[Samuel x Roman]

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m a t t h e w​

It might have sounded really horrible if he expressed it to anyone, but in a way, Matthew was glad Will wasn't specifically targeted by this kid, or well he was, but he wasn't the only one. It wasn't that he wanted other children to be hurt like his son had been, but he felt like it would be less damaging to Will if he knew it was just a bunch of kids being mean and nothing about him specifically.

It still saddened him to no end that this had been going on and hurting Will, and he hadn't been doing anything about it though. He reached out and but a gentle hand on Will's shoulder, he'd hug him later, and treat him to ice cream, and play his video games with him, anything to make him feel better.

For now, though, he turned back to Mr Davis, "We can not let Will come to a school where things like this are happening, we want him to be safe and feel safe."

"I assure you we won't let this happen again," Mr Davis said, "We'll be calling Eric's parents, and have a talk with them and his friends, we might want to share a word or two with Will again later, but I wouldn't want to keep him since he is hurt. The important thing is that we know this is going on, and we will do our best to resolve it." It was clear Mr Davis was adding that last part to assure Matthew something would be done.

"It will be resolved," Matthew corrected him. Mr Davis looked a little taken aback but nodded. The exchanged another couple of words and then he let the Harris-Quinn family leave, though he kept Eric there to talk. When they finally were out the door Matthew pulled Will into a hug, no classmates was there to see so he figured it was okay, "Will, are you alright, do we need to see if the nurse is still in?"
 
e l i s s a
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Elissa had never really been bullied in school -- if anyone had tried, her older brothers had stepped in. So she didn't have much experience with how the public school system dealt with bullying. But now that she was seeing this ... she did not like it at all.

She wasn't sure what she had expected. She certainly did not expect Mr Davis to imprison Eric or give him some sort of extremely harsh punishment for what he had done but she wanted more than just a hollow promise that they would 'talk' to Eric and 'do their best' to resolve the problem. That just was not good enough.

But they left regardless, since there was nothing else they could do. Will sniffled and leaned in close to his dad, clearly not caring about being made fun of in that moment. "No, I just want to go home."

"Do you want anything special for dinner, sweetie? Maybe you want some ice cream?"

"C - Could we maybe have something with that yummy salad we had that time?"

"Of course, gorgeous. Come on, let's get you home."

Once they were home, with Will all cleaned up and comfortably nestled in the couch, Elissa changed into some more comfortable clothes and then went into the kitchen with Matthew so they could make the strawberry spinach salad Will had requested. She pulled the ingredients out of the fridge and looked at Matthew with a slightly irritable expression. "What are the chances of them actually doing something?"
 
m a t t h e w​

"I mean, I doubt they want to let this happen so I'm sure they'll try to do something about it, but I'm not sure if that will really mean anything," Matthew said with a sigh as he started to get some of the ingredients for the salad out, "What the teachers don't see they don't see, and we can't trust the kids being picked on to tell us what has been going on every time something happens..."

Matthew had had to deal with bullying growing up, eventually, he had stopped reacting to it and people had gotten bored, but as a kid, he had gotten a lot of shit, a lot of shit that he realised might have been the same sort of thing Will got. Matthew had always considered himself different than his parents buy actually involving himself more, but as much as his parents hadn't been there they had also spoiled him, and that seemed to be enough to ostracise a child, while also not allowing them to complain, because they had everything, right? And maybe now, Will was in the same position. Or maybe there was some other reason, Matthew just couldn¨t imagine it because Will was such a sweet kid.

"Maybe if we could get Will to tell us who else is getting picked on, we could get together their parents and make more of a statement, the more angry parents the more they'll do about it," Matthew said, "But I doubt they will expel the other kid or anything like that, they can say they don't tolerate it all they want but they are young enough for it to just be considered a mistake and something to learn from," Matthew supposed he was just making assumptions, but this was just how it seemed like it would turn out to him And even if this Eric kid got expelled against all odds there were still Eric's friends to be worried about. The school just wouldn't be a safe environment.
 
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Elissa sighed heavily as he began to chop up some spinach to put in the salad. This whole thing was just a mess and she didn't know what to do. She hated knowing that not only her son, but other people's children had been physically bullied by mean kids who had nothing better to do with their time. She understood that a lot of bullies were victims of shit going on in their lives as well, but that didn't mean they had an excuse to make other kids feel bad too.

