A Cafe by the River [closed]

The rays of the setting sun shone down on the street, turning the green summer leaves hues of silver and gold in the light. The days hustle and bustle had died down, leaving a stillness that permeated the air all along the riverfront. Older folks lounged about on park benches and outside cafes, while young couples strolled along the river's edge hand-in-hand. Two men sat at a cafe table, beneath a red and white awning, watching the passers-by with a relaxed interest.

The older of the two men was a tall, slender man, with a well trimmed white beard. He wore a gray tweed jacket and a matching driving cap. He sipped at his beverage, tea with ginger and lemon, and watched the sun refracting off the gentle rolling waters of the river. The warmth soothed him down deep in his gut and he let out a contented sigh. Anyone looking on would never believe that this old man, dressed so modestly, was the monarch of Esplandia.

“Did you have time to ponder what I mentioned the other day,” Sherwin said to his companion. “I know ancient scripts aren’t your forte, but I find the subject fascinating. It’s an oft overlooked subject when history is discussed, but I think not just the writings of our ancestors, but the writing systems they used, connects in a deep and spiritual way.”

He laughed, a short amused sound, before continuing. “I used to annoy my first wife with the discussions of Aedorish literature and the old Icenian Gotic scripts. I hope my interests don’t bore you?”

Robert listened to Sherwin as he took a sip of ice water. Sherwin was drinking hot for this get-together, Robert was drinking cold. Something about a cool drink at dusk just set him in a relaxing mood. So did the gentle bustle of people... Robert loved dusk. The night would begin soon. The lights of the town, the quiet walks you could have, just down the street amidst the calm with the noise and music of the city just a gentle hum in the back of your mind. God this place, it was always peaceful.
And he was happy that he, like Sherwin, was dressing down. He paired a pale blue collared shirt with an olive green sports jacket- almost respectable, paired with jeans. He couldn't quite give up the denim.

Of course Sherwin was dressed like a university professor... funnily enough he reminded Rob of one he used to have back at the University of Býkonsviði. A professor who instilled in him a bit of an interest in what they were meeting up to discuss today.

"My wife's the bookish one," Robert chuckled. It was hard not to be intimidated by how well-read Sherwin was. The ease of which he just jumped into a topic as niche as this, seeming like he was ready to just talk about it for hours.
"But history and mythology always spoke to me. So you don't have to worry about boring me. I just wish I'd learnt to appreciate the old scripts more," he chuckled.
"You're going to hate me but I spent my school days looking over the modern transliterations," he said with a blush and a smile.
"It's really bad when the script's named after your family" he added, "but I'm beginning to appreciate them now. I think you're right. They help connect us with our ancestors, and what they wrote. And not just our ancestors. Each other's too. You're probably far more knowledgeable about this than I am, but Icenian Gotic Minuscule and Loðbrokian Minuscule are similar in all of these small ways. I can't help but think of ways the styles tell a story about our peoples going all the way back to Gothis."

Robert took another sip of his ice water, hoping he hadn't said something blatantly obvious. Still, he wasn't too worried. Sherwin could be intimidating when it came to his academic interests, but once you actually got to know him he had a friendly way of drawing you into the conversation. It added to the peaceful serenity of where they were, a peaceful cafe by a riverside walk, with the sun dipping over the horizon.

“Sometimes I worry about my son,” Sherwin admitted. He slapped at a mosquito on his arm, missing. “I didn’t exactly leave him a peaceful realm. Though I did try.”

He felt himself judging all his actions, all his choices. He could feel himself falling into the despair that comes with self-doubt. He caught himself, and pondered more positive things. “He was better prepared than I was. I did that for him. I was never meant to rule, but Aela had other plans for me.”

He looked at Robert. “You should be proud of your boy. He’s a fine young man. I’m glad I got to meet him, before I…” he trailed off, the darkness returning to his thoughts.

Robert smiled softly, as the soft rays of the setting sun washed over them. His son. He'd wanted to reach out so many times, only to find himself unable.

"I am," he said with a nod.
"He fills me with pride every time I see him but..." he trailed off. He was half tempted to leave the thought unfinished, but he'd spoken it already. There was no sense in hiding it from Sherwin.

"...you met the man he became. I never got that chance. I know I shouldn't lament it, because we all find each other in the end, but I wanted to be there for him for years."

Robert couldn't help but show how that weighed on him as he lowered his head. His son wasn't the seven year old boy he had to say goodbye to. He'd watched him grow up from afar, but he didn't truly know him. Some day he would but...

His thought shifted to Irwin, Sherwin's son, and he nodded. And Sherwin himself.

"We both let our boys down, when it came to leaving them a peaceful world," he said with a sigh. He meant it too...
"We both put our faith in the wrong people," he added, noticing Sherwin's discomfort over what had happened to him.
"But it's something I've thought about a lot. And if anyone here should here hear should hear it, it's you. What I did, who I trusted...well it's easy to say I'd do things differently if I could do it all again. I don't think I would though, because life never gives you all the answers. If you let me do it all over again, and only let me know what I knew, I'd still have done the same things, and trusted the same people," he said with a meek smile.

That had been something that he'd been considering for a while now. Fate...
"Maybe we were each where we were supposed to be, and did what we were supposed to do. Your own boy is a fine young man in his own right. Both our boys managed to survive our mistakes. Maybe they were always meant to be better men then us?"