‘Hi! Thanks for coming out and meeting us.’
‘No problem. I figure you’d rather not look after four kids on your own.’
‘The others are coming along later. They just had some errands first, so I offered to go on ahead. Anyway, all we have to do is watch from a distance.’
‘Ooooh, it’s Raya’s friend!’
‘…Or not.’
‘Hi!’
‘Hey, nice to meet you.’
‘I should introduce this lot. This is Carmella, and the boys are Tristan, Zeus and Charon.’
‘Is he your boyfriend, Raya?’
‘Um, no. He’s just a good friend.’
‘Aww, that’s a shame. When are you gonna get a boyfriend?’
‘Probably not any time soon… Why does it matter?’
‘Because it’d be really sweet! Aria said she’s never getting one, so that means you should.’
‘No way! If she gets a boyfriend, she won’t spend as much time with us!’
‘Hey, I’ll always have time for you lot.’
‘C’mon guys, I wanna go skating.’
‘Yeah, why don’t you do that? We’ll watch you.’
‘Alright! Last one to the skating rink smells of poo! And Zeus smells of poo anyway!’
‘You’re such a jerk, Tristan!’
‘Be nice to each other!’
‘…Wow. I bet they’re kind of a handful, huh?’
‘They sure like to bicker.’
‘Are you gonna skate at all?’
‘Well, I could, but I might fall flat on my face.’
‘Hey, I’d catch you if that happened.’
‘Haha, I’ll hold you to that.’
‘So what are your plans for after school? You didn’t apply to uni, did you?’
‘No, I didn’t. Edward’s a bit disappointed, since Aria didn’t either. He thinks we’re wasting our potential.’
‘Well, you’re obviously smart to be in the top classes at school.’
‘Thanks.’
‘Why aren’t you going, then?’
‘Same reason as Aria. I guess I’m afraid to move out of the area and not be near the triplets.’
‘It’s your life too, though. You can’t put it on hold for the triplets, even though you do care about them. That’s what their mum’s for.’
‘It’s not their mum I’m worried about.’
‘…Raya, if you think he’s badly hurting them, don’t you think it needs more than just you sticking around?’
‘I don’t think he’s hurting them. He’s nicer to them than he ever was to us, I know that much. But they need someone to come to if that changes. Someone who understands. And nice as Roxxi is, she buried her head in the sand when we came to her with… the truth.’
‘Yeah, good point… How can she stay with someone she knows treated his older kids like shit?’
‘I think she’s trapped, Logan. Ellis said she was really worried about being on her own. Her parents wouldn’t support her. And I believe it. I met them, they were weird. Nobody normal happily marries off their nineteen-year-old to a man in his forties.’
‘God… he’s kinda gross, isn’t he?’
‘Tell me about it.’
‘Sorry, Raya. I didn’t mean to upset you.’
‘It’s fine. But it explains why I don’t feel comfortable going. Besides, there’s opportunities here, I’m sure of it. I’ll just look for other local courses and jobs. I like cooking, maybe I could find something related to that. And plenty of jobs can be a career, right? With promotions, and stuff.’
‘Yeah, good point.’
‘So what about you? You applied, didn’t you?’
‘Yeah, but… well, I also applied to the fire service.’
‘The fire service?’
‘…I’ve always thought it’d be good to be a firefighter. It’s a really necessary job. I’ve been working a lot on my fitness. So if I get in, it’ll be a great opportunity.’
‘Well, good for you. That’s really brave…’
‘Thanks. I might not even get it, but hey… Are you alright?’
‘I won’t lie and say fire doesn’t terrify me. And the thought of you being in that position terrifies me even more. But if it weren’t for firefighters, I’d be dead, so…’
‘…Y’know, you called me brave, but I think you’ve been just as brave.’
‘I wouldn’t willingly go into another fire, though.’
‘Nor should you. I’m just saying, I couldn’t begin to imagine what it was like. And maybe I’ll be able to prevent people going through what you did.’
‘Logan… I’m glad people like you exist.’
‘Well, thanks. That means a lot to me.’
‘…Maybe none of it’ll matter anyway, if your band makes it big.’
‘Oh, yeah. That’d be the best thing!’
‘Though I’d miss you guys if that happened. Always going away on tour.’
