When you try your best but you don't succeed (Jazalea)

It had been more than two weeks since Jake had been given the lifeline that came in the form of one Azalea Harrington. It hadn't been planned, but it had been a necessary request the Wednesday evening he'd been more than exhausted, and almost out of options on how he was going to cope.

Since then, she'd been a blessing. No longer did the man have to worry about picking the kids up from school (Mondays excluded). No longer did he have to worry about what he was going to feed the kids and himself each evening, because Azalea had seen to that, too. The children's lunches were prepared by the two of them the night before, and placed under a spell to keep them fresh in the fridge overnight so that neither Ivan or Adrienne would notice that he was prepping them in advance. The bed time ritual was easier with two pairs of hands, and Jake...

Hadn't realise just how much he needed the extra help.

Especially on the nights where he barely made bed time for the children, hurrying through the door in much too much of a flurry, exciting the children too close to their bed time, and then battling with the task of getting them settled back down. It would almost be better to be late, but Jake refused to be the kind of father who did not see his children as much as was possible.

Perhaps it was his own opinion, but after the first week... things seemed to get easier. Jake found himself able to have relatively normal conversations with Azalea -- asking how Josh was, and discussing Ethan's progress after the weekend passed and the witch looked to be in much higher spirits than before it. He asked after her classes, and heard her thinly veiled complaints about Annika's leaving. They talked of their daughter, and how she was doing in each of their classes, before finally agreeing that neither one of them liked her closeness with Nikolai Kessler.

But it was by the end of the second full week of Azalea's help that Jake was being pressed hard at work. With June fast approaching, there was more to do, and the hours grew later. Jake had apologised each time to the witch, but even though she assured him it was okay, he still couldn't shake the feeling that, really, it wasn't.

Thursday was one such night.

Jake had sworn under his breath as he left the Ministry that evening, his watch showing it was nearly ten by this point. He'd completely missed the bedtime routine, and, well, he didn't like keeping Azalea so late.

Apparating home, Jake hurried the few steps to the door before letting himself in. As usual, his coat was hung on the peg before he emptied his pockets on the side table in a rush, before hurrying through to the sitting room where Azalea would undoubtedly be sitting. Reading, marking assignments, watching something on the television, or else playing on her phone, the witch rarely could be found anywhere else at this point, and the Gryffindor Head would appear sheepishly in the doorway to find her there.

"I'm sorry, I missed bed time." He said in way of greeting. The words wouldn't really need to be spoken, it was quite clear in the sag of the man's shoulder, or the sadness in his features, but to Jake, he owed the witch an apology. Moving to the sofa, the man would sit down beside the witch, glad to be off of his feet for the day. "Were they okay today?" Jake asked, looking across to Azalea with the ever hopeful parent look that came when asking of your children's behaviour.

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~ In a Relationship ~ 36 ~ Father ~ 6' ~ American Accent ~

The last two weeks had gone by in an absolute whirlwind. When Azalea had offered to help Jake with the children, she had done so without really thinking how much of her time it would take. The only thing on the brunette's mind had been Ivan and Adrienne. now though, at the end of almost two weeks of coordinated caretaker, the potions assistant was starting to feel the strain.

The first sign of which had manifested two days ago when Azalea had slumped into a drowsy state on the sofa awaiting Jake's return, not quite asleep because she hadn't taken her sleeping potion but drowsy enough to let her journal slip on her lap and fall to the floor. Her eyes had closed to sleep the minute she had heard Jake enter, her mind still stubbornly insisting on the habit of a lifetime ago as slumber overtook.

Only briefly though.

How long Jake had waited to wake her, or if he had even noticed, she could not tell because the next thing she knew, they were both sharing a cup of tea/coffee across the table as she brought him up to speed on the kid's day.

It was a good thing her car could drive as she wavered near unconsciousness, otherwise the brunette would have been in big trouble.

