Who: Liz Ortecho and Alex Manes What: Catching up Where: Ortecho’s When: Evening, shortly after Alex arrived in the OC Warnings: None Status: Closed, Complete
Alex had been in town for a few days. In some ways it felt like he’d never left. In some ways it felt like he was in a different world altogether. But for better or worse, he was back in California, and he was going to stay.
He’d already called to resign from his job in New York. All he had to do was figure out how to get his stuff sent all the way across the country, preferably without having to go back himself. He’d look into options for that once he could focus on the tediousness of the task.
He was probably making a mistake. Aside from a handful of friends from high school who had stuck close to, or come back home, there wasn’t much for him here. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something which had been missing for the past ten years was no longer missing. He wasn’t sure what it was, he wasn’t sure what it meant, but for the moment at least it meant he was staying in Orange County.
And that meant he was going to reinstate his habit of being a regular at Ortecho’s. It seemed like some sort of crime that he’d been in town as long as he had and he hadn’t stopped by to see the proprietors of the restaurant that had been one of his few safe havens throughout his teen years.
He felt an overwhelming sense of coming home when he walked through the doors. By stroke of luck, his favorite booth was open, even if it had been redone a time or two over the years since Alex had parked his butt in the seat. He slid into it and drew a deep breath, feeling a wave of peace wash over him.
He was definitely home. Definitely where he belonged for whatever reason.
Liz has been working a lot; not as much as during the lockdown, but there was still a lot to do at Godfrey Industries on a regular basis that kept her busy from the time she came in to the time she left. However, work hadn’t kept her too busy where she wasn’t able to make plans with her friends, which now included Max and Maria the most, but now that Alec was back he had quickly been added to the top people she needed to make time for.
And Alex was the reason she was walking into her families’ diner now. She saw her father first and after saying hello and giving him a kiss on the cheek she glanced around at the various diners to see if Alex had arrived yet and sure enough there he was in his usual spot.
“Was the table empty or did you throw the people out who were sitting here?” She asked, smiling wide as she approached his table.
“Oh I threw them out,” Alex said with a grin that said he was exaggerating. He and Liz might not have seen each other for years, but he was pretty sure she knew he wasn’t the type to throw people out of a booth, even if it was his favorite booth in his favorite place to eat in all of Orange County. “And then I ate their food,” he added to embellish the story a bit.
He shifted then, and his grin turned more sincere. “Look at you. You are a sight for sore eyes. How are you?” he gushed. Part of him felt like he’d waited too long to come home, because there really were a lot of people here who loved him and considered him a friend. But there were also people who didn’t love him and didn’t want him around.
Well, he was done letting them dictate where he lived. He was home, and he had no intention of leaving now that he was back.
“I’m sure they won’t make the mistake to sit in Alex Manes’ booth again,” Liz grinned back, knowing that Alex was just joking about kicking anyone out of the booth. Alex was definitely not the type to do something like that “Are you seriously going to just ask how I am without giving me a hug first?” She had missed Alex terribly, especially after Maria had moved back. Of course she had missed them both over the last couple of years, but having one back just made her miss the other even more, but now they were both back and hopefully the three of them could get together properly soon.
“My bad.” Alex grinned as he lurched to his feet. He wrapped Liz in a big, warm, comfortable hug. He felt it had been too long, way too long, since he’d hugged her. Hugs were common in New York, but there was nothing like the encompassing hug of an old friend after years apart.
Alex had no one to blame but himself for that. He was the one who left, he was the one who vowed never to return. Yet here he was. Drawn back home because a woman he barely knew had died. And he was staying because...why?
He couldn’t remember. Because it felt right. Because it was time to face his demons. Or something. Didn’t matter. He was home, now. Where he belonged. He released his hold on Liz and slid back into his booth. “Now, then. How are you?”
Liz returned the hug, wrapping her arms around her friend, tightly and simply held on until Alex released his hold first. Much like with Maria, she hadn’t realized just how much she had missed Alex until that moment. Alex was definitely not the only one to blame for leaving, because Liz had left too and she’d only been a couple of hours away from Alex and Maria, in Boston. Liz had a problem though, when it came to work and tended to throw herself into her work to the point where she would tell herself that she’d call or text her friends or family later, but later she’d make an excuse that it was too late and then weeks would go by before she finally remembered to get in touch with her friends.
Since moving back home though, her priorities had changed a little and while she still threw herself into her work, she was determined to make time for her friends and family and most importantly; herself.
“I’m good. Just happy that you’re back.” The reason Alex was back wasn’t the best, but it had brought him back and Liz was happy about that, “How’re you? Everything going alright, considering?” She knew that Alex had problems with his father so of course she worried about him.
Alex nodded. “All good. I’m staying with Maria and Mimi.” He thought he would get a place of his own, maybe. But he had lived with Maria in New York, they had a great room mate relationship, and living with Mimi DeLuca was hardly a burden. Alex loved her like the mom he wished he’d had, and she loved him like the son she never had. It was ideal for both of them. And Maria too.
“I joined a band. Playing guitar with another Alex. Same name, you know. It felt like fate.” Oh, and he’d run into Michael Guerin. He left that out though because he wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about that, or how to process it.
