The horizon and the balcony

Chapter twenty

Hercules sighed and rubbed a hand down his face.

"Ma'am please I know the calculations are a little off from the last fitting but I've redone them over five times"he said. The bride in question scoffed and waved him off.

"I don't care how many times you've done it, do it again"she said. He clenched his jaw and grabbed the measuring tape wrapping it around her waist. He cinched it in as much as he could and sighed, 34 inches.

"Ma'am it still reads 34 inches"he said.

"It's wrong! My waist was just 30 inches the other day!"she cried out and flounced down in a tantrum. He wanted to scold her but bit his tongue, she wasn't a little just a brat.

"I don't know what else you want me to say..."he said. He would have gladly made the adjustments but the wedding was just mere weeks away, this would take much longer as he would basically have to complete a new bodice.

"I want you to fix it!"she screamed.

"Ma'am you are not my only customer"he said calmly.
"I would suggest you simply went to a bridal shop and tested your luck"he said.

"Me? At a bridal shop?"she said incredulously. He nodded his head slowly and she scoffed once again.

"I don't do bridal shops, I only do one of a kind creations. I'm just different like that"she said. Yeah she was different alright he thought.

"We can rehash this again at a later time but I've got a train to catch back to New York"he said. She groaned and stood up slipping off the dress.

"Is there any other way I could get you to stay Mr.Mulligan?"she asked looking him up and down.

"I'm in a very committed relationship ma'am so I will gladly turn down your offer"he said quickly standing up and packing up his tailoring kit.

"Oh but she doesn't have to know..."she said reaching out to touch him, he grabbed her wrist firmly and pressed it back against her chest.

"I don't think my three partners would appreciate that, also you're backing the wrong horse anyways. I'm not attracted to the female anatomy"he said.

Her cheeks went ablaze and she scurried off into the dressing room. He rolled his eyes, someone was always trying it with him.

He left the workshop and hurried down the street, he needed to catch this train or he wouldn't get home today.

"Ten minutes"he mumbled and shoved his phone back in his pocket. He was a little stockier now but he hoped his high school track skills wouldn't fail him. He broke out of his power walk into a full on sprint weaving and dodging cars.

"Fucking hell"he grumbled, he hadn't run that hard and that fast in so long. He tasted blood, he grimaced and took a breather before continuing.

Thanking his lucky stars he slipped into the station and checked the time board. Exactly a minute until the train was coming, he kneeled on the ground resting his bag next to him and took a deep breath. God he was so tired.

Back at home it was a different type of chaos.

"Dadaaaa!"John wailed throwing himself on the carpet. Alex and Lafayette pinched the bridge of their noses. John had just realized Hercules had not been home and was not too happy about it.

"Baby..."Alex started but John sent him the dirtiest look and he shut his mouth. Now was not the time to intervene he guessed.

"Why don't we Skype dada, would you like that?"Lafayette tried. John nodded and crawled back over to them wiping his eyes.