Ah, the Marketplace. The last time Dani had stopped by was Tuesday for her date with Roman. They had eaten at the diner and, on a whim, decided to pass by the various shops to look at their wares on display in the windows. Passing by the clothing store, Roman had noticed a dress - an off-the-shoulder number with long skirt and a colorful floral pattern of pinks, oranges, and greens - that he believed would look nice on her. It never came back up after the initial off-handed comment but it had stuck in her mind.
So now she was back five days later standing in front of the very same window contemplating her next move. Should she go try it on? And if it fit, should she get it? She didn't necessarily need any new clothing as she had a decent selection in her wardrobe but it had been some time since she bought anything new. Besides Roman liked it and she wanted to impress him.
While she silently debated, a passing figure reflected in the window, her face familiar. She quickly turned around so she could address the woman before she walked too far. "Dr. O'Conner?"
Daryn was on her way from the Facility. Her short workday felt even shorter today and she was begrudgingly on her way home. She’d decided to cut through the Marketplace with hopes of some of the food enticing her. But her appetite was nonexistent. And it showed on her frame, she was always slender, but now she was only losing more weight instead of gaining now that she was back amongst the masses.
Hearing her name, Daryn slowed to a stop and turned in the direction of the voice. Recognizing the woman, she gave her a faint smile in greeting. She didn’t speak yet, so far it seemed to startle people more than anything else, so it was better to keep her newfound voice to herself.
For a brief moment, Dani thought she might have been mistaken until the woman smiled at her. She had lost so much weight since the last time she had seen her. "It is you, hello," she greeted with a bright smile. She extended her hand toward her. "It's been a long time." Almost two years to be exact. Dr. O'Conner's sudden disappearance had worried her; she was glad to see her back. Though it seemed whatever had happened while she was gone had taken its toll. "It's wonderful to see you. How are you?"
Taking the extended hand, Daryn shook it weakly in greeting. It was hard to remember if the woman was someone averse to telepathy or not, so just in case she pulled out her phone to use the text-to-speech app that had been her voice for so long. Typing in a message quickly, she then pressed play, making a face at the monotone robotic voice. It has been a while. It is good to see you too, how have you been? For the moment, Daryn could not remember the woman’s name, but she knew it would come to her.
“I’ve been doing well,” Dani answered, making sure her eyes were on Daryn and not her phone. While the phone was her voice, the conversation was with her; focusing strictly on the phone would just be rude. She paused a moment. What else was there to say? “I managed to get the center built,” she added with a hint of pride. Daryn had disappeared before she had gotten her idea approved. She rubbed the back of her neck and chuckled sheepishly. “Though you probably knew that. Not hard to miss. But what about you? How have you been?”
Daryn blinked in surprise, she hadn’t realized, but was glad to hear it. Texting again quickly, she offered a faint smile. Really? That is wonderful, congratulations. I’ll have to stop by some time to see it. The mention of the center triggered the memory, Daryn had done whatever she could to support Daniela’s venture. It was good to know she’d been successful even without her around to help more.
Avoiding the questions, she was quickly able to recall other things about the woman as well. How have you been feeling? You look well, much better than when you’d first arrived.
“You should! I’d be more than happy to show you around.” Dani loved to show off the center. She was a lot like a parent in that way; showing off their child and their accomplishments proudly. Not that the center could be compared to a child but it had become sort of her life’s work so she thought of it as her baby. “Just let me know.”
Daryn’s attempt to avoid her question was obvious. She wasn’t sure exactly why the woman was reluctant to answer but she wouldn’t force it. “I’ve been feeling a lot better. The surrounding forest is a life saver.” Quite literally in her case. Lack of vegetation is what ultimately led to her coming to the island. “And I have so many potted plants. You should see my place, it’s like a greenhouse.” She laughed some.
Daryn offered a faint smile and nodded, deciding to take a chance and speak. Pocketing her phone, she cleared her throat with a small wince. “That sounds lovely, I’d like that. Whenever you have time, that is.” Her voice was soft with the hint of a mild Southern accent.
