Up&Out - Jess Mariano

CouldHaveGoneBetter

Patrick had a very short attention span and an inability to be alone for longer than an hour, so whenever his daughter was out (this afternoon it was for swim training) he went to Luke for company. Whether Luke wanted Patrick's company while he was trying to work was another story, but either way he was there. He had spent the better half of the last hour shouting a conversation with Luke, who was rushing around the diner and trying to do his job.

"This lady was actually serious though, can you believe it?" He said, raking a hand through his floppy brown hair. There was a few sparkly grey hairs, but if you had told him that he would have denied it immediately.

"Nope, Pat, can't believe it at all," said Luke, scribbling an order down on his pad. "It's completely outrageous."

Patrick gave him a look but kept talking anyway. "I just don't think I can put an archway in her house. Especially if it's going to be made of red brick like she wants. That hasn't been a thing since the 80's. I don't think I can work with her."

"And how's your boss gonna take that news?"

"I mean he's not gonna be happy that I'm turning away business cause I don't like the features they want me to add to the design. But this isn't about me judging their personal taste and being a snob; those arches go against every spec of morality I have."

"Well that totally changes things then," said Luke sarcastically as he ripped off an order sheet and handed it to Caesar. For the first time since Patrick had gotten there, Luke stopped moving and just stood behind the counter for a moment. "You're not being a pain in the ass; you're being a hero."

Patrick frowned. "You're making fun of me," he said, folding his arms over his chest. "I don't appreciate that."

"Well you've had to deal with it since we were 15 and that hasn't stopped you from being around me almost everyday since, so I'm sure you've built up a tolerance."

Quickly coming up with a snappy remark, Patrick opened his mouth to reply but was immediately cut off by the obnoxious jingle of the bell on the diner's door. A second later, Kendall came rushing through the door in a whirlwind of auburn hair and Chilton Prepatory memorabilia, both of which were dripping with water.

"Hey, Luke! Do you still have those clothes I left here last week?" She asked as she slid across the diner floor. "My old jumper and stuff?"

Luke stared at her for a moment. "Why are you dripping water all over my diner?"

"Cause I've not changed into the clothes I left here last week yet."

He rolled his eyes before pointing to the curtain that hid the stairway up to his apartment. "They should be somewhere up there," he said, rolling his eyes and gesturing vaguely in the direction of the staircase to his apartment.

Kendall smiled. "Thanks." She took a few steps forward, flip flops squeaking against the floor and gave her dad a kiss on the cheek, before rushing upstairs.

Luke and Patrick watched her go in silence.

"We should have told her you nephew is up there," said Patrick, picking up the coffee he had been given when he had first arrived at the diner that afternoon. By this time, it was well past being lukewarm but he barely cared. "It's gonna scare the crap out of her."

"She'll be fine. It's not like she won't notice him. Maybe if they introduce themselves without adult interference we might actually get more than two words out of Jess."

"I've known her since the moment she was born," said Patrick. "I don't think she's gonna notice him."

"How could she not notice an entire human being?"