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Post by Everett Quinn on Jan 13, 2016 2:32:03 GMT
Everett was nervous. He had played this out in his head before in many different ways and every way it turned out poorly. After his grandmother had passed away in November and left a considerable amount of money, he had been able to pull away from his father more and more. Now, with his own apartment, a few freelance photography assignments from a local paper in Brooklyn, and money for a divorce attorney for his mother, he was doing better by leaps and bounds.
He'd been spending more time with Ellie and while she seemed eager to put a label on things, he knew deep down that family was important to both of them - in her case, her family was actually close, in his - he wished that he had grown up with that sort of familial support and didn't want to do anything to damage Ellie's relationship with her parents. So he wanted to talk to Adam and had wanted to set the record straight, explain to him how things had changed for him in the past few months. He wanted to tell him that he was planning on spending time with Ellie.
Running his hands through his hair nervously, he stepped off the elevator - he knew the Tyler women had all left to go shopping. He knocked on the door and let out a deep breath.
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Post by Adam Tyler on Jan 13, 2016 2:47:48 GMT
At several times in a parent's life, Adam Tyler thought that things must have become difficult. There was the first night with a new baby, when a person realized that there was a good possibility that they would never sleep again. There was the first day of kindergarten, when the poor little kid cried for their mom or dad to stay with them, or worse, had been happy to see them go. For he and Riley, every one of these difficult moments seemed to have come in duplicate with the twins, and what had been the most difficult to accept is that somewhere they went from the two that they had dropped off at school for the first time to the teenage girls that they had become. It had seemed that all of their major milestones in between had come in quick succession and he hadn't even had time to catch his breath before he found himself spending holidays with Morgan's first serious boyfriend. Though he tried to at least seek solace in the fact that Ellie hadn't yet reached the same point that her sister had.
For so long the girls had done everything together that even their contrasting personalities weren't enough to remind him that they didn't have to continue doing everything on the same schedule. When Morgan opted to finish high school early, tour Europe, and ultimately start college all in less than a year, he had a difficult time coming to terms with her accelerated growth, and as such he supposed that he maybe had clung on to Ellie's last couple of teenage years a little more tightly than he should have. But, in the nature of being his daughter, she has wasted no time in rebelling. Having promised Morgan, however, that he would try and become comfortable not only with her relationship with Brody Finn but also with her continued growth, he tried to apply the same acceptance to Ellie's own growth.
That didn't mean that he was necessarily thrilled to open the door and find himself face-to-face with Everett Quinn. The last time that he had seen the young man he had been asking him to keep Ellie away from him - something that he had been all to willing to do. It wasn't that he disliked Everett personally, it was just that his connection to Eliot was something that he was sure that neither he or Riley could ignore.
"Everett," he greeted, wondering what had prompted this particular visit. "Is there something I can help you with?"
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Post by Everett Quinn on Jan 13, 2016 2:57:55 GMT
He knew that it wasn't really personal - in fact Adam Tyler had been nothing but polite to him so far. He hadn't judged him based solely on who his father was but had also understood when Everett even had to acknowledge that simply being related to him was sometimes a dangerous thing. But now with Eliot less and less a part of his life with each passing day, he wanted a second chance. It was important to him that he at least be honest with Adam about wanting to spend time with Ellie, though he liked her so much that he didn't think disapproval would stop him. Instead he thought, perhaps, that he would just work extra hard to prove that things had changed - that he was different than his father - and that he liked Ellie and wanted to date her.
As the door opened, Everett resisted the urge to shove his hands into his pockets. Instead, he stoop up a bit straighter and looked him in the eye. He nodded at him, "Mr. Tyler," he greeted politely. "I was hoping to speak to you, if you don't mind?"
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Post by Adam Tyler on Jan 13, 2016 3:13:07 GMT
Adam supposed that there were a lot of things that Everett could have wished to speak to him about, he just wasn't sure that they were all good. He had heard rumors through their social circle about what had happened with Everett's mother and the very public altercation with Eliot certainly stood out in his memory, though part of him knew that there was also a distinct possibility that his daughter was still capable of getting involved. But regardless of what it was that the young man in front of him wanted to speak about, he was sure that a few minutes couldn't hurt.
"Sure," he nodded, moving aside to let Everett into the apartment. "Please, make yourself comfortable," he said, gesturing to the living room.
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Post by Everett Quinn on Jan 13, 2016 3:45:09 GMT
Everett muttered a small thank you, stepping inside and hesitating before taking a seat. "So, again, I really wanted to thank you for everything. You were really understanding when I came to explain the situation about my family and about how I really wanted to do right by Ellie and keep her from getting involved," he explained. "And, well, I wanted to let you know that my mother's doing much better and Eliot still hasn't tracked her down. And I don't know if you might have heard, but my grandmother on his side passed away a couple of months ago and - well, she never really said much to me but I guess she felt the same way about him that we all do, because she left everything to me."
