InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "DOOM"

Molly Cauldwell (wandering_molly) wrote in fairthreads,
@ 2009-10-21 19:50:00

Entry tags:

!complete, !incomplete, character: margaret cauldwell, character: serenity somerset, location: madison's pub, player: catherine, player: lisa

Who: Molly and Rena
What: A bit about letters.
Where: Madison's Pub
When: After work, evening
Rating: low for now
Status: Threaded, Incomplete

So much had changed since Thomas and Bridget returned. It shouldn’t have made that much of a difference, but she couldn’t help but take it badly. The closeness of the family as they practically closed ranks made her feel more alone than ever. Before their return, Abby had offered her friendship. Molly wished she could take her up on it. She just didn’t know how.

Most nights she was grateful that the pub kept her as busy as it did. Tonight was no exception. Molly sighed in contentment as things finally quieted down. Patrons filtered out of the room until there were only the last individuals still haunting the corners. The atmosphere had turned quiet, and Molly was happy to be done for the day.

Stealthily, so as not to wake any interim patrons, Molly snuck over to her chest in the common bedroom. By touch, she opened the lock and took out her writing materials. She was determined to get another letter home as soon as she could. But for Molly, that also meant a night spent struggling over her letters. Her reading was better than her writing, but she found that she had a lot to say to her parents. She missed them.

Finding an unoccupied table, Molly set it up as an impromptu desk. Since she knew that she’d be at work for a while, she also brought over a bowl of stew and her tea. Somehow she always managed to forget to eat until everything got quiet. Deep in concentration, Molly leaned close to the paper and focused on making the letters legible.

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seekingserenity
2009-10-22 03:21 am UTC (link)

It was late, but Rena was accustomed to the hour; she often worked the last shift at the pub and found it suited her. Besides, since Thomas had returned safely home, the pressure of holding everything together was off and she was at last sleeping again. She did her final rounds about the kitchen and, satisfied that everything was in its place, she took a steaming cup of tea to go sit by the fire before she left for the evening.

Rena was surprised when she saw a crouched figure silhouetted against the glow of the flames where she had so often sat to pen the letters she never sent to her family. It was strangely disorienting, seeing someone else in that place. It took another moment for recognition to set in, for Rena to realize that it was Molly seated there, and that she seemed to be struggling with pen in her hand, her brown furrowed in deep concentration.

Her first instinct was to back away, to slip away unseen. After all, when she wrote her letters, she hoped none would happen upon her and witness her private ritual. But then, Molly didn't seem to hide quite so many secrets and she seemed to be struggling so much. It went against Rena's better judgment to let on just how proficient she was with a pen as writing was an uncommon skill amongst commoners, particularly women.

It seemed as though her decision would be made for her, though, when Molly glanced up from her work, her eyes falling on Rena right away. Rena could only smile. "Hope I'm not interrupting," she offered quietly.

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wandering_molly
2009-10-23 03:11 pm UTC (link)

“No, of course not.” Molly wasn’t adverse to the company. She had a generally good impression of Rena. They had never really talked much outside of work topics, but the woman had always been courteous towards her. And besides, this was more Rena’s home than it was hers. If Rena wanted to interrupt, she had every right.

Molly carefully glanced back down at her letter, double-checking its contents. She hadn’t gotten far, so there was nothing there to hide – yet. In fact, she hadn’t even made it past the “Dear Theo an.” Had there been anything more, she probably would have flipped the letter over and risked smearing the ink. It’s not that she suspected Rena of anything, but there was a possibility that Rena had some job for her. If she left the note here, anyone could walk over and see it.

A thought occurred to her, “Is there something you need? It looked like we were pretty much done for the night, but if there’s still work, I’ll put this away.” She gestured at the papers on the table.

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seekingserenity
2009-10-28 01:32 am UTC (link)

At the tentative invitation, Rena stepped a bit closer to Molly, not so that she could read what she was writing but so as not to seem rude, talking at such a distance. At Molly's question she shook her head, smiling slightly. "No," she replied simply, indicating with her free hand that Molly was free to stay where she was. "I merely was looking for a quiet place to have a cup of tea before going home for the evening."

Rena would have to acknowledge what Molly was doing in order to help her, she knew, but she was having a harder time with that then she wanted to admit. In a way, she was so used to writing in secret, to hiding that piece of herself, that she felt almost instinctively reluctant.

"What is that you're writing?" she finally managed to ask, forcing herself past her reservations in the interest of helping Molly, hoping that in doing so she didn't upset the other woman.

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wandering_molly
2009-10-28 02:27 am UTC (link)

Oh. If Rena wanted, she could sit here. Even with her papers spread before her, she didn’t take up much room. And it was comfortable here by the fire. It wasn’t like Molly was going to hog the best spot in the place. Making a small gesture with her hand, she invited the woman to sit down. “If you want to, you’re welcome here. I was just,” she gave a look of exaggerated disgust at the paper. “I was just trying to get this sorted out.”

