* 𝐍𝐎𝐓 / 𝐌𝐀𝐆𝐍𝐈𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐓

she    rolls    her    eyes    when         he    mocks    her        ,        arms    shifting        &        tightening    about    her    chest.          gaze    flickering    from    him    to    the    busyness    of    brooklyn       &       back    again.           though    her    expression    softens    when    he    tells    her    he’s    lost    his    mom.             relatable        ,         as    she    too    has    had    to    live    without    her    own    for    the    majority    of    her    life.           watching    with    a    prominent    frown    as    he   pulls    out    his   flask.            “look      ,     i’m    sorry.”            she    huffs.            “i    didn’t    mean    it    like    that.        you    just…”            she    shakes    her    head.          “never    mind.”             she    continues.           swallowing.            “my    mom    used    to    take    me    to    coney    island    before    she    died.          but    fuck    it.            i    really    am    sorry    to    hear    about    your    loss        ,         though.”             she    shrugs.           a    pause.           “you    do    know    being    drunk    makes    the    rides    ten   times    better    right    ?”

he’s laughing, more than likely terribly inappropriately, but he doesn’t much care. in fact, he doesn’t care about anything lately. he knows exactly why she said it, ian duncan was never able to be the kind of person which people took seriously; no matter how hard he tried he was always a joke.  ❝   's no worries darling, hell, most days i wonder if i’m a professor too !   ❞ he laughs, this time more appropriately. he hands her over the flask, there’s a sympathetic knit in his brow.  ❝   's not easy is it ? i was never overly close with mum,   ❞ she was a prostitute after all  ❝   not until she was much older & so was i.   ❞ he shrugs  ❝   y’go there often, then ?   ❞ he asks her, accidentally shoulder checking someone as he passed them by, muttering a sad kind of sorry but not to interrupt his own conversation. 

but part of me wants to completely revamp before doing that. 

i’m not sure, but either way, i’m coming back soon ! i miss my muses over here & want to write more!

                          IF HE HAD SHOWN UP IN WHAT MADE HIM MORE OR LESS COMFORTABLE this could have been a very different date, but at least he’d be more or less comfortable right? from what he could tell she might have REALLY got a kick out of it anyway. he brought his drink towards his lips and downed it before he looked back towards her with ease. he was TRULY enjoying this and he never could have predicted that, or expected that at all. she was nothing like what he could have expected or predicted but he was really enjoying this whole BLIND DATE thing and he was really glad that he had convinced himself to go because he had been ready to stand her up and she DEFINITELY didn’t deserve that. she was special and he hadn’t had this feeling since well…. since he met his wife.  he laughed honestly as he grabbed his fork and took a bite of his dinner before he looked back towards patty laughing lightly as he moved his fingers over his mouth and cleared his throat still giving a good THROATY laugh at that. “ oh i think our second date is quite literally spelled out for us at this point, how can we even deny it? “ he laughed again. “ unless something REALLY goes wrong in the next hour or so, i think we’ll be seeing each other again? ” he inquired as he reached out for his drink again his finger tips gently tapping the glass as he sat there admiring her for the moment.  alec hadn’t smiled this much in a long time, and he was enjoying this dinner there wasn’t a lot to it besides a few drinks, some food and PLEASANT conversation really. that was the most people could ask for these days wasn’t it? most people so glued to technology. he adjusted his position in his chair as he leaned forwards a bit and started to laugh at her again as he nodded his head. 

“ yeah? just REMEMBER THIS when i show up on date two in all of that and you don’t get over it in two seconds. “ he told her but he was joking and laughing even as he said it to her. he laughed as she carried on about how she wouldn’t be able to look at her phone seriously because she’s so blind in that manner it would be SQUISHED to her face just to try to avoid conversations around them. they both seemed to be a little more old fashioned in the traditions of dating which alec could appreciate. maybe it was because they had been married not that either actually knew that about the other in the moment. those were probably conversations that would need a FIFTH OR SIXTH date to get through.  they would have understanding that they could not have anywhere else, that sort of mutual pain for losing a loved one, being widowed and reminding in so many things about their LOST LOVE from just seeing a book they loved, to a commercial on tv just being a triggered reminder of who they had been with once upon a time. always in their hearts right? alec shook his head, “ you NEED to know do you? “ he toyed curiously. his fingers traced around his glass before he looked back towards her. “ i was full ready to stand you up, no joke, i was ready to hit send on the text, but then our friend, ever GRACIOUS that they are sent me a message about you know, dress up, try to be professional…. “ he laughed ending it with a sort of blah blah before continuing, “ so i did… i don’t know it was like someone interrupting that send, something higher up, and i’m a man of science. “ he added quickly. “ felt i had to give it a shot anyway. “ 

𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 in what felt like an eternity. but she couldn’t stop that twinge of guilt that was gnawing away at her insides. she felt so terrible because she was truthfully happier than she thought she could ever be again. there was by no means any thoughts of replacing stanley or even getting over the tragic loss of the love of her life, the loss of the man who made her world stop spinning every time he looked at her. but there was hope of moving on every single time she looked into alec holland’s eyes. truthfully, she was having a hard time stopping her eyes from welling up with tears. to most people, it would sound foolish that she was having a hard time with the idea of letting herself be happy again--------but for patty, it was the farthest thing from foolish. 

but patty decides in this moment ( maybe, for the hundredth time that night ) that she deserves to be happy. that nothing she was doing was wrong or disrespectful in the least-------she decided that the most disrespectful thing that she could do would be to let this man-------this person that was making her heart soar------slip between her fingers. to let herself miss this opportunity would be a tragedy above all else. so, she stops thinking. in her mind, she takes three deep breaths. she promises herself that she won’t let herself get sad for the rest of the night. not while she was sitting face to face with the most delightful person who had come into her life in so long. 

patty exhaled deeply, but silently so that alec wouldn’t hear her, craned her head to the side. there was something undeniable that drew them together------------------she couldn’t explain it then and there, but she knew there was more to it than meets the eye. they shared a bond & perhaps even a tragedy. but that was something that patty uris would have to wait to find out. she couldn’t pry personal details out of someone so quickly !

❝    yes, need !    ❞ patty laughs, exaggerating the word need almost comically.  ❝    it just seems to be some primal and undeniable urge for me to pick & prod at your brain to know what you're really thinking. maybe i should have been a shrink !   ❞ she laughs, because oh god patty knows that she would be a horrible psychiatrist. she barely had time to listen to her own problems & try to deal with them, let alone be responsible for someone else's wellbeing ! to hell with that ! she thought to herself.  ❝    i take that back-----------i would be a terrible shrink ! but just know that at least i would never ask you anything i wouldn’t answer myself.  ❞ she tells him, hoping to sound comforting.

patty quiets herself for a moment, takes a drink of her wine, and moves her now empty dinner plate out of the way. she feels the hairs on her arms stand up as alec insinuates some kind of divine intervention that caused them to actually be able to meet tonight. it gave her the chills because patty had felt that there was something that stopped her from canceling as well-----something that she absolutely could not explain. she was debating not getting to her car. not getting out of her car once she got into the restaurant. and then debated leaving when she did get into the restaurant. but something told her to just hang tight. that it was worth staying.

she could have sworn there was a grin on her face spread from ear-to-ear.  ❝    that’s comforting to know---------and i’m not being sarcastic.    ❞ she tells him.  ❝    because i did everything that i could to talk myself out of coming. just honestly not showing up. but somehow, i still wound up here.   ❞ she pauses.  ❝    with you.   ❞ patty is staring into his eyes right now, probably seems a little bit dramatic but she does have a flair for drama, after all !