Journeys end in lovers meeting

For the life of her, she couldn’t figure out how Danica had convinced her to go with her to this new upscale restaurant. For one thing, they didn’t look like they fit into this part of Aston; maybe Danica had the glow of one that could walk everywhere she wanted. But Evie? Well, she still had that way of walking, talking and behaving like one born and raised in Southside. Especially with her upbringing, but tonight, Ivan had Leonard, so there was literally nothing holding her back from going out and having a good night, which was challenging with the bubbly persona Danica was bringing these days. One thing was clear; pregnancy made her glow entirely differently since she had been living in the trailer park not far from Ivan and Victoria.

She turned and looked at the entrance; this was really fancy. “I’m not sure this is a place where I can feel comfortable” Danica hushed her and made a small hand gesture. “I’m sure it’ll be fine, as long as we can pay; who gives a fuck about how we look” Evie chuckled, “I think they might have a thing or two to say about your language” — “Je parlerai comme Je veux” (I’ll talk however I want) Evie rolled her eyes “you know everything sounds fancy when you say it in French, and so few will understand what you’re saying” — “Ils vont se faire foutre, s'ils tentent quelque chose”, “Oui?” Danica laughed and nodded, walking inside she gave the person welcoming people a smile “my brother works here, I was wondering if I could talk with him? His one of the main chefs” she told— “Chip Wellington” she added and the host nodded getting one of the waiters to walk out and tell Chip that his sister was here. Both Danica and Evie’s eyes wandered over the people sitting and dining, there was an atmosphere that made both women feel a little uneasy, but neither could explain why.

Chip stood in the kitchen managing multiple dishes. His eyes were everywhere, handling new orders, that came in like crazy. Beeping sounds from the printer, printing out orders, and sounds from fryers, ovens, and so many other machines. To some, this was the last day of their holiday, which made so many come and visit to have a last good night before they had to go back and work. Or well, to some, it was simply a last good night, depending on how his chef felt. Three plates were getting their last touch before they were put up on the line ready to be served. His hand landed on a bell. It didn’t take long before a waiter walked by and took the dishes, followed by the host.
He was called upon, “Yes, Fred?” he called while his eyes didn’t leave the dishes that he was finishing up. He furrowed his brows as he was told that his sister was there. The names of his two sisters went through his head while he picked up two dishes and put them on the line again. His hands grabbed onto the counter of his working table. He raised a brow at the host. “We are almost in the weeds,” he mumbled, almost out of breath. He cursed underneath his breath. “Fine. Milo, I am back in five,” he called, which made the other chef look at him, and cursed at him. While Chip left the kitchen, he flipped off his fellow chef while he dried his forehead with a towel. He grabbed a bandana and while he walked into the Back of the House, he tied it, so his incredibly greasy hair was hidden under it. As soon as he got out to the Front of the House, he untied his apron on the back while approaching them. Danica with a friend. Her friend didn’t really look like someone who would dine here dressed the way she had. With a sigh, he tied his apron again, so it sat nicer around his leaner upper figure. “Hey,” he sighed while he got closer, finishing the tie. “It is really great to see you,” he said and slowed down to a stop in front of her. “What’s up, Danny?” he said, once gain almost a little out of breath, feeling the small ache in his chest. His eyes had trouble staying focused on one thing, and sought around the whole to hair strands, shoulders, the form of the lip, and the friend, in the same manner. Chip might feel a little next to himself at the current moment.

A big smile appeared over Danica’s lips as Lazare walked toward them. Or Chip, as he wanted to be called now, something she had to respect, just like he respected that her name wasn’t Bridgit any longer. It was probably a way to protect themselves from a father who would resort to almost anything to get his investments back. At least it seemed like both she and Chip had managed to get away.
“Well, we were thinking that you might want to serve us some dinner like I’ve been reading the reviews, but I have yet to eat your delicious food” Evie gave the man an apologetic smile “we can just go someplace else, Danica, come I don’t belong here” she noted, Danica furrowed her brows as she looked at Evie that seemed like she wanted to go, but they had finally gotten here, what was the rush to get them out already?
Evie let out a small sigh and looked toward the host standing behind the raised table, clearly agreeing with the statement that she didn’t belong in this fine establishment. Even though she had said it, it still hurt—she never really fit in anywhere now, did she.
She tugged at Danica’s hand “fine, but you owe me dinner” Danica finally relented and huffed a little, not liking how the female colleague of Chip was looking at them. “text me when you’re off? I really want to spent some time with you, and I sort of promised Evie that she’ll taste your great desserts” Evie gave Chip a shy smile “it really isn’t any bother, sorry that we disturbed you while you were working” she said then she started guiding Danica out of the restaurant, not really putting much hope to the fact that she would actually get to taste the food of her friends brother, but that was okay.

