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Tweak says, "allons-y alonso"

Cho Quigley (charmingcho) wrote in finnigans_rpg,
@ 2014-12-01 16:03:00

Entry tags:

character: cho chang, character: melinda bobbin

RP: Girls & Wine & Whining
Who: Cho & Mel
What: The girls find themselves with a rare night off (and at the same time!)
Where: The flats/roof above Sweet Nothings
When: Monday 1st December, evening
Rating: SFW (potential for language)

Cho made her way up to the rooftop with a bottle of Elvish wine. She hadn't eaten dinner yet but she wasn't worried - she had a stockpile of Adrian Pucey's hangover potion in her flat, having learned young never to go with out it, just in case. It was a surprisingly warm evening for December, and she found herself with a rare night off - especially rare this time of year. Her holiday party schedule was quite full and she knew that as of the third, she wouldn't have a chance to relax again until the New Year.

And so she shuffled up to the rooftop deck - the girls' oasis in London - in slippers and her bathrobe, intending to turn on the wireless and read a sappy romance, memories of Fin's kiss lingering. Pouring herself a glass of wine, she tucked into a comfortable chair and spelled some fairy lights - just enough to read by - and opened her book.

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_melinda_
2014-12-01 10:24 pm UTC (link)

Although December was the busiest month for Melinda – with February and June coming close – it had always been her favourite time of the year. She loved the music, the mood, the lights and the spices. She loved how the glint in people’s eyes changed and the excitement of the kids that visited her shop. In particular, she loved decorating her shop and all the fine details of the steady stream of custom orders for Christmas and holiday parties, which apparently had been a surprise to some, seeing as how they had questioned her steadfast belief that there would be no Christmas in her shop until December 1.

Things were changing in her life, she knew that, so spending the day decorating her shop had been a welcome distraction. While she had arranged the yule log was part of the daily Christmas menu next to the mint and chocolate cheesecake bûche de noël exactly like the one she had made for a fancy Christmas party this weekend, she hadn’t worried about Oliver’s absence and general distance whenever they were together, and her mother’s decision to retire along with her father with the new year just didn’t seem nearly as daunting when she was arranging the cupcake wreath that showed off just one of the ways that regular cakes could be transformed into a holiday celebration.

But there was only so much decorating she could do before it would go overboard and start being a mess instead of alluring and inviting. So when the fairy lights were twinkling in the window, she took a moment to just a look at it, savouring the peace for a little while longer, before she headed upstairs for a shower. Fresh from the shower and wrapped in a fluffy bathrobe, she pulled on a pair of thick socks, and grabbed the tray of assorted leftover cakes and treats and made her way to the rooftop.

Seeing Cho already there, she set the tray on the small table (instead of in the cooler) and placed a blue-tailed meringue mouse on Cho’s thigh before she poured herself a glass of wine and curled up in the sofa, tucking the blanket around her legs as she took a sip of her wine. “Calm before the storm?” she asked, knowing that Cho’s December was every bit as busy as her own.

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charmingcho
2014-12-01 10:46 pm UTC (link)

Cho hadn't bothered to set her book aside when she heard Melinda come onto the roof. When her friend tucked in next to her, however, she folded the page corner and set it on the table in front of them with a nod. "I know you love this time of year, but honestly, I could do without Christmas just fine." She gave a knowing smile to her best friend.

"And what about you? I don't normally see you reaching for a bottle this early," she joked, topping off her glass as she said it. Lifting the newly filled wine, she added, "Calm before the storm and just needed a little... reflection time, I suppose." She hadn't told Mel that Fin had kissed her, but she still hadn't quite figured out what she thought of it, either (other than the obvious point that it was a wonderful kiss that had given her butterflies for two days after).

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_melinda_
2014-12-01 11:19 pm UTC (link)

With a chuckle, Melinda sent Cho a small smile. “Well, I’m taking the week after New Year’s completely off,” she told her. “You should too. Already have a plan with Marietta about a day of indulgence and wellness sometime that week and you should be there as well. Girls’ day out and all that.”

Twirling her glass a bit, she sipped again as Cho spoke. She shrugged slightly at the teasing about her drinking wine this earlier, her lips twitching slightly because there was truth to that statement. “Reflection?” she asked, looking back up her friend. “Decorated the shop today. Should be announcing the Christmas menu, but… yeah. Guess it’s reflection time for me, too.”

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charmingcho
2014-12-01 11:44 pm UTC (link)

Cho considered Mel's invitation for a second and then nodded, "Once my New Years parties are done, and before the 'after the new year because the holiday season was too hectic Christmas parties' begin, I'll be there."

When Melinda seemed to be asking her what she was reflecting on, she didn't quite want to answer (especially less than a glass of wine in, knowing she'd be mortified if she admitted to it all), so she asked instead, hoping to deflect her friend, "And what are you reflecting on? It's your favorite time of year, you're dating one of the most eligible men in Britain, your father's retiring and you're mother's delighted about it..." Cho shrugged, "Not to lessen any problems you might be having, but I guess it's been a while since we talked about things like that, hasn't it?" Cho felt like it'd been ages since they'd had a moment like this.