"Honestly, I'm not sure what getting other parents involved will do," Elissa said with a sigh. "I mean, we see class actions all the time, one individual representing many in a lawsuit, but this is different. This is one kid who is so young he almost can't be held accountable for their actions, and I doubt the school is going to go to the trouble of expelling this young kid who they can argue isn't responsible."

Elissa's lawyer side was kicking in, the side that caused her to break down every situation into a methodical, logical process so she could assess how it would unfold. Right now, there was only one situation that could resolve the problem with Will's best interests at heart, but it was a big step, and one she definitely needed to talk out with her husband.

"Matthew," she said in her thick Irish accent, "I think that if the kid doesn't come around, we need to take Will out of the school and put him in a different one."
 
m a t t h e w​

Pulling Will out of school. Matthew stopped what he was doing for a moment and thought about it properly. He didn't want to tear Will away from his friends just because someone else was being mean, but if those bullies stayed who knew how it would escalate? Matthew wanted Will to be safe, and as horrible it might sound it wasn't like he would suffer much from having to leave the friends he had, since most people didn't stick around with the friends they gained his age forever.

"Yeah, I don't want to just tear him away before they get a chance to do something about it, but if the school doesn't seem like they are doing anything, that might be the best options," Matthew let out a small sigh and then continued what he was doing, helping his wife making the salad, ""

Then again there was nothing stopping him from getting picked on at his new school either, there was one resolution he found for that though, but he wasn't sure his wife would like it, "If we're going to transfer him maybe we should look into some private schools, or if not now, maybe for high school. I know we decided we wanted him to go with the others, but I just feel like we'll be able to keep track on him better there, and obviously, the school is going to want to make sure we don't want to pull him out because it'd mean less money for them?"
 
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Elissa obviously didn't want to pull her son out of the school where his friends were for no reason. This was Roman and Samuel's kids, Cameron and Gabi's, Bella and Delilah's, Elliot and Matilda's ... the kids he had grown up with, the kids who he had always been friends with but had always seemed a little more distant to for whatever reason. Elissa didn't want to ruin whatever relationship Will had with his friends just because of some worthless bully.

But then again, Elissa didn't want Will to continue to be bullied in a place where he should feel nothing but safe and nurtured. That was what school should be -- a safe place where children can grow and thrive without having to worry about anything but their grades and what they had for lunch that day. Elissa didn't want her little baby boy to be scared of going to school for any reason whatsoever.

It wasn't like she didn't have faith in public schools. She herself had been in the public school system and obviously she was doing pretty well for herself. But that didn't mean she wasn't willing to pay to put her son in a good school that would help him get good grades and make new friends, if it meant they could make sure he wasn't being bullied at all.

Elissa sighed. "We'll see how things go and then we'll think about it," she decided, leaning over to give Matthew a kiss on the cheek. She loved her boys, both of them, and she would do anything she had to do to keep them safe and happy. She just wished this whole issue would resolve itself before she had to pull Will away from his friends.
 
s a m u e l​

Today was weird. It was Roman's birthday, and normally Roman's birthdays weren't weird at all. They were a moment of celebration, a cause for a huge party for both him and London, a party Roman would basically plan himself and that would take place after a complete celebration at home with breakfast on the bed and singing and all that. Because Roman loved his birthday. And he loved having a party and to celebrate.

But apparently not this year.

Samuel had noticed Roman was acting a little different about it after his own birthday. He had seemed averse to the idea of starting to plan anything until he finally had just decided he wasn't going to have one. Samuel worried, but he also had a feeling he knew what it was about. Roman was growing older. Samuel was too, but he supposed different people saw it in different ways. Samuel was happy with it and saw it as a sign that they both had overcome so much. Roman did not seem to see it that way.

Even so, he had agreed to still do breakfast in bed when Samuel asked. Probably for the kids' sake, so Samuel was going to keep it on the down low even if Roman had agreed to it. They were making pancakes with some nice fresh berries, and by them, Samuel had embarrassingly enough let Harper be in charge of the pancake because they got less burnt that way, while Samuel decorated the tray with some Roses and got out a cold coke out.

Then they went up they started to climb the stairs, Samuel hadn't had the heart to request the kids shouldn't sing so when they got to the door they started to softly sing, "Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you..."
 
r o m a n
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For the first time in his life, or for at least as long as he could remember, Roman was not looking forward to his birthday.

