Rowan Morgenstern; Elle Woods (rosetinted) wrote in musingslogs, @ 2011-02-09 10:35:00 |
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Entry tags: | elizabeth bennet, elle woods |
WHO: Eli and Rowan
WHAT: Introductions
WHERE: Reliquary
WHEN: Today? Some time after the EIT meeting
WARNINGS: Ha!
Reliquary was busy, bustling with noise and people, and Eli was manning the register with Georgia assisting. It was just past five in the afternoon, and the rush of people stopping in for caffeine on the way home was at its height, and he took orders while Georgia called orders back to the kitchen for Nana to fill. It was loud, the way Eli best liked the shop to be, with chatter and people looking at the antiques scattered about as they waited.
It was days after the failed EIT meeting, though business cards with his name (and Drake’s) still sat on the counter, and he was trying not think of next steps and the best path to follow. He was trying, too, not to think about Preston or Blake or Isobel or Julian. His life had become complicated in a messy way that reminded him of home and of family. Life with the Gardens had always been calm, academic, sensible, distant. This life he had been plunged into, it was none of those things. It was loud voices, laughter, anger and heat and things that were jumbled sticky messes that wouldn’t come unstuck.
When the next person approached the register, he asked them, unthinking. “Is it better to have a calm life with little feeling, or a maddening life full of messy emotions?”
It took a only a second for Rowan to consider his question, manicured nails coming to tap on her lips as she thought. The next they were wagging at the man at the register, a tired and true habit of her storytelling. “Definitely a maddening one, even if the emotions are messy. What’s life if not for living, right? I get that emotions can be full of suck sometimes. Oh my gosh, when my last boyfriend, Matthew, and I broke up? I just wanted to die. Or chop off all my hair. It was awful. But the bad times help us really appreciate the good times, you know? I would trade him for a lot of things now, but the experience? It was totally worth having. Plus there’s ice cream to help you through those tough moments. Thank god for that. Or Ben & Jerry’s. Both, if you’re feeling generous.”
She flashed him a brilliant smile though there was just a tiny hint of nervousness at the edges. She was still feeling her way around Seattle, having not been there practically since she was still small and they had just crossed portal. She hadn’t yet settled on her favorite hangouts - salons, shops, and drinking establishments - but she couldn’t even think about adding this place to the list to consider if the servers thought she was completely nuts.
Eli hadn’t been expecting an answer. He’d been expecting an exasperated look and an order for a skinny mocha, and he gave her a surprised grin. “But distance allow for learning and academia and good nights spent sleeping without waiting for the phone to ring and wake you in a terror,” he said. He smiled wider, then, an indication he could do none of those things, despite his desire to be distant. “What did you do?” he asked, regarding her break-up with Matt, “If you didn’t die or chop off your hair?” Another grin. “And what can I make you?”
Grins were good. Grins were fantastic, and grins got one of her own shone right back at them. “Ice cream, of course.” Rowan gave him a little sheepish shrug. “A good mani pedi, and lots of friendly shoulders to cry on, who made sure to keep the scissors far, far away. But there’s not much those three things can’t fix.” This she sounded sure about, as did her next answer to his question. “Give me your best. Of anything. Really. I haven’t been here before, haven’t had any recs or yelp reviews to guide me so give me what you think is the absolute best Reliquary has to offer.” She punctuated her order with a bright grin and tiny clap of her hands. Clearly, she was ready.
The clap made him smile in much the way he did when Georgie did the same thing, and he motioned to one of the tables on the ground level. “I’ll bring it to you,” he said, and he turned and began working on Creme Latte for her, adding crystallized ginger and whip cream on the top before carrying it out to her and setting it in front of her. “I suspect manicures and pedicures, combined with friends and a dearth of scissors won’t fix a messy life. Perhaps it helps heal a broken a heart, gives balm during times of hurt, but my life is a certified catastrophe at present. May I?” he asked, motioning at the chair.
‘Well, one won’t,” she countered though it trailed off into a coo as she saw the cup he laid in front of her. When he gestured to the chair she nodded an enthusiastic, “Please do” as her hands came to cup around the saucer. “So tell me, what is so awful that a few good spa days and some really sinful desserts can’t fix, hm?” She looked over at him expectantly, raising her cup and blowing a cool air across the top.