Chip’s eyebrows rose to his hairline as his sister suggested getting something to eat. He looked over his shoulder to the filled restaurant as she spoke about reviews. “Yeah,” he mumbled thoughtfully, clearly not the one who seemed like he wanted them to be at the restaurant. Danica’s friend seemed less eager to eat there, and also seemed like she didn’t feel like she belonged, which she also announced. A small, apologetic smile formed on Chip’s lips as she spoke. It was a great choice not to eat here. He wouldn’t want them to be here.
“It’s not really the best time,” he said almost a little distant. A small gesture was given to Danica, with two fingers against his forehead before waving his fingers away. He understood what he owed. He was about to back away when he heard Danica speak once more. A small smirk spread on his lips as Danica mentioned how she wanted to spend some time with him. It made him happy to hear. It had been way too long, however, the friend seemed to not want to push anything. It made him step toward them, a little closer than what he would do to any other customer that asked for him. “Hey, hey. Danny, -” he looked at her friend for a moment, seemingly trying to figure out her name. She had been presented, hadn't she? He gave up, “You’re not disturbing,” he assured Danica’s friend, speaking low enough that customers wouldn’t be disturbed while eating. “I would love to cook for both of you gals. I’ll text you when I’m off,” he said before he tugged in the leg of his pants and rotated his leg to look at the watch on his ankle. “One hour, and I’ll be with ya, ‘kay?” he said looking up at the women. “There is a sandwich place just around the corner. It’s great, ‘kay? I promise. You got my recomendation, that should be good, mh?” he furrowed his brows a little, “Get something there, it will make time fly, hm?” he suggested hoping that they would choose somewhere else to eat. “Or go shopping, you gals like shopping, right?” His eyes looked from one of the women to the other.

“Evie” the created witch said with a soft smile over her lips, then they curled into a bigger one as he explained that they weren’t disturbing. For a moment, it felt like he was only talking to her, and she had to pull her back to reality because he clearly was directing whatever he wanted to provide information to his sister. Danica nodded and gave him a bright smile “that sounds excellent, and yes, sounds good—let’s go shopping,” she declared with an arm slung around Evie’s shoulders. Evie felt uncomfortable already; where the hell would she be able to find anything that she could afford around here? But instead of telling her friend that, she dared to look over her shoulder, watching Chip as Danica guided her out of the room, letting her eyes linger for as long as they dared to, without it being too creepy. Something that happened fairly quickly as heat blossomed up in her cheeks, almost covering the dark skin like when roses bloomed around this time of year.

It didn’t take long before Danica took her into some shops they could look at, each place making Evie feel more and more out of her comfort zone. Then, trying her hardest not to winch physically whenever she saw the price tag, gently putting it back—she was already indebted enough, and she needed every penny she could get to ensure she had it for her son’s treatments.

When an hour and come and gone, Danica had already bought a couple of bags, mainly for Elena and Derek, a couple of shirts for Diego and one or two things for herself. Evie was almost awkwardly empty-handed besides that small coffee she had dared to buy, even though she nearly choked on her spit when she saw the price of 9 pounds for a small coffee. Still, of course—she was used to the worst of the worst; as long as it was somewhat drinkable and it did the trick with kicking her out of bed after three hours of sleep, then it was good enough for her. Even if she had to admit that it really did taste different and very delicious.

Chip made a quick nod upwards, “Pleasure,” he said before he continued explaining where they could eat while he had his last hour. He did notice how the woman next to Danica seemed pleased that he was talking to her too. He sent them a caring smile as Danica seemed to be understanding. “See you soon,” he told them, making the same gesture. He watched them for a moment as they turned around to leave, but was interrupted by the host who told him that the kitchen waited for him. It made him turn just after he had gained a short second of eye contact with Danica’s friend, Evie. Retreated to the kitchen and managed to get them out of the weeds before the hour ended.

