Shelby Thomas (leaven) wrote in remains_rpg, @ 2016-12-18 14:49:00 |
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Entry tags: | # 2019 [12] december, shelby thomas, violet holladay |
Who: Shelby Thomas and Violet Holladay
Where: The Doughnut Hole
What: Shelby and Violet have an awkward conversation.
When: 12/6/19, morning
Once was coincidence, heck, twice was coincidence, but more than that was a pattern. Shelby was definitely seeing a pattern. A weird pattern. But not a bad one. She just wasn’t used to seeing one half of the Burgatory duo (the better, prettier half) in her doughnut shop regularly. Although she’d ruled out spying at about the third visit. God, she hoped this wasn’t some gloating visit about the Santa competition yesterday. Violet had been part of the fan favorite, and Shelby was still sour about losing. She really hated losing. But she was also a professional, so she put on her best friendly face when Violet stepped up to the counter and said, “Hi, what can I do for you this morning?” Because it wasn’t fair of her to think that there was some dastardly reason for Violet’s presence. Even if it was still so very mysterious. “Can I get two vanilla bean glaze and a regular coffee?” Violet asked, absently tucking her hair behind her ears. She felt weird being there, the same feeling she'd had every time she'd gone in to get breakfast, but there she was. Someone, a person needed doughnuts. Violet needed doughnuts. She really needed them, so she could eat her feelings, and also coffee. Unfortunately that meant going to The Doughnut Hole - a place she'd managed to avoid until doughnut needing was necessary and that caused her to break the unsaid agreement with Ryan that they would not go. “So that was a good time yesterday, yeah?” Violet had seen Shelby at the Santa fundraiser, but obviously hadn't said anything to her, having been too busy with the group from the Greenbelt. “Lots of money for the kids.” Glancing up from the doughnut case, Shelby nodded, although it was momentarily subdued before she remembered that it wasn’t professional or fair to be sulky. “Yeah,” she agreed. “I mean, I wish that my team would have done better, but it was for a good cause, so.” Violet nodded, knowing her own team hadn't won just because they were fan favorite - but that didn't really matter since it had all been for the kids. She brightened again, trying to remind herself more than Violet that it hadn’t all been about winning. “There’s always next year.” “Just the usual coffee?” she asked, placing the bakery bag of doughnuts on the counter before she started Violet’s drink. “Are you sure you don’t want to branch out and try a latte? I make a really mean one.” The usual. Violet had been there enough to have a usual coffee. That made it hit her more than anything else that it had become a habit. She gave a shake of her head to the second question, her gaze following Shelby as she went to get her drink. “No thanks. Maybe … some other time,” she added, having caught herself before saying next time. “No problem.” Shelby glanced over her shoulder at Violet while she popped the cover on the top of the glass. Most of those kinds of things she could in her sleep; the advantages of growing up working behind the counter, she supposed. It was weird that Violet made it sound like there might be another time, and Shelby ruminated on that thought for a few seconds before she placed the cup beside the bag and rattled off the total. Violet passed over some money, pulling her purchases closer to her side of the counter. “If you’re looking for a quiet table, the one in the far corner is open,” she offered with a nod, even though she’d never really payed attention to whether or not Violet stayed the last few times she’d been in. “Totally out of reach of creepers,” she added as a joke, smirking for a minute while she tendered Violet’s change. Violet glanced toward the table Shelby had indicated, a brief smile flickering across her features before she looked back across the counter. “Thanks. I tend to prefer a creeper-less breakfast.” She paused after she slipped her change back into her pocket, picking up the bag and her coffee. “Your doughnuts are good.” Laughing a little bit before she caught herself, Shelby’s eyebrows drew together in a funny expression. “Thanks?” She hadn’t meant to make it sound like a question, but there was a definite question mark on the end. “I would hope you wouldn’t keep coming back if they weren’t. Unless you were spying and trying to steal recipes…” she trailed off and her eyes went momentarily big. The statement caught Violet off guard, and she bit the inside of her lip from reacting instinctively and potentially ruining her ability to ever come get doughnuts again. “Oh my god, that’s not what I meant. I don’t think you’re spying,” she blurted, trying to maintain