Hey you, remember my name? Who: Hap and Marisa Where: Scarlet Oak Fire Department When: Late afternoon
One of the things about being a mother that Marisa hadn't completely anticipated was how tiring it could be. She loved spending time with Jacob and she'd never want to take any of it back but it was a little tiring to chase a four-year-old around a Chuck E. Cheese's. Delightful, but tiring and she was pretty much ready to go home and relax until tomorrow. Except for that part where she had promised her mom that she'd actually get some interaction in today. And she really doubted that the toddler who had gotten tangled up with Jacob and then required untangling and chatting with the mother really counted. Since they hadn't made any sort of a connection. Marisa hadn't really made any connections of any sort with anyone since she got back. Not counting Julian. Just the thought of Julian made her throat go all tight and she had to shake her head to clear it away, already a little emotional thanks to having to drop Jacob off at his grandparent's. Being tired didn't mean that she enjoyed the knowledge that she was required to deposit her son with his grandparents just because they had custody. Custody they didn't deserve. And when the full moon came in just a few days she wasn't going to put up with anything but them letting her take him. How else was he supposed to learn anything about being a leopard if he didn't get taught them by her? Marisa's fingers tightened on the steering wheel and she sighed. Going home right now would just lead to another argument with her mom.
Driving down the street she caught sight of a familiar building up ahead. The fire department. She'd gone on a few field trips there when she was a kid and when she was in her teen years she'd even volunteered once or twice just to help out with their pancake breakfasts and stuff like that. Which meant that she'd made a few friends out of the people working there. I wonder if any of them are still here? Couldn't hurt to check and it'd definitely count for stopping by. And hey, maybe she'd find out what had happened to a few of her friends from high school. Pulling up into one of the side parking spots she shut off the car, grabbed her umbrella and slipped out into the rain. Maybe it was the cat thing that made her didn't like the rain but whatever it was it was definitely present and she wrinkled her nose for the short walk before she ducked inside, shaking out rain that hadn't actually touched her hair along with her umbrella before folding it up. "Hello?" she called, peering down the empty gray hall. A few steps brought her to an open door and she peeked inside at the man behind the desk. Something about him seemed vaguely familiar. "Excuse me, I was just dropping by to see if anyone I used to know is still working here." No way, was that Hap Sanderson? When had he gotten flecks of gray in his hair? "...Hap?" Okay, so when she was younger she may have had the slightest crush on the firefighter. But that was forever ago. And he had gray in his hair now. Made him look distinguished or whatever that word that everyone used was.
Another day, another load of paperwork that Hap had never really had the proper mind for. Especially not when there was a ghost seated in the left corner of his office carrying on about how she had died. Really, Hap did not need every last detail of what it had felt like when the demon had gone after her. Plus he had an ever-sinking feeling in his stomach that this was the mother of the boys in that house where he had gone with the others during the civilian clean up. Mockery, it had been a mockery, all they had done was get rid of some demons after they had wreaked their havoc. And what good was that? Sighing, Hap rubbed the thoughts out of his head and plugged in his headphones. If anyone needed him they could damn well shout because he was tired of this ghost. There was nothing he could do for her as he had gone and explained several times over. If there was then he would but no, nothing, there was not even 'unfinished business' for her to attend to. She was just one of those unfortunates who continued to linger because her death had been tragic and untimely. Tanya should have lingered if anyone was going to bother him - and here we don't go again, crank the music, finish the paperwork and go home. He had just started to bob his head when he caught motion out of the corner of his eye. Looking up he saw a person who was definitely not the ghost so he popped the headphones off and pulled on a curious face. Whoever this was knew his name and did, in some really strange way, look almost familiar. "Yeah, I'm Hap. What was it that I could help you with, ma'm?" Why did she look familiar? He was already flicking through the names and faces that he saw on a regular basis but she was not matching any of them.
