Informative Texts, Informative Trips, Informative Exchange

Things continued to gradually change as their relationship developed. For example, when Alex first got Edmund's phone number, he strictly wanted her to use it for important messages. Now that they were dating, the texts could be more casual, yet Edmund still wasn't in favor of talking over the phone unless it was necessary. Alex took whatever opportunity she could to message him, though it had to be strategic. As cute as it would be to message her partner good morning, Edmund would've pointed out they were going to see each other soon anyway, so the greeting would be redundant. Thus, she would say good night instead, knowing he would be up late for work reasons. Even if his response was a simple 'good night' back, she liked to imagine he would smile every time he saw her message. Just a tiny bit.

Texting was also good for collecting information she could save later, hence the following conversation.

A: When's your birthday?
E: December 24th. Christmas Eve.
A: Wow! I hope you still get gifts for both your birthday and Christmas.
E: I did up until college. It doesn't matter though. I don't normally have anything that I want in particular.
A: Aw, I'll have to change that and get you two presents! ♥
A: But that makes you a Capricorn, right? Mine was on July 1st, so I'm a Cancer. That makes us compatible!
E: Does it? I never paid attention to astrology since there's no scientific evidence supporting it. Besides, many descriptions of zodiac signs are general and could apply to most people.
A: Yeah, I remember something about that in psych class. It's mostly for fun! When's Candace and Oliver's birthdays?
E: Candace is September 15th. Oliver's birthday is coming up on November 30th.
A: Good thing I asked! I'll have more time to get him something.
E: I suppose you're right. I was going to mention it, but I haven't had the chance.

Alex paused from their conversation to mark her calendar accordingly. Getting a gift for Oliver should be easy since she already knew what he liked. It was just a matter of choosing monsters or ponies. As for Edmund, she could get him something practical. At least she had plenty of time to think that one over.

Her thoughts were soon interrupted by a follow-up text by Edmund.

E: Speaking of Oliver, I was able to come to an agreement regarding us going out with him somewhere.
A: That's great! I'd love to do something with him this weekend.
E: However, there is one condition. Candace wishes to have a conversation with you first. Privately.

Alex swallowed, feeling her palms get sweaty as she proceeded with this.

A: Sure! That's no problem.

It was definitely a problem, but one that was going to have to be resolved eventually.

E: Excellent. I'll let her know and we can arrange for you two to meet.
A: Okay! See you then!

Alex groaned as she put her phone down and buried her face in her hands. If the mom wanted a private conversation, there was no way that was going to be good. Maybe she should talk to someone? No, she's been doing that too much lately. She has to toughen up and fight her own battles.

Interestingly, her thoughts were interrupted once more, but not by who she was expecting. It was Val with a new photo. It was her and another girl both dressed up as magical girls, more specifically from the show Alex and she had bonded over. Val had chosen the magical girl who wore a black, spiky outfit, allowing her to embrace her feminine punk side. Meanwhile, her friend was dressed as the main character's ultimate form, white flowing dress and all.

Alex's eyes widened as soon as she put the pieces together. No wonder Val had been missing for weeks! She had been making a cosplay with a friend! To her knowledge, those can take a long time, especially when you're trying to be as accurate and detailed as possible.

A: You look amazing~! ♥
V: Thanks, babe. Thought I'd try it out at least once.
A: Are you planning on going to a con?
V: Yep. I'll tell y'all about it when I get back.

Alex sighed, slightly jealous that Val was able to go off and do something so cool. Then again, she lacked the confidence to dress up to that extent. She would be too busy worrying about all the minor parts, or worse the possibility of it getting ruined somehow. It was too much stress.

On the topic of stress, she thought maybe she should look nice to impress Candace. Actually, no. Don't try too hard. It might piss her off more.

---

Candace was standing outside Edmund's apartment when Alex arrived, one arm crossed while smoking a cigarette. The stench of menthol and smoke greeted Alex first before she did, and she had to stop herself from gagging. Candace already had a displeased expression and Alex didn't want to twist it further. At least Oliver was already inside being distracted by his father.

"Hey there," Alex said. "Ed said you wanted to talk with me?"

Candace put out the cigarette in the ashtray next to the trash can, then shifted her dark brown eyes directly towards her. "Yeah, that's right."

Alex fidgeted nervously, clutching her hands on her purse strap. "Um... look. I'm not here to cause any trouble. I'd like to get along with Oliver, but I'm not planning on taking over or anything. I doubt I'd even be a good mom! I can barely make chicken nuggets for myself, let alone a kid!" She laughed awkwardly, realizing she was ranting. "B-But I'd like to get along with you too! I know you're important to Oliver, and Oliver is important to Edmund. I understand it's complicated, and I know there are bound to be some unresolved feelings, but I want them both to be happy. That's all."

