2019-11-25 - Negative Associations

(TXT to Ciprian) Beth : https://allisonmaruska.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/4-skins.jpg

(TXT to Ciprian) Beth : https://wineninjas.files.wordpress.com/2017/07/fat_bastard_chardonnay_review-e1515520998654.jpg

(TXT to Ciprian) Beth : Pick one.

(TXT to Beth) Ciprian : Do I have to?

(TXT to Ciprian) Beth : Yes. You have to.

(TXT to Beth) Ciprian : Then B. If only because I really can't pick A in good conscience.

(TXT to Ciprian) Beth : Oh shit I forgot about that 😃

(TXT to Ciprian) Beth : Okay where are we drinking it at? Am I coming over after bedtime or are you getting a babysitter and coming over?

(TXT to Beth) Ciprian : Do you mind coming over here?

(TXT to Ciprian) Beth : I do not mind coming over. Okay. Final Question: Thai, Barbeque, or Fish?

(TXT to Beth) Ciprian : Thai. Just no pork. 8:30?

(TXT to Ciprian) Beth : 10/4 good buddy. No shrimp either, right?

(TXT to Beth) Ciprian : ::thumbs up emoji::

A little after 8:30 there is a quiet knock on the door. As expected when the door is opened Beth is on the other side. She is dressed comfortably wearing a long knit duster over a t-shirt dress and leggings and is holding a bag of Thai takeout on her hip while the other hand grips a bottle of Fat Bastard Chardonnay. "Hey." She says quietly before she steps inside. "I told them you'd die if you had pork or shellfish so hopefully it isn't in there."

Ciprian is still wearing slacks and a button-down shirt, probably from work. At least he has no tie, though and his sleeves are rolled up to the elbows, a concession to the fact that it's 8:30 at night and this is a hangout, not a work event. "Hi," he says, and he reaches to take the bag from her, reaching past to shut the door behind her. He chuckles, shaking his head as he starts toward the dining room table. "I think God will probably forgive me if I unknowingly eat some shrimp broth," he says, setting the bags down. There are already plates and forks set out for them, as well as glasses. "How are you?"

"Well the people at the Thai restaurant think even an epi pen doesn't work. So I guess if it's fishy you would probably avoid that place cause they're definitely trying to kill you." Beth says teasingly as she steps into the house and follows him towards the dining room. "Honestly? Exhausted. I am doing a funeral for this guy and he had this secret family and the wife just found out and she's understandably really upset." She pulls out a chair and sits down. "And I have an overdose and those are kind of hard for me, and I didn't really want to be alone so...thanks for indulging me." She puts the bottle of wine down on the table.

Ciprian looks amused at her first words, but it fades into a more incredulous look as she goes on. "A secret family?" he repeats, as though he hasn't heard her right. "Really? Wow. I can barely keep up with one family. I can't imagine having to juggle two." It's not said seriously, of course, but still. It's kind of impressive.

He reaches for the bottle opener then, but he pauses when she continues. "I'm sorry," he says, and while it is something one says in this sort of situation, his tone is sincere. "That's really tough. I'm happy to hang out, though. I've been feeling a little prickly about my birthday coming up so it's nice to have a distraction."

"You wouldn't believe the stuff that comes out after people die. But yeah second family." Beth says as she slips her arms out of her sweater and rolls her shoulders as if to ease some tension out of them before she opens the bag to start pulling out the containers of food. "Apparently this guy worked in Tacoma and came home on the weekends. Had another wife and two kids in high school so it had been going on for a while."

Beth's eyes light up a touch when he mentions his birthday is coming soon. "Really? When?"

"Wow. That is commitment." Ciprian pours the wine, setting her glass in front of her and taking his own, leaving the bottle within easy reach. His smile tips a little wryly when she starts looking excited about the birthday mention, however. "Tomorrow," he admits. "I couldn't really say I was in my mid-30s this year, but now I really can't say I'm in my mid-30s. So that's fun." He opens a container and starts to serve himself, "But it's going to be low key, which is fine with me."

Beth picks up her glass of wine and takes a sip. "I know, right? It's a shitty thing to do to both families, but I'm also impressed that he was able to lie to both women for so long." She puts the wine glass down and reaches for a container to put some down on her plate. She puts the cardboard container down and reaches for the next. "I wish you would have told me. I would have bought you a cake or something." She picks up her fork and twists it around a noodle. "You don't want a party at all?"

