Matthew | Чернобог (chernobog) wrote in paxletalelogs, @ 2017-05-19 14:19:00 |
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Entry tags: | chernobog, persephone |
all around, people looking half dead
Who: Isobel & Matt.
What: Isobel is picking up an order from Rosemary & Thyme, and meets one of Pax's newest residents while stopping in.
Where: Rosemary & Thyme.
When: Wednesday, May 17.
Isobel adjusted her purse strap, sliding through the door of Rosemary and Thyme during her lunch break. The brunette at the counter only confirmed what she already knew -- it was Alice's day off -- but Isobel knew she'd see her friend soon regardless of the absent reminder. She took up a spot behind a man she didn't recognize, instead looking to her phone just in case Sheila or someone had sent her a random work text. Consciously, Isobel knew there was likely to be none, and yet she could not help herself. Part of her kept going back to the string of texts that she and Obed sent to one another, the thread dormant since their breakup. It was toying with a wound to read them, but it was hard not to.
With no real reason to keep staring at the tiny screen, Isobel forced herself to shove it to the depths of her bag, instead looking up to read the menu while she waited her turn.
Matthew, who was on his way to the lab, had thought it would be a nice treat to pick himself up a cupcake and a late morning scone before heading in. He was working odd hours, only being called in some days for one patient, or others for multiple subjects, but he wasn’t upset by it all. He was alone, only seeing some of his neighbors from a distance as they had just left the building or just entered the elevator, and never was prone to conversation anyway. So the odd schedule didn’t keep Matthew from anyone and he was alright with that.
With his scone on a plate, he turned to go find a seat--the cupcake would be put in a box and given to him shortly--and immediately stopped. At first, it was due to almost walking directly into the woman behind him, but then he was frozen in place with his mouth trying to work like a gasping fish as he recognized the woman standing behind him. What was her case number? Ah yes, 1I05, but that wasn’t really her name and he certainly couldn’t just blurt it out.
“I...I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize you had come up behind me,” Matthew managed to get out after another long, awkward pause. Already he was beginning to blush and he could feel his face growing warm.
Isobel's eyes tracked down from the menu board and she smiled warmly at the man, the reaction automatic and socially conditioned; be nice, be gentle, be soft. The expression wasn't all that hard in relation to her personality.
"Oh, no, you're fine," she reassured him. "I was just waiting my turn. I didn't mean to startle you," she finished, stepping aside so his path to the seating area was clear. "I hope you like it; I know the owner, and everything she makes is delicious."
“Oh…” Matthew looked down at the plate and back at the woman. He was still stuck by the sight of her, still shocked to see her walking and talking and hearing her voice. He could almost smell the flowers again that had filled the room when she lay on the table… but he quickly shut that memory out and his face fully blushed. “I’ve heard good things about the bakery.” This wasn’t good, he shouldn’t keep talking to her, but he couldn’t exactly pull himself away, not now… “I...I saw a posting about it at my apartment as well, so I figured I would stop in. I’m glad the… the opinions… are consistent.”
"Wow, really?" Isobel's head canted slightly in confusion; she had no idea that Alice's marketing had extended beyond their physical apartment. She knew the young woman had a website, and several social media platforms. "Uh, if you don't mind me asking, where about? I'm just curious, I think she'd want to know that people from different areas are responding to her ads. But I'm sorry if I'm being forward, really, I, uh, hah," she replied, her own blush coloring her cheeks a rosy red. She shook her head.
"I'm sorry, that was, that was too much. I'll just let you eat your food."
Matthew smiled as well and looked at his plate. “Yeah, I don’t mean to keep you from ordering either, I’m sorry.” He sidestepped around the woman and looked for an empty seat. There were a few other people at the bakery, scattered about at different tables, but Matthew paused. “I live around here, actually. Just a couple minutes away.” He offered her a smile, still feeling hot and embarrassed, but trying all the same.
"Oh, me too!" A hand pressed to her breast, and then she offered it out for a shake, before realizing his hands were full. "Ah, I'm Isobel, I'm over in Pax. Are you near there, by the beach?"
Matthew looked at her hand then at her face, his cheeks red as he moved to the nearest table and sat down his coffee and croissant. Reaching for her hand, he took it gently in his own. It was light, delicate, just as he remembered from her sleeping form on the table and his cheeks grew more red and a trickle of sweat eased down the back of his neck. “I live at Pax,” he said, giving her hand a gentle shake. “I’m… my name’s Matthew Buchanan.” He took her name and held it close, the last piece of the puzzle. He knew her already, whether or not she realized it. He knew of the miscarriage, the rhythm of her heartbeat, and just that she was called by a code name and to think--she was a neighbor--a neighbor named Isobel.
"What a small world!" She returned his grip with a firm one of her own, then removed her hand to adjust her purse strap. "Oh, I think I might have seen you post on the network. You're really up there, huh? Floorwise, I mean. Hah." The laugh was more at herself than him, and she inwardly rolled her eyes. "I hope you really like it there, though, it's...it's nice." She suddenly felt that she needed to extricate herself from the situation, before she gave this new neighbor a chance to ask too many questions.
"Really, though, please don't let me keep you. I was just picking something up for lunch, and I've really got to get back to work..."
“Oh, oh you’re fine, I have time before my shift anyway,” Matthew readily admitted. “But I don’t want to keep you either.” He smiled at her, a shy little smile that seemed to brighten everything about him and chase away the shadows. The girl from behind the counter called out for him with the order of cupcake placed nicely in a box. He glanced to the counter and back at Isobel. “Maybe… maybe we’ll see each other at the apartment?”
And preferably not on his inspection table, Matthew thought.
"Maybe!" she agreed. She'd run into all sorts, and now that she lived near the lobby, it seemed perfectly reasonable to expect running into him again. If Alice didn't already have two suitors, Isobel might have suggested the man to her, but she held her tongue. She moved to the side to allow Matt to gather his cupcake, nodding in farewell before finally reaching the counter herself.
Matthew inched away from her and retreated to his table, sitting down and feeling the awkward presence of the flower-covered woman so close at hand. But he concentrated on his food, feeling light with each bite of the breakfast goodies, and let out a sigh.