When his shift ended, he threw pants, shirt, apron, and bandana into a washing bin and put on his own clothing. Clearly, his clothing showed that he probably didn’t live in the Northern part of Aston. He got out from the back of the house and almost immediately lit a cigarette between his lips. He took a long inhale, almost as if it was the only thing that would keep him alive. When he grabbed the cigarette to exhale it wasn’t much smoke that exited his mouth. He rubbed his forehead a little before he ran his hand through his hair. One could almost believe that it would tame his hair, but it never did so. He looked up at the sky for a moment before he flicked off some of the ash and started to walk around the block so he would be able to meet the gals by the front of the restaurant. That was at least where he guessed they were going to meet.

“Ladies,” he greeted them, once again, the same salute with two fingers leaving his forehead. “So, where’d you wanna go?” he wondered looking mostly what the friend before he looked at Danica. After all, he didn’t really have to go shopping, as long as there was food, he could do some magic and let everything work out in the end. His eyes shortly glanced toward the coffee that Evie had in her hand. He shortly thought about refilling the cup but chose not to.

Evie could feel how her heart started picking up speed as they walked closer to Chip, and once again, a soft smile appeared on her lips. She had always been the soft-spoken person; when you had a brother that almost demanded the entire room to look at him when he walked inside, not that she thought her brother as arrogant or in any way needy of the attention, he just oozed confidence, even if he had none, he had always known how to fake that he was on top of the world. Whereas Evie always had been in the shadows, so when a boy had finally shown interest in her, she had been head over heels before she could even check with herself if it were something that she wanted. And then, Leo had been created, and the guy she was sure had wanted her for her, he had laughed and left her all alone to raise an infant that later turned out to have Usher syndrome, where he had first lost his hearing gradually until he would one day wake up and feel that his vision wouldn’t be as good as it used to—then he would use glasses and one day he would be locked away inside his own mind.
She pushed the thoughts to the back of her head, “Well I, my brother is at home with my son, so I’m not sure that there would be room for all of us there, and the kitchen—well, it leaves much to be desired” Evie said a little solemnly “nonsense, and besides I would love to meet you son, so if you don’t mind, let's go there” Danica chimed in, looking at Chip to see if he had anything to say to that. Danica had been used to living in small quarters when she had gotten the trailer in Southpark, and Chip, she actually wasn’t sure where he was living at this very moment. “Well–If—if you’re sure” Evie had stuttered ever so slightly and cursed herself, it had gotten so much better over the years, but when she started getting anxious, it was hard for her to control it. “My car is just around the corner; you don’t mind going to Southside, do you?” she asked, almost giving Chip an out by saying that he would rather not without being painted as the bad guy. Southside wasn’t for everyone, after all, and no one would blame another person for being cautious.

Chip’s brows raised as the witch spoke about her brother and son. His eyes rested on her while she spoke and only turned to Danica as she spoke. When they suddenly looked at him, he shrugged a little. “I can make food anywhere, and two more to the company will be fine,” he assured them. More people shouldn’t be that difficult, and kids used to get very excited about the food he served. An almost smug smile spread on his lips as Evie stuttered, trying to make sure that everyone was cool with going to her place. “I am certain,” he confirmed. He took another inhale from the cigarette while his eyes tried to figure out which corner she spoke about, only to find their way back to the witch as she asked about Southside. “Nah, it’s fine for me,” he once again assured her, smoking leaving his mouth as he spoke. He couldn’t help but wonder how she had ended up in Southside. He licked his slim lips for a second. “Your jacket is really nice by the way,” he complimented Evie, gesturing toward it. Even though he couldn’t see himself wearing it, it was still creative and eye-catching. He liked such things. “Show the way,” he then cheered a little out of nowhere, but they shouldn’t be standing here and starve, should they?