"Please don't," Ciprian says, as though a little pained, despite the fact that he does at least look slightly amused. Dryly amused, but still. It's something. "I don't," he confirms. He takes a little sip of his wine, before grabbing a fork himself. "I'm not a big fan of birthdays. Well," he amends, "other people's are fine. I just don't really like celebrating my own." He takes a bite of pad thai, and he lets out a little contented sigh as he chews.

Beth looks at him from across the table when he says he doesn't like celebrating his birthday. "...Should I ask or just let it go? Cause I feel like there is a story behind this." She takes a bite and chews as she waits for him to respond.

Another chuckle escapes Ciprian, and he shrugs, shaking his head. "It's really not a very interesting one," he replies. "I just don't love being the center of attention in social settings. You'd think I'd be used to it because of being in court all the time, but I guess it's different when it's what you do for a job. And I guess I get kind of depressed around it because there's been a couple years of negative associations around it."

"You're an introvert." Beth guesses between bites before she continues. "You're just not awkward about it so people don't guess it. You know Johnny Carson the Late Night host from the 70s? Hated socializing. Was a super shy guy in his personal life." She puts her fork down and her brow furrows a bit. "Well, fuck that. Let's build some good associations. What do you want to do tomorrow? I'm assuming you're going to work, but I will do anything within reason."

"I guess so," Ciprian concedes before he takes another bite of the food. It's really very good, and the wine, despite the name -- because of the name? Maybe! -- is also good, as is the company. So all in all, a successful evening thus far, despite the birthday talk. "Was he?" he asks, his eyebrows raising. "I would never have guessed that. But supposedly Robin Williams was, too. I guess it stands to reason."

As for what he wants to do tomorrow, he makes a face, but then says, "I suppose we could go out do dinner." He must realize how that sounds, because he lets out a laugh then, a little self-deprecatingly, and adds, "Not that I wouldn't want to spend time with you. As long as you don't mind Ashira coming as well."

"We could go out to dinner. I could take you out to dinner, strong independent woman that I am." Beth says in agreement, grinning a little wryly at the last part. "And of course I don't mind Ashira. So where do you want to go? We could even leave town if you wanted. I don't know if you want to make the hour and a half long trip to Tacoma on a work night, but there's that steakhouse in Hoquiam or the Italian place in Montesano."

"You could," Ciprian agrees. "You don't need no man." Which is possibly somewhat amusing, considering the circumstances of them going out to dinner and him being a man, but clearly it's not that kind of dinner date. Definitely not. Super not. "Ashira doesn't have school the next day because of Thanksgiving," he says, "and I think I could be a little tired going into work. So...sure. Why not?" He definitely is not the sort of man who does spur of the moment things, so it might be a bigger deal to him than for someone else. "Thank you. That actually sounds nice."

Beth picks up her wine glass and gives him a considering look before she says, "You know I could probably ask my dad to be on call tomorrow. He's not doing anything besides for chilling at home. We could go to Tacoma. I haven't been out of town in months." She smiles a little. "We could take Ashira to the aquarium. If you want to. It's your birthday." Because clearly this is a birthday thing and not a date at all. "And grab dinner. They have some cool places."

Ciprian considers for a moment, before he says slowly, "I could probably take Ashira out of school at lunch. I promised her she could ride the carousel in the park, but we could leave after that. We could still get to the aquarium around two. How does that sound?" He takes a sip of wine as he watches her over the top of the glass, eyebrows raised.

"I don't know why I thought she'd be out of school. But it sounds good." Beth says, and she reaches into her sweater pocket to grab her phone. "Let me text my dad now." She shoots off a quick text before she puts the phone down on the table. "Do you..." She hesitates, as if she's not sure if she wants to ask this, "Do you want to talk about the negative associations?" She picks up her fork and takes another bite, as if it's all casual.

"They only do the day before. There was some talk about having the whole week off, but the school board couldn't seem to settle on it. I honestly didn't pay that close attention -- just give me the calendar when it's done so I can plan, and I'm happy." Ciprian smiles, though it does fade a little at the last question. He doesn't answer right away, taking another sip of wine first, and then another bite of his food. Is he going to answer at all? It's not immediately apparent.

