Isobel Brandt \\ Persephone (praxidike) wrote in paxletalelogs, @ 2017-09-26 20:33:00 |
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Entry tags: | hecate, persephone |
I've seen your face before my friend
Who: Isobel & Kate
What: Kate runs into her friend. At least, she thinks she does.
Where: Rosemary & Thyme Bakery
When: Backdated to Tuesday, August 22
The first time Kate looked at the clock since starting work that morning, she was surprised to find that it was past lunch time already. Her stomach took that moment to grumble a reminder.
Standing up from her desk and stretching out the kinks in her back from a morning of assisting various family members with research needs, she decided that a long break was in order. She wanted something sweet and decadent, and Alice’s bakery came to mind. She’d been putting off a visit since her encounter with her neighbor in the Pax lobby, and it was high time to remedy that error. Her stomach rumbling in agreement with her plan, Kate grabbed her keys and headed out.
As soon as she walked into the bakery, she knew she’d made the right call. Cozy colors calmed her completely, and plentiful sunlight warmed the space. The delicious smell of baked goods surrounded her and made her feel right at home, just like her grandparents’ bakery. Smiling as she made her way to the counter and focusing entirely on choosing from the selection in the display cases, she stopped short when she looked up into her neighbor’s face with her order on her lips. It wasn’t the neighbor she had been expecting.
“Isobel?” she asked, brow furrowing. She immediately felt bad for not having contacted Isobel sooner to catch up. “You work here now too?”
Distracted from completing the inventory count she'd been tasked with, Isobel glanced up toward the woman whose face was distance from her via the glass case holding Alice's baked goods. Upon hearing her name spoken with some familiarity, her stomach dropped out, and she rose to standing, looking over the glass case to the person she had not the faintest inkling of.
"Uh, yeah," she started, entirely unsure of how to deal with this encounter. Silently, she reprimanded herself for not having Obed or Alice or Rafe give her some small rundown of everyone in the complex, to at least allow herself a safety net of sorts. Putting pen and paper down on the counter, she let her hands cup the lip of it as she carefully navigated this new obstacle. "The nursery... It's gone. Um, there was a fire."
Gone? Kate’s breath caught. She knew what that place meant to Isobel, what the plants meant. It must have been devastating, but judging by Isobel’s composure, enough time must have passed for the shock to wear off. And Kate had been vacationing thousands of miles away instead of supporting her friend.
“I’m so sorry,” she said, radiating sympathy. “How are you holding up? How did--” She glanced at Isobel’s flat belly, then changed her mind. “Is Hanni okay? And Obed?”
Isobel glanced behind the woman, the unconscious gesture reinforcing the idea that they weren't exactly alone. Reaching behind her, she untied her apron and pulled it over her head.
"Let's... let's go sit for a minute," she replied, moving around the counter and out the small side-panel employee entrance. With a graceful gesture, she motioned for the woman to join her at one of the tables, one nearest to a corner where she could still keep an eye on the shop but remain hopefully out of earshot.
"There's... There's been a lot going on," she started as she sat, carefully watching and weighing the other woman's reaction. "But first, um... how do I know you?" She was tired of games, of trying to suss out people before they figured out that something was terribly amiss. It was time to just cut the issue short and deal with the fallout.
“I’m sorry,” Kate said as they moved to the table, her hunger forgotten. “I didn’t mean to interrupt your shift…” After Isobel’s question came, Kate stared, unsure she had heard correctly, but Isobel’s intent expression made it clear she had. Faltering, Kate replied, “I’m...we’re neighbors. Kate? At Pax?” For a long moment Kate feared she had made up her friendship with Isobel, a possibility that never would have entered her mind before she had started seeing ghosts. “I...I thought so…” She trailed off, looking into Isobel’s face for any sign of recognition.
Isobel reached across the table, the action implying concern and empathy.
"It's... not you," she tried, an attempt to be reassuring. "I... Something's happened, and I... I've been having trouble remembering people. I should have realized that people who live in the building come here, but it didn't occur..." Isobel shook her head, a fleeting smile there and gone on her lips. Incisors drew lines across the swell of her bottom lip, as her eyes studied Kate's face.
"Which floor do you live on? I'm not familiar with everyone on the first, just yet, let alone the rest of the building..." She trailed off, unsure of where to even start with explanations.
Kate’s confusion cleared a bit at the explanation and turned into deep concern. She took Isobel’s proffered hand, applying what she hoped was reassuring pressure. “Did it happen during the fire? Were you hurt in it?” Isobel’s flat belly came to mind again, and Kate struggled to wrap her head around everything. How much would Isobel be forced to endure?
“I’m right next door to you on the deluxe floor,” she continued. “Or, I was. You’re on the first floor now? I...assume without Obed?” Kate recalled their last conversation about Isobel’s fear of Obed, and sudden anger welled up. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?” Obed had seemed so calm on the seventh floor during that chaotic week when the building went wonky, so reassuring. Kate would never forgive herself if she let him fool her and had harmed her friend while Kate had run off to avoid her problems.
"No," Isobel said quickly, though her brow furrowed. Still, she shook her head again. "No, he didn't. He's actually been really helpful. I... I had Hanni in my apartment, and I took him back upstairs because his tag said he belonged to D3. He... Obed was just as confused as I was.
"But, yeah, I'm on the first floor now," she finished, answering Kate's other question. "And no, I wasn't hurt by the fire. I wasn't at the building, I don't think. I'm... still piecing things together." She frowned, her fingers working unconsciously against the plastic surface of the table they sat at. "Where have you been? Not... It's just a question. Did I know you were leaving?"
Kate shook her head, wincing at the guilt that swept through her. “I needed to get away, and all I really did was make arrangements for my dogs before I left.” She looked at Isobel’s expression carefully as she continued, “The weirdness of the building was too much. I...don’t know how much you remember. But between that and giving myself food poisoning trying to cook Argentinian food, I figured it was time for a vacation. I guess you don’t remember me telling you about that, either.” She forced a laugh, desperately wanting their old friendship back. The clichéd line you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone had never seemed so appropriate.
Isobel's face instantly adopted a worrisome expression. "Are you feeling better, then? I...I've heard some things, about the building. There were some strange animals..." She shook her head, wiping away that thought. "It really hasn't seemed so strange, other than what people have said. Dreams, things like that. I haven't had any, at least, not that I can recall..." She shrugged.
"But you came here to order something, right? Am I keeping you? I don't want to impose on your time, as much..." She laughed, softly, sliding back in her chair. "I know this is all weird, but it certainly won't be figure out in one go, will it?"
“Oh, yes!” Kate said, instantly apologetic. She rose from her seat. “I didn’t mean to take you away from your work. I’ll just-” She scanned the display case quickly. “I’ll take one of those to go.” She pointed to a spinach and feta croissant. She was glad, in a silver-lining kind of way, that Isobel didn’t have memories of the disturbing nature of the building, the dreams, though it felt like she’d lost a dear friend. “It was really nice to see you again,” she said, raw honesty emphasizing her words. “If you need anything at all…”
Isobel nodded, moving to gather Kate's order. "I will, I'll reach out. I... I've been making my way through things, trying to piece memories back together." Tongs carefully reached into the glass case, plucking up Kate's requested pastry, and Isobel wrapped it in a paper napkin before placing it in a brown bag. She rang up the item on the register.
"And I definitely want to hear all about your trip. We'll have to make a time to meet... Maybe I can come up to your floor?" She smiled, offering out the pastry to Kate.
“Definitely.” Kate looked forward to it. She paid for her lunch, waved goodbye to Isobel, and headed back to work.