Serendipity || Jelena

Thursday, April 7, 1921
In Front Of Cafe, Downtown London
10:30 AM

Morgan, like most children, was growing. Maddox had been putting off taking her shopping for new clothes. It wasn't because of financial constraints. Even as a single parent, his income was sufficient, and his savings picked up where his salary couldn't reach. Shopping itself was the event that the man tried to avoid. Hours spent among crowds to the incessant din of several conversations taking place at once, and the subtly sour scent of too many bodies congregating in one place for too long, often sent the man into sensory hell.

It was for that reason, and the fact that his daughter was now 14 and old enough to enter shopping establishments alone, that Maddox chose to sit and wait for her under one of the umbrella-ed seating areas just outside. He wasn't particularly concerned that she might overspend, having given her a set amount. A £5 note, enough to get her a new dress or two, or some new blouses and skirts, maybe some shoes, a pair of trousers if she preferred.

He wouldn't tell her how to spend what he'd given her, but he also wouldn't listen if she came back with very little that had cost her a lot.

Maddox was trying this business of...trust...and letting her gain small amounts of independence while he and Evander shared a milkshake. Rather...he was trying to, but it seemed nearly every sip was the toddler's turn.

Eventually, he gave up. Maddox eased back into his chair, leaving his son to the icy treat. It was enough for him that it gave the boy a reason to sit still. Chasing him through the streets of London wasn't on the agenda for the morning.

"You'd think your sister was planning to buy half the store," he scoffed lightly to his 2-year-old. Evander only went on slurping as if he had the stomach to contain it all.

Not far from the cafe, he heard the stirrings of a commotion. Aside from a flicker of his blue eyes in the direction of his toddler to ensure he was fine, the man chose not to react. For all intents and purposes, the man was on vacation. Hogwarts had caused him enough stress. He wouldn't allow the wider wizarding to do the same.

There were few things in this world she enjoyed more than shopping.

For that—and for many things more, like her enormous sense of self-importance—she couldn’t quite understand why they would think there was more story to what was happening at that very moment, other than she had forgotten her wallet at her apartment.

She sighed, she dramatically wondered how her life had come up to that point, where she was left waiting by the doors, trying to argue her way out of the store, since her charms hadn’t worked.

(And that, itself, had been a bitter realization.)

She looked up at the security guard, gaze narrowing as the gears of her brain continued to work, her always scheming mind already scrambling for another solution to her problem that didn’t include to leave behind a dress she was sure would be gone by the time she had been able to come back to pay for it.

“You can’t—” she started, cutting herself short when she recognized the figure of a man she hadn’t seen in years. “Maddox?”

Confused, she suddenly lost trail of what she was saying. Her finger, previously pointing at the guard’s chest, had now fallen with the rest of her hand alongside her body. Knitting her eyebrows together, she blinked a few times before regaining composure, a small smirk pulling the corners of her mouth.

She had found her way out.

“Maddox!” she called, her voice louder this time. For what she remembered of what one of her big brother’s best friends back at school, he was quite prone to wisely dodge situations that felt inconvenient.

Well, she was not going to let him do that.

“Maddox!” she repeated, and when she was sure he had heard her, she turned to the guard. “See? My boyfriend’s over there. He’ll pay for it.”

“Maddox!”

The sound was like nails on a chalkboard to the man who'd already determined his morning would be light. It wasn't the voice. His mind was still turning that over, interrogating it for the smallest flecks of recognition, making it less a burden by virtue of being unknown. The man almost believed he did know...but couldn't quite place it. A colleague from one of his many occupations? Someone from school? Neither mattered in the end, he supposed. The more pressing issue was the urgency baked into it.

It was the surest sign that the peace he'd garnered was already on its way out. He could pretend not to hear, after all, he couldn't have been the only Maddox on the street. Let someone else doom themselves to the pleasure of whatever damsel found herself in distress.

“Maddox!”

Blue eyes flickered in the direction of the shop just two buildings down, his curiosity tempered by his desire not to be involved. He'd heard the commotion before his name, assuring him that whatever was happening would require more of him than he was typically willing to give. By now, even Evander was paying attention. His little hand tapped on the table's top, trying to get his father to see that someone wanted his attention. He was still too young to understand the concept of 'ignoring', something he hoped the boy would grasp sooner than later.

“See? My boyfriend’s over there. He’ll pay for it.”

Well, then, that definitely couldn't have been him. The man's eyes lingered a moment on the woman who was now speaking to the guard again, giving her a brief sweep. For the second time, he managed to convince himself of some familiarity, but the angle at which she stood made it difficult to confirm. It could've been nothing.

He prayed it was nothing.

"Daaaddddyyyy," Evander urged, now pointing.

Maddox reached across the table to gently lower the boy's hand. "Drink your milkshake, Evander. Today, Daddy will teach you how to mind your business."

Or try to. The lesson became more difficult as the pair approached the table. His gaze remained on his son, whose gaze now rose to take them in with curiosity only a toddler could muster. The boy slurped loudly, looking between them and his father, who was doing everything he could to pretend neither was standing there.

"Excuse me, sir. Are you with this young lady?"