He paused, "So I've moved out. I haven't spoken to Eliot since before Christmas. I've been working and applying to schools and trying to find a divorce attorney for my mother," he continued, realizing that maybe Adam could recommend one. Still he dismissed the thought for now. "I suppose, what I wanted to tell you most was that - well, I was hoping to start spending time with Ellie again. Things have calmed down substantially, Eliot is no longer a real issue the way he was when we first spoke and the truth is - I like Ellie, sir. I've apologized to her for what happened when I pushed her away and she seems interested in spending time with me again. But I didn't want to actively start seeing her in any official capacity without letting you know."
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Post by Adam Tyler on Jan 13, 2016 4:04:51 GMT
Adam followed him into the living room, taking a seat across from him. He wasn't sure how much of the intimidating dad card he needed to pull but the moment that Everett had started listing off everything that had changed in his life recently, the realization began to settle in. He should have figured that ultimately it was going to come down to the young man's desire to see Ellie again, in whatever capacity that was, but he wasn't sure that he could just let go of all of the reasons why he had thought that it was a bad idea. Not just because Everett had specifically asked him to keep Ellie away, but because there was a possibility that they would never truly be rid of Eliot. Truthfully, however, that concern seemed to pale in comparison to the part of him that was much more concerned about his daughter's well-being. He knew that some of his concerns and hesitations went directly against his promise to be more understanding that his children were growing up, but when Everett had mentioned having his own place to live now in the same little speech as he had mentioned wanting to see her again - his brain had immediately shut down the entire idea. He still wasn't fond of Morgan's frequent trips up to Ithaca, but that was an argument for another day, he supposed.
"What are you intentions with Ellie?" he asked instead. "I mean, and don't take this the wrong way Everett, but I seem to recall you asked me very frankly to ensure that she stayed away from you. And from what I'm sure you know about my daughters, they don't take to those sort of demands very well. Now you're asking me to be okay with you changing your mind."
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Post by Everett Quinn on Jan 13, 2016 4:34:06 GMT
Everett resisted the urge to sigh. He knew this conversation wasn't going to be easy. But he knew that it would be worth it. He'd been very adamant with Ellie about taking their time and doing things the right way and he wouldn't double back on that now. Especially since it wasn't even approval he was seeking, he just wanted to let Adam know his intentions.
"I know, and when I asked you that I did - and still believe that at that point - it was the right thing to do. I needed to prioritize my mother's well-being and I would hope that you could infer from that that I did and still do care about Ellie very much. I think she's a very wonderful girl and, if I'm being honest, I'd like to date her - get to know her and also let your family get to know me," he nodded. "I know what I asked of you, and I know that you have no reason to want me near her. And I will take full responsibility for going to you and asking you to keep Ellie from seeing me, too. Because I've already told Ellie why things had to be that way. But I - I'm not my father and I want nothing to do with my father and I would let a lot of things happen to me before I let my father anywhere near Ellie," he tried to explain. "I know that you guys are a close family and I - well, I think that's special and I don't want to do anything to ruin that for her. Which is why I would like the opportunity to see her more, and why it was important to me that I let you know that first."
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Post by Adam Tyler on Jan 13, 2016 4:53:27 GMT
Adam couldn't blame him for the decisions that he had made and the things that he had done to ensure not only Ellie's well-being, but his mother's and his own since the last time that they had spoken. And truthfully he knew that there wasn't anything that he could necessarily do to keep them from seeing each other. Actually, he supposed that he should have been appreciative of the fact that Everett had come to speak to him at all. It was just that he didn't think that he could support it. There was too much potential for things to go wrong, too much potential for problems to arise in various situation even outside of whatever relationship they ultimately ended up having.
"Look," he started. "I understand why you felt that you needed to do what you did, I really do, but I don't think that all of that goes away just because you've been able to financially separate yourself from Eliot. I think it's great that you've been able to do the right thing for your mother, and I appreciate your honesty about your intentions with Ellie, but I don't think that it's a good idea. I'm sorry but I just can't support the idea of her seeing you. Again, it's really nothing personal against you, but Ellie's just finishing up high school at the moment and she's going to be starting college in the fall and I think that she should be focusing on school and her internship at the moment - not about whatever ... problems she might encounter because of a relationship right now. I do think that you've tried to do the right thing, I just don't think that it's a good idea to get her involved."
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