Manic Monday (Jules)

His son colored on her card. Was this the adult version of 'my owl ate my homework'? Rhia supposed their excuses had to change somewhat from those they might have used when they were in school but it certainly seemed a right more plausible than when she'd falsely claimed she had accidentally used disappearing ink to write an essay for her Astronomy lesson. Julian joked about coming down to the Ministry to get another card and Rhiannon grinned. "Yes, terribly creepy. Good job dodging that hex, now I look like the creeper. You're welcome." Her eyes glanced to the bottle he still held in his hands, then back to his face. He had such a lovely smile, innocent yet still hiding a little secret. Just the teensiest hint of a bad boy. Her teeth chewed gently on her lower lip for a moment, waiting.

Her head was still pounding but it was becoming less noticeable as Rhia had something else to focus on now. She smiled. “If I say no, are you going to hold me potion captive?” she asked teasingly, still chewing on her lower lip in attempt to stop from grinning. “I’ve about 45 minute left before I need to be back, but won’t you be missed here?” She hadn’t seen anyone else in the quiet little shop but perhaps there was someone else in the back room to watch the store. Unless his version of ‘making it up to her’ was just a roll around the back stock room, in which case she wasn’t interested. Not that she wouldn’t love a tumble with the handsome bloke holding her potion hostage, but she wasn’t interested in someone who just wanted a quick shag and then to forget she’d ever existed. She’d done enough bystanding in relationships in the past to last a lifetime, and she had no intention of being used like that ever again.

Alright, so he was cute and charming and now she could see he was good with his hands. There clearly had to be something wrong with this guy for him to be single. Rhia knew her faults, her own emotional baggage that she carried around day to day, so that at least explained why she wasn’t with anyone. Probably ever again, if she were to be completely truthful with herself. She couldn’t help but look for the faults in any potential partners, she couldn’t make the same mistakes as she had before and finding a reason to not get too close to someone was a surefire way to keep herself safe. But Julian thus far seemed like fun, and not necessarily the worrisome sort of fun, so she’d give him her 45 minutes and see where it took them. Julian handed her the potion as he opened the door for her, and Rhia smiled. “Thanks.” Stepping out into the sun, Rhiannon pulled the stopper on her pain potion and took a little sip, then closed it back up and tucked it away in her handbag.

The distraction of having someone to talk to on the walk certainly helped her headache to fade and by the time they arrived at a little bistro the potion had kicked in. She was feeling back to normal, with the exception of the butterflies that were doing cartwheels in her stomach. “So, you have a son?” she asked as they were seated. Or was he making that bit up? She ought to have been able to give him the benefit of the doubt but it was something she was still working on.

A four year old seemed awfully young and Rhia wondered exactly how long Julian and the child’s mother had been separated. Or were they still together and Julian was being a pompous cad flirting shamelessly with her when he had a doting wife waiting at home for him? Perhaps that was the real reason he hadn’t reached out since the gallery. Rhia hid her suspicions with a smile as she listened politely. “No children, myself. And no husbands.” Thankfully, she’d managed to dodge that hex, though not without enduring a little trauma. “I came close once, but life had other plans.” Merlin’s beard, why was she bringing up Collin on a date? Did this count as a date? It had been so long she’d nearly forgotten what it was like to be out with a bloke, but regardless, she didn’t need to be talking about Collin to Julian or anyone. “Do you get on Tristan’s mum? It must be hard having to share him.”

Did? Rhia didn’t like the sound of that, and sure enough as Julian elaborated she felt the sinking sensation of regret at having asked what turned out to be a much more personal question than she had intended. “Oh, Merlin. I – ” Rhia reached her hands across the table and rested them atop Julian’s in a comforting manner. “I am so terribly sorry, Julian.” She had really put her foot in her mouth now, and they’d not even ordered yet! “You are so brave.” That was what people said in these situations, and yet it sounded moronic the second it had passed her lips.

Rhiannon was not unfamiliar with putting her foot in her mouth, at least in her personal life. At work, in the courtroom, she was generally on point, if not a bit soft spoken at times, but she could argue her case quite well. Of course, she did research and planned out her line of questioning, her arguments, and her statements beforehand. Normal conversations did not permit planning beforehand, and that was where Rhia often got herself into trouble. There would be plenty of rewriting the conversation later, however, as she no doubt would spend an agonizing amount of time in her head coming up with every alternative question and comment to their current conversation and then berating herself for every little misstep she had actually made. At least Julian seemed to strong enough to not dwell on her mistake aloud. His hands turned over and for a moment their palms were touching in a much more intimate manner than she normally would have attempted so early on in a date. Or in a not-date, whichever this was better classified as.

The waitress came and Rhia pulled her hands back to her side of the table. Julian ordered his meal as Rhiannon looked down over the menu in front of her quickly. She already knew what she wanted but she liked to have a last look just to be sure. "A tea and a steak sandwich for me, please." She had a long day of work ahead of her, and she just didn't have the time to pretend she was the sort of girl that could be sustained by salads and light dressing.