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 Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2011 11:36 pm
Christmas was over, and Millicent was going to go spend some time with her father between now and the New Year. She was supposed to be dropped off later at her dad’s house, but her mother had an unexpected appointment to make, so instead dropped the child off at Garethon’s office building.
It was boring sitting in a waiting room waiting for her ever busy father to get done with…whatever fathers had to do at work, and Millie gave a sigh laying on the couch she had just been sitting on. Sure she had her book and her new iPod that she had gotten for Christmas…but she wanted to be talking to someone. Doing something.
Anything. Just sitting here was making her grow old and wrinkly like the TV commercials said. She didn’t want to be old and wrinkly. Maybe she could slip out of the building and go get some last minute cans…or something.
She pondered this for a few moments, then switched positions on the couch, moving so she was laying off the edge, her long wine colored hair brushing the floor and her feet half climbing up the wall. Cool. The room was upside down. It would be neat if the world could just stay upside down forever…then she could walk on the ceiling.
…She really hoped her father would be done soon so they could go back to his house…
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Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2011 8:00 am
All in all, Jett had already had a very productive day; he was finding his way around the firm effectively enough, and it was easy to settle into the role Garethon had wanted him in. Though Jett was no errand boy, he was playing his part well enough and found himself pleasantly engrossed in the corporate setting. He was dressed nicely enough for work, though now that his hours were over, he was undeniably ready to leave. He had unfastened his tie as he waited in the elevator, and upon exiting was too busy analyzing his stocks on his phone to be paying much attention to his surroundings.
Had it not been for a spot of hair and the subconscious question of, 'Why is that girl trying to climb the wall upside down?' he might have missed Millie entirely. Jett had his suspicions and slowly stopped walking, finished scrolling on his phone, and then promptly tucked it away in his back pocket and approached the girl, crouching in front of her and meeting her at eye level. "Millie, your hair is touching the floor," he said as he scooped her locks up. "Sit up straight or bugs will crawl into your hair."
A phrase his mother used to tell him when he was younger; he was barely aware it even slipped out. Though, back then he was just a little boy and handle cared if bugs crawled into his hair while he was playing outside.
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Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2011 12:49 pm
The minutes were stretching on for hours and hours. Millie had only been hanging upside down for a minute or two, and she blinked when she saw a pair of blue eyes looking at her and felt someone moving her hair.
The child’s eyes lit up and she bolted upright. “Jett! Jett what are you doing here? I never thought I’d see you here!” Woah! He padawan was following her! And…
“There aren’t going to be any bugs crawling into my hair, this office building place is always really clean, I’ve never even seen a spider or any ants in here. She stood up on the couch then gave Jett a hug, laughing. “What are you doing here? I asked before, but I’m still so surprised! How was your Christmas! How’s mom! What’s been going on with you? Do you wear your Jedi Robes a lot?”
She took in a breath. Well, if Jett was here, then she wouldn’t be so bored while waiting for her dad! She hated just sitting around doing nothing.
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Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2011 1:36 pm
Millie was as full of questions as ever, so Jett just flashed her a quaint little smile and let her work out all of her excitement so he could answer. He chose not to tell her that he’d spotted a cockroach during his lunch break (and, honestly, arguing with Millie seemed like a dreadfully pointless endeavor) so he instead just returned her hug half heartedly and then drew away so he could stand. “It would be impractical to wear those robes to work, don’t you think?”
Brushing himself off, he gestured towards the front desk with a nod of his head. “I work here for the next few weeks. Got an internship at the beginning of winter break, so,” he shrugged. “I just got off. Are you waiting for someone? …I could take you upstairs to your father if that would be more fun. I just saw him a minute ago. Or,” he clucked his tongue atop the roof of his mouth and held out a hand for her. “We could go get ice cream at the parlor around the corner?” he prompted.
It was a little cold for ice cream, but Jett had a craving for waffles and peanuts (oh, the strange things being in an office did to you all day) and he figured he could get his fix there and indulge the child in something similar in exchange for company. What grown man wants to be seen alone at an ice cream parlor, anyway?
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Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2011 3:53 pm
The child scoffed when Jett suggested she go up with her father. “He’s too busy for me…that’s why I’m down here in the first place. I’m supposed to go to his house tonight, but mom had to go to work unexpectedly…and she dropped me off here, but daddy was too busy to see me.”
