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 Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2014 9:39 pm
Mordekai felt frozen in place while Duncan continued to peruse through the book. Just as Anita's stance fell, so did Johan's, and he was cautious to glare between Mordekai and the papers that Duncan pulled out, one by one.
"Just some of Annie's drawings and writing and photos that you might wanna have... thought you'd want them," Mordekai noted, quietly, "I'm sorry."
Duncan continued to look through the contents in stunned silence for a while. After he pulled out each paper from the file, he placed the file back into the cardboard box and laughed without muster. He smiled nevertheless and took off his glasses to wipe his eyes-- he rested one elbow tiredly against the table and nodded. At the top of the pile of papers was a picture of a young girl and a woman. Duncan smiled a little wider.
"No need to be sorry, son... thank you. I appreciate this, I do-- and-- all the books, the gloves, for the card..." Duncan looked to the pile of papers again as his eyes continued to water. Without looking at Anita, he said quietly, "Please give Cruz and Tango my thanks."
Mordekai let a small frown settle in as he watched Duncan sit stone-still on the stool. "Okay... hey, I'm gonna-- go pick up what I gotta, Duncan, feel free to dig into that food, okay... would you three like me to pick up anything specific?"
Duncan shook his head. "No, I can't think of anything..."
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Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2014 9:40 pm
As Duncan flipped through the collected pages, Anita began to understand the change in atmosphere. She still hadn't been given a full explanation of their family dynamic but, little by little, she was piecing it together. Mordekai was the son in law, not the son she originally thought, and so was Johan by extension. Annie was his wife, now deceased, which meant--
Anita's brows creased as the older man wiped his eyes. ”Sure...” she returned quietly, attempting to smile while hanging her head. Watching Duncan was making her own eyes mist.
With a hand on her cheek and eyes toward the floor, she tried to smile despite it. ”I'm glad the three of us got to be here for you today.” Hopefully that was a positive statement, given the circumstances.
Her teeth clenched at Mordekai's sloppy attempt to change the subject – and bow out. Anita glanced up, sliding her hand to the back of her neck. A tight pout set her lips as she looked between the three men. It was a well intentioned gift but Anita couldn't tell if Duncan was moved or just upset. Mordekai, on the other hand, definitely appeared uneasy by the turn of events. It was obvious he wanted out. As much as she wanted to comfort Duncan, she didn't know how. She wanted out, too.
”Did you call them?” she asked weakly, ”Everything good to go?” Part of her wanted to ask to go along but there was a large rift between that easy offer of escape and what she felt was right for the situation.
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Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2014 9:42 pm
Mordekai took a moment to look to the floor until addressed by Anita. He glanced up, brows raised, and nodded. "Y-yeah-- everything's good to go... I'll be back in a bit--"
"No."
Johan stepped out and away from the kitchen area-- he offered Anita a slight frown then turned his full attention toward Mordekai, his expression pulled into such familiar and quiet sternness that Mordekai faltered away from the counter. When the two stared between each other, though, Johan continued: "You're not." He nodded toward the patio doors, "Outside. Now."
Without objection, Mordekai nodded quietly, and Johan walked over to the patio doors and slid them open. Johan looked back at Anita and Duncan and ushered a clear 'excuse us', then led Mordekai past the ivy gate and further into the gardens. Throughout all this, Duncan neglected to respond-- he simply set the top page to the side, glanced at it once more, then continued to sift through the file contents again.
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Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2014 9:42 pm
Anita tried to offer Mordekai even a weak smile to lighten his clearly dampened spirits, but that was quickly stripped away by Johan's flat tone. She winced, catching his eye when he frowned in passing, and watched the two retreat under his firm order. Instinctively, she took a step away from the wall. Rather than attempting to follow, even before Johan excused them formally, she stayed put near Duncan.
When the door closed, the only sound in the kitchen were the gently rustling papers. She bit her lip, staring after the brothers, then honed in on her still full glass of water Duncan so nicely poured her sitting untouched on the island counter.
Taking the opportunity to retrieve it and take a short peek toward the back, Anita pulled one of the stools out and seated herself with Duncan. A few shy sips later and she finally piped up.