her professionalism, grateful that there wasn’t a line behind Violet. “It’s just… you’re probably pretty capable of making doughnuts yourself…” she bit her lip because she just wasn’t digging herself out very well. “Can we rewind to a few seconds ago? Before I put my foot in my mouth?” “I’m not spying.” Violet was more than capable of making doughnuts, that was true, but that didn’t mean she wanted to. She preferred cooking to baking, breaking down a chicken over kneading dough. There were some times that called for baked goods, though, and it was convenient there was someplace in town she could go for them rather than having to make them herself. She paused, doing her best to dismiss the way what Shelby had said had made her tense up, before giving a nod. “Sure, rewind.” Violet set the coffee and doughnuts down for a moment before picking them up again. “Your doughnuts are good.” Relieved, Shelby smiled apologetically for a few seconds, then let it morph into something a little brighter. She really hadn’t meant to make that misstep, but well, she was only human. “Thank you!” she replied with no question mark that time. “Some of them are old family recipes, but some of them are just our amazing bakers.” Her Gram preferred the kitchen most days, which is why Shelby found herself at the counter. She could make a mean latte, but the most they usually let her do in back was the glaze. “Is there a kind you’d like to see in the future?” The staples were popular, and usually their bestsellers, but they switched things up a little if ingredients were available. “I could put in a request for you.” “Nothing comes to mind,” Violet said, shaking her head. “Mostly I prefer raised over cake.” Flavorwise, she was fine with most doughnuts. She loved chocolate particularly, but she knew they already had some of those. Her gaze flickered to the door behind the counter leading to the kitchen before she looked back to Shelby. “Who does your baking?” Personally, she trusted few people to cook her food - mostly just Ryan. Shelby glanced backwards towards the kitchen door too, like it was an automatic response to Violet looking that way. “We have a staff of three,” she began to explain, “my Gram, who’s been baking doughnuts longer than I’ve been alive, and then Jody and Daniel.” She leaned a little on the counter for a minute, before straightening back up. “We met them in Des Moines. Jody was at a doughnut shop on the west coast before the outbreak happened, and Daniel used to work in a cake shop. Gram snapped them both up pretty quickly once she knew she was going to re-open her shop down here. She lost all of her staff that she had back in Boston.” Shelby paused to take a breath. “They don’t usually let us counter people back there unless they need help frosting or glazing things. So, theoretically I know how everything should be made, but they get super touchy about me actually trying to lend a hand, and…” she cut herself off and laughed a little. “God, I’m sorry, I should have just stopped after ‘we have a staff of three’.” Violet had been about to reply after the simple answer of who was in the back, but when Shelby kept going she settled for taking a sip of her coffee instead. She knew there wasn’t anyone behind her in line, which probably was why Shelby was talking so much - nothing else to do. When the other woman finally stopped, Violet gave a small shake of her head and shrugged a shoulder. “It’s fine. I know I get touchy whenever people are in my kitchen, so I know how that is.” Her nose scrunched slightly at the thought. “They do a good job, though.” “It must be a thing,” Shelby mused with a small laugh. “We’re pretty happy with their product though. Our business has been better than we expected it be.” Mentally she cringed because she wasn’t sure if that sounded braggy, especially since the Burgatory duo hadn’t welcomed them into the community with open arms. Violet almost tensed again, but kept her face neutral as she let Shelby go on. “But you guys probably see some of that, since you were the first re-established restaurant in Austin,” she continued brightly. “You’re pretty good too.” Even against her better judgment, or the ridiculous feud she had going with Violet’s other half, Shelby had had their burgers on more than one occasion. “I could probably live off of the onion rings you serve, if I didn’t think I’d gain twenty pounds doing that.” Violet raised an eyebrow when Shelby said they were pretty good. They were, she knew that. They’d worked hard to be. “We’ve had a lot of success,” she said carefully, taking another sip of her coffee. “Both with the truck and the restaurant. People were especially excited when we first showed up, getting real burgers for the first time in who knows how long.” She paused, a slight smirk twitching at the corners of her mouth. “So you've been - are