Smoothing her hair back, she nodded, glad to hear that she was doing better. “It must be nice.” Her place was cold and empty these days, but she did little to change that.
Eyebrows rose in surprise. She had not been expecting Daryn to speak. Last she had known the doctor had been unable to though she wasn’t exactly sure of the reason. Dani never asked as it didn’t seem appropriate. “Whenever is fine,” she replied with a smile, opting not to directly address her ability to speak. “I’m always able to make time. Just tell me when.”
She nodded. “Yeah, it’s not so bad. Always liked plants but never had so many. Or really any at all. Traveling and all that.” When you were on the road performing more often than not, you had to avoid taking in things that needed special attention. “I don’t really have that problem anymore so…yeah.” Her smile faded slightly. She missed traveling. “You have a pretty accent. Whereabouts did you live, if you don’t mind me asking?”
Daryn nodded a little, noting the look of surprise. “Maybe I’ll drop by sometime after work. If you’re not free then, then we could set up something more specific.”
She was glad to hear that Dani was doing better, but she could also see the tinge of longing in the woman’s face. Everyone missed their lives before here, but few would openly admit it. She understood. Blushing a bit at the mention of her accent, Daryn shook her head a bit. “Just Seattle. But my mother had a very thick southern accent, my sister and I caught a bit of it from being so close with her all the time. I guess it never went away.”
“Sounds like a plan. Oh!” Dani pulled her phone out of her pocket (a dress with pockets yesss) and lifted it somewhat to draw attention to it. “You could always text me. Might make it easier to arrange a time. If you’d like.” She wasn’t sure how willing Daryn would be to give her number out to a patient she had helped for maybe three months before disappearing for two years but it didn’t hurt to offer.
Her smile grew when she noticed the blush. “That explains it. It’s a very nice accent.” She glanced around, suddenly aware that they were awkwardly standing in the walkway. “Are you hungry? I was thinking about picking up a quick bite if you’d like to join me.”
Daryn didn’t hesitate, and just gave Dani the number. The island was a small place, people often knew how to get in touch with each other one way or another. If they were back in Seattle, she would keep a professional distance. But things were different here, in so many ways.
Once the information had been exchanged, Daryn smiled faintly at the compliment. “Thank you.” She was glad to know that even after all this time, and everything that had happened, she still had one small piece of herself, even if it was something as unimportant as the sound of her voice.
Considering the offer, Daryn nodded. She wasn’t eating, that much was clear by her thinner-than-ever frame, but she would much rather spend some time around people than retreat back to her house. “Sure, that would be nice.”
“Great!” She exclaimed happily. “They have a new sandwich at the diner I’ve been wanting to try. I didn’t get a chance the last time I was there.” Dani had decided on a different dish when she went on her date with Roman. Her gaze moved to the window. Oh, that’s right, she had been debating whether to try on that dress or not. Another time. “Shall we go?”
Daryn followed the young woman’s gaze to the window. It was a pretty dress, she would look good in it. Daryn had rarely, if ever, dressed up once coming to the island. But it was nice to see others do it, to have little things that made them feel normal again. “Did you want to go in there and do some shopping? You don’t have to change your plans for me.”
“Oh no, it’s fine,” she insisted with a reassuring smile and shake of her head. “I was just looking, really. I had seen it in passing a few days ago while on my date and just wanted to get a closer look.” A light blush appeared on her cheeks, both at the memory of her date and the silliness of mentioning it. “I’m done now.”
“Date? Well, in that case, you definitely have to go try it on.” Daryn motioned to the window again, encouraging her. “I’m sure you’ll look stunning in anything, so you don’t need my opinion.”
Her blush deepened at the compliment. “I wouldn’t say I’d look stunning in anything, but thank you,” she said modestly, fiddling with a strand of her hair. “And I wouldn’t want to keep you waiting when we’ve already decided to go eat.” Her gaze went back to the dress. “Though I mean, if you don’t mind I guess I could. And I’d love your opinion.”
