awake my soul

location: faraday gallery status: open to all @fordbaycontent

The idea was to get inspired. Or at least, that’s what he has himself convinced of when he decides to settle down in the remote and random location. If it were possible, Lai would have literally found a place that was the most distance from his family and settled down there without a doubt. For now, Fordbay was that to him – no matter how much he tried to convince the people around it it was merely for inspiration for his work – it was a reprieve from the expectations in his personal life. His work had been untouched for months to be fair. He wrote a sentence and promptly pushed it aside for another few months. Rinse and repeat. The point was he was not producing enough work for his agent to get off his back and stop emailing him frantically on his whereabouts. The idea was to get enough muse for anything at this point to be able to produce something so he could buy himself more time. With the dry spell he was having, he calculated that if he even wrote a chapter or two or nonsense he would be able to get a few more months question free. 

Lai was a writer, not a strategist. Granted, his reasoning and scheming might not be the best but Faraday Gallery had some really beautiful art. If anything could amp up his creative juices certainly it could be vicariously living through other creative beings. After a wander about it becomes apparent he is not going to somehow soak in the auras of the creators who poured their heart and souls into their walk. There is a defeatist sigh when he sinks to a bench head thrown back as he tries to come up with a legitimate excuse to tell his publishing agent. He broke his finger and therefore couldn’t possibly be expected to write?

.

Harvey didn’t like coming to the gallery. It was the only place in Fordbay that always left him feeling like he didn’t belong. There was something about this part of the town that got him constantly thinking if he every would be part of this all. He wasn’t an artist, at least not on to be considered worth to be here, he knew how to use his hands to work, it’s how he made his living and even though Roger called him an artist on his field, he still felt less, a bit out of place whenever he walked down those halls surrounded by things that had nothing to do with him. Roger in the other hand loved this place. All the times Harvey came by was in the presence of the other man, the two would take long quiet strokes down this halls as they appreciated everything they could take in, Roger enjoyed the small things of life, the simple the mere he would say and tried to share with Harvey as much of the things he liked to the point of Harvey himself being able to appreciate certain things.

Now there was no Roger to accompany him on this moments. It had been awhile since the last time he came by, but today particularly, Harvey felt the need to be closer to his passed lover, he wanted to feel Roger by his side even if it was in the minimal of ways. Silly? Maybe so, but he was desperately trying to grasp at anything that he could at this point.

He came enough times to be confident enough to know when a new piece of art was added the gallery. Turning a well known corner, he was faced with a painting he hadn’t seen before and the man sitting close to it caught his attention. “Is this one yours?”

Val had loved coming to this store since she was in high school. There weren’t many reasons for her to be in Old Port except to go to the store. Harvey was a calming presence she always sought out when things with her parents got tense. She shot him a smile and sighed before replying, “You’re giving them the benefit of the doubt. You and I both know it’s just another way for them to assert more control over my life. I’m sure he’s a swarmy, intelligent man eager to suck up to my father and use me to get further into his good graces. I’m not interested.”

.

“Ms. Grady....I am sure it is none of that,” Harvey said, giving the younger woman a small smile. He knew the Grady family and what they were capable of, as well as how their control over their daughter, only to drive the later crazy. But he also knew they didn’t mean any harm while doing so, it was just their way of showing how they felt. “You could always give him the benefit of the doubt, there’s always the chance he might surprise you in the end.”

WHO: @sydneydaltons​

Harvey was that kind of guy that knew everyone around town. Owning a general store came with it’s perks and one was being able to help people when needed, something Harvey grew accustomed of and actually loved to do. Sydney Dalton was one of the people he always felt the need to help, he knew her aunt and remembered her from all of those summers years ago, he was one of the first ones to support her and to always be there when she needed, even if meant to go after a bat that felt like the bar was a good home.

“Well, this is one that will not see the light of the day anytime soon,” Harvey said, getting down of his ladder as he held the shoe box containing the small bat. He couldn’t see it in himself to kill the small animal. “Little dude looks tougher than he seemed. I am glad you are out of danger right now. Kryptonite was something I was out at the store, didn’t know for how long you would be out of danger.”