Eventually, though, he does. "Well," he says, "last year around this time was when my ex-wife left. The divorce just came through a couple weeks ago, so that wasn't fun. Then just some stuff when I was a kid. Weird things happening. You know." They've talked about weird things happening, of course. "I honestly don't even remember everything. It's just this...feeling of foreboding. That sounds so melodramatic, but I can't really explain it better than that." He shrugs again, a little helplessly.

"She left you around your birthday?" Beth asks, like she can't fathom something so terrible. "Jesus. What is wrong with her?" She takes a sip of wine before she says, "Sorry. I don't know her and I don't know if you even like it when people trash talk her it's just that you shouldn't leave someone on their birthday when you're leaving cause of a you problem." She nods her head in understanding. "No I get it. It's Them." She says Them in a softer voice. Almost a whisper.

"Yeah." This time, the laugh that escapes Ciprian is a little more wry, and he lifts a hand to wave a little vaguely, as though dismissing the apology. "It isn't that I don't like it, per se. I mean, I've had plenty of horrible thoughts about her. I try not to talk like that around Ashira, but my family isn't shy about saying what they think, and honesty I can't blame them. They aren't wrong. It was a huge lapse in judgment that I'd completely regret except for my daughter. So I guess something good came out of it."

He quiets for a moment then, and after a moment, he nods. "Yes." Them, indeed. There's another pause, before he says, "It's why I don't really do much with what I have. I don't want to draw attention. You know? I know what happens when you have that, and it's never anything good. I don't even know everything I can do. I've never tested it, and I don't know that I ever will. I just hope that I can keep Ashira out of it."

Beth nods her head softly in understanding. "Something good did come out of it. And you choosing her wasn't a mistake. It's never a mistake to love someone else. Just a mistake to hurt them." She picks up her wine glass to wet her lips. "So I'm not going to talk shit because I don't know her and I don't think you should feel bad for having chose her."

"I don't know if you can. You're stronger than a lot of people. I can see when someone else has it, you know? Your glow is brighter, and I don't know how it works, but I know my brother Ricky had a glow. My mom has a glow. I see families all the time and it wouldn't surprise me if it were hereditary. I don't know if you can keep Them from her, if yours is bright hers might be too, but maybe when she's old enough you can prepare her for it?" She smiles sadly. "But I'm not an expert on this. That's just my guess."

"Don't make any promises you can't keep," Ciprian warns, and despite the more serious bent of the conversation, he manages a smile. "She did some messed up things, and sometime if I get drunk enough you might hear about them. Besides, maybe I'll want to talk shit at some point, too, and if you don't chime in, I'll just feel bad."

He can't keep even that small amount of humor in his tone when she goes on, though. He's quiet as she speaks, turning his wine glass around in his hand as he considers. "You're probably right," he admits. "Riya is strong, too. She was even strong as a kid. It's probably just wishful thinking to think I can keep her from it. I don't really know how to prepare her, though. Riya might know, but we don't...we've never really talked about it. About any of my stuff."

"Well, then I'll talk all the shit about her. But I'll never say you made a mistake." Beth says. She smiles ever so slightly, too. It fades away as she watches him toy with his glass. "Maybe it's time to talk about it now." She says, and she gives him a reassuring look. "I mean...this is what she does, right? And she's your sister and she probably loves Ashira almost as much as you do. If anyone can help you protect her it's your sister." Then, to lessen the tension she quips, "I mean...fuck, the best I can get out of my sister is a room to crash in whenever I want to go to Disneyworld."

"I can live with that." Ciprian nods once, taking another bite, and once he's swallowed he lets out a little sigh. This time it's not contented, more resigned -- but he does nod after a moment. "Maybe it is," he admits. "And she does. Ashira loves her, too. They're very similar." Which is another cause for concern, but also a good thing.

Her quip, however, has him laughing. "Well, that's something, right?" he asks, before he lifts his wine glass, tipping it toward her for a toast. "To a new birthday attitude."

Beth laughs and raises her glass. "To better birthdays for now on." She takes a decent swallow before she puts her glass down and picks up her fork for another bite. "And normally I don't talk about families, but this shit is crazy. So remember how I told you that the guy who worked in Tacoma had two families? Well the wife here in Gray Harbor? She doesn't want his extra wife or his Tacoma kids at the funeral. Like at all. So I'm trying to get her to agree to a separate viewing for them-"

And then they talked and enjoyed Fat Bastard Chardonnay and Thai until at least eleven o'clock. The End.