Evie flung her eyes toward Chip as he complimented her jacket, a shade of lilac formed in her cheeks; her fingers nervously tugged a few strands of her big curly hair behind her ear “re-re” she sighed and took a deep breath “thank you, my brother picked it out for me” she laughed before she started looking through her purse to find the keys, finding everything but her keys “just give me a moment guys, it’s that one” she pointed toward the yellow beetle, that despite how it looked was in fairly good condition. She placed her bag on the curved hood and started pulling out her wallet, things her son had put in her bag, notes where it said that he loved her, and that she should come home safe. A picture of her, Leo, and Ivan.  
“Oh, there we are” she walked over and opened the door, Danica quickly placed herself in the backseat, so she could sit a little more comfortably with her legs spread rather than the front seat. Evie gave Chip another shy smile before she placed herself behind the driver’s seat and started the engine up.
“So, how long have you been a chef?” she wondered, as she started driving toward Southside, not seeing the smirk that slowly appeared on Danica’s lips as she watched Evie and Chip sitting beside one another.

“He’s got a great taste, I bet,” he added with a smile. Chip had no clue that just as greasy as his hair looked; he was charming. His eyes were fixated on her purse as she tried to find the keys he believed. She pointed toward a small beetle, and he couldn’t help but let out an excited laugh. “Bloody hell that’s a nice car,” he said and gave it a few ‘pets’ on the roof. He studied the car, both on the outside and on the inside, from what he could see from where he stood. Now, Chip was an odd guy, but he liked many things, and definitely things that were eye-catching. Which were why when he served dishes for private friends and the like, he always made something eye-catching or breathtaking. His eyes glanced toward Evie who still shuffled around in her purse. It was incredible how many things could be in women’s purses and bags.
He looked away again as she went to open the door. Danica was quick to place herself in the backseat, which left Ivan looking at her for a moment. He looked toward Evie and smiled back. He put the cigarette between his lips to finish his cigarette, winking at her, before extinguishing the cigarette, and got into the passengers’ seat so he could sit next to her. Chip looked over at Evie as she started the small talk. “Uh, I started cooking when Danny moved,” he glanced toward her, noticing her smile which made a small, friendly huff leave him. “So, two years later I was headhunted,” he said and took a greater breath in, trying to count. He looked down at his hands as he tried to be certain. “Forty-two years - or I've been cooking for that time” he told her with a confident nod before he furrowed his brows for the small correction. He had after all taken a degree in cooking, but he was quick to get through it, so a year or two didn't matter that much, did it now?. “I’ve been a little bit of everywhere, depending on salary, working hours and you know,” he said and shrugged a little. “I’ve been making everything from shawarma boxes to six-course meals at Michelin restaurants,” he explained with a soft sigh as he thought through the many things he had been doing. He looked over at her, “And what do you do for a living?” he wondered, knowing very well that she had to focus on the road.

”That is a long time”, she said and nodded, keeping her eyes on the road so there wouldn’t be any accidents, even though she was very tempted to look at him all the time. Feelings that rose in her, that she would rather not have, weren’t all that easy to push down. Mostly because she knew it was foolish, but sadly she was one of those people that quickly got effectuated by other people. But never this fast, never this—never like this. But for now, she managed to hide it to her best attentions and looked at the road as the good drive she was. Something she had gotten much better at since she had gotten her son eleven years ago.
“Well, since it’s only Leo and me, or well, when Ivan, that’s my brother, he comes around, its just us three—the three musketeers” she chuckled, as she almost raised her hand as Leo always had done when he had been younger. When he could still hear and he didn’t do anything other than talk, now he rarely did even though he still could.
“I’m mostly a stay-at-home mom, but I, do the odd jobs every now and then, anything that can keep me off the streets at night” she licked her lips, knowing that many of the girls in her position had ended up in prostitution, and she would be lying if she hadn’t thought about it. Especially when she was sitting with bills, she had no idea how to pay. “Sorry, that might be a little too heavy to hear,” she said, “I told her she could just work at my flower shop—” Evie started laughing “right, it would love to, hadn’t it been because of the very first day I entered the florist shop, we had to rush me off to the emergency room because as it turns out, there are just some flowers I’m highly allergic too” she tried to stop laughing, but Ivan’s face when he had seen her with her swollen face before she had gotten antihistamine, it had been priceless. “Right” Danica laughed, “I still have a picture—” “No hey! That’s not fair, Danica, no!” Evie tried to get her arm around while still keeping her eyes on the street, pushing Danica’s hands away when she handed Chip her phone, where a very beautiful picture of a swollen and high Evie was shown that gave a thumbs up to the camera “I think she fell in love with the same nurse like five times, but forgot every time” Danica laughed and Evie could have buried herself right there and then “oh god” she whispered, clearly both finding the situation amusing but also horrifying.

