Just Peachy

Ballerina

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Lucas liked to stay busy. He enrolled in the infamous classes that gave extra homework, stayed after school and weekends to help out the teachers, and any time left over was spent at the community center. It was nights like this that reminded him exactly why he stayed busy. His dad and not-mom at the community center on a Saturday night was a rare sight. Lucas planned his visits to the center around when Sofia was there, that way things could stay the way they were a year ago, without her. Of course, tonight went differently, not only was Sofia there at the same time, she was also pregnant. Another little brother/sister should have been exciting news, but it was confirmation that Sofia was going nowhere, and that bothered him.

Lucas' ears stayed flat against his head. His smile may have projected the happiness he was supposed to feel, but anyone familiar with dogs would see that his less human features had betrayed him. Even with this sudden change, there was still good in the night. People actually wanted to hear more about Cluckers, which so happened to be conveniently after Sofia made the announcement. He knew what they were trying to do, but talking about his chicken was much easier than the... more serious topic. For a change, he also met two adults who seemed to stand behind him on the whole situation, or at least understood why the news may have been troubling to Lucas.

" Uh, thanks for taking me home Mr. Genovese." He said. " Man... this new sibling is a lot to take in, it's so... exciting." His right ear twitched. " It's really not that bad. My dad, well, he just looks kind of scary sometimes, and, uh, his girlfriend, they like each other." It was awkward and most likely unnecessary to explain this, but he didn't want his family in any kind of trouble either. To cement his position as black sheep was what he wanted the least after all they had been through for him. He was telling the truth anyways.

@Romi
 
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Romi

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Distracting people was always tricky. If you did it too blatantly, it was obvious what you were doing, and if you were too subtle, it wouldn't distract enough. There was really no option at all when the topic had come up, and Angelo had ended up erring on the side of blatant.

Lucas had seemed to like it, although Angelo wasn't convinced he'd actually been distracted. It had been so blatant that he was sure Lucas had known what he was doing, and just let him do it anyway.

He had really liked the chicken, though. That hadn't been fake. It was weird having a chicken for a pet, but it was far from the weirdest pet Angelo had seen on the island. It was normal-weird, rather than island-weird.

"Angelo's fine," Angelo said. He always preferred being on a first name basis with everyone. Mr Genovese felt like someone's father.

Which he was, in retrospect, but he still didn't feel like it.

"I'm kind of used to people looking scary," Angelo said. "Although I was a bit worried about his girlfriend choosing to tell him in the community center."

He didn't ask. He simply presented the information and waited to see what Lucas would do with it. One of the worst things to do was ask leading questions, and Angelo wasn't willing to go past a gentle probing of the situation to make sure things were alright at home.

 

Ballerina

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After spending a good chunk of his thirteen years in a hospital, being poked and prodded by doctors, is was natural to call to adults by their last name, it would be rude not to. The only doctor he had ever heard of not referred to by their last name was Dr. Phil, someone who intruded the lives of others. Like Sofia. With some reluctance he nodded.

" Oh, I don't think my dad was what she was worried about." Lucas' ear twitched again. " He's... good to her. Really." He reassured Angelo. " It's us kids. She didn't want to hear our... opinions." Angelo was not a therapist, he was a cop, Lucas tried his best to word everything carefully. He did not want to cause any trouble.

" I don't blame her.. it... must be hard."
 

Romi

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What information Lucas gave him helped to fill in the blanks in the picture that Angelo had. Not abusive, just awkward. Not hiding from her significant other, but from his children. Sofia was young--maybe too young, although it was terribly hard to tell on an island like Manta Carlos where half the people were a thousand years old and looked twenty--and Caius was not. Lucas was maybe twelve or fourteen, Sofia was in her mid-twenties, and Ciaus seemed to be in his fourties. That put Sofia closer in age to Caius's children than to Caius himself.

"I think there's a habit, unfortunately enough, of people wanting to deal with the parent but not the kids," Angelo said. It was a normal problem, for normal families, even if the island was strange.

"I think, if you're worried about it, you might want to sit down with your dad, and express your concerns. He's your father, and your feelings should be his number one priority." Talking to people could solve a lot of problems, but talking to people was also hard. It was easy to say he should do it, but harder to actually do it.

 

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Some things are just inevitable. His dad filling the hole his mom left was one of them. Death was also inevitable, yet Lucas managed to cheat even that-- at the expense of his own mother. It made him wonder how different life would be if his dad held off just a little longer, or at least dated someone his age. Just like death, that was beyond his control. After unintentionally dictating his family's lives with his illness, they deserved to do whatever they wanted. Even so, something about their family didn't feel right.

" Actually," Lucas clarified. " She likes kids. Well, at least the others. Pretty sure you have to when you're a guidance counselor." At least she was nice, as far as 'replacement mothers' go, yet that made it worse. He wanted something tangible, something that would make everything go back to normal, back to how it was a year ago; all he had was a bad feeling. " And both Colette and Eric — my triplets-- like her too. She even brought over a kid from school to 'Thanksgiving', whatever that is, I don't really know." He told him, stifling any signs of disgruntlement in his voice, but his ears still clung back.

" My dad is nice to all of us, but we've just never been really close." Lucas said. Angelo's advice was nothing new, but it was easier said than done. " He's just so... hard to talk to. And I know I'll bring up my mom again. I can't help it. It's going to be so... awkward." His eyes drifted towards the ground, he stood completely frozen, fixated on the thought of his mother for a brief moment. He looked back at Angelo with a sheepish smile, the kind of expression that said 'everything-is-fine-I-swear'. " You're right...but there's seven- almost eight- of us, I'm the odd one out here, everyone else is on board. If I say anything, it will get even more awkward."
@Romi
 

Romi

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Ahh. So it wasn't a kids issue, it was a Lucas issue. Whether intentionally or not, he felt like the odd man out, and any complaints felt like he was just complaining for the sake of it. When everyone else was okay with things, it was hard to be the one who spoke up, and Angelo nodded as Lucas said his piece.

"No matter what the situation is, it always takes a lot of courage to speak up when you feel uncomfortable with something. A lot of the time it feels like it'd be smarter to not say anything. Especially if you're not sure there even is an issue. But being the only one having an issue doesn't mean it's not an issue."

Angelo paused for a moment, pondering the issue as he walked.

"Maybe talk to a family friend, who might be able to bring the subject up with your dad with you? I'm not sure if there's anyone like that for your family, but when I had issues I always got someone older to me to advocate for me."

Of course, those had been literal mafiosos, so maybe it didn't quite apply.

 
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