//------------------------------// // Chapter Thirty One- Never Came Home // Story: Notes Of Time // by MLPxMaestro //------------------------------// Notes Of Time: Chapter 31- Never Came Home: It was early in the morning, and now Octavia and her daughter were worried sick over Maestro. Octave was heading out of the house, and off to school any minute now. Octavia however was going to wait a bit longer for her daughter to make it further down the road, so she could make her move over to his music store, to reduce the worry within her daughter’s mind. “I haven’t seen dad at all since yesterday afternoon? Is he okay?” “I’m sure he’s fine…I bet he probably fell asleep in his shop back in his office.” Octavia replied. “What if he’s not there? What will we do then?” her daughter wondered again. “One thing at a time little lady, just try your best, and stay calm and collected as much as you can.” Octave had finally left out the front door of her house for school, as her mother continued watching her, making sure she was out of sight entirely from her vision. “Okay, now I need to make my way over to the store.” But then Octavia realized she didn’t remember where the spare key he kept for the shop was. “Confound it!” she facehoofed herself before running back up to the bedroom, assuming it might be in the nightstand on his side of the bed. A minute or two of searching through his nightstand, and luckily she had managed to find it. “Thank Celestia, now I am out of here!” she said to herself relieved. Octavia makes her way back downstairs, and then quickly out the front door, hoping that he decided to merely sleep in his office that night. Arriving just outside of his music shop that wouldn’t even open for about another hour or a little less, she gave the key a turn into the keyhole. It clicked, and she managed to open the shop entrance, but accidentally forgetting the hanging bell the door had struck. It gave off a gentle ring, as she entered, which still startled her greatly. Octavia hoped that Maestro hadn’t heard that or had been awoken from the noise. Within several moments of silence, and hiding behind a double-bass at the store’s front window, she crept out from behind it, and made her way into the back of the store, and towards his office in a steady pace. She noticed a few desks that had frames and skeletons of instruments being hoof made, and currently in the works. Octavia then turned her head, and saw a single light bulb shine on the golden plaque that decorated his office door. She gulped, and knew that if he wasn’t in his office, something terribly wrong had happened to him. It was now the moment of truth, as she managed to slowly turn the knob, relieved it was unlocked still. She managed to almost silently open hid office door the entire way. To Octavia’s enormous relief, she had noticed him out of it with an entire bottle of wine at his desk, as a faint light bulb shined on him from above in the corner of the room. It was certainly no prestigious office, as he preferred to keep things very basic. All he wanted was enough light to work with, some nice touches for the floor and walls, and that was it. No fancy paintings adorned his walls, no fancy accents or crown molding along his ceiling or around his room. It was as basic as you could get for an office. Octavia slowly approached him, standing eventually right beside him with his upper half sleeping on his desk. A pool of drool had been around his entire cheek, which made Octavia shiver a bit at that moment, just looking at a sight as bad as that was. She then lightly touched him with her hoof, knowing he needed to wake up. “Dear…?” she lightly shook him, but no answer. “Maestro sweetie, hello? Is anypony there? It’s time to get up okay?” she continued whispering into his ear, and luckily a twitch was followed from his ear, so luckily he was alive at least. “Oh thank goodness you are okay.” “Mmmmm…” he moaned. “What now?” she wondered. “Uhhhh…” he moaned once more, almost sounding like he felt a bit sick. “Are you alright? Octavia asked him. She was unfortunately however, met by a sight of him immediately waking up with his eyes wide open, and grabbing a garbage can next to him to puke in. “Oh gosh…no…no wonder.” She shook her head turning away from the terrible sight. As Octavia looked away, letting him take care of business, she noticed a lot of other empty wine bottles in a darkened corner of his office. “Is…is this what you had been drinking? Have you been drinking your depression away?” Octavia then grabbed another empty wine bottle and shook the bottle in front of his face. “N-n-” he then covers his mouth again, and then takes it out once more on the garbage can, hugely relieved there was a garbage bag within it rather than it being bare. “Then would you care to explain to me, or prove me wrong why I do not think you are becoming an alcoholic?!” Octavia’s voice was becoming to sound more and more frustrated with him as the questions kept coming. “Octave was worried sick about you last night, and this morning too! I was worried…well I don’t even have to explain myself to you now do I?” “N-…no…” he replied back in a nauseated and sick sounding tone of his voice. “Well I want you to stop this madness, understand? You are not going to be drinking your sadness and depression away, and expect yourself to feel good afterward. I will forbid any further toxins getting into your body.” She stated firmly to him. “Y-you can’t make me.” He replied. “Don’t think I can? Maestro…you know me when I am determined to get something done.” Maestro then sat silent for several moments, and knew she was right. She won nearly everytime when it all came down to it. “Um…yeah…I uh-…I do.” “Thank you for clearing this up…this is the most you have spoken to me all week dear, I am worried to no end for you. I have also seeked divine help from you know who.” Said Octavia. “Oh joy…I can’t wait.” Maestro replied in a smart tone, and then puking once again into his garbage can. “Ugh!” Octavia was disgusted at him for doing such a brutish thing as finding tranquility at the bottom of a bottle of wine. “If you are continuing to do this…you leave me no choice.” She then makes her way over to his office’s doorway, before she closes the door. “If you will no longer clarify me as your wife, and you never speak to your daughter anymore…you are no longer welcome home, understand? You can go ahead and drink your sorrows away in this mockery of yours you claim to be apparently working for you from the looks of it. You reek of booze first off, and I will not have my daughter be with her father in such poor shape as this. Either accept my offer and stop this drinking immediately, and come with me for divine assistance. Or you will be living by yourself until you do. Either that or you will drink yourself to death if I know you now!” Octavia then slammed his door shut and briskly made her way out of the shop. Hearing those harsh words come from his very wife made his heart break in two, but he still knew that it was the cold truth…a very cold truth. He looked back up at his empty wine bottle that she had shown him, and the other one he had finished just last night, and threw them away into the puddle of puke that was now his trash bag within the garbage can. “I gotta take this crap out.” He said to himself.