Comments | cuteandsomodest: (( Open to Archbishop Timothy ))

cuteandsomodest

(( Open to Archbishop Timothy ))

Aug 10, 2010 00:06

Marco's back from the Nexus, with a man who's much better dressed than he is in tow. As they make their way from the pretty-nice park where the Nexus spits them out to the pretty-not-nice side of town where the apartment is, Marco fills the Archbishop in on the basics - Mom drowned two years ago, Dad never got over it, they're about one more late ( Read more... )

peter, archbishop timothy, apartment, chancellor

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ternaui August 10 2010, 07:34:43 UTC

Timothy has very little context for most of the scenery, but boy can he figure it out pretty well. There's nothing disgusted or judgemental in his judgement, though. The man's been a slave. And before that, he lived in the 14th century. In terms of dirt or dignity, he's not one for getting snooty.

And he'll nod to Marco before the boy scampers off, and then give the man in the chair a good look. "Good evening, Peter. I'm Father Timothy," he begins simply.

cuteandsomodest August 10 2010, 07:41:19 UTC

There's about two seconds before Peter even realizes he's being spoken to.

"Mmm?" He looks up with his eyes a bit unfocused. He doesn't know how this man got into his apartment, but he's not too concerned. Marco's still out, isn't he? So if this man wants anything - and it doesn't look like he does - his son won't be around to see them get burgled. But would a burglar introduce himself, and know his name?

Peter suddenly feels even more tired than he was before. He closes his eyes for a few seconds.

"Oh. Hello. Did you want something? I know the lock's broken but..." He sighs. "Anyway, did you want something?"

ternaui August 10 2010, 07:43:09 UTC

Timothy made a little affirming sound. "Yes. I wanted to discuss your son. May I have a seat?"

cuteandsomodest August 10 2010, 07:47:56 UTC

"My son?" Peter's face flickers with emotion for the first time, worry, and he completely ignores the request for a seat. "Marco? Is he alright?"

ternaui August 10 2010, 07:54:37 UTC

"He is clearly managing as well as possible considering the circumstances, but I wouldn't call him All Right, no," Timothy says simply, firmly, still standing there.

cuteandsomodest August 10 2010, 08:04:34 UTC

"Oh. But nothing's happened." Peter slumps back down on the couch, relieved and ashamed. Of course, he knows the pressure he's putting on his kid, and he loves Marco more than anything, but he doesn't want to think about it. Marco doesn't complain, at least not to him, and Peter does his best to ignore the occasional look of pity or worse, disappointment. He's doing his best to delude himself that Marco's doing fine.

He doesn't want to answer to a third party about this. Doesn't want to explain how weak he feels when he can't muster up the energy to leave the apartment. Doesn't want to try and justify against the fact that he feels like such a failure, in every regard.

"You can sit." He nods his head at the armchair, pushed up uncomfortably close against the couch because there's no other room in the tiny apartment. "What exactly did you want to talk about, about my son?"

ternaui August 10 2010, 08:14:53 UTC

"No. Nothing has specifically happened," Timothy says as he sits down. "I'm concerned if it would be noticed if something did. Concerned about the level of adult supervision and emotional support in his life. He's obviously one of those proud little things who wants to give the impression he doesn't need any at all, but I'm sure we both know how little that can be taken for granted in a young man his age."

cuteandsomodest August 10 2010, 08:27:05 UTC

Peter takes his glasses off and rubs his eyes, punctuating the conversation with another long sigh. He wants to be defensive and tell this stranger off for telling him how to raise his kid, but he knows every word is true, and you can't really argue with the truth, can you? So for a moment, while he tries to collect his defense into something that doesn't sound like a whine, he just assesses the strange man across from him, who isn't attacking him, who isn't trying to shame him, but is just stating the horrible truth.

"Look, I know it looks bad," No, Peter, there's that whine again, and it is bad. "It's not that I don't try, it's just that...that ( ... )

ternaui August 10 2010, 08:48:44 UTC

"I'm afraid I don't understand the comparison. I'll grant eternal damnation as a theological possibility among the dead, but I don't believe any living man is permanently consigned to his fate."

