Rebecca Russo (adroit) wrote in remains_rpg, @ 2017-01-28 00:41:00 |
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Entry tags: | # 2020 [01] january, beau waites, rebecca russo |
Who: Rebecca Russo and Beau Waites
Where: The Doughnut Hole
What: Rebecca and Beau get together before work
When: 1/9/20, morning
Rebecca still carried a day planner, she was a little old fashioned that way. While many of her colleagues used electronic calendars, she loved the physical action of having to open a book and flip pages, pencilling things in, writing notes to herself. It was a simple thing, but it was hers. There were even some things that were important enough to be penned in, and one of them was her coffee dates with Beau Waites. They had met when Beau had moved his family to Austin, and Rebecca was better for the friendship that had developed between them. It was one of the things that brightened her outlook on the new city. Usually she preferred get togethers after work, when she didn’t have to worry about time constraints, but unfortunately her schedule, such as it was, hadn’t cooperated. So they had made do with a morning get together instead, before either of them had to be at their respective workplaces. The sun was only barely up when she got to the Doughnut Hole, and she had beaten Beau. Joshua had stayed over at a friends, and although it had been nice to not have to worry about ushering him out the door as well as herself, she knew her sleep had suffered for it. Ordering both their drinks, she waited at the counter while the barista worked, opting not to choose a doughnut out for herself just yet. She thought she’d buy one on her way out. The drinks were only just set on the counter when the door chimed and Rebecca spotted Beau’s tall frame walk in. She waved to get his attention, then waited for him. “Bonjour,” she said as she handed his drink over. “I hope you don’t mind that I took the liberty, there wasn’t a line.” Not always the case in the mornings, even with The First Bite as another morning option, the doughnut shop saw it’s fair amount of business. “On the contrary,” Beau said, accepting the proffered drink with gratitude. It was nice that they had been able to hang out enough that she knew his order; Beau made a mental note to arrive early for their next get together so he could return the favor. “You are a godsend. It was a bit of a hectic morning at the Waites compound.” Usually, Beau had his mornings down to a science. He rose before the kids, took a shower, got their lunches around and then started waking them up. By the time both Bree and Gabe had brushed their teeth, took their showers, and got dressed, Beau would have Lulu ready so they could all sit down for breakfast. After they ate, Gabe would drop Bree off at school before he went to class or work study. If it was one of the three days a week that Lucinda had class with him, Beau and his youngest daughter would head off to Imagine Nation: Austin for their day of learning together. This morning, however, was Lu’s day with the sitter. The sitter, one of the part time aids in Beau’s classroom, had unfortunately slept past her alarm and had arrived at the Waites’s house fifteen minutes late. Add on the fact that Gabe decided this morning would be the perfect time to take an extra long, extra hot shower, which meant that Beau had scrubbed up for the day in subzero temperatures. Despite all the setbacks, he’d somehow shaved off enough time in his morning routine so that he could still meet Rebecca before preschool started. Beau wrapped his still chilly hands around the toasty cup, trying to coax some warmth back into his bones. “The only way you could have been more helpful is if you had hooked it up to an I.V. drip so I could just pump the caffeine directly into my veins. Thank you so much, I really appreciate it.” Rebecca smiled, pleased that she’d been able to make Beau’s morning go just a little more smoothly. “You would have done the same,” she replied as she made sure her bag was secure on her shoulder before she stepped away from the counter with her drink. There was a table in the corner that she usually preferred because of the privacy it afforded, and luckily it was free. “Which one created the most chaos,” she asked in the kind of way only another parent could as she situated herself and set her bag at her feet. She may only have Joshua, but she wasn’t unfamiliar with the speed bumps and hiccups that kids created in a typically easy schedule. “Was it Gabe?” Rebecca was hesitant to pin blame on any one of the Waites kids, so she went with the teenager for obvious reasons. Maybe because it was those years that she had the most trepidation about when it came to her own son. Even if she she counted herself lucky that she could look forward to whatever they might bring. “He certainly didn’t help matters,” Beau replied. He and Rebecca had gotten together often enough for her to know it wasn’t always smooth sailing between he and his eldest. Considering how minor the annoyance was this morning, Beau decided he didn’t need to elaborate on the morning’s anxieties. Besides, he felt a little more forgiving of the situation now that he had a little caffeine in him to call his son out by name. “It was just one of those ‘perfect storm’ mornings when nothing seems to go right...until now, that is. First step in the right direction