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No, it really shouldn't, and on minute sixteen, Sally heads out there to see where he's gotten to, because she's concerned that he's somehow managed to find someone else to insult on the short trip to take the trash out and gotten flung into the swamp. Or somehow managed to get lost.

What she finds, though, isn't what she was expecting at all.

Give him time and he'll get tossed into the swamp for insulting someone. But in this case he's leaning up against the side of building talking to a young man about his age. From their body language they're possibly going to be doing a bit more than talking, especially how close the other guy is getting.

She pauses. He hasn't noticed her yet, and she's far enough away from them that she can sort of stand behind the corner without being seen, but can still hear what they're saying. Initially, she thinks they must be making some kind of business deal, but they're standing awfully close to be doing that...

... that's why she'll just try to overhear their conversation. That'll work for now. As long as they don't notice her.

"Get off of work round eleven," the guy says. "You could come by? No one's going to be around."

"I don't know..." Alec, "I guess. You're sure no one's going to be around? I don't want to get into trouble."

"Of course." He gives a crooked grin and leans down a bit further before jerking up right staring right at Sally.

"What...?"

Well then. That sure is interesting. She'd like to hear more, but the guy's obviously noticed her, and there's no sense in hiding behind the wall like she's not there. Instead, she just saunters right out, pretending like she didn't hear a thing, giving Alec a raised eyebrow.

"I was worried about you getting yourself into trouble out here. You manage the trash okay?"

Because, really, no matter what he's doing back here, he needs to get the trash taken care of.

Alec's face has turned bright and brilliant red. The sort found on ripe strawberries.

"Um. Yes Ma'am. I did. Um," he stammers out.

The guy tips his hat to Sally. "Miss Sally, nice to see you. I'll be heading out now."

She smiles at him, all friendliness and no threat. "You too, Perry. Take care of yourself." She likes him. He's a polite young man. That scores points with her, as long as the politeness is genuine.

And as soon as he's gone, she turns back to Alec. She's still smiling, but it's a far more amused one, because really, that blush is ridiculous.

"I see you got distracted."

Perry is a very nice young man. Alec watches him walk off and then stares at Sally. Still quite red in the face.

"Um... we were just talking... and I guess I lost track of the time... um..."

"You always talk standing quite so close to people?"

She's pretty sure he doesn't. At least, he never did when talking to her, but maybe that's just out of respect.

"You know, if there's something you want to tell me, Alec, you might as well get it over with."

"Oh. Um. No. Not all the time..." He stares off and around them, tugging on his coat sleeve. Just generally not looking at Sally.

"It's just... you know... why ... I um... left home..."

"Well, all right then."

That sure is a conversation that they're going to have to have now, but preferably not out here. She looks around them, like someone might be listening, and then gestures for him to follow her.

"Come on inside and have a drink. You can tell me about it in there."

"All right." He's looking a bit better because well... she didn't do anything horrible to him when he half way admitted to things. Like tell him to go jump in a swamp or something.

He puts the lid on the trash bin before trailing after her. He doesn't really want to tell her about it... but there's no use trying to keep the cat really in the bag now.

And she'd rather know what's going on around her bar. She doesn't need excessive details on anyone's personal life (in fact, she'd rather not have them, thank you very much) but some basics are good. This is one of those basics that seems important.

Once inside, she pours them both a generous helping of brandy -- that's what was closest at hand, since a big shipment had just come in that day -- and gestures for him to take a seat at the bar.

"You left home because your family found out, or you left because you didn't want them to find out?"

Those're two very different things, after all.

Alec sits and stares at the brandy, not taking a sip of it at first.

"They were getting suspicious... which is why they were pressing the marriage." There's a drink. "I think my mother might have known. She never said anything. But there were looks and indirect conversations."

"You all right with it? For yourself, I mean. Not all right with what other people're going to think, because they're not going to think anything good, but are you okay with what you think?"

In her own blunt way, she's basically asking him if he accepts himself for who he is. There're probably more delicate ways to put it, including not mentioning that everyone's going to have a big problem with him if they find out, but she's not sure how else to put it.

Not looking at her, he taps his fingers on the bar top. He knows that everyone is going to have a big problem with him if they find out about it. It's going to make his life here even harder. His city habits are one thing... this on the other hand was an entirely different and worse ball of wax.

"I ... don't know. I don't... I mean I've tried... really hard to not... but then I just keep on messing up again."

"Well, I don't know too much about it, myself."

