Welcome to Gaia! ::

So far so good as far as Nate was concerned. The day was beautiful; sunny and warm but not overly hot out, a few wispy clouds drifting across the robin’s egg blue sky. That morning had been wonderful, Dessie had breakfast in bed and was told that the day was all hers. She had been given the option of a few hours to herself, since Nate would be watching the baby, or spending the time just playing with the baby, or really whatever she wanted to do since it was Mother’s Day afterall. Her first Mother’s Day as the mom even.

Since Sarah had been fussy most of the night he only chuckled when Dessie went with option A and declared that she was going back to sleep after only eating some toast. He took care of the leftovers from breakfast, mainly by eating it himself, and after gathering all the baby’s things and leaving her a note, headed out on their way for a walk. With the baby strapped into her carrier they went on their way, the pram covered to keep Sarah shaded and safe from bugs and other pests. How one infant needed so much stuff he still didn’t know but he was really getting the hang of it all. “Lets go enjoy the weather my darling,” he cooed down at his daughter and away they went.

After a slow jaunt around the park, enjoying the weather the entire way, the duo made their way to a cafe. Nate was starting to actually get hungry, a few pieces of bacon and some toast wasn’t exactly a filling breakfast. Unfortunately for him when he arrived at the cafe that was closest his little girl was already asleep. A glance in the windows showed that the cafe was packed with people, people who were all talking and laughing and generally having a good time. All noises that could wake his little angel. It really was quite unfortunate. Nate heaved a rather heavy sigh knowing that he would rather go hungry than wake Sarah up even by chance. “Next time my love. Next time.”

Before Nate had a chance to move on from his aborted breakfast he was, not quite, accosted by a strange man. A smaller man, who seemed to be more or less familiar with who Nate was. He barely got a second to stammer out a ‘yes’ to his question as to if he was Dessie’s boyfriend before being dragged away from the cafe he had been standing in front of. He wasn’t sure what was going on but he was about to physically remove his arm from this stranger’s when he mentioned the name Alexandre Evans. He remembered that name from the family friends list that Dessie gave him a rundown on. “Uncle Alex?” He asked, surprised that the shorter male was the one that Dessie jokingly referred to as ‘Uncle’. No blood relation but close enough to be considered family. The same was nearly true of a redheaded fellow named Pat but he was actually, if tangentially, related to the Jacobs… he just technically wasn’t an uncle even if that is how he was ‘titled’. Honestly it was quite confusing keeping everything straight, lucky he had some practice since his own family tree was more of a twisted mess then the Jacobs. Family reunions were always filled with cousins four and five times removed. It was madness really. But a fun kind of madness.

“Oh, sure. Thanks.” He eased a bit more and became more steady in his steps as he understood who this person was and what he was up to. Nate would be rather grateful to get a bite to eat that was for sure as long as Sarah wasn’t disturbed. “Sarah is sleeping so I really don’t want to wake her by going to a crowded spot so if they have outdoor seating that would be much preferred.” And if it was too loud he would make his excuses, Nate was sure that Alex would understand.

Nate shrugged and chuckled, “More like how Dessie described you when trying to go over her more extended family.” Things did get rather confusing when thinking about it, then again who was he to say since he had cousins that were so far removed it was like some comedy skit when trying to explain the relations to others. Sister of a brother of a mother of a son of a barbershop’s uncle's cousin kind of twisting connection. Alex was more like an honorary uncle anyway, no blood relations at all. Not that it really mattered to him, what was more important right then was getting Sarah to a quiet spot and getting some breakfast for himself.

The young man held back slightly as they approached the new café, leery over how crowded it would be. Once it was pretty clear that there wasn’t likely to be any disturbance for his sleeping daughter he entered right after Alex. It took a bit of maneuvering since buggies and doors don't really mix easily but he did a rather admiral job and found himself in the small café. It was quaint! It reminded him of some of the older pubs back home; eclectic furniture, old posters and pictures up on the walls, and above all it was a hushed place. Almost like a church to caffeine. It might be a bit more colorful than some of his old haunts, he was rather used to dark wood beams and plaster that had aged to a muted cream, but it still had its charm.

“Oh but-” He didn’t get a chance to contradict the smaller man before he started to order his own drink. Nate mumbled out a request for a breakfast sandwich when the server just looked at him expectantly before shuffling off to the seats that Alex had made his way over to. “I really can get my own you know,” He quietly protested while he settled into the chair after settling the baby next to them. A peek in the carriage proved that his daughter really was still happily dreaming away.

“It is rather amusing listening to her try to explain her relations to people. Take Lily for example, she is technically her aunt since Dessie was adopted by Xander but Lily is more like a sister to her. And yet Pat, who is a cousin twice removed to Xander, or thereabouts, and should be more like an uncle, is typically referred to as a cousin.” He didn’t really get to see the confused looks on peoples faces when she tried to explain, mostly because Dessie didn’t. She just let them figure it out themselves. But he had seen it a few times and it definitely made him grin.