Her sole consolation was that all their hard work was bearing fruit in the form of two happy, healthy and thriving children. Because it didn't matter at the end of the day how exhausted Jake and Azalea were, simply that the kids had gotten in one more successful day and were no longer missing their grandparents as they initially had. Each night, no matter what else happened, kissing Ivan and Adrienne goodnight was always the highlight of Azalea's day.

Today being a Thursday, Azalea had picked up the kids from school and brought them to Hogwarts to finish off her final class for the evening. While Ivan had been contend to stay in the library under the watchful gaze of Grayson, Adrienne had somehow not only found but befriended Peeves and the two were last seen plotting something that involved water balloons and first years.

After her class, the witch had piled the kids and her reading journals into the car and driven everyone to Surrey where the children had been bathed, changed and fed. Then followed the normal routine of helping with homework, proceeded by half an hour of television until Adrienne began to hide her face in a sofa cushion in an attempt to conceal her little yawns.

The kids knew by now not to ask for Jake. If he made it in time, then they had a joined tuck in, if he didn't, it was understood he was stuck at work. Asking only made his absence more real and even at this age, the children were learning to pick things up that weren't said.

Regardless, Ivan had a particularly difficult time falling asleep, grabbing on to Azalea's sleeve as he had done a few times before when he was younger. Cautious with affection in the best of times, the little boy showed his needs when he was asleep, free of perceived judgement.

The children did fall asleep eventually, and Azalea tip toed out of their room, leaving the door just a crack open in case they needed something in the middle of the night.

Her usual perch by now was the sofa upon which she landed. The cushion had even molded itself to her posture these last two weeks, carving a hollow of the slender legs she tucked under her when she sat down. There was a fresh pile of journals for her to go through but instead of that, the witch reached for the remote and turned on the television, volume lowered to almost nonexistent as she switched to a channel dedicated to playing old songs.

When the night has come, and the way is dark...
And that moon is the only light you see...

The American witch closed her eyes, listening to the soft bars of music. There was something undeniably familiar about the notes even if she couldn't remember what it was.

Darlin' darlin' stand by me, ooh stand by me Oh stand...
Stand stand by me C'mon stand by me stand by me...

The song had almost ended by the time she heard the familiar sound of Jake entering, depositing his keys and then moving on to the living room with practiced, albeit exhausted, ease. It had become something of a ritual to them on nights when he wasn't home for bedtime. They would meet in the living room, talk over their day, talk about the children, really just talk about anything as she placed a heaping plate of food in front of him and the two ended up having an alcoholic or non alcoholic beverage together.

"I'm sorry, I missed bed time."

No hello, no how are you, just a defeated apology that was becoming all too common on the Auror lately.

"That's okay," she tried to reassure him, summing a small smile from somewhere more for his sake than her own. "They're fine and fast asleep. And will probably want to tell you all about Adrienne and Peeves' adventure tomorrow morning."

The cushions beside her dipped as Jake sank into them, clearly worn out from the day's work.

"Have you eaten. I have Spaghetti Bolognese warm in the oven. And I've done the kid's lunches for tomorrow, they just need to be charmed now." Because even after all these year, the witch's wand work was functional at best and abysmal at worst.

"Has it been a tea day, or a cold beer one?" she asked, trying to lift his spirits. Despite not wanting to, Azalea always noticed how much he beat himself up over missing the children's nightly ritual. And if she couldn't do anything to make him be there, she could at least help alleviate the guilt some.

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When you try your best but you don't succeed (Jazalea) Rsz_gr10

When you try your best but you don't succeed (Jazalea) Rsz_az10

When you try your best but you don't succeed (Jazalea) Rsz_li10

As Azalea tried to reassure him that it was okay, Jake returned her small smile with a half grimace, half smile. They both knew it wasn't alright, but he appreciated the sentiment, and the soft reassurance that he could be excused. It would only ever be the children that could excuse him, though...