Chip tried to follow, thinking she fumbled a little around in her presentation of the people in her life. It was sweet, how she called them the free musketeers. His eyes studied how she moved, even though she was driving. There was something sweet over it. Memories that were coded into her movements. He nodded slowly as she explained her work, however it tugged in his stomach when she mentioned that she wished for a job that could keep her off the streets a night. Now, he wasn’t going to judge, because it was a great way to make money, and it would be a shame to say that Chip hadn’t been paying for some company for a night a couple of lonely times. “Hey, hey, it’s alright,” he tried to assure both girls, even though it seemed like the conversation ran over a lot of things quite quickly. He continued to listen as Evie explained further. Chip tried to keep a laugh back as she mentioned her allergies to some flowers. It was so awfully tragic.
Suddenly the two girls started fighting, seemingly of a picture of the swollen face. He tried to figure out which gal he should be supporting but ended up receiving the picture, which made a wide smile spread on his lips, “Oh damn,” he laughed softly. He took in the picture of her swollen face, how the eyes even were swollen so one could barely see them. He handed back the phone while Danica spoke about the nurse that seemingly had been tending to her, that she had forgotten. “That’s a lot of times to fall in love in one night,” he laughed a little before he turned his attention toward the driver. “Remind me only to buy you plastic flowers,” he joked with a wider smile before he leaned a little more back in the seat.

“Hey, to be fair, I was heavily sedated because of the pain”, she huffed with a slight pout forming over her lips, then the heat only returned stronger than before, trying to push the thought away from him, bringing her cheesy plastic flowers were almost too much for her to bear.
“I would rather just take a muffin,” she said “plastic flowers had such a tendency to gather dust, and I don’t really have time to clean”, at least not to the extent that her son needed, which was why she had to take a lot of knick-knacks out of the apartment, only leaving the most important keepsakes—sadly it hadn’t been a lot that had stayed behind, as Ivan and Evie hadn’t really a whole lot of happy memories that they could gather around.

It took a while before she could finally pull up by the street her apartment was on; Fallen Oak Passage really left a lot to be desired, especially with how rundown the whole place was. But it was cheap, and it was on the border to Oakheart, which meant there wasn’t as much crime here as there were closer to where the Serpents had their routes. “Here we are,” she said, gathering her things before getting out and walking to the building to let them into the staircase “it's on the second floor, so not that many steps” Danica nodded and started waddling after “one should think after three pregnancy it would get easier, I just feel like a whale already” she huffed as she walked upstairs with the rest. She had only managed to the door before it opened, and Leo ran out and jumped into Evie’s arms. His big brown eyes looked at Chip and Danica, signing who they were “this is Chip, and that is Danica”, she said while signing the same thing, “he knows how to lip read, but he lost his hearing a couple of years back” she explained, maybe that had been something she should have told Chip, but well, here they were.

He laughed softly as she explained how she was sedated. It was a sweet excuse, but he knew very well how sedation worked. However, when she mentioned that she would rather just take a muffin, he glanced down at her cup of coffee. He folded his lips as he transformed the liquid into a very small muffin. Chocolate with a hint of coffee and a delicious, melted caramel-coffee fudge in the middle. Then she could get a surprise whenever she would be trying to drink her coffee. “Yeah, and a muffin only lasts a couple of seconds,” he laughed before he looked toward the road with a smug smile. It was probably for the best that he didn’t mention the comparison to men; that a muffin only lasted a couple of seconds, just like men.

