Abstraction ➳ Owen Grady

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"YOU'RE GOING SHOPPING with my mother?" Ally inquired, unable to mask her surprise as she flipped through the television guide. There wasn't much of anything worth watching on a Thursday morning besides Tom and Jerry or the news. She settled on cartoons and picked up her half-eaten piece of honey toast.

Owen handed her a cup of hot spearmint tea, made just how she liked it. A splash of milk and two spoons of sugar. He shrugged. "She asked if I'd come."

Ally suspected that there was an ulterior motive behind it but kept her mouth shut. "Do you want anything for lunch?" Owen asked, pulling on his worn leather jacket.

"A fajita quesadilla from that one Mexican place would be good," she answered, tugging the blanket off the back of the sofa. Sally was already out the door, waiting for Owen to hurry along.

He leaned over the sofa and kissed the top of her head. "You got it, babe."

Sleep had almost taken ahold of her again when her phone began buzzing on the kitchen counter. Ally scrambled to her feet too quickly and the throbbing in her head returned. Claire's name and picture popped up.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Sally had been keeping her updated, but now Claire decided she wanted to hear the truth of it in Ally's own words.

"Tired and dizzy," Ally replied, sitting back down at the sofa. A few restful days had passed, but the effects of the concussion still made her feel sick. Her arm was still bruised and swollen, the stitches kept clean and covered. It'd be a while before she was at one hundred percent again.

"How are you?" Alysanne asked in return. The redhead hadn't made it out unscathed, but her injuries were surficial. A good cleaning and bandage were all she needed.

"I'm fine. The worst of the press is over." Something about the incident was on the news every night. Owen always flipped the channel when they started talking about what happened at Lockwood Estate. "They're going to try to mount expeditions to secure the dinos before anyone else gets hurt," Claire explained. Containment was the first priority. A few had already been captured along the Pacific Coast.

"What about Owen? How's he doing?" she asked.

Ally took a sip of tepid tea. "Mam took him out shopping today."

"Poor guy," Claire remarked, laughing. There was a brief pause. "Ally," Claire began, her tone shifting to something serious and laden with grief. "I'm sorry I twisted your arm to get you to go." Ally had warned her about the volcano and even raised suspicions about the rescue operation, but she'd ignored her and people had died because of it.

"You of all people should know no one can force me into doing something, Claire," Ally countered. It was true she hadn't wanted to go at first, but her conscience continually chipped away her resolve to remain indifferent. She wanted to save Pat and Sue, Blue and the others too. "I went because I wanted to. Because it felt like the right thing to do."

There was a sigh on the other end of the line. "I'll see you around, okay?" She had meetings scheduled for the rest of the day but had it in mind to get out to Kansas before Christmas to see her friend.

"Yeah," Ally responded.

"Bye, Ally." Claire almost sounded sad as she hung up.

Nearly four hours later when the Subaru Outback pulled back into the drive, a Christmas tree had been tied down to the roof. Ally came out of the garage with her arms crossed. "A tree?" She asked, thinking of the mess it would make all over the hardwood floors.

"Well, it is almost Christmas, dear," her mom remarked, moving passed her with an armful of shopping and grocery bags. Owen followed.

"I can help!" Ally protested as her mom began putting away things in the pantry and cabinets. She'd felt useless these past few days.