"You know I worry about you-- Thomas, stop that! The dog isn't a toy!"

Luke nodded at Irene as he helped her peel potatoes and listened to her talk. Irene had come 'round his room the other day, saying they were having a family friend over for dinner and Luke should come. Said she was worried about him, since the accident. That he hadn't seem quite right. Luke didn't know why-- he still went out for a drink like he always did, he was back to work already even. Irene was just a fretter, Luke knew that. It was just so silly. Still, he never did turn down a meal from her before, he wasn't about to start now. Even if she did have him sitting up in her kitchen peeling potatoes while she tried to catch Thomas.

"I dunno why ye peel 'em, Irene, I like the peeled off bits just fine."

Irene didn't answer him, which was just as well. She'd wandered into the other room to grab Thomas and bring him and Leona into the kitchen to sit them down at the table. He smiled and winked at Leona over Irene's shoulder as she scolded them both for treating the family dog like it weren't a living thing with feelings. Children were ever this way, he thought. Luke kept placidly peeling the potatoes. He had a right pile in front of him now, but Irene hadn't yet told him to stop.

"I wish you'd settle down," Irene began. Luke laughed. "I ent jokin', Luke! You can't keep on relyin' on me forever. You need a wife to take care of you." Luke peeled the potatoes.

"I ent the marryin' type, Irene. Ye know that."

"Luke, you just--" She was interrupted by a knock at the door. "Oh, that'll be him. Go and answer it, for Alioe's sake! You've peeled enough potatoes to feed an army." Luke, glad to be out of this conversation, obliged.

Eran'd arrived at Irene's house about a minute prior, walking the whole way with a dish of mashed potatoes. Wasn't much, but they were cheap, and he could afford cheap.
He was a bit surprised when Luke opened the door.
"Oh! Didn't expect to see you here. Would you mind..." He looked down at Luke's hands and saw bits of potato peelings. "Oh, no, you've already got potatoes. I should've asked. Sorry, sorry. Just thought I'd bring something but...completely wrong thing. Sorry." Needless to say Eran was rather embarrassed. "Well, I suppose I'd better, erm, go in anyway. Thanks for inviting me for dinner."

Luke was taken aback a bit to see the man from the bakery at the door. He realized he hadn't actually asked Irene just who was coming over, taking "family friend" at face value and not looking into it any deeper. Not an unpleasant surprise, though-- he'd seemed an alright enough sort back at the bakery, nasty mugging business aside. Luke waved him in, laughing a little at the potatoes.

"Ent no trouble-- Irene says I already as peeled enough potatoes to feed Vienda, but I'm thinkin' as they ent gonna be mashed. I like 'em that way best, though, m'self. Say, you didn't happen to leave the skins on 'em did you?" Luke's expression was something real close to a dog hoping for table scraps. He didn't wait for an answer before heading back to the kitchen to let his sister know about the mashed potatoes. She thanked him, though he lingered a moment longer in the doorway.

"Say Irene, how's it that ye come to know this fellow anyway?" He'd met him a few times now, of course, though the only time that stood out much was the bakery incident. He was fair dying of curiousity-- weren't often he met someone new somewhere as familiar as his sister's house. Irene just shot him a look, her skirts being tugged in three directions at once by all manner of small child needs. Luke took that as his signal to go back out and entertain the guest.

"How d'ye know Matthew, then?" Luke wasn't much for preamble, though he gestured to Eran to make himself comfortable one of the chairs in the living room. "Irene won't be done in there a while yet," he added.

"I did leave the skins on. Probably means the kids won't eat 'em, though. Little kids don't usually like stuff that isn't smooth. You can have 'em all to yourself, then. Oh, and you know I know Matthew from deliveries. Used to be hired pretty regularly. Used to know him when I was a teenager, besides."

He sat down in one of the offered chairs. "Thanks. You think she'd want any help? I can usually handle kids okay." He fidgeted a bit in the chair, not really sure what to say. "Um, how've you been since the last time I saw you?" More fidgeting. Why was this even awkward?

"Oh, y'know how it is. Workin', mostly. I work at the steel mill, out yonder." Luke flopped into what he'd long since claimed as "his" chair when he came to visit Matthew, Irene and the kids. Large and overstuffed, the upholstery on the chair itself was faded and oft-patched. Irene often bemoaned the state of the thing, framework tilted and barely worth repairing, but never threw it away. Luke suspected it was some sort of indulgence for him on her part, though he never said it.

Luke was secretly delighted at the prospect of leftovers-- he did his best not to let it show on his face much, weren't quite proper, but potato pancakes were one of the few things he could cook for himself without burning the whole thing to ashes. Couldn't make the mashed potatoes for the life of him, though-- his always turned out watery and flavorless.

He glanced to the kitchen, weighing in his mind how much assistance Irene could need. Mr. Scully was probably a fair sight more useful than his own self, but he felt some odd bit of reluctance in sending him in there. Luke didn't like as to hang about the kitchen with nothing to do, so he'd probably lay about out here. Normally he'd be having himself a beer with Matthew right about now, but with the Prohibition and all there wasn't much beer to be had. Hadn't even been a week since the booze was all taken off the streets of Vienda, and he weren't too keen on trying to find hisself a source of it quite so soon. Matthew was preoccupied, besides.

"And-- yerself? How've ye been doin'?" If Eran felt awkward, Luke did too, but he was real practiced in hiding it. Hard to meet new people if you always seemed afeared of them, in Luke's opinion. So he tried to project an air of friendliness, to encourage folk to come talk to him if they should so please.