He pulled the seat out and joined her, and he watched her hands close around the coffee cup. He liked new customers, liked talking to new people, and she was no exception. There was something liberating in talking to a stranger, an openness that came from the anonymity that was hard to find anywhere else. “Relationships. I’m afraid I’m not certain if I’m in one, and if I am I’m uncertain of the rules, as I think it might be non-traditional. Now, you. What brings you to Seattle, and does it involve an overwhelming desire to chop off your hair?”
Rowan shook her head, long blond hair spilling over her shoulder. “Family. My brother was here and there was that...” One hand left her cup as she made an elaborate gesture with her hand towards the windows. “Whatever happened here last month. I didn’t like not knowing he was here by himself and I had no clue what was going on. Were you here when it all happened?”
He leaned back in his seat. “So you’ve been in humanity, but not in Seattle? I confess, I was the same way until a few years back. I had little interest in coming here. I was here for the Reavers, though, yes. I think your family would prefer you stay away, given the possibility of other such things happening in the future. Does it not frighten you?” he asked, then smiled. “Or does your brother wear a mask and protect the city?” he asked playfully.
The idea of Adam as a mask had her laughing, sending ripples along the surface of her drink. “I can’t imagine him running across rooftops. He broke his foot in the Reaver fiasco. I’m sure he’d do as much if he was a mask. And it is scary but he wants to stay here in Seattle so it’d be better if he was with family. There’s some safety in numbers, right?” She shrugged slightly and took a tentative sip of her drink. Her coo was immediate. “Oh my gosh what is this and why is it so amazing?”
The coo made him laugh. It reminded him of his younger sisters, the youngest of which was probably near this young woman’s age, and he relaxed almost immediately, the coo somehow making her something harmless. He was trusting that way when his instinct said they deserved it, and his instinct said that she was trustworthy. “Your brother, would I know him?” he asked, because the Creation community in Seattle was small enough that it was a possibility.
“Probably,” another sip and a dreamy little smile at the taste. “Adam Morgenstern?” The name was a bit famous in and out of Creation circles so wouldn’t have been surprised if he had heard of him. She took the next moment to set down her cup and reach a hand over for a proper greeting. “I’m Rowan, by the way. Rowan Morgenstern.”
He made a sound that meant yes, he knew the name, and he took her hand and shook it. “Eli Pride. You’re going to the Valentine’s Day carnival, then, I take it?” he asked, because there had been talk of little else that week, and every time the carnival was mentioned, Adam was mentioned in conjunction. “I’ve not had the pleasure of meeting your brother, though he is quite the celebrity in these parts.”
“He’s a character,” she laughed, for that really sort of summed up her brother. “And yes I am. Though I’m completely nervous. I’ve never been on a blind date before so I barely know what to do with myself.” She bit her lower lip nervously for a second as she looked over at Eli. He seemed to be decently connected. Granted, it wasn’t hard to know her brother but he sounded like he was familiar with more than a few other people. “You wouldn’t know a Drake Wallace by chance, would you?”
Eli couldn’t help but chuckle when she said Drake’s name. He looked at her, with her manicure and her designer clothes, and somehow his day got improved immensely in that moment. He was fairly certain he’d never seen Drake date a woman who didn’t drink her beer from the bottle, and that was a far cry from this young woman. “I’ve known Drake for years,” he admitted, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
There was a quick noise, something between a gasp and a squeak and her hand came back to press against her lips, though she seemed more sheepish than truly embarrassed. “Do you really? What’s he like?” Rowan hadn’t much to go on for her impressions of this mysterious D. Wallace. They had talked a little but asking him what he was like seemed like defeating the purpose of a date. But asking his friends for advice wasn’t cheating. And she was getting on with Eli decently well, surely the two friends weren’t that different. Maybe she was getting nervous over nothing.
“Drake is fond of old cars, old music and leather jackets,” Eli said, and he sounded fond of those things, even if it was obvious he considered them eccentricities. “He’s a good man, if a bit rough around the edges.” He smiled. “I’m quite certain he’ll show you an enjoyable time, and if he doesn’t, I’ll smack him around for you. You may tell him I said as much,” he added, sounding like he might enjoy the task.
