Skipper Layton

   “Just my stupid brother being a jerk and a worthless-” he said stopping himself, “family drama, sibling rivalry.” 

“Ah. Been there,” Skipper said, chuckling. “Though, I never lost a phone over it. It probably would have been more satisfying if your brother’d been here to see that bit.”

“That is forever. But I’m sure all of that will work out just fantastically for you” Carter replied, rolling his own eyes. “Don’t mistake a lack of happiness for misery. They’re very different things. Death is death, better to accept that it’ll happen, and we don’t know that it isn’t right around the corner”. 

“As a matter of fact, it has been working out fantastically, thanks,” Skipper said. “Whatever, man. Wax philosophical about it all you want, but from where I’m standing, you sure seem pretty damn miserable, no matter what you say. I’ll take a bit of playing-pretend over that any day of the week.”

“There would be the problem. Nothing stays bottled up forever” he was well aware that he was a ticking time bomb, he just wasn’t about to add that part. “No, I was saying how everything ends in dead. it’s a cold hard fact. Nothing more, nothing less. What advice? Ignore reality and pretend to live forever?”

Again he rolled his eyes, but he was still smiling. “No, you don’t gotta keep stuff bottled up forever. Just ‘til you die. Which, according to you, is coming right around the corner, so really you’d be getting a great deal on the whole thing overall. And, well, yeah, pretty much. In case you haven’t noticed, only one person at this counter here is acting miserable, and it ain’t me.”

“You realise that is actually worse right? No one gets over anything, pushing the memories down, actually just makes matters worse” least his experience with work taught him that, even if he did still do it. “People can do whatever the fuck they want with it”.

Skipper simply let out a dry laugh. “Ah, come on. I know shrinks and stuff go on about the ‘dangers’ of ‘bottling stuff up’ or whatever, but as long as it stays bottled, what’s the harm? And, hey, hey, I’m not saying you have to take my advice or nothing, but the way you were talking, it just sounded like you were looking for some input.”

“Yeah, no. You definitely can’t call me buddy” Carter replied, raising  an eye at the man’s… well outburst. “Here’s a piece of advice, unless you know exactly what someone has gone through, don’t tell them to just get over it. You want to delude yourself, great go for it. I’m not going to do that, and it has nothing to do with doom and gloom. It’s just a fact of life”. 

Frowning, Skipper rested his chin on his hand. “I didn’t once say to get over it. Nah, when people say that, they’re implying you need to go on some fucking personal journey of forgiveness or closure or some shit. That’s no good. You don’t gotta get over anything, you just gotta forget about it. It’s surprisingly easy once you get some practice, and it’s such a relief to get the hang of it. I mean, come on - ” He lifted his drink and turned back to the other man with a broad grin. “You don’t honestly think people drink this stuff for the taste, do you?”

   “Well mine is something” he sighed a bit before composing himself, “it’s fine. I have been meaning to get a new one for a long time now, i now kinda have an excuse in a way to buy a new one”

“Suppose that’s a silver lining, huh?” Skipper said with a slight smile. “So, ah... you know, I don’t mean to pry or nothing, but considering that I heard your half of the conversation anyhow...”

Claire watched with a big smile on her face, as Teddy just soaked up all the attention. When she first adopted him from the shelter, he had been so tiny and scared of pretty much everything - she couldn’t even close a door without him jumping and howling. But that little one was gone now. He loved everything now, and she loved him even more. “Oh no, he’s always just like that actually. I don’t even want to think about what he would be like hopped up on caffeine.”

“No kidding, this is natural?” Skipper said, raising his brows. The dog had finally noticed some residue from Skipper’s cinnamon roll left over on his fingers, and had begun licking them enthusiastically. “I’ll make a mental note to keep espresso shots away from him then. Pretty sure if he starts moving faster, he’ll give the speed of light a run for its money and just become invisible.”

“Yes, and far worse then just that” he replied with a shrug. He wasn’t about to start getting upset over minor name calling. It probably couldn’t even be called that. “Nothing, just being realistic” or at least for his version of reality, he was well aware not everyone agreed with it.

“Oh, you’re pulling the reality card, huh?” Skipper said, rolling his eyes. “Look, buddy - can I call you buddy? Doesn’t matter, I’m doing it. Anyway, let me offer you some advice. ‘Realistic’ just doesn’t work, okay? Yeah, sure, there’s shit that’s happening all over, all the time, but there’s good stuff too. So you know what you gotta do? You ignore the shit.

