The smell reminded him of his father standing outside in the middle of summer, a cigarette or cigar in hand, as he surveyed his palace-like garden. He, too, never wore summer-appropriate clothing, opting to stay in his shirt and ironed trousers, something which Jasper had subconsciously taken on. He was glad that he’d never taken after his father as far as smoking was concerned, though.

“I know you, don’t I?” He then said. “Sorry, I don’t mean to just come out with it, uh… You’ve been on television, right? I just can’t place where specifically.”

Ivo's jaw ticked. The smoke curled up in his mouth, soured with the reminder of what once was. He let the silence hang for a moment, face carefully devoid of any emotion, until his lips curled up around the cigarette. “Guess porno's close enough to television.” He pulled the cigarette from his mouth, and laughed around the smoke. “You must be into some real nasty stuff if you recognise me.”

         🦢       ﹕       ʚɞ          the   country   club   patio   hummed   with   low   conversation   and   the   soft   clink   of   crystal   beneath   the   glow   of   string   lights   stretched   overhead.   laughter   drifted   across   the   manicured   lawn   where   members   mingled   in   linen   and   pearls   ,   pretending   not   to   notice   one   another   while   noticing   everything.   seated   beneath   the   shade   of   a   wide   ivory   umbrella   ,   vivienne   appeared   entirely   untouched   by   the   noise   around   her,   one   gloved   hand   resting   beside   an   untouched   glass   of   wine   while   dark   sunglasses   concealed   most   of   her   expression.   she   noticed   them   scanning   the   crowd   almost   immediately.   without   urgency   ,   vivienne   lifted   two   fingers   and   gestured   toward   the   empty   chair   across   from   her   table,   an   invitation   that   somehow   felt   more   like   a   summons. 

You still have standards.

It feels like he could put together the puzzle that makes up Vivienne Langford with just that alone. Still, he leans forward a bit, trying to meet her eyes through the dark lenses of her sunglasses. “And you look like a woman who'd die before letting go of hers,” the words are laid out almost like an accusation, but he's grinning around them. Anything's better than boring. And Vivienne certainly doesn't seem like she'd ever be boring.

“'Well, I've had my fair share of both.” He winks over the table at her, just because he can, just to see if he might get something out of her that he hasn't seen yet. “It'd be a shame if I couldn't tell one from the other by now.” He turns his head a bit, watching the people pass. A stranger's eyes catch on his profile, and they stop like someone's pressed pause. He watches the recognition sink in, watches the excitement hike up their shoulders, watches them whisper to a friend, before he snatches his eyes back and turns to face Vivenne properly again.

“Once you've been to one club, you've been to them all,” he sighs, all young and spoiled and disappointed. Then he flicks his gaze back to Vivienne's face, mouth hooking back up like he's just shifting through masks. Like he's testing which one she likes best. “You're probably the most impressive thing here.”

“Nah. Don't think I will.”

silver shakes her head , trying her hardest NOT to take the bait ivo is so clearly holding out for her . as if she hadn't nearly texted him , called him , even EMAILED him countless times , all ending up scrapped or tossed in the draft folder . she's got so many sharp replies on her tongue but she's almost scared to utter them . he'd come back with something sharper , meaner , and worst of all , true . " oh , stop it , ivo , " she spits , rolling her eyes and looking back towards him , brow creased in frustration . " you weren't a burden , neither was the marriage , " tone far too piqued for these words to have not been uttered before , nearly scripted at this point , " but i have to draw the line somewhere . i tried so hard — " she cuts herself off , unsure why she's even entertaining this . she's calling out to the dog , the golden retriever bounding towards her with a big smile , and silver leashes goldie with a scratch behind his ears . he's answering her question , of course with a remark , as she straightens from the dog . " of course i want you to be happy , " she tells him , tiredly , " i want you to figure it the fuck out ! you just need to get a fucking grip , at some point . so you retired ! big deal , people go through terrible things all the time , ivo , and they don't put their loved ones' LIVES at risk . " the words she's been building up for years that she hadn't had a chance to ever say . she can feel her throat burning , eyes burning in frustration and hurt ; she wished she could take it back , but she wonders — had she said it earlier , would they be in this situation ? " what was i supposed to do , come back to you ? i was scared of you , ivo . that's all you , NOT me . "

But of course, the relief is short-lived. The momentary spell he wove for himself is broken. He misses the simplicity of their younger days. How beautiful everything was then. How warm. He watches her now with the dog by her feet, the world at her fingertips, living a whole life that doesn't have a single trace of him in it.

“Big deal?” The thing is, he's exhausted too. She kept trying to get him to smile. To laugh. To talk. But Ivo has only loved one other thing with as much ferocity and devotion as he did Silver—and that was tennis. And no matter how much he tried to put how his retirement felt into words, she just never understood it. Not fully. Not the way he did. Not the way he felt it every single day. Even now. Even now. “Right. Right. You're right, of course. Like always. Never mind that it was an accident. Never mind that I was—” mourning, he almost says. But what's the point in voicing it? If his grief was so easily understood, they wouldn't be here in the first place.

“You know I never wanted to scare you. Or hurt you. Not on purpose.”