Molly knew she must have looked quite a sight. Letter writing always sounded elegant in the stories – women sitting down to have their quill sweep across the paper as they beseeched or comforted or even flirted. She had no such delusions. Molly knew she was nothing so fanciful – nothing here to see beyond a grubby little girl, face pressed too close to the paper as she aspired to be legible.

Distracted by her internal battle of wits with the page, Molly wasn’t as attentive as she should have been. “Hm? Oh. It’s a letter.” She looked back at Rena. As long as she stuck to her story, she was safe. “I just wanted to write my dad back. Let him know I’m still in Greenville.” Expression turning to one of mock irritation at her absent father, she added, “That I’m remembering to eat, that I’m dressing warmly, that I’m minding my manners.” A smile lit her face. “That sort of thing.”

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seekingserenity
2009-10-28 03:20 am UTC (link)

"Thank you," Rena replied, knowing as well as Molly did that at this hour in particular with the nights getting cooler every day. She offered Molly a smile as she took a seat opposite her at the table, close enough to enable comfortable conversation but not so close as she would be encroaching on her space.

At least Molly's message was no big secret, at least not obviously; she seemed to have no problem describing what it was that she was doing. It made Rena feel bad that she was struggling to write a sincere letter to her father when she herself wasted the paper and ink to write letters to feed to the fire.

"Do you need help?" she finally asked, shoving aside her reservations. It would be selfish to guard her skills, she decided. "I have some skill with writing." It sounded more hesitant than she would have liked but there was nothing to be done about that; if Molly wanted her help she would give it.

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wandering_molly
2009-10-28 04:03 am UTC (link)

It took a moment for Molly to weigh her answer. This was the first chance she’d had in a long time to really talk to someone. She didn’t want to waste that opportunity. But she didn’t want Rena seeing her letter either. Not that she thought there was anything wrong with her family, but she knew there were more than a few people who wouldn’t understand. It would hurt too much to find out that Rena was one of them. Besides, maybe it was an offer made entirely out of courtesy – the kind she was meant to turn down. Considering the way Rena’s tone had changed when she’d made it, that was the likeliest case.

“I…” Molly fully intended to thank Rena for her offer but assure her that assistance wasn’t needed. Only, the words twisted in her mouth. Feeling horribly vulnerable, she looked back down at the table and dropped the volume of her voice. “Maybe?” She felt like she was 3 again – back before she’d learned that some people were trustworthy. “My dad’s really good at this stuff, so I could always get him to do it for me before.” Not ready to turn back to the work yet, Molly picked up her tea. She simply held it, letting the mug warm her hands.

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seekingserenity
2009-10-29 04:03 am UTC (link)

It seemed almost amusing to Rena that Molly seemed as reluctant as she was and she wondered what it was that held her back. It seemed, though, from her body language, that perhaps she was merely embarrassed by the situation. She nodded her understanding as Molly admitted her father's proficiency.

"Well, I could help you learn to write better," Rena suggested carefully, hoping that she wouldn't offend the other woman. "We could find a time, I could teach you. I'm sure your father would be proud." At least, Rena hoped as much, judging by the way that Molly seemed so intent on writing this letter. She had never really had a close relationship with either of her parents and she'd never even a written to them, only to her sisters.

Rena paused to take a sip of her own tea, enjoying the warmth of the comforting liquid. "Of course, it's up to you," she added, "If you want help."

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wandering_molly
2009-10-29 04:34 am UTC (link)

Molly was so surprised by Rena’s offer that she didn’t respond as quickly as she intended. The idea delighted her. Theo would be so surprised. He’d always said that one of their chickens was more likely to scratch something legible than she was. And now she might be able to prove him wrong.

Putting down the mug, she asked, “You really wouldn’t mind?” Molly could barely contain herself, she wanted to accept that badly. But she forced herself to be polite first. “I don’t want to take up your time. I know you’re busy.” Rena had pretty much run things while Thomas was…gone. Molly knew that the woman still had other priorities. But that didn’t stop her eyes from sparkling at the idea. “I’m sure I could get more paper – and whatever else you think we might need.” Theo had always had a million different writing implements on his desk and all but the quill had been strictly off limits.

Molly’s enthusiasm lagged when she realized she wasn’t being fair to Rena. There wasn’t anything she could give in return. But it didn’t stop her entirely. “I-I don’t know what I could offer you. If you ever wanted to know anything about tying knots – or anything else I know…” She shrugged, the rest of the sentence implied.

