"It's not like I asked him to saddle me with an egg, Elesa! He just…ugh, he gave it to me and expected me to be grateful, and it's cool that he got me something, I don't think an egg is quite the gift he was hoping it would be! And just after he mentioned maybe trying to set me up with someone! He won't get off my ass about it!"
"Cecilia, you know what he's like. And besides, why don't you just give the egg to a daycare or something? Or even to someone else to raise?"
"That's the thing, Elesa. I know Father, and I know he'd never give me an egg he got legally; he'd only give me an egg if he was trying to get rid of it! Maman would give me an egg she got from the proper authorities, but Father would never! I'm scared he stole it, and if I take it to the authorities they'll arrest me! The same thing could happen if I left it at a daycare! And I don't want to just abandon it, that'd be cruel! That'd make me nearly as bad as a Rocket!"
"Well, I might not know how you feel, but surely one of your friends in Viridian could help! What about…what's their name? Yuki? They could help, surely! And you're nowhere near as bad as a Rocket; you'd have to be much more cruel and catty for that. At least as cruel as the twins' boss; he's such a bastard, but they've been working on planning a strike with the rail union, so they might break him."
"I don't…Elesa, I can't ask for help. Yuki works full-time, anyway. They wouldn't have time to help. And they live on the other side of the city, so that's a big fat no. I mean, I'm close to the main Center, so I could talk to Eloise…she's the local Joy, and she's quite nice…" Cecilia groaned, and rubbed her nose. "I just don't know…I'll have the time; it's sort of slow right now, I'm not swamped down with work and Amanda's been giving me a light load so I can work on my collection…"
"That sounds perfectly acceptable to me! If anything, I'd say you should make friends with her; having a Joy on your side can only be a benefit to you! And if you have the time, surely adding another member to your team wouldn't go astray. You don't really have much to lose!"
"Oh, I suppose so. Anyway, I'm just coming up on my place, so I'll chat later! Oh, and if you see the twins, tell them I said hi, and that I'll try visiting during spring, just before my trip to Kalos. I'd rather they know well in advance so I don't catch them at a bad time. And besides, it'll be after the Indigo League Conference and the Silver League Conference, so flights will be much cheaper than they would be at any other time."
"You're a gem, Cece! I'll tell Burgh, too, and we can get lunch together while you're here, ok? Maybe Skylar too? Depends on how the season's going. I'll invite the twins too, but their schedules might change on a whim, and it'll depend when the strike happens. But we'll do our best to plan around it."
Cecilia approached the Gym, box in hand. Her appointment with Mr Giovanni couldn't be missed, and it was imperative that she be on time. Of course, she was technically fifteen minutes early, but…well, he was certainly a character, that was for sure. She had met him before (though not at the gala she'd attended the night before), and he was strict, with high standards and a penchant for intimidating any of the workers at the store they sent. Well, any of the workers except for her.
If anything, he reminded her of Father. They were both strict, with hard faces and a classic fashion sense that consisted almost entirely of suits. They were both hard to please, however, unlike Father, Mr Giovanni did not seem to be particularly cruel. Instead, he only seemed to be strict and straight-laced, with a no-nonsense attitude.
She approached the front desk of the gym, ignoring the child sitting next to the receptionist and who was doing what looked to be homework of some sort.
"Hello, Matilda! I'm here to drop off Mr Giovanni's suit, shall I just leave it with you?"
"Ah, Cecilia! No, I'm about to finish my shift, but Silver can show you into the apartment, and you can leave it there. How's that sound?"
The kid—a pale boy with red hair who was wearing the uniform of a local school—protested quietly, before a glare from the receptionist shushed him with a look.
"Dad's in a meeting, Tilda, I can't just let a stranger into the apartment! Why can't you let me take it in?"
"Because, young man, you won't know where to put it. Best if Cecilia meets with your father to hang it up correctly. And she's not exactly a stranger, your father has met her before." She looked at Cecilia. "Now, does this one have different care instructions? The last was a wool suit, correct? I presume it's similar?"
Cecilia shook her head. "It's a cotton suit, this time. And Amanda wanted me to make sure it's all correct so we can replicate it if need be, without making many adjustments."
Matilda nodded, before glancing at Silver. "Silver, be a dear and show Cecilia into the apartment, and wait there until your father finishes his meeting. If his schedule was correct, it should be finishing in less than ten minutes."
Silver groaned, before standing up and walking around to the front of the reception desk. He roughly grabbed Cecilia's arm and started dragging her towards the door that she could assume lead to the apartment, and she could hear Matilda call for the next visitor.
Cecilia gently set down the large box on a glass table, and glanced around the room. It was fancy, fancier than her own apartment, which could be expected, as Mr Giovanni was rather wealthy. But it did surprise her that it was seemingly fancier than the house her parents lived in, and far more modern. If her memory served her correctly, a fair number of the Gyms in Kanto were located in or near historical sites, but she couldn't remember if the Viridian Gym was one such Gym.
She looked at the child who had accompanied her, and tilted her head as she watched him. Matilda had called him Silver, if she recalled correctly. He looked in her direction, and poked his tongue out as he flicked open a book that Cecilia could tell was titled The Secret Language of Flowers. Not the type of book she'd expect a kid who was probably around twelve to be reading but…whatever. It was his decision to read whatever he so desired.