Choking a bit on the air in her lungs, the realization that Harvey was making jokes trickled into her consciousness as she turned to look at him. A laugh escaped her burning lugs but it could’ve easily been a sob that ran its course through her body. Rubbing her face with her hands, her frame was shaking while she continued giggling, finally looking up at Harvey with a fondness that could blow people over. She truly loved this man. Her constant, her home, the only one she had left. “We should file a complaint.” She joked in return, her head still slowly shaking. “I can and I would and frankly, I have. Leftover lasagna for breakfast, Pesto for lunch, and tortellini for dinner.” Waving her spoon in front of his wave, her nose crinkled, revealing faint wrinkles. “Don’t you dare shame me about it.” Bumping back against him, Haley swayed against his frame for a second, giving herself some comfort. And while his familiar voice recalled so fondly the things her father once said, her own gaze fixated on the specks of vanilla drowned in the ice cream. She held up quite well until now - other than a minor breakdown during the burial - so she sure wouldn’t lose it over her father’s bland tastes, no matter how much her eyes were burning. Taking a spoonful of the ice cream, she put it back down once she was done with it, gaze locking onto Harvey. “Because he taught it was you. You guys really liked pushing each other onto the pedestal.” The smile crept onto her face without Haley even realizing it. “Just leave it, we can order a Pizza anyway.” Pushing herself off the counter, she cleared her throat and decided to finally come clean. “So, I bought a house.” After crashing on his couch for the past few days, she knew there was no way in hell she was leaving Fordbay and Harvey ever again. Not when they needed each other. “On Old Bridge Road. It’s a mess. But I’ll make it work.” Fiddling with her own hands, she didn’t know how to put it lightly so she went for the blunt approach. “I could really use a job though.”

.

Getting a little laugh out of Haley in a moment like this, eve if it was only to mask all the sadness she was feeling, he was trying. All his life from knowing the Crain family he developed such a fondness for the girl that when everything changed, he loved her like if she was his own. She was his kid. And it was his mission to help her feel better, even if he was still trying to put the pieces together. “I’ll be sure to get the paperwork ready,” he joked back, a soft, tender smile on his face. “Oh I would never shame you, kid,” he chuckled at her words. “If you want to be the weirdo with the weird habits, that is on you.” Harvey instantly wrapped one of his hands around her shoulder, pulling her towards him in a one armed hug and pressed a kiss to the top of her kiss. It was just the two of them against the world, now. The fun fact about this whole situation was that no matter how hard Roger and himself tried to be discreet about their relationship, somehow Haley always knew. “Mm, we were really two old fools weren’t we?” His gaze locking on hers as the small smile on his face mimicked the one on hers. “Alright, I’ll just get the phone then,” his movements were put to a stop with Haley’s sudden confession, a brow raising as he stared at the woman and processed the whole information. “Well, it was about damn time. I didn’t know for how much longer my couch would hold there with you on it.” He joked, giving her a small smile to show her support. “Good, I am getting old. I need someone to help me carry those boxes around.” Harvey didn’t have much, but if he could, he would give Haley anything she asked him to.

location: harvey’s general store

status: open

@fordbaycontent​​

What was supposed to be a quick stop at Harvey’s to buy something sweet took a turn for the annoying once Val received a call from her mother. She had a basket swinging from her arm as she walked down the aisle. “Yeah but…okay mom just…yes I’ll be there but I’m not interested in meeting anyone. If it’s another attempt at matchmaking, I will not hesitate to leave. Okay, love you too. Bye.” Valentina sighed, ending the call and hitting her phone lightly against her forehead. “Why the hell do parents get so much enjoy from interfering with their child’s love life?” She asked aloud, though the question was really rhetorical.

.