That thought was interrupted when Azalea mentioned the Hogwarts poltergeist, and the man couldn't help but look bemused. "Now I'm intrigued!" The man replied, but they both knew that he would have to hear it from Adrienne, or else his daughter would be thoroughly disappointed to not be the one who got to recount the story to her father. Not to mention, whatever the story, Azalea wouldn't keep it from him if it had caused any kind of problems, so he could wait to see his daughter's pure joy in recounting the story instead.

"Have you eaten?"

The question came with a sheepish look from the man before he replied. "I had a muffin from the break room about four o'clock?" He offered, knowing he should try harder to eat properly whilst he worked, but he'd been trying to get home as soon as he could, and taking a break for food just hadn't seemed worth it at the time. Besides, the offer that came next reminded him why he probably wasn't trying all that hard to eat anything before he came home anyway. Azalea's cooking was not even put in to contest with the food from the Ministry's canteen, so he could hardly be admonished for wanting to wait until he was home given the current circumstances.

"I'll get it." Jake replied, shifting up from the sofa before the witch could object. "Thank you, again! Coming home to a cooked meal has been a life saver!" Jake told her before he disappeared in to the kitchen. It took only a moment to cast the spell over the children's lunches to keep them fresh, and only a couple more for him to be able to plate up a good, generous helping of the spaghetti bolognese. From there, the man grabbed himself a beer, and quickly found a glass to pour Azalea a glass of wine. Pausing to look at the conundrum he'd made himself, Jake's mind kicked in a moment later as he levitated the bottle of beer ahead of him towards the sitting room, bringing his plate and Azalea's drink himself.

"Definitely a beer kind of day," the man supplied as he set Azalea's glass down on the table for her, took his beer back from the spell and sunk back in to the sofa with his dinner. A couple of mouthfuls in, the man let out a satisfied sigh, before turning back to Azalea.

"How was your day? And your classes?" Jake asked, realising he'd started the conversation in the complete wrong place. The side effect of tiredness and worry came to this, but Jake didn't mean to be rude. "Looking forward to heading back to Wales tomorrow?" He added, his fork making light work of another more than too large helping of the spaghetti that even not freshly cooked, still tasted amazing after a long day at work.

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~ In a Relationship ~ 36 ~ Father ~ 6' ~ American Accent ~

"I had a muffin from the break room about four o'clock?"

The response almost made her want to admonish him for not keeping to a proper diet. Had he been one of the children, she certainly would have. Had he been Josh... It wouldn't have been necessary. Azalea may not know exactly what the blonde preferred to eat but she knew his discipline went far beyond that of a normal individual. Hungry or not, Joshua Murray was served his meals on time and ate them to his wishes.

The trouble always came with this particular individual, and both of them trying to work out how friendly they could be to each other without steering themselves back into awkward land. Thankfully Jake got up to fetch the food at the time, leaving Azalea to collect her thoughts. The witch was trying her best with food these days, it being at least one thing she could take care of without any weirdness.

"Definitely a beer kind of day,"

"Amen," the witch echoes, reaching for the wine glass he had so kindly poured her. She brought the glass up to her lips, took in the warm aroma of the mixture and sighed softly, the tension draining out of her body with a mere whiff. Jake had already begun on his own food, making her relax even more.

"We played a bunch of games basically," the witch confided, holding her glass more for comfort than function. "With the exams over, no one is in the mood to study so today I divvied up the classes and sent them on a scavenger hunt for ingredients. Mimosa's team won." The witch couldn't have hidden the quiet pride in her voice even if she had tried to, which she had not.

"I also had a meeting with the Headmaster today..." she started, a little uncertain if she should tell him. She hand't told anyone yet. Not Clara, not even Josh. "With Annika's departure, he was supposed to put an advert out for a new potion mistress except... Well, he wasn't particularly inspired by my research last summer. But I guess he likes what it has morphed into since then. He said..."