right here.” Beau held his cup out to Rebecca’s in a mock toast and took a deep sip. They sat in peaceful, respectable silence, drinking their respective drinks for a few moments. Beau liked that they didn’t always need to fill the quiet between them with needless chatter. So much of his life was always on the go, constantly moving from one thing to the next, that being able to sit with a friend for a peaceful few minutes was a treasure. “So, what’s on the schedule for the day?” Beau asked after Rebecca set her cup back down again. “Showing any new places? You know, getting the inside scoop from you when trendy shops and hip restaurants move into town is just about the only reason my kids think I’m even remotely cool anymore.” “I’m meeting with a couple from Salt Lake City that are interested in opening a frozen yogurt shop this morning,” Rebecca replied with a small laugh. “Their paperwork looks good, so I think it will just be finding the right storefront for them.” They were a set of young marrieds that seemed like they wanted an adventure, and she couldn’t fault them for that. Opening a business in Austin certainly came with unique challenges. Although most of the businesses seemed to be doing well for themselves so far. Reaching into her bag, she pulled her planner out and flipped it open. “I also have a meeting on the books tomorrow that seems to be about a comic book and game shop. He hasn’t gotten any of his paperwork to me though, so I can’t know for sure.” Her nose wrinkled automatically; it wasn’t a requirement that she review applications before the first meeting, but she preferred when people submitted them prior to. It shortened the number of questions she was responsible to ask. “Nothing’s official yet, so I would wait to tell your kids about either of them, though.” “Both sound like they’d do well enough in Austin,” Beau said, considering the two shops. “You’re almost guaranteed to be the ‘first’ of something here if you’re ambitious enough.” In Beau’s humble, uninformed opinion, he thought both businesses would be welcome additions to Austin. Although, if Rebecca’s sniff toward the comic book’s shop lack of correct paperwork was any indication of its future success, Beau was predisposed to believe her. She definitely had a nose for what worked and what didn’t; he was one of the many reasons why she was so good at her job. “Guess I’ll just have to suffer being the uncool dad for awhile,” Beau said, his deep voice dipping into a mock resigned tone, which made Rebecca laugh softly. Considering how well his kids had acclimated to the move and how much they all seemed to be flourishing in Austin, he was more than okay with being considered lame until Rebecca hooked him up with info on the hottest spot in town. “So,” Beau said, his voice shifting from humorously long-suffering to something deliberately more casual. “Bree mentioned something about a new after-school science club. She seemed super stoked about it. She was hoping some of her friends would sign up, too.” He made sure to broach the subject in an easygoing, offhanded way. He knew how protective Rebecca was of her only child and Beau didn’t blame her for it at all; it got the mother/son duo to where they were today. Still, letting Josh spread his wings, even to attend something as innocuous and educational as an after school club, might be a big step. Beau made sure there was absolutely no judgement in his voice when he continued. “Do you think that would be something Josh would like?” He tried to posit the question in such a way of her son’s preference, instead of asking if it would be something that Rebecca would allow. Closing her planner, using that as an excuse to think for a few moments, she fought the immediate and irrational answer that had threatened to bubble up out of her throat. She realized how easily it would be for her to create an unhealthy response to any activity that kept Joshua out of her sight, or out of his nannies, and she didn’t particularly like the look on her. “He’s not very good with science, actually,” she admitted. “It might be good for him to join a club.” After all there would be an adult present, and she’d been assured by more than one of the school faculty that they had safety plans in place after the events in October. “I have such a hard time getting him to do any of his school work,” she finished with the kind of long suffering look of a parent that fought the homework battle on a regular basis. Although it wasn’t surprising, she’d never been a natural academic and neither had Marc; it seemed like maybe Joshua had picked up that trait also. “Well, this might actually work out sorta great. Not only is Bree great at science but she is also exceedingly bossy,” Beau said with a laugh. His oldest daughter was the spitting image of her mother in so many ways, including her bright and sometimes overwhelming personality. “So our munchkins teaming up together could be awesome. Josh might be more interested in learning if Bree is there to help out and make it fun and Bree might not be tempted to take the whole thing over and make it about her if she has Josh to keep her grounded.” Beau hoped that Josh would end up joining the after school activity not only for the obvious, selfish reason in that it would make Bree happy but also because he thought it might be good for both Josh and Rebecca. Plus, it