Toby Mitchell (likeacannonball) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2020-04-17 21:56:00 |
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Entry tags: | #january 2018, adalyn, adalyn x toby, toby |
Who: Toby and Addie
Where: Rayner House
When: Morning, Thursday, January 18th
Status: Complete
Toby arrived at the Rayner house shortly before 8 o’clock, his day bag thrown over one shoulder and his breakfast in his other hand. Working two jobs at once would have normally been overwhelming, but so far the job at the Rayner house was a piece of cake. Sure, he had to bathe the man, plus change his catheter bag and the occasional diaper, but that was the same as he’d be doing at the hospital on a quiet day and here he only had one patient. Most of his time was spent on physical therapy, but that could be done with the tv on and, once done, still left him with quite a bit of free time. He brought his laptop, and a book, and his nail polish, something he couldn’t do at the hospital, but Edgar wouldn’t have any complaints. That was the hardest part for Toby, not having actual conversation, though it didn’t stop him from talking. If Edgar had any recall of what Toby said when he ever woke up, he’d be up to date on The Bachelor, among other things. Thinking about what he might binge on Netflix that day, Toby rang the bell, hugging his pink furry coat to himself as he waited.
Addie had just finished prepping a body downstairs when Toby rang the bell. Thankfully she had cleaned up already and was just making herself a cup of tea, awaiting his arrival. According to Silas, Toby was their best option to take care of their father, so she was eager to meet him. Given how and why the last nurse quit, Addie was hoping for some semblance of normal in the house for a while. Leaving the water to boil on the stove, Addie hurried out of the kitchen and across the foyer to the front door. Pulling it open she immediately smiled at Toby. "Hi! You must be Toby. I love your coat. Can I touch it?" She reached out without warning and ran her hand down the sleeve. "Oh my god, that's freaking soft. Come inside!"
“Thank you!” Toby grinned, not at all put out by Addie’s petting, especially when it came with a complement. “I’m told it’s a little over the top, but I love it so much I don’t even care.” Truth be told, he never cared about other people’s opinions when it came to how he dressed. He’d stopped caring around the time he came out. “I don’t think we’ve officially met,” he said, extending his hand after he stepped inside. “I’m Toby.” She probably knew that, but he was there in a semi-professional capacity, so it needed to be said. Toby wasn’t sure he’d ever talked to Addie before, but he knew of her, the way that he knew everyone that had attended high school in the time that he’d been there. Plus, she was Silas’s sister, so she couldn’t possibly be overlooked.
Addie's smile widened. "Yes, you're Toby." Chuckling a bit she shut the door behind him. "And for the record, there's no such thing as over the top. At least I don't think so. Silas told me you were coming by. Do you want some tea? Or, we have water and some soda." She figured it would be a good idea to let him get the lay of the land, so to speak, before she led him upstairs. She didn't know Toby very well beyond just remembering bits and pieces of him from high school but she didn't get a bad vibe from him at all, so that helped put her mind at ease.
“Oh, I like you,” Toby grinned. He knew Silas knew what to expect when he’d hired him, but had no idea what Silas might have told his sister. In his opinion, all that mattered was the care he was able to give his patients, but not everyone felt that way. Luckily, it looked like he and Addie were going to get along fine if first impressions were anything to go by. Tea? Did she have the good stuff or just grocery store instant? A flex of his mental muscles and he knew. “Tea would be lovely. With sugar. Real sugar. Do you like Egg McMuffins? I bought an extra.” He hadn’t been sure why. Just a feeling that he should and he’d gone with it. If she didn’t want it, it could always be a snack for later.
"Oh, good." Addie laughed and led him to the kitchen. Silas had probably already given Toby a proper tour, but she wanted him to be comfortable here. Comfortable enough, anyway. "I have real sugar, so no worries about that. And yes, I actually do like Egg McMuffins even if I haven't had one in ages. But if you're offering, I'll totally eat it." The kettle was starting to whistle so Addie moved it from the burner and motioned to the table. "You can sit if you want! I have so many teas to choose from. Have you ever been the spice shop? That's where I buy my tea and their selection is amazing. Is there a flavor you like?"