”How ya doin' over there?” she offered softly, nearly a whisper but heard plain as day in the relative quiet.
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Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2014 9:43 pm
Duncan was still sifting through papers when Anita resumed sitting on a stool. He glanced up, first, toward the stovetop, then recollected a soft smile to address Anita's question. Duncan looked to her and set his palms on the top of the papers. He wasn't remiss to realize that both Mordekai and Johan were gone, but couldn't bear to look toward the patio doors for more than a moment.
"...I'm doing better than I seem, thank you." Duncan chuckled and set his glasses on the counter to wipe his eyes and cheeks down, "I apologize for all this... you took time out of your day and drove through such harsh snow to get here."
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Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2014 9:44 pm
Talking made attempting to buck up less of a trial. Anita straightened up in her seat and took another sip, humming quietly into the water when he managed a small laugh.
”Aw, hey...” she twisted to set the glass back on the counter without turning away from Duncan, ”The snow wasn't bad at all. I wouldn't have missed this for anything.” The desire to check back on them was great but she denied herself that as Duncan unable to do so.
Her knees tapped together anxiously. A quick glance at the windows by the table, the white expanse still hiding any green, made Anita slouch into her hoody more. ”The chill's kinda brutal, though. I wish I wore the scarf you guys got me.” She scoffed and pinched her nose, then sniffed. ”Weather's got me all chapped up. You keepin' warm?”
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Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2014 9:44 pm
Duncan looked to Anita with an apologetic smile. He nodded toward her in place of words for a bit, and managed to offer a brief grin at the mention of the scarf. He offered one deep nod in sympathies to the weather, then another.
"I have been..." he paused. There was not much else to say-- he glanced toward the papers again.
The patio door slid open soon after. Johan waited outside while Mordekai trotted back in, the cold sinking into his bones. He rubbed his arms down and walked toward the kitchen, offering Duncan and Anita both a soft grimace of apology. Johan walked toward the foyer to grab his coat and scarf.
Johan returned soon after. While Mordekai resumed sitting on one of the stools in silence, Johan turned to Anita while pulling on his coat. "I'm going to go to the bakery. Would you like to accompany me?"
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Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2014 9:45 pm
For what it was worth, Anita kept a meager smile going even after Duncan's soon faded. After that, conversation dipped back into nothing and she tried to be mindful of the silence as though it were companionable and not uncomfortable. That was always difficult for her.
It was nearly a relief when the patio door opened, but the lingering uncertainty on Mordekai's face and his weak attempt at a smile – if it could be called that – kept Anita from feeling at ease. She stayed put quietly while the two Kantors paced, Mordekai taking a seat near Duncan and Johan going to get his things. For a moment she didn't register that he was addressing her and had to lean back to catch his glance.
”Um...”
Anita turned back to look at Duncan, still weary eyed, then paid Mordekai a brief look. She quickly adjusted her tone, attempting to add some amount of enthusiasm to mask the fact that she really didn't want to go with Johan alone.
”Yeah, sure.” Anita slipped off of the stool and quickly downed the rest of her water. Before heading to the closet to retrieve her coat, she set the glass in the sink and gave the two quiet men a short smile, whether they saw it or not. ”We'll be back soon.” It was more an assurance to herself than either of them.
Once she was bundled back up, the trek to the car was quiet. Brisk air hit her in the face and mussed her already wild hair, which she attempted to tame by pulling her hood down. Anita waited until the passenger door was unlocked, then tucked herself inside and leaned against it after she was all buckled. Looking out the window would likely take up most of the trip. She was fine with that.
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Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2014 9:45 pm
That was that. Johan waited placantly for Anita's reply, then put his scarf on and headed toward the foyer. When Anita looked toward Mordekai and Duncan, the blond offered him an unsure smile and Duncan offered a tight one. Wearily, Duncan waved once at Anita-- "Be safe, you two."
As Anita took her leave out the door, Mordekai turned to face Duncan. "Hey," Mordekai began, quietly, one hand on Duncan's shoulder, "Let's talk..."
