InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "In your future is pie."

raciegracie (raciegracie) wrote in inshadowfalls,
@ 2010-07-16 22:19:00

Entry tags:

grace lawrence, jeffery fairfax

who: Gracie and OPEN
what: Mourning, 'drinking'
where: Pub/Bar
when: Friday evening

Grace wasn't taking mourning very well. She had taken some time off of work, which they graciously gave her and had spent much of the next week locked up in her home, trying to find anything that could tell her more about the man that Xander had been. But nothing had come up. She was pissed and depressed, not a very good combo, especially for a woman that could be pregnant. She decided she needed to get out and have human contact, even if it was contact of being in a room with other people.

She showered and changed into some jeans and a t-shirt that Xander had always told her was his favorite. She headed to town and to the first bar she saw, going inside and sitting at the bar, ordering a glass of jack on ice and a diet coke. She got a strange look from the bartender, staring down at her wrist and the gold bracelet that was there. "Im not going to drink it I'm just going to smell it" the usually sweet woman snapped at him. He held up his hands for a moment and she sighed, running her hand through her hair "Sorry" she said and frowned, taking a sip of the coke before swirling the Jack and ice around. That had been Xander's favorite drink too. Simple and easy, yet classy in that white trash kinda way. Or so he had said.

She had been lost in those thoughts as she twirled the ice in the amber liquid again, not realizing her other elbow was so entirely close to the glass of coke. It fell, splattering all over her sweater and unfortunately all over the front of the person that was coming up to the bar to order a drink too. Great absolutely great. She thought and sighed heavily before turning to them, grabbing napkins "I'm sorry..." she said and handed them the napkins before starting to sop up the mess, getting another annoyed look from the bartender.

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fairjeffery
2010-07-17 04:47 pm UTC (link)

Jeffery kept her drink safe. The fact that people did things to drinks left abandoned was known to him, although he thought such people were scum. He kept an eye on it as his own drink came, thanking the bartender and taking a sip as he turned slightly, so he could survey the pub, taking in the people who were there.

"Welcome," he replied as Gracie returned, looking still worse for the wear, but a little bit calmer, at least. Another smile, and he dipped his head in a nod.

"Sure. I could use some company as well," he replied. "I came by myself." Setting his glass down, he grinned again. "Well I can never say 'no' to greasy pub food. Want to grab a table?" he suggested.

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raciegracie
2010-07-17 04:56 pm UTC (link)

She returned the smile with a slightly larger one than she had before and nodded at his suggestion to grab a table. She took both drinks with her as they found an open one. It was still early on friday so alot of people hadn't arrived yet. She could have kept with Jack at the bar but it made her feel better that it was there and once she sat down she started twirling the ice again, reaching for the small menu on the table and trying to find the greasiest, fattiest thing on there. "I usually don't eat this sort of stuff," she admitted to him with a small laugh. "Usually its organic everything... but sometimes I guess its okay to get food that you dont know where it came from. Comfort foods hardly ever good for you." she said and suddenly wanted something spicy and fatty and cheesy that her mother would have made for her. She believed the best way to heal hearts was filling stomachs. It was the closest organ to it afterall.

"So..." she said softly and looked up at him, offering another small smile. "Tell me what you've been up too lately?" she asked and tilted her head. Focusing on his life for a moment was alot better than dealing with her own.

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fairjeffery
2010-07-17 05:00 pm UTC (link)

Jeffery slid from his stool and grabbed his drink, following her over to the table. Sliding into the chair and sitting down, he set the glass down in front of him.

"You've got a lot of discipline. I don't think I could manage to stick to healthy and organic all the time." Oh, he was healthy enough. He ate well and he exercised. But he liked a bag of chips and a hamburger sometimes. Definitely liked some greasy food now and again.

"Nachos are always a good choice," he suggested, sipping at his drink. He set it down again, fingers curled around it. "Well, I've been working, a lot. Was all caught up in the World Cup while it was going on," he admitted.

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raciegracie
2010-07-17 05:16 pm UTC (link)

"Well," she said and sipped the diet coke "I figured that sinec Im such a clutz it was pobably shedding some years off my life. I might as well keep myself healthy in other ways. Healthy body, healthy mind. Something like that." she told him. It was easier now when everyone was on a huge organic kick and you could find organic anything. But it had been harder before. "It annoyed Xan, he likes..." she said and paused, it was hard to remember it was the past. "Liked, his junk food too. I mean I do too sometimes. Chocolate, I love chocolate. And sweet potato fries" she said thoughtfully and nodded some.

