Time Warp: Off The Map [Rhea]

[Cecil Wathen]

Cecil gave a quiet breath of a laugh and nodded his head. “That's the one. It was attacking people and dogs and cars for weeks before it left and went back into the woods or wherever it came from. Apparently no one had the sense to just shoot it. Those things are delicious.”

As Rhea mentioned that she had to get off to work soon and wouldn't be much help, Cecil gave a quick shake of his head. “No no, don't worry about that. You've been so much help already, really. I'd... probably still be sat out on that bench if you hadn't stopped by, so thanks again.” Their food came while Rhea was speaking about a big new pet store that had just opened in town, and while he spoke Cecil passed the bacon down to Mephit a bit at a time so she didn't rush it and choke. “That actually sounds really great.” While he wasn't keen on the thought of leaving Mephit with a stranger, Rhea was right. He did need to clear his head out a bit so he could focus on what was going on without feeling so overwhelmed with hurt and pain and anger, and there were few finer ways to do that than climbing up a mountain. “I'll try over there in a few hours, once they might have actually opened up.” His stomach was in tight knots and he didn't really want to eat through fear of just vomiting it all straight up again, but Cecil managed to at least pick idly at the crust of his toast. “Breakfast is on me, by the way. It's the least I can do.”

[Rhea Hartman]

In sharp contrast to Cecil, Rhea had just been on a run and hadn't eaten breakfast yet, and she dug into her omelet with gusto. She nodded, mouth full of egg and sausage. She swallowed. “I can't say I know much about the store, but he might be able to hook you up with, I dunno, a daycare service.” She paused when Cecil said he'd pay for breakfast, and for a moment looked like she might refuse. But instead she smiled and nodded. “That's really nice of you, Cecil. Thanks.”

[Cecil Wathen]

For as sick as he felt and as certain as he was that just keeping the toast down would be hard work, the omelette did look pretty good. Cecil made an idle mental note to maybe come back here if he was around for more than another day or two. He honestly did not know if he would be or not. Part of him desperately wanted to go back, to forgive Aaron and apologise for anything he might have done to cause his husband to stray. However, he knew that things simply wouldn’t be the same any more even if he did, and of course there was always the chance that Aaron wouldn’t want him back anyway. He wasn’t even sure if he wanted Aaron back after what the other man had done.

Cecil gave another bit of bacon to Mephit, the little Kelpie pup hungrily wolfing it down, and he gave a small smile as Rhea accepted him paying for breakfast. It was such a small thing, but the feeling of being able to do something kind for another was a good one. “No problem.” Glancing out the nearby window, his eyes caught the gentle movement of snow falling outside and he lifted up his coffee mug in a toast. “To snowy meetings.”

[Rhea Hartman]

Rhea smiled, and she lifted her mug as well and clinked it against Cecil's. "To snowy meetings, and hot breakfast after." She took a quick sip of the still scalding-hot coffee. "It's a good time to be here. I have a feeling you'll like Pilot Ridge."

((And that's a wrap. I find it fitting that the first thread we did finished on my birthday!))

[Heath Donald]

I'm Heath, Founder of CaseConnector.io. We're experiencing an overflow of cases from our Client Acquisition Program and see a potential fit with your firm's expertise.

Let's discuss further? Reach out at caseconnectors.com or my personal email [e-mail]

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Heath

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