Candace sighed and closed her eyes as she rubbed the space between her eyebrows. "God, you really are a good girl, aren't you? No wonder they like you so much." She then glanced up at the apartment. "I don't want to cause any trouble either. Actually, I wanted to talk so I could apologize properly."

Alex blinked, completely baffled. "Really?"

"Yes, really," Candace said. "I'm sorry for being rude up until now. I didn't know what Edmund was thinking, and that immediately made me suspicious of you. But I was wrong. Oliver is always asking if he's going to see you every weekend now. He used to be pretty on the fence about seeing his father, and I only made him come because I didn't want to be responsible for ruining their relationship when I knew Edmund loved him dearly."

"That's very mature of you."

Candace's eyes narrowed slightly. "Quite. Anyway, seeing how your appearance has improved their relationship, I think it's fair for me to trust you more. In addition, I'm obligated as his ex to warn you about Edmund's problems. I wouldn't want another woman to cry because of his stupidity."

"You mean the lack of social skills?" Alex giggled, starting to feel more relaxed. "That I already know about. We've talked about and he's really trying to do better."

"That's the thing," Candace said as she pulled out another cigarette from her pocket. "I thought I could do the same. Get him to be more sociable, I mean. When I was younger, I was naive enough to think I could work on his problems and make him the ideal man our families could be proud of. Sure, on the surface he was able to convince him he was fine, but they didn't know how hard I was working behind the scenes. I wrote scripts for him, rehearsed conversations, anything I could think of. It was so exhausting when no one, not even him, showed any gratitude." She paused to light her cigarette and puff a smoke. "So I quit. My parents were more than happy to let us move in with them, and I don't mind bringing him to his other grandparents too when they ask. They all watch Oliver, I get to work, and everyone's happy."

"Except Edmund."

"Except Edmund."

Alex lowered her gaze, saddened to hear this. "Isn't that cruel though? Punishing him when this was really about other people?"

Candace rolled the cigarette between her fingers as she thought over the question. "Perhaps. But again, he never showed any gratitude for anything I did for him."

"But he regrets it."

Candace raised an eyebrow. "Does he?"

Alex nodded. "He wishes he could've done more."

Candace let out a bitter laugh and puffed another smoke. "Only because he had to face the consequences. If I hadn't divorced him, nothing would've changed. I'm glad Oliver is nothing like him despite his cute habit of mimicking him. He learns his lessons quickly and has more friends than I keep track of."

"Maybe it's because he has such a good mom to teach him early."

"Damn right," Candace replied with a small smirk. "I learned from Edmund's parents what they did wrong with him, so I won't let that happen with Oliver. They can dote on him as much as they want, but in the end they're not the ones raising him."

Alex smiled back at her, finding a newfound respect for the strange woman. They might not see eye to eye when it came to Edmund, yet there might be a chance for them to be friendly regardless. Candace then put out her second cigarette and walked past Alex to make her departure.

As Candace was leaving, she said, "Enjoy your trip."

Taking this approval to heart, Alex happily skipped up to Edmund's apartment to tell him the good news. She left out the trash talking, of course.

---

The aquarium trip was a fun, educational experience for everyone involved. On top of viewing all of the various colorful fish, turtles, and manta rays, there was a tour that allowed them to learn more about these creatures and even get a chance to feed them. Seeing Oliver giggling as the koi fish nibbled at his fingers was a delightfully adorable sight, which Alex made sure to record on video to send to his mom. Alex also made sure to sneak in some hand-holding time with Edmund at every chance. The man made zero effort to resist.

Finally, the tour came to end at the gift shop, clearly set up to get people to buy stuff. There was everything from plushies to sea shells to books, so there was bound to be something to catch someone's eye. In fact, that gave Alex an idea.

"Do you want me to get you something?" Alex asked with a cheery grin. "Think of it as an early birthday gift."

Oliver's tiny, black eyes lit up at the offer, looking to his father for approval. "Can I?"

"Yes, of course," Edmund replied with a nod.

This was enough to have Oliver eagerly dash off to look around, bouncing from one shelf to another. The two watched him from afar, pleased to see how happy he was.

"I appreciate that you came today," Edmund said.

"Well it was my idea," Alex replied with a playful shoulder nudge. "But you're welcome. Hopefully, we can do stuff like this more often."

"Unfortunately due to the holidays coming up, that may not be until next year."

"Oh, right. All those grandparents, huh?"

"Among other relatives."

"Fair enough! I think we can all wait."

Oliver then returned a short while later, clutching a book on koi fish in his hands. "I want this one!"

Alex gave him a thumbs up and replied, "You got it!"

As the trip came to an end, Alex realized the complications that may follow with the holidays. Since they've only been dating for a couple of months, Edmund might not be ready to introduce her yet. However, as the day came to an end and Edmund gave her an unprompted kiss on the cheek to say good night, she figured that was fine. There was no need to rush.

Little did she know that the days leading to the holidays were going to be worse than she could have ever predicted.