Re: [Outside Secondhand Books & Cafe: Misha & Sadie]
A field mouse she might have been from time to time, but there were moments when Sadie seemed to be about as solid as solid got. Matters of her word were high on that list, seeing as the only real thing she had to offer at the moment outside of her playin', and that was solely based on the whim and fancy of folks who didn't mind parting with what filled pockets. So it was that, when she did take his hand, she made sure it was shook with a firmness and sense of presence she often tended not to show.
"Monday." She agreed. "And, no matter what, I'll make sure to leave some duet space for you, if'n e'er you want to come down and play along." She wouldn't put all her eggs in he basket of the carnival, no matter how excited she might have been at the idea.
Honestly all she wanted to do was get up out of that seat and go right now, but Monday would come soon enough. It would give her a week between now and then and that, she reckoned, should have been enough time to figure out what she wanted to play and maybe even get some bona fide rehearsal time in for it. She had to remind herself to be patient, of the old adage about good things being worth the road it took to get you to 'em. She told herself that a week of busking and getting to know the town better would do her fine anyway, maybe she'd even impress the right folks who'd be standin' about when she did bring that instrument of hers down to show what she could do. Wouldn't that have been somethin'?"
"I think I do." She countered, though without any aim towards rude. "Good playin' aside, it don't make many people take someone in where it's warm and buy 'em a drink." Everything else he'd put on offer and mention was left to sit for a moment, because Sadie wasn't talking about work at the moment. No, much as she appreciated the chance he'd offered her, telling to come by, giving her the right names of who to talk to. and what to look out for, this was different. It was more personal.
"I don't think yer not wrong, about the helpin' and whatnot, but that don't change the fact none that most folks can't be bothered with a quarter." It was spoken without so much as a shred of malice or like Sadie felt owedw hat people didn't throw. "It's a real nice thing you did, buyin' me this sweet drink and talkin' with me a bit, and I wasn't raised to let such a thing pass by without appreciating it. Gran'ma'ma always said that anyone who does that, don't deserve to see that guest again at the table."
Blue eyes regarded the cold outside and the company at the table. Sure as the sun would come up, Sadie was stalling, at least for a few more minutes of warmth and rest before she'd go wet her hands and get back out there, but she was being quite genuine with him too. Company had become a rare spot in her life and ones that offered her warmth and hot chocolate like, on top of paying her like he did? It occurred to her all at once to just go calling him a Unicorn but she did her best to express it with a smile instead.
"And should you ever find a way for me to pay it forward and you just, please, give a holler." She finished the thought, leaving the specifics vague but the statement as a clear and serious request. Whether or not it was seen as a debt on both sides, Sadie owed him one and that, right up there with her word, was something she took quite seriously these days. She'd survived on kindness alone in those first few months. One could argue she still did, though Said preferred to see it as merit in her music, but the end result had been the same. The value she'd learned to put on such things was immeasurable and it was something she actively endeavored to return back to the world like a bird that ought not to have been caged.