“I love that place,” Toby said as he took a seat at the table and began to unpack the McDonald’s bag. “I swear by their bedtime tea. I can drink it after I get off the evening shift and I swear I’m asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. And it’s good. But that’s not what I want right now. The last thing I need is sleep. So maybe,” he paused, letting his mind search a little before he landed on one of his favorites. “Do you happen to have the Rooibos Chai? Or the Plum Oolong? If not, whatever you’re having is fine.” But he was willing to bet she had at least one of those. It was rare for Toby to guess wrong.
"I have the Plum," Addie said, grabbing two mugs from the dish rack beside the sink. "And real sugar, which I already said, obviously." She opened the box of teas to find the plum. She would have some too. "So how was your first day? I hope it wasn't too bad... or boring. Do you have everything you need?" Taking care of a comatose patient couldn't be that exciting, and she felt kind of guilty thinking of her dad as boring, though it was more the situation than him. Addie just wished he would wake up and be his normal self again.
“Perfect. Love it,” Toby grinned, happy to enjoy a cup of tea with Addie. He couldn’t get to know his patient, not when he was in a coma, so he might as well get to know the family and he already knew Silas. “Caring for a patient in a coma should never be exciting,” he smiled. “So boring is fine. I bring things to keep me entertained in the downtime. You’ve got everything pretty well setup. I’ll let you know if any of the supplies start to run low. But so far it’s been nothing out of the ordinary.” He’d heard that there’d been an incident, but for him it’d been all good.
Addie finished the tea and carried both mugs over to the table to sit with Toby. "That's good to hear. And yes, definitely let us know if you run low on anything." She settled in her chair and released a breath. "So how have you been? I mean... I guess, tell me a little about yourself. I know only bits and pieces from school." Addie grinned. "It's so weird that this is the first time we've actually sat down together to talk." They hadn't really run in the same circles, and that was okay. Addie had a few friends around from high school, but a lot of them had left town. And she was always open to becoming friends with anyone who crossed her path now, Toby included. Besides, she wanted to get to know the person caring for her dad.
The desire to give himself some fantastically whimsical backstory was so strong that Toby bit his lip and laughed as he wrapped his hands around the mug of tea. He wasn’t good with honesty except when it came to caring for patients, but he knew that dumping a bag of bullshit on the table also wasn’t a good way to make new friends. “I’m sure you know I’ve lived here forever,” he said, attempting to stick to the truth where it counted. “Did drama in high school. That’s how I know your brother. We battled for the stage,” he said with a touch of dramatic flair. “Got my degree in nursing, but only after thinking I wanted to be a preschool teacher or a librarian first. Turns out nobody would want me teaching their kids and I’m way too loud to work in a library. But I like being a nurse. Makes me feel like I’m doing some good in the world.” It might not all be true, but it sounded good.
Addie grinned as she listened and then sipped her tea. She could absolutely see Silas battling it out for coveted roles in high school. Her brother had always been the dramatic sort, but that's what she loved about him. "It's definitely an honorable profession," she told him, thankful to have someone taking care of her dad who seemed to be an honest, genuine person. "I know the community center does spring productions. Have you ever thought about acting again? Or does your job sort of take away from hobbies like that." She had to imagine most nurses and doctors had unpredictable, long hours. Addie's job could be unpredictable too, and while she did have to have things done within a certain timeframe, she was really only beholden to the dead.
“Thought about it, but I would just dominate the stage and everyone else needs a chance,” Toby grinned, then took a sip of his tea. “But really, you’re right, it’s too hard to schedule work and rehearsals for something that structured. Gotta find it elsewhere, like at that karaoke bar that opened up. Are you going to the karaoke contest tomorrow night? That should be a blast.” He actually had Friday and Saturday night off this week and he planned to take full advantage of it. Who knew when he’d actually have them off again? He liked the evening shift because he wasn’t much of a morning person and the night shift just made his schedule all wonky, but damn was it hard on his social life.
