Lorelei Wentworth 🍦 Alice Longbottom (harmonize) wrote in dunhavenic, @ 2020-04-03 16:14:00 |
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Entry tags: | !log, * jeanne, * terri, c: foster wentworth, c: lorelei wentworth |
WHO: Lorelei Waters & Foster Wentworth
WHEN: April 3, 2018
WHERE: The Dreamery
SUMMARY: Foster & Lorelei's First Meeting!
WARNINGS: None :)
BINGO: Log Between Strangers
It wasn't exactly unusual for Lorelei to dream of ice cream. She'd had them since she was a child, long before she'd had any idea about the prevalence of Dreams in Dunhaven, or what they meant for her and for others. Long before she knew who Alice, her childhood imaginary friend, would one day become. So when she woke up in the wee hours of April 3rd, a new flavor fully formed in her mind- with all of its associations alongside it- it… well, it only made sense to go into the Dreamery well before sunrise so she could make that dream into a reality. The Dreamery was still on winter hours, which meant that the doors wouldn't officially open until noon. But Lorelei had pulled the first batch of chocolate chili ice cream from the blast chiller, and… and it was perfect. It tasted just like she- like Alice- remembered it to. And then she was crying. The tears streamed down, unchecked, breath catching in almost painful gasps. Her hands gripped the edge of the counter, the metal cold beneath her fingertips. "Frank..." -- Though it was the beginning of April and business was just starting to pick up after the winter lull, it was Foster’s favorite time of year. Everything - and everyone was starting to come out of hibernation. Today, the sun was shining brightly and the temperature had crept up high enough that he’d actually broken a bit of a sweat just leisurely working in someone’s flowerbed. Foster had been hard at work since around seven that morning, though the dreams he’d had on the edge of sleep had lingered. Though he’d hardly admitted it to anyone, Foster had been having the vivid dreams that people were now not-just-whispering about for some time. It had gone on long enough that he had a whole other childhood mapped out in his sleep, though the adult years had been a little more sporadic. From what he could tell, the dreams he’d had weren’t exactly linear...because sometimes Alice was his wife, and sometimes she wasn’t quite there yet. Frank and Alice fit together in a way that Foster envied, though they’d had their fair share of struggles to get to that point. Their love was wild and reckless and passionate as they came, and sometimes it stole Foster’s breath away. That morning had been a quiet moment...it wasn’t exactly rare, but he’d remembered them sitting at Florean Fortescue’s ice cream parlor. Alice had created a new flavor just for Frank, with her grandfather’s permission. They’d sat there on those stools, a blindfold over his eyes, and she’d given him a sample of that flavor. Even as it had melted on his tongue, she’d leaned in to kiss him, and it had been perfect. Bitter and sweet...smoky and spicy...chocolate and chili. There was, he remembered, a new ice cream parlor in town that was known for some off-the-wall flavor combinations. On the off chance, Foster had decided to go there for his lunch break. He’d taken a moment to clean up, washing his hands thoroughly, though maybe a little bit of dirt clung stubbornly to his fingernails. He wasn’t going to get any more presentable than he was at that moment without going home to change and shower, but he didn’t think he was so offensive that he’d get kicked out just for going in to order an ice cream cone. He entered the store, listening to the happy little chime from the door, and immediately let his eyes scan the flavor options, of which there were a wild variety. It brought a little grin to his lips, reminding him of the Fortescue’s in what felt like that long-ago time. It made his heart ache unexpectedly, but perhaps that was only right because it just reminded him of Alice and sometimes...sometimes he missed her so fiercely in this life that it nearly took him to his knees. -- Being so early in the season- and, admittedly, still being a relatively new business in town- Lorelei hadn't yet hired any permanent additional help. She had a few kids that would come by on busy nights, but there wasn't really any call for that on a random Tuesday morning. The chime over the doorway drew her out from the kitchen, and Lorelei smiled as she wiped her hands on her apron. (It was emblazoned with the Dreamery's logo, of course.) She recognized the man who had come in as a Dunhaven native, a… Wentworth, if her recollection was correct. "Good afternoon!" Her voice was cheerful, a little pink in her cheeks from a recent stint in the walk-in freezer. "Welcome to the Dreamery. Let me know if you see anything you'd like to try." There was a little container on top of the glass flavors case that read used tasting spoons. -- Foster vaguely recognized the young woman behind the counter as the business