kengr

Over Dessert
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 1, complete
Word count (story only): 1265
[Sunday, May 10, 2020, early evening]]


:: Liana and Beverly are offered dessert, and the conversation eases the tension a bit more, fortunately. Part of the Edison’s Mirror universe. ::


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Aidan lifted Beverly’s empty glass. “Would you like some more? Or perhaps a serving of the berry crumble that Vic made for dessert? I adore reheating things in the microwave, it’s almost less work for me than walking to the kitchen.”

Liana brightened. “That sounds good!” She turned a guilty glance to Beverly. “Is it okay?”

“Of course it is,” the older woman assured. “I’d like some as well. Could… Could you explain a bit more about how you would annoy Declan, basically by existing?”

Vic snickered. Loudly. “He’s trying to stake a claim on Liana, and following her around like a stalker. The fact that I’ve been seen with her--male, about her age-- Well, that makes me a massive threat to his ‘approach’. Ed’s too young, and Aidan’s too old, but hanging out with them is a legitimate reason for me to be around her, which will drive Declan up a wall if he’s a classic talker.”

“Yeah,” Ed agreed. “It’s pretty clear that he’s a stalker.” The preteen held up his fingers one by one, tapping them against the thumb as he counted. “One. Unwanted. If Liana thought that he was the best potential boyfriend, she’d be eager to see him. The problem is, a stalker can’t imagine why she isn’t absolutely delighted to see him.

“Two. Fixated. He’s not going after any other werewolf, is he?”

Beverly shook her head. “No, obviously not. But he’s also not easy to catch.”

“That’s only going to make him feel like he’s doing the right thing. Three. Obsessed. That means that if he started by following her home from the grocery store, that won’t be enough for long. He’ll try to follow her home from any errand that she runs.” The boy accepted a steaming mug of cocoa. “Thanks. But that means that he has to spend more time following her, and that will give us a chance to trap him, or call the cops on him.”

Aidan slipped into the kitchen. Vic took a seat at the end of the chaise, next to Ed’s feet. “There’s more than one kind of stalker, isn’t there?”

“I’m getting to that. Some types are more dangerous to the victim, but some are very, very dangerous to the people around them.” Ed’s stormy hazel eyes met Beverly’s. “That includes you, not just males.” Ed sighed. “Four. Repeated. That means that each successful event -to him- will make him try it again. That’s the most frightening part about all of this.”

Beverly shivered. “You seem to know a lot about stalkers. Is that why--?” She trailed off gently.

Ed shook his head. “No. That’s all I’ll say about it.” He took a deeper breath, inhaling the scent of cocoa, and took a tiny sip.

“Types. Have you been on a date with Declan, Liana?” The boy’s tone softened when he addressed her.

She shook her head. “It’s not like that. It’s about…” She gulped, then whispered, “It’s about being a born werewolf, instead of a Gifted one. He thinks… that he’s the best teacher for me.”

Ed shook his head. “It doesn’t diminish the stalking, but it does change the type and the risks. He’s not a rejected suitor. If he’s trying to be a mentor, it might exclude the incompetent suitor type, but it might not.” The boy shivered. “The psychology of those stalkers is scary.”

“How do you know so much about it?” Beverly asked. She cleared her throat. “I mean, this isn’t the usual kind of hobby interest.”

“Mum and Da put books on the shelves sorted by category, but also by capability. The bottom shelves were picture books, wordless books, and so on, with more challenging books or more difficult emotional topics on the higher shelves, with the top shelves always ‘ask first’ books for reference, like Da’s diagnostic manual or Mum’s thesis.” Ed giggled. “Da’s thesis was on the shelf for about middle school age, because it was meant for that age of clients. He wrote the whole thing not for his professors but for his future clients.”

He giggled again. “His advisor warned him that the committee could have rejected the whole project, even with the advisor’s approval. But Da did it anyway.”

“So, you’re from a family of geeks?” Liana asked, smiling. “It sounds like a lot of fun.”

“I miss them,” Ed whispered. He straightened. “Liana, has anybody told you that they believe you about Declan? I believe that you had one set of expectations and Declan had, has, and is acting on a different set of them.”

Aidan set a small bowl of dark berry cobbler on the end table next to Liana. “Here you go.” He handed her a cloth napkin and a dessert spoon. “As for Declan, it is not your responsibility to fix him, nor to clean up after his mistakes.”

Liana nodded. “Beverly says that a lot.”

“Good.” He turned an approving smile to include both women, and set the second bowl of crumble next to Beverly. “I’d like to ask some questions later. Not a few minutes, but a few weeks later, at a minimum. Decide what you’re comfortable with, and I’ll accept those limitations, but the questions are important enough to me that I will share personal information in return.”

“That’s not an easy thing to ask,” Beverly admitted. “It’s part of why I’m having so much trouble in this conversation.”

Ed accepted a bowl of crumble barely large enough to hold a cup of food. A dot of butter melted on the toasted oat topping. He draped the napkin on his lap and reached for the spoon, while Vic waited patiently. “Thanks. Can I ask a question, Beverly?” Ed asked. His spoon hovered over the dish.

“You could ask, but I might hesitate while trying to find an answer.” She frowned. “I worry that I’ll say something to upset you, which is not what I want at all.”

The preteen nodded. “Okay. Uhm… why haven’t you mentioned a title for the leader? I can understand not mentioning age or gender, but… Do you just call them “Leader,” or “Boss,” or “Pointer”?” Ed’s lips quirked almost imperceptibly upward.

Beverly chuffed. Then snickered. Then she began to laugh, deeply, fully, while her shoulders heaved. Finally, the quake of humor passed. “No. We don’t say it because different groups have different names. There are lots of slang terms for redheads, and because of it, if I called you Blue, you would have a very good idea where I grew up.”

“I like the name Pointer,” Liana teased, shaking her head. “I mean, we make plenty of dog jokes between ourselves, so it’s… on point.”

Vic chuckled, then offered her a high five. “Good one!”

He accepted a bowl of crumble from Aidan. “Where’s yours?” he murmured.

Aidan shook his head. “Eating more right now would become nothing but fat. If I’d done more gardening today, it wouldn’t be an issue.”

Liana hummed in pleasure. “That’s really good. What’s in it?”

“Ed’s is the only one with butter in it. There’s a tiny bit of sugar, some cinnamon, an underripe apple for pectin, and a mix of blackberries and raspberries. The crumble is mostly oats and spices. I’m not fond of extremely sweet foods of any kind.”

She smiled. “Make a grocery list, and I’ll bring the ingredients. Then we can make a really, really big batch.”

Aidan nodded, grinning back at her. “That is a very good plan.”

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