ANTICIPATING 'TILL THE SIDEWALK ENDS -- dash

Joshua sat down at the table with an expression of disdain, resisting the urge to screw up his expression against the thick smell of meat in the air. "Really?" Gray eyes narrowed as he fixed his gaze on the baby blue ones of his cousin. She stared back at him wide-eyed as if she was completely innocent and didn't realise that anything was wrong. Shaking his head, he said, "You wanted to meet me here? Here, Sylvie?" She folded her arms and popped the gum bubble forming in front of her lips. "So?" Joshua scowled at her obliviousness. He could understand that some people would not realise he was vegetarian but this was a member of his family. A member of his family who had sat beside him at nearly every family reunion dinner they'd had and hit on him a few times to boot. This had not gone down well with Joshua, even when she'd insisted that they were not technically full cousins because her mother was Patricia's older half sister. Josh didn't give a damn--they were still family and he did not like the idea of her being attracted to him. "Forget it," he muttered, not bothering to explain.

Her query about what he was ordering only gained her a dirty look from Joshua. She was not the most intuitive person in the world (she still flirted with him occasionally) but even she picked up on the fact that it wasn't a matter that should be discussed. "Gosh, I was just asking." He did not get anything. He wasn't so strict that he wouldn't eat at a place that also served meat, it was just the smell in this place that was making him feel a bit queasy. Fries would have been alright but he didn't feel like them at the moment. Why couldn't she have just suggested Tim Hortons? Of course, Vie was absolutely unsympathetic and unaware of his plight as she bit into her burger. Sighing, Joshua tapped his fingers against his thigh and glanced around the place. It was reasonably well-kept and everything like that so the thick smell of the meat was his only problem with it, especially since it was coming off the burger nearby in waves. He had a strong stomach, though, and did not feel as if he was going to puke.

"So," she said eventually, after a large swallow, "how's your sister? I never saw her at the house." He knew that she and her mother were in town for a week and so they had decided to drop by the Dales for a visit. It made sense seeing as they were related and all. Joshua, however, would not be seeing a lot of them--he was staying with Nell in light of the argument with his father. "Didn't my father tell you?" He knew immediately that she'd pick up on what he meant if she had been informed. The confused look on her face and her reply of, "Why would he tell me about Anna?" clued him in on the fact that she had not. "No one calls her Anna," he said in exasperation, shaking his head. Vie did not reply to this but decided to take advantage of the brief silence to eat another French fry. "Never mind," said Josh. If Donovan hadn't started telling people he'd disowned his son then Joshua certainly wasn't going to get the ball rolling. It was embarrassing to admit he'd practically been cast out of his own family over his choice of girlfriend.

After only a few more minutes as Sylvie prattled on about what she'd done over the summer and how happy she was to see him again, her phone rang. She appeared shameless even as several of the other people in the crowded fast food restaurant looked round to find the source of the noise. Joshua was not a self-conscious person and so merely ignored the looks--people lost interest quickly and went back to doing their own thing, anyway. Rather than going outside to take the call she answered it right there and he resumed the silent drumming of his fingers. He thought of Nell and how much he'd rather be spending the day with her, then felt a little guilty. This is your family. Still, he and Vie had never been the closest of friends despite the fact that she pretended as much. "Joshy I need to take this," she chirped, and completely ignored his irate, "My name is Josh," as she added, "Wait for me, 'kay? I won't be long!"

Somehow he didn't trust this. The last time she'd ditched out with a 'this won't take long' he'd been stuck in an airport for two hours alone and they'd almost missed their flight back home. It had been a family vacation when he was about thirteen or fourteen. Vie and her mother were far from wealthy and so Trish had taken pity on her niece and invited her along, much to Josh's disappointment at the time. He was older now and thus much more willing to put up with annoying relatives but that didn't mean the wait didn't irritate him. If I'm going to be here a while I might as well get food, he thought in resignation, approaching the counter and ordering a drink and some onion rings. It was busy so he leaned against the counter to wait.