Have I really grown up that much? Marisa wondered, turning to study her reflection in the glass of the window. Julian had recognized her no problem. Sure she'd gotten a little older and her face had changed a bit but overall she'd thought that she looked relatively unchanged. Sorry sweetie, you look older now. Still not in her thirties. No one would ever guess that she was in her thirties unless they'd already known. Marisa could take a few bits of pride in that. And no one'd ever be able to guess that she'd had a kid. But Hap didn't recognize her. Probably had met a ton of people between then and now who did the same thing that she did. Helping out at a pancake breakfast wasn't really that noticeable she supposed. Even if you'd given up at least fifteen Sundays for it. "Awww, I'm disappointed I've changed that much," Marisa declared as she turned back and walked over to settle herself into the chair on the other side of the desk. "Hap Sanderson, has your memory gone when your hair started to go gray or what? Tanya wouldn't have forgotten me." Tanya never forgot anyone, Marisa was sure of it. She'd have to pop by and say hello to her too. "Marisa Selwynn. Guess I've grown but everyone else still knows who I am." Everyone else that she had seen. Not the most impressive number of people in the world but she thought it was enough to assure that she hadn't changed all that much. And now she was going to have to go home and study herself in the mirror. Had she gotten a wrinkle somewhere? Oh god please no wrinkles. Wrinkles looked awful under spotlights.
The mention of Tanya was enough to make Hap tense up a little bit. People did not really mention her to him. He wore a good mask that made it seem like he was doing better with the whole matter but everyone who knew him also knew that the truth of the matter was that he was not over his dead wife at all. Hence the collection of alcohol in the cabinet at home when, while she was alive, there had never been more than a six pack of beer in the fridge. A flash of darkness went across his eyes but vanished just as quickly as it had come. But the name was familiar. Very familiar. Tapping the pen he had been using against the desk he peered a little harder at her while he tried to attach the name with the face and with any memories he might have. "Oh, so you'll talk to her but not to me," the ghost woman who had never even given her name sulked. Hap pretended that he could not hear her. When there was nothing you could do for the dead the living were always more important and he knew that. Now Selwynn was a really familiar name. There was a Felicity Selwynn who had moved back into town a few years ago after going out to the east coast and she had two daughters, right? Oh! Hap's face lit up with recognition and he gave that smile that everyone knew and proclaimed to be a trademark even if the feeling rarely went past what he managed to show. "Marisa! Sorry it took me awhile but damn girl, you've grown up!" And she did not know about Tanya. Made sense, last that he heard of her she had run off to the west coast. "And you're right, Tanya never forgot a face. She was good like that. But I'm sorry to tell you, Marisa, she passed away a few years ago." There, he had said it without even a catch in his voice. He was quite proud of himself for that.
Marisa beamed brightly when Hap's face lit up and she returned his smile easily. It was good to be recognized even if it'd taken a little longer than she thought it should've. Guess that was what happened when you started to grow up. Or finished growing up. She'd finished growing up years ago. At being told that she'd grown she just laughed and nodded, reaching up to twirl a piece of damp hair. "Yeah, that's what people keep telling me," Marisa agreed. If she ran into too many more people who'd known her back when she was eighteen then she was going to just wear a sign that said 'yes, I know'. But her smile vanished at the next thing that Hap said and her hand fell to cover her mouth. She hadn't had the closest relationship with the older woman but she'd looked up to her and thought that she was wonderful. Had Marisa been more inclined to being social then she liked to think she'd have been like her. Hearing that she was dead was like learning that the aunt you saw once a year when you were little who gave you your favorite candy and didn't pinch your cheeks wasn't coming back. "Oh, I'm sorry Hap, if I'd known I wouldn't have said anything." It had to be awful for him. Marisa couldn't begin to imagine what it must've been like to lose someone you were that close to. Sure she'd left Julian and that had hurt a lot but he hadn't been gone forever in the same way that death caused so it was different. Fidgeting in her seat, Marisa rubbed at a place on her jeans where the rain had managed to get through, trying to think of something else to say.
Everyone said that they were sorry. Hap had heard that word so many times that he thought it had lost part of its meaning to him. One could only put up with a sympathy they did not want for a certain length of time before it began to wear at them and make them want to tell everyone to never, ever say it again. Marisa had no way of knowing how many people had said it over the years so she could not really be blamed. Still. Hap shrugged his shoulders and briefly turned his eyes to the woman who now looked a little more sad than she had before. "Oh, so you know death," she murmured, floating up and over to the desk. Her chilled fingers went right through Hap's face and caused him to shiver for no visible reason. "It bothers you that she's gone."