She shook her head then looked up at him. “Jett, it’s always good to wear Jedi Robes. You get more respect that way. Also…I would love to go get ice cream! That sounds very yummy and not boring at all!”
She was so lucky Jett was here! He was going to be working here now? Not at the antique shop anymore? “So…should I come here to hang out with you…or will you still be at the antique shop sometimes? Do you still work there too?”
If he didn’t…then Millie would be very sad. That old smelly, dusty antique shop had become one of her favorite stores to visit ever…
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Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2011 4:12 pm
"Hmm?" Jett lifted his head to curiously regard the child as he slid on the coat he had thrown over one arm. He was still getting dressed as he spoke. “Oh—no, I still work there. This is just a replacement for school while I’m out. It’ll look good on my resume,” he said with a little shrug.
“When I graduate, I’m going to go into business, see—and, you know the complex world of adults, Millie. I can’t go around wearing Jedi Robes here. These people working here? I mean, imagine,” he said with a little scoff. Someone his age, still playing dress up?
…Oh, but wait, he didn’t want to hurt Millie’s feelings and continued, “Do you know how cutthroat people have to be to succeed here? If I was wearing those robes, I would be a target for anyone evil. I mean, they aren’t wearing their Sith robes, so I’d certainly stick out like a sore thumb.”
He slid on his gloves and wrapped his scarf around his neck, snuggling against it before he pulled out his phone. Working for Garethon meant he had access to the male’s phone number, and since he didn’t want the male to freak out when his daughter wasn’t here, he deftly texted, ‘Kidnapping your daughter, have fun at work’ before he snapped his phone shut and tucked it into his pocket. He snagged Millie’s hand and pushed open the front door for her so they could get their ice cream.
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Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2011 12:11 pm
She nodded, relieved. She was very, very glad that he still worked at the Antique shop, it was a million times more fun to visit him there then it would be to visit him here. This place was just so boring.
Millie was amused, amused to the point when he mentioned the people working in the office not wearing their Sith robes, she lost it and began giggling.
It was a good fit for some of those people! They were all so grumpy and just plain awful!
“You’re right about that though, Jett! I think a lot of the people who work here really are Sith lords! Or at least Sith apprentices!” When the child made that statement, she fell quiet, frowning and allowing Jett to pull her outside. It wasn’t until they reached the ice cream shop that she finally spoke up.
“Hey…Jett…My daddy. Do you think…do you think he’s one of the Sith?”
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Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2011 12:35 pm
“Hmm? Oh, yes, of course,” Jett said with a light hearted laugh. “Your father is certainly a menace. Working me to the bone, barking orders. He could definitely be a Sith.” While Jett spoke in jest, he paused, glancing down at her. He hadn’t missed her quietness for the past few moments, though after his words seemed to be considering their meaning a bit more.
Millie wanted to be a Jedi. Jedi fight Sith.
He glanced down at her as he held open the door to the ice cream parlor, rushing her in so he could take advantage of the warmth. He ruffled her hair promptly, however. “I’m quite sure your father’s not a Sith though, Millie. He cares too much about you to be any sort of evil. Why, has he done something suspicious to make you think that…?”
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Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2011 12:42 pm
She shrugged, then wiggled around a bit, enjoying the rush of the warm air that came out of the Ice cream store. That felt nice. When Jett had spoken of how her father could be a Sith, the child just sighed, some of her fears realized just a bit.
“He just…likes buying me red lightsabers…and he got me a Darh Vader helmet…and when we’re watching the movies, sometimes…”
Millicent drew close to Jett, whispering. “Sometimes he even cheers for the bad guys…” That was what really had gotten her suspicious…who in their right mind would cheer for the bad guys! She hated them! That’s why she liked Jacen so much. Jacen was the best good guy in the whole world…even if he was acting strange in the book she was reading now. He would be okay. He was Jacen!
“I just…I don’t know, Jett…I just think if he was a Jedi…him and Mommy would be together…”
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Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2011 12:56 pm
Jett considered this for a moment and then sighed. “Well…maybe your father just likes the actors more, the characters? It doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s a bad guy. You can be sympathetic towards the villain, yes?” he asked, not sure how much he wanted to breach on her imagination. She often spoke of Star Wars and Jedi and Sith as if they were real—and not just a fantasy world of George Lucas’ construction.
