One Eyed Victor 4

Victor hmmed as he tried to decide between steak and chicken for dinner. ~Chicken has more protein, but steak tends to have more flavor. Chicken is a bit cheaper too, but it’s not like we’re hurting for money.~ After a good few minutes of staring he just shrugged and tossed them both in the cart. “Victor, how are you doing?” A familiar voice spoke up as soon as he started to push his cart away. ~Oh god no~ He put on a forced smile and turned. “Hey Samantha. I’m doing good, just picking up dinner.” She smiled and nodded. “How’s Eliza doing?” “Oh, she’s doing good. A little rambunctious, but you know how teenagers are.” He reached into his pocket to pull out a lollipop and frowned when he realized he was out. “Oh, do you not have any candy? I know you have a bit of a sweet tooth.” “It seems I am.” She dug through her purse and pulled a lollipop out that was conveniently enough the same brand he always ate. “Here, luckily enough I had some in the bottom of my purse.” He took it and tucked it away in his pocket. “Thanks I guess. Anyways, I need to check out before the chicken spoils.” He started pushing his cart away. “Alright, bye Victor!” “Bye Samantha.” He checked out at the cashier and as soon as he left the building her took the lollipop out of his coat and chucked it into the nearest trash can.
	Eliza stretched as the lunch bell rang. She had black hair hanging down to her shoulders and she was currently wearing jeans and a blue denim jacket. She may have inherited her father’s hair color, but she clearly took after her mother more in nearly every other aspect. A boy in rather plain clothing with short brown hair walked up to her and smiled. “I thought that math lesson would never end.” She got up and smiled back. “Some say it’s ghost is still going to this day, boring the ghosts of all the students who’ve died of boredom~” She said as she waggled her fingers. He laughed. “God you’re a weirdo sometimes.” She grinned and hefted her back over her shoulder. “Shut up Todd, you love me.” They started walking towards the lunchroom. He rubbed his chin a bit in contemplation. “I don’t know… love is a strong word. I think tolerate is a better word.” She punched his arm lightly. “I may be a weirdo but you’re a dick.” ”Ah, but I’m /your/ dick.” She smirked. “You wish.” “Puh-lease, I’ve met your dad. I fear for the life of anyone you end up dating.” They got into the lunch line. “Oh come on, he isn’t /that/ bad.” He gave her a look. “Eliza, that man carries scalpels in his pocket for no good reason.” “He’s a doctor!” “Mad Scientist more like.” She couldn’t help but smile a bit at that. “Okay, so maybe you have a point there. I doubt he would actually do anything to someone I dated.” He shrugged and got his food. “If you say so. May I remind you of your twelfth birthday party though?” She pouted and crossed her arms. “Come on, that was a fun party.” “The piñata was shaped like a person.” “So?” “So?! He made you dissect it! And it had anatomically correct candy organs!” “So he has some quirks. Besides, you weren’t complaining when you were stuffing your face with intestines.” He rubs his face. “You’re never gonna let me live that down are you?” They sat down and she threw a grape into her mouth. “Nope.” He sighed. “So much regret. Maybe I’ll just move to Mexico and start a new life.” She grinned. “We both know your family doesn’t have a Mexico fund.” He gave her a strange look. “Your dad keeps a Mexico fund?” “Yeah.” “Why?” “In case we ever need to move to Mexico to escape something.” “Every time I think I know the extent of your family’s weirdness it just gets worse.” She crossed her arms again. “At least my dad’s not an accountant Todd.” He gasped. “Low blow Angelo, low blow.” She patted his back. “Low, but true. Your family’s boring.” He pushed her arm off him. “At least we’re normal.” The bell for lunch to end rang. Eliza stood up. “Normal’s boring. Anyways, see you later.” He nodded and got up as well. “Normal is absolutely not boring. Seeya!”
