After he had finished washing up, Darren met Linnie at the dinner table, as he placed down two plates with a grilled chicken and a side of mixed vegetables with corn, peas, and carrots, alongside sets of silverware and a glass of water on Linnie's end.
"Darren, what would like to drink dear? I've got some juices if you'd like, and some iced tea in the fridge.", Linnie said.
"You don't have any soda?"
"I'm afraid not dear. I don't really drink much of that stuff."
"Man, you really don't know how to much have do you?", Darren mumbled his breathe before clearing his throat, "I guess iced tea then."
"Sure hun.", Linnie replied, pouring some into another glass cup, handing it to Darren as he sat down. The two of them went on to enjoy their dinner in silence for a few moments, Darren trying to work up the nerve to talk to Linnie about what had been on his mind, until finally, he decided to just go for it.
"Dad? Can we talk about something?", Darren started, "It's about what you said earlier."
"Oh dear, did I say something to hurt you? I'm sorry sweetie, I didn't mean-"
"No it ain't nothing like that. I just wanted to ask you something.", Darren said, before a knock on the door interrupted them.
"Oh sorry dear, can it wait? I'm going to go see who it is.", Linnie said, throwing a napkin over his food to maintain its warmth as he left the table and opened the apartment door, revealing a little girl, who didn't seem to look any older than 5. The girl had beautifully straight, mid-length blond hair, and matching, teary-eyed eyes. She wore a pink dress and was holding a teddy bear, clutching it close to her as she looked as if she was going to break down any moment.
"Awww hello there sweetheart. What's your name? Where's your mommy and daddy, hm?", Linnie asked gently, kneeling down to the child's eye level, "Are you lost?"
"M-Mister, I lost my Aunt! My mommy and daddy are gone for the week and I forgot which room she lives in! Can you help me?", the little girl cried, making Linnie's heart melt. Poor thing must be scared out of her mind right now.
"Oh now there there, darling. I'm sure you Aunt isn't too far. Please don't cry sweetheart. It'll be ok. Uhm…here, why don't I walk you down to the front office and we can ask whoever working there. I'm sure they'll be more than happy to help.", Linnie said, smiling sympathetically at the child, as her crying stopped, but her sniffling continued somewhat.
"O-Ok Mister.", the girl squeaked, as Linnie got up.
"Darren, I'll be right back. I'm just going to go help her really quick.", Linnie called out as he shut the door behind him, leading the child towards the elevator.
"Do you want to press the buttons, dear? I know how much you kids just love it when you do.", Linnie giggled, only for the girl to shake her head.
"N-No, I don't want to be a bother."
"Awww sweetie, you're no trouble at all. I'm more than happy to help you. Come on then.", Linnie pressed the down arrow before the two of them hopped onto the elevator, pressing the lobby button as they entered, "Sweetheart, what's your name so I can ask if anyone's looking for you?"
"Dani.."
"Well Dani, it's very nice to meet you. I'm Linnie.", he smiled kindly as the elevator landed on the lobby floor. Next to the receptionist desk however, Linnie spotted a woman with the same color hair as Dani's, only tied into a ponytail. She stood about shoulder-length compared to Linnie's height, and wore a yellow suit jacket and tie, and black pants, almost as if she were going on a business trip. Also like Linnie, reading glasses rested on the bridge of her nose, alongside a relieved look.
"Dani, there you are! Thank the stars.", the woman exclaimed, hugging the child before standing back up, looking at the man, "Dani, what did I tell you about talking to strangers?"
"Aunt Delia, he's not my stranger! His name's Linnie!", Dani cheered, making Linnie giggle slightly, absolutely adoring her cuteness.
"Ok, but what do we address other adults, Dani?"
"Sorry, Mr Linnie. He helped me find you. I like him.", Dani cheered, hugging her aunt, who smiled at Linnie.
"Thank you so much for finding her. I wasn't sure where she was or even how she got out, and then I realized that I forgot to lock my door, haha. I've just been so backed up on work recently that I barely had any time for myself. I'm Delia, by the way."
"Linnie. It's nice to meet you. You have a lovely family and your niece is absolutely adorable. She reminds me of when my daughter was little.", Linnie smiled, recalling those memories, "She used to cling to my side all the time if we were both home together, and if I was in a room doing something, she'd want to join right in haha. I really miss those times."
"Oh really? Where's your daughter now?"
"She's off touring with her band, The Killer Fairies. She was in town earlier so I was grateful I got to see her for a few minutes before she left.", Linnie smiled sadly, "I'm glad she's doing what she loves, but I just wish she could have stayed a bit longer."
"I understand. It can be hard moving on sometimes.", Delia agreed, "Well, thank you again for finding her and we're really sorry if we disturbed anything important."
"Oh no, Dani's just an absolute sweetheart. She was no trouble, I promise.", Linnie smiled, before clearing his throat, "Um..I know this is all of the sudden, but do you maybe want to uhm…get together sometime?"
"Like a date?"
"Well..I mean not necessarily like a date-date. Just…you know…I think it'd be nice if we got to know each other a bit, since I heard you just recently moved in. It is the neighborly thing to do after all haha.", Linnie stuttered, started to get nervous, and feeling his cheeks grow rosier by the second. Delia chuckled at his timidity.
"Sure, whatever you say.", Delia said, pulling out a business card from her jacket pocket, "Here's my number. I usually only give them out for business, but I think I can spare just one."
"Haha, well I need to get back upstairs. Call me later?"
"You betcha. Have a good night Linnie and thank you again."
"You're welcome. Bye sweetie!", Linnie waved goodbye to Dani before he took the elevator back upstairs, rejoining Darren at the apartment. Instead of sitting at the table like he was earlier, Darren had already finished his meal, put his plates in the sink, and was watching the TV in the living room before he noticed Linnie come back in.
"Yeesh, what took you so long? What, did you sail to Anti-Fairy World and back or something?", Darren asked, smirking as he tried to mess with his father.
"Oh sorry Darren, I didn't expect to be gone as long as I was.", Linnie said, grabbing his plate of food and tossing it in the microwave, heating it up for him to eat, "I just ran into that little girl's aunt and she and I got a little chatty, haha."
"Sounds like it. You seem to be in a rather good mood right now."
"Well, I'm just glad I got to help when I can, let's just say.", Linnie said, "So, you wanted to talk to me about something, dear? You had something you wanted to ask me?"
"Err…I kind of forgot it. You know what, don't worry about it. It was kind of stupid anyways."
"Are you sure? You don't need to be afraid to talk to me about anything, dear. You know I'm here for you."
"Yeah I'm sure."
"Alright then.", Linnie said quietly, continuing his meal, "Hey, would you mind doing me a favor tomorrow while I'm at work? I plan on ordering groceries tonight so if you could make a list tonight of things you might need and then picking them up tomorrow, I would greatly appreciate it."
"Yeah sure.", Darren said lazily, clearly invested in the TV. Linnie smiled warmly as he finally finished his meal, and placing the plates in the dishwasher, getting ready to head to the computer to start the grocery order, smiling at the thought of Delia's niece. It reminded him of the time when he was a first time parent, and has only recently started his career at the nursery. He felt so vibrant and warm, caring and helping the baby fairies who needed him. He was also reminded to all them times he held his children when they were scared, or all the times he would tuck them in a night….oh, if only there were a way for him to do it all over again…minus Nora of course.