owner. Something Waters, he thought. She’d been a few years younger than him, and they’d never truly crossed paths for more than a moment or two here or there. They’d certainly never held a conversation. Up until this point, the limited experience he had with this ice cream shop had been to-go pints delivered into his hands by friends or siblings, though he had intended to come in for some time now. Small business owners needed to support each other, after all. He smiled warmly, dimples forming in his cheeks when she greeted him, “Hello. Thank you. I’ve tried Maple Syrup Macadamia Nut and Samoa, and they were both excellent. I wanted to try something different today, though.” He stepped forward, having to lean down just a little to let his eyes scan over the flavors in the case, each listed with a name card in a flourishing script that looked almost familiar. Foster was - internally - a little disappointed to find that chocolate chili was not on the menu, though he had no reason to believe it would be, “Maybe Butterscotch Oreo or Snickers and Stout?” -- It made Lorelei happy to know that, somehow or another, even if she'd never seen him in her shop before, he'd still tried a few of her creations. That spoke to the word-of-mouth that Dunhaven, like most small towns, was rather known for. "Of course!" The tasting spoons were... well, they were just regular spoons, really. Metal, proper-sized, and all. Wherever she could, Lorelei tried to keep to reusable things. (To-go orders got plastic, naturally, but she didn't mind doing a few extra dishes at the end of the day.) She flipped open her side of the display case, took up a spoon, and doled out a decent-sized tasting of the Butterscotch Oreo. This was handed over the counter to him, and though she had another spoon ready to get the second requested flavor, Lorelei paused to watch his reaction to this first one. That was her favorite part, really. -- Foster was a little amused that the tasting spoons were just regular spoons and had half a mind to ask her how much that investment had cost her. Did one get a discount for buying spoons in bulk? How many spoons did she wash every night? How many spoons did she own? Those were the sorts of things that he thought of as a business owner, largely because if anyone asked him how many flower pots he owned, he would squirm. He didn’t have the exact number, but the answer was too many, and not enough. He watched as she scooped out a bit of that Butterscotch Oreo for him to try, and he savored it as he tasted. A delicate testing bite at first before more fully tasting it. It was decadent and sweet, creamy with that smooth butterscotch and a crunch of oreo cookie. It was delicious, to be sure, though it had no bite to it aside from the chill, “That’s sinful.” He grinned again, and deposited the spoon into the used testing spoon jar, which was still starting to fill up being early in the day. -- Lorelei had to twist her fingers into her apron to remind her not to bounce from one foot to the other in her excitement and anticipation. When he called her creation sinful, she brightened even further, that smile practically from ear to ear. "That's not the first time I've heard that," she admitted, a little proudly. With another easy dip into the ice cream case, she held over the second tasting spoon of Snickers and Stout. -- She was cute. Foster had to admit that to himself as he stood there waiting for the second taste of her creations. She was practically bouncing, as though she might just take off into the ether. He liked her enthusiasm. This second taste was a combination of flavors. Sweet and salty from the snickers and the ice cream base which might have been caramel, but the stout was there strongly too...bitter and hoppy…creamy, but with a full body. It was instantly favored over the pure sweetness of the butterscotch oreo, if only for the complexity of the palate. "This one," Foster's shoulders gave a little dip as he lifted the spoon pointedly to gesture with it, "Definitely this one. In a waffle cone?" He gave a smile, dimples showing again, and tilted his head curiously, "You're definitely the expert here, but…mind if I make a suggestion on a flavor to attempt? Does that cross a line?" -- "You got it!" Lorelei turned to get a waffle cone- they were still fresh, made just over the weekend. As she started to scoop out the flavor he'd requested, she glanced back up to him through the fog-hazed glass. (Though, granted, she could only see his torso from that odd vantage.) "Not at all," she pulled up the generous scoop, then stepped back and handed the cone over the counter to him. "There are already a few flavors on the board here that were suggestions. I never mind getting new ideas!" -- He hadn't yet taken a bite from the generous scoop she had doled out for him, though he held the cone securely in his hand, already fishing into his pocket for his wallet and the cash inside. "Okay, good. I didn't want to step on toes," he took a small taste