Status: Live
Holding Hands Won't Be Enough
Chapter 78: Mall Rats
“If you stare at that cell phone any longer it will explode.” Mige remarked, snatching it and holding it out of Ville’s reach. “Why don’t you just call her? Honestly, you’re like teenagers the both of you.”
“I don’t want to bother her.” he scowled, grabbing the phone back as they walked side by side through the heaving mall. “She’s with her family.”
“What a load of bull, you were as good as a part of that family, what’s the real reason?” he pushed.
“I just don’t want to bother her.”
“What happened at the wedding last night? Did you guys sleep together?” Ville squinted his eyes and scoffed at his friend, “Well, then what? What happened? Something obviously happened…”
“Do you ever shut up?”
“No. What did you do?” Ville stopped walking, causing Mige to stop too, he sighed heavily and turned to Mige, who was now expectant of a juicy answer.
“I cried my fucking eyes out. She sang our song - which is her parents song - at the reception, I couldn’t handle it, I walked out, she came after me and rightfully screamed at me and I wept like a fucking baby trying to tell her how sorry I was and how much I missed her.” he said in one breath, staring intently into Mige’s eyes, “Happy?” he asked, before resuming walking through the crowds of last minute Christmas shoppers. Mige was left without a word to say, he merely nodded sheepishly. “I fucking hate Christmas shopping.” he said to change the subject. “Remind me why we’re out at 10 fucking am Christmas shopping?”
“Because we’re men.”
“Because we’re hopeless, more like it.”
“Are you going to get Millie a present or are you just going to cry more?” Ville’s head rolled slowly in the direction of Mige, his face stern and unamused.
“You’re not a funny man, Mige.” he smiled cheekily through his beard and play punched Ville’s shoulder. “Why don’t they have pubs in malls?” he asked with frustration.
“You don’t drink.”
“In beer gardens you can smoke.” he responded, frankly. His phone began to vibrate in his pocket and he snapped to attention, opening it quickly and holding it to his ear. “Hey.”
”Oh, hi, sorry, did I get you at a bad time?” she asked softly, he shook his head.
“Not at all, just at the mall with Mige, it’s hell.” he laughed nervously.
”I can only imagine.” she chuckled. ”About later, I can come and pick you up - Mum and Dad have some little traditions they used to do with Son and myself that they want to do with Oscar, it’d be nice for him if you were part of it too.. Then I can drive you both back to your place.”
“Ahh, I have to draw the parent card too, Mum and Dad are insisting on driving so that they can take us to the Christmas light drive after sun down, as per their tradition, if that’s okay?”
”Oh, I loved doing that drive.” she remarked, fondly, before briefly sighing apprehensively to herself, ”I hate to ask, but, will Jonna…” she pondered. Ville left no hesitation in replying.
“No.”
”I don’t mean to be r-“
“I wouldn’t ever put you in that pos-“ she cut him off before he could finish, not wanting him to say something she knew, in time, he couldn’t hold true.
”Well, okay, Christmas light drive sounds good, Oscar will love having all his grandparents doting over him all night, I’m sure.”
“He will. And they’ll love it too.”
“I’ll head over before sun down then?”
“We won’t leave without you.” he chuckled nervously, tugging at the hair on the back of his head and Mige watched him with an uncertain scowl. “Oh, hey, um… Is there anything Oscar needs? I’m new to this children Christmas gift game. Everything is, so.. bright and noisy.”
”He only needs you.” she replied, surely.
“And you? What do you want?” he asked sheepishly, looking down at his feet, internally damning himself for asking without thinking. She was quiet, then sighed.
”Unfortunately they don’t stock what I want outside of sci-fi novels. I, oh, I have to go, Oscar is shouting from his highchair. I’ll see you in a few hours.” Before he could respond, she had hung up. He held the phone in his hand and was puzzled by her response.
“What do you want?” Mige mocked, shaking his head before laughing pitifully, as they resumed walking, although now it was much more of a slow amble as Ville processed his thoughts. “You know, for such a fucking poetic romantic, you sure are fucking hopeless when it comes to real love man.”
“Yes, thank you, friend.” he scoffed. “Why, why did I fucking ask that? Stupid. Stupid.”
“Go on then, what did she say before she hung up on you.”
“She did not hang-“ Mige’s face said it all, Ville stopped talking and expelled a short burst of air from his nose, before running his hand through his hair in agitation.
“She said, ‘unfortunately they don’t stock what I want outside of sci-fi novels’.”
“Anything else?”
“Then said Oscar was shouting and she’ll see me in a few hours.” Mine stopped walking for a moment, his eyes moving as if following his own train of thought.
