Mayhue gave out a mighty series of coughs and dropped his brush. Now it wasn't that this in itself was at all interesting or odd so much as that the stain covered brush happened to drop down from the window and hit a young man in the back of the head. Then promptly leave a large stain on the aforementioned man's favorite jacket.
"Sorry Victor!" Mayhue called which caused another large coughing fit and him the dropping the bucket of stain upon Victor's head. Victor held his breath and prayed he hadn't swallowed a lethal amount in his previously open mouth.
"Mayhue! Stop all that blasted coffin!" Nell shouted as she arrived outside next to her, by this point; wet, black, and shiny son. "Victor! What 'ave you done to yourself! Oh look you've gone an' ruined your best jacket." Victor removed the bucket and tried to stealthily spit into it but this action gained a sound whack from his mother.
"What's all the racked dear?" William asked as he stepped out from the house. Nell grabbed her son's arm and wheeled him around. "What happened to you?"
"I'll tell ya' what happened to 'im! He's gone and got 'imself dirty and such! Victor," she rounded on the young man, " isn't it bad enough that we smell like fish?" Victor's mouth opened and closed a few times in a good imitation but his father thankfully interrupted him.
"Fish? Nell, we do not smell like fish!" He leaned on his cane, ready to fight this to the bitter end. Again.
"We do smell like fish! All I smell is fish all day! In our clothes, in our house, it drives me crazy!" She grabbed Victor's relatively clean forearm, "Don't we smell like fish Victor?"
"Well I don't know if-"
William grabbed Victors other forearm. "The boy doesn't think that at all, do you Victor?"
"I, well, I think that-"
"Don't be ridiculous William! Everything smells like fish in this place! I should have read the fine print when I married you!" Victor fidgeted through his mothers rant. He was by this point very cold in the winter's winds and grateful for the black stain covering his rapidly flushing face. As a few neighbors stared Victor wished they would stop arguing so he could go inside.
"Fine print? You knew I was a fish merchant when we married!" William argued and Nell's grip tightened quiet painfully.
"Then why did you marry?" Victor demanded. When both his parents fell silent Victor wasn't sure if he was grateful or terrified. The two stared at him as if they had no idea he had even been there.
"What happened to you Victor?" Nell asked. As Mayhue laughed heartily from the window Victor was given a hard push back inside the house. "And don't come out till you're clean!"
Victor paused for only a moment before rushing upstairs to his room.
"You owe me." Mayhue said from outside his room. Victor rushed to remove the ruined articles from his person and grabbed a washcloth to attempt to clean his face.
"What do you mean?" He asked before ducking his head in the full basin.
"I saved you." He simply stated and then began coughing. Victor almost fell as he finished drying his hair and grabbed some new clothes.
"Saved me from what? A nice normal day without getting looked at?" He then proceeded to put a new tie on.
"That hideous jacket you were wearing!" Mayhue laughed/coughed. Victor opened the door and began back downstairs while finishing buttoning his shirt up and tying the tie.
"I happen to have been very found of that jacket! It was my favorite." Victor grumbled as Mayhue scoffed.
"Now you really owe me. I deserve a medal of honor." Mayhue stopped him to redo the tie.
"My taste is not that bad." Victor grumbled batting his hands away.
"It's not your taste. It's your colorblindness." Mayhue said as Victor retied it.
"I'm not colorblind." Victor turned to the older man for an opinion on the tie.
"Could have fooled me," he started as he straightened the tie, "Alright, tell ya' what. When this outing is over we can put it in a box and hold a funeral type thing for it." Victor rolled his eyes and the two left the house.
"What took ya' Victor? Oh, Mayhue," Nell turned to her husband, "I'm telling you he's getting so slow!" As his parents entered the carriage, with lots of help for his mother, Victor sighed.
"It doesn't need a funeral." He whispered to Mayhue before entering himself. Mayhue gave a scoff before they set off.