of his chosen flavor, though he still wished it was something different no matter how good it was, "I know it sounds weirder than most, but…chocolate chili. Bitter and sweet and spicy, all in one." -- It was easy, habit, just to step over to the side toward the register, the price for a single scoop of ice cream long-since memorized. But when he made that suggestion aloud, Lorelei froze. "I..." Her voice felt strange in her throat, the words almost unfamiliar. How could he have known? She'd never even thought of such a thing before seeing it- tasting it- in her dream last night. "Follow me," remembering how to move, she took a step toward the kitchen, a belated glance over her shoulder to offer, "please?" -- He paused a little bit, uncertain of if he’d offended or shocked her, because she seemed to take his suggestion haltingly even though she’d just assured him it was fine. Foster frowned a little when she stepped back and asked him to follow her. She...didn’t know he was a safe person. He was, but she didn’t know that, and it felt almost odd to take that leap. Still, ice cream cone in hand, Foster slipped his wallet back into his pocket again and stepped past the threshold of that counter, even if it still felt a little bit forbidden. He followed her back to the kitchen, though he was careful not to wander, “Did I say something wrong, or...?” -- Lorelei didn't have to go far. There was a small freezer under the prep table just as they walked into the kitchen. "Don't- don't eat that ice cream yet," she instructed, even as she bent down to retrieve a new metal pan from that freezer. She set it out, but then turned to her guest- considering something for a moment, she reached up and plucked the cone from his hand. She wouldn't waste it, of course. There was a plastic rack on the prep table that looked vaguely like the sort that held vials in science class. She set the cone down there, pulled out a spoon, and served up a very generous helping of the new flavor, instead. "Here," she held the spoon up, and when he opened his mouth- perhaps by reflex- she slipped it in. -- Though he’d taken all but one bite of the ice cream he’d been given, Foster didn’t eat any more. Had she suddenly realized something was wrong with that batch? He had no idea what was going on, even as she took the previously served ice cream away from him and set it aside. Of course, he could see the new ice cream she had pulled out, though it just looked like something chocolate. That wasn’t terribly uncommon and it could have been just about anything, except when he opened his mouth to ask what it was, she shoved the spoon into his mouth and...and… It was chocolate chili. Foster knew it the moment that it hit his tongue. It was that perfect combination of flavors, and he almost teared up just at that taste, but he closed his eyes, savoring it. -- This time, somehow, the waiting to see how a new flavor was received felt even more nerve-wracking. Because this one was important. Maybe not to this man, this stranger, but to Frank… But she waited, breath caught in her chest, nerves filling her up. Finally, the words poured out of her. "Did I get it right? Please say something. Oh, God, I messed it up, didn't I?" -- “You didn’t mess it up,” he assured her after a moment, clearing his throat a little, though he didn’t want to proclaim to be some chocolate chili ice cream expert even if it was Frank’s favorite and this, “It tastes just like I imagined it would. It’s perfect, truly. Is it greedy of me to ask for more?” He would, ultimately, prefer to purchase a cone of this - maybe even a double scoop if she would allow it. While snickers and stout was good, this was...nostalgic. -- With his confirmation that she'd, somehow, gotten it just right... Lorelei exhaled, relieved. She shook her head at the question, and stepped just slightly aside to gesture to the open container of this new flavor. There was a proper ice cream scoop among the other nearby utensils, as well as various bowls on shelves. "Help yourself." Lorelei herself took the cone of Snickers and Stout that she'd already scooped out for him, and took a bite for herself- waste not. "It's my first batch of it," she admitted, then. "I... had a dream about it last night." Which, considering the name of her business, hopefully wouldn't sound too crazy. "It's... it was- is- my husband's favorite flavor, but he ate it way more than I ever did, and he's not here to help me figure it all out, so I wasn't entirely certain about some of the ratios. I did remember that it was aleppo pepper, which I had to drive to Alexandria to find this morning- at a mediterranean goods store- but the 75% dark chocolate was a no-brainer. I ended up infusing the pepper into the milk I used, which helped blend all the flavors up a lot better than using the spice directly, I think, and I... am rambling." -- She gave him leeway to dip his own ice cream, which was incredibly trusting in her part. Though he was sacrificing the waffle cone, Foster