‘Well, if that happened, we could just take you with us on tour. As a caterer, or something. If you ignore the whole triplets situation, anyway.’
‘Yeah… it’s a nice thought.’
‘It’ll all work out. We’ll find a way to stick together. If it’s uni for me, I’ll still be local. And if it’s the band… By then the triplets might be all grown up anyway.’
‘Good point. I can barely believe they’re nearly ten.’
‘Besides, it takes a long time to break into the music industry, if you ever do manage it. It won’t be the end of the world if we don’t. It’d be great, but having the band just as a side gig would be fine.’
‘It’s good to have a realistic backup plan.’
‘Hey, sorry we’re late. Are they behaving?’
[
‘About as much as normal.’
‘So, mostly, then.’
‘Yep.’
‘Go on, we’ll take over. You two go off and do something fun.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yeah, go on.’
‘Maybe we should try that skating after all.’
‘Well, it’s either that or dancing, which I’m not great at either. And I’m not going to subject anyone to kissing me at that booth, so…’
‘I’m sure someone like you doesn’t need to pay someone to kiss them…’
‘Oh, thank you… Alright, let’s skate, then.’
‘He seems a nice young man.’
‘Yeah, I think so too. Good job, really, because I think he quite likes her, and if he wasn’t, I’d have to come after him.’
‘I think she quite likes him, as well.’
‘Looks like it.’
‘Bless her. It’s weird to think she’s rapidly approaching adulthood. Where did all that time go?’
‘I wish I knew.’
‘It feels like life is passing me by, sometimes. But what time do I even have, after work and childcare?’
‘You do have time, you just spend it online. Whether that’s a good use of it, only you can decide.’
‘It’s easier to connect with people on there… They’re usually into the same things as me, and I don’t have to explain to them about being a single dad.’
‘God, why am I saying all of this? Sorry, I’m coming over all gloomy.’
‘I understand, though. I know what you’re saying. But look on the bright side: at least one of us is gonna be well-adjusted.’
‘Yeah, and I’m really grateful for how mature she’s turned out. I just hope she hasn’t aged too prematurely. God knows the girl needs to have some fun now and again.’
‘She’ll be fine, Ellis. We’ll make sure of that. We always do.’
‘No problem. I figure you’d rather not look after four kids on your own.’
‘The others are coming along later. They just had some errands first, so I offered to go on ahead. Anyway, all we have to do is watch from a distance.’
‘Ooooh, it’s Raya’s friend!’
‘…Or not.’
‘Hi!’
‘Hey, nice to meet you.’
‘I should introduce this lot. This is Carmella, and the boys are Tristan, Zeus and Charon.’
‘Is he your boyfriend, Raya?’
‘Um, no. He’s just a good friend.’
‘Aww, that’s a shame. When are you gonna get a boyfriend?’
‘Probably not any time soon… Why does it matter?’
‘Because it’d be really sweet! Aria said she’s never getting one, so that means you should.’
‘No way! If she gets a boyfriend, she won’t spend as much time with us!’
‘Hey, I’ll always have time for you lot.’
‘C’mon guys, I wanna go skating.’
‘Yeah, why don’t you do that? We’ll watch you.’
‘Alright! Last one to the skating rink smells of poo! And Zeus smells of poo anyway!’
‘You’re such a jerk, Tristan!’
‘Be nice to each other!’
‘…Wow. I bet they’re kind of a handful, huh?’
‘They sure like to bicker.’
‘Are you gonna skate at all?’
‘Well, I could, but I might fall flat on my face.’
‘Hey, I’d catch you if that happened.’
‘Haha, I’ll hold you to that.’
‘So what are your plans for after school? You didn’t apply to uni, did you?’
‘No, I didn’t. Edward’s a bit disappointed, since Aria didn’t either. He thinks we’re wasting our potential.’
‘Well, you’re obviously smart to be in the top classes at school.’
‘Thanks.’
‘Why aren’t you going, then?’
‘Same reason as Aria. I guess I’m afraid to move out of the area and not be near the triplets.’
‘It’s your life too, though. You can’t put it on hold for the triplets, even though you do care about them. That’s what their mum’s for.’
‘It’s not their mum I’m worried about.’
‘…Raya, if you think he’s badly hurting them, don’t you think it needs more than just you sticking around?’