	“Love me tender, love me sweet~” Victor sung along to the radio quietly but stopped when he saw Eliza coming. She stepped into the passenger seat and he smiled at her. “How was school sweetheart?” She groaned. “Boring but good I guess.” He started driving home. “I know, just keep trucking. You only have two more years before you’re out.” She just grumbled in response. “Come on, give me a smile. If you do I’ll make nachos when we get home.” She perked up and immediately smiled. He laughed. “Alright, I’ll make them when we get home.” She grinned. “Thank you! Your nachos are seriously the best.’ His smile turned a bit sad for a moment before he shook it off. “I’m glad you like them. By the way, would you want steak or chicken for dinner? I got indecisive and just got both.” Eliza shook her head and chuckled. “I swear you can never make a decision can you? I’m surprised you managed to live your life without getting stuck at the supermarket.” They pulled into their driveway. “Your mother was great at getting me moving when stuff like that happened. Did I ever tell you about the time we were at the supermarket while she was pregnant with you?” She shook her head. “I was being indecisive as usual and she had to make me choose what kind of candy to get. We were talking about one thing or another and I called her the pet name I gave her and she got a little upset. I didn’t really realize what was wrong with it and she got frustrated at me. Eventually she got so fed up with me that she just picked me up and carried me out of the store. “ He smiled fondly, obviously enjoying the memory. Eliza chuckled. “Was the pet name really that bad?” He nodded. “She was my little ginuea pig.” Eliza made a face. “Ooh, I did not need to know that.”  He laughed. “You were the one who asked little missy.” She shook her head with a smile. “What about you, how was your day?” He sighed. “Decent. I ran into Samantha at the store and got sucked into a conversation with her. Woman even tried giving me candy that I had to throw away.” He got out of the car and Eliza followed. “Why did you throw it away?” He headed inside and started work on the nachos. “Keeping an old promise is all.” She tilted her head curiously. “What promise?” He popped the bowl into the oven as Eliza sat on the countertop. “Well, I made a promise to your mother that I would never accept candy from another woman. She may be gone but that doesn’t mean the promise isn’t still there.” Eliza smiled a little. “That’s… really sweet actually. But Dad, she’s been gone for years now, don’t you think you should try to move one, maybe meet someone new?” Victor just sighed. “Eliza, you don’t know what it’s like to be in love. Truly in love. When you give yourself fully to someone like that and they give themself to you, if you lose them like that, a piece of you goes with them. And what she gave to me, I have to make sure I keep alive. And I absolutely refuse to try and find another woman.” He said all of this very matter of factly. “I’m not telling you to forget about her, why wouldn’t you want to be happy with someone else?” He pulled at the chain around his neck and pulled it out from under his shirt. Dangling on it was a well kept ring that was inlaid with multiple light stones. He took it off and handed it to Eliza. “This is the ring I gave your mother all those years ago when I proposed to her. Do you see the engraving on it?” She looked at the ring. It was very obviously an expensive ring. On the inside of the band were words. “Forever and Always.” Eliza read out loud. He nodded. “Just because she’s not here doesn’t mean she still isn’t my wife. She is the only woman in this entire world I have ever loved, and nothing will ever change that. When I proposed to her, I wasn’t just asking her to spend her life with me. We promised to spend eternity together, even if that means I have to wait dozens of years until I get to see her again.” He wiped the tears from his good eye and took the chain back from her. She looked stunned. “You… loved her that much?” He shook his head as he slipped it back around his neck. “No, I love her that much.” She nodded. “Right. But… how can you not be mad at her? After what happened… you even lot your eye!” He shook his head again. “It wasn’t her fault. You won’t understand and it’s best you never do. She did what she did to save us from something awful you know. How I could I ever hate her for that?” He rubbed his eye again. “I’m sorry, I don’t really want to keep talking about this, let’s just enjoy some nachos?” He asked her as he smiled a sad smile. She blinked a few times and nodded as he took the nachos out of the oven.