What the Runes' professor had said was in his usual, clipped tones, asking what the progress on her work was. After having seen some of it, he had nodded approvingly and told her the position was hers if she wanted it.

She had a week to think it over before HR would draft the contract if she said yes.

"I haven't told anyone yet, truthfully I'm finding it hard to believe myself. Can someone our age even be Head of House?"

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"I'm sure the students didn't mind," Jake replied easily to the mention of games being played instead of the usual more stringent class setting. It was why he kind of liked his topic of choice, there wasn't as much need for the written stuff in his class -- though the theory was still important -- which left him teaching more practical lessons on the whole. But fun and games were always good fun, and he wasn't surprised in the slightest that their daughter had managed to win the scavenger hunt.

"Team Mercy, or Team Nikolai this time?" Jake asked, looking somewhat amused with teams both of them knew Mimosa would end up partnering with. Jake always preferred the former, any time apart from the Headmaster's son was a blessing in the man's view. "Did you offer up a prize, or just the prize of winning?" The second question was just mere curiosity from Jake, wondering whether he should adopt any different tactics in his own classroom to encourage the children where he could.

Between that, though, Jake kept eating heartily. The wash of energy ran through him as light relief from the day and Azalea took the time he remained quiet to explain about her day.

And the meeting with the Headmaster.

Jake's curiosity had piqued -- momentary worry coming to him in the first instance that perhaps their daughter wasn't behaving? But then Jake reminded himself gently that if there was any problem with Mimosa and her school work it wouldn't be either of them that would be called to a meeting with Andrei, it would be Kit and Clara, or the Clements. They would have to find out later, by other means.

The news that came wasn't what Jake had been expecting, though, and with a fork full of food halfway up to his mouth, the man's lips broke in to a grin. "That's great news! Congratulations! I mean, I assume you'll take the position, right?" He asked not seeing why Azalea wouldn't. She loved the job, she liked being around the kids, and the offer was there!

"I've been Head of House for a number of years now!" Jake pointed out, putting the forkful of spaghetti in to his mouth and chewing through it diligently. After swallowing, he continued. "I don't think it really had as much merit behind it as perhaps yours does, but why can't we not be Head of Houses? We care deeply for the kids, we give our free time to them -- you more than me of late, I'm sure! And, well, you definitely favour the Slytherin House." The man joked gently. That much was true of both of them, and as much as they may not openly want to admit to favouritism, it was going to happen.

"Though, this will mean we have to pretend to be less friendly on Quidditch days! For appearances sake." Was Jake's final joke on the matter, hoping this would ease Azalea's mind a little bit as his attention returned to the final few mouthfuls of his dinner.

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"Team Singh and Kyler actually," the witch informed him with a fond smile. While they both knew their daughter's usual partners in crime, it had to be said something strange had been going on between the three of them this year. Azalea often found herself helpless when having to rely on external sources to figure out what was going on in Mimosa's life but it was the only available option. The witch had figured something was wrong when Mimosa had moved into the Gryffindor dorms back in January. She had Mercy had been inseparable for about two months and then something else had happened. Something that made Mercy barely come to class and Mimosa gravitate towards the Headmaster's son again.

Things appeared to have gone back to normal after March but when closely observed, Mimosa still kept a little distance from her two best friends.

Her news of the offer was received with a lot more gusto than Azalea had expected. Though to be honest, the witch wasn't sure what she had expected. At Jake's reminder that he had been a Head of House for a while, the witch merely countered with "You've been teaching a lo longer than I have". while his quip on Quidditch rivalry was met with a "I don't know, Mercy and Mimosa never seem to upheld the house rivalry. I haven't seen any Gryffindor cheer as hard as Mimosa does for Mercy."

Azalea had also never see someone glare at the Gryffindor fifth year as hatefully as Nikolai Kessler did but that wouldn't support her point so she didn't bring that up.

