Who: Zale and Hestia What: Dairy Queen! Where: ^ When: After school around the 12th. Warnings: None
Coming to a halt outside of her nephew's school, Tessie glanced out of the car window up to the building. It was nearly time for them to get out; hopefully Zale would be among the first out. She hadn't been able to just... how did the kids say it... 'chill' with her younger relative in quite a while. She wanted to remind him that just because he didn't live with her anymore didn't mean she cared any less.
The bell rang loudly and insistently. A few moments later, there was a rumble and the doors banged open with kids running out like locust over a field. She giggled a bit while she watched them, amused at their happiness to just be out.
Zale was never the quickest of the teens and preteens that raced from the private Miami school. He hadn't been when he first entered, usually trailing behind his sister to keep up with her antics to try to keep her out of trouble. Now he just wasn't. The end of day bell put a momentary melancholy in the boy as he tucked his bag over his shoulder and walked over the pave stones of the school paths toward the street.
For a moment, he was pulled out of his daze when he didn't see his uncle's car, or his eldest sister's car, there waiting for him, but he recognized the van of his aunt's and approached with a smile. "Aunt Tessie?"
"Hello!" She smiled happily and unlocked the door for him. "How are you, sweetheart?"
"I'm good," He replied casually, but made no move to enter the van, "Um... What's the phrase for the day?"
...Huh? Hestia blinked, confused by the unexpected question. Oh! "It's..."
Zale waited patiently, but he still didn't move. He was conditioned to wait and purposely began humming some obscure song from his childhood in his mind silently. His uncle had told him that some shapeshifters were telepaths, which had made instant sense to the teenager.
"Rabbit hat?"
"Sorry about that, Aunt Tessie," The boy then smiled and climbed up into the van, placing his bag at his feet after buckling himself in, "You can never be too careful."
She smiled back apologetically. "Sorry to worry you, sometimes I keep messing it up. For a moment, I was sure it was 'happy feet'." Probably because she'd watched the film earlier that morning with the twins, hm. "But yes! How are you! How is school?" she asked, pulling onto the road once the way was clear and he was safely buckled.
"I'm alright," Zale shrugged a little bit in his seat, stretching his legs a little bit and then silently wondering if he always kicked the underside so quickly or if his legs had grown when he wasn't paying attention. Hmm, when was the last time he was in the front passenger seat of his aunt's van? The boy shrugged again, pushing aside the thought. It wasn't especially important. "I guess school is alright. I kinda wanted to go to a different one, but with only one year left... I'm just gonna be odd guy out there anyway so it really doesn't matter."
"I can understand that," she mused, though not fully; she had never really been a child, much less one who'd had to deal with the social scene of school. "Are your classes fun?"
"History and science is. My teacher for literature um..." Zale paused to think of the right word to describe his teacher. He knew how he felt about her assignments but he had also managed to be raised with manners and respect for adults in authority. It put him in a predicament for word choices, "I think she chooses books outside our grade level and probably should reconsider some of them."
"Ahh. Maybe Dante will bring that up at your next parent-teacher conference." She laughed and reached over to tussle his hair. "How's the home, then? I imagine it's pretty busy, what with the new baby coming and all!"
"I think Uncle Dante would like it better if it was even busier. He's walking around like he's on eggshells. I think he expects something bad to happen." Zale smiled at her tussle just the same. His uncle's idiosyncrasies were not a real concern to him. He knew his uncle viewed good times with suspicion. "But yeah. It is pretty busy. Sis keeps trying to make sure she everything you could possibly need for the baby coming and I don't know how she could be missing anything at this point."
The goddess chuckled. "He would be worried about that. I still have lots of the newborn items from when the twins were born, maybe I should let her know she's free to borrow it..."
"No. No. I mean, seriously, I don't know how she could be missing anything," Zale began to go back and forth between his hands as he began to list his reasons, "She has a phone, the Internet, a personal assistant and a near unlimited credit card. She has to have gotten everything. It looks like she bought an entire store. And then she has Uncle Dante who has all the same and another entire store."
"Oh! Haha!" Hestia shook her head a bit. "Could have saved them a little money, but ah well. I can't wait for the twins to see the baby, they'll be good big brothers."
"Don't feel too bad about it. Uncle Dante says that when he spends so much money frivolously he's stimulating the economy." Zale shrugged. He didn't know for sure, but if Hades spent enough for no good reason maybe least Miami would be pulled from the recession. The boy could believe it possible. "It's kinda weird. When I watch them play with Delaney, it's like Delaney's their older sister. I forget they're her older brothers, too."