The store was relatively quiet on that day, so Harvey had every opportunity he could to give people the attention and need they needed. He honestly didn’t want to pry, but he couldn’t help but hear the whole conversation, brow raising as he recognized that same conversation. It was one he used to hear all the time from his own parents. “Well, I don’t know if I am the best to give an opinion on this case, but they are probably just trying to get what they think it’s best for you?”

date: January 15th, 2021 location: Harvey’s home, at Roger Crain’s wake tagging: @mrharvey​

Haley’s frame was illuminated by the lights of the car which had just left its parking spot, two figures waving a final goodbye at the woman as she lifted her hand in response, watching as they drove away, leaving her in darkness once again. The last of them were gone and after a long day, the house finally stopped buzzing with conversations. With a sigh, she turned around and shut the front door, immediately unbuttoning her black blouse to reveal a black tank top underneath it. “They breathed all the oxygen away. It’s so hot in here.” Slipping out of the slightly sheer material, she glanced around the place she once called home to only see any emptiness she had never experienced before. He was truly gone. Stopping herself from the panic which was rising in her chest, she tiptoed to the kitchen and found Harvey, causing a faint smile to pop onto her lips. “I hate wakes. They weren’t fun as a kid, they weren’t fun as a teenager and they aren’t any fucking fun as an adult.” She murmured towards the man as she glanced into the pots and bowls the guests had brought along. She opened one of them and then closed it again, shoving it across the counter towards the surely equally exhausted man. “Almost everyone brought Casserole. Why do people think of Casserole when they think of death? Someone should look into that.” Casually opening one of the drawers, she slipped out of her black pumps and fished out two spoons. Her, now bare, feet carried her to the freezer and she fished out a tub of ice cream before she carried it back to Harvey and found a seat on top of the kitchen counter. “Vanilla. Boring but it was his favorite.” Handing one of the spoons to him, she finally met his gaze, ignoring the tears which tried to burn their way out. It was terrifying. All day Haley was pretending to be fine but now that everyone was gone and the one person who knew her best was left, she was so scared she might crumble. Fall apart. Cry. Scream. And she didn’t want that. Not today. Not when Harvey’s heart was equally broken. When he lost the man he loved. Tomorrow was another day. “Eat up, Harv. In honor of Roger who really knew a lot of people who liked Casserole , apparently.”

.

A long day. A very, exhausting long day where Harvey had to pretend that his hear wash’t shattered into pieces, that he wasn’t morning the loss of his lover, that he felt like he couldn’t breathe again. No one knew. No one knew what Roger Crain actually meant to him, that he was his better half, half of his soul, or even that he took his whole heart with his last breath. No one knew and Harvey had to pretend. He was so tired of pretending. He heard the last couple leave and let out a sigh of relief, he appreciated all of them, but the only thing Harvey wanted was to be left alone. The house was now too quiet, too big and too cold for his liking. He could hear Haley complaining in the distance, forcing a small smile appear on his face as he turned to look at her, rag in hand as he finished cleaning the rest of the dishes. “Funny isn’t it? How they are called wakes when there is not one a-waking,” he pointed out, crossing his arms as he leaned against he counter. Humor. Humor was the only thing the two seemed to have in common that could help cope with it all. “Well, at least they are not all lasagnas. Can you imagine eating pasta all day?” He placed the rag on the counter, cracking his neck to relief some tension, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt as he got into a more comfortable situation. A hint of an amused smile appeared on his face as he saw Haley get the tub of ice cream, accepting one of the spoons he was handed, lightly bumping his shoulder against hers. He didn’t need to say anything anymore, a look in her eyes and he knew how much she felt Roger’s loss just like this. “He always said the best things in life are the most simple ones, starting with his ice cream of choice,” he shook his head, scooping up some of the ice cream. So many memories, a life that was completely gone by now. Harvey would need to figure out how to carry on and mend his pieces. “I always said he was the popular kid, he always fought me against it.” He sighed, gaze moving from hers to the pile of pots on top of the kitchen table. “Do you think it is too soon to throw this all away and ask for a pizza?”