pups_dt2 (pups_dt2) wrote in morningstar_mnr, @ 2009-06-29 21:48:00 |
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Entry tags: | icene, joe |
Apt. 447, Sunday Afternoon, Joe and Icene
Funnily enough Adam hadn't put his return address in his letter to Icene, she guessed it was his way of making sure she checked in on Joe. So here she was, Sunday afternoon, with a large box under one arm, and a smaller box under the other. She managed to get to the bell though, rather than kicking on the door. It seemed only polite really. Mind you, the boxes were a little unwieldy, "Joe? You in there? I'm a bit stuck!"
Dear god she hoped he was home.
Of course he was home, where else would he be? In fact, he was in his office, working on his reply letter to Adam. At the knock he lifted his head and removed his glasses, but it wasn't until he heard the muffled shout that he stood and moved through the apartment to open the front door.
"Icene," he looked a little surprised to see her, but he stepped back to give her room to enter. "Come in, come in."
"I er, bought something for you?" Icene sort of tried to shift the large box towards him, without dropping it of course, "I hope you like it? It's um, not quite like the ones Adam bought you?"
He arched a brow and reached out to take the box from her as she entered. "Another model? I should say not, the one he got didn't come in a box this big."
"Well, that one should have taken you a while and you were done in a weekend? I'm kind of hoping this is more, complex, more challenging?" Icene smiled, Nelson's flagship the HMS Victory, complete with cannons, sails, rigging, and all required parts and tools resided in that box, in what looked like a million pieces. It even came with paints and brushes for decorating her afterwards! She'd even giftwrapped the box, which she thought was a silly idea, but nonetheless meant Joe wouldn't know what it was until he unwrapped it.
She pushed the door shut behind her with her now free hand, "How are you doing? Better than me by the looks of you."
Joe shrugged and started to lead Icene through to the living room where he sat the box down on the coffee table. "Oh, surviving I suppose. But then," he looked at Icene, taking her measure. "I don't spend nearly as much time with Adam as you...I'm used to it I guess."
"It's ok, I know I look rough. The bed's cold dammit and I can't sleep." She tried to smile, but it didn't quite make it. "I don't know how I'm gonna survive this, I really don't, not at three or four am anyway."
She set the smaller box down next to the big one, "That's some stuff Adam asked for, popcorn mostly, he'll have to pop it, but it's all in sealed packets and boxes, should be alright to send? I got him several flavours, cos for some reason we never did talk about what flavours of popcorn we like best?"
"Oh, that'll come in handy," Joe said. "He asked me for some disaposable cameras. I'll add them to your box and we can ship them together?" He worded it as a question, just in case. Maybe, like Eris, she'd prefer to send her things alone.
"I think we're going to have to, since he didn't give me his return mailing address just yet?" Icene shook her head, "I think he worries about us, wants us to stick together? What do you think?"
"That's because he sent everything to me," Joe explained. "He wrote his letters, put them individual envelopes and then put them in a mailer envelope so they all went at the same time. If you want to send your things alone...I can give you the address."
"Oh we could stick together with the packages? But if I could have the address for letters? I might want to send a few more than you would? Can't think why right now, but you know what I mean?" Icene did smile then, because being able to send things separately was probably a good idea given some of the things she'd talked about sending to Adam. But care packages were probably different, and clubbing together would be a reason to keep in touch with Joe, even if checking up on the Victory wasn't.
He nodded, "Sure. I'll go get it for you." He turned and disappeared into his office, returning a moment later with an envelope in hand. "You can take my envelope," he said, holding it out. "I already copied it down."
"Thanks," Icene tucked the envelope into a pocket, "So, he didn't say much, I guess he can't, but, rodents that hop in and out of the barracks and are quite large? Is he pulling my leg or what?" She smiled, "He doesn't sound too bad though, a little bored maybe?"
Joe's brows lifted. "I can't say," he shook his head slowly. "He didn't mention any rodents in his letter to me. I got complaints about paperwork, that it was really hot there...and a handful of sand. Though, I'm not sure that last bit was intentional. It was just loose in the letter. It all fell out when I unfolded it."
Icene chuckled, "I didn't get much sand, but he did say it was finding places he didn't know he had and settling in there?" She shook her head, "Nothing is sand proof apparently."
Joe laughed a little too. "Poor baby. Maybe we should send him some extra soap while we're at it?"
"Toothpaste! Didn't he say that was always running out as well?" Icene grinned, "You might need a bigger box?"
"We'll make it work," Joe promised. "Should be able to send it out on Tuesday if you've got everything you wanted to send in there already?"
"Pretty much, it's just, popcorn and a couple of things, you know, socks mostly. Although I did put in a small bag of um, hamster mix. Just in case?" Icene laughed, "We can leave that out, it's not really a good idea but it seemed funny at the time. I would suggest a carrot, but that might go off and that would not be good."
Joe looked at her curiously for a moment, then decided he was probably better off not knowing. "Yes, uh, well, then I'll add my stuff to it and I'll get it out shall I?"
Seriously, there was nothing untoward in the box, just popcorn, and socks, and a small bag of hamster mix. "So if you add disposable cameras, and maybe toothpaste, and some liquid soap? i don't know, would the army let him have that?"
"Marines," Joe corrected without thought. "I don't see why not. Least we can do is try and see what happens. All else fails, we'll know for next time."
"True, want me to pick some up? Or would you like to get that?" Icene smiled, "And then I want to see you open the box, so you at least know what you have to play with for a bit? I mean, I had to hunt around for it!"
Oh yes, half an hour on the internet, and a quick phone call later... and it was en route.
"I'll take care of it," he shrugged. "Go right by the post office on my way to work."
He turned his attention to the other box. "Want me to open it now?"
"Please! I want to see if you like it?" Icene was hopeful, but also worried. The model was complex, and multi layered, involving not just building the hull, but also the insides, fixtures and fittings, the sails, rigging, even the cannons. She couldn't wait to see it finished, it was supposed to be a whole metre long!
He smiled, and seeing no reason why he shouldn't oblige her, he picked up the larger box and nodded for her to follow him into his office. "I keep my tools and things in here, so it'll be easier to open."
He set the box down on his desk and picked up his glasses, slipping them onto his nose again. After studying the box for a few seconds he picked up an incredibly sharp letter opener (one of the few gifts Lil had given them that he'd held onto) and starting slitting the edges carefully, removing first the gift wrap and then cutting open the box itself until he could finally lift the lid away and reveal all the little bracketed pieces insides.
"Oh my," he said quietly, obviously surprised.
Icene smiled, "You like it? I thought it might be a little more challenging than the one you already finished so fast? Which I didn't see yet either, where did you hide that one?"
He looked up and gestured to a nearby bookshelf where the completed model of the U.S.S Constitution was sitting on display.
"Oh wow, she looks good, well, Victory isn't quite her equivalent, but, I can probably get you Victory's? I think she was called La Redoutable?" Icene grinned, "Although if you sink her like the Victory did I might not be too impressed?"
"You're in safe hands," he promised. "My models are for display only, not reenacting long ago sea battles in the pool."
"Oh good, now, take your time with this one, and enjoy the process, not just the results?" Icene grinned, "But, so long as you're ok? I should probably get on. Go and um, sort out a few things? Survive the night and stuff."
He nodded, and moved around the desk to politely see her out. "Thank you for the model," he said. "And I'll get Adam's box sent out." He stood awkwardly at the door for the moment, unsure what he should do, but he settled on a wave and then quietly closed the door.