Every other of the thirty-seven or so birthdays he could recall had been anticipated with immense excitement, so much that he could hardly sit still. Roman thrived off party planning and ensuring that everything was pristine, and he absolutely loved to share the day with his sister. But this year it had been different, because this year, Roman and London were turning forty years old.

Of course, he had known this was coming, he wasn't stupid. But that was the thing -- he felt that he was getting older and that he had no way to escape the consequences of that fact. Which was true. Every day was just another step towards the inevitable end, and Roman couldn't handle that fact. Turning forty signalled nothing but the end of his youth and the beginning of a new era in his life, middle age.

Most people worried about getting old, but what Roman was feeling was different. As he heard his family ascend the stairs while singing for him without a care in the world, Roman began to feel physically nauseous, and almost like he wanted to just send them back downstairs so he could sleep through the day and pretend it never happened. But of course he could not do that, because even if he felt like shit, his kids' feelings were the most important.

Which was why he sat up and forced a smile onto his beautiful face, even if he felt like he already had one foot in the grave. The thing about Roman was that he did not look forty years old most of the time. He didn't wear makeup all that much anymore, but due to his piercings, the sharp structure of his face and his generally pretty features, he could still pass for early thirties and on good days, late twenties. But when he felt sick or stressed as he did now, he definitely looked forty years old. Currently his face was sallow and he had huge circles beneath his bright green eyes. He hadn't been eating much in the weeks leading up to his birthday, and his jaw and cheekbones were jutting out even more as a consequence of that. And he wasn't faking it -- the long-term stress that had settled over him in anticipation for this day had actually made him physically sick.

But regardless, he forced a smile on his face and subsequently caused his chapped lower lip to split just a tiny bit. "Aww, thank you, guys!" he said, passing as genuine to these young kids because the only thing he could put effort into was making sure his kids were alright. "Tell me, who made what?"
 
s a m u e l​

They entered the room and Roman sat up and he smiled. But Samuel knew his husband and he could tell when he was forcing a smile. And he could see the dark circles under his eyes and just how tired he looked in general. It was clear that the stress he had been under was peaking today, but right now there wasn't much Samuel could do about it. There were times both of them had to be stronger than they could for the children, not to hide feelings from them, they still wanted to encourage talking about things with them, but some things just weren't for their ears and sometimes it was better if they could stay happy even when their parents couldn't.

"Papa, Letha and I got you the lowers from the garden," Eden said sweetly as all the kids climbed up in bed to cuddle their daddy on his birthday. Samuel joined them too and gave Roman a nice little birthday kiss to the cheek. It always hurt to see him hurt, and it was especially bad knowing this was a day Roman had always loved and enjoyed. And now he couldn't do that anymore it seemed. Maybe he'd come to terms with it in a year or two, hopefully at least. But before the day was over Samuel was probably going to sit him down and get him to explain where he was coming from so he could help him.

"Me and Harper made the pancakes," Stella said happily, "But like, Harper did most of the pancake stuff, I got the berries ready, I put some sugar on them so they won't be super sour. I hope you like it!"
 
r o m a n
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On any other year, Roman would be touched to see his family make such an effort to make him happy on his birthday. He was still incredibly appreciative, of course, but he still couldn't get over the physical illness he was feeling as it truly sunk in that he was forty years old. Perhaps it was selfish of him to be so involved in how he himself was feeling in that moment, but quite honestly, he truly could not help it.

He just felt like everything was going too fast. It sounded cliche but it seemed like only yesterday that he and Samuel had gotten together. Now, they were adults with careers, children, a mortgage and a life, and they were fucking forty years old. How could everything have just gone by so quickly? Roman knew it was a little too early to be worried about death but he truly couldn't stop thinking about it.

There was still so much he wanted to do with his life. He wanted to see his kids grow and thrive, he wanted to have grandkids and take them on adventures and see how his shop progressed through the years. And the idea that all of that escaping him was enough to cause him to suffer from a wave of nausea so strong that he actually retched a little, hiding his face in the crook of his elbow to avoid doing so.

"Daddy? Are you okay?" Letha asked, clearly nervous.

"Yes, sweetie, I'm fine," Roman said hoarsely. "I ... I'm just feeling a little sick at the moment so I don't think I can eat right now. Would you guys be okay going downstairs while I talk to Papa?"