She nodded some at his suggestion, Nachos did sound good. So did the chicken fingers and the cheese sticks. So when she waved a waitress over to take the order she told her all three. She looked over at Jeffery, hopefully he would eat half of that too. "I never really got the hang of watching sports on tv. I never found it as exciting as being there...but then again I don't know whats going on half the time either." she admitted with a soft laugh. "What kind of work do you do?" she asked, feeling as if she should know what it was, but it had slipped out of her mind.

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fairjeffery
2010-07-17 05:21 pm UTC (link)

Jeffery pressed his lips together and nodded his head. He understood that slip - present tense and past. Knew it well. When Katie, his wife had died, he had made it a lot of times. It was so easy to slip and forget that that loved one was no longer there. "I think you need to enjoy food sometimes. Just plain enjoy it and not worry about the badness of it." Because junk food did taste the best.

He would definitely be able to help her through that food! "It's definitely more exciting to see sports live," he agreed. "But I do enjoy watching some on tv. Basketball, soccer, hockey." Not baseball and golf so much. "I'm a book editor," he explained. "That's actually what brought me here. My friend I came to see is a client as well."

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raciegracie
2010-07-17 05:31 pm UTC (link)

It was hard, and new, and especially confusing given the fact that he had been dead not only one, but twice. Did you talk about the undead the same way you talked about the living? Or the dead they should be? She brushed hair off of her face, swirling around the jack again, taking a sniff of it. "I think you're right. And I do plan on enjoying the food tonight." she told him with a nod, her mouth already watering at the thought of all of them.

"Xan loved hockey. He wasn't all that good at it though, but he loved it" she laughed softly, remembering the time he had joined a team with the other EMTs. They had mostly kept him on the bench, but sometimes he played. And beiung ont he team was what mattered. "I used to love the fights in hockey. Its really the best part" she said with a small smirk, she thought at least.

She nodded as he spoke about being friends with a client "Aren't you supposed to not mix business with pleasure? Or were you all friends before you were their editor?" she asked him curiously "Not that its my business...it isn't, im just trying to have conversation" something which she didnt feel she was that good at doing right now.

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fairjeffery
2010-07-17 05:36 pm UTC (link)

"Violence is part of the charm of hockey," Jeffery agreed. He had never played more than the odd pick up game or two. He liked the sport though, it was lively, exciting.

He chuckled and shook his head. "You're not supposed to mix business and pleasure, but sometimes it happens," he said. "Sarah was a client first. When her former editor retired, she was passed along to me. But we talked a lot, about her novels, her work, and a friendship bloomed." He shrugged his shoulders.

"Sometimes these things can't be helped." And sometimes the world worked in mysterious ways. "And now she and I are stuck in the same town." He paused and sipped at his drink. "Have you always lived here?"

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raciegracie
2010-07-17 06:00 pm UTC (link)

"Any sport has at least some bit of violence in it. It aids for the animalistic and the competative" she said with a small nod. Except maybe golf...but then again wacking something with a club did seem to be at lesat a little primal. Thats how they killed food once, wasn't it?

"Well its good to have friends around, life isn't really lived unless you have some." she said with a smile. Life was terribly boring alone. "Thats what you would call fate, isn't it?" she asked and smiled. She believed in fate. It made life seem charming. "The two of you ending up here together. Even if its just to create wonderful works of literature." she told him with a soft smile, sipping her drink again.

When asked if she had always lived here she shook her head "When Xander, my husband, went missing" she told him and sighed scrunching her face and looking down at the drink, trying to concentrate on the melting ice. "He had been missing for a few months when a lawyer contacted me. Said that Xander had left a home here, the one I live in now. So I came here. And now I'm stuck here." she said and then shrugged, as were all other humans, she knew. She exhaled again rubbing her cheeks. "And then I learned he was dead... well...undead and then dead" she said and frowned. It was still a hard concept to grasp. "He was a vampire and...I never knew and now hes dead and someone killed him. And Im never going to find out where he is or be able to see him again or my family again or leave here." she said all at once and swallowed a huge gulp of her drink, pretending it was the jack there. She shook her head "Im sorry..." she said softly "Im trying not to think about it and...I didnt mean to bring it up" she frowned. She looked around wondering where the food was. Maybe that would distract her long enough.

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fairjeffery
2010-07-17 06:03 pm UTC (link)

"Except perhaps golf," Jeffery replied with a grin. "Unless there's an accident." And someone got whacked in the head with a ball or a club. Maybe that was why golf, while enjoyable to play, was much less enjoyable to watch. Especially on tv.

"Friends and family do make life worth living." People were the most important. Moreso than anything else, moreso than any material goods. Money, possessions... they weren't as important. "I've never been sure if I believe in fate - but it's a lot like that."

