this boy i know lives in a bell jar.
* @Utterson pulls CONFUSEDLY into the parking lot of Hasibe's building, in a magnificent dark red Cadillac, because ...look, because Utterson is that kind of guy, and we need to take lovely images where we can get them here. The car is his baby, and it is like a shiny red lollipop of awesome in the late evening. Which it is in Boston.
<@Utterson> He catches a tiny old man coming out of the building with a bunch of recycling and slips artfully in as the gentleman leaves, eventually to arrive at Hasi's door with an envelope in his suit jacket pocket, an expression of discontent bemusement on his ordinarily jovial features.
* @Hasibe answers fairly promptly, and she is in fact somewhat startled to see Utterson on her doorstep, but--not as much as she might be. Her first thought is that something happened to Henry. "Hi."
* @Utterson looks carefully at her for a second, because ...look, weird shit has been surrounding her existence, uh. But she does not APPEAR to be like 'where's my money, motherfucker,' so perhaps all of this is exactly as bizarre to her as it is to him. "Hi, you got a couple minutes? I'm unarmed." It's ...meant to be charming.
* @Hasibe presses a hand to her mouth, and nods; she stands aside, wordless for a few seconds. And then: "Did--is Henry okay, did something happen? ...I'm assuming this isn't purely a social visit."
<@Utterson> "Wouldn't be wearing the lawyer uniform if it was, sorry to say." ....There might be Hawaiian shirts involved when he isn't wearing a suit. Utterson is a creature of mystery. "Officially I've gotta deliver this to you--" he taps the envelope, "But you tell me if somethin' happened, man, I never see him anymore."
<@Hasibe> "Me either," she admits, frowning, "I talked to him on the phone, but...what's in the envelope?"
<@Utterson> "Lotta zeroes," he deadpans, slipping the envelope out of his pocket and passing it to her with raised eyebrows. His wirerims bob briefly on his nose, as if to punctuate this. "I been tryina get him to sell that place for /years/, you know, like- livin' there makes him all tense." He ...is clearly assuming Hasi /knew/ Henry was going about this enterprise.
* @Hasibe opens the envelope, and...just kind of stares at it, and then Utterson. "He--he sold his house? When did this..."
* @Hasibe leans back against an end table, frowning, and then she shakes her head. "I'm sorry--did you want anything to drink? It's just a little stressed around here lately."
* @Utterson looks briefly like he would like to drink everything ever, possibly, then waves her off with both hands, the epitome of a dude who is usually very zen and wishing to maintain that yet...failing. "Look, uh- you didn't know about this? I mean, like, he didn't just /sell/ the house, you know, I'm not just showin' you the check so's you can look at it. He wants you to have the money."
<@Utterson> Henry also wants her to like, gfto the /country/ but Utterson sort of figures he can let this sink in. First.
* @Hasibe wants to know where the hell Henry intends to live, then--what he's /doing/. She sits down on a chair, hands clasped in her lap with the envelope on her knees. "He's keeping secrets. I'm really worried about him--I wish he'd just tell me what's going on, he keeps saying it's his work, but I don't believe it."
* @Utterson also sits, because he is that sort of fellow, instantly comfortable in most settings even if today is phenomenally weird. "It's been like, 15 years since I met this guy, right? That's huge, you know, we been friends through all /kinds/ of shit, and he ain't never been like this. If it's not the work, then you got me, honey,"
<@Utterson> "'cause it's like that's all he's living for, whatever he's shut up in there doin'."
* @Utterson scrutinizes her a second, looking more like an actual lawyer and not some insane person in a suit: "There anything else in that?" The envelope, he means. WHICH THERE IS.
* @Hasibe takes out a letter, and unfolds it. "He wrote me something, it looks like. Maybe it'll explain."
"Hi, Hasi. If Gabriel has delivered this letter as I asked - which he will, I suspect, he's an excellent lawyer even when his skills at minding his own affairs are lacking - I've probably caused you a great deal of confusion, and I hope you can forgive me for that I have devoutly wished for another way to go about this, and having found none accepted confusion is merely a natural consequence of my actions.
Before anything else, I love you and always will- is it possible that I always have? That some part of me knew you before this- all of this madness, I suppose- I would like to believe that could be true. (Gabriel, I suspect you're hearing this; if I am very, very lucky I'll have the benefit of hearing you told me so.)
Hasi, I asked you once if I needed you to go somewhere that you would, without question or delay, and much as I have done to prevent the necessity of asking, that time is now. All the apologizing in the world will not explain or change any of this; if you're angry with me, then you have every right to be. But for your sake - and mine - you cannot seek me out, you must leave as soon as you can. The check with this letter does not quite allow for unlimited possibilities, but I hope it allows you the possibility of somewhere you'd like to be- even if it's a place I can never know. It isn't safe.