Addie's eyes widened briefly with excitement, and she nodded. "I'm actually going there on a date. I'm excited. I love singing, and that karaoke bar has always had such a fun vibe going on. It's been a while since I've been out, so it should be fun. Come say hi if you see me. I mean, assuming you're going." Addie set her mug on the tabletop. "Have you been before?" She had always assumed karaoke was either really fun, or really depressing, depending on who was singing and how much they'd had to drink. But she wasn't sure she had ever seen, or heard, a terrible performance. Everyone there seemed to enjoy themselves, regardless of how depressing their song was.
“Oh honey, I was there the night it opened,” Toby laughed. “There’s something about that place. It just has a really good vibe. Every time I’ve been I have a blast. Fun place for a date, too. Is this a new guy? Or is it someone you’ve been seeing for forever?” He was being nosey and she could tell him to mind his own business, but hearing about other people’s love lives helped fill the void that was his own. He was good at starting relationships, but as soon as they got serious things started to fall apart. He knew what the problem was; he just didn’t know how to fix it, so he had to be happy with what he had. Friends, and people at arm’s length, were so much safer.
"Oh! It's new. It's been a while since I've gone out with anyone, so I'm probably more excited than I should be." Addie didn't mind the question. It wasn't like she always stuck to proper social boundaries. She liked learning about people, and it was nice when people wanted to know about her too. "What about you? Are you seeing someone?" The topic of one's love life might be too sore a subject for some, but he had asked her first, so Addie could only assume he didn't mind the question either.
“If it’s new and you weren’t excited, it would be a bad sign,” Toby smiled. “You’ll have to tell me how it goes. And if you can get him to sing.” So many guys weren’t willing to sing. Toby wasn’t sure he could be with one that wasn’t willing to make a fool of himself every once and a while. “I have horrible luck when it comes to dating. And Point Pleasant isn’t exactly hopping with single gay guys. All the good ones are in relationships and the rest are smart enough to get out while they still can. I’m always hoping one will come along eventually, but until then I just get to be a cheerleader for everyone else.”
"I think he'll be willing to sing. He's the one who suggested the karaoke bar, so I'm going to be really disappointed if doesn't," Addie said with a chuckle. She would probably be happy just being out with Nick, but yes, she kind of wanted to hear him sing at the same time. Almost immediately Addie wanted to try and set Toby up with Silas, but she knew that was probably because she didn't want her brother to be lonely while he was here, since he was essentially here because of her. But she didn't think Toby was his type, and Silas might not be Toby's type either. Plus, it wouldn't be a good idea to get involved with the person taking care of their father. "The downsides of living in a small town," she murmured. "I mean, I'm a single, straight girl so you'd think I'd be swimming in a sea of single, straight guys, but dating in this town is really freaking hard. It's like you almost have to wait for tourist season and try to reel one in for some temporary fun."
“Exactly. That’s small town dating in a nutshell,” Toby said. “Problem is, when it comes to locals, everybody knows everybody’s business. Most of the time, at least. There’s nothing to do around here but talk.” Addie was cute, so he couldn’t see why she wouldn’t have more guys chasing after her, except that she did work with dead bodies and that could be a turn off for some people. Even the most macho guys could turn squeamish when it came to a corpse. He imagined another downside to her job was that she didn’t really have a lot of coworkers to talk to and when she did meet people it wasn’t under the best circumstances. It might be weird to pick up guys at a funeral. “So what do you do when you’re not doing your thing? Anything fun?”
"That's true too." Addie laughed and shook her head. Gossip ran rampant in Point Pleasant. She heard a lot of it too, which was probably a strange thing, given so much of it was during funeral services. She sipped her tea again before shrugging in response to his question. "I guess that depends on what you consider to be fun. You're idea of fun is probably a lot more exciting than mine. I'm here a lot, so it's mostly reading. I like to cook, although I don't do it a lot since it's me here. Well, Silas is here now too, so... maybe I'll do more of that. What about you? I know your hours are unpredictable..."
