leela joshi (clarity) wrote in thecaldera, @ 2018-02-15 20:41:00 |
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Entry tags: | ! log, leela joshi, tristan larsen |
WHO: Tristan Larsen and Leela Joshi
WHEN: Wednesday, February 14
WHERE: Frankly My Deer, I Don't Give a Dam
WHAT: Tristan surprises Leela and she is not thrilled.
WARNINGS: Language
Happy Valentine's Day! It's colder than your ex's heart out there. Tristan made a face at the sign. Amused, he chuckled to himself and shook his head. He was definitely at the right place as the sign sounded like something Leela would come up with—never mind how obvious "Frankly My Deer, I Don't Give A Dam" was right above his head. He had also already been here a few times, so he was no stranger to the shop. The bell jangled as he pushed the door open and stepped inside. He spotted Leela right away. Clearing his throat, he then made his presence known: "Witty sign out front. Who or what was your inspiration for it?" “Ugh, fuck off,” she said, without skipping a beat, in response to a voice and cadence so familiar that her reaction was almost involuntary. So much so that it took her a beat to remember that it was a voice that shouldn’t be here. With a mixture of confusion and dread, Leela lifted her chin to see the scraggly face of her ex-husband, whereupon she was filled with an unwarranted twinge of annoyance. Of course he had grown that beard out. “What are you doing here?” she asked, flat. "Just visiting," he replied in singsong as he browsed through the shelves of camping wares, picking random items up and examining them. He then glanced at his ex-wife and gave her a big smile. "You know, like I always do. Why? Not happy to see me?" The shock of seeing Tristan dropping into her store without notice began to wear off and was rapidly being replaced with a familiar weary frustration - at the lack of a notice, his nonchalance, the way he was touching everything. “God, it’s so you to just show up unannounced. I know being ‘chill’,” air quotes “is your thing, but would it kill you to just think about- Will you stop getting your hands all over everything?” "I think being 'chill'," he copied her air quotes, "needs to be your thing, too. Do you always greet customers that way? Telling them to fuck off? That's not very nice, Leela." He mock reprimanded her as he resumed touching and examining more of the merchandise. "Seems like you need to work on your people skills." “My people skills are fine,” Leela managed through clenched teeth. “And if I ‘chilled,’ your children wouldn’t make it to anything on time. And- Oh my god,” She plucked an overpriced water bottle from his hands and placed it back on the display. “You’re worse than Jackie. A four year old is better at keeping her hands to herself than you are.” Tristan couldn't help but laugh. Watching and listening to Leela seethe was more than entertaining. But he did, finally, keep his hands off the items. "Relax. My hands are clean, if that's what you're worried about." Leela’s eyes rolled at his laughter, but managed to bite her tongue. This was their dynamic - He riled her up, she exploded, and he found delight in it. She had risen to take the bait once already, she wouldn’t do it again. Well. She’d try not to do it again. There was a pause as he looked at his ex-wife, studying her with a smile. "Nice to see you, too, by the way. How are the kids? Chilling better than you, I hope," he chuckled. “The kids are fine. Tommy’s in school, Jackie’s at daycare.” Leela busied herself straightening the items Tristan had returned to the display, redirecting her anger at the merchandise. “But you need to let me know when you’re coming into town. You know, most people give a heads up when they decide to hop on a plane to visit someone.” "Well, I'm not like most people, so I thought I'd change things up a bit and surprise you and the kids this time," he shrugged, grinning at her before moving on to the next row of items he hadn't touched yet. "Shall we have a family dinner tonight to celebrate?" Leela’s eyes shot to Tristan as her lips pulled into a line. Did he not realize what day it was or was he just being an asshole? “No,” she answered firmly. “No, I’m not spending Valentine's Day with my ex-husband.” Tristan certainly did not forget what day it was, but didn't think spending it with Leela will be a big deal. "Oh, pfft, who cares," he waved his hand to dismiss her concern. "It's just another day; it doesn't have to have