Ivo's just not built to keep the things he loves.

He rolls his eyes. He picks his ears. He holds his anger in his throat instead of in his hands like a good little showman. Violence would be crude, would be beneath him, would get him defaulted. And he's playing to win.

He's still smiling at Jude. It's all air. It's all water. All buzz buzz buzz. (He tunes out the word divorce like it's outside of his vocabulary entirely, like it doesn't still make him nauseous to think about). It all rolls off his back like it's nothing. Or at least that's how he's playing it. “Nah. It's none of that. I just find you an eyesore, is all.” Ivo flexes his fingers, lacing them together under his chin. The truth is somewhere to the left. He refuses to look it in the eye.

“It's funny, you going on about me being washed up. From one has been to one will be, I think you're gonna find yourself in the same boat soon enough.” This time when he laughs, it's with the force of all his resentment behind it. “You should be careful about what you put out there, or else those words'll come back to haunt you. Karma tends to be pretty funny like that.”

‎ CELEBRITY SIGHTINGS WERE NOT UNCOMMON in willow glen, so having a (former, unbeknownst to julian at the time) pro tennis player in his company wasn't really anything special, though it wasn't everyday he got to talk to one even though he knew virtually nothing about the sport other than anna kournikova was on maxim's first 3d printed issue. somehow, julian had wormed his way into the small crowd that had gathered around the retired athlete, front and center, until everyone else had dispersed into their regular, non-celebrity lives. he quickly learned about the man's current predicament, his now non-presence in the sport bringing him into an upscale bar in texas on a weeknight instead of a training court in monte carlo or whatever. that must suck. “so… you probably can't go to a dog park and not feel triggered, huh? or a retirement home. y'know, on account of all the tennis balls." he didn't mean it to be cruel, it was just something that made sense to say out loud. “must feel like a tough break up, then, huh? like when you start seein' their face everywhere. ‘cept you probably don’t see your ex's face in a golden retriever's mouth or at the end of some boomer's walker.”

By the time the crowd disperses, his smile's already been worn thin. It drops all the way when the man across him parts his lips and mouths off like they're friends. Like Ivo would listen and laugh.

He takes a sip of his drink and levels his companion an unamused look.

Watching him puff up in anger is a little like watching a chihuahua try to come off threatening. All that anger that's too big for its body. And a body too small to do any real damage. It's almost comical. “They sound like riddles to you?” Ivo laughs. It really does pay to be an ass. He's feeling much better already. “If that's the case then I'd worry more about the lack of action up here,” he taps a finger against his temple, “than what's happening down there.” He glances down at Jude's leg, then flicks his eyes back up with mock pity.

she's come ALL this way . . . started a new life in a new town , determined to make the most of a fresh start . she's still young , she tells herself in the mirror every morning , it's not PATHETIC to be starting at square one again at thirty three . her therapist tells her to say kind things to herself , but she can't help but FEEL pathetic when she looks around to empty walls , alone except for the golden retriever she'd promptly adopted and had become codependent upon . she can't BELIEVE her eyes when she spots ivo , a frown creasing her brow as she works hard to not let memories flash across her mind , refuses to let tears well up . " what are you even doing here ? are you stalking me ? " she doesn't think it's the case — just a higher power playing an incredibly sick prank on her — but part of her is afraid . there's no real need , of course : in this instant her feet are planted firmly upon the ground , arms crossed over chest as the golden retriever runs happily with its peers in the local dog park . his question earns a scoff , eyes leaving his to watch the canine entertain himself . " oh yeah , SO HAPPY , " the sarcasm is palpable . " i don't know . . . being divorced at thirty three with a dog in the middle of nowhere , texas isn't exactly what i'd hoped for myself . not exactly what i pictured . " her gaze returns to him , scanning hesitantly as if to ensure that he's all there , all in one piece . " are you happy ? " it's almost an accusation rather than an inquiry — you did this to me , she wants to say , this is your fault .

That doesn't make it any less painful to look at her though, to hear her speak to him like she doesn't want him here.

Ivo scoffs. “We could've avoided all this if you didn't just disappear. Maybe if you'd left a note, or a message, then I would've known not to come.” And there he goes, doing what he does best, shifting the blame. Now they're both here and he'll be too stubborn to be the one who leaves. He knows himself enough to know that for certain.

He follows her gaze over to the park, wondering which one's hers. They'd talked about getting a pet once, he thinks. Bundled up in that big picture of marriage-house-kids. It's nothing but could've-beens now, left to fester in the dusty corners of their minds.

“I'm not the one who served the papers,” he reminds her, with not a small amount of resentment. Never mind that he's the one who forced her hand to begin with. “But I'm sure you must be relieved now. Must be nice to be unburdened by me, by our marriage, huh?” He makes no effort to mask the bitterness.

Maybe Ivo was the one who strained their once happy, idyllic marriage, but Silver's the one who actually punctuated the end of their story.

“I still think you're crazy for wanting to hang out with me, by the way.” But he laughs anyway. And if it sounds a bit forced then that's no one's business but his. “What I want is to lie down and think about all the things that went wrong in my life. But since that's clearly off the table, we might as well do what you want.”