The kids looked so disheartened and Roman felt terrible because he hated it when they were upset. But they went, clearly not wanting to upset their dad on his birthday. Once they were gone, Roman took the tray, very carefully set it on his bedside table, then let out a deep breath and hid his face in his hands.
 
s a m u e l​

Samuel honestly just looked in horror. He had seen Roman felt bad, but not to the point of being physically sick. It happened sometimes when he was really anxious about something. Samuel just didn't think he was that anxious about this.

Luckily the kids were being good sports about it, and on being requested to leave they did, although it was with worried and maybe a little dissapointed faces. Depending on what being said between the two adults they'd maybe share some of it with the kids later, but for now, they needed to step aside for a moment. And so they did. Samuel just smiled at them reassuringly, trying to tell them that everything would be alright.

"Come here," Samuel mumbled and put his arms around his clearly upset husband and gave him a good snuggle. He hated to seem him unhappy. It was inevitable sometimes, though, and in those time the best he could do was be supportive and help him in his struggles, just like Roman did to him when he needed it. He placed second kiss on Roman's cheek, he knew he was sensitive when he was close to anxiety, and that might be it in that moment, but he seemed in control of himself enough that Samuel felt safe being close and hopefully it'd calm him down before anything could escalate, "tell me what you're feeling, it's better than keeping it to yourself,"
 
r o m a n
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Roman melted into his husband's embrace, wrapping his arms around the beautiful man's torso and snuggling into his shoulder. He felt anxious and he felt nauseous but comfort from his husband was absolutely always welcomed. He rested against Samuel's shoulder for a few moments, marvelling in how warm and comfortable the skin was even through the shirt, and let out a shaky, trembling sigh.

"I don't want to grow older," Roman whispered. "I know I can't avoid it but I just feel like everything is slipping by so fast I can't keep up with it. The kids are going to be adults soon, I wake up thinking they're still babies but Harper is a teenager and it just throws me off because I really feel they're growing up so fucking fast that I can't even keep track of it anymore."

As Roman spoke he just got more anxious and he clenched his fingers in his husband's shirt to keep himself from panicking too much. "And I know there's nothing stopping me from wearing makeup or wearing pink or liking Disney or anything like that but I get weird looks if I do those things now, not that that's ever stopped me before, but it just reminds me that I'm too old for those sorts of things. And ..."

What Roman was about to say next was something that never, not once in the last twenty-three years, had he ever even hinted at to Samuel. It was a bomb that he had been sitting on for just over two decades, and he hadn't told anyone because quite honestly, it was miserable.

"I never really thought I'd live past, like, thirty, Samuel," he whispered. "Like, I'd make plans for the future and everything but part of me always just thought I'd be in some accident and I wouldn't make it out of it, because of my haemophilia. Every year I turn past thirty just makes me feel like I'm cheating death or something and it makes me panic to think that I'm, like, using time that's not mine. And now I'm forty -- it makes me feel like I'm existing past my expiry date."
 
s a m u e l​

Hearing Roman express the things he had actually been feeling was heart-breaking. Not only to know that this was what he felt but because Samuel hadn't known about it. He hadn't known about it for months, and in the case of the most terrible detail, the one where Roman revealed how long he had thought he would live, years. But as horrible as it was Samuel wasn't surprised hearing what how long Roman had thought he would live. Roman didn't have a terminal illness, but his disease was very much deadly. Roman could honestly just be happy that he lived at a time where there actually was medicine to help him. If there hadn't been his life expectancy would have probably been

"Roman, you're not past your expiry date," Samuel started gently while running his fingers through Roman's hair, "I've always believed you'd make it longer, and with all the times you've been close but made it I just can't see it as anything but that you're meant to be here now Roman. You're a fighter, and you're beating all the bullshit you have to go through every day, and I'm so proud of you, okay?" he kissed the top of Roman's head before continuing, "You're here, and me and the kids get to have you, it's not borrowed time, and it's not time that's slipping away. It's your time. And I know the kids are growing up so fucking fast. I barely know what to do with myself when I think about how old they re sometimes, but Roman, we're here to see them grow that old? And we're going to be here to see them move out and have kids, and that's scary but it's also amazing, especially if you didn't think you'd make it this far,"

At this point Samuel had teared up a little, he was still a huge crybaby, but it was probably understandable to cry in sympathy or his husband in a moment like this, "Seeing them grow, and you getting older, that's you beating your haemophilia."
 
r o m a n
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By the time Samuel finished his speech, Roman was, of course, crying his eyes out, and he wasn't bothering to hide it. He couldn't believe there had been a time when he had been a teenager where he had just refused to cry. It seemed so ridiculous when, as an adult, he knew exactly the benefits of crying and how relieved it could make one feel.

