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 Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2013 9:15 pm
Once he had been written into the schedule, Howl soon enough had righted one wrong that he had committed in recent times. He had seemingly fallen right back into place like a good employee, but at the same time something seemed different.
Perhaps it had been the fact that he had purchased a lovely pot of flowers for the Yates, which were now displayed near the front of the restaurant. It was the first personalized thing the young man had done to show any sort of appreciation for his place of employment.
At the end of his shift, he had managed to prompt a particular coworker of his with a simple "Miss Sfakianos, might I have a moment of your time?"
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Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 9:38 pm
Lydia was definitely not avoiding Howl Wickham.
At first, she didn't even have to try. He just didn't turn up for work, again. And again. Of course she wondered what his deal was, but there was no way to find out. For starters, she was way too busy, picking up dropped shifts and getting ready to go back to school. And even if she had the time, what would she do? Ask what happened? That had worked so well the last time.
The fact was that he didn't want to share. He was painfully blunt about that. And so, even when he returned to work, she kept her distance. There were other coworkers who didn't get snippy with her for trying to help. Besides, now that Cass was talking to her again, she found that he needed all the help she could give. So there was no reason whatsoever to talk to Mister Howl.
Except for the fact that they had to work together. Or the fact that he was talking to her. Or most importantly, the fact that Lydia never knew when to quit.
"I think I have a few moments to spare, Mister Howl. I have found myself with a bit more time on my hands as of late."
She was willing to forgive. She wasn't willing to forget.
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Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 6:52 pm
Her language choice was easy to notice, but Howl made no mention to draw attention to it.
Keeping his tone as pleasant as possible, he mentioned "I wanted to apologize for when you came to visit me at the hospital.... on the behalf of Maize Maizier."
He paused slightly, as if trying to judge any sort of reaction before he continued on.
"I was less than hospitable, despite the intent of your visit being that of concerned coworkers. I was less than respectful. For that, I would like to apologize to you, Miss Sfakianos, since you received the majority of my foul mood."
Had he apologized? Yes.
Was he finished? No.
"If you have time to go to the employee lockers, I have something I would like to give to you." It had cost him a pretty penny to have some items expedited from Bottega Louie to accompany his gift, but it had never been an issue of price tag when it came to gifts with him.
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Posted: Mon Sep 02, 2013 10:44 pm
Lydia had expected this conversation to go in a certain direction. Maybe it would be a reminder that his business was his own, not that she had tried to pry after their last conversation. Or perhaps he wanted to know with whom she had shared the information that he divulged; the answer being nobody. Considering what had happened, she wanted to spare her other coworkers from an irritable patient who had no patience for sympathy.
Was he having second thoughts about telling her what little he had told her? Possibly, but there was nothing to be done about it. Lydia didn't suspect for a moment that there would be any threats involved. Mister Howl was, if nothing else, polite. Sometimes irritatingly so.
All of the scenarios she imagined involved some sort of confrontation. In none did she receive an apology. It took her a few moments to realize what was happening, but once she did, she couldn't help but grin. "I appreciate your apology, Mister Howl. Rest assured that there are no hard feelings. I have spent enough time in hospitals to know that they can leech away any goodwill a person has."
So Mister Howl was nice after all. What a pleasant surprise! Lydia had suspected it, but considering recent events, had revised her opinion. It was definitely nice to have reason to do a second revision.
And yet, there was something else.This would have been the perfect time to catch her off guard and do something mean, but Lydia didn't even think about that. She was too delighted, and curious, and she followed Mister Howl to the break room eagerly. "You really didn't have to do anything," she said as they walked, feeling just a little bit awkward. The gift she had brought for him was a group effort, even if she had been the one to present it, and receive his ire in return.
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Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 8:32 pm
The pair slipped to the break room. Before stepping in front of his own storage space, the lad took a momentary side step to turn to face the girl again.
"Of course I did not need to get you a gift." In his opinion, gifts were never a necessity. It was a show of manners, but it was not something a person couldn't live without. He partially bowed a bit in a vaguely showy manner. "I wanted to get it for you, Miss Sfakianos."
He straightened his body up and seemed to practically twirl and glide to his locker. With a well practiced hand, he opened it up so his coworker could take a gander at what was waiting inside.
In the small amount of space, it seemed that Howl had taken great care in organizing all contents in the most efficient manner he could. His street clothes were folded and in the back, merely serving as a backdrop to two objects to the front.
One was a potted plant with lovely purple flowers which were easy enough to identify (though for those who could not identify them as violets, there was a subtle tag towards the back with the identifying label). Next to it was a box of a light lilac color with a decorative white bow.
"...these are for you, Miss Sfakianos." He gestured to the objects, inviting her take them up with her own hands.