"It bothers me that of all the people who linger she wasn't one," Hap replied as quietly as he could. Even if he was just as happy that Tanya had no unfinished business to see to. She had had a good life and he should be happy about that. People knew that he could see ghosts now and even before that he had always been labeled as odd for his habit of talking to whichever ghost happened by no matter who was around but sometimes he was just a little quieter about it. "Now please, I'm trying to have a conversation." When the woman closed her mouth - though all she did was settle in on the edge of his desk not all that far from Marisa - Hap turned his attention back to the dark-haired woman with a slight shrug. "Still talking to ghosts, that's me, don't worry there's one here and she won't hurt you. Now, you said something when you first came in about finding someone. One of your friends take up with the department or something?" Comments about Tanya were ones he was not going to respond to. Delicate subject and one he was not prone to carrying on about unless he was forced. Or drunk.
Okay, Marisa had forgotten that Hap was the one with the quirk where he talked to himself. Or - ohhhh. He was a medium! That made so much more sense. Thank you, Light of May, for bringing enlightenment to all so that the crazies didn't seem quite so crazy. Well some of them didn't. Some were still off their rocker but hey, couldn't blame supernatural-ness for everything now could you? "You know, that makes a lot more sense now, why you were always talking like carrying on a one-sided conversation. You were just talking to ghosts!" Marisa was relieved to know that one of her teenage crushes, the innocent sort, wasn't just crazy or schizo. The fact that there was a ghost in the room also explained why she felt a little colder than she had before. Yeah, Marisa believed in ghosts, why wouldn't she when she was able to turn into a snow leopard whenever she wanted? Ghosts didn't really seem that far-fetched in comparison. Or people who talked to them. Hap had no reason to lie to her that she knew of. "And yeah, I just wanted to see if maybe James Agrew had taken up working here. He was one of my best friends and I know he stuck around, just wasn't quite sure where he was working. And I wanted to see you again, see if you'd moved on or stayed stuck. Looks like you're doing good for yourself." She'd just caught sight of the plaque on the desk that declared him as Jason 'Hap' Sanderson, the fire chief. "Fire Chief Sanderson, wow. I'm impressed."
A lot of people had thought that Hap was crazy, or at least quirky, before May and it had never really bothered him. He had grown up the only non-witch in a family of borns so he was really used to being the odd one out. "Yep, and they hardly ever shut up." He ave a meaningful glance to the ghost of the woman who was still next to Marisa. She just shrugged and stayed where she was, seeming to have no desire whatsoever to pick up and move on. Really, there needed to be more mediums in the city solely so that Hap did not keep having them come to him. Even if he was a right side better than that airhead of a girl who had run into him at the park. Calista? Yeah, her. Although if that happened then Hap would probably start feeling a little lonely for them. Much as they bothered him at times he had gotten very used to their presence as one of the unshifting constants in his life. Sure they changed but they were always there. "Agrew? Yeah, he came on about five years ago. He's off today but he should be in tomorrow morning. He's not bad, really good reflexes and a good instinct." Compliments were not something that Hap handed out lightly to his men either. They had to earn it. Agrew was one of the better workers that Hap had had the privilege of working with and he might even be the next fire chief if he kept it up and did not move onto something 'bigger and better' as the young ones were prone to do. Yeah, thirty was young to Hap even if he was not too far past forty himself. Still young enough to do this job without thinking about retirement in the too near future. "And thanks, worked hard to get where I am and I'm glad to be here. Lot of work but it's all worth it in the end. Someone's got to go to the schools and help teach fire safety and make sure they aren't out making fires when it's dry." He glanced out the window with a half-smile. "Not that that's a worry right now. I'm glad that you stopped by to say hi though, it's good to see you back in town after all these years." No reason to say that he had practically forgotten her; it was either a given fact or something that would make her feel bad and Hap was not the sort to do either. "Want me to tell Agrew you're in town?"
