Beginnings [OPEN]

[jasonwright]

It's a shitty way to start your day--waking up stiff, cold, and wet from a morning drizzle. Jason blinks, groans, and rubs his eyes, trying to quickly adjust to the blinding sun. As soon as he's awake, Alfredo is on his lap, soaking wet but happy all the same. The dog licks some dirt off his face while Jason chuckles. "No, Alfredo. I'm not food." 

He sits up, stripping off his jacket and stuffing it into his backpack as he speaks to Alfredo. "Think we could spring for some coffee today? It'd be nice to have something hot." He reaches down to pat the dog's head as he wags his tail, a gesture Jason takes as a push toward coffee. He double checks his wallet and grins. "Coffee it is then."

The new town is easy enough to navigate and pretty soon, he's found what appears to be a coffee shop. Quill. Looks like any other small town coffee shop he's visited, but he's pleasantly surprised when he steps inside after tethering Alfredo to a bike rack outside. It looks like a nice place he can stow away during a rainy day. 

He orders coffee, black, and a muffin, going back outside to sit on the curb next to Alfredo. As he sips the coffee, humming happily, he holds out the muffin for the dog to nibble on. 

Comments

[callmeemily]

"I think so? I don't know, I mostly just sort of... keep to myself." She shrugs a shoulder, and she's definitely giving Alfredo love now because that means she doesn't actually have to look at Jason while she's saying that she's lived on a place for months and has no idea about the vibe because she's got no friends.

Or, at least, that's how she thinks of it. "He's a good dog. Aren't you, Alfredo?" She smiled, and then finally looked back up at Jason. "Listen this is a little weird, but if you need anything - or, I mean, if you need anybody to watch him, or anything like that... I'm staying at the boarding house. Okay?" She actually wonders why, exactly, she just offered that when she could barely handle herself, and she clears her throat. "Just figured since I've been here longer but I'm not a lifer."

[jasonwright]

Again, he understands. And the more she talks, the more she seems uncomfortable, so Jason smiles and nods. "Looks like we got a lot in common then."

"I'll keep that in mind, thanks, Emily." And now he's offering her his dog. It seems like he's agreeing less for himself, but more because she and Alfredo seem to be getting along, and hell, maybe he'd be good for the woman. "I'll be on a boat every morning so I'm sure he wouldn't mind hanging out with you every once in awhile. Only if you want."

[callmeemily]

There's a thing she thinks - only for a second, she thinks Actually, it's Raleigh, but nope, nope, nope, because that's a major problem. It's a major problem even though she doesn't know why and it's actually the first time she's thought about telling someone her real name.

"That... that'd actually be really nice - I mean... if you're working, and he needs company." Her smile is actually wider than it had been. "Especially if it'd help." Not just to bogart his dog because she needed a buddy. "What are you doing on a boat?" There were a lot of things - lobster, fishing, crew - so she felt like asking at least made sense.

[jasonwright]

"I think he'd love it," he says, smiling down at Alfredo who looks like he's going to cry he's so excited, nuzzles his head against Emily's leg. "Look, he hangs out at the dock when I board a boat and he stays there all day, sunning himself. Anytime you want some company or think he needs a little exploring, just come to the dock and grab him. Sound okay?"

Fishing. Something he's actually knowledgeable on. He straightens with a smile. "Lobster for now. Couple weeks we can legally catch crab. Which is kinda my expertise."

[callmeemily]

She's happy enough that she just lights up - big smile (the biggest he's seen from her) and she nods. "Awesome. That sounds... really great. I'll make sure to bring biscuits." She can't stop the fact that it does make her happy - mostly because it's not only the dog, but the offer that means he actually doesn't mind.

She tips her head to the side when he talks about lobster and crab. "Is catching them different?" She wrinkles her nose, knowing how dumb it sounds. "Sorry, I'm from Tennessee. Closest I get to a crab is the weird pink crabstickz that are super fake."

[jasonwright]

"Great. He'll love you for life if you do." It's no secret that Alfredo's love can be easily bought. It's broken if anyone messes with Jason though.

"Same method, just different tools. The crab are fun because you can catch more at a time if you find the right spot." He nods--the slight accent finally made sense. "Thought I heard a bit of an accent there."

[callmeemily]

"Well, then, looks like I've made a friend." She's still smiling, her fingers buried in Alfredo's fur.

