Unforeseen Events: Day 1

Word Count: 6,079

Summary of Events:

Sheldon arrived at the airport and was unable to find his way out before his mom's school friend who was to meet him found him; she took him for lunch and got him onto the bus for the next leg of the trip despite his best efforts. Emil got a call from his daughter that Sheldon was on his way and headed out to meet him. Sheldon arrived at the bus depot and found himself without enough money to keep going toward Toronto on the bus, and so was forced to stay; he watched an older man come in and talk with the depot employees and realised the man was there to collect him . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

"The man turned to face Sheldon, who looked him over slowly. So this was his grandfather, the apparently brutal military man who'd — to hear Mom say it — ruined her teenage years by trying to keep her from drinking and partying and whatnot like she wanted to.

Considering there were worse fathers out there, like the ones who beat or murdered their children, Sheldon had always wondered if Mom's dad was actually that bad.

Seeing the man, Sheldon couldn't say he believed anything Mom said.

Yes, his grandfather was tall, strong, and fit for a man of over seventy years, but he'd sounded genuinely jovial and friendly to the old man.

His grandfather stepped toward him. His neat, clean-cut appearance suggested he had, indeed, once been a military man, although his haircut looked straight out of a black and white photo from the 1950s, and he looked like age had softened his features somewhat.

"Ready to go Sheldon?" his grandfather asked.

"I'm not going anywhere but Toronto," Sheldon spat.

"There's no beds here to stay for the night Sheldon," his grandfather replied. "Even if you want to get back to Toronto you're going to need to come with me at least until tomorrow morning."

Setting his jaw, Sheldon crossed his arms, daring his grandfather to make him.

His grandfather's eyes, deep blue and all-too-reminiscent of Sheldon's own for his comfort, looked at him with something of a brusque coolness, the sort of detachment he would've expected out of a military man, but yet there was a slight difference.

His grandfather's eyes and expression suggested, on one hand, that he was willing to wait as long as Sheldon might hold out against him, and, on the other hand, that he felt bad, like, that he didn't want to take Sheldon with him, or that he felt bad that Sheldon was unhappy.

It made it mildly uncomfortable for Sheldon to look at him seeing that tinge of sympathy. He wished his grandfather would stop looking at him.

After a while that lasted far longer than Sheldon appreciated, his grandfather sighed and looked past him out the window.

"I can't say you don't have Owens blood in you," his grandfather said, bringing his gaze back to meet Sheldon's. "You're just as bullheaded as the lot of us. If it doesn't incite violence I'll take your stuff to the truck. Come when you're ready."

Sheldon didn't move as his grandfather slung the backpack onto a shoulder and took a suitcase handle in each hand before heading outside. Sheldon didn't look over his shoulder, instead he fixed his gaze on the wall behind the counter. He wasn't leaving here unless he was assured that he was going to be heading to Toronto."