Private Finished Just Checking In

Rafael had been, quite truthfully, in a bit of a mood since Takisu had left for Ilada because of the snow. He knew that he shouldn't be, that he could defend for himself quite well. However, over the centuries, Rafael had come to depend on Takisu. He was, perhaps, the one constant in Rafael's long-lived life.

Hearing a familiar voice enter the library, Rafael put his newspaper down. "About bloody time," he muttered gruffly to himself, happy that his friend was home, but not overly comfortable with admitting that either.

"Yes, I am free," Rafael said rather stiffly as he stood up from his chair and turned to look at his assistant. Eyeing his friend for a moment as he stood there at the door, spotting his gifts, Rafael nodded, he was actually relieved to see that he was okay.

"You are back?" he asked calmly as he gestured that Takisu should come in a take a seat.

Rafael's hopes fell a little when Takisu said it was just a visit, but he did understand. How could he not? He knew how much the cold affected him and his family. It was part of the reason Rafael had accepted his granddaughter's invitation to the island. He had hoped to find somewhere where he could be closer to Celeste and her children, and where the weather suited both of them. Rafael was not a huge fan of too much heat, but he knew Takisu was not a huge fan of the cold. The weather on MC had seemed perfect - until recently.

"Me? Lonely?" Rafael scoffed, "With Celeste and her family of ragamuffins? And the business, and that crazy granddaughter of mine and her hairbrained schemes?" he grumbled, barely keeping a smile in check, and the amusement out of his voice as he tried to shrug off the fact that Takisu knew him all too well.

Then, his facade broke, and Rafael laughed.

"Dreadfully so," he admitted. "This godforsaken snow is a bloody nightmare. I am just glad you made it back somehow," he said as he sat back down in his chair near the fire.

"Food?" Rafael stated curiously as he watched Takisu remove all the layers of winter clothing," You wouldn't happen to have some flamefruits in there?" he asked somewhat hopefully. Early on in their friendship, Takisu had introduced Rafael to the frighteningly delicious exotic fruit from Ilada.

"Smoked salmon, figs and flamefruit..." Rafael stated, extremely pleased by this as he watched Takisu unpack the containers and packages. "You spoil me," he chuckled lightly as he looked at everything and picked up the figs first.

"Surprisingly well, actually. Celeste's family seems rather immune to the cold, except of course, Ebviony," he said with a softer, more affectionate tone, "And Zoraida and the chap she's dating, just seem to teleport everywhere lately... which is damn inconvenient especially when they suddenly pop up somewhere unexpectedly and unannounced..." he stated gruffly.

As Takisu warmed himself by the fire, Rafael added another log to keep the flames burning and to help warm the room a bit more.

"Smokey, he's the youngest in your family, no?" Rafael asked, "Still in school as I recall..." he said as he picked out a fig from the container, offering one to Takisu in the process.

"This snow must be especially hard on them, I imagine? Not being able to hang out as much with his friends and all that." he added thoughtfully.

"But of course, that is totally understandable. Kids come first, they almost always should when it comes to schooling," he agreed. Rafael wasn't too keen on them staying in Ilada, but he clearly understood why they might have too. Besides, Rafael always believed in giving children the best chance at a good future.

"Oh, what type of job?" Rafael asked, peeling the top part of the fig, quite interested in what Zaydi was doing. Takisu had not mentioned them in quite a while, and Rafael had almost forgotten about them completely.

"La Bussola," Rafael nodded approvingly. He had indeed heard of the place. It was his job in a way to be on top of any financial happenings on the island, no matter how small they were. Successes almost always started small and often rose from nothing to something unexpectedly.

"Ah, yes... the Genovese boy," Rafael said as he instantly recalled who Smokey's friend was. The young man had been Zoraida's PA for a short while, and a damn good one too. He had always thought it was a shame that his granddaughter had cocked that up. Rafael had definitely seen potential in him.

"Do they have tartufo or budino?" Rafael enquired of Takisu, a big fan of the Italian desserts and getting hungry at the thought of them.

"I wonder if they make arancini?" he mused, thinking fondly of the Italian fried rice balls that he had had a few years ago in Sicily.