Safe and Sane

Veterans Day meant a holiday, but not for the cafe. It wasn't quite just an excuse for the cafe owner to find a new way to decorate, but there was a large flag pinned up behind the counter, and poppies were propped in small vases on each table.

The weather had taken a sudden turn for the better, almost spring-warm, and the last rays of afternoon sun were still finding the cafe windows as the first of the munch attendees began to arrive.

The club had been transformed. The main room was no longer recognizable as a lounge; it had been made over with mood lighting and subtle decorations. On one end there was a huge buffet, the bar was open and tended. There was even room for dancing on a small wooden floor that had been laid down on the opposite end of the room. Scattered about were bowls of candy of all kinds.

One of the smaller lounges hosted traditional party games -- bobbing for apples, donuts on a string, even a table set up for carving small gourds and pumpkins. A few of the private play rooms on the main level had also been opened, set up for groups or exhibitionism, but as in previous year that wasn't the focus of the night. And, in case anyone had forgotten a costume or hadn't been able to find one, the smallest public lounge was being used as sort of a large wardrobe.

A large poster in the hallway announced the categories for the costume contest: scariest, funniest, the most creative, best couple or group, and -- of course -- the sexiest.

Another Wednesday, another munch night. Evenings were beginning to draw in, with fall nipping at the air, temperatures beginning to drop as soon as the sun had sunk below the horizon. The cafe had responded with a range of spiced coffees, hot soup, and cookies and muffins still warm from the oven.

And, of course, the infamous chili spiced hot chocolate.

Someone in the cafe definitely had a resource of obscure holidays. This Wednesday fell on National Aviation Day, and one of the members of staff had obviously decided it was a good idea to mark it, but hadn't been quite sure how. Several model airplanes sat on top the counter and were suspended from the ceiling, swaying gently in the draft from the AC vents, with no explanation at all.

Saturday night, and the club was open to all members. None of the rooms were reserved, for that one night. Light food and drinks were laid out in the common room, the demo rooms were set up with small stage areas free for anyone's use, and the lounges were set aside, dim lights and blankets available for anyone who needed an escape.

Two of the larger rooms had been opened together to form a dance floor, and the garden was open to make the most of the light remaining as the long summer evening faded to darkness.

Eva's schedule had been light for Monday, anyway. Morning meetings completed thanks to the blessings of technology, she still had time for a leisurely lunch and to change before going to the club to meet Stuart. A little more care for her appearance than usual, with regard to their intentions, she'd dressed entirely in black. No frills, no flare, nothing to catch and be held or get in the way. Simply smooth black tailored pants and a black shell top, her hair twisted on top of her head. No jewelry, but make-up a little heavier than she wore in the daytime, particularly eyeliner and dark, plum lipstick.

She waited in the common room, legs crossed, one spike-heeled boot swinging gently as she read through Stuart's list again, both to fill the time, and to be prepared.

Sam was starting to regret she'd made any kind of effort to dress Jo. Considering they were in the park and her little girl seemed more interested in attempting to climb trees and looking like she was very, very tempted to throw herself down hills rather than holding her hand and making their way through the park to find Eva, she should have put her in the oldest, rattiest things she could find.

Sam brightened considerably, however, the moment she spotted the other woman. "Eva!" She called out, waving. And made the mistake of letting go of Jo's hand.

Jo, who, having seen who Sam had been waving to, immediately took off in Eva's direction. "Jo!" She shouted. "Don't jump - be gentle." But it was too late. Eva would find herself with a limpet-like little girl wrapped around her leg, already introducing herself happily.

The cottage was precisely that, a cottage, with little space. Enough, though, for one person, but it meant that Eva would be entertaining Gale to dinner in the kitchen.

It certainly meant that with everything prepared, she had washed the dishes and cleared the detritus of preparation away before going to shower and prepare herself, with plenty of time remaining before Gale's arrival to dress and be calm. Even enough time to wait.

From: eva.kelton @ hotmail.com
To: "Gale"
Subject: my thanks

Gale,

I wished to thank you, once more, for all your help in locating the cottage and in moving. I believe that I may have finally unpacked the last of the boxes.

Perhaps you would be willing to join me for dinner one night?

I hope that Soeur Mathilde continues to improve and that Oscar is doing well with the end of term.

regards,
Eva

Wednesday again, and another munch night. The cafe was increasingly quiet as layoffs took effect on household finances, and the board behind the counter was scattered with offers.

