auntyalcohol (auntyalcohol) wrote in summerview, @ 2019-03-13 04:38:00 |
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Entry tags: | complete, lennon wayland, player: alice, sharaab sharma |
Where there is food, and family
The post lunch rush was a time for clean up, restocking, and mentally recovering. Shara had made sure everything was as in order as it needed to be before sending her employees out to the lobby to have a sit down and a snack while she lingered at the counter and used the time to work on some tiny, precise decorations on some cookies. There were still a fair amount of decorations up from Valentines day, because Shara had only known about the holiday for about five years but she had found it rather endearing the whole time. Why not embrace it for the whole month? Something that celebrated love should be, well, celebrated! They even still had heart shaped cookies and cupcakes with intricate roses. But in her defense, those were just fun.
The shop was bright and cheerful, all the time really, a few cozy couches, but for the most part it was full of natural light and sunshine. It suited the owner’s personality, ever sunny and humming as she glanced from the frosting she was using to decorate to the TV above the registered where Lucille Ball fretted about how to get out of her latest pickle. Lennon stepped into the bakery and instantly felt like she was at home. Of course, any place that had baked goods and coffee were home for her, which meant she would probably be spending a lot of time here or at least stopping in to get her sweets and coffee. There had better be a gym here, she was going to need it. Looking around, she started towards the front counter. Her first purchase was going to be coffee, she needed it; she knew what time it was but that didn’t take away the need. Last night she hadn’t slept well, nightmares plaguing her, the visions of her parents murder seeping in. It had actually been that way since she’d done the magick to look at how her parents had died, but she kept that little tidbit to herself. Cohen knew she’d seen it, but he didn’t know about the nightmares. Yawning as she approached the counter, covering her mouth of course to not be rude, she gave a nod to the woman behind the counter. “Hi..hello,” she said, smiling once the yawn had gone away. Shara was not a mother, and there was a decent possibility she never would be. But she was a very good Aunt, with a decent arsenal of maternal skills on the side that she had both because it was her natural personality and pure osmosis after her upbringing. The kitchen was a place filled with folk who believed most problems could be solved with their own two hands in short order. Usually by feeding, cleaning, or shoving a pint in your hands with a big flour covered hug to boot. Which was probably safest if the last two were reversed, but either way. So naturally, Shara experienced a stab of worry towards the girl who looked like the sort of exhausted her Lady shared when she had been negotiating with another Family for a week straight with hardly any sleep, “Good afternoon! How are you, beautiful?” And instead of standing in front of the register to take her order she moved to stand beside it, leaning down with her elbow on the counter and her head in hand casual like to show she was listening and in no rush for a business like transaction. There was an art to fussing over strangers! Well this was something different. Lennon was used to people trying to hurry her at the register, to get her order in and get her out. Of course there wasn’t exactly a line behind her and even if there were she was sure it would still be just as relaxed it were right now. No rush, no angry people, yeah she could get used to this. She moved a hand to run it through her hair, pushing it back from her face and smiling at the woman behind the counter once more. “It doesn’t feel like afternoon,” she sighed. “But other than obviously being tired at the moment, I am well, thank you. And calling me beautiful just made my day,” she grinned. “How are you?” Because he mom did teach her to be polite as she could be. She thought about her mom at that moment and felt that sadness start to seep in, a sadness that she did her best to pull back. “I’ve recently just moved to town,” she admitted. “This is my first time in here, it’s so very lovely.” “It doesn’t, does it?” Shara’s eyes slid towards the windows, “Then again, with the weather here lately, it’s so hard to tell.” Cloudy, with the sun peeking out at such odd intervals and the days shorter. Time and weather was a bit different in the Summerlands, but after five years she was starting to get a hang of the weather here. Winters certainly weren’t very cheerful though. “Well I’m glad to hear it! And I am doing just dandy, it has been an excellent Monday.” Which, even Shara knew was an odd thing to say, but that had never stopped her before. The explanation, and the compliment, made her face light up, and she set her decorating tools down, “Oh! What a lovely thing for you to say!” And she meant it to, eyes clapping as pride sparked in her eyes, and she snapped her fingers, “Oh yes, we spoke on the internet forums yes? Lennon, I’m so glad you took the time to stop by!” In fact, Shara was quite