Post by Deleted on May 21, 2017 10:28:19 GMT -5
Remus pushed open the door of the Cozy Couch a solid five minutes before closing time. The young woman behind the counter winced and what she perceived as an elongated closing tonight, but she was a good enough employee to not let it show on her face for more than that instant. "May I take your order?" Remus dropped a couple of denarii on the counter. "English Breakfast Black Tea, cream and sugar... and a seat with your manager."
The woman paled, thinking she was in trouble. "I think he's prepping the kitchen for close. Can I have him contact you tomorrow?" Remus chuckled. "No. But now that you mention it, I'll have that tea to go and I expect him at my apartment as soon as he's free." He grabbed a napkin and scrawled his address on it before handing it over. "Oh, and make that tea a large."
The woman nodded and took the napkin back to a door marked 'employees only' to hand it off before coming back to fix the tea.
***
Remus sat in his favorite armchair as the sun sunk below the horizon. Finally, a knock on the door. "It's open!" He didn't intend to make this a fair fight. He wanted the upper hand from the off. And in the mind of a Mars kid, intimidation was an excellent way of getting the upper hand. Even if you didn't intend to keep the intimidation factor going. He heard the door open, then close. "Hello? Praetor Stone?"
Good start so far. "Come on in, Benjamin. Take a seat." He swilled the tea in the little paper mug he had. On the coffee table was a glass of ice water for his guest, for he was not a savage.
Ben came in a little cautiously, slowly. "I...understand you wanted to talk to me?"
"Have a seat. You're drink's on the table." All the while Remus remained near motionless in his chair.
"Am I in trouble?"
Remus had to laugh. Cut right to the chase. "Kinda, but not for the reason you think. Sit." He could tell he was rattling the younger - if only slightly - man as the coffee shop owner took a seat on the couch. Poor kid was not used to confrontation. His stance was defensive, worried, weak. "Sit up, Pennington. I only invite Romans to my home." Ben straightened up immediately. "Now, to business. Tell me about Evelyn McCloud. In your own words."
"Well, um... she's related to Mors and Proserpina. She can make roses with different abilities. Bad kind. She hunts people, runs a flower shop, and... I don't know."
Remus nodded solemnly. "Shame. Her descriptions of you are much nicer. Sadder, but nicer. Try again."
"I don't understand."
Remus set his cup of tea down. "Fine. An example, if you will. I pick... Ava Ishihara. I could talk about the outward things. Sure, she has scales and spines. She's a good fighter, if unorthodox. Now tell me, what do you think I think of her?"
Ben looked a little confused. "I can't say, sir. Your description was pretty corporeal. No opinion in it."
Remus sat back. "Exactly. So now what if I told you she has a nice smile and a good sense of humor and adventure and is genuinely fun to be around. Now what do you think I think of her?"
Ben smiled a little, hesitantly. "I'd say that to you she is at the very least a close friend."
Remus nodded and sipped his tea. "Very good. Now teach me what you think of Evelyn."
Ben slumped and let out a sigh, "Do I have to, sir? It's... not quite so simple as that."
Remus raised a brow. "Romans aren't scared to talk. And now I think of it, you Christians had some mouthy ones too."
Ben actually looked a little surprised, almost like he wasn't sure if he should be offended or not. "Mouthy is not a good word for it. And faith is different. You are expected to talk about it. What you are asking is not faith."
Remus leaned in. "Isn't it? Are you sure? Because I did some research before I came to you. There's a big faith and a regular faith with you lot. Big for your God and regular for other human beings. So yes, Benjamin Pennington, I am asking you to talk about your faith."
Ben actually scowled, though whether or not he knew he was doing it was up for grabs. "Why are you doing this? What point are you trying to make? My business is my own."
"Because you're not your brother's keeper?"
Ben immediately defused. Paled, even. "How do you know that?"
Remus tapped his head. "Told you I studied. So what do you say, Benjamin? You wanna man up and love your neighbor like your higher ups tell you to?"
"It's not that simple."
Remus actually laughed at this. "Right, because your people definitely went with that excuse when they were being tortured. It's not that simple, so please let me go. Bet that worked.'
