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 Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2007 8:27 pm
The park was a normal outing on the weekend. For joggers, romantics, and families alike it provided a safe and beautiful retreat from the city. However, for the Walden couple it was almost as depressing as it was calming. Ryan and Chloe sat on a bench opposite from the playground, the botanist scribbling formulas anxiously while his wife simply leaned her head on her hands and people watched. There was a sad tone to her eyes, caused in part by her weak nature. But there was something else. Something that both of them knew but neither wanted to admit.
"Ryan," Chloe said suddenly, turning to her husband. He didn't look up, but she continued anyway. "Ryan, I'm sorry," she told him softly, reaching to grip his wrist. It was two years to the day since she had miscarried their daughter, to be named Lauren, and since she hadn't been able to get pregnant again.
Ryan paused but didn't say anything, simply reaching his free hand to remove hers from his arm. They sat like that in silence for a long while, both wanting to say something though neither was willing to. Finally Ryan opened his mouth, tapping her hand gently, "It's not your fault, you know that. Now come on, we came out here to have fun. Meet some people, you need to get out of the house more."
Chloe blushed red, looking away from him. "You're right," she agreed shortly, "I'll leave you alone to finish that." She set her purse down beside the bench and got to her feet, brushing her jeans off before walking down the path to the small lake.
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Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2007 10:00 pm
Despite every other cruel, unmentionable, scandalous part of his life, Veist was determined to be a 'good' father. If that meant buy a baby blue stroller and take kids to the park so they could stare in that clueless naive way at ducks for a few hours, so be it, and he would even enjoy it.
He would only enjoy it, however, provided other people didn't distract him, and after spending a good fifteen minutes glaring at another couple too close to his designated spot, he finally had the lake all to himself. (Well, that portion of it.)
But now she showed up, and all was ruined again. He gave up. With a singular glance to the woman, he caught one of his babies rolling toward the water like a freefalling stone, showing off that sort of that sixth-parental sense for a moment.
"Back in the stroller then."
He glanced back to Chloe and blinked twice.
The wriggling infant made a sound of protest as she was set inside a stroller next to her matching pair; who was already sleeping. Veist's gaze returned solemnly to Chloe, and though his intentions weren't so much as to scare her off just yet, it could easily be read as some sort of expectation, though of what, who knew.
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Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 3:49 pm
Chloe had never been all that perceptive, and when she noticed after a long while that a young man was staring at her, she wasn't frightene. On the contrary she was actually flattered. Looking back to see that Ryan was still busy with his notes she tucked her hands behind her back and wandered toward him, showing a bright smile. "Hello there," she called in a sing song tone as she made her way down the embankment, coming to a stop near him and his... Stroller? For a moment she seemed confused, then she grinned, waving a little hand to the babies. "My name's Chloe, are those your daughters?"
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Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 4:02 pm
Veist openly cringed. He spent a good few awkward moments debating with himself on how to handle this, but just as his daughter smiled brightly at the woman and giggled, he let out a disgruntled "Hello."
Then, he seemed surprised. Most tended to assume his children for boys, they were too young to tell by the features on their face and the drab colours he chose to dress them in as well as the blue stroller usually set off 'boys!' signals in peoples minds. He decided Midas' batting her eyelashes at Chloe, and the pastel pink stuffed bear she was snuggled against told Chloe' the truth.
"Yes, they are." Veist said blankly, though that look of expectation came across his face again. His eyes trailed openly down the woman's body, catching on her wedding ring breifly before he surveyed the place again. He almost asked 'where is your husband?' but decided against asking, smartly realizing that would come off as quite a creepy for the situation question.
So he'd reserve that for later.
Another awkward pause, and then a bright thought came to mind. It was an opportunity of a sort, after all. "Do you have any kids?"
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Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 4:10 pm
Chloe paled a little bit, reminded of the thing she was trying to distract from. Shaking her head she regained her composure, and crossed her arms across her chest. "No, sadly. My husband and I have been trying for a few years but none so far," she explained, thinking of something, "You um, you're not taking care of them all by yourself?" Oh shoot, that sounded strange. "I mean, not that you're probably not a good dad it's just, twins seems like it would be hard to handle," she added quickly, feeling the situation get more and more awkward. Ryan would be better at this.
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Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 4:18 pm
Veist tilted his head, the shadows on his face deepening as he did so in an almost extra-animated way to express how he felt about the question. He was quite open about his discomfort, or pain, or anger, or whatever one chose to call it as he thought about his wife.
"In body, yes, I'm alone." He said, the words themselves far too poetic for the one they came from. "Why do you want kids?" He asked, frowning at Chloe. It almost sounded like he was a regretful father, disheartened with his children, though that was hardly the actual case. He had a tenancy to dislike parents as a whole; his own mother, his lack of a father, and the way his brother treated his kids... they all seemed endlessly selfish and naive, undeserving.