couldn't complain as he scooped out a generous bowl of ice cream for himself, and listened to her ramble about her husband. The tenses that she used went back and forth, and the mention of the dreams peaked his curiosity, but he didn't want to assume. "When he returns, your husband will be pleased you've got it down to a science. It's exactly what I thought it should taste like, anyway." -- Though she had her face... more or less in an ice cream cone, Lorelei still gave a snort of a laugh at the idea of her husband coming back. And maybe that wasn't fair, really- this guy didn't know her, or anything about her dreams. How could he? "It's not exactly likely. The last time I saw him was in 1981." -- He let himself actually look at her hand now, and note the absence of the ring there. He wasn't going to judge or presume either way, though the insistence that she hadn't seen her husband since the early 80s...well, that made Foster raise a brow, "Were you even born in 1981?" He knew the answer likely had to be no, but he also didn't want to show his own hand too soon. -- Well, no, she hadn't been. Not as Lorelei, anyway. Alice had been… She shook her head. "Me? No. 1997." He could do the math to figure out her age if he wanted to. She wasn't bothered by that, really. -- Foster took a thoughtful bite of his ice cream, letting the flavors linger there on his tongue before he actually said anything else. It was a delicate consideration to take since the potential tie here seemed to be growing stronger by the moment, "1993, for me." He ate another bite of ice cream before admitting, "But I haven't seen my wife since 1981 either." -- He was older than her, which likely also explained why she couldn't remember his first name. But that, somehow, still felt… not irrelevant, but definitely less important to the statement that followed. They had… both lost spouses in 1981. Before they were born. "That's…" Lorelei looked him over for a minute, taking another bite from her cone. "Really sad for her, actually. You're really much too pretty to leave behind in the 80's. Nothing else good happened in that decade, anyway." -- This casual conversation about their former spouses from a time before they were even born was a little bit strange, perhaps, but Foster now needed to know for sure. He would always wonder otherwise…if this was Alice, in any way. He laughed heartily at the comment that he was too pretty to leave in the 80's,but he gave a small hum of disagreement around another bite of ice cream, "I don't know about that. There were levitating birthday cakes and some pretty good bands." -- Whether or not 80's music was good could perhaps be debated, but that wasn't really the point here, was it? Not once he mentioned those cupcakes. Because they hadn't been anything like the ordinary, and no one else could have known. "But we… we had to add in extra fizzing whizzbees to the batter, because… because you're so unreasonably tall." -- His breath was nearly lost then, even as he held that bowl of chocolate chili ice cream in his hands. It was her. Of course it was her, and he should have known from the moment he tasted that ice cream, but he'd been unwilling to believe it could be true. "It still didn't make me float all that high… but enough," he managed a small, slightly uncertain smile, "I know it's likely not the same now, but… Alice, then?" -- She wasn't sure she'd ever heard that name spoken aloud- definitely not in relation to her, anyway. Lorelei hadn't told a single soul about her dreams, and yet… she had to, now. He knew. He knew because he was Frank, because he'd lived it right along with her. "Alice, then," she confirmed, with a quiet little nod. "Hello, Frank." -- Foster doesn't really know what this meant for the two of them, if anything at all, but he did know that he'd like to actually get to know her here. She was…beautiful and passionate and obviously driven to have a successful business so young. He nodded a little, but pointed to himself with the spoon in hand, "1993 edition, Foster Wentworth." -- Now, in retrospect, it seemed silly that she hadn't known his name. But it wasn't habit to introduce herself to every customer that came in the door, and she hadn't thought he'd… mean anything. And yet… "Lorelei Waters. It's… Is it weird to say it's nice to meet you when we've already lived a whole life together?" -- Lorelei. It was a pretty name. A bit more unusual than Alice, but Foster wasn't exactly common either. He continued eating that ice cream, especially now that it seemed it had been…intended for him, in a way, "I don't think so? I mean, we lived a life as Frank and Alice, but I know I'm not just exactly him even if we have similarities. And I don't think the two of us, as ourselves, have had a conversation prior to today, unless I'm very forgetful." Foster knew he couldn't keep her back here in the kitchen all day as much as he might have liked to ask her questions about what she remembered of Alice, and just tried to get