“Seriously. Don’t even acknowledge that it’s there. Because at the end of the day, the universe doesn’t care if you like it or not, and you can’t change that, so you’re just gonna make yourself miserable. All that everyone-dies shit you’re going on about? Fuck off. There’s no use complaining. As far as I’m concerned, I’m immortal, and the only difference that comes from thinking that is that now I’m not all gloomy and dreading the end. Look, buddy, I don’t know what happened to get you thinking this way, but whatever it was, it’s over, you move on, you pretend it never happened, and you’re golden. Trust me, life’s a hell of a lot more pleasant that way.”

Claire chuckled, not being able to finish saying the last ding. It wasn’t common that she felt free to let loose and be ridiculous if only for a second, but she figured that, without anyone around, it couldn’t be that bad. “I’m glad you find me amusing,” she said, shaking her head. 

Skipper laughed in return. “Well, don’t go and get too flattered; most things amuse me.” He leaned an elbow onto the store counter, and, with his free arm, held out a hand to shake. “I’m Skipper, by the way. Dog person. Scorpio. Bell-ringing enthusiast.”

“Because if there’s no point then everything is just a big waste” he needed to believe there was a good reason. He wasn’t even sure why it was such a big deal in his head, but he needed it. “That just sounds like a waste of a life. Might as well be dead”.

Skipper finally set his drink down and just looked at the other man, brows furrowed. “Hey, has anyone ever told you that you are an absolute ray of sunshine? Because you are. Seriously, though, the nihilist talk’s starting to freak me out a little. So, tell me: what crawled into your sock drawer and died?”

“Well I took him to my parents house in Haverford to go surprise visit them, but it turned out they weren’t home so we had to turn around and walk back. By the time we made it here, Teddy was so tired and cold. It’s a pretty long walk for him… I figured I could just carry him home, but I wanted him to come in here first and warm up,” said Claire and shrugged before looking down at Teddy with a smile. He already seemed much happier than out in the cold, sappy snow.

“Aw, poor little guy,” Skipper chuckled. He moved his hand under the little dog’s chin to scratch it. Teddy’s ears relaxed and he panted rapidly at the touch, making it look as if he were smiling. “Well, he certainly seems warmed up now. And pretty energetic, too... You didn’t, by any chance, let him sample some coffee, did you?” he asked with a smirk.

“I was an Easter Egg victim once,” he told him, just going with wherever the conversation was headed, just for a minute. “My douchebag older cousin staged a hunt for me and my siblings once. I found the first one after like, five hours, and it had baby spiders inside. Like, what the fuck?” He shook his head at the memory, although it carried with it some nostalgia at the thought of his family. Deciding to steer the conversation back to the matter at hand— “Now, should I get this mayo brand or just settle for the one with the fake eggs in it? They’re cheaper, but then… fake eggs, you know?”

“Well I’ll be damned,” Skipper said, shaking his head and smiling sympathetically at the man. “I hope that you egged the cousin’s car at some point. Poetic justice. Suddenly I’m glad that I never hunted Easter eggs as a kid; I hated spiders, would’ve ruined the whole season for me. And hey, you know, I say try your luck with the fake eggs. Scientists worked long and hard to get those fake eggs into your pantry. Let’s not let their efforts be in vain.”

“No bell. I don’t think these places have had bells since the 90′s,” Claire commented. At his idea, she rose her eyebrows, maybe judging him a little bit before letting out a small laugh. “Ding?” Another laugh. She bit the inside of her cheek before turning towards the counter. “DING!” She screamed. 

Skipper waited, but no staff member arrived, so he gave the woman a defeated shrug. “Oh, well, it was worth a shot. And I got a random stranger to start yelling ‘ding’ over and over, so I consider today a success.”

“No I don’t. Because then what is the point in all of this?” he just couldn’t see it. Or maybe he just didn’t want to. It was too confusing for him to try to understand, and he never really had the time. “That’s luck?”

He shook his head with a click of his tongue. “Why does there gotta be a point? You gotta have a reason for everything? Maybe the universe ain’t that complicated. And yeah, that’s luck. You can bet that’s how I’d spend twenty-two hours of my day if I didn’t have to, you know, pay rent and crap.”