"I mean, I assume you'll take the position, right?"

The brunette hesitated, picking up her glass again and taking a small sip. The win ran sweet and comforting down ehr throat, giving her additional thinking time before she answered.

"I'll have to discuss it with Josh, and there's Ethan to think about. He's old enough to realize when I'm not around, he... he asks for me when I'm away." This was probably going to be the most difficult aspect of her decision, the ability to stay away from Ethan for extended periods of time. Truth be told if she hadn't been offered the position and another teacher been hired, she would have requested to cut back on her hours. But now...

"I don't know, what would you do. I have half a mind to call up Clara and ask her what she sees me doing in the future just so I don't have t worry in the present." Of course, Azalea knew exactly what her Godmother would say to that, so asking was out of the question.

"Oh and speaking of Clara, I was talking to her yesterday and she's going to be here for the summer. She was planning to visit Uncle Klaus in America with Dad gone off doing whatever he's doing. But now with the travel bans in place, I don't think she's going. If you don't mind... That is to say if you need help with the kids over the summer, they love Clara, they've been with her before a few times when they stayed with Victoria and I at Furz Croft and they adore her. And she is equally fond of them."

The idea of a stranger, hired help looking after Ivan and Adrienne hadn't sat well with Azalea the moment Jake had mentioned it, and now hopefully they could ensure that would never come to pass.

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The mention of Mimosa teaming up with Gaspard and Karan had been a surprise, but not completely unheard of. Jake knew Mimosa was friends with them, but usually she stuck to Mercy and Nikolai closely in class settings. Not that he minded, those two boys seemed to be less interested in his daughter than Nikolai, so it was better news in that respect.

The response that he'd been teaching longer was replied to quite easily, "then that means you're much better at teaching than I am." How could that not be true when Azalea had been promoted so quickly in to the role? Jake didn't mind, either, Azalea had always been better than him with teaching, kids were her thing, teaching almost second nature.

There was no arguing with the fact Mimosa cheered harder, though, and the House rivalry had somewhat reduced to a simmer with her presence at the school.

Nor was Jake surprised when the witch denoted she would have to ask Josh about what she should do with the teaching job, either. From what Jake knew of the man, he seemed to support Azalea in whatever she wanted to do, so he doubted that he would make a move to stop her. But it was the man's son that Azalea was more worried about, and Jake understood that one all too well.

As the question of what he would do was posed, Jake deposited his empty plate on the coffee table and retrieved his cold beer, allowing himself a moment of thought before he replied. The liquid ran soothingly down his throat, quenching the light thirst he'd built up from the day. "Well, I don't think I could suggest anything other than what I'm currently doing without being a hypocrite." He pointed out, before continuing. "You like teaching, a lot. So I would never suggest that you give up something that you enjoy."

The man paused, momentarily.

"And, as much as you may be missing out on time with Ethan... You get to see Mimosa." He offered carefully. It was by no means a suggestion that Mimosa was more important than Josh's boy, Jake would never suggest that, but if Azalea gave up teaching, she would not see their daughter.

The thought of asking Clara to See in to Azalea's future was not something the wizard would advise on, but not wishing to push his own beliefs on to her, he left the comment without a reply. Meddling with the future seldom worked out well.

"But, you have to do what is best for you." Jake finalised, not wanting to lead her down the route of accepting the position if Ethan had grown more important to her than her teaching.

But the shift to the idea of Clara helping him out during the summer. Jake hesitated, already feeling like he was encroaching upon Azalea enough without then bringing her Godmother in to the picture, too. "I don't know..." The man admitted, before quickly continuing. "It's not that I don't trust Clara, I just... I don't want to put the burden on her to look after them both." And yet, it was quite clear in the man's body language that this offer made him much more comfortable than trying to find someone else, someone he didn't really know, to look after the children during the summer.