Just what she's heard, and she's pretty sure a fair amount of that can't be accurate, since she mostly hears insulting things about the topic.

"But as far as I can tell, it's one of those things you can't exactly change. Otherwise, people'd probably all do their best to change it just as soon as they could."

"I guess so... I just can't really... do anything about it..." He sighs. "It wouldn't have been fair to her... but I couldn't figure out away..."

"My understanding is that most people get married anyway."

Not that she's suggesting that he should have gotten married anyway. In fact, she's kind of glad he didn't.

"Here's the thing, kid. I don't think any different of you for it, but there're plenty of people who will. Now, as far as young men go, Perry's an all right guy, but I don't need anyone whispering about the two of you if you seem to be getting too close, you understand?"

"I don't want to be most people. At least when it comes to get married."

And that's sweet of her. He wouldn't be sure why she's glad he didn't, but since he doesn't know he can't ask.

"I know. I've been hiding this for .. well... for as long as I can remember. Or trying to." Alec he gives her a bit of a wry grin. I haven't done anything. We haven't done anything. We've just been talking... mostly. And he does seem nice."

It makes him feel better that she's not saying Perry's a horrible person either. He worries sometimes that he'll end up getting misled or fun things like that.

"Well, I guess you weren't too good at hiding it from me, huh? But I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

She looks at him again, taking a long sip of her drink, contemplative for a moment. "You want to make sure that nobody else is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Especially around here. I don't know what it's like in Boston, but people here..."

She shakes her head. She loves Florida, but sometimes...

"We were just talking," he insists. "Nothing wrong with two people making plans to meet up with later. Though... I guess I shouldn't have taken so long with the trash."

Alec stares at his drink. "Well, if I was lucky I'd probably just get disinherited."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Talking leads to meeting up, meeting up leads to canoodling, canoodling leads to... well, I don't need to explain the whole progression to you, do I, sweetheart."

Edited (It'd help if I finished my sentences) 2014-01-05 22:13 (UTC)

Alec looks up at the ceiling and there's a bit of red on his ears. "Yeah. Sure."

He may not have gotten much farther than canoodling. And not that much on the canoodling either.

"And you know, there's nothing wrong with a little canoodling. I've been known to enjoy it myself. But I'd prefer it if you didn't do your canoodling in the back alleyway when you're supposed to be taking out the trash."

That's reasonable, right?

One day Alec would like to get past the canoodle stage. Or even really to a good part in the canoodle stage.

As straight faced as possible and really trying not to turn red again, he says, "I will try and avoid canoodling when I'm supposed to be taking out the trash. I will even mention it to Perry tonight."

Edited (All the words in a sentence is important too.) 2014-01-05 22:26 (UTC)

"Well, good."

She finishes off her drink and sets down the empty glass.

"And if you end up canoodling tonight, be smart about it, you hear? I know how men are, always thinking with parts of them they shouldn't be. Try to use your brain instead of your other squishy parts."

"Yes ma'am, I will. I don't want anything bad to happen."

"I don't want anything bad to happen, either, kid. I like having you around here."

Yep, she likes you, Alec. She thinks you're cute. She just thinks you make some dumb choices sometimes.

Only sometimes?

"Thank you. I like being around here despite... elements."

"Yeah, well, those elements'll get easier to deal with once you learn how to keep your mouth shut."

Hey, she tells it like it is. And that's how it is.

"I know. I know. I'm trying. I had the same problems back home."

And he knows that's how it is. But knowing and acting on it aren't always the same thing.

"It's just sometimes things come out before I realize I was thinking about saying them."

"I know. And believe me, I know how it is. Sometimes we all say things we shouldn't."

Her included. Definitely her included. Especially when she'd been Alec's age.

"I just tend to do it a bit more often than it's healthy." He laughs softly. "I'm sure if I get beat in the head enough it'll stick."

"Or someone'll beat all the sense out of you altogether."

If you get hit in the head enough, Alec, you do tend to start losing some intelligence.

"That's assuming I have sense to begin with."

True enough. And he certainly hopes it doesn't ever come to that.

"You've got some, or I wouldn't've hired you."

Please. She doesn't work with idiots entirely.

"Well, thank you. That's the nicest thing someone's said to me in a long while."

"Yeah, don't get too used to it."

She grins at him, anyway.

"Now get back to work, kid."

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Canoodling is a fantastic word.

Re: I quite enjoy it

It is.

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