Looking around at the small group of heroes and the regulars at the bar. I didn't care for anyone here. Yuffie was a loudmouth brat that had more opinions than anyone asked for. CID was the group's chain smoker, the man that had a cigarette in his mouth more than not. Red XIII, he was alright. Perhaps I can say I like him a little more than I care for the childish ninja of Wutai and the man that would make a sailor blush. Barrett had some redeeming features. However, I've not found very many. The man was a loving father. I would never take that away from him. He had a strong sense of justice. The two of us stood in moral standings on those facts. Okay, maybe there are more members of this rebellious group I can appreciate more than the ones I don't have a standing with. I took a drink of my water. Did I want to be around a band of drunks in a bar? No, I can't say that this is the place I want Kourtney to be. Heck, I barely want to be here. I looked at Grace, who was talking to Yazoo and Loz. I raised my brow. Perhaps I should feel jealous of the time she has spent with the brothers. But family first, I suppose. I took another drink of water with a sigh. My father was running a little late. As I sit back in the booth that we share, I heard the annoying yell of cursing that brought me back to reality. I knew that annoying voice from anywhere and that was of CID. My guess was his poker game with the surrounding men ended with a very lucky hand for someone who wasn't the blond pilot. "Hey, Leonard, you look like you're having fun." Came the motherly voice of the woman that I thought I loved once upon a time, Tifa Lockhart.
I looked at her. "Yeah, I'm having a real blast." I forced a smile. There was no need for her to sink and join my band of boredom.
She looked at me. Her expression was soft; however, it wasn't buying the false smile on my face. She looked around at the party, then at me. "I'm sure Grace has good intentions. This is for your birthday, after all. You should at least try to enjoy yourself."
"I thought this was for her promotion."
"Leonard, when have you known Graceona to celebrate anything work-related? She didn't even come and tell Cloud and me about her new book. We had to find that out from Barrett. She's not that crazy about celebrations other than something that involves her family." I looked at the red-haired woman who was still talking to her brothers. "You need to be prepared. When those four get together, one of them is planning something. With Yazoo in the group, it won't be boring." She stood up. As I looked at her. "Happy late birthday." She walked back towards the bar.
I stood up, walking over to the group of four. They looked at me. "Ah, Leonard. Just the man we were talking about." The monotonic voice of the middle-aged teen. "Graceona has this interesting idea, but we need your input. Would you think gold ribbon or silver is better?"
"Better for what?"
"My next book, I have the outline done. I can't decide what color the edge of the paper should be. Yazoo and Kadaj want silver, while Loz wants gold. I like both colors, but I'm confused about which to pick."
I looked at the three brothers, then at Grace. "What happened to plain pages? I don't see very many books with colorful, decorative pages."
"And we also notice that you avoid books like the plague. We thought it was because you thought books were boring, for being plain." The younger brother folded his arms.
"I think books are boring because they are plain. If I was going to design a book page, it would have stains, like coffee stains, on brown paper, in fancy writing. The cover would be interesting too. I don't care what the author's friends think of a book. The only thing that would interest me is a decent story that doesn't have me closing the book after the introduction page."
The group grew silent. "Not bad, unique, perfect for a fantasy novel. What about a cover? What do you suggest?"
"I don't know, Grace. You're asking someone with the imagination of a dead dial tone. Why are you so interested, anyway? I planned on reading your book because you wrote it. As long as there's no romance, romance is fine. Just add some sword fights in there and I would give it a read. Those two things bring me joy."
"So, you're saying you would pick up a book that had those two things in it?"
"Yes, Yazoo, if I can imagine it, I see no problem with the book."
"You truly are a man with limited imagination, Leonard."
"Yep."
"Alright, Yazoo. Just because Leonard has the imagination of a peanut, we shouldn't judge him. Now you guys go do whatever. Leonard and I need to talk."
The brothers left us. I looked at Grace. "What's up?"
She looked at me, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Nothing's up. I've been wanting to hang out with you, but Yazoo wanted to talk about the book and try to get hints on the latest book, remind me when we get home to give that boy a book, he's more excited about it than I am, and that is sad."
"Alright. So, what do you want to do?"
She looked at me. "I need to go get something out of the truck. You want to come with me?"
"Sure."
The two of us walked from the bar to the truck. Grace opened the passenger door, got a gray bag from under the seat, handing it to me. "What's this?"
"It's my book, don't worry, there is plenty of love, war, bloodshed, and romance."
I got it from the bag, looking at it. The book was thick; the cover was cool; I had to admit. "I'll read this tonight."
She looked at me. "Leonard, you need to rest. From what I'm hearing, you've not rested for a month. How in the world did you stay alert to watch over Kourtney?"
"She's not that hard to take care of, Graceona. I made sure I fed her. She had baths. I took care of her."
"Your right. You took care of her, but you did without your needs."
I sighed. "You make it sound like a bad thing."
"Well, it's not good, nor healthy. I'm proud of you for being a father to Kourtney, but you are also human. You have your needs as well." She sighed. "Well, we're moving past this. We're a family again. You can rest easy knowing that I'm here to help you. Now come on, let's go back to the party, get our minds off things, and enjoy ourselves. We deserve it."
I smiled and nodded as the two of us walked back into the bar.