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seekingserenity
2009-10-30 09:37 pm UTC (link)

Rena shook her head. "Of course I wouldn't mind," she shrugged. Especially now that Abby had come to the pub, Rena often felt like she was over-stepping her bounds when she spent too much time at the pub, especially when it came to spending time with Bridget. As a result, she was finding herself with time on her hands and no idea what to do with it. Finding something else to do with her time was a blessing, whether or not Molly knew that.

"I have some paper, too," Rena admitted with a somewhat sheepish smile. "I can share." After all, it seemed like it would much less of a waste to use the paper to practice with Molly than to burn in the fire.

Rena paused when Molly offered to give her something in return. Her first instinct was to refuse anything but she paused to reconsider. "Well, what is something you're really good at?" she asked, curious to see what Molly would say.

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wandering_molly
2009-10-31 02:32 am UTC (link)

Molly decided she’d take Rena’s acceptance at face value. If the woman didn’t want to help her, then she shouldn’t have offered. So Molly assumed she did want to. And that idea made her irrationally happy. She’d never been much of a student before, but she was willing to give it a try now. “I-Thank you.” The comment was accompanied by a genuine smile.

“We can use yours or I can get more. It really would be fine. I don’t want to use up what you have.” She wasn’t certain how Rena judged these things, but Molly considered paper to be one of the more expensive luxuries. It seemed a shame to use good paper on poor penmanship.

“Oh, well. Mostly I know stuff you already know – things about working here at the pub.” She put some more thought into it. “Things about sailing. You know, knots, sea shanties, basic navigation, cleaning fish, swimming.” Molly rattled off the list. “That sort of thing.” She wished she had some sort of extraordinary talent, something that would matter to Rena the way writing did to her. But she offered what she could.

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seekingserenity
2009-11-01 08:16 pm UTC (link)

Rena was flattered by the sincere gratitude that Molly seemed to show at the offer and it made her glad that she had made the offer, however reluctant she might have been at first. Besides, what did it matter if Molly knew she was a skilled writer. There were some educated women out there, right?

"You're welcome," Rena replied with a smile. "I don't mind sharing some. I mean, it's not as though I have much use for it. It's just taking up space, mostly. I'd be happy to see it used for something worthwhile." In Rena's opinion, at least, learning to write so that one could write home was certainly a worthwhile undertaking.

When Molly began listing her own talents and skills, Rena listened with interest. It seemed silly but so much of her life had been devoted to the pub and her work that the idea of broadening that was enticing. "Well, I am not sure how much use some of those skills would get this far inland but..." Rena hesitated, remembering a time when one of those skills would have been very useful. When she had first left home, she had nearly drowned in the moat of her family home escaping from an arranged marriage. While she wouldn't say as much, that fear had stayed with her. "I would really like to learn how to swim," she admitted, her voice softer than she would like.

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wandering_molly
2009-11-01 08:41 pm UTC (link)

Molly thought nothing suspicious of Rena’s ability to write. Writing had been important to Theo, and she had had very little experience with other girls growing up. She knew that some couldn’t write, but she imagined that just as many could.

“Well, if you don’t mind. I’d be happy to buy more if and when we need it.” She was sure Rena had to have some purpose for it. People didn’t go around buying things they didn’t need. But maybe it was left over from something. That was probably it.

Molly’s mouth twisted into a wry smile. Most of those skills weren’t useful inland. And she could say that with some authority. But when Rena mentioned swimming, Molly’s expression changed. She noted the tone of voice. It wasn’t that different from when Molly had agreed that maybe she wanted to practice writing. Worried that this was a delicate topic; she’d try to go gently. “You don’t know how to swim?” The words weren’t at all tactful, though they were kindly said, so she added, “I never know what to expect here – what people know and don’t know. There are actually quite a few sailors who don’t know how to swim and, well, my family always thought that was dangerous. I wasn’t allowed to set foot on a boat until they were certain I knew how to keep afloat.” She was getting away from the point. “But I’d be happy to teach you. It’s really not that hard.” She smiled, making light of her own ignorance, “Not as hard as writing anyway.” Molly took a sip of her tea before it could get any colder.

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seekingserenity
2009-11-01 09:12 pm UTC (link)

"Perhaps if we run out," Rena replied thoughtfully. "But we needn't worry about that right now. What we've got between us should work for a little while, at least." She wasn't about to admit to the reason why she collected paper. After so many years of guarding her secret, it was far too ingrained for her to give anything away now.

When Molly inquired about her lack of swimming ability, however gentle her tone, Rena was a bit taken aback. "Not everyone knows how to swim," she replied, folding her arms across her chest a bit defensively. But the words that Molly said after softened her up a bit and she nodded her understanding. "I... thank you," she finally managed. "And I'm sure you won't find writing as hard as you think once you have had more practice," she assured her.