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Post by Dante Santino on May 14, 2009 23:02:23 GMT -5
It had only been a couple weeks since Dante returned to London. He'd spent the last 8 years in New York City, and he had picked up a trace of the accent. To him, New York was still home, but he simply couldn't stay there anymore. Memories of Shana were everywhere, and it was still hard for him to reconcile himself to the fact that he was never going to see her again. She was gone, probably dead.
At least he'd had her for a little while. It wasn't much consolation, but it was all he had. And she would always inspire the poems that no one would ever read.
As he walked along Diagon Alley, the sadness still hung over him like a cloak that was too big. He didn't really want to be here. It didn't feel like home anymore. Yet he was here, and he had to make the best of it.
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Post by Gabriella Santino on May 15, 2009 12:23:51 GMT -5
Shopping. That was something that Gabriella Santino loved to do other than design her on clothing. She needed to pick up a little bit more fabric, and it wouldn't ever hurt to pick out the right accesories to go with her creations. It wouldn't hurt a bit.
Diagon Alley was a decent place to go shopping. London did have more choices when it came to different things, but right now Diagon Alley was just fine. She had to pick up feed for her owl and a few other things anyway.
She had already stopped and picked up a few necklaces from one of the shops and was carrying her little bag when she saw someone familiar. Not being a person to just shout out something, just in case she didn't know the person, Gabriella stopped and waited for him to get closer. "Dan?"
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Post by Dante Santino on May 15, 2009 13:25:16 GMT -5
Dante almost didn't stop. He wasn't really expecting to see anyone, and Dan was, after all, a rather common name. Only a few people knew him well enough to call him Dan. Still, curiosity got the better of him and he turned in the direction of the voice. At the sight of the red hair, he stopped and broke into a smile.
"Gabby?" he gasped, taking in the sight of her. It had been so long since he'd seen her, and yet he would have recognized her instantly. She looked exactly like their mother.
Impulsively, he ran to her, lifting her up into his arms and swinging her around. "I've missed you so much!" he cried. He hadn't even realized how much until he'd seen her.
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Post by Gabriella Santino on May 15, 2009 14:21:09 GMT -5
"Dan," Gabriella said excitedly. She forgot for a moment where she was and ran towards her brother, putting her arms around his neck as he spun her around. She started to laugh. "I've missed you too!"
Gabriella knew that her father and Dante had a falling out, but it didn't matter to her. She didn't really understand why their father didn't want Dan to do whatever he wanted to do, but then again he seemed to really leave Gabriella out of the 'family business'.
"You've grown more since the last time I saw you! How have things been?"
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Post by Dante Santino on May 15, 2009 14:42:23 GMT -5
Dante laughed, too, then kissed her forehead before setting her back down on the ground. He didn't smile very often, but the sight of his beautiful baby sister caused a rare grin to spread across his face.
"Look at you," he said, shaking his head. "You've become so beautiful. Last time I saw you, you were nothing but arms and legs and red hair."
He let out a soft sigh. "I'm... well, I'm OK, I guess. I've only been back a few weeks, actually. Working at the Leaky Cauldron."
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Post by Gabriella Santino on May 15, 2009 14:56:47 GMT -5
A light tint appeared on her face. She wasn't really used to hearing compliments from anyone but her father from time to time. "You've become quite handsome yourself Dan. I can't say that you were all arms and legs last time I saw you, but you've gotten bigger. Not in a gaining weight type of way though." Gabriella smiled broadly.
"A few weeks? You didn't let me know that you were back." She was a little disappointed that Dante didn't let her know that he was back. If she hadn't gone to Diagon Alley today, she might not have seen him for awhile longer. "But I'm glad that you're back home. And I believe that I'll start paying the Leak Cauldron more visits."
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Post by Dante Santino on May 15, 2009 15:01:24 GMT -5
He looked guilty. He had, of course, thought about contacting her. But he didn't know where she was staying, and he really didn't want his father to know he was back.
"I'm sorry, Gabby," he said. "I just... well, I didn't know where to find you. I'm not ready to deal with Dad yet, you know? Are you still living at home?"
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Post by Gabriella Santino on May 15, 2009 15:14:46 GMT -5
"Yeah, I'm still living there for a little bit longer. I'm hoping to find something to do and get my own place. Just staying there with Dad can get boring sometimes, but I want to save up my own money and get my own place instead of him paying for it." She gave a sigh.
If only she knew the right person to give her designs to, then maybe she could start to have her own money. Maybe she should take a trip to London to one of the designers there, but then again she doubted that they would just look over her designs and say they weren't good enough. She thought about finding a job in one of the shops, but she wasn't sure where exactly. Hopefully one of the clothing botiques were hiring or something.
"But during the day, I try to stay out of the house and find something to do or I'll find something and take it back to the house to work on. Either way I keep myself busy some how or another." She gave a shrug and then smiled. "And don't worry, I won't tell him that you're back."
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Post by Dante Santino on May 15, 2009 16:23:24 GMT -5
Dante nodded. He wasn't surprised that Gabriella was still staying with their father. Dad had always favored her, he thought. She never had the kinds of pressure on her that Dante had experienced.
"Thanks," he said. "I really appreciate it. And listen, if you need a place to stay, I have an apartment here in London. In the Twilight apartments. You're welcome to visit anytime."
