InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "He's going with me."

the_calm_before (the_calm_before) wrote in paxletalelogs,
@ 2010-12-11 19:51:00

Entry tags:

freyja, raijin

Who: Ren and Cara
What: Looking for a "get well" gift for a friend in the hospital
Where: Cara's flower shop
When: Mid afternoon

Ren sniffed a little bit. He was still recovering from a slight cold, but after reading Mirza's post on the forum he had been a little worried about his friend and neighbor. He wasn't sure when he would be released from the hospital, especially since he wasn't telling anyone where he was, but he wanted to make sure his friend would know someone was thinking of him. Or something like that anyways. He hoped someone would think of him anyways if he were stuck in the hospital so close to holiday time.

Ren rubbed his nose. He was used to colder weather where he was from, but he hadn't been home in a long time and didn't want to take any chances while he was still trying to get better. He had a multicolored scarf around his neck that one of his sisters who was a little crafty had made for him last year as a gift, and was bundled up in a man's peacoat that he had found at goodwill a few weeks ago. It was a nice find considering anything he found at a department store would have been way out of his budget.

He had his hands deep in his pockets when he stopped in front of a little shop. A flower shop. Mirza had said he had no plants. Maybe Ren could find him something in there that wouldn't need a lot of attention. Something that would be easy to care for. He had a fern himself. It was oddly placed in his apartment full of collectibles and electronics, but it was something green, and alive.

He pulled his hand out of his pocket, opened the door and walked in.

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warandbeauty
2010-12-14 03:00 pm UTC (link)

At first glance, the flower shop seemed empty but for the dizzying display of color whirling around the room. The brilliant variety of flowers was staggering, and while many were already cut and clearly displayed as choices for bouquets and arrangements, there were also plants displayed for purchase. Most were festive winter plants, given the time of year, but the green leaves of ferns, peace lilies, and other plants could be spied.

The shop floor was well-organized with plenty of walking space for customers as they browsed. The plants seemed to encourage visitors to move forward, guiding them towards the back of the store where a counter was set.

The moment the door closed, ringing the bell set above the door once again, a dark-haired woman appeared in the back of the shop. "Good afternoon," she greeted with a smile that only widened when she saw who it was. "Oh, hi, Ren! Just a second." A holiday basket was tucked neatly into her arms, and it soon found its way onto a shelf. The festive red and white petals sparkled with a sprinkle of glitter within the wicker basket. As soon as she set it on the shelf, it seemed somehow to take root there, becoming as much a part of the display as it stood apart.

"What can I do for you?" the woman asked as she stepped forward to greet him at the door. Ren hadn't much seemed like a plant person -- but maybe... "Are you looking for someone special?"

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the_calm_before
2010-12-17 05:53 pm UTC (link)

Ren hadn't expected to see Cara in the store. He still felt bad about what had happened gumbo night when he had met her over at Shae's apartment, and he immediately felt bashful. He had been sure she wouldn't forgive him even thought it wasn't all directly his fault. He still felt like it was.

"Uh, I'm sorry about what happened at Shae's place...again." He didn't want her to think badly on any of them, and he would probably be apologizing every time he saw her.

"Ms. Cara, I uh, didn't know this was your store." He smiled shyly and looked around the store at most of the arrangements. It was obviously ready for Christmas. There was a red and green theme that deviated every so often with white, silver or gold colors.

"Did you make all of these? They are amazing." He looked back at her when she asked if he was looking for someone special and he smiled and shook his head. "Well...I was just looking for a "get well" present for a friend who has been in the hospital, and he said he doesn't have any plants...I was thinking like maybe a fern or one of those little rosemary trees. You know, something easy to take care of?"

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warandbeauty
2010-12-22 04:44 am UTC (link)

Cara's smile doubled as she watched the awkward young man stumble over an apology. "I won't hear another word, Ren. I told you I had a good time, and I meant it." Warmly, with a bit of a laugh, she added, "I'll just dress down next time."

Of course, her jeans and t-shirts still probably cost twice as much as the entire ensemble of clothes worn by gumbo-goers on that particular night.

"Well, come in. Don't just stand there!" she invited, gesturing for him to step further into the shop to continue his examination of the room. "And, please, call me Cara. Just Cara."

Only once he had moved more fully inside did she answer his request. "Are you looking for a plant or a tree...?"

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the_calm_before
2011-01-10 08:20 pm UTC (link)

Ren shrugged a bit and looked around the shop again. He rubbed his chin and sighed. "I'm really not sure. I don't want to get him anything that would be too difficult to care for, so I thought maybe a fern. But I don't know. He's kind of a flamboyant kind of guy, but I don't think he has a lot of time."

He was looking up at a certain flower arrangement and then moved on to another. He was surprised by all the color considering the season. He had just assumed most flowers were dead in the winter. Probably cause he never really thought about it very often, if at all.