Quite why anyone would want to buy two coffees and get a third free, or whether it was a good idea for the majority of munch attendees, was anyone's guess.

( Email to Eva )

She'd finally got everything settled at home, the new nanny checked out and confirmed (and confirmed again), got along with Jo - and Sam finally had some time to check out the rest of the town. Which, of course, meant she'd pulled out Eva's address and headed in that direction.

She parked outside the house, checked the address again, before she pulled out her phone and dialled Eva's number.

( Jason and Jon tucked away into the stables for the night, Gale walked back to the house. Without an audience, the exhaustion and worry, the galling fear that roiled thick in his gut were evident in the lines that rarely showed, generally chased away by smiles or that particular smirk that fit him so well. )

Eva was not looking her best, and was well aware of it. She was also far too tired to care, having spent most of the night awake with a distraught Oscar while Gale was at the hospital, and most of the morning looking at desperately unsuitable apartments in ridiculous locations. The afternoon wasn't looking any better in prospect, either.

One quick call rescheduled her one meeting of the afternoon, and she headed straight to the club in search of sanctuary, pausing in the doorway of the common room to slide her sunglasses up into her disarranged hair and allow her eyes to adjust to the lower light levels.

She still nearly missed the man on the sofa. She did, however, see him before she sat upon him. The fact that his dark suit blended in with the dark leather of the sofa did not help. "You are practising camouflage, perhaps?"

It couldn't possibly be that difficult to find somewhere to live in Boulder. Her agency had found her somewhere before, for that specific assignment, and Peter was notoriously incompetent, which meant that Eva should have had no problems in finding a suitable house or apartment. Logic, however, was refusing to apply, and she was having immense difficulty in finding a suitable house or apartment at a rent she was prepared to pay, not helped by the fact that Gale's house was, of course, beautiful and equipped with every luxury.

Every luxury including Gale and Oscar. The ones hardest to give up, and the ones she needed to give up.

Eva sighed, closed down her laptop, stood up, smoothed her skirt back into place, and went in search of Gale, knocking at the door of his office.

Eva had abandoned Gale to the guardianship of Matilda and Oscar, and escaped the house for a few precious hours. With a selection of property details tucked into her bag, she walked into the common room of the club, heading directly for the coffee machine, and glanced across at the room's only other occupant. "Would you care for coffee?"

Wednesday. Munch night at the cafe. Coffee, cakes, and kinksters gathered together.

When he'd driven to Denver on Friday, he'd had every intention of making it back by Sunday evening, but there were a lot of variables involved in any scene, much less a complicated one involving multiple participants. After care had taken even longer, and so five days later, Gale had made it home in time to eat dinner with Oscar and spend some quality time before tucking his son into bed.

Oscar was in bed, Matilda was in the kitchen and after spending five minutes in Gale's company, she'd gone and gotten his jacket, pushing him out the door to unwind. Apparently, it would take longer than the drive from Denver to Boulder for Gale's kinetic energy to burn away. Still, it had been a fantastic weekend, and he was still flying when he stepped into the club and grabbed some ice cream from the freezer behind the bar.

The first bite was still melting on his tongue when he ate another with a blissed out sigh. He slid into a chair sideways, long leg thrown over the arm as he took sprawling to a whole new level and licked every drop of sweet, creamy ice cream off the back of his spoon before scooping up another.

Red lips curved around the spoon as he spied a someone on a nearby couch, and he held up the spoon for emphasis, speaking as if what he was saying made all the sense in the world.

"Not all ponies are evil."

Sunday mornings used to be church services, but they haven't been that for Eva for several years. This particular Sunday morning was surprisingly free of work - or perhaps not so surprisingly. Her project was drawing to a close, and her final report was completed and emailed back to Laurence at the office, which meant that she was back out on the balcony, again, smoking and waiting for Gale to turn up, her coat turned up close around her neck against the cold.

Coffee was already percolating in the kitchen, croissants keeping warm in the oven, and she still didn't know what to say to him. Or what to do.

And she hated that.

Eva was still wearing her riding breeches as she headed into the club, hat and crop in one hand as she loosed her hair from its tight bun with her other hand, fingers combing through. She glanced around, and walked across to a table, a smile on her lips, color bright on her cheeks from the wind, spirits high from her ride. "May I join you?"