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 Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2016 4:10 pm
Who: Aaron Holmes (Pyxis-nautica) and Henry Knight (NeonMace)
When: Late September
Where: Starting the night off at a bar in Gambino
Weather: Chilly and overcast
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Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2016 4:19 pm
It had been quite a long time since Henry had felt this bad -- possibly since Gabe fell sick as a child, even. For the moment, the nurse couldn't bring himself to talk to Ethiriel and bring her down after having improved so much and he was sure Gabe didn't really care all that much (or would possibly even be happy now that Candice was no longer in the picture). Before he had even received a response from Aaron, he was out the door and driving to the nearest bar.
Henry knew drinking when depressed wasn't good; he wasn't planning on getting wasted by any means, and while he had wine at home, just being around the set up he had made for Candice just... it hurt. He couldn't be around it right now -- he needed out of the house and away from everything that reminded him of her.
How had it been so easy for her?
The nurse still couldn't wrap his head around the situation. It had all happened so fast. His fingers mindlessly toyed with the ring's case in his pocket, while his other hand propped him up against the table, covering his mouth and chin. His eyes were red and wet, visibly exhausted from emotions he wasn't used to expressing anymore. Already on his second glass of wine, he sighed. What was he going to do...? Watching the few people drunk enough to dance beside the bar, Henry remained seated in his booth against the wall, stewing.
Pulling his phone out just for a moment to check if Aaron had texted since, Henry unceremoniously set it back down onto the table without a second glance.
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2016 5:46 pm
Aaron had not been up to much since getting home from work. For once, he didn't have paperwork coming home with him (which happened on occasion, but was becoming a rarer occurrence with his father slowly passing much of his work onto him), and instead had come home to a light, easy dinner and an excited young Frei at the knee. He and Lorin had been coloring together in his new Star Wars coloring book (the boy had spotted it while he and Claire were out shopping), Darth Vader looking attractive in a shade of bright blue, when Aaron's phone buzzed. He picked it up from the coffee table - face lightening in surprise as he had half expected a text from his father, listing off another to-do for his next work day. Thankfully, it was a much happier sight.He glanced down at Lorin, hovering blearily next to him - bedtime was fast approaching. There was no reason why he couldn't head out, so it didn't take much time for him to shoot back: Sure, where at?
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Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2016 6:15 pm
There was a pause in Henry's answer as he looked at his phone, eyes bleary, unfocused and still red from tears. Letting out a huff, he took another swig of his wine before responding.
"Mary's. Small bar in Gambino. In a booth against the far wall."
Despite how rarely he drank, the man had a decent tolerance... he was a little tipsy at best, but given how he hadn't eaten since lunch (thanks to dinner being ruined), he had nothing on his stomach to soak up the alcohol -- he couldn't even bring himself to order bread or anything small.
With a huff, Henry set his head down on his arm against the table, waiting for either Aaron to show up or to respond.
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2016 6:23 pm
The reply was instantaneous, abrupt, and Aaron narrowed his eyes at the phone in puzzlement. Something seemed off, and his thumbs hovered over the on-screen keyboard, ready to type out an "are you okay?". Henry didn't drink. What was he doing at a bar? Claire noticed the crease in his brow as she looked up from her book.
"What's wrong?" she asked. Lorin looked up from his drawing in concern and Aaron patted his head, at which the boy giggled sleepily. When his eyes blinked closed, he flashed his wife a look that said he would explain later, when he got home and Lorin was in bed. He did not really know what was going on, but he also did not want to potentially upset the Frei.
"Nothing," Aaron replied cheerily, "Gonna go catch up with a friend for a few." Lorin's hands reached up for Aaron's.
"C'n I come, Papa?" he said, unable to fight the yawn that escaped.
"Maybe next time when you're not fighting to stay awake," Aaron laughed, and Lorin frowned, rubbing his eyes with a fist. Claire was on her feet and swept the small Frei into her arms, and he encircled his arms around her neck, head buried in her shoulder. "Sleep tight, buddy." Aaron leaned forward to rustle his hair and plant a kiss on his head, and the sleepy child mumbled a "'night" in reply. Claire nodded at Aaron once and with that she carried Lorin off to bed.