"Your Dad still hasn't resurfaced yet?" Jake asked. Last he'd heard they knew Kit was okay, but nothing really about where he was, or what he was doing. Knowing the man, he was probably somewhere picturesque taking pictures, or else too engrossed with models much too young for him taking the kind of pictures that left... well, not very much to the imagination in truth. Perhaps he would resurface come the summer, though, when Mimosa would be free from school.

Assuming she wasn't jetted off halfway around the world like she had been last summer.

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~ In a Relationship ~ 36 ~ Father ~ 6' ~ American Accent ~

His advice on her possible promotion was friendly enough, very cordial, an imitation of all her own words to him. In a different life, they would have unflinchingly said what they believed and felt to be true. Not in this reality though, in this version of events, they had to be careful with words. Supportive but not overly so, friendly but not overly so, genuine but ready to distance themselves again with a "or whatever you think best" should either party get too close to the edge of intimacy.

The point about Mimosa, neither could deny. Teaching was a fulfilling carer but she could teach anywhere. She had applied to the castle in Scotland for a reason.

"I guess we'll find out next eek after I've had a chance to talk it over with Josh," she concluded noncommittally. Knowing Josh, he would probably have better insight into this than her or Jake. "Oh by the way, was Josh in any of my classes at Hogwarts," she added, the thought just striking her. Azalea had never gotten her answer since Christmas, Josh was good at making ehr forget things.

"I still have trouble remembering... well, a lot of things. And he does excel at potions so i wondered if he was ever in Herbology. I think he was also kind of decent at Quidditch, there's a plaque or soemthing in the trophy room."

As Jake finished his food and talk turned to Clara, the brunette was quick to wave away his reservations about burdening the psychic. "Trust me, you'd be doing her a favor by making her help with the children. Clara has always need something to do and she isn't getting along with the housewives of Surrey and their shopping trips." Actually, Clara had used some chose language when describing the rich housewives in the area but Azalea would never repeat those words in a house with children.

"I think she and Dad are having one of their weird fights again, where they pretend all is well but don't talk to each other. He's in New York, we get cards sometimes. No clue hat he's doing there." Or who, she added silently.

"So this will be really good for her. She'll keep busy, the kids will have top notch care, Adrienne might want to dye her hair pink though. And of course Clara doesn't cook, but she can feed the children fine." Ivan and Adrienne could do worse than live of PB&J sandwiches over the summer, and it was a small price to pay in the face of the alternative.

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The conclusion came that Azalea would talk to Josh and see what she said, and Jake's reply came in the form of a nod and a swig from the bottle of beer he was drinking. That was Azalea's choice, and he wouldn't consider for a moment suggesting that she didn't consult her boyfriend first. He would have asked Veronika in the same situation, were she still alive, so it made sense.

The question of Josh being in her classes, though...

"Well, he was a student at the school when you were teaching... so, yes?" Jake offered, not really knowing what else he could say about that much. "And, it's a mandatory class up until fifth year O.W.L, so I would assume that he would definitely have been in your classes."

Josh had always been... an unusual kid. Jake had never really gotten to know the blond, but there had always been a vibe about him that... well, Jake didn't know the man now, perhaps things had changed if Azalea felt so comfortable around him. "He was good at Quidditch. I remember in the flying lessons I used to do, he was well ahead of the others. He played Beater for Slytherin, like Mimosa does now. Ruthlessly, though. I would never have wanted to play against him." Jake admitted, which would attest to a lot given the man's history with the game.

"But you're both adults now, so, it doesn't matter if you taught him once of not." At least, to Jake it didn't really matter. Would he have done something similar? Probably not. But he wasn't going to judge Azalea for the choices she made.

The reassurance that Clara really wouldn't mind brought another moments thought from Jake. Could he be so bold as to ask Clara for her help with the children? Taking another drink, the man considered for a moment more. "Perhaps... I could invite her for dinner some time, and... pose the question to her." He settled upon. That way it would be only his own lack of courage that would stop him from taking the offer he'd been given. He didn't have to accept it right now, and... well, he wasn't asking Azalea for help. Though... Reaching in to his pocket, Jake retrieved his phone and passed it to Azalea. "Could you put Clara's number in there for me, please?"

