How Green Becomes Wood

Milo raised his head again, squinting at Alec, "You don't know what the Bean is? It's this, um, giant, famous sculpture in Chicago. It's, um, kind of stupid because it's just this giant silver thing in the shape of a bean, and the artist is a jerk, but it's still cool to see, because it is extremely reflective, and since it is curved, the reflections are distorted."
 
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"Really? That's cool!" Alec said, his eyes wide. "I hadn't heard of it before, that's so cool!"

Xander nudged his brother gently, sensing the question he wanted to ask. Alec didn't even glance at him, just swallowed the question of when Milo had seen that. With all of Milo's reservations and hints at constant moving, Xander didn't think that was a wise direction to go.

"Alright, so two people said mercury, one said a sci-fi stuff, one said jewelry and chair legs," Xander counted off, "which leaves us with... what does Silver mean to you, Alec Cunningham?"

Alec frowned and bit his lip. "Hmm. I'm not sure."
 
Milo didn't notice the nudge, he was looking down at his camera again, not taking pictures, just generally fiddling with it.

"Are we just doing their homework for them?" Sloan asked with a little grin.
 
"Absolutely," Peter smirked. "But I don't mind. I like the messy side of art! You know, Milo, I was in Chicago briefly when I was about seven, but I didn't get to see the Bean. My parents were on a business trip, so we mostly focused on that. Most of what I remember is how many people remarked on my 'adorable accent.' I don't have an accent!" He purposefully emphasized his very Australian accent for the last couple of sentences.

Xander finished off his juice with a loud slurp.

****

Meanwhile, Sally called Daizi's phone during her lunch break.
 
"I'm doing well, thank you." Sally paused for a moment before admitting, "Actually, I am not doing well. I am standing at a crossroads and must pick a direction. Would it be horribly inconsiderate of me to ask you out on a coffee date and act as my sounding board? Perhaps this evening? We could do dinner, if you prefer."
 
"Oh no, what's wrong?" Daizi asked, immediately sitting up straight and picking up the phone, instead of just letting it rest on the table on speakerphone, "Sure, we can meet. I'm not really busy, at least, not any more busy than anyone with a fifteen week old is. What time were you thinking?"
 
"I get off work at four, and it should take me at least half an hour to get to your place from here. Possibly longer if traffic is bad. Shall we say four: forty-five to five to be safe?" Sally asked, somehow sounding tense and tired at the same time. "I will tell you all about it when I see you. Your choice of where to go and my treat. I insist."
 
"Five is just fine," Daizi assured her, "I normally feed Ivy around then, so I think by the time you're here and ready to go. And she doesn't normally eat again until 8, so I shouldn't need to bring her with, unless you want to be out late. And isn't it time I treat you? You always help me when I'm struggling with something."
 
"I won't keep you out too late," Sally assured her. "I want to treat you because I'm the one dragging you out to listen to my problems, but we can argue about that later."
 
"I will see you this evening," Sally promised before ending the transmission. She hoped she was doing the right thing in talking to Daizi about this problem, but there was no one she could talk to who would be truly impartial. Daizi was her best hope for logical enough but with heart.
 
Since Dark normally didn't get home until around or after the time Daizi planned to leave, she quickly called him to let him know he needed to make sure he made it home a bit earlier than usual, so that he could watch Ivy. Although the twins would be there even if he was late, and she knew Sally wouldn't mind waiting if none of them were home, it still seemed right to have him there... she just wasn't ready to leave her baby without one of her parents home.

And, true to his word, Dark did return at around 4:30, to be absolutely certain he was there before Daizi had to leave.
 
Alec had to ask all the questions, desperately curious if it was about Peter and his family leaving but not daring to say it like that since Peter hadn't said any of the adults knew. "Who are you going out with? Is it a special occasion? Is it a full dinner?"

"Dude, chill!" Xander called from the kitchen where he was cleaning out lunch boxes. "She's allowed to have a life, you know!"
 
"It'll just be me and Sally I think," Daizi answered, "I don't think its special, she just needs a friend. We're going to eat, but I don't think it's anything dramatic. It's weird, though, it'll be my first time going out without Ivy since I had her. Or, I guess, since I conceived her."
 
"That'll be really weird," Alec agreed. "You look nice, though. I hope you have a good time!"

Sally's car pulled up to the front of the house, and Sally got out, heading to the front door to let Daizi know she'd arrived.
 
"There's a really nice, small restaurant Dark and I like that's not too far from here," Daizi said, walking into the living room to collect her daughter, "I thought we could go there. It's really good but most people don't know about it, so it's rarely crowded. Ivy, habibti, say hi to your Khalaty Sally!" She held her up to face Sally, as best as she could, and being the friendly baby that she was, Ivy smiled her biggest smile at her and cooed.
 
"Oh, look at you!" Sally cooed in delight. She switched to her admittedly rusty Egyptian Arabic and cooed back to Ivy, telling her she was a pretty girl and how sweet she was. She did accidentally use the wrong word and told her she had a lovely banner instead of ribbon, but she did her best.
 
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