Monday. Owen did not explicitly hate Mondays. More like feverishly wanted back his weekend and in turn became depressed at the prospect of Monday. So yeah, there really was nothing against the weekday. He woke up, made breakfast, sat down, and began eating his cereal. Isabella was there eating with him. Apparently, she hadn't slept yet so this wasn't her breakfast, this was her dinner.
Owen was aware that the previous video she worked on took much longer than expected. To compensate, she had to work twice as hard for the next one. He whipped out his phone, a spoonful of cereal in his mouth, and blinked lazily as he stared at his screen. He went on their channel Bitcave, then clicked on their newest video. He yawned, his mouth closing and his eyes focusing.
Oh.
"A-a hundred thousand views!?"
His voice was probably too loud. Isabella cringed.
"Lemme see! Lemme see!"
As soon as Owen's voice echoed through the house, Ophelia ran over from her room like a little goblin. She plopped down next to him on the sofa and gasped at what she saw. "Woah! A hundred thousand!"
"A hundred thousand," Owen repeated.
"A hundred thousand!" Ophelia grinned. "A hundred—"
"Thousand!"
They gave each other high-fives. Meanwhile, Isabella tapped her forehead on her cereal bowl. "This early? Come on guys…"
Owen was just about to head to work and this was the best news possible! Recently, he had been thinking the channel name was lame but this proved otherwise! This proved that they were succeeding! It wasn't a theory video, some random stroke of luck, it was a review of the newest novel in the series. A potential series.
"Let's check the comments," Owen said, scrolling down. "'At this point, not even god can strike him down.' 'In conclusion, he always comes back.' 'He's hot and on fire 10/10'."
Okay, so Owen vaguely understood the meaning but Ophelia did not. "How is he hot?"
"It's a metaphor joke."
"Ooh." Her brows furrowed. "I'm bad at those."
"Jokes?"
"Pfft, you wish. I'm hilarious, honey munchins."
"Of course, my dear. The funniest in the world."
"Can I go to sleep after this?" Isabella got up from the dining table, leaving her bowl behind. "Sorry, Owen." Yawn. "It's not like I don't want to see you off but…"
"Beauty sleep, I know. I won't hold it against you."
"Aw, do you have to leave?" Ophelia stretched and lay across his lap. She boobed his nose, smiling at him. "Come on, why not stay for this Monday? Mondays suck!"
"Money, money, money, Ophelia. Gotta get that bag."
"I hate bags!"
"But Mary likes them."
"She can buy them herself."
"You know her. She's all gifts and no actual self-service."
Isabella disappeared, marked by the closing of the door. That was when Ophelia frowned.
"Don't you think Isabella's pushing herself too hard?"
"Yeah, I agree." Owen put a finger on her lips and smiled. "Mind keeping an eye on her?"
"Yes, sir!" Ophelia's grin and enthusiasm faded. "Oh, by the way…actually, nevermind."
"Is it a, 'I forgot nevermind' or 'I don't want to tell you nevermind'?" Owen asked.
"Uhh…" Ophelia chewed on her bottom lip, turning her head to the television screen. "Sunday is our sacred day, right?"
"Right."
"So how come you're doing stuff on Saturday too? Going on picnics with Isabella…I'm jealous."
He smiled. "Want to go out then?"
"No!" Ophelia winced at her reply. "I-I mean, I prefer it not to be outside. Like, um…"
"How about we start marathoning the Scooby Doo movies every Friday?"
"That's nothing compared to a picnic!"
"Foot massage too?"
"Warmer."
"Hm..." He went into a dramatic thinking pose. "Junk food then. Pizza bagels and Doritos."
"...Owen, you son of a gun." She grinned. "Count me in."
Isabella and Ophelia were their own people. What worked for one didn't always work for the other and both had their own levels of affection. Ophelia was very cuddly but only in private. Isabella enjoyed brief cuddles to recharge her batteries. Ideally, also private. In that regard, they were similar; they valued their privacy to a high degree.
He embraced their respective quirks. Home was home. They were home.
***
Work was the same as always. Progress was being made on the skyscraper. According to Boss Mike, they planned to ramp things up and finish it by the end of this year.
Owen was injured and thus left out of many of the physically intensive tasks. Momentum was killed because of his lack of presence. Owen was supposed to be everywhere. Instead, he was paired with Frank who cited back issues and worked on hammering in nails for the flooring.
"You hear about the Rose Queens?"
"Huh?" Owen stopped nailing. That came out of nowhere. "Yeah, why?"
Frank let out a sigh and a chuckle. "My daughter is obsessed with them and she passed her little disease to my youngest son. All that rascal does is blast their music in the garage. I'm betting I'm going to get a complaint from the neighbours one of these days."
"Ah." Owen made a face. "Which member is their favourite?"
"The leader! Duh, what's her face…Amber! Her! Brown hair, pretty eyes."
"Ah, yeah, she's iconic."
The Rose Queens were a four-woman K-pop group known for their mythology-themed music. Personally, Owen wasn't much for the genre, preferring hip-hop, rap, and pop-rock, but did tune into Rose Queens whenever he could. Being the newest cause of the Korean wave, he often heard their music played in stores. In fact, the gas station right across the street had their newest album on repeat.
"'Iconic.' Ha. That's what my children always say. So annoying." Frank shook his head. "Back in my day, we had the Beetles. Way better if you ask me. No autotune, no nothing."
EDM, pop, and hip-pop; a recipe for older folks to hate. Owen laughed. "Alright, old man."
"I'm serious. Today's kids know nothing of real music."
"You said the Beatles, that's the sixties you're talking about. Aren't they before your time?"
"It's about the vibe, my friend. Pink Floyd, Led Zepplin, Madonna, Elvis Presley..."
"Right, right, I understand."
"They're the greatest of all time," Frank insisted. "What can I say?"
"Name me one member of Pink Floyd."
"......."