The silence that filled the space between them was fine enough by Johan's standards. There were only a few ambient sounds that interrupted them: footsteps on snow, the beep of the car as it unlocked, the trunk popping open. While Anita settled into her seat, he grabbed the snow scraper and pushed the snow off of the windshield, then set the snow scraper back in the trunk before settling into the car himself. He checked his phone for directions after turning the ignition and waiting for the heat to fill the windows.
"It's thirty minutes away," he noted, mostly for Anita's sake, then backed out of the driveway. After that, they were as silent as when they left for a good while, with no music to fill in the ambiance. He was fine with it.
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Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2014 9:46 pm
Thirty minutes. Anita glanced at the phone, then directed her attention back out the window. ”Okay,” she nodded, not sounding put off in the least. That wouldn't be so bad. An hour total, eased by passing scenery and music.
Or not.
As Johan pulled out of the driveway and got onto the main road, the further he went without adjusting the radio made Anita antsy. Her fingers lightly tapped her knees, careful not to make a sound. Every twenty seconds or so, her gaze flicked to the radio that stayed firmly off. Each time she started to ask if she could mess with it, Anita promptly closed her mouth, pursed her lips, leaned her head against the cold window. A few sniffles and clearing her throat were the only sounds she made otherwise.
It was a stiff, impersonal silence that Anita found no comfort in.
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Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2014 9:46 pm
Johan neglected to realize how uncomfortable Anita was for a while. Once a few more idle sniffs and throat clearings came to pass, though, and they were halfway to their destination and into the freeway, some traffic came. As the car came to a halt, he looked out his own window while they idly moved forward.
"One damn cake..."
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Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2014 9:47 pm
Even with the quiet, it wasn't too bad. They were moving along at a steady pace. Not having music made things feel like they were ticking by slower, but Anita made due and tapped her fingers on her knees to a tune in her head. Not looking at the clock helped, which she gave up doing after the first five minutes. Almost as if a jab at her growing complacency with the situation, the car slowed. For the first time since they left the house, Johan spoke.
Anita didn't look at him. She stretched out in her seat and looked up at the ceiling, hands clasped and hanging between her knees. There wasn't much to say in exchange. All that came out was a short laugh under her breath. Passengers in neighboring vehicles looked as displaced as she felt in this car.
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Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2014 9:48 pm
Johan continued looking out his side of the car, unexpectant of any reply from Anita. When she did, though, he glanced over at her a moment before refocusing his sights to the front of him. He could just barely make out the end of the roadblock up ahead, the product of an unfortunate collision, but there was no telling how long it would take for them to get there.
"Yes, his failing memory is pretty comical," he commented, equally as quiet before, though his voice was audible all the same in the silent car. Given Anita's knee tapping, it was cue enough for him to turn on the radio. The station number he was at in Aekea translated only to white noise. "Feel free to change the station."
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Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2014 9:49 pm
Any slight hint of a smile clinging to her face was instantly removed. The sight of what was causing the traffic, on top of Johan's comment, took any lightheartedness she tried to get out of the situation and threw it to the wind. Anita stayed quiet even after the radio was turned on. Nearly a minute passed before she made any motion to adjust any of the knobs, which first started with the volume. Though it was preferable at the moment, she highly doubted Johan would be interested in blasting both of them out with rock.
”That's not what I meant,” she murmured, attention glued to the radio.
It hadn't really been funny at all. None of today was amusing. The laugh was one of sympathy at the situation, on their parts as well as Mordekai's, and even Duncan's. A note that, even through all of the mess, they were still on their way to get a cake and Duncan enjoyed the company, appreciated his gifts. With all its bumps, it could still be a good birthday. Maybe she was the only one who saw it that way, though.
Finally she settled on a station, despite being unfamiliar with the ones closer to Barton. It was one of the few not on a commercial break and, while it wasn't her usual brand of music, it seemed like something Johan wouldn't outright dismiss. She kept the volume to a low din, something they could both easily hear and speak over without needing to raise their voices.
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Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2014 9:50 pm
Johan regarded Anita's response in silence. He didn't any special attention to the music she chose, especially with it being at such a low volume. As they continued to snail through the traffic line, though, and a few more minutes passed, he piped up again.
"Do you think that I'm a harsh person?"
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