Al Drabble!
[ooc; Al is back!! yay!! i also mention alyssa in this too. so yay!! anyways, here it is. i'm sure there will have to be a thread or two or three that go with it. but for now, here's this. :D]
Thursday found Adler feeling much better and much more restless. Trips to the store or therapy and walks with the dogs were the only times he found himself out of the house and it was starting to get him down. So, when Al called and asked him to come to PT with her, for old time sake, he jumped at the opportunity.
This particular Thursday was a painting day and they had long since cast aside their ill-managed paintbrushes and settled instead for using their fingers. It was non-toxic paint, there was no harm in that.
Adler was busy working on a lovely summer scene, an ocean view from somewhere nice, peaceful. Al on the other hand was doing her best to recreate what Adler could only assume was a zombie apocalypse. Or at least equally bloody.
“Beautiful work you got going there.” Adler commented a bit sarcastically.
“I’m illustrating my Bucket List. You know. That thing you were supposed to help me complete.”
Sensing some tension, Adler decided to tread carefully with his next few words. “What’s the hurry? You aren’t going anywhere.”
“Every day I get closer to death.” It came out harsh and Adler visibly shrank a little in his seat, something Al seemed to notice because her next words were softer. “But so do you. We all do.”
“Right, right. And this illustration would be?”
“Zombie fight. Number one hundred and sixty.”
“Good to know you’ve limited it to the really important, doable things.” Adler laughed out. “I assume you have this list with you?”
Al nodded and reached into her backpack, sliding a small, leather bound book towards him. “You never know when you’ll be able to cross one off. Gotta be prepared.”
Wiping his hands off quickly on a paper towel, Adler picked up the book and started leafing through it, reading off some that caught his eye, but not without adding his own commentary of course.
“Get a tattoo-not til you are eighteen. Have a drink-no til you are twenty-one. Ride in a hot air balloon. Ride on an elephant. Feed a giraffe. Own a ferret. Live on my own-I’m sure your mom loved that one. Have someone named after me. See Hailey’s Comet.”
It kept going like that for a few pages until he reached one that was crossed out.
“Kiss a boy…why’d you cross it out?”
Al didn’t even look up before answering. “I didn’t, I just fixed it.”
Adler looked again and sure enough, there was small writing underneath the crossed out bits. “Kiss a cute boy.”
“Why should I settle just because I am close to death?”
The logic seemed to make sense to Adler but before he could continue, Al was looking at him. Shyly, but determined.
“I actually wanted to talk to you about that one.”
Adler blanched. “Oh no…no no no. I’m not going to be your first kiss.”
“Ew. That’s disgusting.” Al answered back just as quickly, wrinkling her nose. “Don’t be gross, you are like my brother….I want Leif to do it.”
“What?”
“Why not? He’s a cute guy.”
“And my husband.”
“Well I don’t expect him to fall in love with me. Just kiss me.”
“I thought you didn’t want to settle.”
“I didn’t want to settle for someone ugly. I’m not looking for romance here. Just a kiss…it’s not like he’s never kissed a girl before.”
For the second time in about ten minutes, Adler’s eyes bugged out of his head. “What? How do you know that?”
“Alyssa told me.”
“Wha-I….at the wedding?”
“No. We went to the movies.”
Adler groaned, resisting the urge to facepalm. “These are my friends. Why can’t you hang out with your own friends.”
“God. What is it with guys being so possessive. First your husband. Now your friend. Can I have the blue paint or are you going to jump down my throat about that too?”
Adler opened his mouth, but then shut it. Now that she mentioned it, he was feeling rather possessive over the blue paint…maybe he was overreacting.
“I can talk to Leif, but he has to okay it first.”
Al bounced a little in her seat, smiling like she just won something and when Adler thought about it, he figured she kind of did.
“Your list killing me.”
Al didn’t answer right away but rather settled for looking smug as she finished her painting. “And to think, you haven’t even gotten to the end yet.”
Thursday found Adler feeling much better and much more restless. Trips to the store or therapy and walks with the dogs were the only times he found himself out of the house and it was starting to get him down. So, when Al called and asked him to come to PT with her, for old time sake, he jumped at the opportunity.
This particular Thursday was a painting day and they had long since cast aside their ill-managed paintbrushes and settled instead for using their fingers. It was non-toxic paint, there was no harm in that.
Adler was busy working on a lovely summer scene, an ocean view from somewhere nice, peaceful. Al on the other hand was doing her best to recreate what Adler could only assume was a zombie apocalypse. Or at least equally bloody.
“Beautiful work you got going there.” Adler commented a bit sarcastically.
“I’m illustrating my Bucket List. You know. That thing you were supposed to help me complete.”
Sensing some tension, Adler decided to tread carefully with his next few words. “What’s the hurry? You aren’t going anywhere.”
“Every day I get closer to death.” It came out harsh and Adler visibly shrank a little in his seat, something Al seemed to notice because her next words were softer. “But so do you. We all do.”
“Right, right. And this illustration would be?”
“Zombie fight. Number one hundred and sixty.”
“Good to know you’ve limited it to the really important, doable things.” Adler laughed out. “I assume you have this list with you?”
Al nodded and reached into her backpack, sliding a small, leather bound book towards him. “You never know when you’ll be able to cross one off. Gotta be prepared.”
Wiping his hands off quickly on a paper towel, Adler picked up the book and started leafing through it, reading off some that caught his eye, but not without adding his own commentary of course.
“Get a tattoo-not til you are eighteen. Have a drink-no til you are twenty-one. Ride in a hot air balloon. Ride on an elephant. Feed a giraffe. Own a ferret. Live on my own-I’m sure your mom loved that one. Have someone named after me. See Hailey’s Comet.”
It kept going like that for a few pages until he reached one that was crossed out.
“Kiss a boy…why’d you cross it out?”
Al didn’t even look up before answering. “I didn’t, I just fixed it.”
Adler looked again and sure enough, there was small writing underneath the crossed out bits. “Kiss a cute boy.”
“Why should I settle just because I am close to death?”
The logic seemed to make sense to Adler but before he could continue, Al was looking at him. Shyly, but determined.
“I actually wanted to talk to you about that one.”
Adler blanched. “Oh no…no no no. I’m not going to be your first kiss.”
“Ew. That’s disgusting.” Al answered back just as quickly, wrinkling her nose. “Don’t be gross, you are like my brother….I want Leif to do it.”
“What?”
“Why not? He’s a cute guy.”
“And my husband.”
“Well I don’t expect him to fall in love with me. Just kiss me.”
“I thought you didn’t want to settle.”
“I didn’t want to settle for someone ugly. I’m not looking for romance here. Just a kiss…it’s not like he’s never kissed a girl before.”
For the second time in about ten minutes, Adler’s eyes bugged out of his head. “What? How do you know that?”
“Alyssa told me.”
“Wha-I….at the wedding?”
“No. We went to the movies.”
Adler groaned, resisting the urge to facepalm. “These are my friends. Why can’t you hang out with your own friends.”
“God. What is it with guys being so possessive. First your husband. Now your friend. Can I have the blue paint or are you going to jump down my throat about that too?”
Adler opened his mouth, but then shut it. Now that she mentioned it, he was feeling rather possessive over the blue paint…maybe he was overreacting.
“I can talk to Leif, but he has to okay it first.”
Al bounced a little in her seat, smiling like she just won something and when Adler thought about it, he figured she kind of did.
“Your list killing me.”
Al didn’t answer right away but rather settled for looking smug as she finished her painting. “And to think, you haven’t even gotten to the end yet.”