(no subject)

[guppy_sandhu]

Guppy is in one corner, with a pair of trousers, a bunch of pins and a very serious expression of concentration.

Despite his eldest son's insistence that Mum would be better at this task, Guppy has reassured his offspring that if he's capable of stitching people, he's more than capable of taking up a pair of trousers while Fran works on preparing the launch of her new business. It's not like he's using a sewing machine, which he agrees would be a disaster waiting to happen.

So far he has succeeded in not sewing it to his own trousers, which is a plus.

Comments

[cottoncandypink]

Wilford has been going stir-crazy a bit lately, flitting back and forth between home and the bar. Either place he goes is just as claustrophobic and cabin-fevery as the other, but he's having a harder and harder time justifying going outside.

When he sees Guppy hanging around today, he decides there are a few conversations that need to be had.

"We need to talk. Upstairs," he says, by way of a greeting.

Nothing he has to say is necessarily private, but he'd still rather not have people overhearing.

[guppy_sandhu]

Guppy looks up.

"Okay, but if this is a 'what did your child do' conversation, the kids and I have been in India for three weeks and haven't been in here."

He starts gathering up his pins.

"Hold this, please." he thrusts the sewing kit at Wilford.

[cottoncandypink]

"Good. Keep them there."

He takes the sewing kit, sparing it only the briefest glance at what it is.

[guppy_sandhu]

Rude.

"I have no control over that, they've got their own doors." Guppy says, picking up the trousers and following him. "Doesn't do my blood pressure any good them coming here unsupervised, I can assure you."

[cottoncandypink]

Wilford hands the kit back and starts leading the way upstairs.

"That's the problem," he says. "And I'd try to do something about it if I were you. You heard what happened, didn't you?"

He unlocks the door to his room and lets Guppy in, motioning to invite him to have a seat in one of the chairs. The room is incredibly basic in terms of furnishings, like a cheaper hotel suite. Bed, TV, sofa and a couple of chairs, but nothing fancy. Crayon smudges on the walls and dog toys shoved under the bed and sofa betrays it as a room that gets a decent amount of use.

[guppy_sandhu]

Eyeroll. "Like what? Ban them from using doors?"

He takes a seat.

"And if it's in the last three weeks no, what's up?"

[cottoncandypink]

"Some fucking cape lost his mind and tore through here like he was the god of fucking war," Wilford says, sitting on the sofa. "Beat the shit out of me, and who knows who else. Broke my jaw in three places." He points to the side of his face that Barry shattered. "Security let him just walk right out, so fuck those guys too."

That's been an opinion he's held for years, and it's not likely to change any time soon.

[guppy_sandhu]

"Oh shit, and you only just had that fixed." Guppy winces. "How are you feeling?"

[cottoncandypink]

"Yeah, and that was before I had a dictator to chase around." Clearly, he reset because like hell was he going to go through all that again on hard mode.

"Security was standing right there too. Just let him stroll right off. So if you ever needed more proof that they're useless, there you go."

He shakes his head. There's an hours-long rant there, but this isn't about security. Exactly.

"How long you been hanging around this place?"

[guppy_sandhu]

"Who was on duty? And coming on for about fifteen years or so."

[abyssum_invocat]

Quietly watching from another seat is a young woman studying what Guppy is doing. She doesn't recognize him, but the mechanics of what he's doing are obvious enough.

"You seem to be having trouble." She's spinning a rocks glass around her fingertip as she speaks--though on further inspection the glass isn't touching her at all.

[guppy_sandhu]

"Actually, useless as I am, this stuff I can actually do." Guppy says, giving her a smile. "However, I'm doing it extra carefully because I don't want my son to look daft."

[abyssum_invocat]

She just blinks at him for that explanation, lifting her brows a tiny bit. She herself hasn't changed clothes from what the bar gave her: a blue mini dress and short ankle boots, because her others were bloody.

"Would his clothes have any impact on his appearance of intelligence?"

[guppy_sandhu]

"I don't think he'll have trouble with that, but no tweenager wants to look silly at a new school."

[abyssum_invocat]

"I don't know that word," she says, politely enough but confused.

[guppy_sandhu]

Guppy considers for a moment.

"How would you feel if you had to walk around in a chicken costume?"

[abyssum_invocat]

"Tweenager," she says, after a protracted moment. She understands what silly means, etymologically speaking.

"What is that word?"

[guppy_sandhu]

"Oh, sorry. It's a word for a kid that has started to behave like a teenager but isn't actually thirteen or older."

[cook_the_rude]

"Good evening, Dr. Sandhu!"

That's Dr. Lecter, walking by with a glass ofd red wine in his hand.

[guppy_sandhu]

"Dr Lecter." Guppy says, politely. "How goes?"

[cook_the_rude]

"Thank you, quite well," Dr. Lecter says. "You're trying your hand at clothes-making now?"

[guppy_sandhu]

"Not making, just taking up." Guppy says. "Fry's starting secondary school in September and the kid we got these from is a bit taller than him."

[cook_the_rude]

Dr. Lecter nods. "British school uniforms," he says. "That must be a bother."

[guppy_sandhu]

"To an extent, though we buy a lot second hand and pass most of it down." Guppy says. "Brooke's has been worse than Fry this year, because her new school doesn't have an official second hand shop and there was nothing her size at the bring and swap, whereas Fry we got everything but shirts and underwear from his friend Lenny. Oh, and he insisted on buying his own new tie, which is fair enough."

[cook_the_rude]

"He'll only need one of them, and not grow out of them," Dr. Lecter nods. "But -- school uniform underwear?"