Re: [In-person: Claire & Hannah]
"Not by much. I am 23." Ten years left. There was no time for Claire to feel sorry for herself because Hannah's husband was dead and Hannah did not seem to be particularly upset about it. She liked Hannah, a lot, but that did make Claire's weird alarm go off. "I am sorry," because she was, even if the man was not nice. "How long were you married?" She asked as she worked, rolling the pasta dough out flat and then laying it across the counter like a ribbon on a present. A pizza cutter was used to slice the dough into squares, and then Hannah was given another order for dinner, "Spoon some of the cheese onto each of those squares. Half a spoonful, maybe. We need to fold these up still."
There was a pause at mention of test patients and Claire's brow drew slightly tense. "The human body is fragile, and someone made the choice to inflict that sort of trauma on another. I am not saying that people do not die, or lose their minds, or do not suffer." She sighed and sipped her Sangria, "There are choices we, as people, make. They are not always right. There may be terrible consequences. But people still make those choices. The majority of people are good. Just because some people abuse that inherent goodness does not make the world a bad or scary place. It is just as it should be. If there was no bad, we would not appreciate the good." Grey eyes were fervent in her faith as she caught Hannah's gaze again, and her words burned with conviction, "And there is so much good out there."
Hannah's 'saying too much' was waved off with a shake of head that spoke to the ridiculousness of that statement. "I think you can absolutely love someone romantically without sex. Sex is a different type of intimacy. Love comes from here," she pointed at her heart, "and here," she pointed at her head. "There are many instances where people fall in love with someone without ever having physical contact. Because love and sex are not the same thing. Just because you have slept with someone does not mean that you love them, yes? Just because you love someone does not mean you have to sleep with them. But you are discussing in a relationship sense. I do not think romantic relationships can exist without sex. That is a very important part to solidify the bond between two people." Which is something Claire would never be able to do, and so there was a hint of melancholy beneath the rather frank and factual tone that she had approached the conversation with.
Hannah started naming men in town off, and Claire had to stifle her giggles. There was no way she was going to get that sort of personal about people with someone she had just met. It felt wrong to call people out like that. But it was all in good fun, and she wore a warm smile as her joking turned more serious if only for a moment. "Honestly, I think the people here have just found the people that they are meant to be with. Gender does not come into play when you find that connection. It is beautiful. Even if it happens because of a tainted water supply." A smirk at that last bit. Then quieter, because the tease became a very honest comment about the years she had lived here, "It is just easier to joke about than to deal with being made to feel defective and less than human because you are not dating anyone." Claire rolled her eyes and took a long drink of her Sangria for distraction. She honestly hated having those conversations and it was all anyone ever wanted to talk about. The world did not revolve around sex, but Repose did apparently.