It did not take Aaron long to step into his shoes, grab what he needed, and head out the door. The text he had worked at sat in the box, waiting to be sent, and he deleted it, hammering off a different reply as he made his way to the car.
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Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2016 6:41 pm
By the time Aaron arrived, Henry had started on his third (and final) glass of wine for the evening. The nurse had taken to staring at the wall rather than some of the more scantily-clad women and bar hoppers who were daring enough to grind on what little floor the bar itself offered; his mind swimming with thoughts of Candice, their relationship and its untimely end. He felt so undesirable, unwanted, dejected.
He hadn't even told Ethiriel, yet.
Henry didn't even bother replying to Aaron's latest text, partially from emotion and the other from figuring the man was driving -- even when drunk he knew not to mess with cars and phones -- at least, with other people; he had walked here knowing his own intentions and better judgement telling him not to drive.
He wasn't that stupid, that upset.
When Aaron made it to the booth, Henry was wiping away fresh tears silently before covering his face with his hands and letting out a shaky breath.
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2016 7:05 pm
It didn't take long for Aaron to arrive at the bar, although he had to circle to find an open spot. As with most bars in Gambino on the weekend, parking spaces were far and few between, but one visitor took off as he made his third circle around. He stepped out of his Explorer, glancing around at the few loitering out front - some of whom were having a hard time standing. With another cursory glance at his phone (no reply had come), he stepped over the threshhold.
The bar was dimly lit but fairly busy. The bass was grainy on the old speakers but the patrons kept dancing, lost to their abandon. Aaron had to squint against the semi-darkness to find the booths, and when he did, it did not take him long to spot Henry, hunched over with his hands over his face, and he felt his heart sink anxiously.
"Hey dude," Aaron said, making sure to announce his presence. He almost asked if he was okay, but that would have been stupid - the answer was clear enough. He swallowed, concerned but feeling he should say something, even if he did not quite know what that was. He settled on "What's going on?" as he slid into the opposite side of the booth.
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Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2016 7:12 pm
Henry hardly budged as Aaron announced his presence, merely lifting the hand that had been resting on the table for a brief second and a deep sigh. As the man slid into the booth, the nurse's head turned downward toward the table and he shook his head solemnly, taking another moment or two to breathe and even himself.
Finally, he removed his hand from over his glassy eyes, still staring at the wall rather than to his friend. Henry's voice was low, hurt, but clear. "Candice left me," he said, tapering at the end as he fought to keep his jaw steady.
His hair was a mess from being ran through without pulling out the bun entirely, eyes red and puffy and cheeks wet from tears that had been hurriedly wiped away. The nurse was still wearing the nice outfit he had chosen for Candice and his date, having been in too big a hurry to leave the house once he had composed himself enough to do so. Part of him was aware of just how bad he looked, but the rest just didn't care.
"A-as I was trying to propose--" Henry added, hardly able to control the emotion in his voice as he buried his face into both of his palms, taking in a large breath.
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2016 7:22 pm
Aaron had been worried something had happened with Ethiriel or Gabe, or something with his parents, but his heart sank all the same at the news. Henry was doing his best to avoid looking at him as he fell apart and Aaron leaned back in the booth, the leather squeaking as he did so. The empty glasses on the table gave him indication enough that that was helping things along, but probably not for the better. And then Henry delivered the final detail of what had happened that evening, and Aaron slumped.
"Jesus," was all he could say. What was there to say at a moment like this? He swallowed against a lump in his throat, feeling anxious to do something. "Did she -" His voice stuck and he cleared his throat, pushing the anxious lump back down, eyes narrowed in concern. "Did she say why? At all?"
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Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2016 7:27 pm
Much like Aaron, Henry swallowed hard -- swallowed back tears and emotion, the sickening hole in his stomach and the raw feeling in his chest. He was so lost now. "N-no..." he muttered weakly, still doing his best to not just break down in tears again. After what felt like five, ten minutes -- despite it only being a handful of seconds -- Henry corrected himself; "She... she s-said that w-we tried, but it wasn't working."
