When it's not thundering, and the wind calmed down

 

"Is there something you want to tell me?" Frankie went all the way to the coffee shop to find Pixie. Of course, who was she with? Her partner in everything these days. "You didn't come home." In fact, she hadn't been home in days.

Pixie only winced with her hands on her thin back. "It's just easier this way, OK."

"Is it?" He gave her a serious look as if this would happen all along. She was supposed to snap or at least tell him to go away. She did neither but gave him the stare down. Oh, he blazed his eyes back as if it might be a showdown. She handed him over his usual coffee because someone behind her knew his order by heart.

"It's on the house," Cyrus said.

"Well...maybe I want to pay for it." He was peeved. Unsure what he should do. He just paid for the next order and took a step back as if he was not going anywhere. 

"But won't you be late," she said after the third customer. "I promise, we will be over later. How about dinner?"

"Anything but pizza. Long John Silvers sounds good to me." Cyrus smirked. He put his arm around Pixie as if they were a team, possibly unstoppable.

"Fine." Frankie rolled his eyes at that. He stomped away.

"Oh fish, does sound good," Bea grinned later as the evening approached. Of course, it was after nine before those two arrived. She put the order in and Frankie went to get the fish and chips. He could hardly stand the smell of it. But Bea enjoyed the fried fragrant food.

"All will be well if you put hot sauce on it." She had that set out too.

Frankie shook his head.

"I won't feel very good after I eat this," he told her while they were waiting.

"It's just the one time." She looked at him as if he could handle it. "You really have to let those two be. You can't be Pixie's keeper forever. She's old enough and so is Cyrus."

"I don't know if they should stay there or move here," he was in doubt. Could those two really survive on their own? He said he hated the thought of Cori and Megan having to put up with those two. "For god's sake, they are getting married."

"Then they'll have to move in here." Bea didn't make it sound like a bad thing, but it just made Frankie want to collapse.

"You're the best big brother," Bea smiled.

"Am I?" Oh, he didn't want to be. Honestly, maybe it was best to be kept in the dark about a lot of things.