Angelo/Amara: Friday afternoon

[x-molten.livejournal.com]

Amara needs a break from work and decides to visit the boathouse.

It was mid-afternoon of a successful day's work, and Angelo considered that reason enough to take a little cigarette break, out on the deck of the boathouse with his dog flopped across his feet. It was peaceful, out there, just as it always had been.

Amara had the same notion, minus the cigarette. After a full day of classes, she was ready for a well-deserved break, and decided seeing Nathan and Rachel was the perfect diversion. She hummed to herself as she wandered outside and toward the boathouse, enjoying the perfect afternoon. Mounting the porch steps, she paused when she saw Angelo.

"Hello," she ventured. "Is Nathan in?"

"Not right now", he said apologetically. "He went into the city for somethin', I think. Anythin' I can help with?"

Amara shook her head, loose blond hair falling in front of her face. "No. Nothing important," she said, tucking the hair behind her ear. "I needed the break and, well, the boathouse is a very good place to go." She remembered her manners and added, "I'm Amara, by the way. I have seen you around, but haven't properly introduced myself yet."

"Angelo." He twisted in his seat, offering a hand. "Good to meet you. Stay awhile, if you want to."

She walked to his chair and took Angelo's hand. "Pleased to meet you. I think I will take you up on your offer." She sat cross-legged in a chair near his and drank in the quiet. Her gaze traveled down to the dog and she smiled. "The dog completes the afternoon. Sunshine, a slight breeze, a cool porch, and a canine companion."

"Yeah, we're havin' a good day", he said with a smile, looking down at the Labrador. "She's Joyita, by the way."

"Joyita. What a perfect name." Amara reached a hand down to the dog so that Joyita could catch her scent, and then scritched her around the ears and neck. "Hola, hermosa. Como estas? Soy feliz que estas teniendo un buen día." The name seemed to call for Spanish.

Angelo sat up straighter at the sound of the words, grinning, as the dog licked Amara's hands. "Tu hablas espanol?"

Amara looked up at Angelo, grinning back. "Si, si. Hablo espanol tan bien como hablo ingles. Mi madre me enseñó." She laughed at the dog's enthusiasm and leaned out of her chair to scratch her way down Joyita's back. "Es bueno encontrar a otra persona que hable español."

"Nací en Los Angeles", he told her, as the dog thumped her tail on the deck in obvious ecstasy. "En el barrio."

"Ah. Naci en Nova Roma, Brasil. El barrio? Qué es ese?" Amara was still learning American culture and while she knew where Los Angeles was located, she had never used the term "barrio" the way Angelo obviously was.

He gestured vaguely, trying to explain it in more than the one word. "Es... un área de la ciudad, para los Latinos. Un área pobre."

"Yo veo. Entonces Nova Roma sería un barrio también. Muy pobre, pero tenía mucha diversa gente." A poor area, like her own little town. "Quisiera ver su casa."

"Tu lo faltas?" he asked, sitting up to look at her. "Su Nova Roma?"

Amara ducked her head to hide a sudden welling of tears, focusing on the dog instead. "Si. Lo falto."

Angelo nodded at the not-unexpected answer, trying to think of a way to continue the conversation without making her cry (more). "Quieres lo hablar? Su casa?"

She brushed at her eyes with a knuckle and swallowed down the rest of her tears. With a final pat on Joyita's head, she returned fully to her chair. "Mi padre construyó nuestra casa. Es pequeña, pero tranquila. Bastantes grande para tres... dos, porque mi madre murió. Tengo un jardín pequeño con los verduras y las hierbas. Nuestra casa está cerca del bosque, así que tenemos siempre animales cercano. Es hermosa."

Angelo looked at her solemnly, taking in her words. "Yo nunca sierra un bosque, en Los Angeles. Nunca sali de la ciudad, excepto a veces, fuimos a la playa."

"Nunca he visto el océano. Lo veré quizá, un alguno día." Speaking Spanish was bringing back too many memories of home. "Can we return to English? It's been harder to speak Spanish, since my mother... It's been harder."

"Course", he said apologetically, leaning back in his chair again. "So apart from the change... how're you settlin' in at the mansion?"

"Well, I think. All of my teachers have been wonderful. The other students are very friendly and...they understand...what I've been through. It's nice to have that. Even nicer to have a room of my own," she said with a wink. "How long have you been at Xavier's?"

"Three years just gone", he said after a moment's calculation. "Got here in August, so... yeah, three years. Two as a student, one as a graduate workin' for Nathan."

"What sort of work do you do for Nathan? Do you work in his organization?" Amara only knew the barest details of Elpis, but she was interested to learn more.

"Yeah, I do... pretty much whatever he tells me to. Go to conferences, do research for him for the organization's work, go on trips with him to set up projects an' investigate things that might be problems... try an' keep him out of trouble..."

"That last bit must be a full time job," she remarked, laughing. "I saw him flying over the lake in his bird-form a while back. He looked so happy up there. I can't imagine how you managed to get him down. The rest, though, it sounds like a wonderful job."

"That one was just a matter of waitin' for him to get tired", Angelo said with a grin. "An'... yeah, I wouldn't change it for much. I was all set to leave when he made me the offer, 'cause I wasn't doin' much of anythin' here, but... wasn't gonna turn down that chance."

"I get the impression many students stay here after graduating. I know I will find it hard to leave." And I will leave, she added to herself. I will return to my home someday. She leaned down again to scritch behind Joyita's ears. "I never had a dog, but I did take care of the neighborhood dog pack when they needed it. Are students allowed pets?"

He shrugged. "Mom followed me a couple years after I came East, an' there was nothin' to take me back to LA after she left an' every reason to stay away, so... here I stay. A lot of people who do leave seem to find their way back, too. An' yeah, we're allowed pets. Most people that do, have dogs, but we've got a couple cats, a parrot an' a turtle, too."

"Maybe my father will follow me as well. But a pet would be a great comfort, for when it gets too lonely. A dog would be a good companion. Maybe a breed like Joyita. Smart, sweet, and big enough to hug. Those little yappy dogs are very irritating." She had seen some "purse dogs" in New York and thought the little beasts were hideous. Dogs should be large and impressive, not quivering, shivering things.

Angelo looked at her thoughtfully, lighting another cigarette. "You know, Rahne works at an animal shelter not far from here, in her spare time. If you really want a dog, I bet she'd take you up there to pick out a puppy."

Amara nodded. "I will do that, then." She looked at the sky and calculated the time by the height of the sun. "I should be going. I think the homework multiplies when I'm not around." She rose to her feet and gave Joyita a farewell pat. "It was nice meeting you. Be good." Then she looked at Angelo. "It was nice meeting you, too. I'll see you later?"

"Definitely. Hard to miss people, round here", he said with a wave and a last grin. "Good meetin' you too, Amara."