Nate took to really studying the store around them, quietly accepting the rebuttal on paying for his own food. He wasn’t in a position to argue, financially that is. His budget was tight but he still didn’t like handouts but he also didn’t want to alienate one of Dessie’s family members. The young man gave a half shrug, “It was close and I am hungry so I wasn’t going to be overly picky.” It's also much more costly when everything was practically bespoke, he mentally noted. The posted prices were higher than what he would have paid at the other coffee shop but the hushed ambiance of this one did make up for it some, that, and he wasn’t the one who would be putting a dent in the budget. Another reason why he didn’t really push to get his own food, as much as it galled him.

“Can’t say as I have any real preference over cost over quality. I’m a bit more of a practical man myself. Some things are worth spending the money on while others are just as good as their bargain contemporaries.” To him shoes were a good reason to spend the money. Good shoes lasted forever versus spending again and again as cheaper shoes just disintegrated. Other clothes? That was a bit of a toss up. As for furniture it was also a mixed bag. So many cheap things could be just crap but others, easily repurposed and well worth the cash spent on them. Not that Nate had much choice on the matter right now, or ever really. He wasn’t exactly well off. Not then and not now. Much to his chagrin since he wanted to shower Dessie and Sarah in only the best. Something he couldn’t afford on a good day.

He was working on it. It just took time.

Nate murmured a quiet thanks when their orders arrived, his food did look quite appetizing and as much as he preferred tea, Alex’s coffee also smelled rather delicious. There wasn’t much he could say regarding the points that Alex was making. Spending money is what makes the economy go around and grow so there was nothing inherently wrong with using it if you had it, Nate just felt a p***k of his conscience every time he was presented with the fact that he was definitely not good enough for Dessie. Sadly though she was his whole world so he wouldn’t give her up, not until she made it painfully clear he had no chance. He just needed to keep working at it. Needed to fight to be worthy of her. He was going to do it. He was.

The young man bit into his sandwich and practically moaned at how good it was. The egg, the bacon, the sauce or butter or whatever it was. It was good. Sooooo good. The flavors worked well together and he really didn’t know what they did to the eggs but his eggs never tasted as scrumptious as these. Maybe it was the bacon? Or the bread? There was some kind of sauce as well but he couldn’t pinpoint what was the deciding factor. It was just damn delicious. Nate was already on his second bite when he mentally realized that Alex was waiting on his response. He swallowed his bite and put down the rest of his breakfast before using the napkin to wipe his hands and mouth. His mother taught him manners and one of the big ones was to never talk with your mouth full.

“Apologies. It is quite good, thank you once again for the treat.” Alex definitely was right when it came to this cafe and its food. It might be pricey but if this was any indication on the rest then it was definitely worth it. “I can’t say as I’m overly interesting so I never really expected to be talked about,” He shrugged, well aware of his position or lack thereof. “I’m just a bloke from England. Middle child of a middle class family,” more like lower middle class, “who got stupidly lucky to know one strong and intelligent woman.” His eyes went a little dreamy as a soft smile crossed his face, “I think I fell in love with her when she knocked that jock on his a** with one punch. She was a vision to behold. I just had to meet her. Never expected for us to be friends let alone anything else.” Nate shrugged and added, while checking on the infant who started to stir, “There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for her, or Sarah.”

Nate sheepishly smiled even as he took another bite of his sandwich. He didn’t want to waste it, nor the money that Alex shelled out for it, regardless of how little ‘it cost’ him. Family was everything for him but right then his own ties to his family were strained so the idea that he was accepted with open arms and no questions was still rather baffling. His mother was royally pissed at him for not only quitting his cushy job overseas but chasing after ‘the yank’ as she informed him several months ago when Nate tried to get to the bottom of the whole ‘your pregnant?’ debacle. Things haven’t gotten any better since then. His siblings still say that she refuses to even have his name mentioned in ‘her house’. At least his father seemed to be happy for him, if quite sad over his wifes ire.

“My Da always said that marriage takes work. He taught us kids that a great relationship doesn't happen because of the love you had in the beginning, but how well you continue building love until the end. I plan on working on it every day of my life because Dessie is worth it.” It was only sheer dumb luck that they had met, became friends, learned that maybe they were more than just friends, and found each other after months apart…. Ok so maybe not so ‘luck’ based on that last one since he had done everything he could to track her down after learning that she was having a baby. Maybe it was luck that had a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend reach out. Either way he still felt lucky. Lucky to know her, lucky to have met her, lucky to be there, and lucky to just be in her life. If he was exceedingly lucky maybe he could convince her that the ring he wanted to get her wasn’t such a bad idea. Nate just needed to be able to afford a ring that was worthy of her.

“As for escaping… I don’t think she could get rid of me now, even if we didn’t have a Sarah together.” He grinned, “She is well and truly stuck with me.” At least until she made it blatantly he wasn’t welcome. He was still grinning like a mischievous little boy when his daughter informed them both, and anyone in the cafe, that she wanted attention by exercising her vocal cords. A check proved that her nappy needed changing. Nate made soothing sounds as he scooped up his darling, shouldering the already prepped bag, and informed Alex that he would be back in two shakes before taking the wee little one to the family restroom to change her.

To think, just last year this situation would never have occurred to him. Fate really was quite amazing.