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Heh, this is turning out kind of interesting. See, I'm the type of writer that just has a few basic ideas at the start of a story, and then I run with them. Sometimes all my original ideas end up in the story. Sometimes something happens along the way that totally prevents me from putting in one of my original twists. Things look like they are coming together the way I wanted, but, then again, maybe not. It's too early to be sure. Anyway, on to chapter 3!
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Aerieth's mom was hospitable as always. She provided an excellent meal of spaghetti and meatballs, and a small salad that I couldn't quite identify the contents of. Yet in the end I didn't care what it was because it tasted really, really good.
Tifa remained quiet during most of our dinner conversation. She chimed in a few times, mostly to comment on the quality of the food or to ridicule Barrett for his eating habits. Barrett talked about Meredith mostly. He talked about how tall she had gotten, how she had already learned to read (Tifa told me quietly that that was an exaggeration and that she could only read small words with difficulty), and how she was learning to cook through Aerieth's mom. Aerieth's mom then told me that Meredith had made the salad, which explained why I had no clue what I was eating. At that point I stopped eating the salad and moved to marf down the spaghetti.
After dinner Barrett excused himself rather suddenly and I was left to help cleanup. Tifa and Aerieth insisted that they take care of it, but I interrupted them saying, "Hey, you just fed me when you had no warning that I was coming. Back where I come from it's impolite to just barge in asking for food and not do something in return. On top of that, it was really good meal. I love spaghetti. So at least let me return the favor by doing the dishes." Aerieth's mom blushed a little and nodded, then went upstairs. Tifa however didn't move. I figured now would be a good time to talk to her and maybe open her up a little, before I found out her deepest thoughts later through Barrett.
I turned to the sink and realized that I had no idea where the soap was. "Umm…Tifa, where's the soap?" That was probably the worst way to start an in depth conversation, but it seemed to do the trick. Tifa in an almost expressionless face went to the cabinet to my right, and then started reaching for a little yellow bottle. Barrett must have put it there last time because she was no where near tall enough to reach it. I smirked again at this fact and then reached for it, grabbing it with ease. Tifa looked at me coyly. Putting both hands on her waist she said, "Don't you say that I'm short again or I swear I'll smack you across the room." I laughed and tried to think of something to say as I turned the hot water on and started scrubbing the dishes, putting extra soap on the plates that had left over tomato sauce stuck to it. Without saying anything, Tifa came up next to me and said, "I'll help." I opened my mouth to protest, but nothing came out this time so I let her stand next to me.
"So how have you two been holding up?" I finally managed to say, again angry at myself for not thinking up something better. "Us two who? Oh, you mean Barrett and myself. Well, we've been doing alright, I guess." Her voice seemed a little more depressed then normal. "I've been looking for a place to live ever since we moved back to Midgar, but I can't afford a rental on my own. My old bartending days used to pay the bills pretty well, but ever since sector seven fell in on itself those days have long been over." "Haven't you tried asking around for another job?" I asked. "Well, yes, but no one seems to want to hire me," she replied. "Well, what about the money we split after the war? Surely you still have plenty of that." "Yes, plenty, but I'm nervous about buying a place that I couldn't support on my own income. What if I ran out of money or something while I was looking for a job? What then?" I noticed that she continually used the word "I" to describe her situation, as if Barrett had nothing to do with it. "What about Barrett? Isn't he looking for a job to help support you?" I asked. Tifa took her hands out of the soapy water, put them on her hips again and said, "Cloud, Barrett is a good friend of mine but he's definitely no lover of mine." I laughed. Perhaps it wasn't a straightforward answer, but it was good enough. I noticed how her arm brushed my own arm as she put her hands back into the sink
I focused again on the dishes and started scraping at a crusty portion. After about a minute of scrubbing I decided to come back to that plate later and I moved onto the next one. Without warning, she said, "Do you ever think about Aerieth, Cloud?" I froze in my place, unsure of what to say. I couldn't bring myself to tell her about my dreams and how I saw her in them almost nightly. I couldn't tell her about my intermittent trips to the church. I couldn't tell her that I was falling in love with her when she died, and might have actually grown to marry her had I had the chance. Instead, I stole the words which RedXIII had told me earlier that day, to the best of my recollection. "If we allow ourselves to dwell on someone who's dead, then we in turn aren't allowing ourselves to move forward in life. If instead we decide to let them go, then we are no longer hindering ourselves and can then learn from their mistakes, using their experiences in life to improve our own."
Damn that sounded good.
Tifa looked at me longingly. "Cloud, that was amazing. I never knew you had words like that." I don't, I thought to myself. But I took advantage of the opportunity and snidely said, "I've always been a poet deep inside Tifa, you've just never noticed." Tifa splashed some water in my face, laughing. I totally forgot about my leather jacket as I returned the favor, and we soaked ourselves just like we were kids all over again.
As it turned out, all the dishes were clean, so we didn't need to refill the sink with water. Instead we now had to mop the floor, which I admit, as a mercenary, I had no experience in. Tifa got out the mop and showed me how to use it and drain it. I felt like a total idiot. That was it? A five year old could do this and here I am, practically an adult, totally clueless on how to use a mop. "That's why we're good for each other," Tifa said smiling. "You're the stupid one that gets us into trouble, whereas I'm the smart one that pulls you out of it."
I stopped and looked at her. Instantly she blushed and handed me the mop. "I'm going to go check on Meredith," is all she said as she turned and walked up the stairs. I couldn't help but notice that she wiped away a single tear as she neared the top.
"I shoulda said something," I told Barrett later that night. "I should have stopped her. But it was the way she said, 'That's why we're good for each other,' that paralyzed me." I had already told him about what had happened inside and our little conversation. He was rather curious to discover why there had been a three minute period of laughing and screaming, and when I told him it was a water fight, he laughed loudly and slapped me on the back saying, "You're still just a damn kid, you know that Cloud? You and Tifa both. Just a bunch of $#% kids."
I didn't say anything as I pried myself out of the dirt. Apparently Barrett didn't realize how hard he had him me, because he made no effort to help lift me up. I brushed off the dirt and waited for Barrett to stop laughing before I asked him, "So what were you going to tell me about Tifa?"
His face became stern and dark. "Now Cloud, there's some stuff I'm gonna tell ya that I'm sure you already know about. And I'm also gonna tell you some stuff that'll probably make your head spin too, so listen up, cuz here goes."