He wasn’t entirely sure how to console her on the statement of her mother and father still being together, so he tried to ignore it, instead just resting his arm on her shoulder and directing her towards the counter. “Just get whatever you’d like, Millie. And…”
He paused and added after a slight afterthought, voice rather soft and accommodating, “Is that…something you think about a lot? The ‘if’s about your parents? ‘If’ this, then they’d still be together…?”
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Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2011 1:11 pm
Bah! Jett was talking like Star Wars was just a bunch of movies and books and video games. Someday she’d prove to him that it was a lot more than just that. Who could think of a world that amazing without it actually being real! So it had to be real.
When he asked if she thought about her parents together she shrugged again, pressing her face to the glass, looking at all of the different ice cream flavors. “I want a hot fudge sundae with cookie dough ice cream please, Jett. That sounds really, really good. With four cherries on it, please?”
It was best to avoid questions like this. Part of her felt like it was her fault that her parent’s weren’t together. Her father didn’t like her mother, she could just feel that much. He was kind of open about his opinion, but she wasn’t sure how her mommy felt about her dad…Bellatrix had always been more subtle about the issue.
Still…there were times where Millicent felt that it was her fault…she felt that if she hadn’t been around…her dad wouldn’t blame her mom for getting Millie most of the time! So…in a way it was her fault.
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Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2011 1:34 pm
Jett had not missed the fact that Millie had made no attempt to answer, and for that he could only assume that she didn’t want to talk about it. Which was understandable; it was a very sensitive topic for a lot of people—himself included. He didn’t say anything to Millie for a moment; instead, he placed her orders and his, paid, and then sat down at a booth with the girl while they waited for their ice cream.
“You know,” he mused, tapping his fingers atop the table. “…My mother and father split up a long time ago.”
It wasn’t something he often spoke of, but Millie was partially a kindred soul. He knew her father, though had never met her mother. Garethon had given him a job, and while Jett was grateful for that much—and the job experience that came with it—he wasn’t quite sure what to make of Garethon.
There had been no love lost, from what he could figure, and Garethon still loved his daughter very much. It was a different situation with Jett, though a part of him resented the man for not trying harder for Millie.
“When I was about your age.”
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Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2011 1:40 pm
She looked at him and gave a little frown. “So…so you got ten years of them together?” She had to admit…she was jealous of that. That wasn’t fair. “My parents were never together…and for a while I didn’t even get to see my daddy. Then I had to go to court and these people came to watch us while we had visits and stuff. It was yucky, really yucky.”
Millie sighed. “I wish parent’s weren’t allowed to just…split up like that. You can’t do that when you have kids, okay, Jett? You gotta stay with them, even if you don’t like them. Because that’s what makes the kids happy.”
That was fair, right? Her Mommy and daddy should have stayed together to make her happy. All people’s parents should do that…
“Oh well. There’s nothing I can do about it.” Her voice grew quiet again, almost like this was something that had been rehearsed. “It’s not my fault, and they still love me, blah blah blah. When’s our ice cream going to get here? I’m hungry..”
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Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2011 1:49 pm
“They’re still making it,” Jett mused, elbow propped on the table. He rested his chin in his hand and watched as they prepared it, mulling over the girl’s words. Yes, they seemed rehearsed, but he didn’t blame the girl for trying. He’d had doubts and suspicions that it was his fault his parents split up for a long time. And he blamed himself, of course.
“If I ever have children, Millicent, I have no intention of leaving the mother. I’m not that sort of monster,” he scoffed, leaning back in his chair. “But a part of me…”
He pursed his lips and kept his gaze intent on the young woman making Millicent’s sundae. “…A part of me doesn’t even want to have kids. I don’t want to let them down.”
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Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2011 1:53 pm
Millicent shook her head, giving a little smile. “You won’t, Jett! You haven’t let me down, you’re one of my best friends…and you’re a really nice guy.” He was! He had always been really nice to her, and caring and all that stuff. She would be a very bored girl without him around, she was sure.
“So…So don’t think stuff like that, and let’s hope our food gets here quick then we can eat and I can wait for my daddy. Thank you for getting me ice cream, it was really nice…but I still think you should go to work in your Jedi Robes one day, just for fun. It’ll make everyone happy, I think.”
Her eyes lit up as the ice cream was finally delivered to the table and the child laughed, digging right into her sundae, all conversations ceasing from her.
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