“What’s up with you? You doing all right?”
“I’m sure Mimi loves having you there.” Liz smiled as one of their waitresses stopped at the table to take their drink order. Liz had already told her parents that Alex was coming by and dinner was going to be on the house and she was honestly surprised that neither of her parents had come out yet to say hi to Alex, but she was sure that they would soon enough.
Liz ordered a shake and waited for Alex to order his drink and for the waitress to leave before she spoke again, “If you ever want a change of scenery though, I have a guest room,” Liz didn’t think that Maria or Mimi would mind if she borrowed Alex for a few nights. “That’s awesome about the band. What kind of music is it?” She was happy to hear that Alex had already made new friends since moving back.
Alex wasn’t concerned by the fact Liz’s parents hadn’t been out to see him. They probably didn’t even know he was here, yet. They were good people, and had treated him like a son back in the day. He knew they’d be thrilled to see him when they did come out.
“Rock,” he told her. “Lead singer’s name is Alex. He was looking for a guitarist. I played for him and he hired me on the spot. It’s kind of nice, a great way to explore my musical side. You’ll have to come to one of the gigs.”
“You won’t be able to keep me away from your gigs. I’d better be on the VIP list.” Liz couldn’t wait to hear Alex play in an actual band. It had been quite awhile since she had heard him play at all. “What’s the name of the band? Alex Squared?” She teased, smirking. She would have to get Max to go with her as well and she was sure that Maria would be going too, “So it sounds like things are going really good so far. You don’t even know how long it took me to actually make time for myself after I moved back.”
“We’re called The Dreamers,” Alex told her. The name felt entirely too appropriate, but Alex tried not to analyse it. “Alex Squared would have been amazing too,” he added with a laugh. It was kind of ironic that of all the people he could have meshed with it was another Alex.
“Oh I believe it took you awhile,” Alex flashed her a smile. “I have known you most of my life. I know how driven you are,” he said. It was really kind of inspiring. He wished he had half her dedication to just one thing in his life. Maybe if he’d been so dedicated to his music, he could have made a real career out of it.
“That’s a good name. I’m guessing that he’s a dreamer too then?” It only made sense otherwise the name was extremely ironic. “I’ve slowly been getting better at taking time for myself. I’m getting better though, especially now that Maria has moved back and I’ve started seeing someone,” She smirked just as their waitress came back with Liz’s milkshake and Alex’s drink as well as a plate of fries that Liz had ordered; she liked having fries with a shake. “By the way, order anything you want. Dinner is on me tonight.” She smiled at Alex, “It’s my welcome back gift.”
“You know I’m just going to have my usual.” Because really. Ten years away. He wasn’t going to up and decide to try something different. He knew everything was delicious, but he had a deep and profound love for a classic cheeseburger and fries.
“Alex, that’s his name. The singer. He’s a dreamer too, yeah,” Alex nodded. He liked Alex a lot. They got on well. There had been an instant connection. Nothing like his connection with Michael Guerin, but, still a connection. Alex was all about connecting with people. “Who are you seeing? Anyone I know?”
“You know, I had thought about putting in our orders earlier today, but I didn’t want to assume you were going to get the usual,” Liz smirked, not at all surprised that Alex was getting his usual and since she knew it by memory she told their waitress their orders then waited till she left before getting responding to Alex’s question, the smirk still upon her lips, but before she was thinking of Max now, “Max Evans.” She waited for Alex’s response to that news.
“Max Evans from high school?” Evans was a common enough name, so was Max. But what were the chances it was someone else? No, he knew it was Max Evans from high school by the way Liz said his name. “That’s cool. He always seemed like a nice guy.” Alex hadn’t known him well, but he knew him. “He’s treating you right?”
Liz nodded, a small smile upon her lips as she thought of Max, “Yeah, Max Evans from high school.” It had taken a while for them to get to the dating part of their relationship, but now that they were officially dating it was difficult for her to not smile when she thought of Max, “It’s fairly new, but it’s been a long time coming. Had I not been dating Kyle in high school, we might have gotten together sooner.” Not that she regretted anything about her relationship with Kyle. “And yes, he’s treating me right.”
Kyle. That was a name Alex could do without hearing. Once his best friend, and then...well. Not so much a friend at all. Alex shook it off and focused on the parts about Max. “Good. He’d have to deal with me, otherwise.” Not really, because Alex was not the fighting kind. He’d do just about anything to avoid a fight, and everyone knew it.
“I will make sure to tell him that,” Liz didn’t think it would ever be necessary for Alex or anyone else to need to have words with Max over his treatment of her, because it was obvious to anyone else with eyes that Max was absolutely besotted and would never hurt her, “We’ll have to all get together soon. I’m sure Maria will want to plan another outing sometime.” Their night at the bar had been extremely fun and Liz had enjoyed getting one up on her friend who hadn’t realized her and Max were already dating at the time and had attempted to use it as an opportunity to set them up.
“I’d like that.” Alex nodded. He would like that. He missed the whole gang being together. But they weren’t in high school anymore. They were all like responsible, hard working adults or something. “Just let me know, I’ll rework my schedule if I have to.” He smiled a sincere smile. Despite the ghosts that haunted him now that he was here, he was glad to be home.