"I - I - I'm just scared of losing everything," Roman whispered, his voice hoarse and cracking. "I already feel like I shouldn't be here, like I should have died back in that car crash when we were in our twenties, and I know it's fucking terrible to say but sometimes I think about that crash and I think that that was my time, that the universe didn't intend for me to make it out of that."

Roman didn't believe in God and he never would, but sometimes he felt that there was some kind of force that made things happen. Him meeting Samuel, for example, never should have happened if one followed simple logic, and yet, something had made it happen. Just as the conception of all of their children was so random and spontaneous and yet, it had happened and it had become something beautiful. That car crash was no exception -- it happened and all the odds said it should have resulted in Roman's death. But it hadn't. and he didn't understand why.

What he was saying was probably terrifying Samuel, but it had been stewing inside Roman for months now and he needed to let it all out. "I should have died that day, Samuel, it doesn't make sense for me to still be alive. Haemophiliacs don't live this long, not when they're as severe as I am. And every day that goes past from that car crash is just another day I feel like I shouldn't be alive and I don't know to handle getting older, because eventually the universe is going to step back in and fix what should have happened all those years ago."
 
s a m u e l​

"Roman..." Samuel's voice broke a little and at this point the tears had welled over. His lovely and gorgeous and kind and amazing husband had been walking around feeling like this. Feeling like he was actually supposed to be dead. It was terrifying and the worst part was that Samuel didn't entirely know how to help him. He just couldn't relate and very few people in this world would be able to. So Roman was alone in his feelings, in this whole thing. Still, Samuel would do his best to make him realise he was supposed to be here with him.

"I was meant to die that day just as much as you, which is not at all," Samuel said after wiping his own tears, trying to keep it together, "Things never really happen because they are or aren't meant to happen, I know it feels that way a lot of the time, but things just happen because they do... I... Roman, we all die eventually, it's just a matter of how and when. Growing older... I guess it becomes more apparent that it's inevitable, it's not like I don't ever feel like time is slipping away? But no matter when you... die--"

Samuel had to stop himself for a moment as he swallowed hard, he didn't want to think about Roman dying, not ever. He loved him so much and life without him would be hell. He knew that possibilities of Roman dying before him were high, but h didn't like to think about what life would be like without him.

"-- It's not going to be because you didn't die some other time. It's just because that's when it'll happen. There's not much more too it. And I know your haemophilia is severe, Love. But most people with access to the same kind of medical care as you live almost as long as other people. The car crash was just an accident, anyone can be in a life-threatening accident that doesn't mean they aren't supposed o be here. And you are supposed to be here. You're supposed to be here with me and the kids so we can watch them grow together."
 
r o m a n
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Samuel was right, of course he was. Roman didn't really think he should have died in that car crash. He knew that that had just been an unfortunate accident and that he had made it out because he was a fighter. He hadn't been thinking like that since the crash or anything.

However, he couldn't deny the fact that he felt like he had lived for longer than people with his illness were meant to. It wasn't like he thought the universe was controlling him with some mighty hand, but he did believe, in all honesty, that he was pushing his luck a little. And that was just one of the reasons why he was so against turning forty years old. As if it was something he could prevent.

Roman pulled back and wiped the tears off Samuel's tear-stained cheeks. "I'm sorry for making you upset," he murmured, even if it was his birthday and therefore one would think his feelings would be considered more. "I ... All I want is to be able to grow old with you, and watch the kids grow up too. That's literally all I want. But I'm just afraid I'll lose that before I even know it's slipping away from me."
 
s a m u e l​

"I know love," Samuel said softly and run his fingers through Roman's hair and then placed a small kiss on his wet cheek. He wished kissing the sorrow away was enough. But it wasn't that easy, when Roman believed he wouldn't get the very simple thing he wanted. Which was just to live out his life happily with his family.