The mention of her Dad being in New York was one Jake didn't completely understand. What was keeping him in New York when he was a Californian guy? Whatever it was, he obviously didn't want Clara and Azalea to know, and Jake... well, he wasn't one of the people who needed to know anyway.

Another swig of the beer, and Jake relaxed back in to the sofa a little more, resting his head on the back of the chair and feeling the pressure ease from his joints just a touch more.

"The food was great, by the way, thank you, again." Jake spoke softly. "I will definitely miss that over the summer."

And your company, the man would admit to himself, though he definitely didn't dare to speak that much aloud.

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~ In a Relationship ~ 36 ~ Father ~ 6' ~ American Accent ~

Azalea listened quietly as her companion logically reasoned that Josh would have at lest attended her class for one year. When he put it that way, there was little reason to doubt that Josh had not known her before their chance encounter through the Surrey real estate failure. Or perhaps he had simply forgotten her? Not that it spoke highly of Azalea's teaching abilities if she was this easily forgotten but that premise also relied on Josh being the type of person who forgot things.

And Azalea was almost sure he had never been that kind of person.

Azalea almost wanted to ask if he had been going steady with someone during his school days. Perhaps the elusive woman who had given birth to Ethan lay in his school history? But Jake was way too relaxed right now and dredging up past girlfriends would only make Azalea look bad.

Still the question remind, if his connection to ehr was so easily explained, why hand't Josh been the one to tell her?

"But you're both adults now, so, it doesn't matter if you taught him once of not."

"It's not that," the witch confessed, transferring the stem of her wineglass from one hand to another. "He's just very reserved and doesn't like talking about his childhood, or his teen years. Not that I blame him, his mom's a piece of work."

Uncharacteristically, Azalea let out a giggle at the image of stern, disappointed Eleanor Murray. ""Azalea Vanessa, have all the nannies been given the day off that you have to carry Joshua Ethan around like so?" she mimicked the older woman before desolating into another spiral of giggles against the couch.

"I think Lady Eleanor - and apparently we have to call her that - would die if she saw how Dad and Clara brought me up."

With talk returned to Clara, the brunette took another sip of her wine, finding her glass almost empty by this point. That might explain the giggles, she realized, slightly embarrassed. The witch did as instructed, taking his phone and bypassing the lock screen of her and the kids at the winter event more than a year ago, going to his keypad and then retrieving her own phone to copy Clara's number from.

"The food was great, by the way, thank you, again." Jake spoke softly. "I will definitely miss that over the summer."

The witch reached over to return his phone, placing it on his thigh since he didn't seem to want to receive it actively. Hearing the words though, the witch didn't withdraw her hand immediately.

"You'll be fine," she said comfortingly, slightly patting his jeans to reassure him, her palm still mostly over his phone but her fingers making enough contact for a friendly reassurance. Friends id that right. And it was less invasive than a hug. "And so will the kids," seh added because she knew he would worry about hem more than himself.

"Truth be told, I'm going to miss the kiddos like crazy, I've gotten so used to them being around, it's hard to imagine..." Hard to imagine a life in which two little pairs of feet wouldn't come rushing towards her at the school pick up lane, two high voices demanding snacks and bedtime stories, two children who would wait for her kisses when she tucked them into their beds.

Yes, she would miss everything about this, even the nights of sheer exhaustion and sharing a drink with the boy she once knew.

And the man she was starting to get to know once again.

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» Dont look back (OPEN)
» Why Does It Always Rain on Me? (Jazalea)
» Stay A Little Longer (Jazalea)
» Why have a ballroom with no balls? (Jazalea)
» And the day bleeds, into nightfall (Jazalea)