to know the woman she was now. The bell had not rung to signify another customer, at least. -- "I… Well, I like to think I'm a little less of a hot mess than Alice is." Yes, Lorelei had also lost a parent, but that situation was so very much different from what Alice had experienced. "But she's given me this place," she gestured around with one hand, "so I can't really complain." She shook her head. "We haven't. I was pretty sure you were a Wentworth, but I knew there were a lot of boys in that family so I didn't want to guess." -- Foster smiled a little bit, though he couldn’t help but amend, “She might have been some of the inspiration for this place, but I think you get the credit for turning it into a reality. I may be biased considering that I, myself, own a landscaping business, and while Frank was very interested in herbology, he didn’t capitalize on it like I have.” He gave a small sort of sigh and confirmed, “Yeah, there are four of us. And Marlene.” Naming his sister casually might not have been strictly advisable, but Lorelei wasn’t someone he thought he really needed to protect mostly public information from anyway. If she had access to any of the private school’s yearbooks, she’d find information on the Wentworth children in full. -- "She is definitely the inspiration. I've been dreaming about her and Florean's ice cream since I was a kid." And even that was, admittedly, something that she hadn't explicitly shared with anyone else. Yet to Frank… Foster, it felt right to say. "I have two sisters and one brother. Tallulah, Romy, and Nick. Landscaping, though?" She smiled up to him. "I obviously don't have a yard here, but if you know anything about flowers, I may have a job for you." -- That she had been dreaming that long surprised Foster, but maybe only because, "I've only been dreaming the last couple of years. Mostly since I got out on my own," he wouldn't pretend to have been dreaming longer out of some misplaced desire to have something else in common with her. "Wyatt, Darrin, and Landon," Foster offered, already having named himself and Marlene. He gave a small smile when she asked if he knew anything about flowers and nodded, "Landscape Architecture was my degree, but I deal in plenty of flowers. I have the biggest greenhouse in fifteen counties, aside from DC. So you just let me know what you're thinking and I'm sure I can help out." -- She… wasn't out on her own, not really. Even though she owned a business, Lorelei still lived at home. So she kept that to herself. "Do you really?" Lorelei brightened, considerably, at that new information. "Is it open to the public? Can I come see it?" In a bit of a false whisper, then, "Is it like the Hogwarts greenhouses?" -- Foster had come back from Clemson University and…rather immediately inundated himself in debt between his house and the business. However, the business had become profitable very quickly, and he had the means to make his payments and still live comfortably. He was rather proud of that particular fact. "Funny you should ask. Our first open to the public day of the season is tomorrow. We're open Wednesday thru Saturday, 10am to 6pm. We'll do that through August. I have someone that stays there for me during the day while I'm out at client's houses." He did chuckle a little at the last, though, "Maybe a little, though no dangerous plants. You might see a few familiar things." He gave a small wink, though anyone who had actually been in a Hogwarts Greenhouse might have picked up on small elements here or there, like the serpentine statues that peeked down from the roof's edges. It was, all told, actually a cluster of large greenhouses. Though guests were invited to roam between them, all parking was at the front and no one was likely to stowaway with a plant of any significance without properly checking out. -- Though those hours overlapped with her own here at the Dreamery, Lorelei could... make something happen. It seemed like it would be worth it. "I'll definitely have to come by. Even if there's nothing dangerous for me to stumble on." She had finished her own (what had once been his) ice cream cone, and- out of habit- licked her fingers clean before wiping them on her apron as well. Lorelei at least had the good sense, after the fact, to blush a bit. -- “Please do. From business owner to business owner, if you happen to need an early pass in, I think something could be arranged,” he smirked a little, though he hadn’t really looked at the business hours on the door yet. It just seemed like a safe assumption that she’d have been open in the afternoon. Though Foster was now finishing his own ice cream as well, he was sad to see it gone and his lips lingered on the spoon to savor the last bite. He noted that blush in her cheeks, but he saw nothing wrong with the fact that she’d licked her fingers. It was...kind of hot, actually. That was probably not a thought he should have, but it lingered there in his mind anyway, “It really is perfect...the chocolate