"What did you call me here for?"
"Because Evelyn McCloud is my friend and she's hurting and I'm not okay with that. I'm willing to be the mediator if it helps her."
Ben balled his fist. "That's exactly why I can't be around her! She makes someone else do the dirty work. She refuses to try. If she really cared, why do I still feel it's one-sided. She's a user."
Remus laughed. "There's the Roman! Good job! Alright, so how is she giving you that impression, Ben? Can I call you Ben?"
Ben waved a hand at the name question and picked up the glass of water to stare into it's ice cubed depths. "First of all, she hardly ever does anything for me. I wrote her so many notes and letters I lost count. Nothing from her. Nothing! Then there was that horrible thing with Valentine's Day where I really honestly tried to be with her, but a store owner doesn't get a choice, so I worked by butt off in a hot kitchen for ten hours, and what does she do? Gives me grief about not being there even after I tell her what happened! No I'm sorry you were stuck and absolutely no it's okay, I understand. Then! I leave her a note at her shop telling her it's over and she comes crawling back claiming some gods were after her and she was sorry and she still loved me and missed me and whatever. It was hard. Real hard. I do care about her. Or did. I don't know anymore. Seeing as she claimed she'd do better, then she up and left town. I went after her and searched that whole stupid city and probably three different suburbs before I found her. I was starving and tired and she just took for granted that I came and expected me to take care of her and get her home safe. It's ridiculous! Not an ounce of respect!"
Remus was listening intently and nodding here and there. "Yeah, she's a challenge. I know from experience. She's gotten worse since I was in your shoes. She didn't kill back then. So I get you. But I also get her, you know? She cares a lot about you, but she had such a crappy upbringing that she doesn't know how to show that. She thinks what she's doing now is proof that she cares. That's just how her mind works. It's like... you cook and all. So I assume you're familiar with eggs?"
Ben frowned as though it was obvious. "Eggs? Of course. I keep five dozen in the kitchen each day."
"Okay, so say you're baking something. Requires an egg. Do you just drop it in the batter?"
Ben looked astonished. "Heavens no! The shell can damage your digestive track! You crack it and keep any shell from getting in the batter! For some recipes you separate the yolk and whites.
Remus smirked. "Bingo. If you'd never had an egg before and someone handed you this hard little ball, would you immediate inclination be to eat it?"
Ben pondered this. "Probably not. I mean, if I'd never seen one before, it would just seem like a smooth rock."
Remus nodded. "So what you're saying it's that the part you can actually eat, and is actually good, is beyond the shell?"
Ben was obviously confused. "Well, yes, of course."
"Humans can have shells too. Makes them seem like a rock. But if you put the effort in and crack the shell, well, you're all set."
"Sir?"
"Crack her shell. You won't regret it." He stood up and walked off down the hall, leaving Ben confused until he called him to follow. Ben stood, setting his water down with a single sip, and followed. Remus was waiting by a closed door. "Open it."
Ben hesitated, fearing at this point he was invading privacy. But he had been told to, so he opened it. Inside was a nursery, immaculate if it weren't for the thick dust. "What...?"
Remus looked inside passively; he had long ago accepted this room, only kept it as a form of self punishment to keep the lesson fresh. "I was married once. Decently long ago. This is where my twin son and daughter were going to come home to. But they never did. They died before they breathed. She killed them, and herself. I'll never forgive her and I hope she's paying severely. But there's always that nagging voice, you know? That says I'd be a dad if I had cracked that damn shell she was rotting under. So do yourself and Evelyn a favor. She's rotting in her shell. This will be her fate. Suicide. I know her well enough to say it's likely in her mind already. I know you feel tired and angry and like you have to do all the work, but... for a brief time, Eve lost her shell with me. Had I been ready for a relationship, it would have been really nice. She's pretty great when you come to know her. So... I know it's work now. But if you can get through it, it pays off and you'll never complain of being unloved again." He reached in and closed the nursery door. As he walked back down the hall, Ben stood in the harsh light of the hall fluorescent, and the fresh light of the new path ahead of him.