He was not blind to the look of slight irritation at his interruption. The oddly familiar woman clearly had walls built up around her. Tall walls. At her gesturing he took the seat across from her, his eyes shifting towards his abandoned spot in a much more private corner of the shop. Like her he preferred his solitude, only stepping outside of his bubble when the need became to great to ignore.
Across from his, hesitation rang clearly in the thickness of her voice. There was a past dancing behind her eyes as she regarded him with stiff formality. Though she sounded American, there was a hint of something else behind the thinly veiled façade. Unable to confirm his suspicions, he rested his back against the plush armchair he’d claimed, and, with folded hands, he studied her face.
Unforgettable. Her features, her eyes, the softness of her hair. Though her demeanor was stiff, she had every right to me hesitant. He was a stranger to her and, if they shared any similarities, he had a feeling that they both preferred to remain unbothered.
There was something in her eyes, however. A glow that took him back to his childhood. Joke that it was. As a boy he’d been abandoned at a fairly popular boarding school by his grandparents. His mother very clearly had no interest in raising him and his own father had been an anonymous figure in his life – not a very common topic of conversation. When his mother had decided that she’d had enough of the mothering bit she’d left him to the care of her stiff, formal parents who wasted no time in pawning him off, yet again. At least they had the curtesy to pretend they were doing it for his benefit. Though, even as a young boy, he’d known that their motivation was just as selfish as their daughter’s.
During his stay at the boarding school there had been a girl to arrive only a year after him. This strangers eyes were hauntingly similar.
But that was impossible. This woman was an American, by all tells, and this all happened back in England.
Abruptly he stood, feeling foolish. ”I beg your pardon,” he offered apologetically. ”I must be mistaken.” He smoothed down his coat and cleared his throat. ”I apologize, you simply reminded me of an old school companion. I simply couldn’t resist my own foolish wonderings.”
@[Sabra] I hope you don't mind. I took some liberties.