Entry for TVSF Contest theme: Awkward
I do not own HM
"Who the hell is Vaughn?" the man muttered to himself for what seemed like the twentieth time today. He scratched his red hair, eyes furrowing angrily at the blazing fire before him.
"Gray, if you aren't going to work today, then get the hell out of my shop!" the older man in the corner snapped, though his eyes lingered on his distracted grandson. He'd been like this over the last few months with his wife abroad, but he would have thought that with her being back that he would be in better spirits.
Claire had been gone with Popuri and Karen to Sunny Island for their annual vacation. Why the two busy bodies had to kidnap his granddaughter-in-law for damn near a half a year. Of course three of those months wasn't their fault.
Claire and the other two had been stranded for the winter when an early cold front swept in and the island had been deemed unsafe to travel to.
That of course meant no ferry home.
"I think I need to clear my head. I'll see you tomorrow Gramps," Gray finally said, his eyes downcast as he dropped the tool he'd been working on to the work table and quickly headed to the door.
Gray had been upset by the news, and had become more withdrawn. It had often crossed his mind if his wife would stay gone, if she had left him.
"Something wrong?" The younger man froze, his large hand gripping the door knob. He shook his head and muttered inaudibly to himself before looking at the old man at the desk.
"Claire…called me by someone else's name," he finally muttered, his face flushing. He pulled the brim of his hat down to cover his face, gritting his teeth as the old man looked at him skeptically. The old man stood up, his head cocked curiously to the side.
Saibara had always liked the young woman that had married his grandson, and he found it hard to believe that she would be unfaithful to the boy…
"I never thought her one to be a damn harlot," Saibara muttered, standing up and leading his grandson into the bedroom. But six months was a long time for an affectionate woman like that one to be out of sight.
"What are you talking about old man?"
"She called out another man's name, correct?" the old man growled, his eyes narrowed on his grandson's confused expression.
"Yeah but it was an accident," Gray began, fingers grazing through his shaggy bangs. "I mean she apologized right after."
"You mean she called you by another man's name in bed?" The young man baulked at the question, his face flushing as he began to sputter. Gray took his hat off, twisting it in his hands and there was the faint sound of material ripping some.
"No! Of course not. I just mean…when I left the house," he finally managed to explain, pulling at his collar nervously, he eyes shifting back and forth.
"Who?"
"…Vaughn." The young man barely whispered the name, his eyebrows furrowing at the foreign word.
"Who the hell is Vaughn?"
"That is what the hell I want to know." There was a long pause between the two men, and the older one stroked his long grey beard before letting his shoulders slump.
"You think she took him in as a lover while she was gone." There was the sound of a sharp intake of breath.
"N-no of course I don't," the young man stammered, his red hair falling into his face and hiding his eyes.
"Knock knock!" a high-pitched voice sing sung as the bubbly woman it belonged to walked in the door. "Grandpa Saibara, Rick says he needs this watering can fixed up."
Both men walked out to the shop, eyes on the smiling pink haired woman. Saibara walked quickly over to the young woman, yes narrowed on her as she smiled obliviously at the angry man.
"Who is Vaughn?"
"What?" Popuri murmured, her smile faltering for a brief moment before brightening back up. "Oh you mean from Sunny Island? He's the animal trader there. He was stuck there with us all winter until the ferry finally came to get us all."
The sinking feeling in Gray's gut only grew, and he felt his chest ache painfully as his thoughts ran wild. Would Claire really had taken a lover in their time apart?
"Where he and Claire close?" Gray finally asked, his voice quiet and husky. Popuri nodded, her grin spreading.
"Yeah. They spent a lot of time together at the inn and on the island. Just like Karen did with Eric and I did with Denny. They're all nice guys you know," she explained cheerfully, not noticing the crest fallen look on the young man's face as he left the shop without another word.
"I can't believe that she would do this to me," he muttered to himself, feeling his anger stir and grow with each inhalation of breath and every betrayed thought that filled his head.
By the time he reached the door of their modest house, he had fully planned on packing all his things and heading to the inn. But he just did catch sight of a letter jammed into the mailbox improperly.
He pulled it out, glaring at the chicken scratch that belonged to a man, seeing the name on the return address and growling.
Vaughn…
Without thinking he slammed the door open, seeing his wife folding clothes on the table. She greeted him with a warm smile, running up to hug him in her normal greeting. This time, however, Gray pushed her roughly away and slammed the letter into her hand, scowling down at her angrily.
Claire blinked up at her husband, her expression somewhat hurt and confused as she looked to the envelope in her hands. She smiled down at it, tearing it open and pulling it out. Inside where several pictures, and a small letter that read:
Claire-
Here are the pictures you girls wanted. Looking forward to the ones you have to send us.
Hope your husband missed you as much as you missed him.
Sabrina says hello.
Vaughn.
"I've been waiting on these," she whispered thumbing through the pictures and turning to Gray. "Look Gray, this is Vaughn."
Gray glanced at the picture, his eyes widening at the striking resemblance between this man and himself. He held the picture, frowning at it and flipping to the next one, seeing the same man standing next to a young woman that resembled Mary.
"That is his wife. They were both very kind to me while I was stuck on the island. He reminds me a lot of you, and he taught me a lot more about livestock than I knew before since he couldn't go to work," she rambled on as he flipped through more of the pictures, amazed at the resemblance between one man and Rick, and yet another and his good friend Kai.
What the hell was that place, a clone island? He stopped on a picture of a young redheaded woman, who quite honestly resembled his wife a lot.
"Claire…"
"Yeah honey?" she finally responded, beaming brightly up at him.
"I missed you," he finally whispered, giving her a quick kiss before pulling her into a hug. "So much."