“I don’t mind at all.” Daryn offered her a small smile and motioned for her to enter the store first. She followed behind, glancing. She should probably buy some new clothes herself, everything left in her closet was too big. But this was about Daniela. “Although, I might be a bit nosey and ask more about this date you mentioned.”
She laughed some. “Fair enough. Though I don’t know how interesting it will be.” Dani approached an employee to ask about the dress’ location. With a nod and a thank you, she went to where the lady had pointed. “What would you like to know?” She asked her companion as she browsed through the sizes.
Daryn followed behind, glancing around a bit, running her fingertips lightly down a dress they moved past. “Everything? I’m sorry for being nosey. My sister and I used to tell each other all about these sorts of things, I never really did girl talk with anyone else. And I haven’t been on a date in… six years. So I don’t even know where to begin to ask.”
"Oh, don't worry. I don't mind at all," she assured. "And I can understand that. It had been, god, three years or so since I last went on a date?" It was before she came to the island, she remembered. Her friend had set her up on a date with a co-worker of hers. He wasn't bad as far as blind dates went but it ultimately never went anywhere.
"His name is Roman," she began, pulling a dress out from the racks and putting it up against her to judge the sizing. "He's really sweet." She smiled fondly as she spoke about him. "Been there with me since the center's beginning. We went out a few days ago. It was our first date."
Daryn had many moments when she felt lonely, and missed her life before. Even with all of its romantic complications. But she’d never found anyone here on the island, so she envied Dani a bit.
Until she said the man’s name. Her expression changed to a frown, but she bit her tongue and held back her thoughts. She was sure that Roman was a manipulative prick. But it wasn’t her place to say that. She could only imagine what game he was trying to play with Dani. Forcing a little smile, she just nodded, keeping her eyes on the clothing around them. “That sounds nice.”
Dani didn’t catch the frown; she was too distracted by the dress to notice. “Oh, it was,” she gushed, smiling brightly. “He took me to one of the restaurants and went for a walk.” Then she invited him back to her place to repeat what they had experienced the night before but there were some things that didn’t need to be told. “Simple but lovely.” She draped the dress over her arm and pointed toward the fitting rooms. “I’m going to try this on.”
Daryn’s nose wrinkled as she caught the thoughts she wasn’t meant to hear. That was the problem with her telepathy, she heard everything, even when she didn’t want to. She ignored it most of the time, but it was difficult here and now. She nodded a little, watching Dani go off to the fitting room. As she waited, Daryn looked around at the clothing, but had no motivation to shop for herself. What she wore never mattered much.
A couple minutes later, Dani emerged from the dressing room. Roman’s assumption had been correct; the dress did look good on her. “So what do you think?” She asked her companion, giving a turn so she could see the whole outfit.
When she spoke up, Daryn turned in her direction. She offered a small smile. “Beautiful, as if there was any doubt. Then again you’d be gorgeous in a paper bag. But those colors are lovely on you.”
The comment caused her cheeks to turn pink. “Thank you. I’m glad you think it looks good.” She looked at the mirror just outside the fitting rooms and studied the dress on her frame one more time. “I really like it.” Dani turned back to Daryn, smiling. “I think I’ll get it. You think I should get it?”
“You should get it, definitely.” Daryn couldn’t remember the last time she treated herself, but she’d always encourage others to do it. Besides, it seemed like the dress made her happy, and happiness was hard to come by around here.
Daryn’s encouragement sealed the deal. She was going to get it. “Let me get changed real quick and buy this then we can go grab a bite to eat,” she said excitedly. She did one last twirl in front of the mirror then retreated into the dressing room. A couple minutes later she was back out in her regular clothing. “Ready?”
Daryn nodded in agreement. It was nice to see someone happy and carefree. Maybe if she spent more time around people like that, she’d start to feel that way too. “Ready when you are.”