A Candle in the Wind

Oliver went to work, the odd phone calls still leaving him feeling unsettled and confused. Getting off the bus, hands in pockets, he walked to the store. Entering, he was surprised to see a young kid, maybe nine or ten standing there with an apron on, slender arms wrapped around a box.

“Hey,” said Oliver, smiling at the boy.

“You must be Oliver,” said the kid, grinning back.

“Yeah, I’m Oliver. Are you my replacement?” he asked jokingly.

“I’m Aventus, this is my mother’s shop,” he explained.

“Aventus? That’s cool name,” Oliver replied, nodding. “Vesper is your mother?” he inquired, kind of surprised. It had never occurred to him she might have a child.

The kid nodded, “Yep,” he said.

Vesper appeared from the back of the store. Spy9ing Oliver, she smiled, “I see you’ve met my little man,” she stated, nodding to the boy.

Oliver nodded, “Affirmative,” he replied. “At first I thought maybe you had hired a replacement,” he added with a chuckle.

Vesper shook her head, hair swishing across her shoulders, “Hardly. I think you’ve fit in quite nicely here,” she said, a bit of a sparkle in her eye.

“I’m going to put this in the back,” Aventus announced, hefting the box and sliding passed his mother.

“He seems like a nice kid,” Oliver praised.

Looking over her shoulder then back to Oliver, “He is a good boy,” she said, tilting her head to the side. “Something on your mind, you don’t quite seem all here,” she commented, closing the distance between them and reaching a hand up, cupping his cheek.

“Just some stuff going on at home,” he murmured, delighting in the feel of her fingers lingering on his face.

“Oh?” she queried, lowering her hand, a concerned expression replacing the smile on her face.

“I don’t know,” he answered with a shrug.

“Come now, you know you can tell me,” she encouraged.

He chuckled, “Probably just reading too much into it, but my mom is acting a little out of character is all and I can’t quite put my finger on why,” he explained, shaking his head.

“What has Sam all out of sorts?” she probed.

Oliver paused before responding. Had he told her his mother’s name? He couldn’t recall specifically but he was pretty sure he hadn’t. How then did she know his mother’s name? “Like I said, I’m probably just over thinking it.”

Her eyes narrowed slightly, almost imperceptibly, but he saw it. “Has to be something,” she prodded.

He laughed, “Apron strings,” he stated, making light of the situation, though that unsettling feeling returned to the pit of his stomach.

“You’re probably right,” Vesper said, putting her hand on his shoulder and giving him a light pat of reassurance. “Did I mention, the hulking boy from the house the other night, the football player, he got his third band. The girls will be throwing him a little welcome tonight and you are invited,” she stated.

“Bear Briar?” he asked.

Her face brightened, “Yes, that’s his name,” she responded.

“I’m not sure,” he said, a noncommittal expression on his face.

Vesper frowned, the lines marring the beauty of her face, “I’m sure Sersei won’t be too disappointed should you pass on the get together,” she said.

The mention of the girl’s name brought an image of her to his mind. There were so many random bits of information in his head that didn’t quite seem to make a whole lot of sense individually, but as it piled up, the alarm claxon in his head sounded louder. He needed something to give, some Rosetta stone that brought all the information into context. Maybe going back to the Omega house might give him that something. Exaggerating a roll of his eyes, he grinned at her, “Okay, I’ll go,” he conceded.

“Excellent, we’ll go right from here after work,” she replied just as Aventus returned to the room.

“I put the box with the others,” stated the boy.

“Thanks,” Vespers said, tussling the boy’s hair. “Maybe you could Oliver a hand getting the rest of those boxes put away?” she suggested.

“Sure,” Aventus replied with a huge grin.

“Alright then, I’ll leave the men to work,” she said, nodding and disappearing back into her office.

“Your mom is really nice,” Oliver said.

“Yep,” said the boy, walking over to where there were a stack of box similar in dimension to the one he had moved earlier.

“What about your dad?” Oliver inquired.

Aventus shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know. I never met him and mom doesn’t talk too much about him,” he replied, bending over to pick up another box.

“No stepdad?” asked the older boy, scooping up three of the boxes.

“Nah, just me and mom,” he answered, grunting as he hefted the box to belly height.

Oh? That must be hard when she’s working late?” Oliver said.

Aventus grinned, “Most of the times girls from the sorority come over and watch me,” he replied.

“Omega Pi girls?”

He nodded, moving through the door into the back, Oliver trailing. “It’s not babysitting because I’m not a baby,” he added, setting his box down.

Oliver chuckled, placing his burden beside the box Aventus has just deposited. “Do you have a favorite girl?”

“Teagan is super nice, she calls me her little trooper. I think I’ll miss Carrie the most. Mom says she graduated last June and is going to school someplace else this fall. Most of them are pretty nice and I haven’t met the new girls yet,” he said, brushing his hands together.

“Have you met Sersei?”

“Uh huh, she calls me cutie pie,” he said with an exasperated tone followed by a noise of disapproval, making Oliver laugh.

“She gave me this band,” Oliver said, displaying the vibrant pink wrist decoration.

“Allie said I’m too young to get wristbands yet, but once I’m ready for university I’ll get some then. I don’t know if I want pink one though,” he offered, again drawing a smile from Oliver.

Together the two boys got all of the boxes moved in short order. No sooner hand they finished when Vesper appeared, looking at Oliver. “You mind watching the shop while I get Aventus settled for the night?” she asked.

“Sure,” he replied, nodding before looking at the boy, “Thanks for the help. It was nice to meet you,” he added.

“You too,” replied the kid, allowing himself to be ushered out of the shop.

“I’ll be back in a half hour or so,” Vesper informed. “You want a coffee or anything?”

“I’m good,” he replied. A half hour. It would give him a chance to take a quick look around the place to see what if anything he might find that might be out of the ordinary.