‘I don’t think he’s hurting them. He’s nicer to them than he ever was to us, I know that much. But they need someone to come to if that changes. Someone who understands. And nice as Roxxi is, she buried her head in the sand when we came to her with… the truth.’
‘Yeah, good point… How can she stay with someone she knows treated his older kids like shit?’
‘I think she’s trapped, Logan. Ellis said she was really worried about being on her own. Her parents wouldn’t support her. And I believe it. I met them, they were weird. Nobody normal happily marries off their nineteen-year-old to a man in his forties.’
‘God… he’s kinda gross, isn’t he?’
‘Tell me about it.’
‘Sorry, Raya. I didn’t mean to upset you.’
‘It’s fine. But it explains why I don’t feel comfortable going. Besides, there’s opportunities here, I’m sure of it. I’ll just look for other local courses and jobs. I like cooking, maybe I could find something related to that. And plenty of jobs can be a career, right? With promotions, and stuff.’
‘Yeah, good point.’
‘So what about you? You applied, didn’t you?’
‘Yeah, but… well, I also applied to the fire service.’
‘The fire service?’
‘…I’ve always thought it’d be good to be a firefighter. It’s a really necessary job. I’ve been working a lot on my fitness. So if I get in, it’ll be a great opportunity.’
‘Well, good for you. That’s really brave…’
‘Thanks. I might not even get it, but hey… Are you alright?’
‘I won’t lie and say fire doesn’t terrify me. And the thought of you being in that position terrifies me even more. But if it weren’t for firefighters, I’d be dead, so…’
‘…Y’know, you called me brave, but I think you’ve been just as brave.’
‘I wouldn’t willingly go into another fire, though.’
‘Nor should you. I’m just saying, I couldn’t begin to imagine what it was like. And maybe I’ll be able to prevent people going through what you did.’
‘Logan… I’m glad people like you exist.’
‘Well, thanks. That means a lot to me.’
‘…Maybe none of it’ll matter anyway, if your band makes it big.’
‘Oh, yeah. That’d be the best thing!’
‘Though I’d miss you guys if that happened. Always going away on tour.’
‘Well, if that happened, we could just take you with us on tour. As a caterer, or something. If you ignore the whole triplets situation, anyway.’
‘Yeah… it’s a nice thought.’
‘It’ll all work out. We’ll find a way to stick together. If it’s uni for me, I’ll still be local. And if it’s the band… By then the triplets might be all grown up anyway.’
‘Good point. I can barely believe they’re nearly ten.’
‘Besides, it takes a long time to break into the music industry, if you ever do manage it. It won’t be the end of the world if we don’t. It’d be great, but having the band just as a side gig would be fine.’
‘It’s good to have a realistic backup plan.’
‘Hey, sorry we’re late. Are they behaving?’
[‘About as much as normal.’
‘So, mostly, then.’
‘Yep.’
‘Go on, we’ll take over. You two go off and do something fun.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yeah, go on.’
‘Maybe we should try that skating after all.’
‘Well, it’s either that or dancing, which I’m not great at either. And I’m not going to subject anyone to kissing me at that booth, so…’
‘I’m sure someone like you doesn’t need to pay someone to kiss them…’
‘Oh, thank you… Alright, let’s skate, then.’
‘He seems a nice young man.’
‘Yeah, I think so too. Good job, really, because I think he quite likes her, and if he wasn’t, I’d have to come after him.’
‘I think she quite likes him, as well.’
‘Looks like it.’
‘Bless her. It’s weird to think she’s rapidly approaching adulthood. Where did all that time go?’
‘I wish I knew.’
‘It feels like life is passing me by, sometimes. But what time do I even have, after work and childcare?’
‘You do have time, you just spend it online. Whether that’s a good use of it, only you can decide.’
‘It’s easier to connect with people on there… They’re usually into the same things as me, and I don’t have to explain to them about being a single dad.’
‘God, why am I saying all of this? Sorry, I’m coming over all gloomy.’
‘I understand, though. I know what you’re saying. But look on the bright side: at least one of us is gonna be well-adjusted.’
‘Yeah, and I’m really grateful for how mature she’s turned out. I just hope she hasn’t aged too prematurely. God knows the girl needs to have some fun now and again.’
‘She’ll be fine, Ellis. We’ll make sure of that. We always do.’
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