"No one can know what tomorrow is going to look like, that's why they say to live every day like it's your last," Samuel continued doing his best just to give Roman other thoughts to cling to so he wouldn't have to stay in this dark hole forever, "I dunno if I agree with that though, I feel like we should live every day to make us happy. And we're living a happy life right now, we can't let the future we might or might not have dictate that,"

Samuel let out a small sigh and tried to wipe some of Roman's tears just like he had, even now Roman had been concerned about his feelings, he was such a good person, one who didn't deserve to feel this way, ever, "I know you don't want to feel this way and that it won't just go away like that, but you have to talk to me when you feel like this, I want to make it better, and the kids do too,"
 
r o m a n
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Roman had never been in this sort of depression before, where he doubted his very existence on this planet, but like with the other things he had slumped because of, he hoped this one just went away over time. That was the most he could do in most situations -- just wait for it to get better. He hated that, he hated feeling like he was so out of control of his own life that he couldn't even manipulate what happened to him in terms of his own mental health.

But there was nothing he could do about that either, another thing he hated, but yet another thing he couldn't control. He would just have to learn how to cope with this new problem and hopefully he would get back to his normal happy self again. That was the most he could hope for.

"I love you," Roman murmured, returning Samuel's kiss to the cheek. He had his gorgeous husband and their wonderful family and hopefully that would be enough to pull him out of his slump. That had never failed him before, so if he was lucky -- which he had to be to still be alive -- that wouldn't stop now.
 
h u g o​

For Hugo Ingram school was a refuge, a place not to worry and actually have fun. They were getting to an age where people where starting to complain more about school. It was weird because they'd say it was boring and all but everyone also seemed to be looking forward to high school. Maybe it had to do with the fact that a lot of people didn't really want to play as much during recess, more sit, and talk. Which was cool by him. He had never been much for playing fetch and things like that anyways, but it was a little frustrating how everyone always seemed to want to always be home as quickly as possible and complained about how lame school was, when that was the one place you had that you could be okay in.

Letha Hemlock-Ortega wasn't like that though. She was excited about high school but because she was bored of being here. She didn't always play the schoolyard games, but not because she thought she was above them, because she would hang out with him instead sometimes. She was definitely one of his best friends. They had other friends too, they were a little group of people, but Letha was the one he had befriended the first, and the others seemed to share the attitude of their fellow classmates a whole not.

They were all at lunch at that very moment all chatting and having fun while eating their lunches. Though Hugo wasn't talking much, he was normally pretty quiet but he was always more so when the night before had been bad. And it had. Enough for the bruises that always would decorate his freckled skin were in places where they'd be visible in his school uniform. They weren't too obvious, but he knew there was one peaking up behind his collar on the back of his neck, as well as his knees, which wasn't uncommon for kids their age.

"Mum and Dad said it'd be fine for you all to come over this weekend," Kristen said, she had been planning a sleepover for them all for a little while now, "Hugo, did you ask your mum if you could come yet?"

The other people in the friend group had already, but Hugo was always postponing it. The one thing he was looking the most forward to with high school was maybe that he'd get a little more freedom to do whatever he wanted. Now he didn't have any freedom it felt like, he hadn't even attempted to ask his mother if he could go over to Kristen's. Maybe she'd say yes, but he'd have to catch her in a good mood and that didn't seem to be happening right now, "Oh uh, no, but I'm not sure I can anyways, I think she said we were going to do something this weekend, so?"
 
l e t h a
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Letha loved school, but like everyone else, she was looking forward to starting high school. She just wanted to see more of what the world had to offer because right now, the world that was available to her while she was in primary school seemed a little smaller than she perhaps would have liked. But for the minute, she was perfectly fine with just spending time with her friends.

Which was what she was doing in that moment, sitting with her friends as they discussed Kristen's weekend sleepover while they ate their food. Letha had already asked her dads and unsurprisingly they had said yes, so she was greatly looking forward to the event on the weekend. She was sure she would have a lot of fun.

She knew she would have a lot more fun, however, if Hugo was going. He was one of her absolute best friends, and it was unfortunate that he never seemed to be able to go out when everyone else was going out. She hoped that one day he would be able to join in with them. It seemed that this event was not the one, however.

"That's alright, Hugo," she said to him sweetly. "Maybe you can come next time."
 
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