February 15
Melisande and Hailey (Miki and Tauryn will be NPC'd presences) Alcaeyn Gardens Late morning
Light fingers slid across the smooth surface of each page. He could have been looking at this yesterday instead of dragging himself from bar to bar. It could have been worse. She could have called while he was wasted in that last bar with Olivia talking to him. Or when he was outside fighting with Tristan. He had learned his lesson and he wouldn’t let it happen again.
The photo album was beyond perfect. He would have loved it under ordinary circumstances, but it was especially meaningful now. He wasn’t sure how much time passed while he looked at it, but he was later than he intended to be getting to Mikino’s, for his Brownie-Waffle-Making date with Hailey. The little girl would have to deliver them on her own, with an excuse given from Andrew that he couldn’t stay. She was young enough not to worry much. Mikino had to help, because the food and a drink was a bit much for the little girl covered in splotches of powdered sugar, but Mel would be greeted with chocolate chunk brownie waffles, complete with whipped cream, which Hailey explained was the only topping to be had with them. She spoke like she was the ultimate authority on the matter, even though she was only parroting what Andrew had told her minutes before. Melisande would recognize the speech. He had given her the same one.
It was a delight for her to get to eat outside, although Mikino stayed with them. He let the child chatter, ready to take her away if it became too taxing for Melisande. She had a whole cooking adventure to relay.
Melisande
Hopefully his experience did make him learn how pointless it was to slide back into that habit of drinking to excess because of a problem. They had no reason to believe something else might happen one day where he was needed, in all his cognitive awareness, because someone he loved was at risk. He couldn't have known how long she spent pouring over his letter, crying silently in the garden until she thought she could handle calling him. Those moments were his saving grace because as she struggled to deal with the relief and doubt warring with herself, he was going through the mess with Olivia and then Tristan.
Though it was safe to say if he hadn't answered, she would have thought the worst and doubted enough not to call again without ample prompting. She forgot about the album, it was something completely her style too. He knew she loved books as she said, even though she used a Kindle now instead. 'I love the feel of the pages,' and so, as a surprise, he gave her a Kindle case a while back which made her device look like a book. She'd been so tickled by it. Small things like that Gabriel wouldn't have known about. They had a relationship built on those small things she didn't take for granted, except his unfailing confidence - it never occurred to her he would have his own doubts because in his eyes he was just a human man. What, he had said, could he offer? (inc.)
"Oh my goodness you are a mess," she said, slowly focusing on the pair coming to her, she had a small gardening spade in her hand from Tauryn's help. Melisande didn't want to sit around, idleness bothered her and aside from reading Andrew's letters, she didn't want to read anything just yet. It strained her eyes to a degree, not that she told anyone. She couldn't rightly complain about Hailey's appearance anymore than her own, the dress she wore had splotches of dirt all over it. Melisande's skin hadn't improved much overnight, but some of her energy was there again, though she was quick to tire out. She didn't know if Tauryn tattled on her to Hailey, but naptime became a group thing somehow.
Now it was brownie time? "I think," softly, letting the spade stay in the dirt, her wings rustled as they fidgeted, those eyes lingering from child to man, "I know just who told you that." She let them come to her, anything else was a bit much right now. Tauryn saw all she really did was poke the ground with the spade, pull a few weeds, nothing strenuous. It explained all the dirt on her thought. Weeding was therapy for someone like her. She had apologized to him, a tentative one, worried he'd dash away when she first saw him. "I'll tell you a secret," she said to Hailey, smiling as best she could, it was slightly withered at the edges, "he's wrong."
Hailey: “Andrew said you would say that.” She wasn’t going to be easy to convince she had thrown her lot in with the wrong side on this serious matter of chocolate waffle toppings. To Andrew’s credit, Hailey had wanted to put ranch dressing on them, and while he was happy to let her experiment with her own food, he didn’t think Mel’s first meal back should be the concoction of a first grader.
A nudge from Tauryn earned a peevish glance, but she continued. “And to tell you that he liked your book.”
She was more interested in smearing chocolate and whipped cream on her face while she ate than being a messenger. She did have every good intention of telling Melisande her message -after- they ate. “How did you make your wings like that? You should make them purple. Daddy said I can’t have purple wings.”
Mikino got a glare, as if it were his fault. Obviously she had been duped.