Break

Ficus stared at her glass panel. The lights lit up onto her face, sparkling a bright blue in the midst of her nighttime room. On her face, there were no emotions to what she saw on the screen, but it was apparent that she was deep in thought. Her feelings finally leaked when her hands gripped tightly at the panel. Anger? Apprehension? Worry? Whatever it was, it wasn’t positive.

“Dolly…” Camie’s old name escaped from Ficus’s lips. A tear began to well up as she looked past the present and into the future of what was to come for the doll. A few more years, at best. She couldn’t take it anymore and set aside the glass. Ending the day like that, she crawled into her bed in order to hold back her emotions for another night and make tomorrow arrive earlier.

With Lucy and Albert’s apology, Camie felt a burden off her shoulders, but there was still a tense atmosphere between them. She couldn’t focus on playing with the blocks that Lucy had brought over for Camie to keep. It felt like seeing the streets after a rain that had just stopped. The damp air felt refreshing on her skin, but the sky had not cleared yet. It made everything gray and depressing. Why couldn’t Camie see the light shine from Albert and Lucy? What made the room so cloudy? These thoughts dashed around Camie’s mind as she stacked the blocks precariously on top of each other in an attempt to make the tallest tower on the center table of the dining area.

“Careful, Camie,” said Lucy, as she entered the dining area. “It looks like it might fall.”

“Ah! Lucy!” Camie was distracted by her arrival and the tower toppled away from her. “Oh.”

“Hi, Lucy,” Albert welcomed her.

“Hey, Albert!” Lucy’s greeting was cheerful. “What are you doing?”

He stared at the broom in his hands before replying. “Cleaning.” Such a blunt answer, but what else could he say.

“I could see that,” Lucy said as she smiled. “Do you want me to help?”

Albert took a moment to answer, looking around the room. “No thanks, I’m almost done anyways. You can play with Camie for the time being.”

Turned down, Lucy decided to not speak any further and sat down at Camie’s table. “I’ll wait for you,” declared Lucy.

Camie and Lucy sat at the table, not speaking a word, as they watched Albert finish sweeping the room. Perhaps it was uncomfortable for Albert, having the stares focused on him as he worked. Finally, he broke down. “Lucy, you know how to brew tea, right?” he asked.

“Yes, would you like me to brew some?” offered Lucy as she excitedly stood up.

“Please.” Albert’s reply was kept short.

However, Lucy followed his instructions and went to brew the tea, leaving Camie alone at the table, equally separated from either of the two. She sat there, fiddling with the blocks in front of her. It felt awkward. Lucy and Albert were both silent as they focused on their tasks. Usually, they would strike up conversations with each other, reminiscing about the past and chatting about the news. The past week, as well as today, was oddly quiet. Albert would barely respond to Lucy with half-hearted responses. They consisted of minimal words and sometimes weren’t clear and concise.

Lucy felt the same way as well. She only wanted to help, but it was as if there was a glass wall that lingered between her and Albert. How could she break the wall? What would happen if she tried to tap and break the wall? Not wanting another fight, she could only stay far away and offer her services. It hurt her, for Albert to reject her approaches, like she was starting to be left behind as Albert grew independent of her. For the time being though, everything should be fine the way it was at the moment, but it seemed that it could all break with one wrong step. To Lucy, ignoring Albert was not an option for her. It never would be because she cared, and she was unwilling to let him continue his downward path of overwork. Lucy sighed. If only people didn’t need to eat or drink. Then there would be no need for work, and there would be peace.

While Lucy contemplated the reason behind the existence of work, Albert finished up sweeping. Seeing how Camie was left alone, he put away the broom and took a chair near her.

“Do you like the blocks, Camie?” he asked.

“Yes!”

“Would you like anything else?”

“No.” She continued focusing on the blocks.

Albert put his head down. This was going nowhere. It was no small wonder why Camie preferred Lucy over him. He didn’t know how to interact with her. For some reason, this fact irritated him. Not to the point where it was comparable to Leo, but it still had some considerable nagging to his conscience.

A few clinks could be heard from the kitchen, and Lucy came over with the tea. Her smile as she arrived brought shame to Albert’s heart. How annoying. He had been holed up with his work for so long that he had forgotten why he felt this way. Jealousy towards Lucy and catering towards Camie. There was no way he could talk to any of them about this.

“Thanks,” he muttered to Lucy as he lifted his cup to his lips for a sip.

“No problem!” Lucy beamed back at Albert, who in response turned away to hide his emotions. “Albert? Is something wrong?”

“No. Nothing’s wrong,” he replied. “Just thinking how I should start preparing for service soon.”

Lucy’s forehead furrowed into a frown of both question and disapproval. She looked at the clock. “Why? Isn't it a bit too early for that?”

“No, I don’t think so. You can… ” Albert paused mid sentence. What did he want to do about Lucy? Break up their relationship? Prevent them from meeting each other? If he had looked back on his behavior, it would seem pointless. All of it. He shouldn’t act like this. But he couldn’t look back. Not in the present.

Albert lifted his head and saw that Lucy’s face was filled with worry. To the point she might overflow with tears. Why did she have to be like this now?

“I can… what?” asked Lucy.

“No, nothing.” He took back his idea that was in his mind. “You can stay if you want. I’ll need to spend some time checking the storage.” He pushed his chair back and headed towards the back of the room.

Lucy called after him. “Don’t be afraid to take a break!”

It was dismissed with a wave of the hand. “What are you talking about? I didn’t even start yet.” Albert disappeared into the storage room.

Lucy slumped onto the table in worry and exhaustion. “He makes me tired by just looking at him,” she complained to Camie.

