Rifiuto: Non Miriena
- Family Portrait
The music floated through the small cafe Zoe and Lucas were in, but she didn't notice. They'd just come from a late dinner and movie, and were now sitting together on a sofa in the corner of the cafe, near the fire. She found that she was actually having a good time, despite the ball of nerves in her stomach. They'd chatted over their classes and what their plans were for after they were finally done with school, and the (very tender) subject of what had happened to the town they'd grown up in.
"What do they do with military towns, anyway?" She asked, taking a sip of her latte. Lucas sighed, thinking.
"Usually, the military comes in and shuts the buildings down, followed by removing all projects to a secure location. And then they remove all people from the town. Or, at least, that's what they did with Atomic City after they dropped the atomic bomb on Japan."
"So like... Burning Man, out in the Nevada desert every August?" Zoe asked. Lucas gave her an odd glance, before nodding.
"Yeah." He replied, taking a sip of his coffee. "Basically."
They lapsed into silence for several minutes, and Zoe nervously ran her hands over her dark green sweater. She'd fused and worried over what to wear for two hours, until her roommate suggested the sweater, a pair of jeans and her light brown heels. She'd considered canceling and staying home, but her roommate shoved her out the door, telling her she wasn't allowed back in until her date was over.
"So... where are you going to go after graduate?" She asked, looking up at him. He thought a moment, chuckling.
"Um... well, I've got an... iterment professor position offered at MIT. And one at Yale." Zoe's eye widened.
"Wow. That... that's great. So... so you'd be at..." He nodded.
"Yeah, as a professor." He blushed. "And... and you?"
"Well, I was going to intern under Allison at GD, but now that Eureka's gone... that's out."
"Didn't you say that they live in Seattle? Couldn't you do your internship there?" Zoe bit her lip.
"I guess I could. And... I could be there when the baby's born... and I'd already be there for Thanksgiving so..." She stopped. "But no one else would be. And... that's what Allison loves about the holidays- having everyone there. Grace and Henry and Fargo and-"
"The whole family." Luca finished. She nodded, looking up at him.
"Yeah, the whole... mismatched family." She chuckled.
"What's so funny?" He raised an eyebrow as his ex-girlfriend burst into giggles. It took Zoe several minutes to catch her breath before she managed to choke out,
"Nothing I... just..." To be honest, she couldn't exactly describe what was so funny. But the last time they'd all gotten together- the day Zane and Jo left- for one finally "family photograph" as her dad liked to call them, it had been so completely chaotic she had been surprised they'd been able to get a decent photograph out of the bunch. Now, though, she pulled the photo out of her purse, handing it to Lucas as she caught her breath. "That was... the last photograph we all had together." She said, coughing. "It was the day Jo and Zane left for... wherever the hell they are now. We haven't heard a thing from either one. No matter how many messages we leave them." She clarified. Lucas nodded. "And... Dad wanted one more family photo, to take with them to Seattle. He later sent one to everyone. And... he had us all gather together out in front of Cafe Diem, and he tried to get us all to-" She stopped, posing momentarily. Lucas laughed.
"Let me guess, posing didn't work?" Zoe shook her head.
"Not at all. Fargo and Holly were... I'm not sure what they were doing, Henry and Grace were chatting with Allison, Vincent was passing out baskets for our trips, Jenna was running around like children do, and Zane and Jo..." She laughed, taking a sip of her coffee. "Zane and Jo were standing a little further away from everyone else, making out. When Dad saw that, he just about blew his top, he was so embarrassed." Lucas chuckled.
"Then, again, not unheard of. Haven't those two always... run on their sex drives?" Zoe nodded.
"Yeah. So Dad implemented the three foot rule for them, caught Jenna up and dumped her in Jo's arms, took Vincent's baskets away from him, and got Fargo and Holly to stop whatever they were doing so we could take the picture." She glanced down at it, seeing the familiar faces of her family and friends. Fargo and Holly stood together, holding hands; Henry had his arm around Grace's shoulders, and she rested her head on his shoulder. She and Kevin were sitting on the ground, knee to knee with Vincent, who had joined them; her dad his Allison against his chest, her arms tight around his waist; Jenna was clinging to Jo's neck, head resting on her shoulder, and Zane had his arms tight around Jo from behind, his chin resting on her other shoulder. The photograph was all smiles and happiness; hiding the tears that came after, and the promises to keep in touch.
"Hard to believe that town's no longer there." Lucas whispered. Zoe nodded.
"Yeah. Dad... he tried to hold her back; refused to let her go when they finally left. For a moment, I was afraid he would climb onto the roof or handcuff them together, but... but he let her go. Let them go."
"It's got to be hard for your dad. He protected that town for..."
"Seven years." She whispered. He nodded.
"And... seeing them all go in different directions... I can't imagine the emotional turmoil he's probably still going through."
"He hides it, but... shutting the town down... it affected him. A lot. More than anyone else, I think." Zoe choked out.
