Craig is taller than average, coming in at just under 6′1″. He’s the tallest of his siblings, with his two younger brothers hitting between 5′9″ - 5′11″.
▸ are they okay with their height?
He’s cool with it, but sometimes worries that he can appear more aggressive because of his imposing height. He’s a gentle giant most of the time, but he will admit that his longer stride has helped in his line of work.
▸ what’s their hair like?
It’s currently a bit shorter than he usually keeps it. His ideal look is something he would describe as “casual viking”. His hair is dark blond, not-quite-wavy, and prone to frizz and texture. This is a good example, though it’s usually just hitting his shoulders.
▸ do they spend a lot of time on their hair/grooming?
He likes to keep his beard in check, and usually keeps it slightly grown out. His hair is pretty thick and can get gross quickly when he works out, so he keeps it as well-maintained as he can. He doesn’t spend a whole lot of time on self-grooming, but enough that he looks clean and presentable.
▸ does your muse care about their appearance/what others think?
Honestly? Not really. He likes to look good and feel comfortable. He’s had some comments on his hair, usually about the level of professionalism, but while at work his hair is usually tucked away anyway, so what he chooses to do while offduty is his business.
— preferences.
▸ indoors or outdoors?
Outdoors. As expected from someone who embodies ‘lumberjack dad’, Craig loves to be outdoors. He takes the twins camping almost every summer, and he was also responsible for the treehouse and swing in their backgarden.
▸ rain or sunshine?
Rain. After a long day, there’s nothing he finds more relaxing than sitting on the back porch with a beer and listening to the rain.
▸ forest or beach?
Forest. See ‘lumberjack dad’. He’s pretty good with his hands, is good at climbing, and would survive in a wilderness situation 9/10 times if he was dropped into a wooded area.
▸ precious metals or gems?
Metals.
▸ flowers or perfumes?
Flowers. It’s nicer to have a bunch of wildflowers on the kitchen windowsill than it is to make the house stink artificially. Plus, flowers look nice.
▸ personality or appearance?
Personality. If you’re chill and on his level, then you’re alright.
▸ being alone or being in a crowd?
This one could honestly go either way. He values his personal time, but even then he loves to spend time with his kids. So being in a crowd is more his vibe, especially hockey crowds.
▸ order or anarchy?
Order, though he knows ‘perfect’ order doesn’t exist. He’s seen plenty of misplaced anarchy in his day and, while he knows it has it’s place, he believes that the system must always come back to a state of order or society would collapse. So, while the system may need to be changed, the constant state cannot be an anarchous one, or the system will never be aptly replaced.
▸ painful truths or white lies?
Truths. He has always been open with his kids, and hopes that they will be comfortable enough to be open with him. He isn’t one to shy away from a painful truth, but knows that can be hard for some people to hear. He tends not to lie, but will try to find a way to soften the blow if he can.
▸ science or magic?
Science. He understands the appeal of magic, but hasn’t ever been particularly drawn to the supernatural. He enjoys the knowledge that almost everything has a scientific reasoning, as it makes the world easier to understand and the universe easier to fathom.
▸ peace or conflict?
Peace. Craig is always the peacekeeper, whether on the job or offduty. He’s a good mediator, and prefers to find ways around a conflict instead of becoming aggressive.
▸ night or day?
Night. Again, he finds the quiet calming.
▸ dusk or dawn?
Dawn. The fresh, crisp morning air cut by a strong mug of coffee is one of his favourite scents.
▸ warmth or cold?
Warmth. Once autumn/winter hits, you will not see him without one of several fleecy jumpers or hoodies.
▸ many acquaintances or a few close friends?
Close friends. He knows the value of having people close to lean on in hard times, and the support of his close loved ones has been invaluable in his life. He would rather know the people he’s with than have vapid small talk.
▸ reading or playing a game?
Reading, particularly newspapers. He likes to be caught up with current events. He also likes to have physical newspapers more than digital ones as, once they’re out of date, they can be used for other things.
— questionnaire.
▸ what are some of your muse’s bad habits?
Despite encouraging his kids to be open with him, Craig has a tendency to hide his negative emotions for fear of putting extra pressure on them. Some lesser bad habits include: not cleaning his hairbrush, biting his nails when they ‘get too long’, forgetting to lock the back door after bringing the dogs back in, and being overly self-critical when he builds something that he considers ‘sub-par’.
▸ has your muse lost anyone close to them? how has it affected them?
The big one was losing his wife, Marie, to cervical cancer. It was a long battle of testing and treatment, only for her to get a reccurance a few months after being declared clear in year two. They had been together over twenty years, having met during university, and despite the long time spent struggling, he still feels like her death was sudden. He really struggled managing his grief alongside continuing to raise Anna and Andrew, and initially tried to shift his own grief to the back of his mind so he could better help them with their own.
The time spent with Marie near the end taught Craig a lot about himself. He realised how little he cared for outward appearances, as he shaved his hair alongside her when hers began to fall out. He learnt that he had the ability to remain strong, even when faced with the greatest tragedy of his life. He learnt that if this, the worst thing he had ever imagined, didn’t break him, then there was nothing that could. It took him a long time to recognise those things, and he still wonders if there was anything more he could have done, but he knows that Marie is better off now than she was suffering, and he knows that he is a better man for having stuck by her and his family through the tragedy.
▸ what are some fond memories your muse has?