"... So like... nets? Right? Not fishing poles, I know that much." She thinks nets is wrong, but doesn't know if that's true, and she sighs when he mentions the accent. "I know. You'd think a couple years in Boston would have taken care of it, it, but... nope." She glances over at him, and the thought that was really nice just sort of traipsed across her psyche. She doesn't even know why but she can feel her face getting hot as she blushes - blushing.

Jesus christ. That's when she stops rubbing the dog, and glances at her watch and her own embarassment turns into actual worry. "Shit- shit, I forgot that I was on break. Look, it was super nice to meet you, I really hope you like the cinnamon bun-" She moves to stand, and the one thing that happens - of course it happens, of course right now it happens, but her leg just sort of nopes the fuck out and gives out.

It happens every once in a while - more often since she's here, probably because she walks more - but she goes from standing up to moving to either sit very abruptly or fall. "Shit."

[jasonwright]

"Pods, actually," he corrects her. "They're these big metal boxes we throw out into the sea attached to buoys so we can lift them again. Set the pod out, come back in a few days, reel it back in, make some cash." He loves fishing. Especially with the pods. It's back-breaking work, but it's worth it when he sees how much it pays off. And it keeps him busy and moving for several hours in the day. Then again, he realizes he's a huge nerd and generally speaking, people don't care much for details, so he shuffles the topic off to the side.

"Sorry, I'm not sure we ever quite grow out of our accents," he teases. Next thing Jason knows, her face is red, she's excusing herself to get back to work (totally understandable), and now she's falling. He's by her side quickly, reaching out a hand to help her up, Alfredo beating him, as always.

"Hey, are you alright?"

[callmeemily]

The dog is licking her face.

She's already pushing herself up, and she's about the color of a tomato, but Alfredo's licking her face and Raleigh's wondering if she can sink into the ground and just disappear.

Normally, she'd ask about the pods - because she's actually interested (and it sounds like aliens, which is a little weird) but she's late, and then she's fallen, and this is pretty much the opposite of what she'd hoped to do. Excellent first impression. She grabs his hand to pull herself up the rest of the way, and she sort of lurches once she gets to her feet until she can put most of her weight on her good leg.

"It's- Yeah, I'm fine. I'm used to it, just- sometimes my leg sort of decides that it wants to go on strike. It's cool." She shoves her hair out of her face, and clears her throat. God, she's going to have to limp back to the bakery, and he's going to just... see it.

Kill me. "Thanks for the hand up." She looks down at Alfredo, because yet again the dog is the safe conversation. "And thanks for the bath, buddy." She takes a deep breath, and tries to put weight on her bad leg, and it hurts like hell but at least it's holding. "Later. Tell me about the pod stuff, okay? Seriously, you could tell me that lobsters and crabs crawl onto the boat when you play music, and I'd believe you, so... I'd like to know how it works. Okay?"

Not leaving it at Hey, so you literally saw me fall all over myself if she can help it.

[jasonwright]

She's fine. She seems like this isn't the first time it's happened and confirms that when she talks about her leg giving out frequently. He doesn't worry that he needs to help her back to the shop, because she definitely seems like she'd wave him off. And sometimes people don't want that kind of attention.

So he smiles softly at her, stuffing his hand back in his pocket as she dusts herself off. "Anytime you need a lift, let me know. Kinda my job." Alfredo stays by her side, like he won't leave until he's sure she's stable again.

He's actually surprised when Emily encourages him to remind her of the pods. Poor girl doesn't know what she's just gotten herself into with him there. "I'll remember that. Just a warning. Oh, and thanks for the cinnamon bun."

[callmeemily]

"Warning?" Her brows rose, and she looked over her shoulder. "... I really do need to get back, but... I'll take you up on it. You can teach me all there is to know about how you make lobster rolls happen. We'll trade knowledge for cinnamon roll. Okay? Just... have a good afternoon, okay?" She smiles some, and as she turns for just a second he may be able to see the way her face falls, and she walks carefully - the limp way worse than usual - back to work.

She hates it. She really hates it, but she's doing everything she can to not stumble or anything, and she totally blames having to unload the flour this morning. She blames it on a lot of things, and there's not much she can really do for it - and the fact she's still got three hours on her shift, on her feet? It's going to be a long day.

[jasonwright]

He can't help his slightly cocky grin. "You just opened a whole can of worms. I would've given you information for free, but now I'm definitely holding out for the cinnamon rolls."

Jason sees it. She's in pain. And damnit, he wants to run up to her and let her lean on him for support or something. Instead, he throws her a last wave, Alfredo barking after her as he turns to head back to the docks.