𝗜𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘁 𝗔𝗳𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗿𝘀 | 𝐁𝗼𝐛𝐛𝐲 𝐊𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐝𝐲/𝗥𝗙𝗞

XIII: "Croque Madame"

Maurice took his bucket hat off from his head as he savored the Café au lait Ted had just poured, his eyes were locked on the boy. "You know, it's kind of rare to have you here." Maurice's cup clinked against the saucer underneath as he placed it down. "So, to what do we owe the pleasure?" He added a smile on his face, to not come across as rude.

"Oh!" Ted stopped sipping on his coffee, he wiped the remaining warm liquid from his lips. "Well, I wanted to ask if Evelyn would be able to join us this evening. We're playing beach volleyball." He shrugged. "Sounds fun! Will Bobby be joining?" And it got strange, again. "Uh— I think so. He's doing better now." Ted tried to soothe the tensions in the air. "Oh, I'm just asking out of... curiosity," Maurice emphasized.

"Also..." He turned slightly to the boy. "The other day— yesterday, actually," Maurice shook his head softly while rephrasing himself, "I heard voices coming from your house— at around dinner time?" Maurice felt it was rather important to mention it, but forgot it might be better left unanswered. "Oh," Ted shortly responded. "Our house's a mile away— I guess they must've been really loud." He laid a hand on the back of his perspiring neck, extremely uncomfortable with the situation.

"Shucks, perhaps it wasn't from your home, then." Maurice tried to wave it off like it was nothing, but then Ted opened his mouth to respond. "No... no, it was us," he hesitantly admitted. The grey-haired man nodded his head reassuringly, "Bobby, right?" Ted nodded along, "him and our old man." Sighing loudly, he took a quick sip from his cup. "Just a brief dispute about... who loved Kick the most— or who pretended to care the most." There was bleak emptiness on Ted's young face. Maurice reluctantly laid his gentle hand on the boy's back.

"Obviously, Bobby begged to differ— when he shouldn't have. It got heated just in a second, but then..." Ted narrowed his eyebrows, along with his eyes. "Mother spoke in a way I've never seen before. She was... emotional. It was unusual." He gazed into his pale coffee. "It was like... she finally broke down." Maurice stopped the boy from continuing and risking her mother's pride, "Ted, that's normal. There were... times when I, myself, would have a mental breakdown." The man paused. In his head, the memories of Delphine kept replaying over and over like time doesn't exist there.

"You have, sir?" Ted cocked his head, giving himself a clearer view of the pondering father. "Y-yes. It was a very dark time for me— for all of us," Maurice responded with slight stuttering. "I don't think anyone knows about this since we have tried to keep it unknown." He suddenly began to stir his coffee with a demitasse spoon. "But I lost a daughter." Maurice abruptly took a sip of his colder drink. Ted lowered his sight to be respectful.

"It was our firstborn, we placed our very high hope into her; she was gifted academically and creatively." The old grief kicked in, again. "When she died... we shifted all our hope to Evelyn instead. But before we did that, Julia and I would argue and abused each other, to the point we routinely break down." It was like a nightmare for Maurice to recollect what occurred after his eldest's death. He was a drunk, an adulterer — a loser who lost his job due to sexual misconduct at work.

"I can't imagine what it's like to lose a child," Ted quietly uttered, he was overwhelmed with the new information he now had — and he was sure nobody knew it other than him. "I would not wish it on my worst enemy." Maurice immediately wiped his eye before a teardrop could escape. "Honestly, sir, it's remarkable how far you've come— how you have changed," Ted spoke highly of Maurice, admiring him doubtlessly. "It took years for me to get myself together, even after we moved thousands of miles away," Maurice confessed. He took a final gulp and finished his cold, sorrowful coffee.

"Morning, Ted! Good to see you." Saved by the Croque Madames. Julia brought a heavy tray crammed with plates of food to the table. "Good morning. Wow, that is a lot of food, Mrs. Bellamy," Ted chimed in as his head craned up and down, trying to get a good look at the Croque Madame. "Oh, you should come over for dinner, it's like every day is Thanksgiving," Maurice claimed as he was helping his wife arranging plates on the wooden table.

Ted was taken aback by how Maurice acted. It was like he didn't utter anything sad or regretful; he was simply joyous and impatient for food. "Well, what are you waiting for? Dig in!" Maurice rubbed his hands together before grabbing the silverware. "Oh, is Evelyn... not joining us?" Ted questioned with furrowed eyebrows. Maurice and Julia glanced at Ted before looking at each other. "Oh, well— she must be caught up with something," The man responded. "Yes, don't mind it." Julia gestured to the young boy with her spoon.

"Oh. I thought she would be joining—" "Boo!" Evelyn cuts Ted's words off when she teased him by putting her hands on his shoulders. "Voilà." She lifted both her arms in the air before sitting down next to her mother — across Ted. "You cleaned up well, Evie." Maurice winked as he was joking around. "And you have dirt on your face, Papa," Evelyn commented with a playful smile on her sweet face.

"No, I don't— do I, Amour?" Maurice defensively asked her wife, they both laughed as Ted quietly ate his food with his ocean eyes gazing at Evelyn. "Enough talking, you two." Julia nudged her daughter on the ribs. "You should kick Papa's feet from below," Evelyn whispered as she leaned into her mother, but then she felt a soft kick on her foot.

"Hey!" Evelyn cried out, faking a gasp. "Gotcha." Ted smirked as he still had his shoes on Evelyn's slippers. "Anyway, aren't you going to tell her about your plan this evening?" Maurice leaned forward. "Why, yes. Miss Bellamy, would you care to join me, Bobby, and Jean this evening for a round of volleyball on the beach?" Ted used his hand to make gestures as a gentleman would do. Evelyn giggled softly, "of course, good sir." she accepted.

They resumed their breakfast with so much to talk about; an interesting topic regarding Ted's congressman brother, Jack, popped up. Another topic about Bobby —Evelyn was quiet the whole time — and the final one, a topic about Evelyn herself.

"Do you have a suitor, or something?" Ted asked in an uncompromisingly forthright way, Eve and Maurice unintentionally locked eyes. Maurice brings his cup to his lips. "What? No." The girl responded, she shoved her spoon into her mouth. What the hell is happening, Evelyn's mind screamed. "Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm only asking because, frankly? Bobby wanted to know." Oh, no. Oh, no. This can't be true!?  Why would he say something like that?!

"Bobby said that?" Maurice's interest spiked. "Well, he was just curious, I think." Ted grabbed onto the napkin on his lap before using it to get all the grease on his lips. "Well, I'll be damned." Maurice raised his brows high, putting his eyes somewhere else.

Evelyn was uneasy, she gulped a mouthful of saliva as she began to wonder about Bobby's game. Just when she thought everything was getting on well, he had changed their plans entirely in his own ways— and that puts Evelyn into a difficult spot.

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PS: Whew, child. That was a 2000 words chapter. Must take a long time to read lmfao. I think I deserve some break from writing now haha.