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Post by Gabriella Santino on May 15, 2009 17:43:30 GMT -5
"I'll take you up on that." She gave another laugh. "Especially when things get far too quiet in the house. And you're welcome to come visit anytime too. Of course, I'm sure that you'll want to wait until Dad is gone away for something, but just know you're welcome."
Gabriella eyed her brother for a moment. "Were you on your way to somewhere, or do you have to do anything later?"
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Post by Dante Santino on May 15, 2009 22:47:28 GMT -5
Dante smiled. "Actually, I was heading over to Gringott's to cash my paycheck," he replied. "You can come with me, if you want, and then we can go grab something to eat? You're going to have to tell me where's a good place to go, though, because I've been gone so long that I feel a little lost."
He sighed, softly, thinking of their father. Even though Gabriella had sworn she wouldn't tell him that Dante was in town, he felt fairly certain that, eventually, he'd have to face him. Dante was not looking forward to that. Their last conversation had been particularly painful.
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Post by Gabriella Santino on May 16, 2009 8:09:02 GMT -5
"That sounds good. Then after lunch, you can go with me shopping." A wide smile spread across her face. "After all, Dad says I shouldn't really go anywhere alone, although I do it anyway." There was a rebellious streak in Gabriella, although going places by herself when she was told that she should go with someone was hardly rebellious.
"And there are several places we can go. It all just depends on where you want to go. There is an amazing Italian restaurant, and then if you want something else, there's two different places that are good in Hogsmeade, Le Repas Cher and the Hot Panini. But, there are several other smaller restaurants in London that are fairly good too. It all just depends on what you want."
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Post by Dante Santino on May 17, 2009 16:31:12 GMT -5
Dante smiled. Being the good Italian boy that he was, there was no other answer. "The Italian place," he said with a grin. "I'll be the judge of whether or not it's really good."
Laughing, he looped his arm through his sister's. "Actually, I was surprised. There were quite a few good Italian restaurants in New York, too. I think that's why I liked it there so much... I wouldn't have been able to stay if the food hadn't been good."
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Post by Gabriella Santino on May 17, 2009 16:53:37 GMT -5
She let out a laugh. "Well, at least I know that you ate well." Gabriella gave her brother a big grin. "And I think that you will like the Italian place here. It's called Galligan's Italiano." It was probably her favorite place to eat. Plus, it didn't hurt that they had a nice looking waiter there as well. Naturally, Gabriella wouldn't ever really speak to the waiter unless he was asking for her order or speaking to her first. It wasn't that she thought that he was lower than her, it was just she was slightly shy about it. That was just the way she was.
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Post by Dante Santino on May 19, 2009 1:54:19 GMT -5
Dante grinned and stepped back, holding out his arms. "Yeah, well.... does it look like I've been wasting away?" he teased.
Laughing, he fell back into step next to her. "Galligan's sounds great. Lead the way." As they walked, he continued, "I can't wait to tell you all about New York. And you can tell me everything that's been going on here since I left."
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Post by Gabriella Santino on May 19, 2009 11:51:36 GMT -5
"It's not too far from here." She was pretty excited that her brother was back in town. "And I can't wait to hear all about New York! I want to go there one day. As for what has been going on here, will probably be a pretty short story." There were only a few events that really happened. Sometimes, it seemed like her father wanted to keep her out of the know of what was happening; however, Gabriella would always find out for herself. She would either read the Prophet or brib one of the men in the house to tell her what was going on if her father didn't tell her anything.
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Post by Dante Santino on May 20, 2009 21:48:58 GMT -5
"You'd love New York," he said as they began to walk towards Gringott's. He wanted to take care of his paycheck before they went out to eat. "You really should go sometime just to check it out. It's very fashionable... at least in certain areas. I was in Greenwich Village, though, which was more... bohemian. That just seemed to be where I fit in the best. But I used to go all over... I saw a play on Broadway... saw concerts, and muggle sports... It's amazing."
He glanced at her, biting down on his bottom lip. "How's mum doing?"
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Post by Gabriella Santino on May 20, 2009 22:03:00 GMT -5
"Maybe I can go sometime soon. I'd love to see all the clothes there." A smile brightened up her face. Always seeing new clothes inspired her to get creative with her own ideas. "Broadway? I've always wanted to see something there." Gabriella as truly interested in New York. After all, maybe she could finally get her feet firmly on the ground with a job.
"Oh, she's still mum," she said. "She still doesn't like to clean, worried about you but she doesn't really say to much about it especially if dad's there. Other than that, she's good."
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Post by Dante Santino on May 20, 2009 22:19:02 GMT -5
Dante sighed softly. "I... I was keeping in touch with her for a while. Aunt Anita... you remember, she moved to New York... she found me there, I don't know how. She used to come to the bar where I worked and visit me, and I'd give her letters for Mum, and she'd enclose them in her own letters, and she'd send ones back for me. But I kind of stopped writing a while ago. I lost someone who meant a lot to me, and I just... I was too sad to write to her. That's why I came back, actually. I couldn't stand to be there anymore. Too many memories."
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Post by Gabriella Santino on May 22, 2009 8:05:12 GMT -5
The youngest Santino grew quiet after her brother said that he lost someone. Gabriella wasn't sure what she should say other than sorry, but Dan probably didn't want that. "Either way, I'm glad to see you again." She offered him a light smile as they arrived in Gringotts.
"So big brother, I think we should hurry up because my stomach is starting to growl. I don't think we want it to start going crazy because its not fed, do we?"
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