familiar with the Internet now, but it amused her employees and made them laugh when she spoke of it in that manner so she kept at it, especially since it meant they were more open when she did have genuine questions about how this world worked. Another brush of her hands on her apron as she bustled around the counter, opening her arms a few feet from Lennon, “I’m Shara, how do you feel about hugs Lennon?” Lennon may have moaned about the weather and it only being Monday, but it really wasn’t all that bad. She’d been in places much worse, from freezing to where frostbite could happen the moment you stepped outside to sweltering heat where you would sweat out more than you could drink. Right now, the weather wasn’t that awful and even though it was just Monday, well, she thought she could deal with that but man did the week already feel long. She had almost forgotten about having talked to Shara on the forum, and admittedly she could have talked to anyone other than the woman standing in front of her. “Yes,” she nodded, amused at how Shara had said it. Internet forums. It was delightfully odd and tickled her in such a way that she was sure, already, that she was going to adore this old fashioned speaking woman. Then there was the offer of hugs and she couldn’t help herself. God, how she needed a hug, or two or a hundred. “Bring it on,” she grinned and moved to hug Shara. “This is so much better than shaking hands when you meet someone new,” she sighed. Lennon was not unknown to hugs, she’d hugged plenty of people in her life, but she really hadn’t had a hug since the death of her parents. “Thank you,” she said. “I’ve had a bad few weeks and I think I need all the hugs.” Behind Shara she heard one of her Employees set down their mug and get out of their chair with a laugh. It had only been, what, two months? Since the shop had been open, but they were already used to her coming out from the counter to have a cuppa with a customer or hug someone who may be a friend or just one in the making. At least she was consistent! A warm and bright smile lit up her face at Lennon’s easy acceptance of the bit of maternal like affection, and she wrapped her arms around the young girl and pulled her in for an all encompassing embrace full of the smell of pastries and home in the way only a Hob could — who resonated with home no matter what but especially when they were in their space. The building was Safe and Welcoming because Shara was, and it beat like a living heart in the bricks. After a long moment she pulled back to brush Lennon’s hair out of her face, “Well I am always here for a warm cup of whatever you need and a hug to boot, alright?” Soft and sincere without the dramatics she gave into at times, “Or cake! What sort of sweet would you like today? My treat, for your first visit, anything you want.” Lennon heard the laugh, but gave it no thought. Hugging Shara seemed natural and she wondered briefly if it was just something that the woman did. Like if it were something magical she could do, which was a little weird if one thought about it for too long. Thankfully for Lennon, it didn’t seem weird. Now if she could get Cohen to give her a hug every now and then, things would be semi-okay. “A slice of chocolate cake sounds devine,” she nodded. “And add a mocha latte to that and I’m going to be buzzing around on a sugar high for the rest of the day,” she grinned. “I wonder if Cohen ever comes in here. He should. I might relax him a little,” she said as an afterthought as she looked around. Chocolate cake! That was almost so simple it was silly! But that didn’t stop her from hustling behind the counter to get Lennon the biggest ‘devil’s chocolate’ cake that she had made, with extra Chocolate shavings and a cherry to boot. The latte was started up as well, quick hands working through the drink that had been unfamiliar to her not so long ago. “Is a sugar high good, in your case?” Part genuine question, part teasing. Which was one of the best ways to get to know someone, in Shara’s opinion. By the time the drink was done she had also plucked the smoothie she had been drinking off the counter and tucked it under her arm so she could easily carry both the cake and Lennon’s mug over to one of her favorite comfy spots in the shop. “Cohen? Tall young man?” She asked, as if most people weren’t young and tall to her, “I see him sometimes, yes. Usually when he’s tired after work and needs a pick me up. Poor thing.” Though she wasn’t sure if he looked uncomfortable because he was tired from working at the pub all night or if that was just him, she had a hunch it was a combination. “Are you friends?” The cake and drink were slid in front of the empty seat for Lennon as Shara herself got comfortable in the opposite with her own drink, inviting herself over for a sit without so much as a by your leave. “A sugar high is always good,” Lennon grinned, giving a nod. “It will keep me going for a little bit and then hopefully I’ll crash tonight and sleep like a baby.” Anyway, that was the plan, the hope. “It also means that I’ll get a whole bunch done, maybe...probably,” she giggled. Sugar highs could be lovely, but sometimes when they ended it could be just as horrible as a hangover, in which case she knew both quite