[ And Diefenbaker accepts, and talks. With his mouth full. What a team they make. Fraser sits crosslegged on top of the bed, balancing the slice of pizza (Ray would say that vegetables didn't belong on pizza, and Fraser's was a prime offender, with asparagus and heart of artichoke) on the tips of his fingers. It was much better than the pizza in the city. Not that Fraser would dare to speak such blasphemy. It would be disloyal. ]
Ah--
[ He ducked his head slightly, chewing, and then lowered the pizza half an inch. To be fair he preferred to eat his food cold anyway, so it did little harm that he usually talked through his meals.
But this time he prefaced the conversation with something simple--all that needed to be said, given the circumstances. ]
Inuit story.
[ Ray Vecchio would be expecting an Inuit story, and though Fraser did expect that he'd see his friend around, his former partner had been flagged for early retirement, and idle comments about going to Florida and opening a bowling alley hadn't been wholly rebuked by his soon to be wife. Fraser, knowing Vecchio the way he did, was probably the only one who knew that his mentions of this dream were hints rather than offhand remarks. Ray had family in Florida, after all. And if those dreams became reality... Well, they'd drift apart. Florida was further south than anywhere Fraser had ever been. There were no mountains, and it didn't even snow.
Like Ray, whether he cared to admit it or not, Fraser was losing something too; something he'd never be able to get back. So somehow it mattered that he'd tell an Inuit story at his friend's wedding. It was the nature of things--people drifted, moved on with their lives, and probably noone would ever call him 'Benny' again.
He felt his mood register on his face, misery painted in a way that was impossible to miss, in that it took him several seconds to flatten it back out of his expression. He bit into his pizza again, letting the hot cheese scald the roof of his mouth. One day Ray Kowalski would leave him too. A beautiful, patient woman would take one look at him and know what a wonderful man he was--and Fraser would be alone. What was it about weddings? ]
I gave great consideration to the tradition of finishing on a joke, or quote, but it seemed to me that an excerpt from The Godfather might be seen to be in bad taste.
no subject
Ah--
[ He ducked his head slightly, chewing, and then lowered the pizza half an inch. To be fair he preferred to eat his food cold anyway, so it did little harm that he usually talked through his meals.
But this time he prefaced the conversation with something simple--all that needed to be said, given the circumstances. ]
Inuit story.
[ Ray Vecchio would be expecting an Inuit story, and though Fraser did expect that he'd see his friend around, his former partner had been flagged for early retirement, and idle comments about going to Florida and opening a bowling alley hadn't been wholly rebuked by his soon to be wife. Fraser, knowing Vecchio the way he did, was probably the only one who knew that his mentions of this dream were hints rather than offhand remarks. Ray had family in Florida, after all. And if those dreams became reality... Well, they'd drift apart. Florida was further south than anywhere Fraser had ever been. There were no mountains, and it didn't even snow.
Like Ray, whether he cared to admit it or not, Fraser was losing something too; something he'd never be able to get back. So somehow it mattered that he'd tell an Inuit story at his friend's wedding. It was the nature of things--people drifted, moved on with their lives, and probably noone would ever call him 'Benny' again.
He felt his mood register on his face, misery painted in a way that was impossible to miss, in that it took him several seconds to flatten it back out of his expression. He bit into his pizza again, letting the hot cheese scald the roof of his mouth. One day Ray Kowalski would leave him too. A beautiful, patient woman would take one look at him and know what a wonderful man he was--and Fraser would be alone. What was it about weddings? ]
I gave great consideration to the tradition of finishing on a joke, or quote, but it seemed to me that an excerpt from The Godfather might be seen to be in bad taste.