"Please believe this is the most difficult choice I've ever made, and that you made me happy, even if it was only for a very little while. I love you. Have I said that already? I love you, I do, and as inadequate as it is, I'm sorry for all of this.
-Henry Jekyll, October 2009"
* @Hasibe reads the whole thing out loud, and then sort of crumples it in her hands, like she's folding it close without thinking. Despite what Henry says, she doesn't think she can just stay away.
* Utterson gets that lawyer look again. "I said 15 years, right? Like a decade and a half? And- that whole time I never seen him act like he does about you about like, anything, 'cept his job. I just- you know, I don't get him anymore, I don't even know what the hell he thinks he's doin', but as a lawyer," this is clearly facetious, out of habit even if the joke is falling a little flat, "I'd advise you to do what he's sayin', there." He is so confused. ._.
<@Hasibe> "Okay. I'll go tomorrow night," she promises (because tomorrow afternoon, she's going to do something else), "That'll give me enough time to pack. I don't know /where/ I'll go, but...somewhere. Thank you for bringing this by."
* Utterson wonders, but - despite Henry's quasi-ribbing in the letter there, he really is very good at minding his own business, and that's not always /good/. "If I /don't/ get the chance to say I told you so, it's really gonna annoy me." Ha....ha.
<@Hasibe> "I'm sure you will. I'll make sure of it," she adds, with an odd firmness to it, "I do love him, too, you know. And you are an uncommonly good friend, so I want to make sure you're aware."
"I'm a /great/ friend," he grins, striving for unruffled and almost getting there, "but you still oughta take off." HE KNOWS what stubbornness sounds like, he is frands with Dr. Jekyll.
<@Hasibe> "I will! I really will. Maybe I can hang out in Toronto for a couple weeks, say I'm going touring. Don't worry, okay? Or at least, not about me." Her tone is more toward 'reassuring,' because she does intend to go! Just...first things first.
* Utterson will totally hug Hasi goodbye, because ....Henry loves her, so pretty much automatically Gabriel is invested in her as a friend. "You know you can call if you need anything. Like- you know, with that guy." Yes. That other guy.
* @Hasibe likes hugs, and frankly kind of needs one, hi. "I will." Maybe, if she's in a crisis, but probably she'd be too worried. "Thank you again."
* Utterson is built like a mattress, so! He hugs excellently. If he does say so himself. "'s what I'm here for. You take care of yourself." He'll see himself out of the building, and resume worrying immediately.
<@Utterson> He catches a tiny old man coming out of the building with a bunch of recycling and slips artfully in as the gentleman leaves, eventually to arrive at Hasi's door with an envelope in his suit jacket pocket, an expression of discontent bemusement on his ordinarily jovial features.
* @Hasibe answers fairly promptly, and she is in fact somewhat startled to see Utterson on her doorstep, but--not as much as she might be. Her first thought is that something happened to Henry. "Hi."
* @Utterson looks carefully at her for a second, because ...look, weird shit has been surrounding her existence, uh. But she does not APPEAR to be like 'where's my money, motherfucker,' so perhaps all of this is exactly as bizarre to her as it is to him. "Hi, you got a couple minutes? I'm unarmed." It's ...meant to be charming.
* @Hasibe presses a hand to her mouth, and nods; she stands aside, wordless for a few seconds. And then: "Did--is Henry okay, did something happen? ...I'm assuming this isn't purely a social visit."
<@Utterson> "Wouldn't be wearing the lawyer uniform if it was, sorry to say." ....There might be Hawaiian shirts involved when he isn't wearing a suit. Utterson is a creature of mystery. "Officially I've gotta deliver this to you--" he taps the envelope, "But you tell me if somethin' happened, man, I never see him anymore."
<@Hasibe> "Me either," she admits, frowning, "I talked to him on the phone, but...what's in the envelope?"
<@Utterson> "Lotta zeroes," he deadpans, slipping the envelope out of his pocket and passing it to her with raised eyebrows. His wirerims bob briefly on his nose, as if to punctuate this. "I been tryina get him to sell that place for /years/, you know, like- livin' there makes him all tense." He ...is clearly assuming Hasi /knew/ Henry was going about this enterprise.
* @Hasibe opens the envelope, and...just kind of stares at it, and then Utterson. "He--he sold his house? When did this..."
* @Hasibe leans back against an end table, frowning, and then she shakes her head. "I'm sorry--did you want anything to drink? It's just a little stressed around here lately."
* @Utterson looks briefly like he would like to drink everything ever, possibly, then waves her off with both hands, the epitome of a dude who is usually very zen and wishing to maintain that yet...failing. "Look, uh- you didn't know about this? I mean, like, he didn't just /sell/ the house, you know, I'm not just showin' you the check so's you can look at it. He wants you to have the money."