"Did you do all of these Cara? Your store looks really nice and pretty." When he had seen her dressed up at gumbo night at Shae's apartment, he hadn't thought she might have a job like this. The way she was dressed up and how she talked about some of the higher class parties she had been to made her seem like a person who wouldn't need to work. Or if she did he would never have pictured her in a shop.

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warandbeauty
2011-01-13 02:33 am UTC (link)

"Flamboyant?" she asked curiously, gesturing to the variety of house plants. "What about a Dragon Tree? The only way to kill it is to actually water it." Her fingers ran over the spikey tree in a gentle, knowing caress. "He just needs to spray it with a water bottle a few times each week."

Cara half-turned, smiling as he examined her work. This was one of the reasons she enjoyed her newfound talent; people responded to it in a way that was nearly alien to her. They were drawn to it -- and not because her father had a lot of money. It was genuine...and she found herself watching him with almost as much awe as he examined her arrangements.

"Thank you," she responded to him warmly. "It's nice of you to say. I guess it's kind of my calling, in some ways."

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the_calm_before
2011-01-17 05:35 am UTC (link)

"Yeah, flamboyant." He felt a little lame cause he didn't know how else to describe Mirza to anyone else. He was a very pretty man who had hugged and clung to him the first time they had met. And apparently liked to wear high heels while doing manual labor. He also didn't know what Cara would say if he mentioned that he worked as a stripper.

"A dragon tree?" He blinked and looked thoughtful. "He might like something like that. It sounds easy any ways." He looked at the plant and touched it as well, mimicking her caress. He hoped Mirza would like it. "How much is it?"

"Your calling?" He looked thoughtful. He never thought of what he wanted to do as a calling. Animation was just something that he wanted to do since he got his hand on his first comic book and sat in front of the TV and watched the Saturday morning cartoons. It just seemed to demean the idea of "a calling" by saying he was born to be a cartoonist. His family members all had callings; he could see that as a possibility: two doctors, a lawyer, and a linguist. That was probably why none of them understood his choices.

"That's awesome that you get to do what you want. I'm hoping to break into the entertainment business sooner rather than later."

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warandbeauty
2011-01-18 02:30 am UTC (link)

"Mm-hmm," Cara answered as he examined the plant. "I'm offering my neighbors a special discount. How does $15 sound?"

"And, yes, I guess so." Cara lifted her shoulders in a slight shrug. "Some people -- most people -- know what they want to do. Me? I just sort of fell into this in college. I very much doubt I'll ever be wealthy off of flowers...but I can live with that." In fact, from her light, airy tone, she looked forward to that life.

"What is it you want to do, exactly, Ren?"

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the_calm_before
2011-02-09 04:41 am UTC (link)

A discount sounded wonderful. Ren didn't have a lot of money on hand at any point in time. He had to feed his addictions after all. Cigarettes, alcohol, and video games don't come cheap.

"Discounts are good." He pulled his wallet out from his back pocket and started thumbing through some bills. He looked up at her as he pulled out the money and shrugged at her question.

"Well I currently work for Disney. Not in the way I wanted to. Actually I've always wanted to be an animator, to draw cartoons. Now it seems like that is a pipe dream what with everyone switching to digital media and CG."

He shrugged and then smiled a bit. "I have been thinking about making my own Web comic though. If it were to get popular enough I could sell merchandise and get advertisements maybe."

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warandbeauty
2011-02-11 05:27 am UTC (link)

"But they still need artists, don't they?" Cara asked, her voice seeming to take on a note of soft alarm at the prospect of Ren never achieving his lifelong dream.

"I must admit, owning a flower shop seems a little silly next to something so ambitious..." Her career seemed like an idle past-time; Ren was talking about becoming an artist!

Her face lit up suddenly as an idea struck her. "What kind of cartoons do you draw? Anything? Or just one particular thing?"

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the_calm_before
2011-02-17 05:26 am UTC (link)

He shrugged again. He worked in the theme park as basically an usher, showing people where next to go during their tour. There wasn't really anything creative about it. "I suppose they do, but they don't seem interested in me for that aspect."

Ren had given up sending Disney his resume a while back though. He almost seemed resigned to his fate. He might only ever work as a lowly theme park employ if he didn't get himself out of the rut he had dug soon. He reached out and picked up the plant that he had bought and looked over at her as she she spoke. He grinned a little and shook his head. Him? Ambitious? If only his father could hear that!

"It's not that great sounding, really." He looked a bit sheepish. "I just liked watching them when I was little and I like to draw. That's it really. I think my family thought I was joking the first time I told them what I wanted to do."

"Ah, well, I can draw anything really. I went to art school and took classical art classes like life drawing. I guess you could say I'm flexible." He really wanted to say beggars can't be choosers.

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