"Why are you here, anyway? Apart from the suit. Doesn't your shop have loads of employees who can deliver it? What made you so special?"
"I've met your father before, and Matilda and I are acquainted enough that she knows me by sight. Besides, your father is an…intimidating man, and the shop doesn't have nearly as many employees as you'd assume. It's Amanda, me, and about three others, and the other three are all busy with other commissions. So that left Amanda or I to deliver it and…well, Amanda and Mr Giovanni don't exactly…get on with each other. They're plenty cordial, but Amanda won't stay in a room with him longer than necessary. Les amoureux abandonnés et tout.*" She chose her words carefully, as she didn't want to accidentally insult the child's father; with her luck, he'd end up challenging her to a Battle if she did so, and she really didn't want to deal with the mess that came with Battles right at that moment. Finding a referee was annoying, setting everything up with the accounts was annoying, and she only had Peepo with her; Calla was back in Celadon for a check-up with Doctor Kimura; Peepo's was next week.
"Then how'd you meet him? Was it another delivery?" His question surprised her, but she supposed it was just childish curiosity. Of course a child would want to know how a strange woman knew his father if she wasn't an employee.
"Oh, erm…my brother works for him, and brought me along to a few company events. Holiday parties and the like. And we half run in the same circles in society. Actually, I believe he might know my father to a degree; Father used to work for Mr Giovanni's mother, after all."
Silver tilted his head in slight confusion and made a face. "What do you mean, 'same circles in society'? What society are you talking about?"
"Oh, erm…well, I grew up fairly wealthy, and as such, tend to go to a fair amount of events when I'm with my parents, and some of those events have Gym Leaders attending too. Mostly in a sort-of host position, as the representative of the city that the event is taking place in, but sometimes just as an attendee. Like last night, there were about…I believe four Gym Leaders in attendance? Although that was an event held by the League, so it might be different." She shrugged, picking a piece of lint off her cardigan. "Although I'm much more familiar with Kalosian society; I attend most events that occur while I'm there. And my cousin is invited to a fair few, so I often accompany him."
Silver nodded, and they both sat there for a moment in complete and total silence. Then, a man with short dark hair walked in, and Cecilia recognised him immediately. This was her father's friend, her city's gym leader, and one of the best paying clients they had at Lumiose Bespoke.
Giovanni was tall and imposing, wearing a grey suit with cropped dark hair. Cecilia had always sort of questioned his fashion sense; surely he wore something more comfortable in his own home?
He strutted into the room, and both Silver and Cecilia stood up. Cecilia bowed, while Silver simply nodded to his father before collecting his book and leaving the room, leaving Cecilia with Mister Giovanni alone.
"To business then, Miss Wattle. May I see my order?"
Cecilia nodded and opened the box, gently removing the tissue paper that enclosed the suit. It was an orange suit with a green waistcoat and cream shirt; not a colour combination she'd personally choose, but…well, he had ordered it. It wasn't her place to openly criticise someone else's fashion choices, but…it was certainly gaudy. Certainly not what she'd expected of the Gym Leader, but everyone had their own tastes. If his taste wasn't up to scratch, that was his issue, and not hers. Perhaps he wanted to make a statement? She hadn't thought of him as the type, but he was a gym leader, so perhaps he was intending to champion a change in the local area?
"It's a bengaline shell with satin lining, and the waistcoat is cotton drill with satin lining. The shirt is a linen and cotton blend for easy laundering, and it should be relatively easy to move in. The whole suit, has, of course, been treated with a fairly move-proof coating, which we can maintain at your request. We've also taken the liberty to include several spaces for Pokéballs to be stored, as per your prior requests."
He nodded as he inspected the suit, before clapping his hands together loudly. "Well then, if that is all, I do believe I have a battle to attend to. Was there anything else?"
"Erm, Amanda just wanted to ask if the suit was of a suitable design, or if we'd need to alter the pattern in the future, but I suppose you should be able to call about that if there's any issues. I…erm, the payment-"
"Yes, I'm well aware of the issue with the payment. I have one of my people fixing it, it should go through by tomorrow. Is that everything?"
Cecilia nodded firmly, and he pulled out his wallet, before his pulled out several notes and handed them to her. "As a thank you for delivering it. I suppose I should be seeing you again. Do give your brother my regards, won't you?"
She bowed her head and made to leave, before pausing. "Mister Giovanni, your son is rather kind. Give him my regards, will you?"
Giovanni nodded, and then gestured for her to leave.
Cecilia | June 7, 2011
Hey Hugo, just checking in! I'm planning my trip to Kalos for this year, did you want to go at the same time?
Delivered
Cecilia | June 10, 2011
Hey Hugo, I was wondering if you got my message? I'm booking my flights tomorrow, so if you wanted to go together I need to know by then.
Delivered
Cecilia | June 15, 2011
Hugo, have you been getting my messages? Maman hasn't heard from you since the gala and we're both worried.
Delivered
Cecilia | June 18, 2011
Hugo? You haven't answered your phone in a while, can you text me back soon?
Read 4:32PM, June 19, 2011
Hugo | June 19, 2011
Sorry Cecilia, I was in Unova! My phone broke but I just got it fixed. Do you want to meet at the Viridian City Central Pokémon Centre once you finish work today?
Delivered
*Jilted lovers and all