chili. Think you’ll actually put it out on the rotation? You know, so I can gauge how serious my ice cream addition is about to become.” -- "You're too kind." She'd make it work, one way or another. "I mean, the guy it was made for approves of it, so I kind of have to add it to the rotation, don't I?" Some flavors came and went with the seasons, but others were popular standards. Lorelei hoped this might be one of the later, if for Foster's sake alone. "But you can definitely take home a pint or two, today, if you wanted." -- “I mean, it works out in my favor, certainly.” Foster wouldn’t pretend that he thought he should get special treatment just because they were sharing dreams, but he would certainly be a more frequent customer with this flavor on the board. He brightened at the suggestion that he would actually be able to take home a pint or two with him today. It wouldn’t be difficult for him to run home and pop the pints in the freezer. He could check on Mrs. Buttersworth while he was there, “Really? That would be great, actually. At least my next two meals are planned out now.” That was mostly a joke, and he thought she’d probably recognize that, but he gave a dimpled smile anyway. -- Though his physique seemed to imply that he rarely ate meals consisting solely of ice cream, Lorelei just replied, "I'll never judge anyone for that. I'm not a hypocrite." Picking up the tray of ice cream, she nodded for Foster to follow her back out to the main parlor area. "Come on. The pint containers are out here." When she sold pints, they were always freshly packed, so the flavor was as newly made as possible. With the tray on the back counter, Lorelei found two pint containers, and used a permanent marker to quickly doodle up a label on each. Chocolate Chili ~ 4.3.18 ~ For Foster It only took her a minute to get it all ready- she was a professional, after all- and Lorelei put both pints into a little brown paper bag with the Dreamery's logo on it. -- Foster followed Lorelei from the kitchen out to the main shop again, though he didn’t wait behind the counter with her. He stepped back to the customer side, as felt appropriate, and waited patiently for the minute or two that it took her to pack up the pints. He smiled at the packed up bag with the logo, “Thank you. What do I owe you?” He was sure that the price point for pints was listed somewhere, but he didn’t immediately see it. He didn’t expect something for nothing, after all. -- For her part, Lorelei seemed almost surprised when Foster asked what he owed for the ice cream. Yes, of course, if he'd been an ordinary patron of her shop, she'd have charged him- she wasn’t in the business of philanthropy, no matter how sweet the shop was. But he... wasn't just anyone, was he? "You- you don't-" She shook her head. "I know we're not anything to each other, Foster, but it- it doesn't feel right to charge you. Please, just take it." -- They...weren’t anything to one another, and though that was true, he didn’t know why it stung. Maybe they would never be anything to one another, but whatever thoughts he’d had about asking her otherwise seemed to just bury themselves right then and there. “I...if you’re sure. But promise me that if you think more on those flower ideas you’ve got, you’ll let me repay the favor?” He didn’t think he would be difficult to track down, especially this time of year. -- She was glad, at least, that he didn't seem inclined to argue her offer. "I'm sure," Lorelei insisted with a gentle smile. "And I'll definitely let you know about flowers. I think it'd be great to have something outside, especially once it gets warm enough that people stick around to eat. Make the place even more cheerful." -- Foster nodded along with her suggestion, and added, “You could do some hanging baskets or maybe some planters along the windows, if not some pots beside the entry outside.” He did slip his hand into his pocket for his wallet, but instead of pulling out money, he plucked out a business card that had his business number and email attached, “Here. Just...think about it and get back to me.” -- Lorelei reached forward to take the offered card, and her hand lingered just... just a moment more, as her fingers brushed against his. "I will," she nodded, once, then drew her lower lip between her teeth just slightly. "I'm glad you're here, Foster. That you... know. About me." -- God, she really was cute. That way that she tugged her lip between her teeth should have been a sin, “I am, too, Lorelei. It’s...nice to know that there’s someone who gets it...that knows the things I do.” There were other Dreamers, of course, but no one else that knew Frank quite the way that Alice did. It made him wonder if there were others out there - friends or family - but even if not...this was enough. Even if it...didn’t really mean anything, as she’d said, “I’ll see you around, then.” -- She'd drawn her hand back, tucking that card safely into the front pocket of her apron. "I'll see you soon, Foster." |