“Time machine.” he nodded, before resuming movement. “She wants a time machine. She obviously did what you did in asking, by not fucking thinking before she spoke.” he laughed, slapping his friend on the back. “Fucking hopeless.” he muttered to himself, ushering Ville into the next brightly coloured kids store.
“I don’t want to bother her.” he scowled, grabbing the phone back as they walked side by side through the heaving mall. “She’s with her family.”
“What a load of bull, you were as good as a part of that family, what’s the real reason?” he pushed.
“I just don’t want to bother her.”
“What happened at the wedding last night? Did you guys sleep together?” Ville squinted his eyes and scoffed at his friend, “Well, then what? What happened? Something obviously happened…”
“Do you ever shut up?”
“No. What did you do?” Ville stopped walking, causing Mige to stop too, he sighed heavily and turned to Mige, who was now expectant of a juicy answer.
“I cried my fucking eyes out. She sang our song - which is her parents song - at the reception, I couldn’t handle it, I walked out, she came after me and rightfully screamed at me and I wept like a fucking baby trying to tell her how sorry I was and how much I missed her.” he said in one breath, staring intently into Mige’s eyes, “Happy?” he asked, before resuming walking through the crowds of last minute Christmas shoppers. Mige was left without a word to say, he merely nodded sheepishly. “I fucking hate Christmas shopping.” he said to change the subject. “Remind me why we’re out at 10 fucking am Christmas shopping?”
“Because we’re men.”
“Because we’re hopeless, more like it.”
“Are you going to get Millie a present or are you just going to cry more?” Ville’s head rolled slowly in the direction of Mige, his face stern and unamused.
“You’re not a funny man, Mige.” he smiled cheekily through his beard and play punched Ville’s shoulder. “Why don’t they have pubs in malls?” he asked with frustration.
“You don’t drink.”
“In beer gardens you can smoke.” he responded, frankly. His phone began to vibrate in his pocket and he snapped to attention, opening it quickly and holding it to his ear. “Hey.”
”Oh, hi, sorry, did I get you at a bad time?” she asked softly, he shook his head.
“Not at all, just at the mall with Mige, it’s hell.” he laughed nervously.
”I can only imagine.” she chuckled. ”About later, I can come and pick you up - Mum and Dad have some little traditions they used to do with Son and myself that they want to do with Oscar, it’d be nice for him if you were part of it too.. Then I can drive you both back to your place.”
“Ahh, I have to draw the parent card too, Mum and Dad are insisting on driving so that they can take us to the Christmas light drive after sun down, as per their tradition, if that’s okay?”
”Oh, I loved doing that drive.” she remarked, fondly, before briefly sighing apprehensively to herself, ”I hate to ask, but, will Jonna…” she pondered. Ville left no hesitation in replying.
“No.”
”I don’t mean to be r-“
“I wouldn’t ever put you in that pos-“ she cut him off before he could finish, not wanting him to say something she knew, in time, he couldn’t hold true.
”Well, okay, Christmas light drive sounds good, Oscar will love having all his grandparents doting over him all night, I’m sure.”
“He will. And they’ll love it too.”
“I’ll head over before sun down then?”
“We won’t leave without you.” he chuckled nervously, tugging at the hair on the back of his head and Mige watched him with an uncertain scowl. “Oh, hey, um… Is there anything Oscar needs? I’m new to this children Christmas gift game. Everything is, so.. bright and noisy.”
”He only needs you.” she replied, surely.
“And you? What do you want?” he asked sheepishly, looking down at his feet, internally damning himself for asking without thinking. She was quiet, then sighed.
”Unfortunately they don’t stock what I want outside of sci-fi novels. I, oh, I have to go, Oscar is shouting from his highchair. I’ll see you in a few hours.” Before he could respond, she had hung up. He held the phone in his hand and was puzzled by her response.
“What do you want?” Mige mocked, shaking his head before laughing pitifully, as they resumed walking, although now it was much more of a slow amble as Ville processed his thoughts. “You know, for such a fucking poetic romantic, you sure are fucking hopeless when it comes to real love man.”
“Yes, thank you, friend.” he scoffed. “Why, why did I fucking ask that? Stupid. Stupid.”
“Go on then, what did she say before she hung up on you.”
“She did not hang-“ Mige’s face said it all, Ville stopped talking and expelled a short burst of air from his nose, before running his hand through his hair in agitation.
“She said, ‘unfortunately they don’t stock what I want outside of sci-fi novels’.”
“Anything else?”
“Then said Oscar was shouting and she’ll see me in a few hours.” Mine stopped walking for a moment, his eyes moving as if following his own train of thought.
“Time machine.” he nodded, before resuming movement. “She wants a time machine. She obviously did what you did in asking, by not fucking thinking before she spoke.” he laughed, slapping his friend on the back. “Fucking hopeless.” he muttered to himself, ushering Ville into the next brightly coloured kids store.