Running his hands down his face, Henry leaned back in his seat. As he sat his palms flat against the table, he stared at his fingers as if they'd give him an answer: an answer to Aaron's question, an answer as to what happened, anything.
"That... that was all..."
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2016 7:55 pm
Aaron admittedly felt lost himself here. All he knew of Candice was what he had heard through Henry, and as far as he had known, they seemed to be great with each other. What could have happened? Relationships were certainly a difficult thing, and it was something he had learned during the handful he had had. He ran a hand through his hair as he leaned against the table.
"That sucks, dude," Aaron replied weakly. "I'm.. I'm sorry." An apology seemed trite right now, but Aaron was not sure what else to say. The glasses sparkled in the light and caught his eye - while he was not sure what to say, he did know that they should get out of here soon, before Henry wanted another drink. "But for now, we shouldn't stick around here, it's getting packed." He reached forward, slowly, tentatively, to rest his hand on Henry's forearm for a moment, providing the presence he wished he could have conveyed better in his apology for his situation. "Let's get some fresh air, eh?"
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Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2016 8:27 pm
The only acknowledgement that Henry could muster was a bemused hum and a nod at Aaron's sentiment, unsure of what to say, himself. It had been so long, so long since he'd felt anything like this. The nurse knew that drinking himself into a stupor was a terrible idea and had no intention to drink further, but he couldn't help but find himself disagreeing with the idea of leaving -- however, he knew that his friend was right and this wasn't a good atmosphere to be in.
With his thumb and forefinger, Henry rubbed his eyes and the bridge of his nose with a huff, clumsily prying himself from the booth. Admittedly, he was a bit wobbly from the drinks and found himself having to hold the back of the booth for just a moment in order to gain balance, but once he was mostly on his feet he was fine. Once up... he was at a loss again. Where should they go? And, in his current state, the nurse wasn't sure of what they could even do.
Trusting his friend, he motioned for Aaron to take lead without a word, expression sullen.
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2016 10:27 pm
"You're all paid up, right?" Aaron frowned in slight worry as he glanced over his shoulder to make sure Henry was up and ready to follow, and he cut a path through the thick of the crowd once an answer was received. The jukebox jumped to a newer song and the dubstep, despite him not even drinking, was making his head hurt. There were a few people crowding around the door, chatting, and as he approached, he held his hands in front of him, gesturing an entreat to let him and Henry pass. "Sorry," he said as they walked through, and he was almost hit in the face with the temperature difference.
Aaron was not sure where, exactly, they could go from here. But they had made the first important step - getting out of the bar, away from the heat and the alcohol. One step at a time. "Did you drive here or walk?"
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Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2016 12:41 am
Henry gave a quick nod before standing from the booth beside Aaron, hardly paying attention to anyone else in the room as they were all showing too much skin for his interests at the moment. He had little problem with the music, having washed most of it down and out with the wine -- it was easier for him to tune everything out when drunk, even though he knew it wasn't a good thing. Much like with his friend, once the cooler air hit his face the man flinched back, sobering up a little.
"Walked," he said sullenly -- he knew he would get drunk from this and didn't want to risk a crash; he knew too well the results from being a nurse, even if it wasn't fully his field. "I'm sorry, man..."
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2016 10:42 am
"Okay," was all Aaron said for a moment, crossing his arms as they stood on the sidewalk. The bass from the music was thumping against the door and the walls behind them, and he was glad that at least they had gotten away from the first thing. In his state, Henry did not need more alcohol. But what next? His expression softened when Henry spoke again, and he shook his head with a careful smile and a hand on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it, it's fine. No worries."
Going home was not an option - he was fairly certain that Henry would not feel comfortable around Claire or Lorin at this juncture, and he was also fairly certain that Henry's own home was the last place he wanted to be at this moment.
"So here's what I'm thinking. Let's just drive around a bit, okay?" He hoped he sounded reassuring; this felt so different from dealing with drunk friends before, when he was in college (and also remarkably drunk). "Get a coffee at a drive through or something." He nodded towards the parking lot but did not press, waiting until he got the okay first.
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