|WHO:| Eric Munch | Bill Weasley |WHEN:| Sunday, 07 February, afternoon |WHERE:| A cafe in Diagon Alley |WHAT:| After an argument with his father, Eric heads to Diagon Alley simply to appease his wish that his son 'lead more of a social life', whatever that means. |RATING:| PG |STATUS:| Complete
"Dammit, Eric!" his father said, gritting his teeth. "Listen to me!"
"I have, dad, many times," Eric replied calmly as he picked at the grapes on the kitchen table. "And what you need to understand is that my goal is not to make you happy."
"We're looking out for you, sweetheart," his mother said, fixing his hair a bit.
"Yeah, I know, but I'm not going to rush anything. Not again. The women I've met are stupid and rubbish. I have high standards."
"And we want grandchildren," his mother said with a grin.
The phrase caused Eric to shudder the rest of the morning and into the afternoon as he left his parents' in Yorkshire and headed to Diagon Alley before a late swing shift. Keeping his head down, he headed into a fairly new cafe—he preferred their food and coffee over many other places in the Alley. With a turkey sandwich, chips, and coffee (to which he added as much sugar as possible), Eric slouched in the booth with his knees up near his chest. A book in one hand and his coffee in the other, he checked his watch: two hours until I need to go to work. I hate this irregular schedule. I swear on my great-grandfather Milton's grave they do this to piss me off.
With the sandwich and chips finished off, Eric sat silently—looking up and around every now and then to see if anyone interesting drifted in. If his parents insisted on a social life, he would find one.