<@Utterson> Henry also wants her to like, gfto the /country/ but Utterson sort of figures he can let this sink in. First.
* @Hasibe wants to know where the hell Henry intends to live, then--what he's /doing/. She sits down on a chair, hands clasped in her lap with the envelope on her knees. "He's keeping secrets. I'm really worried about him--I wish he'd just tell me what's going on, he keeps saying it's his work, but I don't believe it."
* @Utterson also sits, because he is that sort of fellow, instantly comfortable in most settings even if today is phenomenally weird. "It's been like, 15 years since I met this guy, right? That's huge, you know, we been friends through all /kinds/ of shit, and he ain't never been like this. If it's not the work, then you got me, honey,"
<@Utterson> "'cause it's like that's all he's living for, whatever he's shut up in there doin'."
* @Utterson scrutinizes her a second, looking more like an actual lawyer and not some insane person in a suit: "There anything else in that?" The envelope, he means. WHICH THERE IS.
* @Hasibe takes out a letter, and unfolds it. "He wrote me something, it looks like. Maybe it'll explain."
"Hi, Hasi. If Gabriel has delivered this letter as I asked - which he will, I suspect, he's an excellent lawyer even when his skills at minding his own affairs are lacking - I've probably caused you a great deal of confusion, and I hope you can forgive me for that I have devoutly wished for another way to go about this, and having found none accepted confusion is merely a natural consequence of my actions.
Before anything else, I love you and always will- is it possible that I always have? That some part of me knew you before this- all of this madness, I suppose- I would like to believe that could be true. (Gabriel, I suspect you're hearing this; if I am very, very lucky I'll have the benefit of hearing you told me so.)
Hasi, I asked you once if I needed you to go somewhere that you would, without question or delay, and much as I have done to prevent the necessity of asking, that time is now. All the apologizing in the world will not explain or change any of this; if you're angry with me, then you have every right to be. But for your sake - and mine - you cannot seek me out, you must leave as soon as you can. The check with this letter does not quite allow for unlimited possibilities, but I hope it allows you the possibility of somewhere you'd like to be- even if it's a place I can never know. It isn't safe.
"Please believe this is the most difficult choice I've ever made, and that you made me happy, even if it was only for a very little while. I love you. Have I said that already? I love you, I do, and as inadequate as it is, I'm sorry for all of this.
-Henry Jekyll, October 2009"
* @Hasibe reads the whole thing out loud, and then sort of crumples it in her hands, like she's folding it close without thinking. Despite what Henry says, she doesn't think she can just stay away.
* Utterson gets that lawyer look again. "I said 15 years, right? Like a decade and a half? And- that whole time I never seen him act like he does about you about like, anything, 'cept his job. I just- you know, I don't get him anymore, I don't even know what the hell he thinks he's doin', but as a lawyer," this is clearly facetious, out of habit even if the joke is falling a little flat, "I'd advise you to do what he's sayin', there." He is so confused. ._.
<@Hasibe> "Okay. I'll go tomorrow night," she promises (because tomorrow afternoon, she's going to do something else), "That'll give me enough time to pack. I don't know /where/ I'll go, but...somewhere. Thank you for bringing this by."
* Utterson wonders, but - despite Henry's quasi-ribbing in the letter there, he really is very good at minding his own business, and that's not always /good/. "If I /don't/ get the chance to say I told you so, it's really gonna annoy me." Ha....ha.
<@Hasibe> "I'm sure you will. I'll make sure of it," she adds, with an odd firmness to it, "I do love him, too, you know. And you are an uncommonly good friend, so I want to make sure you're aware."
"I'm a /great/ friend," he grins, striving for unruffled and almost getting there, "but you still oughta take off." HE KNOWS what stubbornness sounds like, he is frands with Dr. Jekyll.
<@Hasibe> "I will! I really will. Maybe I can hang out in Toronto for a couple weeks, say I'm going touring. Don't worry, okay? Or at least, not about me." Her tone is more toward 'reassuring,' because she does intend to go! Just...first things first.
* Utterson will totally hug Hasi goodbye, because ....Henry loves her, so pretty much automatically Gabriel is invested in her as a friend. "You know you can call if you need anything. Like- you know, with that guy." Yes. That other guy.
* @Hasibe likes hugs, and frankly kind of needs one, hi. "I will." Maybe, if she's in a crisis, but probably she'd be too worried. "Thank you again."
* Utterson is built like a mattress, so! He hugs excellently. If he does say so himself. "'s what I'm here for. You take care of yourself." He'll see himself out of the building, and resume worrying immediately.