would be nice to have a friend to touch base with about it and remind Beau when it was his turn to bring the snacks. “You guys don’t have to make a decision now or anything. It doesn’t start until sometime in February there’s plenty of time to think about it. But, fair warning, that also gives Bree more opportunities to try and convince Josh that it’s a great idea,” Beau said with rueful chuckle. “I’ll bring the idea up tonight,” Rebecca said with small laugh. “I wonder if it would be unreasonable to sign him up for all of the after school academics,” she joked before taking another drink of her coffee. “Josh might consider that more torturous than fun,” Beau replied with an amused grin. “But as a teacher, I appreciate your enthusiasm.” Beau took a leisurely sip of his drink and, upon hearing a familiar but long unheard rumble from overhead, looked to the window of the Doughnut Hole. An airplane, one of the first Austin had probably seen in years, tore across the clear blue to parts unknown. From what he knew about the city’s past, this was probably a momentous occasion for the long time residents but for Beau, it simply made him think. Traveling to Austin from Chicago had been a long, arduous process but, in the end, it had been worth it. Now that getting to different places in the U.S. was a lot easier, what did that mean for him? Would he ever want to go back to Chicago, or travel to anywhere other than Austin? Beau wasn’t sure but he was curious as to whether someone as worldly-seeming as Rebecca might take advantage of the newly increased ease of travel. “Today’s the first day the airport’s open,” Beau said, jutting his chin toward the window. “You ever think about taking a vacation somewhere? Not sure what there’s to see in Madison, Wisconsin or Boise, Idaho but you never know.” Glancing out the window, she shrugged at the suggestion. “My family used to go on holiday every summer when I was little. I think Joshua would prefer somewhere with water, though,” she replied. “He grew up boating, and Marc always talked about wanting a house with a dock.” She had stopped wearing her wedding ring before she moved to Austin, but Beau knew she’d been married. “It’s really too bad that the coasts are still dangerous.” Maybe with enough time some of those cities would be reclaimed and re-established, much like they were trying to do with Austin. “Might not be the same as going to the shore for the summer but there might be some larger lakes for that kind of stuff,” Beau suggested. There was a curious part of him that wanted to ask about Josh’s dad but something stopped him from inquiring further. Maybe it was out of Beau’s own self-preservation; talking about what happened to Marc might make Rebecca, in turn, ask about Raelynn. While Rebecca knew that Rae had died last year, Beau hadn’t gone into much more detail than that. Still, Rebecca was an observant, intelligent, thoughtful person; she had probably connected the dots far better about how he had lost his wife than Beau had about what had become of her husband. Maybe with a few more coffee talks under their belt it would open the door for that kind of discussion but in the few precious minutes they had before they both went sprinting off to their respective jobs, just enjoying one another’s company was enough. “Boise has small foothill mountains, if I’m remembering right.” During her time in Denver she had tried to gather as much as she could about the rest of the remaining cities, should it have ever been necessary for her to know. “I’ll have to take your word for it,” Beau said, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck a bit sheepishly. “My teaching expertise covers shapes, colors, numbers and letters. Geography beyond Chicago and the LBJ district is a bit out of my curriculum. Still, going somewhere else, seeing what’s left of the country and what people have made of it is appealing. I mean, it’s partly what brought me here. Maybe one day when I have some free time and money I’ll consider traveling. So, like, fifteen years from now.” He offered Rebecca a small, commiserating smile before discretely looking down to check the time on his phone. Beau sighed. There never seemed to be enough hours in the day, especially for nice, quiet, pleasant moments like this. Working two jobs, volunteering in the community, and raising three kids didn’t leave a lot of room for “Beau time” but these precious few minutes he had to catch up with Rebecca were a godsend, and not just because she plied him with caffeine. “It appears to be that time again,” Beau said with a resigned sigh. He stood up and stood next to Rebecca, offering his arm goodnaturedly so he could walk her to her car. “Back to the real world.” “C’est la vie,” Rebecca said with a small, brief downturn of her mouth. It always seemed like she never quite had enough time for herself or for friendly meetings like their coffee mornings, but maybe if they had more time when they did meet it wouldn’t feel quite so special. She wasn’t analyzing that too much this morning. Shouldering her bag, she took the arm that Beau offered to her, always charmed by the old-fashioned chivalry of the gesture. “Same time next week?” she asked as they headed for the door, confident the answer would be yes. If they needed to move the day for one reason or another, they could cross that bridge later. |