Morningstar Manor

On weekends, the Mocha was always packed with people having a late breakfast all through the morning. The crowd today included:

• Andras, who was talking via Skype with his brother in London, for whom it was already between lunch- and teatime.
• Sibyl and Urquhart, who were sharing a table and a plate of cookies, and discussing a shared problem: - what you could possibly give Ruth for Christmas that she'd really enjoy.
• Chandika and Rahul, with Hanu the hound in tow, who were spoiling themselves with a sweet breakfast made by somebody else, as Bethan was working an early shift at the clinic.
• Cindy, who sat a few tables further on, reading a magazine in Greek and keeping an eye on Axminster and Hanu. At the moment, they were just laying in a heap under her table, but she knew those guys, and they could get boisterous.
• Ricky, usually quite as boisterous, was at the moment curled up in the corner of a sofa being morose into his phone. "No, mom, you really can't do that to me," he complained. "We are having this big concert on the -- what you mean, they can play without me just as well? Do you know what the industry is like? Mom??"

Leo had actually been into the office on a Sunday, not unheard of but not a regular occurrence, because Carnahan had called him to say that some papers from Pangolin had been misdirected to his office and that he had, shamefully, forgotten to mention it. He had offered Leo Sunday evening dinner in recompense and Leo had accepted cheerfully, then had put the phone down and cursed and got down there sharpish. Now he was back, envelope in pocket, considering options and ready for tea - possibly iced because it was a warm day.

#

Vincenzo greeted Lawyer Beck on his way through the lobby then settled back in his seat and eased his collar. It was hot. He might have to fetch the one of the fans from the security suite. They didn't need ALL of them in there.

#

Ruth had finished her laundry and paused to look in the mail room. She felt - restless - and couldn't work out why.

On impulse she spoke to the young man at the security desk and he smiled and agreed to keep her small package of laundry, neatly folded inside a pillow case, in his cupboard until she came back for it, and she hitched her purse under her arm and went for a walk. Maybe to the park - or the Square.

Though she would probably end up at the museum.

#

The lack of the pool house was being felt quite keenly by some of the residents so Charlie had obtained an extra large and extra tough paddling pool and obtained permission to put it on a sunny patch of ground not far from the gazebo. Overnight he and Nick and Phil had put it up and filled it and now the sun was busy warming it.

He sat on the grass laughing as Nia, in a very frilly swimsuit, dipped her hands in and squealed and ran about shaking them and going "brrrrrrrrrrr". The way the temperature was rising it would soon be milk warm and he might even have a paddle himself.

It was an absolutely beautiful day, and the two little groups - one comprising Bethan, Chandika, Rahul and Hanu, and the other just Sasha and little Morgan had found themselves in the garden. Chandika had prepared a snack tea for her little make-shift family, and Sasha had a book and a flask of iced tea for herself and sippy cup of juice for Morgan.

When the women had seen each other, Sasha had offered a bright wave to the little group, beckoning them over to the blanket she had set out in a patch of sun.

"Bura na mano Holi hai!" That was Rahul, first thing in the morning, greeting Bethan with a mischievous smile and a pinch of bright pink powder right on the top of her head. He knew he wasn't to make a mess in the apartment, but no-one else was going to colour Bethan before he did! She blinked at him for a moment, and then remembered why she'd taken the day off - it was Holi, and she'd promised Rahul (and Chandika) that she would spend it with them.

"Happy Holi to you too, brat," she told him affectionately, planning to get her own back later. Let's see how he liked being bright yellow. . .

The Mocha was, as usual for a Saturday early morning, full of people either grabbing something caffeine-laden to-go on their way through, or lounging watching the harried folk.

Bethan was sitting at a table near the windows, half-reading her latest copy of Contemporary Pediatrics, and drinking a cup of karma chai. There was a muffin sitting on a plate next to her cup, white chocolate and cranberry, and she was trying to ignore it's siren call.

Cam had bagged himself a chair in a corner from which he could watch people come and go over the top of his black coffee, which he held before his nose, enjoying the armoa almost more than the taste. Not that is wasn't good - for all her attitude, Joy certainly made a good cup of coffee.

Jos and Toby were sharing a cafetiere and bickering good-naturedly over whose DS had flat batteries and whose was fully charged - they could never seem to convince anyone not to get them matching things - and here was the reason! How were they to know which belonged to which of them? The idea of stickers was obviously foreign to them.

Sasha was sitting on a coach, Morgan's car seat next to her. The baby was napping after a tiring shopping trip, and Sasha was taking the time to kick back and relax with hot chocolate before heading back up to the apartment.

Into the manor came five figures, three human and two canine. Te humans were all wrapped up warmly against the cold and damp, and the two large dogs were prancing enthusiastically. It had been a wonderful walk, but now it was time for hot drinks at the Mocha for all! Perhaps even for the dogs, if Rahul got his way, as he usually did where the two hounds were involved.

The garden had new facilities tucked away in a corner near the gazebo. It also had a table with a bright parasol shading cool boxes of drinks and large number of small children scampering about followed by their parents.

In fact there were two inflatables, one smaller and more toddler friendly than the other, because it only seemed fair to let the grownups have fun as well.

{ooc: sorta party post. It's Nia's birthday party but that isn't generally known. What IS obvious is that anyone who wants a bounce can have one! Ladies - no stilettos, 'kay?}

Sunday, and the Malhotras were going off for their holiday later in the afternoon, so Bethan was going to collect Rahul before they went - try and get him moved without too much fuss going on to unsettle him. She knocked on the door of their apartment once they (and she) had time for lunch, and waited with a grin.