Rowan’s face didn’t quite fall but took on a slightly more thoughtful change. She had a fondness for all those things too, although that was probably different from Drake, and from Eli judging by his tone. But he was a good man and that was something, certainly more important than anything else. And while she did appreciate her new friend having her back, she couldn’t help but laugh. “I’ll add you to the list of men who will give Drake a hard time if everything goes south. Between you, my brother, and my cousin, I wouldn’t be surprised if he never relaxed on our date.”
“Drake isn’t the type to be intimidated,” Eli said with a smile. “And I do hope you make him work his arse off. It’ll be good for him, to be forced to be charming for an evening. I quite approve,” he said honestly. “Your family, it’s a good thing they’re looking out for you,” he added, thinking back to his own sisters. “I have a cousin here, and I spoke to her boyfriend quite seriously. I think it’s unavoidable when one has elder, male siblings.”
If Eli was anything like her relatives, she felt for this cousin of his. “It is, and when my heart’s breaking and I’m blowing a small fortune on chocolate there’s a satisfaction in knowing my ex can’t cross the street without looking over his shoulder in case a Morgenstern or a Monarch shows up.” She giggled, perhaps recalling a memory, and she took sip of her drink. “But I’m sure you’re not as bad as they can be. How much of a third degree did you give your cousin’s boyfriend?”
“Background check, threats, the norm. I was polite in doing so, if it helps me look better,” he said honestly. “There’s something about this place that makes a man more protective,” he admitted, not that he remembered Musings well enough to recall being protective there. “You can hardly blame your brother and cousin.” He looked down at the table, ran his fingers over imperfections in the wood. “I’m just as bad with the people I care about that aren’t family, as far as being protective goes. I suspect you are, too?”
Her lips pursed together guiltily and she raised her cup to hide it. “I can’t help it. They like to make a big deal but they make horrible decisions too! Orrie hits on anything with boobs and a pulse. Adam is mooning over this girl who got him arrested. And then they try to give my dates a hard time. I have fantastic taste.” Granted, it was just a few lines of description that had her choosing Drake out of everyone else at the auction but still. She liked to think she was a good judge of character, even over the Internet.
“I am in a horrible relationship mess, and yet I feel I am perfectly capable of ensuring Isobel dates someone appropriate for her,” Eli explained with a smile. “I think it has to do with distance. I don’t particularly like her boyfriend, and so I may be objective. I cannot be objective when it comes to my own relationships. Your brother and cousin, I’m certain they want the best for you. Perhaps warn Drake about that in advance,” he suggested, not bothering to hold back a chuckle. “I fear he has more in common with your Orrie than your Adam.”
“Oh I did. I told him that if they came around he shouldn’t listen to anything they said. I hoping he took my advice since they tend to threaten bodily harm.” A quick sip. “Well, Orrie would, I think. Adam likes to throw around financial ruin around as that’s his favorite route to take.” Boys. As for Drake being like Orrie, she shrugged though there was a smile tugging at her lips. “Well, good thing I’ve got both. Now tell me about you. These relationship woes that have you asking strangers if a boring or a messy life is better.”
Eli grinned. “I wasn’t really expecting an answer, you realize?” he asked, chuckling. “Perhaps after the Valentines Day carnival you can come in and have another coffee, and we can discuss my headaches? And how Drake behaved,” he offered. “If you’re still up for it then, that is? In the meantime, suffice it to say that I find myself attracted to an infuriating person who’s keeping secrets from me. And I am not merely being paranoid, before you ask.”
“Expecting and hoping are two different things,” she reminded him gently. Though she was nodding at the suggestion that she should return. “If you keep making these,” she tapped one pink nail on the side of her cup, “you couldn’t possibly keep me away. But until then, I think you should consider whether why they are keeping secrets. Like if it’s something important, national security, fate of the universe important, or affair with the pool boy important. People keep secrets all the time, and why they’re keeping a secret is just as important, maybe more so, that what it is. Trust me, I’m a lawyer. I know this.”
The bell at the door jangled, and Eli turned and watched a couple of teenagers enter. He stood, and he held a hand out to her. “And if I ever need legal assistance, I shall knock on your door until you answer, day or night, sleet or shine,” he said, grinning. “And I shall take your advice to heart. You’ll let me know how things go with Drake?”
She nodded and shook his hand with a smile. “You’ll be the first to know. Well, third.” No big surprise who the first two were on her list.