He reached across the table and closed his hands over hers, squeezing lightly. "I'm sorry. It must be difficult to be stuck here... without that support line." He had Sarah, at least, which was something.

He shook his head. "Don't apologize. You probably need to talk about it. It's hard... it's a lot. I understand. When Katie - my wife - died, it was hard to think about anything else."

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raciegracie
2010-07-17 06:34 pm UTC (link)

That was exactly true. Sports didnt hold the same entertainment on tv. But he was right about golf especially "I've never been good at any sport really but especially not golf. I mean I can't even play putt putt" she said with a small chuckle.

"I don't believe in fate so muhc as like... our actions aren't our own because something else guides them. I mean I believe in personal responsibilty and dealing with the consequences of our actions. But I like the part of fate that gives people hope, that everything happens for a reason part" she said with a small nod.

She turned her hands over and gave his a light squeeze. It meant alot to her, it really did. "I mean he must have sent me here for one reason...or another. To keep me safe or...something, I dont know. But it is hard being here alone" she said and sighed.

She frowned when he spoke of his wife "Im sorry for your loss..." she told him softly. She swallowed thickly, a feeling she had gotten used too in the past weeks "Does...it get any easier?" she asked him softly keeping her hands in his for another moment "The...dealing with it part?' she asked and frowned. She hoped it did because right now it hurt a hell of alot.

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fairjeffery
2010-07-17 06:38 pm UTC (link)

"I find golf can be quite entertaining. Even mini golf," Jeffery replied with a smile. "I've heard there's a mini golf course here." He had not yet checked it out but likely would. He liked a good game of mini putt sometimes.

"I'm sure he had a reason to send you here," he murmured with a nod of his head, looking up as the waitress showed up with their food. Platters of food, placed down in front of them, smelling deliciously tasty. He reached a nacho and tugged one off, cheese stringing out behind it before it broke.

"It gets easier - but it doesn't feel as though it will. Not at first," he replied with a sympathetic little smile. "It feels like it will never get better. That things will never be the same. But then, slowly it does get better."

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raciegracie
2010-07-17 06:44 pm UTC (link)

At least he was being honest. She hated when people tried to sugar coat grief. As if it shoudlnt hurt that bad or magically you would wake up one day and it would be all better. It didn't work that way and she knew it. So it was almost reassuring to hear him say that it would be hard but then it got easier.

"Oh wow...that really does look good..." she said and saw the nachos dripping with cheese and she let out a soft hungry moan. She took one of the tenders first, dipping it in hot sauce. It did taste as entirely good as it looked and smelled and she closed her eyes savoring the bite of it. "If those nachos are as good as these chicken fingers are..." she said and shook her head taking another bite. The food was doing quite a bit to cheer her up anyway. At least temporarily.

"Where did you live before here?" she asked him, trying to turn the conversation away from Xander and grief. That sounded like a neutral enough topic. "Im from New Mexico... and then we stayed pretty much around the south, I loved the warm weather. But I do hear it snows here?" she said with a soft laugh "Not really looking forward to that part" she admitted. Though winter was still months away

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fairjeffery
2010-07-17 06:48 pm UTC (link)

"The nachos are great," Jeffery replied as he took another, and dipped it in the salsa, scooping some up and sliding it past his lips. Crispy, greasy, cheesy, with lots of toppings. He licked salsa from his thumb and reached for one of the chicken tenders.

"I'm from Boston," he replied. "Born and raised there." And he did miss the city, sometimes. His children. Watching the Celtics play and the Bruins. He tried not to dwell on that too much.

"New Mexico, huh? Nice state. I was there once." Passing through on a vacation. "It does snow up this way. I like the winter."

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	raciegracie 2010-07-17 07:23 pm UTC (link)
	[i have to head off to work love but I will get you a reply when I get home tonight. :)]] (Reply to this) (Parent)

raciegracie
2010-07-18 01:41 am UTC (link)

"They look it" she said with a grin and took some of them with Salsa, spinning the hees around them as she ate them, giggling as the toppings started spilling out and onto her hands. "Woops" she said and shoved the rest into her face.

"I'm sorry you can't go back" she said with a frown. It was hard to leave home, especially when you couldn't go back. Not that she really had anything to go back too besides family. But she could always just all them.

"It was a nice place to live. We moved a little more east after a while, but nothing this far north before. Granger says it can snow alot here. It isnt something I'm looking forward too, especially if I'm pregnant by then. I have a hard enough time walking when Im not pregnant and not on ice. I dont want to imagine having to deal with both!" she told him. That was if she got pregnant. Thinking that her hand went to play with the bracelet on her wrist and she sighed "Do you have any children?" she asked him and tilted her head.

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