Craig will always claim that his fondest memories are his wedding and the birth of the twins, but the ones that come to mind are often a lot simpler. The kids first words (Anna’s was “juice” and Andrew’s was “car”), Marie laughing as he tries to cook, Anna smiling at him over her shouder when she learnt how to ride a bike, Andrew blaming Anna when he got caught drawing on the wallpaper, or watching the twins sleep with his wife and realising how lucky he was to have the family he always wanted.
▸ is it easy for your muse to kill?
No. Craig has a hard line against that, and it would take a hell of a lot to push him over that line. He knows loss, and he doesn’t wish it on anyone.
▸ what’s it like when your muse breaks down?
He’ll be flustered, and won’t know what to do with his hands. It takes a lot for him to cry, but if he does he won’t hide it. He’s not a loud man either, so he wouldn’t be shouting much. He’ll be quiet, but it’s the quiet that allows him to dissolve. He’s also a hugger.
▸ is your muse capable of trusting someone with their life?
Yes, but it takes a lot of trust. He has to trust the people he works with if they go into a dangerous situation, but he trusts them implicitly. He trusts his family with his life, and most likely always will.
▸ what’s your muse like when they’re in love?
An absolute puppy. This man will wait on you hand and foot. When Marie was pregnant she had to tell him off for offering to carry her everywhere, and he would barely let her lift a finger. He will absolutely never admit this, but he’s a complete romantic.
“Don’t worry, most people don’t realise there actually is one,” she responded, moving out of his way so that he could turn and following him up towards the ramp. “It’s not exactly well-advertised.
“And I’m not on them often, but when I am it’s usually for sprains.” She gave a small shrug. “My ankles are weaker than they should be. I should be strengthening the muscles there regularly, but between my morning runs and dance workouts I don’t have the time to focus on my ankles. Which is bad. I need to fix that, really.” She winced.
“Ugh, I’ve been there. Actually taking care of your muscles between practice and working out is a nightmare,” Andrew remarked, reaching for the disabled acces button by the door. “You dance regularly then? Or is that what you’re studying?”
“Getting milk,” he replied simply, with a little shrug. “At least, I’m on my way to get it. Visiting family for the holidays and my kid needs his bedtime cocoa from Grandma or he’s gonna cry himself to sleep and feel sick and tired come morning.” He shrugged a little.
“A dad’s gotta do what a dad’s gotta do.” He raised an eyebrow at her. “And you?”
Sofia holds up her shopping bag. “Getting snacks,” she said, smiling faintly. “My partner’s having a rough night, so I’m stopping by. It’s kind of the only way I can help right now.”
“How old is your kid?” she asked, admitting curiosity. She had always had a soft spot for little ones.
“With all her talk you’d think she’d at least’ve put up a fight,” Josie said with a laugh. “And here I was hoping for a scrap, bitch went down like a lead balloon!”
“As if she’d dare to put up a fight. She’d have risked breaking a nail, to be honest.” Rosie snorted. “If she had, bitch had it coming anyway.”
Josie took a sip of her iced coffee, smirking. Rosie always just got her. Everyone deserved a hype-girl like her.
“If the bitch had broken my nails, I’d have broken more than her nose! Serves her right for talking shit about someone else’s business.”
Following his gaze, she looked down at her reddened hand. She probably should run that under cold water for a while – she had enough experience with burns and scalds to know what to do. And really, she should take the tip and at least clean her hands. The chocolate and sugar in her hot beverage would at least make her hands sticky until she cleaned them off.
But making this (very kind) man buy her coffee when she hadn’t been focusing? That wasn’t on.
“No, honestly, you don’t have to buy me a new one. It was just a mocha, but it wasn’t expensive or anything.” At the back of her mind, she could hear a little voice whining about the fiver currently spilled all over the man’s shirt, her hand, and the floor.
“Really, I should be paying you back for ruining your shirt. Have I ruined it? Oh God, you don’t even have a spare on you, do you?”
Craig looked back down at the coffee-covered shirt. It was nothing special, just a plain grey top, but the stain would definitely need a few washes to get out. He shrugged dismissively.
“I’m sure it’ll come out, it’s only a t-shirt,” he said calmly, “and I think I do actually have a spare in my car, so it’s all good.” He smiled, internally cheering his decision to keep his gym clothes in the car, as he was intending to drop in for an hour or so before his afternoon shift - after a good coffee first, of course.
“I’m getting myself something anyway, it’s really no problem.”
If anyone asked her, Allie would’ve told them she was looking forward to that mocha. After all, it was her first proper coffee of the day, and she was pretty sure the kids had been trying hard to drive her nuts that morning. She needed that coffee if she was going to make it to the end of the day.
“No, no, it’s my fault,” Allie apologised quickly, shaking the hot coffee off her hands. That was probably going to leave a burn. The coffee had been freshly made, and very hot. “I should’ve been looking where I was going. Ah, gosh…”
She quickly looked around, before grabbing a couple of clean paper napkins and instinctively trying to wipe the coffee off his front. “Gosh, I got fresh coffee all over you, I’m so sorry. Does that need dry cleaning? I’ll pay for the dry cleaning if you need. Just, ah…”
Craig pinched the front of his shirt, pulling the heat-drenched fabric away from his chest before it could burn him. “Really, don’t worry about it. It happens to everyone, and I wasn’t exactly paying attention myself! Are you okay? That must’ve hurt.”
He looked down at her hands, noticing the slight scalding, and frowned. “Seriously, what did you order? I can get you a new one while you rinse your hands off if you like? It’s the least I can do, and you don’t want to let a burn settle.”
