Teen Audience Rating For: Minor Violence and Past Ambiguous Relationships of the Adultery kind.
"I think Quigley is finally warming up to me," says Hector, as he closes the curtains in the kitchen. "We had a conversation that didn't involve us sitting at the table, or Duncan and Isadora forcing us into small talk."
Widdershins stares at the plastic cup fill with cold coffee. "Is that right?"
"Yes." Hector walks towards the table, but doesn't sit down in the opposite chair. All he does is put a hand on the table. "But I’m still certain Quigley suspects the truth about me. Out of the three, Quigley talks to Fiona the most. I don't want to eavesdrop on their conversations though."
"Good for you for not doing so." Widdershins is still staring at his cold coffee.
“...I can't see Fiona telling him outright. I can however, see her dropping hints about our past together. Granted, she can only do that if you told her kid-friendly stories about V.F.D. members in her childhood, and one just happened to be mine."
"I don't think I did."
Narrowing his eyes, Hector clicks his tongue. With one quick action, he slaps the other man across the face.
"...What the hell that for?" Widdershins briefly rubs the strike area, and glares at Hector. "That was out of character for you!"
"Speak for yourself." Hector walks towards the freezer and pulls out an ice pack. "You haven't interrupted, shout, or said a single 'Aye' this whole evening! If anything, you're out of character."
"...You’re the one who suggested I should stop talking like that."
"I did. But you’re also drinking cold coffee. It's not even real cold coffee. You just pour milk onto instant coffee. You only drink that crap when something is troubling you."
Widdershins takes a sip out of the plastic cup.
"Whatever it is," says Hector, handing the ice pack to Widdershins, "it can't be worse than what we went through last year."
Widdershins sets the ice pack on the table, and focus his attention to the close curtains. "I saw someone from our past."
"And let me guess: you got recognize. Your damn mustache gave you away."
"No. He didn't spot me. I doubt he would have recognized me with the mustache. In fact, I almost didn’t recognize him. He didn't age badly, but the years also weren't kind to him either."
"What gave him away then? Did you spot his tattoo? Did he even have a tattoo?"
"Never saw his ankles. I just saw him drinking coffee. Turkish coffee."
Hector sits down in the opposite chair. "Are you certain it's him? There are many people in the world that enjoys Turkish coffee."
"Oh, I’m sure. I followed him. And you know what he did afterwards?" Widdershins turns his attention back to the other man, his eyes blinking fast. "He went to the police station and went to missing persons. As it turns out, the man and his wife got separated in a storm during an ocean cruise eight years ago! Aye! How she went overboard during a storm and almost got eaten by manatees! Manatees! Aye! She went overboard while pregnant with their unborn child!"
Widdershins rubs his eyes before taking another sip of his cold coffee.
"I can’t believe that man of all people is back in the city. There’s no way he’s here without..." Hector drifts off, snapping his fingers until he can recall a name. "Mindy? Mira? Oh, Miranda! Didn't you tell me Kit went to their wedding, and she saw the two leave together?"
"Aye. So either Kit doesn't know of his return, or kept the news away from me. I'm thinking it may be the latter. Kit knows that with Fiona’s mother dead and Fernald gone, I wanted to give Fiona a chance to have contact with the last family she has left if the opportunity rose. It would be unfair of me to prevent Fiona from knowing her father."
Hector resists the urge to click his tongue. "If Fiona wanted her father in her life, she would have tried searching for him."
Widdershins doesn't reply; all he does is take another sip of his cold coffee.
"So, what do you plan on doing?" asks Hector, placing both arms and hands onto the table. "Fiona never wanted her real father. And Fernald...well, I don't have a good grasp of your stepson anymore. Knowing he's also the Hook-Handed Man is causing difficulty for me to recall what he was like as a teenager."
"Not as charming or pleasant as I remember. And Fernald is still under the impression I was the one who ruined his parents' marriage. If I tell Fiona, I have to tell Fernald. And there’s a chance we'll fight over that topic. It will open doors Fiona doesn't know exist! Aye! If those doors open, everything will be ruin again! Let’s not even begin with how you'll be affect by it."
Hector leans back in his seat. "What are you talking about?"
Widdershins rubs the strike area of his face. "You say Quigley suspects, but suspecting is not the same as knowing the truth! Aye! One way or another, Gregor will somehow get drag into it! If the Quagmires learn of Gregor, they’ll learn about his brothers and put the pieces together! Their perspective of you will change! Aye! The trust and bond you have with those children will be ruin! Aye! While you can rebuild and repair it, you'll just know things won’t be the same!"
Hector clicks his tongue again. "To think out of all our conversations, Gregor show up in the one I least expected."
Widdershins takes another sip of his cold coffee. "I didn't even want to mention his name. But you know how Gregor is mixed up into this."
"Yes. I still can't believe Kit of all people believes that man’s poor assumption. Gregor and Kit were never close, as children or as adults. But I didn't think the Medusoid Mycelium would make Kit think Gregor –not to mention your wife- would be disloyal in more than one way."
Hector gets up from his chair, and picks up the ice pack. He looks over to the freezer and sighs, before placing it directly into Widdershins's hands.
"When you make your decision, and if you decide to tell your step-children, do inform me. I don't want to get blind-sided by the newest drama your family will stir up. If someone is going to drag Gregor's name into it, I want it to be me. Good night, Widdershins. Please don't pour your coffee down the drain if you can't finish it."
"Hector," says Widddershins, putting the ice pack onto the strike area of his face, "It’s four in the morning."
Hector walks back towards the curtains and open them. "So it is."
Go forward to It Must Be Friday