Colin's posts

"Oh, well, you know..." Hal mumbled.

"I also have a little something for you." he told her.

Then, before she could respond, he stepped into the room, holding what looked to be a clear plastic cup like one would find at a coffee shop. And it was a large one. Inside there appeared to be a chilled drink with ice in it, and sky blue whipped cream atop, bits of chocolate and salted caramel sprinkled atop said whipped cream. A straw poked out of the top of the cup, and when he sat it down in front of her, she could tell what it was.

This drink had arcane mana mixed inside it to enhance EVERYTHING about it. And a large would have taken at least a day to properly 'brew' and 'mix'.

"I figured you could use something to drink." he said.

"Help get you through the day."

The door opened slowly, and she saw Hal poke his head in.

"Hallo, hallo." he greeted her with a smile... a rare greeting from him.

"How are you doing today?" he asked her.

"Figured I'd stop by and pay a visit... haven't seen you for a week or so." he continued.

"...not that it's anyone's fault, we've both been VERY busy."

"You do that." Hal said.

With that, they parted ways and he left.

"....hmmmm..." he mumbled.

"I'll need to get the ball rolling on Lunet's adoption..." he went on.

"Hrm." he muttered further, crossing his arms over his chest.

"...welp, no sense wasting time. But I need the proper... bribe."

"....hm." he mumbled.

"That IS a worry." he stated.

"Maybe we can have more tests done on her." he continued.

"And she'll need to be up to date on her vaccinations and immunizations, obviously." he added.

"Do whatever you need to, to see that she's as healthy as can be."

"Well, here's the list of those appointed to the committee to help design the place." Hal responded, handing her a sheet of paper with names on it.

"Confer with them when you have the chance, even if just by email, and tell the decision." he told her.

"Once that's settled, I'll see to it the construction is complete, and you all can help the decorator I hire make the place perfect for the tots." he went on.

"And hopefully, if I speed things up, it should be done shortly." he promised.

"Also, do let me know if anything crops up with Lunet." he then said.

"The fact you said her blood tests were puzzling is... a bit concerning to me."

"Oh hey, good to hear!" Hal responded.

"..." he was then silent, thinking a moment, and then coughing slightly.

"Been a while since I've been able to see her." he mumbled. Hal wasn't related to Angela at all... but he was a very good friend of hers... as well as Liv. And he'd been around in the beginning so much, helping out, that Liv had taken to calling him 'Uncle' sometimes. And he missed that.

"...with this daycare centre here..." he went on, before shaking his head.

"Regardless!" he exclaimed.

"Let me know if the area by the entrance is workable. If it is, the centre may be up and running sooner than planned, seeing as we won't need to tear down anything, and can merely finish up that area AS a daycare." he told her.

Hal smiled softly.

"I do what I can." he said.

"On a more personal note, how IS Liv doing?" he asked.

"Been a while and you haven't said much about her, and yes, no news can be good news, but... well, I just wanna know." he reasoned.

"How's she been doing as of late?"

Hal just exhaled slowly when she said all that.

"Indeed." he said.

"I can see where you're coming from with that." he told her.

"That being said, I AM going to talk to someone about Ty adopting her." he then promised.

"Beyond that, I make no promises." he then stressed.

Hal narrowed his eyes as he heard all that.

"...I see." he said.

"This news is... very distressing, to understate it." he told her.

"The more I hear, the more disgust I feel towards that vile woman of a mother of hers." he admitted, before clearing his throat.

"But hopefully we can show her that she is past all that now."

Hal was about to say something, before pausing.

"Wait."he said.

"Hold on." he muttered.

"Fairing better than last night is good, but being scared is something we'll need to work on." he said further.

"But what do you mean her bloodwork raised more questions than answers?" he asked.

"What sort of questions?"

"Fair enough." Hal replied.

"Discuss it with the other parents around here and come to a consensus." he told her.

"...and now I need to address another situation." he went on, before pausing. "Oh, and before I put the cart before the horse, I have a related question for you." he then said.

"The girl. What's her name again?" he asked.

"Lunet." Angela responded.

"Yes, Lunet!" Hal said. "How is she faring?" he asked her.

"Now that I know there's substantial demand for it, I can more than justify it to the uppers." Hal reasoned, before pausing.

"...or maybe I always knew, but didn't acknowledge it for whatever reason." he mumbled.

"Regardless, it starts as soon as possible. And given the people we have working for it, it won't take long at all." he went on, thinking about it again for another moment, pondering something.

"Where do you think it should be?" he asked.

"There's near the cafeteria, near the entrance, or near the medwing. Those are the primary locations I am considering."

"I'll make sure it's accessible whenever need be." Hal assured her.

"Which is to say, we can have someone ready to work there on the hours we're normally closed." he went on. "Someone to work off-hours, whether it be staying longer than planned, or super-late." he reasoned.

"The main hours will be an hour before we 'open', and an hour after we 'close'." he clarified.

"I'll work out those details as it's being built." he continued.

"If you know anyone that would be interested or qualified to work there, do let me know."

"THAT is neither here nor there." Hal told her immediately.

"You are now part of a committee to assist with something." he told her. When she looked confused, he went on.

"It seems there are at least 40 people working here that could use a daycare service." he commented. "From the messages, notes, and visits I've been receiving, anyway." he continued.

"So you and several other parents will help out in deciding what the daycare centre will look like, décor and furnishing and such." he went on.

"Because, effective immediately, one is being installed here."