Timothy cannot believe someone is continuing to supply pills to this man without anyone's regularly checking up on him -- and clearly no one can be. Dr. Yardley would have a fit at the idea of someone's being continuously medicated without anyone's looking to the consequences of the dosage.

"You'll have to pardon the personal question, Peter, but what was your trade when Marco's mother was still with us?" While the diction might be excessively English, Timothy's still choosing his words carefully. Marco's Mother. Not just his wife. There is someone else at stake here. Somebody else lost something.

cuteandsomodest August 10 2010, 09:03:45 UTC

"Maybe it's punishment," Peter says sadly. "Maybe feeling like this is punishment for not believing, or, or for messing up so badly and letting her go out that night. I should've known better, Father. But it doesn't feel like a choice. I wouldn't choose to be like this. You've got to understand."

He knows that he sounds like he's making excuses, but he just feels so incapable. Why would he choose to be this hopeless? Except that every day is so overwhelming, every task is difficult, and it's been like this since she died, and instead of healing with time it's only gotten worse and harder to dig out of.

"I'm a...I was a computer engineer. Before." For the first time in this conversation, he feels lucid enough to pick up on the strange dialect, and wonder a little bit where this man is from. He still hasn't devoted all that much thought to how he got here.

ternaui August 10 2010, 09:16:22 UTC

Timothy quirks an eyebrow. "You don't want to get me started on the supposed doctrine of present retribution, son. Suffice it to say, it's horseshit." Yeah, man of the cloth or no, he's also an old soldier, and that's the only way to put it as far as he's concerned.
"And no one's saying a man would completely consciously choose to crawl into a hole and orphan his son."

And after that abrupt statement. "Handy things, computers. Not my field, of course, but it seems they can figure out anything as long as someone tells them precisely what they should be figuring out. In some ways, it must be much easier than being alive."

Until some crazy human manages to 'release' a true synthetic sentience, of course, but Timothy's sure they're dealing with the regular sort, here.

cuteandsomodest August 10 2010, 09:32:11 UTC

"Supposed doctrine of present..." All that staring at the television and unpacking boxes and taking tranquilizers has rotted his brain. He has a master's, for God's sake, he's a smart guy, and he keeps losing track of what Timothy's saying and having to find it again. And suddenly two and two come together. "Oh. You're a priest. I guess you would know about that, about if punishment happens to the living. I don't know if I believe you, saying it doesn't happen ( ... )

ternaui August 10 2010, 09:39:25 UTC

"It's good to have confirmed that at least you don't want to abandon him. Peter, I'd like to ask you three questions. Where is Marco; how did I get into your house; and when is the last time you actually saw a doctor?"

cuteandsomodest August 10 2010, 09:51:51 UTC

"Marco's at..." Peter looks around for the clock, realizing that since it's dark outside, Marco's probably not at school anymore. "Probably at Jake's or the mall. I make sure he's home every night."

Peter honestly does not remember how Father Timothy got in. He just remembers watching some rerun of some show and some channel and suddenly Father Timothy was there. "The lock on the door broke last night. You let yourself in."

"I'd have to look at my prescription and see how many refills I have left. It's probably been more than a year."

The uncertain waver in Peter's voice betrays that he thinks he didn't give Father Timothy any of the correct answers.

ternaui August 10 2010, 10:02:02 UTC

"This conversation isn't going to work if we don't keep facing the situation like men, Peter. I could have let myself in, yes, but I didn't. Marco let me in. I'm sure you can understand my feeling that a level of medication that leaves you unable to notice when your child brings an unfamiliar English clergyman home might not be best suited for someone in your condition."

"Two more questions, Peter. Would it be possible to schedule an appointment soon to have the medication changed -- because dear God and His Mother, what good is it doing you in its current form? -- and where do you believe you went wrong the night Marco's mother was lost?"

Letting up? What's that? Sounds like something the French would do.

cuteandsomodest August 10 2010, 10:19:34 UTC

"So he's home." Peter's face darkens as the pieces start to come together. He feels a surge of irrational anger at Marco, for putting Father Timothy up to this, for not facing the situation directly, but really, is he setting much of an example for facing things? His shoulders sag again and he wishes he could just sink into himself ( ... )

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