"Oh, me too!" She paused in her sentence as they were passed, look right, left, and right again, and added once they got going again, "She's getting so big! Let's hope the new baby grows a bit more slowly..." Her usual smile faded just a second as her heart dwelt on the thought of Hades having the children that she had hoped they could have together. Sigh. No, she'd been doing so well! "But, do you feel like a treat?"
"Sure." Zale glanced over at his aunt and wasn't sure if he had caught when her smile faded for the second or if he just felt that it had. Either way, he knew to trust his instinct and quieted to think about what he wanted to ask, "Do you miss him living with you?"
"Yes," she admitted, though easily; she had realized by now she couldn't hide her emotions from anyone anymore than a fish could fly. "But... life is complicated."
Then she really didn't have much of a chance against the teenager; he was just especially good with emotions. He frowned a little, "But didn't you guys already go through this?"
"Yes, but, no... He left the first time. This time, I asked him to go." Shaking her head, she parked the van into the parking lot of a Dairy Queen. "I'll move on. It's just a matter of... time." The hearth goddess smiled at him. "What's your favorite flavor?"
"Mint chocolate chip," The boy replied quickly and with complete ease and then leaned on his arm in thought. "You know, he said you told him to leave the first time, too."
Huh what? Hestia's smile fell and she stared at the boy. "What?"
The boy straightened up in his chair then. He hadn't been completely prepared for his aunt's surprised question. He had taken it as a matter of course that she would have known. After all, he didn't think his uncle had lied to him all those months ago when he had said it. "Well, the first time this happened, I was really upset about it. At him, too. It didn't make sense. I didn't know if he had just stopped loving you or maybe Sis had made him or what and so when he came over, I asked him to explain what happened. He told me you told him to leave because you loved him."
... Oh good grief. "I left the house the morning after Dahlia found out," she sighed. "I was... I don't know. It's hard to describe. But I didn't want to be there when he did leave. I can see how he would think that..." Sigh. She couldn't do this right, it seemed.
Zale sighed, too. His family was too complicated for their own good. "... Did you tell him to leave because you loved him this time at least?"
The goddess actually held back the wince. From the mouth of babes... "Yes," she said, sadly but honestly. "I love him, very... very much. We had our issues, but he was good to me." How good had she been to him? "That's why I told him to go. Because our being together causes him more pain than peace, and he was Dahlia's first."
More pain than peace? Zale actually had to scratch his head with that. It didn't make sense and it didn't feel right. Maybe he had been watching a different person while Hades was living with Hestia. "You think you hurt him?"
"In some ways... What if I hadn't propositioned to him, and he had met her as he had, a lot of mess could have been avoided. I feel like I was to blame for that."
He frowned a little, "Eric and Eddy wouldn't have been born..."
"Which is where it becomes confusing. Look, sweetie," she said, leaning over to kiss him on the forehead. "What's done is done. Your uncle and aunt are moving on fine, aren't they?"
Resisting the urge to wipe his forehead, he sat very still and tried to smile, hoping he didn't have a comical lipstick smudge on his forehead. Zale really wished that he didn't always have the fear when Hestia gave him a kiss... "I guess so. They're weird... Don't tell them I said that, please?"
The goddess giggled and shrugged. "I won't. We're all a little weird." She saved him the shame of lipstick by wiping it off with her sleeve. "Come on. Let's get that ice cream; you shouldn't be worrying about adult stuff like this, you know."
Zale's smile grew a bit with the knowledge that he was now lipstick free, "Every day I get a little older and none of this still makes any sense. Is it ever going to make sense?"
"I'm still trying to make sense of it." Not that that helped.
"That actually makes me feel better." After all, if his aunt couldn't figure it out and he was nearly certain his uncle hadn't either, no one could blame him for being lost, too. "Is this a drive thru?"
"Yes, but I don't like drive thrus. Too impersonal!" She smiled and gave him a wink as she got out of the car and moved around to hold the door for him. "You can always judge a good food stand based on how they treat their sit-down customers."
"But I thought we were getting ice cream..." Zale questioned it, but that didn't stop him from getting out of the car when urged to.
"You can sit down in Dairy Queens."
"But don't they just shovel the ice cream out of tubs from some headquarter place?" Zale shrugged as he walked, "How would their service change how the ice cream tastes?"
"Because how it tastes is only part of it. If you were given the best tasting ice cream in the world, would it still be great if the people who served it were absolutely horrid?"
The boy thought about it for a second, "If it was the best tasting ice cream in the world?"
Hestia nodded. "The best ice cream, but would it still be as good if it were absolutely horrid service?"
"It might be..." Zale considered as he leapt to the sidewalk in front of the Dairy Queen, "It would be something to have the best ice cream in the world, even with terrible service. But I guess it would be less enjoyable."