you spying?” Shaking her head vigorously, Shelby quickly replied, “No, definitely not.” At least she felt better that Violet felt like she could make a joke about it. “I mean, maybe the first time I was curious, but I’m not wearing dark glasses and giving out fake names, trying to find dirt or weaknesses.” She laughed, pushing her ponytail back over her shoulder. “It’s just really hard to find a good burger in Austin,” she admitted. “But maybe don’t tell your partner? I don’t want to be banned forever.” Was that a little dramatic, probably, but it wasn’t like she was really serious and thought Burgatory would ban her. To be fair, there was no way Violet had expected Shelby’s presence at their restaurant to be anything beyond for the food. The woman peddled doughnuts which were delicious, but also a far cry from burgers or anything else they had on the menu. Just like how she was willing to assume Shelby’s question of her presence at the doughnut shop had been more reflexive than an actual accusation. Plus, it wasn’t like her and Ryan had dirt or weaknesses to notice or dig up. They’d worked hard to keep from having any of that. And of course she wasn’t going to say anything to Ryan, because she hadn’t even told Ryan she’d been going for doughnuts - nor was she about to. “I would say it isn’t hard to find a good burger in Austin,” Violet said as she absently tapped her finger against the side of her coffee cup. “Unless you don’t count our burgers as good.” Making a face, more at herself and her own poor wording than Violet, Shelby shook her head again. Boy, she was just winning this morning. “I mean, if we’re getting technical I’d probably say great, and not good,” she replied, trying to smooth things over. Violet might be in her shop buying coffee and baked goods, but that was hardly the beginnings of a truce. Her problem wasn’t really with Violet anyway. “I just meant that there’s not a lot of competition, I guess.” Not anything like how Austin had probably been like before it had been ravaged. There were definitely the bones of a lot of restaurants that had closed up because of the zombies. “I’m just being stupidly clumsy with my words this morning.” Violet hadn't been fishing for a compliment, nor had she assumed Shelby had intended to slight her restaurant with what she'd said. Mostly she'd wanted to clarify that their burgers were good, in case there was any question - which there shouldn't have been. They'd worked hard to make sure there wouldn't be. “There's not much competition,” she conceded, because even though Shelby had her place it wasn't like Violet considered it actual competition. Not when they made such different things. “I’m sure there will be more places opening in the future, what with the rebuilding and all.” The corners of her mouth quirked with a bit of a smile as she took a sip of her coffee. “Don't worry about it, I’m sure you just need some coffee or something.” “I’ve already had coffee.” Granted that was a few hours ago, at like 4AM when she’d pulled herself out of bed. The early mornings never seemed to get any easier. Violet had been trying to be kind, but apparently Shelby wasn’t going to take that gesture willingly. “But I might need another cup,” she continued breezily. “They usually cut me off after two espressos, though. I guess I get unreasonably chipper.” She shrugged like she didn’t really understand the rule that her Gram and their staff had put in place. “I mean, I don’t see a problem.” She was sort of rambling again, and felt like maybe by that point she was holding Violet hostage. “Or, it could be that I keep people in conversations. Who really knows.” She straightened and swiped her hands on her apron absently, then smiled at Violet. Now that Violet had no problem seeing. After all, she’d gone to the counter for doughnuts and coffee and was still there. And halfway through her coffee. If she let Shelby keep her there much longer, she was going to need a refill to have something hot to drink with her breakfast. “Speaking of,” she started, going for a smooth transition to escape to the quiet table in the far corner that had been pointed out to her, though it felt like that had been a good while ago. “I should probably go eat before I have to go to work.” “Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” she apologized once she’d realized with Violet’s very diplomatic statement that she’d done just what that. “Yes, go ahead and have your coffee and doughnuts, and if you need anything else, you know where to find me.” Shelby gave an apologetic little smile, then waited until Violet had left the counter to make a face at her own stupidity. It wasn’t that the conversation had gone poorly, but she was usually better at talking in general. Oh well. Maybe next time, if Violet came in again, she could work on not being quite so clumsy. |