[PRP] Oh Fleeting Life (Horace & Jamie) [FIN]

[saedusk]

Home was beginning to feel like Other Ashdown with the way the rain refused to stop. Under his umbrella, Jamie felt a swell of melancholy. The dreary weather didn't help, nor the wet socks, but neither did standing outside of a funeral parlor when he really stopped to think about it.

Looking up, staring at the door but drawing no closer, he sighed. Honestly, Jamie couldn't remember why he'd stopped here. Subconscious, perhaps? His grandma had been on his mind lately, her latest trip to rehab for her hip injury to be precise. She was a wild, unstoppable force, but the way she refused to listen to people who were simply trying to help her keep her independence was absolutely frustrating. Spirit could only get you so far when it was your body that was failing. What if she got hurt again? What if she wound up falling? What if she laid there on the floor of her home, alone until-

Jamie bit his lip so hard it actually hurt. The more he thought about the what ifs, the more upset he got. Stop, he told himself, stop thinking about Gram dying.

The Semblance of Unityyyy

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

Horace was officially done for the day. He was jsut doing a final sweep in the front before his shift ended when he saw him. Someone stood outside and, even with all the rain, Horace could see that hangdog expression. He frowned, collected his things, and stepped outside, unfurling his neon umbrella. He walked around to the front of the building and stopped near the kid.

"Hey, they don't bite in there. You okay?"

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

It was only a matter of time before someone approached him. Jamie hadn't been expecting it, but he honestly wasn't that surprised. It was pretty weird to stand here staring at the building with no other obvious motives. He felt a little self-conscious, a little weird.

"I, um..." he started, looking at Horace while trying not to appear anymore suspicious than he already did. "I don't... really have a reason to go inside." Eyes dropped away, lingering on the sidewalk instead. "S-Sorry, I... I'm okay. I'll keep moving."

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

"Not everybody has to have a reason to go in," Horace said. He shrugged and considered walking away, but it just wasn't in him. "I'm Horace; I work there mostly. C'mon, you look a bit peaked. " He reached out and tapped the brim of Jamie's umbrella.

"There's a cafe there-" He jerked his head in that direction. "Buy you a cup of coffee."

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

When Jamie looked up again, umbrella tipped slightly back, there was the faintest of looks in his eyes that said he hoped he'd never have a reason to go in. Unfortunately, death was as much a part of life as living was. Even naive Jamie knew that. Well, naive probably wasn't the best way to describe him. Not anymore, not since Other Ashdown.

"I'm... Jamie," and he might've left it at that himself, refused the offer because it felt rude to take advantage of his kindness, but since coming to know people who genuinely cared he'd started to realize that people wouldn't usually offer if they really felt put out by it. "Do, um, do you think they'd have tea...?"

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

"Jamie, if they don't have tea I'll eat my entire umbrella." Horace smiled at his own stupid joke and jerked his head towards the cafe. "Nice to stay out of the rain, too." He knew for a fact the cafe had tea and really comfortable chairs and was never too crowded. All in all, great.

The door's bell jingled as he stepped in, dropping his umbrella down to the bin they kept by the door. He wondered if anyone had stolen umbrellas from it. "He waited for Jaime to drift in.

"What d'you want?"

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

It was impossible to resist quipping back, "I sure hope they're not mysteriously out of everything today, then..."

Inside, Jamie's umbrella, orange on orange polkadots, joined a small clutch of samey black and grey ones. Recently he'd been trying to express himself the slightest bit more, even if all that meant was a fun colored umbrella.

"Ummm..." Eyes scanned quickly over the menu, picking out one of the first things that sounded appealing and running with it. "Pomegranate green. Hot, please."

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

"Hah, look, our umbrellas are like twins." And it was true, both of them were orange, though slightly different shades, and Horace's had pink polka dots. Horace ordered himself a coffee, extra sugar, no cream. At this time of day, he should be cutting out the caffeine, but the thought of decaf coffee was just... blasphemy. Untenable.

He paid for their drinks and grabbed a table near the drop off point. Neither should take too long. "Tea sounds good, but I feel like I'm married to coffee - it would be cheating. Had a long day?"

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

That did light a small smile, noting the way both of their umbrellas stood out from the pack. Even in something as seemingly unimportant as this, it was nice to find he wasn't alone. And, well, when he stopped to think about it, he didn't have to be alone in his thoughts, either. For that, for Horace's company, he was grateful.

"Yeah," he started with a sigh as he joined Horace at the table, "Long and kind of exhausting. Even though, um, I-I guess I didn't really do a whole lot." He looked sheepish as he admitted it. Physically he hadn't, but emotionally it felt like he'd run a marathon.

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

Horace stirred his coffee absently. He'd dumped ever more sugar into it and was waiting for it to dissolve. Nothing was worse than when those last few gulps of coffee were just gritty sugar leftovers. "You don't have to do a bunch of stuff to be exhausted," he pointed out. Horace saw it often enough in his work.

"What made the day so long?"

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

Normally Jamie didn't go out of his way to spill his proverbial guts to any stranger who bought him tea, but today was one of those days where being exhausted made it harder to care about being overly anxious. Swirling his drink with a stir stick and watching the waves, he sighed. "It's my grandma."

Without waiting for the tea to cool, he took a long sip. To Jamie, the temperature was just right.

"She's stubborn and... I worry about her."

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

"I think," he said slowly, thinking of his own grandmother. "The older people get, the more concerned they are with their own independence. They don't want to feel limited. Of course, that makes it hard for them to accept proper care and the worries of others." He sipped his coffee, looking at Jamie.

"Is she stubborn about medical care or just in general?"

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

As Horace spoke, Jamie nodded along, completely understanding, completely agreeing. "She's always been independent. Dad says she's got the biggest personality of anyone he knows. I kinda agree. It just makes her stubborn in general, but..." sighing, his shoulders drooped.

"She just dealt with a bad hip injury and it's so hard to get her to do the rehab stuff she's supposed to. Or to stop doing all the things she's not supposed to do. I just don't want her to get hurt again..." Or worse, his mind added silently.

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

He smiled. "Your dad would know the most about her - I wonder if he has any ideas for a workaround to make her more willing."

"Does she say why she doesn't wanna do her rehab exercises?"

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

That got a small laugh out of Jamie. It wasn't much, but it was something. "Honestly, I dunno if my dad could get her to do anything. She's way more strong-willed than he is." Sometimes he wished for his grandma's spirit. Things might've been different up to this point if he'd been like her.

"She says it's a waste of time... b-but it's not like they take that long."

The Semblance of Unity