"Yes. Experience can make, or break, a meal time," she said, opening the door for him. "It's important to me to go to places where the people love their food and their jobs. It makes it more enjoyable for everyone."
"Uncle Dante just has everything delivered to him." The boy shrugged a little and walked in, quickly finding a spot for them to sit. "Sis started doing that, too, lately."
Aww, that was disappointing. She kinda hoped that Persephone had taken advantage of the recipes she had given her. She scooted into the seat. "How are they?"
Persephone was becoming big enough that Zale wouldn't blame her for not wanting to cook. He knew he would have things delivered directly to his room if he was in her position. "Like I said, they're weird. But she's getting really big so Uncle Dante does more things around the house."
"I'm glad they're happy," she said with a genuinely pleased smile.
"It would be hard for them not to be happy with the baby on the way." Zale smiled a little as well. It was good at his Aunt Hestia seemed happy. He had been worried how she was taking this whole change... again. "I think they both love babies a lot."
"Who can blame them." The waitress arrived, smiling at them politely and asking if they were ready for their orders. "One mint chocolate chip milkshake, please."
"And I would like a mint chocolate chip sundae, please." He waited for the waitress to leave before looking back at his aunt, "Did you get hooked on it from it being in your freezer so much?"
"It's a favorite of mine! Back in the old days, you had to make it by hand, but I loved to make it, because my fingers smelled like mint all day. Mmmm~"
The boy grinned at that, "Why don't you make it like that now? I bet that would be the best ice cream in the world."
Hm. She seemed to consider that. "I hadn't really thought of it. But that would be a nice change from the cakes and tea at work."
"And you could make it a special at your shop if you wanted to..." Zale looked around, trying to see if the waitress was coming back. Talking about Hestia making ice cream made him really want this ice cream to get to the table.
Lucky for him, as he looked up, she arrived and placed down their treats. Hestia nodded and smiled at her before replying to him, "That's a lovely idea. I'll have to work it in!"
"Or you could make an ice cream cake," Zale quickly added before spooning some the ice cream into his mouth, "Those are really good, too, but they don't seem to come in a lot of flavors. I've never seen a mint one."
"I have, they're usually very good!" Note to self, ice cream cake for Zale's next birthday. She paused to enjoy a few scoops of her shake -- delicious! -- and smiled at him. "Thank you for spending some time with me today, nephew."
"It's been a while and I like spending time with you." Zale put down his spoon for the moment to resist the almost over-whelming urge to eat his sundae too quickly. He knew better than that. "Things have been so... well, strange this year. It's good to just have some quiet time with family and ice cream."
Hestia nodded in agreement. "I couldn't have said it better myself."
"What do you want to do after this?"
"We should probably take you home, if you have homework."
Zale shook his head no. Sure, he did have homework, but it wasn't lot. He could easily do it in the car going to school tomorrow. Besides, "I thought I was sleeping over..."
"My home. I meant my home." Yes... her home wasn't his anymore. That was slightly sobering.
"Oh..." He frowned a little bit and tried to hide that discomfort by going back to his ice cream, but it didn't work. "I'm sorry..."
"Oh, honey." Reaching over the table, she cupped his face in her hands to stare him down. "Promise me. You have nothing to be sorry for. Don't go blaming any part of this on yourself. Okay?"
Zale didn't resist her, instead he stared up at his aunt, "Okay, Aunt Tessie? Do I still get to worry?"
"I'd prefer you didn't have to."
His frown remained clear on his face, "What if I can't help it?"
Aww... "I just wish you didn't have to, is all. But you're a good boy; a lot of kids your age wouldn't much care. I love that part of you."
Zale laughed a little, mostly to hide his embarrassment by this whole little event. "Well, you worry about me all the time. It only seems right."
"It's my job to worry. Hearths, cooking, wives, worrying," replied his aunt, but with a teasing wink.
Zale couldn't help the idle thought that if worrying was one of her domains, maybe she was meant to be with his uncle. He shook his head with a renewed smile. "Okay, Aunt Tessie, I'll try to leave your work to you." His attention returned to his sundae. It was melting a little, even in the air conditioning of the Dairy Queen, but that only made it a little easy to eat with the tiny plastic spoon they gave him to eat with. How was anyone suppose to dig with one these? "So, you're good, right?"
"I'm okay. I have a good family, beautiful sons, a strong business, and a wonderful nephew."
"Now you're trying to embarrass me," And she was succeeded in that attempt, but the boy continued to smile, scraping the side of his sundae dish, "Do you have plans when we get home?"
"I was thinking of some brownie-making; one of my employees is having a baby!" she said cheerfully. Clearly this called for brownies. "Come on, let's go have some fun."
Summary: Hestia gets some quality time in with (one of) her favorite nephews.