meaning. We're just two people having dinner with our children. No flowers, no hearts, no anything. Just you, me, our tiny lookalikes, and good food. What do you say, hm?" He put on his best convincing smile with the big eyes. That smile didn’t work on Leela anymore. Furthermore, she didn’t want to spend dinner with him. It would be an evening of him grating her nerves while she fought every instinct to speak up for the sake of the kids. But when she saw his face, she saw her children, looking up at her and pleading with the same eyes and Leela felt her resolve weaken. “Fine,” she sighed. “We can do dinner. But I’m not going to cook.” So maybe it still worked a little. Tristan's face lit up like Christmas lights. "Great! Don't worry about the food. I can cook—unless you don't want me touching your kitchen, either. Or! You can go to my place." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively to tease and rile her up some more. Again, Leela’s eyes rolled, as they so often did during her conversations with Tristan. “From your beard, I would have thought you were just sleeping on a park bench.” She crossed her arms. “So, where are you staying, an Airbnb?” "Hey, don't insult the beard," he argued, mock offended as he rubbed the tuft of hair along his jaw. "Anyway, of course you'd think that. And nope, I'm not staying at an Airbnb this time," he smiled deviously. “You look homeless.” Her fingers drummed against her arms. When she complained about his facial hair in the past, she would pull at his chin to get a better look. That probably wasn’t appropriate now. Leela sighed, exasperated, her patience wearing thin with his non-answers. “Well, where are you staying? I don’t want the kids going over if it’s someplace weird.” Tristan rolled his eyes. "It's not weird. It's actually a nice, decent, well-furnished apartment." He paused for dramatic effect, his gaze lingering on Leela as he dropped the bomb. "I bought a place." Another pause. "I'll be staying here," he grinned. "Indefinitely." Leela laughed several short, bewildered bursts which quickly sobered into firm denial. “No,” she told him. “No, you didn’t.” Then, mild panic. “Tell me you didn’t, Tristan. Because that would be crazy. What about the house? What about your job? And I mean- just-” She started pacing, her arms unfolding and hands moving about as if it would help her understand. “I just- I can’t believe you’re just springing this on me out of the blue. Really, you thought this was a good idea? Just show up and be like ‘By the way, I live here now?’ Why are you doing this?” "I wanted to be near the kids, what else?" He answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "My job is fine and the house is fine. I'm taking a break and my sister is house sitting for us—me." He stepped closer and placed both his hands on her shoulders, looking at her right in the eye as he tried to assure her. "Relax. It's not going to be that bad. I just don't want to miss Tommy and Jackie growing up." Leela held his gaze, as if looking for something in his eyes. Maybe it was the reassurance he promised. Maybe it was the comfort she used to find there in the past. Whatever it was, she didn’t seem to find it, and shrugged his hands away as she averted her eyes. “For you,” she corrected. “It’s not going to be that bad for you. Because nothing is ever that bad for you. But-” she sighed, accepting defeat. “I don’t know. I guess that’s that. Welcome to town, I guess.” Tristan was quiet as he watched and listened to Leela go through her emotions. For a moment, he felt guilt, that maybe he should have called first and planned this with her. An apology was at the tip of his tongue, but no words came. Instead, he let the moment pass. She looked towards him again, a small smile playing on her lips. “So you’re unemployed now? Looks like the beard fits.” Laughter suddenly bubbled up inside him, surprised by her smile and unexpected teasing. "It's called a career break, not unemployment. There's a difference," he pointed out strongly. "I'll still have my job back when I get back. At some point." There was a small shake of her head while Leela rolled her eyes again, albeit with a slight less exasperation this time. It was somehow entirely unsurprising that he’d put his job on hold because he wanted to move to Montana. “Well. On the other hand, I have a job that I’m not on a break from that I need to get back to. So, just text me your address and I’ll bring the kids by later.” |