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Posted: Mon Sep 16, 2013 1:21 am
Lydia was stuck. Good manners indicated that she shouldn’t keep protesting, or she would appear to be ungrateful. Nor should she make too big of a deal over this, while still remaining appreciative. And while she was appreciative, she was also extremely confused. What could have prompted this sudden and extreme reversal of moods? She knew that people were never at their best in the hospital, but his frigid behavior had began before that. But at that point, they had both been under duress.
So, perhaps he’d been able to reflect on what had happened. Certainly being stuck in the hospital would give him ample time for that. It wasn’t that Lydia was suspicious, but she wasn’t sure how to act. What was the protocol for forgiving someone who’d been acting mean, without drawing attention to his alleged meanness? Especially now that he was being so nice?
For starters, she peered into the locker. It was, as she expected from a man whose appearance was always cared for, quite well organized. Not that she had time to look far beyond the items at the front. “Oh!” The flowers she recognized, from having eaten sugared violets at the tea parties her mother occasionally hosted. The box was less familiar, and she rested one hand on it, then looked up at Mister Howl for approval. Only when she was sure that this too was meant for her did she take the box in both hands and carefully lift the lid.
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Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2013 6:43 pm
The box was evidently a gift box, with the name "Bottega Louie" written in an elegant script upon the top. Once the top was removed, she'd easily be able to see 13 pale purple and light red macaroons. With the box removed from the depths of his locker, Howl wistfully removed the potted violets as well. It wasn't an overly large pot, so he was easily able to hold it within one hand. "The red ones are Rose and the purple ones are Violet Cream. Bottega Louie is well known for their macaroons. I do hope you enjoy them."
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Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2013 10:38 pm
For once, Lydia was truly speechless.
It wasn't the gifts themselves, though they were wonderful. What girl didn't love to get flowers? And the macaroons, aside from looking delicious, were treats that she could actually eat. Probably. She'd have to check the ingredients to make sure, but she didn't think that the flavors he named would contain one of her allergens.
No, it was the gesture itself that was still stunning her. This wasn't a simple card or a gift basket. Mister Howl had clearly put thought into this. For her. And here, she had really thought that he was furious over her attempts to help. Or an incurable grouch. The truth was something else altogether, and she wasn't entirely sure what it was yet. But she did recognize goodwill when she saw it. And then, the words she needed came to her.
"Mister Howl." Closing the box, Lydia set it back on the shelf for a moment. "I believe I owe you an apology as well. I meddled in your affairs when it wasn't called for, and while my intentions were good, I can see why that would have upset you. I judged you when you were clearly not at your best, and it is not a surprise that my judgement was premature and in error." Actually, it kind of was a surprise- a huge surprise- but he didn't need to know that.
Holding the skirt of her uniform out to one side, she swept one of her finest curtsies: back straight, head slightly bowed, knees not even shaking. "I hope that we can put our past difficulties behind us, and start anew... possibly as friends?"
Nope, she still hadn't given up on her dream of a happy workplace family. It wasn't impossible, especially not now!
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Posted: Wed Sep 18, 2013 7:15 am
This girl had apologized to him for what he felt was nothing. It would have been presumptuous on his part to say something as simple as "I accept your apology" because it would have seemed as if he was expecting the apology in the first place. He also could have pointed out how unnecessary it was, but that would have put her on the spot in an awkward manner.
So he merely nodded his head carefully, as if her apology was appreciated, but also not making it seem as if it was expected.
He extended his hand which had been holding onto the potted violets, aiming to hand it off to the girl. He was on his way out, his coworker was still going to be around for longer, so she would probably want to put her new possessions away.
It might have seemed like an odd question on his part, but the lad had to ask "Might I inquire if I may call you by 'Miss Lydia', Miss Sfakianos?" He was not going to assume it was simply allowed.
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Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2014 7:43 pm
Lydia had gone from apprehensive to surprised to pleased to touched. There wasn't much else that Mister Howl could do to shock her- so she thought. A silly assumption, really. He had already stunned her three times in the course of a single meeting. This last one, though, really took the cake.
Forget the flowers and the treats. Forget the apology. He had asked to address her by her name, as she'd been doing all along. Because all along, she had considered them to be friends. She had long since stopped expecting him to do the same. Even if her feelings were not returned, she could still have them, and act accordingly. Her offer to start over as friends had been made in that spirit, but she hadn't expected him to actually take her up on it.
Except now, he referred to her in such a way that made it clear that he didn't just think of her as a nuisance. That gesture was worth more than any of the gifts he had given her. It even made her tear up a little, and she blinked the dampness away, hoping he wouldn't notice and think her a fool. "You would make me very happy if you did, Mister Howl." Her voice was steady, except for a slight hike in pitch at the end. "I... that is... thank you. For everything."
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Posted: Fri Jan 31, 2014 6:53 pm
He smiled at the young lady. She seemed as if she was overwhelmed at the moment. "You are welcome, Miss Lydia." With a momentary wink, he mentioned "...perhaps we should go back to work."
They were both still on the clock after all.
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