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Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 4:29 pm
"Eh-" Chloe blushed and looked away from him, caught of guard by the question. "I- I don't really know," she admitted, "I guess I never really though about that. I just knew that when I met Ryan I wanted to have a family with him." No sooner were the words out of her mouth than she realized how weird it was to talk about it to a stranger.
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Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 4:37 pm
Veist crossed his arms, and shook his head. "I see. Well, that's a generic reason, if ever there was one... just what are you planning on doing with these kids when you finally get them, anyway? Stuff them in a minivan and forget they ever existed?" By the tone of his voice alone it was fairly easy to tell he was trailing away from the point. Midas was fussing, and he picked her up, setting her against his shoulder expertly while tapping her back to get her to go to sleep.
"So why can't you have kids? Who's not working?" He wasn't trying to be intrusive as much as his scientific curiosity was beginning to get the better of him.
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Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 4:48 pm
Chloe gaped stupidly at him, wishing she could think of something to say. She wasn't really sure what he was asking, or what he expected her to say. She would love her kids, if she was ever able to have them, but what would she do with them? She didn't know. She would probably want her daughter to do dance like she did when she was younger, but she wouldn't make them do anything they didn't want to.
Apparently sensing that she was having trouble Ryan stumbled down the hill to her side, setting his hand comfortingly on her shoulder. "Now who's this?" he asked her with a smile, pushing his glasses out of reading position so he could more properly see his wife's new friend.
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Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 4:56 pm
Veist examined Ryan, cocking his head again. "Probably him.." He muttered under his breath, answering his own question. "But then again it'd be more dramatic if it... Ah, blast it. I mean - sorry, love." He tapped his daughter again and shifted his weight.
"Would you like to know where I got my daughters? Are you at all interested in adoption?" He asked, eyebrows lifted, easily ignoring the question of his name/identity. Not that his daughters were adopted, but it was his own way of testing whether or not he felt a couple was deserving. After all, if they could open their hearts to a child not their own, that should make them at least class A typical 'good' parents which would have to be good enough.
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Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 5:05 pm
"We've considered it," Chloe admitted, somewhat shrugging from Ryan's hand, "I think we've decided on it if it doesn't happen in the next year or so." She seemed to be watching the infant as he shifted her, a somewhat disconnected smile on her face.
Before she could say anything else Ryan took over, squeezing her shoulder tight, "But we're not going to give up hope before then." His words seemed to upset her, but he was oblivious to it. "Science can do a lot," he stated, "I'm sure they can make my little Chloe a mother." He was a little controlling, even she would admit that, but he was right a lot of the time.
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Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 5:34 pm
A look of placid disgust took Veist's face; a feeling inside him he wasn't quite letting show through. "Your little Chloe, huh?" How revolting.
Midas sneezed. It was obnoxiously cute.
"Well, your heart is in the... how do the commercials say it... 'right place' at least." He told Chloe, reaching his free hand in his pocket. It stayed there for awhile as he stared at the couple, before he moaned, as if caving in. "You're right, science can do a lot. Of course it can't replace a lack of good parenting... and I suppose it's better the two of you have twins, anyway. When you finally do get divorced one can go one way, one the other. Instant happy family." He sat Midas back in her stroller, and wrote a number down on the back of a diaper for lack of better writing paper.
"This is where I got my girls." He said, offering the couple the diaper before (he was sure) they ran away from him, disgusted/annoyed/insulted. "I used my dead wife's blood, so whatever problem you two are having, it can probably be overlooked. If you go, do me a favor and remind Ronchas he needs those fifteen units of insulin for his 'diabetes.'"
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Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 5:43 pm
Chloe took the diaper when Ryan pushed her forward, seeming a bit shocked by the stranger's comments. She held it close to her chest, not even looking at it. Instead she simply stared from the two little girls to their father, trying to put the puzzle together. Suddenly she gulped, "You mean- You?"
"Leave the poor guy alone," Ryan told her, seeming a bit short tempered. He retrieved his notes from beneath his other arm, copying the number down on the top of a sheet. "Thank you," he told the man, putting Ronchas and insulin to memory. "I'm afraid I didn't catch your name," he said somberly.
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Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 7:21 pm
With a sigh, but an almost contented and pleased with himself one, Veist watched Chloe before looking back at Ryan. "You're right, peculiar that." He said, sporting a very breif, cocky thiefly grin that came trademarked with his profession.
"Who knows, perhaps one day we will be playing mommies at the lake here together, and our kids will be....ah... friends." He snorted, looking back at his daughters, and shook his head.
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Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 7:44 pm
Chloe smiled, though Ryan seemed a little uncomfortable with the concept. He pressed his hand against Chloe's back though his eyes remained locked on Veist. "Honey," he said quietly, "I think it's about time to go home, don't you?" She opened her mouth to protest, but giving Veist another look she hung her head and nodded. "It was nice meeting you," she told him, giving the girls a little wave, "I hope I'll get to see you again sometime." Ryan pressed a little harder. With that they made their way back up the hill toward the parking lot.
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