“Oh.” Camie nodded in response as she continued creating her masterpiece with the blocks. “Camie too.”

“Good to know it’s not just me.” She tilted her head around to look at Camie. “I hope it doesn’t affect you too much.”

Camie nodded again. “Only a little bit. It feels lonely.”

“Poor Camie,” comforted Lucy, as she patted her on the head. “Poor Albert.” That last phrase was not audible to the person in question, who could hear their conversation through the door.

He rested his head over a shelf. It would be better if he wasn’t there. The pair always got along better. Why did Ficus, no, the shopkeeper, choose him to take care of Camie? Wasn’t it better for her to choose Lucy? These questions circled his head as he reflected on his relationship between the two. It was like he was always in the way. Not quite in their conversations, but also not out of it. To the side, as a third wheel.

Lucy saw things differently. If only Albert had more time, then he could spend it with Camie. From there, their relationship would only deepen and grow. It was a shame that Albert had to focus on the shop all by himself. All by himself. No one to help. Help. What if she helped out more? She already did some chores around the place. Why not work for him? She made a mad dash towards the room that Albert was in.

“Albert!” She called out, suddenly slamming the door open.

Albert dropped his pen on the ground at her unexpected appearance.

“What?” His tone was slightly irritated as he bent down to pick up the pen.

“Can I work here with you?”

It took a few moments for Albert to process the request. His first response: “Why?” That was then followed by a “What about your family’s shop?”

Lucy was quick on the answers. “Because I want to help you. I’ll ask my family to let me. They’ll most likely give me permission.” There should be no reason to refuse, at least in Lucy’s mind.

“No.” Albert was firm on his decision. “I don’t need your help. You can help me by keeping Camie company. After all, you two go so well together.” The last part sounded… snarky.

Truth was, Albert didn’t want to be near Lucy, or Camie, at the moment. He rejected her offer. He snapped at her. All so she would leave him alone. It hurt him to be like this. She had been his friend for the longest time. Sometimes, when she stuck with him, he was grateful. This time, however, he didn’t want her near him. He didn’t like snapping at her, but he felt like their relationship would deteriorate if they kept at this.

“Oh.” Lucy was crestfallen. It seemed like a good idea at first. Maybe she was too impulsive on the thought. “Well, it was worth a try.”

“Lucy! Lucy! Lucy!” It was Camie.

Lucy's head peeked out from the storage room. “Yes? What is it, Camie?”

“Birdie! The one from before!” Camie pointed outside.

Lucy walked out to see what the object Camie was pointing at was. At her first glance, she understood what Camie meant. It was the pale blue bird from before. The bird was flapping and pecking around the window.

“Let it in! Let it in!” Camie pleaded to Lucy.

“I have to let Albert know first, Camie.” Lucy turned towards Albert, who was exiting the storage room.

Albert had decided while he was in there that he had to at least tell Lucy a bit of his thoughts. It would hurt, but it was for the better. If they were to continue like this, it would only get worse. He might never talk to her again. He repeated his thoughts to boost his confidence. A deep breath. Maybe a few more.

One look at Lucy made his heart shatter. She was enthusiastic to show him something. That enthusiastic look, however, fell apart when she saw his sullen face.

“We need to talk.”

Suddenly, Lucy began to tear up. What she had feared had indeed been true. She had broken the glass wall between her and Albert, and it was turning out to be a bad outcome.

“Lucy, are you okay?” Camie asked when she saw Lucy’s face. It was wistful, looking at Albert, but Camie did not understand what was happening.

“Yeah,” Albert reflected Lucy’s emotions. “I think you should stop coming over for the time being.”

Camie tugged at Lucy’s blouse, wondering what exactly was happening. “Does that mean I won’t be able to see Lucy?”

The silence in the room confirmed her question, but it took a while for it to sink in to Camie. Camie looked up at Lucy. She was still sobbing.

“Lucy….” It had set in. “Don’t go. Don’t go. DON’T GO!” Camie turned towards Albert. “WHY?” she bawled. “WHY DOES LUCY HAVE TO GO? I DON’T WANT LUCY TO GO!” Her tugs began to turn into frantic pulls.

“It’s okay, Camie.” Lucy tried to console Camie as she tried to untangle the fingers from her shirt. “Maybe I’ll see you sometime soon.”

“You can go with Lucy as well, Camie.”

Albert’s words shocked Camie for her to stop wailing. She was too confused. There were so many questions. She stared at Albert, who nodded for her to go to Lucy. Lucy was also confused.

“It’s for the better, Camie. You can go with Lucy.”

“But…” Camie was hesitant. “What about Albert?”

“I’ll be fine. I just need some time alone,” he assured Camie, as well as Lucy. “You two can go now.” Compared to last time he told them to get out, his tone was gentle. Quiet. Subdued.

Lucy took the hint and quietly took Camie into her arms. Camie still couldn’t understand anything.

“Albert! WHY!” She started grabbing at the air towards him. “ALBERT!”

Albert didn’t listen. He turned away and headed up the stairs to his room. Camie and Lucy stared at him leaving.

“ALBERT!” Camie let out one last scream of plea to him. There was no response.

“Shhhh, Camie.” Lucy tried to soothe her. “We need to leave, so be quiet.”

“Albert… Albert… Albert…” Her voice began to fade. And with that, the pair finally departed from Sweet Ales, back to Lucy’s home.

Back in Albert’s room. He couldn’t comprehend too much. Why? It should have been fine. So why? Why did he throw everything away? He mulled over this in bed, regretting the procession of events that led to his current position. However, he did not shed any tears.