“Not at all” Marlene agreed with Gavin. Adulthood was far from what she had expected at some point in her life. She’d never been one of those children that are desperate to grow up, rather enjoying her age as the years came, but not looking foward toward adulthood because of it. Indeed, she watched with hungry eyes at her older sister and brother as they grew and became independent; exclusive owners of their own lives, free to do what pleased them without their parents’ consent. She’d been told numerous times that said independence came along with a series of responsibilities, and unlike most defying children and teens, Marlene had been smart enough to believe it.
She’d just never expected them to be the ones she had now. Fighting Death Eaters, covering minor and major crimes at work, keeping in touch with her family, protecting them and her friends, and somehow through all of it avoid falling in utter depression and alcoholism or things, you know, get killed. The sum of all those things still sounded quite banal inside her head, all in all just a list of things. The implications behind them were way much more than the ones she could sum up in the act.
“Yeah, I don’t know why so many children are fascinated by this growing up stuff. McGonagall’s essays seem little compared to this, doesn’t it?” she sighed, leaning back against the chair and taking of her jacket. Her eyes rarely left Gavin, ready to jump to his aid if she detected so much as a hint of what she’d witnessed back in his apartment. Protectiveness was a natural when it came to Marlene, being the third of 13 brothers and sisters. It was a protective instinct that extended not only to her family members but to her friends in general. She knew perfectly well (far too well, unfortunately) what it was to live in emotional and psychological pain, and she’d go all the way to keep those she cared about to experience it. Her hand was ready to reach out and take Gavin’s if he showed any signs of breaking down again.
“Yes I am!” she chipped cheerfully, happy to jump into that topic. She couldn’t imagine that Gavin probably didn’t feel comfortable talking about himself at the moment, and what most mattered to Marlene right now was making him feel comfortable again. On a completely different aspect, it wasn’t like she did not enjoy the sound of her own voice either “I get to arrest people now. It’s pretty cool, especially when they don’t expect it. The expression of those who think they’ve gotten away with their crimes and suddenly have a horde of hit wizards flooding their house is priceless” she mimicked her words. throwing her hands up in surrender, eyes as wide as a house elf’s and mouth opened in a frozen frown of surprise and fear “It’s like seeing a rabbit under a the light of a car” she giggled.
The waiter returned surprisingly soon with their orders, setting them on the table along with a glass of soda water. After insisting that they called him should they need anything else, he departed to tend to other tables.
Marlene immediately smiled at the sight of that spongy brownie fresh out of the oven, the heat it irradiated melting the ice cream topping to creamy rivulets that pulled around the cake.
“How about you? How’s your work?” it was a banal subject, one that Marlene hoped would not make her friend feel uneasy. She was careful to put as much sweetness in her voice without sounding condescending.
