The day had been exhausting, but it was Friday night and there was always somewhere she needed to be. After working with ‘rare cores’ and getting a few burns from a few of them Charlie had found her way to the covered market to try and find some sort of accessory that would both be a talking piece but also keep the attention off of some of the burns she had. Even with a good make-up charm, they weren’t going to go away by the evening time.
“I’m not sure the giant zebra shall is what I’m looking for today,” Charlie told one of the stall keepers with a smile as she handed it back. “But I’ll keep it in mind!” She insisted as she turned to look at the next options, it was at that moment that she heard a soft chuckle and looked up.
Hannah had been tired from work but that didn’t stop her from running her errands. They probably could have waited until tomorrow, but it made no sense for her to put it off, plus that would leave more free-time for tomorrow and there were a few things that she wanted to get done. Hannah enjoyed going to the covered market, but there were times that it was a little strange. Not that Hannah judged, it added character to Cuadtich, plus while strange there could be some great finds.
When she spotted her friend Charlie, a bright smile grew across her face, and she couldn’t help but chuckle when a vendor offered her a giant zebra scarf. “Doesn’t really scream, Charlie, does it?”
“Now, if it were multi-coloured!” Charlie teased with a laugh as she pulled Hannah into a friendly hug. She was careful to keep the burns hidden.
“What are you doing out and about this evening?” She added as she let go of Hannah and picked up a strange looking scarf that looked to have muggle nuts and bolts on it. Glancing back to Hannah she wrinkled up her nose and put it back down.
“That’s the idea,” laughed Hannah. She happily hugged her friend in return. It was one of the nice things about this neighbourhood, she was closer to a lot of her friends and family now.
“I just got off work,” Hannah explained. “I had a few errands I needed to run before heading home. There’s a really good fruit and vegetable vendor nearby and I was hoping they had strawberries, and I need a tomato plant. What about you? How is everything?”
“Another one?” She asked about the tomato plant. “Are you going for a different sort of tomato this time?” She was pretty sure she’d heard Hannah mention tomatoes once or twice but herbology and growing things had never been something Charlie was especially good at, she enjoyed food that other people grew though.
“Oh, are you talking about vender with the sheep or the other one?” She asked.
“Different kind! I’m looking for the small yellow cherry tomatoes. They’re excellent on salads, but truth be told, they’re just really good to snack on,” Hannah grinned. She wasn’t exactly an all healthy eater, she enjoyed her cakes and scones like most people but sweet peppers, cherry tomatoes and celery was also a favourite.
Hannah laughed. “The one with the sheep, yeah. They are certainly interesting characters here, aren’t there.”
“You and your love of tomatoes!” Charlie teased with a friendly grin. “Well, don’t hold me in suspense! I must know if you if found it?!” She bounced a little bit on her toes as she waited to find out if Hannah had indeed found her plant.
“If not, there are other places to try, or we could always send out an SOS in search of good tomatoes!” She offered brightly and somewhat playfully.
Hannah laughed. “I haven’t been by yet, but you’re welcome to join me if you don’t have anything else to do. We were able to catch up a little bit at the party, but everything was so crazy that day, it didn’t seem like we got a chance to have a good talk.”
Charlie grinned and hooked her arm with Hannah's. "It'd be my honour to join you in the hunt for the perfect cherry tomato plant!" She thought for a moment. "That was a busy night." She admitted. "But a good one, it was fun, seeing everyone with changing hair colour," she glanced at Hannah wondering if she'd try different colours again. "And the whole evening. And my plans for tonight aren't happening for a few hours, so I've got time!" She nodded. "You're welcome to come if you want to." Charlie always invited Hannah when they ran into each other.
"So, catching up, what new fun things in your life do I not know about?"
Hannah smiled, happy to have her friend join her. “It was a lot of fun. I hope we see more events like that in the future.” It did seem like a really nice way to bring the neighbourhood together. It was nice to see a community thrive. “Oh?” She asked Charlie, giving her a curious look. “What’s going on tonight? I don’t have any plans this evening.”
“My dad has family coming to visit in a few weeks, so we’re all going to get together. Do you remember my cousin Nolan? He used to visit a lot during the summer holidays when we were younger, he’s getting married.” He’s two years younger than Hannah, but they always seemed to get along well. Possibly that even at a young age, Hannah wished that she wasn’t an only child, so having Nolan around was like having a little brother. “They’re getting married in the Fall.”
“There is a party launch for a new design from Flight Jewellery, they’re holding it on a rooftop in London, why they didn’t decide to just host it here in town is beyond me, but they have this whole theme of flying people from here to the rooftop on brooms, don’t worry, we aren’t doing the flying, we’ll be sitting in style,” she explained. “Anyways, I have earings I need to wear for it and it should be an interesting evening!” Charlie grinned.
“He’s getting married?!” Charlie let out. “No way! Little Nol? I still picture him as being little and not ready for big life commitments and things.” She laughed. “Do you like his fiance?” That was always the most important question.
Hannah could feel herself tense up slightly, but immediately relaxed with Charlie reassured her that she wouldn’t have to fly. Heights was still an issue, but at least Hannah had better ways of coping and distracting herself. It would have been nearly impossible if she was on a broom herself. Thank Merlin for Apparation. “It does sound like fun, but I might need your help if we’re showing off jewelry.” Hannah laughed. “I wouldn’t have any idea on where to start.” Hannah wasn’t a tomboy by any means considering she spent a lot of her free time in the dirt. Still, she wouldn't consider herself fashionable and often went to her friends for help in that department.
Hannah laughed loudly. She wasn’t wrong, it was difficult for Hannah to picture it too. “I do. She’s nice and she seems to be good for him. I think they bring out the best in each other, and they’re almost annoyingly cute.”
"You won't even really know we will be flying, it's serious style," Charlie reassured again seeing Hannah tense a little bit. "So, you re in? good!" Charlie jumped a little out of excitement. "I'll make sure you have just the right outfit on for the evening." Charlie was good at picking the right clothing for pretty much anything. Years of being a socialite and fashion icon helped.
"Aww, I can't decide if I think that is fantastic or kind of annoying, probably a little bit of both. I'm glad he's happy, though." She smiled. "It's weird, you know, people starting to settle down and get married and having kids."
“Thank you,” Grinned Hannah. With Charlie on the case, Hannah knew it would be no problem.
Hannah nodded in agreement as she let out a laugh. “It’s a bit of both.” She paused to consider. “You know, I haven’t thought of that but I guess you’re right. We’re getting closer to that age where we’ll start seeing it more and more. I always saw myself eventually settling down, and starting a family, but I’m not necessarily unhappy with my life right now. I have great friends and I love my job.” She turned to Charlie. “What about you?”
"I am not ready to be chasing after a little person!" Charlie said quickly her eyes wide. "I don't know, I never did the whole think a lot about having a family, and I'm pretty sure it'd be useful to find the right bloke to have a family with to do the whole family thing. Which, seems like ways away. I like life!" She smiled. "I can't complain, I get to have fun, spend time with my favorite people and never a dull moment! I'm not ready to give that up."
Hannah smiled at her friend brightly. “I completely understand.” She playfully bumped shoulders with her friend. “I am all for having fun with my favourite people!” Once they reached the stand, Hannah didn’t spend any time at all finding what she needed. After paying for her purchases, she turned back to Charlie. “This was all I needed, did you need to keep looking or are you ready to glamor me up? “
"Let's get you looking beyond fantastic!" Charlie grinned as they headed off.