They arrived, and Chip’s eyes immediately started studying the area. Graffiti, broken stones, things that were thrown on the ground, and anything else. As they gathered their things, he took whatever they had forgotten. He had to keep himself on a tight rein to not just pick up another cigarette. He followed them and did everything he could to hold doors or make sure that they went first. A gentleman in a rat’s disguise. When Danica mentioned that she believed that things would get easier after a couple of pregnancies, it reminded him of how he knew it could be relieving to hold the stomach. He wished to do that for her, but for now, it wasn’t really that possible, walking upstairs and holding multiple things.
When the door opened, a young boy ran into Evie’s arms. He couldn’t help but smile. When he noticed that the boy signed, he immediately tried to figure out what sense he was missing. He felt sorry for the boy because Chip’s worst fear was to lose his senses. She looked at how Evie both spoke and signed. Was it for their understanding? It took only a moment of thought before Evie explained, which made his sparkling blue eyes look up at her before he looked at the son. He put everything he carried away or under his arm so he could sign, Hi. My name is Chip. What can I call you? It was a lot slower than the sign that the mother and son made, but Chip also had to pull back the lessons he had taken years back. The eyes once again found her, “He’s a tough one,” he told her with a glad smile, signing the same thing, though he wasn’t looking at Leo while he signed the short sentence.

Leo widened his eyes when Chip signed to him, even Danica couldn’t help to show her amazement, but then again, it didn’t even surprise her for more than a few seconds. But this was Chip they were talking about; after all, he had always been interested in the oddest things. And when he started something, he wanted to perfect it if he just put that into his clothing and hygiene.
Then Leo started to sign, “he is cool. Will they be staying over” Evie nodded, giving Chip an appreciative smile, “yeah, Chip is going to cook us some food. Danica, well, she is just here for the good company”, she declared and walked inside “Ivan?” she called, before sitting Leo down so he could run into his uncle and see what he was doing “I brought some people over” she walked toward the dining table where she put down her coat and then took off her shoes, maybe they had been the bedroom playing? It was, after all, more Leo’s room than hers, which was the tendency with the entire apartment; everything was made to tailor Leo’s needs.

He could see how amazed the boy was. He completely forgot to reply to him to ask his mother a question. He wasn’t even offended by it because he was almost certain that this was Leo. He only looked up as Evie replied to the kid on his sign. It made a small smile pull up on his lips. He followed them inside, making sure the kid was inside before himself.
Ivan was stuck inside a pillow fort. He had needed something to hold the blanket up, and sweet Leo had run to the door, forgetting Ivan held his hand up to keep the blanket from falling and possibly ruining the fortress. He teased Leo, telling him he was forgetting him, as Leo got into the fortress with the tall old lamp that they were going to put in the middle. “In here,” Ivan called when he finally could take his hand back down and get blood to it. He started crawling out of the fortress, hoping nothing was going to tumble over. Ivan’s brows raised as there was a mention of guests. He hurried up to his feet.

Ivan emerged from the bedroom, putting a dramatic hand up against the doorframe, while the other hand rested on his hip, making the elbow strut. “Well hello fellas,” he greeted the new people, shaking his head dramatically as if he had long hair that was in the way. He then walked over to give Danica a side hug, so the belly wasn’t going to be in the way. He had heard so much about her. “Good to meet you, babe,” he told her, giving her cheek a smooch before he looked down at the belly. “How far are you, sweetheart?” he wondered and placed a caring hand just underneath her belly button. Chip folded his lips as he looked at Ivan. Lilac cropped t-shirt and high-waisted trousers that emphasized his small waist. Earrings, necklace, and two-colored nails.

Ivan noticed the man studying and looked up at him, “Like what you see?” – “No, I- yes but-” – “I’m shitting you!” Ivan laughed and gave him a flip of his loose wrist before he grabbed the guy’s chin, “I’m a lot to take in. Take your time,” he said with a small flirtatious growl. Now, Ivan was quite extra, and he was definitely not flirting with the guy yet. He had to be certain that the guy was interested. He didn’t want his heart broken yet again. Chip had furrowed his brows, clearly confused. It made Ivan let go of the chin and clap his cheek a little. “What’s your name, greasy?”
“I am… What did y-” he was hushed by Ivan.
“Name. Please,” Ivan removed the finger that he had placed on the poor man’s lips.
“Chip,” he replied softly. Ivan’s hands found his cheeks before he leaned in to give the man a kiss on each apple of the cheeks.
“Pleasure to meet you greasy Chip,” Ivan sighed as soon as the hands were gone. “So, mamacita. What’s all the guests for?”