With Niles gone (and as much as she wanted to say ‘good riddens’ she also missed the man dearly) Larry became the person Rita had known longest in her very very long life. He was her partner and he always would. There was no one who knew her better, there was no one who knew him better, despite her own vanity she did pay attention (sometimes). “I would never Larry,” She responded with her tone loud and dramatic as per usual. “I wouldn’t sell you for decent fabric and labels, I’d sell you for the very best.” Despite the joke Rita was unable to waste even a moment before she added. “That was a joke Larry. I would never sell anyone for anything, especially not you.” She smiled at him with affection and fondness. “You, Larry Trainor, are priceless.” There would be no amount of money worth living a life without him in it as well. “That is where you and I differ, I would have been happy if he stayed young forever. He’d never have to see the harsh realities of life, I’d protect him from them and he’d be able to be happy.” But she spoke only of fantasy, the true world had no such shield for him no matter how much she wished differently. “You make it sound like your plants are a punishment Larry, I find them quite lovely in my opinion. I even have a plant in my home as well, now that you’re here you could help.” Help, take all the plant responsibilities, tomato tomato. “I wouldn’t say outgoing.” She didn’t have enough nerve to be out in the world truly just yet, she’d stumbled onto them by accident or perhaps even fate if one believed in such a thing. “There is my friend Miss Barbara Kean. She is wonderful. Very fun to drink wine with, she even owns her own establishment. There’s a curfew for men, but I’m sure she’ll make an exception for you. It’s not like you could even show skin, I don’t know who better an exception could be made for.” Rita explained. “There is also a lovely young man I met named Jeremiah. I’ve been teaching him the correct way to put on makeup, he is learning quite well.” She grinned proudly as she spoke of it. “He stops by from time to time, so hopefully you’ll meet him soon. He’s splendid, and so is Barbara, and so are you.”
Much of Larry’s life was controlled by the chief part of him who often felt it was like a punishment for who he was and how hard he tried to hide it. Rita was his first real friend, someone who knew who he was and what he was and didn’t care one bit. With Rita he found peace, understanding and love in a way he was desperate for. He couldn’t imagine a world without her in it, which led him to follow her to Gotham, things seemed empty in that mansion with her away in the city. “Aah forgive me my fashion hasn’t changed since the sixties you’d be lucky to get me out of this turtleneck” he teased her before turning serious when she mentioned the joke “Yes I know Rita just as I would never sell you short, and you're the priceless one here I’m just the healthy backup” He teased her for a moment before wrapping an arm around her for a moment knowing that she longed for that. “It's part of growing up, to learn and fail on his own, we will always be there for him regardless of any mistakes or time past and he knows that. Look at all he’s accomplished since leaving there, I’ve seen you looking through the scrapbook I’ve made of his journey.” He mused knowing that they had loads of love to give and that loving Garfield was something they’d do forever. He felt himself chuckle at the name “So I may have met her and her darling son, plus her ex, I do love Peter, he is such a bright kid, makes me miss….mine…” He paused knowing that Rita would know without him even speaking of it. “A male curfew huh? I suppose I’d go if you wanted to, given my inability to drink or eat in public anyhow.” He chuckled before smiling “A boy named Jeremiah who wears makeup? He sounds rather interesting. I'll look forward to meeting him when he pops around.”