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_melinda_
2014-12-02 01:11 pm UTC (link)

Melinda nodded, happy to hear that Cho would join them, but also recognising that period of time she was describing. “Yeah, we’ve planned to use the two weeks people are sticking to their New Year’s resolutions to get some renovations done, both to the shop and to the personnel, but I think we could all use a day like that together.”

Falling quiet, Melinda looked down into her glass. Supposedly she did have everything she could dream of, except not much of it was what it appeared to be, at least not when looking at the details. “I think dating involves actually spending time with him or at least some sort of communication occurring, doesn’t it?” she asked, swallowed down and looked up at Cho, still not completely ready to just call it quits though reason was calling for her to do just that. “And mum’s retiring with dad after New Year, so I should figure out how much I should renovate and redo at the shop.” She shrugged. “No, they’re probably not problems, per se, but they do merit consideration and reflection, I think.”

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charmingcho
2014-12-02 03:06 pm UTC (link)

Cho's eyebrows shot up to her hairline when Mel said her mother would be retiring, too. "You're taking over!" she nearly shouted in excitement. "Oh my goodness! Pisser boyfriend or not, we should be drinking this wine in celebration!"

She thought for a moment and then put up a finger as if to say 'one second' and scooted quickly down to her flat where she had a bottle of champagne left over from some event or another she'd done over November. Popping back up to the roof with two flutes she grinned, "Please let us celebrate something," and gave a pathetic look. "It sounds like we could both use it," she concluded.

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_melinda_
2014-12-05 03:22 pm UTC (link)

Cho’s enthusiastic reaction had Melinda smiling. Yes, she was thrilled, too, about taking over Sweet Nothings, but also concerned. Her mother had been a great inspiration to her and an even greater source of knowledge when it came to running a business and preparing menus, and now it would be all up to her, which… well, it had its advantages, too.

She watched as Cho disappeared for a moment, but smiled more easily when she saw the bottle she had brought back. “A little celebration, sure,” she agreed with a chuckle. “I still have work in the morning.” Holding up her flute while Cho filled it, she glanced at her friend over the glass. “So what are you celebrating?”

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charmingcho
2014-12-07 04:25 pm UTC (link)

"Me?" Cho asked, her eyebrows arching as she took a sip of champagne. "My best friend's future success, of course," she answered (genuinely) though she could feel her cheeks color just a bit. Setting down her flute she stood and cast a quick charm to strengthen the warming charms they had on the rooftop, hoping it might mask her thoughts.

Surely a first kiss with a (gorgeous, fascinating, though married and seemingly very complicated) wizard wasn't something to celebrate. "I can't wait to see what changes you make, and if you want to throw a party to announce, please let me know plan it? Not Charming Parties, but me." She'd never charge her friend for a personal party.

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_melinda_
2014-12-07 07:59 pm UTC (link)

Melinda looked at Cho, smiling at her friend’s support. She had never doubted that she had it, but sometimes it felt good to hear it like this. “Alright,” she chuckled, “you just made it sound like you had something, too.” Maybe she did, but Melinda could be patient and wait until Cho was ready to share it with her.

Leaning back in her seat, Melinda drew one of the blankets over her legs and took a sip of her champagne. “I can’t wait to see what changes I make,” she said with a slightly pensive smile. “I’ve so many ideas and books filled with design ideas and recipes and flavour combinations, but I think I want to go with something… hmm,” she considered for a moment. “Not simpler, per se, but cleaner, for the shop and then leave the frills and filigree for the specialty cakes.” She could feel her cheeks heating up as she stopped herself, because she could talk about this for hours, but right now they weren’t talking about which cakes to sell, but more along the lines of how to go about it. “The announcement, I think, will just be on the journal, because with mum stopping right after New Year’s and everything that’s going on for Christmas, there’s just no room for it. Instead!” she held up her finger to keep Cho from objecting, because Cho was going to get the party she was talking about. “Right now my thoughts are to keep Sweet Nothings closed for all of January. Get the planned renovations done in the first half, and spend the time planning the new menu and all that, but then have a grand opening on February first for the public and maybe a pre-opening party the night before?” She looked at Cho, hope shimmering in her eyes. “Of course, all depending on the calendar, because I don’t know which day the first is. But I would love to have you do something like that. Thank you, so much.”

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charmingcho
2014-12-07 08:26 pm UTC (link)

One of the things Cho loved most about Melinda was here (nearly) unending patience. When Mel relaxed under the blanket, Cho knew there would be no interrogation and she could relax as well.

At the mention of the plan for the launch party and grande re-opening Cho lit up. "Oh! It sounds wonderful, and I already have a million ideas for an opening part, you have no idea," she said, though knowing Mel, she had quite a good idea how quickly Cho was envisioning pastry-themed cocktails and white linens. "You'll be the toast of the town, I have no doubt," Cho knew that the girls were an unstoppable team when working together, especially if Marietta also happened to join in on their scheming.

Cho sipped the last of her champagne and picked up her interrupted glass of wine. Now that the party was settled, she found her mind wander back to Fin and for a second time her cheeks warmed up, surely turning red.

"Alright fine, Fin kissed me!" She let out in a huff (exasperated at herself) and with a higher pitched voice than usual. She stuck her nose in her wineglass for another drink and looked up at Mel from under her eyelashes as if she were a child waiting to be scolded.

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