So James did work here. Marisa hadn't been sure if he'd carry on with those dreams since he hadn't really shown signs of ambition when she was around but it was good to hear that he had after all. Last thing she wanted to do was come back and find one of her oldest friends had taken up residence in his parents basement while being addicted to one of those online games. Working at the fire department was way better. "That's okay, I'll just come back and see him myself." Notes lacked a personal effort and this was another way to keep her mother off her back. Going out a few days in a row without coming back in some state (unlike yesterday) would prove that she really was getting back to being herself. "Besides, I really did want to see you again. Wondered if maybe you still let volunteers come and help out with cleaning sometimes. I'm still a mean hand with a cleaning hose." And she had all sorts of time on her hands before university started up since her syllabus was done and everything all nice and planned. Besides, Jacob would probably love if she could bring him by and introduce him to some firefighters. The boy had one of those little plastic firetrucks and his grandparents said he loved that thing.
Volunteers were something that Hap had been running a little low on the past few years. With the economy sinking everyone had been more worried about their actual jobs so that they could get food put on the table. Hap did not blame them for that in the slightest either, it just meant more work for all of them. Hearing Marisa say that she wanted to help out put a real smile on his face and he leaned forward with his arms on the desk. "Girl, I've never turned a volunteer away yet and I'm not gonna start now. You want to come by and help with the cleaning then you're more than welcome to it. In fact, we're probably going to give the trucks a wash on Wednesday or Thursday if you'd like to come by then. Probably even get some lunch tossed in there for you if you're a good worker." A wink. Hap loved it when he got people to help out at the fire station and it put him in a better mood than anything other than video games and his kids in a good mood did. Especially if it was someone like Marisa. Pretty and spirited and still willing to help. Yeah, okay, the pretty part helped because Hap knew for a fact that the guys would want to show off and that it was possible she could draw others in to help. What? Hap had a vital service to keep going and he would take all the help he could get even if some of it was a little shallow.
Wednesday or Thursday. Hmm, did Marisa have any plans then? Only thing she could think of that she'd wanted to do was go out with Julian but that didn't have a set date other than whenever she managed to work up the nerve to call him. Oh, and Jacob. But he'd love to come along for something like that, play in the bubbles. And if it was Thursday then she'd definitely have him since that was the day of the full moon and she'd fight tooth and nail for that like she did every month. She'd even toyed with the idea of signing up online for that game of capture the flag, take Jacob along and let him play with the others if he wanted. Maybe he'd turn out to be more social than his mother. Marisa certainly hoped so. "So long as you don't mind me bringing my son with me then I'd love to help out," Marisa agreed with a return smile. And no, she was not pleased that Hap had winked at her. Okay so maybe just a little bit but it wasn't hard to be. Easier to just be pleased about something like that than to think about how much it'd hurt to think that Julian had gone and had kids. "He won't be too much trouble, he loves everything relating to fire trucks and firemen so if anything he'll be your new number one fan."
So Marisa had a son. Huh. Hard to realize that people Hap still sort of thought of as nothing more than teenagers in high school had grown up enough to have kids. Though he supposed he really needed to retool that mental image of Marisa to fit the one sat right in front of him. She was no child. She was only, what, ten years younger than him? A lot when you were in your twenties but not as much when you were in your forties. Funny how age worked like that. "Oh yeah, no problem, so long as he doesn't go climbing the truck we won't have a problem with him being around. Kids love the fire trucks." He sure had when he was little and look at him now. No, really, look at him - chatting when he had paperwork that he needed to get done before he could even think of going home. Rubbing at his temple he offered a smile that could be called apologetic. "I'm sorry Marisa, but I've got a lot of work I need to get done before I can go home. But if you come by to help us out then we can finish catching up." What was there to catch up on again? Nothing interesting had happened to him and he was not really one for stories. It was part of the job though, no one liked an anti-social fire chief.
"Oh, yeah for sure!" Marisa was on her feet the moment Hap said he had a lot of work to do. This was probably the most interaction she'd planned out, sort of, on her own since she arrived and it was starting to make her fidget. She'd come back to help out with cleaning and hopefully all of the people wouldn't be too much for her. Just like back in California and probably good practice for getting ready for her classes. Couldn't just leave because there were too many people looking at her. No different than on stage. "I'll stop by again and see when it's happening for sure. Thanks for the invite, Hap, and good luck with your work." Giving a little wave she turned and started back out, following her own scent to find her way back to the door. Yep, still raining. Is it ever going to stop? If it hadn't by the time they washed the trucks and someone had the idea of using the rain then she was so many levels of out. So many levels.