“Oh, I cook!” Toby said with a bright smile. “I mean, actually, I bake. There’s a difference. Cupcakes and cookies and the occasional pie, because who doesn’t love pie. Do you have a favorite? I should bring one sometime. I like to read, but it’s more of a downtime thing, when I’m too tired to be on my feet, and it’s all trashy romance novels. I always thought it’d be fun to get into painting or photography, but I never get around to starting it. And I watch a lot of bad TV.” It was all mostly true, except he knew he didn’t have the patient to paint. If he could blink his eyes and make it happen, that would be great, but most artistic endeavors didn’t work that way.
"Oh my god, yes. I can't bake anything. I mean I can, it just turns out awful every time. Baking is all science and stuff and I'm not sure my brain has that capability, which is so weird considering what I do for a living. But baking is just one of those things I can't seem to master. I love pies. Any kind of pie. Fruit, chocolate, cream pies... all of them. Except rhubarb. Blech, I can't stand it." Addie wrinkled her nose. "I definitely have my fair share of trashy romance novels too. Those are usually my reading in the bath books." She had a tv, but she rarely watched it, usually too distracted by other things to concentrate. Although tv was great for background noise. "I tried painting once, but I'm terrible at it. I have some really awful paintings downstairs in a closet somewhere. But I still love those paint and wine nights that the marina does sometimes? I haven't been to one in a long time, but I always had a good time."
“No rhubarb. Check,” Toby smiled, using his finger to draw a check sign in the air. He’d definitely be making her a pie sometime soon. He wondered if she was allergic to anything and did a little mental poke just to make sure. It would be a shame to make her peanut butter pie just to find out she couldn’t eat it. “Paint and wine night? That definitely sounds like a good time! I’m not sure I’d paint anything worth looking at, but I’d be there for the wine,” he snickered. “So do you live here too? Or just come by for work?” He wasn’t sure how he’d feel about living with dead bodies under his roof, but he didn’t usually work with them. The whole point of his job was to keep them alive.
"Oh the paint classes are great. You don't have to know how to paint at all. It's like a color by numbers, only without the numbers... the instructor is really good at showing you what to do. We should do it sometime." He may not be the type to spend time outside of work with people who paid him, but Addie didn't mind suggesting it. "But yeah, me and Silas both live here. We grew up here, actually. The upstairs is cut off from our clients, so we have a little bit of space that's just ours. I know it's probably creepy to some, but we've been here since we were kids, so it's home."
“We definitely should,” Toby smiled. There were rules in the hospital about certain interactions with patients and their families, but he wasn’t working for the hospital right now. He was pretty sure that if he wanted to go to a painting class with Addie that no one could stop him. “It’s probably way more convenient. But also would make it hard to create a good work-life balance. At least for me. Some people are better at that stuff, but I think it would just result in me working all the time, you know? Not that you do it yourself. I just can’t really turn it off.”
Addie could understand that, and she definitely knew not everyone could live where they worked. But it had been a bit easier for Addie to adapt to that, given she had grown up here. She had her parents as examples of how to balance work and family. The problem, she supposed, is she didn't really have family to worry about. At least not in terms of a husband or kids. Someday, hopefully, but not now. "My job is pretty unpredictable," she explained with a small smile. "It could be three in the morning when I get a call to go collect a body. I just have to force myself to take care of myself on my down time. If I'm upstairs, I'm usually pretty good at focusing on myself. Unless I get really bored, then I may wander down here to clean or something." Addie chuckled and sipped her tea. "I sometimes wonder what I would do if I ever got married, and started having kids, but it's really difficult for me to imagine moving out of here."
“You’ll figure it out,” Toby said. “It’s really hard to theorize what we might do until we’re actually faced with it. When I was in high school, I didn’t even think I’d go to college, but my mom really pressed for it, so I went. Trying to imagine my life now didn’t even seem possible, you know? We don’t know where life’s going to take us.” Everything around here felt so unpredictable that Toby had trouble planning things from week to week, let alone the distant future. “So do you want kids then? I always thought I’d make a great uncle, but a horrible father,” he laughed. “Too bad I’m an only child.”
