Wearing Thin

"--And then Caroline threw up all over Edward Matthews, and he started to cry.  Daddy, it was pure...comical."

This last word caught the attention of Dieter as his three-year-old daughter, Lilli, continued her rambling about her day-care and the events that commenced during that time.

"Really, Lil?  That poor boy."

"Oh, no, Daddy, he's mean.  I don't like him."

"Well, maybe you should be nice; that might make him be a little nicer toward you," Dieter suggested, motioning with his fork for her to take another bite of her meal, untouched so far.

The young child quickly obliged, stuffing a spoonful of mashed potatoes into her mouth, before she proceeded to chatter.  "Lilli--"

The sound of a knock at the door cut Agent Herrmann off as he chastised his daughter, and, with a sigh, he stood to retrieve it.  Lilli made no move to follow, simply watching her father with curious eyes as she filled her mouth once more, this time with a cut of steak.

"Dieter Herrmann?"

"Er...yes?  Can I help you?"

The sun had long since faded beyond the mountain range to the west, and the porch light was the basic light that lit up the strange man's face.  His chin was covered with two-day scruff, and his hair was turning a peppered-grey, thus giving off the effect that he was well into his fifties, perhaps forties, depending on how well he aged.

"I found this back at Farley's; the restaurant.  I saw the address on the loading feature, and thought I might bring it by."

Dieter, who hadn't even noticed the absence of his mobile, quickly patted the pockets of his jeans, both front and back sets, before, retrieving the device from the man's offering hand.  "Thank you so much, I hadn't even noticed it was gone.  I don't know what I would have done when I did find out...  Thank you, again."

"Surely; it wasn't a problem.  Good day, sir."  With that, the man disappeared back down the steps of the modern home, and receded into his black vehicle before pulling onto the street and driving off.

Diet had wandered back into the dining area where his daughter sat expectantly, scouring her father with her eyes.  "Why were you at Farley's, Daddy?  You said it's not a good place..."

"That's the thing, sweetheart; I wasn't."

--

"So tell me when you hear my heart stop
You're the only one that knows
Tell me when you hear my silence
There's a possibility I wouldn't know..."

Holleigh Trevor's voice slowly sang across the small grocery store, which, to the best of her knowledge, was vacant of customers, at the time.  Her hearing was blocked by black headphones that sat snugly inside her ears, pumping the slow beats into her head.  It wasn't until a hand rested on her shoulder that she realised she wasn't alone in the small shoppe.

"Sully!  Freak, you scared me!" she squealed, smacking him hard on the arm as she shot the man, whom she had addressed as 'Sully,' a sour scowl.  "What do you want?"

Sullivan pouted, moving to capture his arms around Holleigh with a pitiful smile.  "Well, gee, Holls, it's good to see you, too.  Yeah, I got home a little early, and when you didn't pick up your cell, I figured you must be at work, so I came straight here."

Miss Trevor rolled her eyes, stepping from his grasp as he ducked down to steal a kiss.  "Sull, I'm busy; not all of us can do nothing for a career, you know."

Holleigh was, at the time, attending the local state university, where she was studying anthropology and majouring in a teaching and biology.  Once she obtained her bachelor's, she planned to move on to a teaching career, where she aimed to land a job at the high school a few blocks from her apartment in Edding as a human biology teacher.

Sullivan Daniels had gone to college for but a year before he dropped out and rejoined his high school band.  He sang and acted like a complete moron on stage while Holleigh had to watch from behind with disgust.  He never bothered to mention that he was in a relationship to the girls who'd begun to swoon.  To Holls, it seemed as though he cared more about the 'chicks' that he did about his actual girlfriend.

But it was whatever.  Literally.

"Oh, come on, Holls; you know I love you."

The girl didn't take that well, no matter the words he'd just said.  "That's not just something you throw around, Sullivan.  Just because you say you 'love me' doesn't mean I care about any of it...  You know, I'm not stupid; I've seen you with your band and your newly acquired 'fan girls.'  It's sick, Sull.  And, if you really want to continue that, then count me out."

She'd been planning the words that she would say to Sullivan since before he'd gone to DC for a small concert.  He was, after all, a 'rising star.'  Whoop-de-bloody-doo.

"The freak, Holleigh?  I'm gone a week and you want to break up?  What is this?  Come on, what's going on, Holleigh?"

The two hadn't noticed a man and small girl enter the store, their banter slowly rising in volume.  "Maybe I don't want a guitarist for a boyfriend, huh?  I liked you better back in high school; the band scene was cute, then, but it's not, anymore.  I barely see you, anymore, and you don't even have anything big coming up."

"What the--?  Holls, I am not cheating on you!  Those grils mean nothing, all right?  The band likes them, yeah, and they give us hits, yeah, but I don't--"

The drama shut down, the discrepancy tangible as it hung in the air, choking the couple.  Their attention had been drawn by the little brunette child that stood down the aisle, a purple stuffed tigre clutched against her chest as she stared up at them.  Another man quickly stepped behind her, scooping her into his arms to keep her from the inappropriate behaviour, and immediately caught the eye of the store clerk.

"Pardon," Sullivan muttered, taking a step back from Holleigh after realising how close they had drawn to one another.  The blond shook his head, grumbled unintelligible things about seeing his 'girlfriend' later, and excused himself from the premisses.

The silence between the trio was preferred to the previous sense, but was thence broken by the sneeze of the child in the dark-haired man's arms.  "Bless you," Holleigh and the German said at the same time, the little girl taking the time to sniffle quietly as she was place back on her own feet.  She could feel the tension, and quickly escaped the situation by darting to the sugary drinks she so adored as her father stood as he was, facing the employee.

"I'm...sorry we interrupted."

Holl snapped to attention, her eyes previously enraptured by the movement of his lips as they formed the apology.  "What?  Oh, no, I need to thank you; It got a little...worse than I had anticipated.  I've been planning on leaving him for a while, now," she confessed with a blush, realising only too late that her rambling had revealed more information than this stranger needed to know.

Alas, he seemed to take it well; he smiled, for some reason.  It was contagious.

And attractive.

"Ah...  I'm glad I haven't had that drama in years; I suppose I'll need to get used to it, again," he commented, leaning back on his heels somewhat awkwardly, hands shoved deep into his pockets as his gaze adverted itself to where the brunette had run off to.

"Oh?  Is that...not your daughter?"

"No, it is.  Her mother died when she was born; my co-workers have decided that it's time I find myself another woman in my life, and have been setting me up.  The last date I had snuck off with my mobile before accidentally leaving it behind in some restaurant uptown.  I'm just glad that I used cash on that date and she didn't snag my wallet...  She's in a holding cell downtown, now; she didn't know she was messing with a cop," he jested, shooting Holleigh a toothy smile, to which the woman melted at the sight of.

Too much, really, but a surreal moment called for surreal confessions, right?  So, here they were, in a small convenience store, to the likes, and conversing their previous relationships.  How strange that two strangers could converse, without strange reactions, about their strange past-lives...

"Ah...  Well, I'm assuming that you're here for a reason, and not to just break me out of my awkward situations, yes?  What can I do you?"

--

"Lilli, listen to Dana, okay?  Do everything she says, unless it isn't a rule we've already discussed, all right?  I should be home in a couple of hours, but that's still after your bedtime, so I don't want to see you until morning.  Say 'yes, Daddy.'"

"Yes, Daddy.  Have fun, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am," Dieter responded, giving the small child a peck on the cheek as he finished up with his tie and glanced at himself in the bathroom mirror once more.

"I love you, baby girl."

"Love you, too, Da."