐀 𝐍𝐎𝐃 𝐀𝐒 𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒 𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐎 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐊 ——— ❝ well everyone needs a drink , I mean look at me here . ❞ he says with a chuckle as he looked at the homme before him ❝ she actually just returned , were both in mapleview but it’s more like soon to be ex- wife . ❞ he wanted to feel shocked , to be surprised that people knew about him and rosalia but this was mapleview, everyone knew everything about everyone . ❝ and you ? anyone has you in love or is the bachelor life still thriving ? ❞

Milo’s eyebrows raised as he mentioned ex-wife, he was one to be off the grid, especially most recently. He hadn’t had the best track record around town. He nodded and shrugged, “I had no clue, man, my condolences. They divorces are like death,” he said and sucked air in through his teeth. “You know me, I prefer to call it– self-growth,” he said, running his hand through the air as if he were painting it out. He chuckled, he couldn’t take himself seriously. “Not at the moment, just me and my baby,” he said, pointing behind him towards the red neon light sign that read, ‘NEIN’S.’

𝐅𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐃    𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑     :      𝐉𝐂.     𝐉𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐎    &.      𝐄.    𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐘𝐒𝐎𝐍

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐒𝐍’𝐓 𝐀 𝐋𝐎𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐏𝐄𝐎𝐏𝐋𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐉𝐔𝐀𝐍 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐎𝐒 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃 𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍 𝐔𝐏 ——— emilio was one of the few ❝ can you not be a condescending dick for like two seconds ? ❞ he says with a roll of his eyes , his hands intertwined between his legs ❝ I apologizes and she flipped out on me , saying that after I left her she had this one night stand or whatever with this guy and he got her pregnant and then left her and it just went down hill from there I guess . ❞

Milo’s jaw kept dropping as Juan Carlos kept describing the poor girls situation. “Jeez, huh?” He said, rubbing an eye and stretching. “So, she flipped out on you? What’d you say?” He inquired. “I want to know what not to say when I run into a blast from the past,” he said and shrugged, chuckling to himself. 

Grace tilted her head slightly to the side like she was thinking about his question. “Well, none that I can remember but you never know, crazier things have happened.” She pointed out with a laugh. She reached her own hand out to shake his. “Nice to meet you too, Milo. Grace Lange.” the brunette introduced herself with a smile. “So do you typically come out here and just get flowers? I mean seems pretty smart.”

“I’m sure Jeffrey Dahmer used this technique at one point,” he said and laughed. Milo truly did think he was funny. He shook his head, “No, no, I don’t love coming out to the park and looking like that crazy guy you’ll see on the news for doing weird stuff in public but this is the only place I can find pampas in Mapleview and I thought, why the hell not? I need it for my floral arrangements I’m using this season at my bar. I like to think of it as trade, you know, I pay my taxes and all and I can take a little bit of Mapleview pampas,” he said, shrugging.