Toby definitely had a point. It was so hard to imagine one’s life beyond the present sometimes. Addie has always known she would follow in her father’s footsteps with the funeral home. But she hadn’t expected her mother dying, or Elijah taking his life and becoming... what he was now. She hadn’t expected her dad to get sick or for Silas to move away. Even the best laid plans could be twisted around and forgotten. “Well, I hope that you’re happy that you went to college,” Addie said. “Regret is such a torturous emotion, I think. I think it lasts so much longer than anything else.” She kept her hands wrapped around her tea mug and smiled at his question. “I definitely want kids someday. At least one. I think I would be a good mom? But I’m young still, so I’m not really wanting to rush into all of that. I mean, I’d like to be the One first and get married before I start thinking about what room upstairs would work as a nursery.” Definitely the one to the left of Silas’s room. Her smile widened. “I think you have a good heart and most men with good hearts would make great dads. If that’s what you wanted to do someday.”
“Regret and guilt,” Toby said, but didn’t elaborate. He didn’t have much he regretted in life, but there was some guilt he carried with him that he wasn’t ever sure he’d get over. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t the one responsible for the fire. He’d let it happen. He’d wanted them to burn. It would probably always haunt him. Listening to her dream about her future, about what room might be a nursery, dragged him out of his own thoughts and onto something happier. “I dunno. Maybe. If I met the right guy, I think it could be a real adventure. But life feels so random. I try not to predict what’s in store for me.” Love was one of those aspects of life that he tried not to get his hopes up about. It was so unpredictable, so much could change in only a moment, but if the stars aligned then he’d be up for it. He just didn’t want to count on it.
"That's probably the smart thing to do," Addie said with a warm smile. "There are things I would like to see happen, but I know life doesn't always cooperate." Addie's job was something that reminded her on a daily basis that tomorrow was never a given. She could think about her family, and what she and Silas had been through, but that would only depress her. Knowing how fragile life was seemed to be the reason why Addie wore her heart on her sleeve. It didn't always work out for her though, and that was okay. "How's your tea? Do you want some more?"
“It’s lovely,” Toby said, then took a sip. “I should probably head up and check on your father. I’m sure you have-- what’s the right term? Is it tacky to say bodies? They’re not patients. I just know you probably need to get to them.” That was why he was there, so that Addie and Silas could get their work done without worrying about their father. He shouldn’t be going anywhere, and neither were the bodies, but he didn’t want anyone to say he was slacking on the job. If given the chance, he could probably sit in the kitchen with her all day, just talking. “Anything you think I should know that Silas might not’ve mentioned?”
"It's not tacky," Addie assured him. "I mean, they are bodies." They were corpses, really, but that particular term seemed to turn people off more than bodies did. But she shook her head and smiled. "I'm sure Silas covered everything. If you need anything, or have any questions, there's a paging system in my dad's room upstairs, right next to the door. Silas probably already showed you that, but it'll ring down to the basement where I work. Just give me a buzz. If you want more tea, or something else from the kitchen, feel free to help yourself."
Corpses might’ve been accurate, but it sounded like something out of a horror movie to Toby, so he preferred bodies. Bodies seemed less likely to rise from the grave. “Yeah, he covered all that,” Toby smiled, then rose from his seat and began to gather his things up. “Let me know when you take a break for lunch and I’ll come down and join you. If you want.” He knew he could be chatty, but he thought he was better company than the alternative.
The possibility of company during lunch sounded pretty good and Addie nodded, pushing back from her seat to stand with him. "I'll do that! It'll be nice not to eat alone." Unless Silas was home, then he would probably eat with her. But if Toby was around, even better. "I'm glad we got to talk." She trusted Silas to hire the right person for their father, but it made her feel better that she had been able to sit down and have a conversation with Toby herself. She had a good feeling about him, and that was important.
“Me too,” Toby smiled, then finished off his tea before setting his mug in the sink. He normally made an effort to get to know his patients, but that wasn’t an option in this situation. Getting to know Addie was the next best thing, since he already knew Silas. “I’ll see you later,” he smiled, giving her a little wave before heading upstairs to see about her father. “Have a good day!”