well. “Tall, young, man,” she nodded. “That could very well be Cohen Wayland,” she said. “Also brooding, sometimes looks right through you, silent, not the beat on chest type,” she tilted her head to the side as she thought. “Dark hair, intense eyes…” then she snorted at the idea of them being friends. “Friends? Probably not. But he is my half-brother,” she admitted. She picked up her fork and dipped it into her cake, watching how smoothly it went. “He and I are not close at all, practically strangers, but I had to come to give him some information and he’s letting me crash with him.” That certainly sounded like a reasonable plan to her! Few advocated the usefulness of food and sugar as much as Shara would given half an opportunity, “Sugar and caffeine will definitely do that!” As well as a drinking binge and other physically exerting activities that she wasn’t going out of her way to advocate to the youth of Summerview, that was for sure. “As well as hard, physical labor. I’ve never slept so good as I did after scrubbing the whole house or even just a good, intense hike.” Lennon was adorable with her giggles, she must have really needed a pick me up! Pick her up? English was odd. Tall. Brooding. These seemed to match the boy that came to mind, though he was friendly enough if in a subdued, purposefully walled off and a little uncomfortable sort of way. Shara kept meaning to wrangle him off to the side like this but hadn’t gotten the chance yet. The word choice had her giving her own giggle though, “It sounds like you’re describing Batman!” A recent bit of knowledge for Shara, when a girl caught her watching the ‘old’ television show and proceeded to lecture her about the comic book character. The expression changed to one of confusion in short order though, “What is a half-brother? And if I know anything about Family it’s that time and distance really mean very little, as well as fondness. You don’t have to like them to love them.” Why, it had been quite a bit between visits with her wayward sister, and there was still nothing she wouldn’t do for her, even though they disagreed on near everything. This bit of wisdom was given in the calm tone of someone who had been there, done that, and was confident enough in her wisdom that she didn’t need to lay it on thick. That, and her gut said this was an important topic. “Batman?!” Lennon exclaimed and tilted her head to the side. “I...well…” she took a bite of the cake and thought about that for a second. “You know,” she leaned toward Shara. “My brother very well could be Batman,” she said, her voice low before she leaned back and giggled again. “When I go home, I’m looking for the suit,” she grinned. Her brother as Batman, that was absurd of course, but hilarious to think about. Still, his demeanor was somewhat like the DC comic hero. “Half-brother or half-sister, which is what I am to Cohen, is that we share the same father but not the same mother,” she explained. “Sometimes half-siblings share the same mom and not the same dad, it just depends, but however it goes it’s where they share one parent but not the other.” She wondered how Shara didn’t know this, but didn’t poke at it or tease the woman. “As much as I like the whole ‘you don’t have to like them to love them’ bit, pretty sure he doesn’t like nor love me,” she said with a sip of her mocha. “We didn’t grow up together, didn’t know anything about the other until I was already an adult and out of the house, so...we’re practically strangers, I guess,” she said a bit sadly. “Anyway, I’m here now and am likely to stay around for awhile.” What she didn’t tell Shara was that Cohen was now the only family she had. Anyway, the only family she knew about. Who knew if her father had sired more children. Lennon’s laughter was contagious and Shara found herself echoing it with her own giggle, greatly enjoying this exchange, like they already had an inside joke. It also made her think that things couldn’t be quite as bad as the poor girl seemed to think if she felt comfortable enough to joke about her brother like this, and especially if they were living together. “I have seen stranger things. It might explain why he’s quite tired so often.” Shara winked at her, since they both knew it was (most likely) due to his job at the pub more than anything. But who knew? The helpful had her blinking, “Oh! I confess, we don’t really have that term where I am from. The only thing we have of that nature is bastards, but otherwise,” Shara shrugged and sipped at her own drink, “Kin is kin.” Humans certainly liked to make things complicated, didn’t they? How odd that must be though! Not growing up with her siblings was such a strange concept that it couldn’t come into focus in her mind, even if there was a rather large gap between her and some of the others. But still. Family was family, and there was always a way, “He’s letting you stay with him though, you said? That sounds like he is more fond of you than he might be willing to admit outloud. If you don’t mind an outsider saying so. You’re both young,” Not that she knew what their ages were for sure, except Shara had a sense of these things. That, and most everyone was young to her, “Building a bridge will be difficult, but you have caught it before the wounds have begun to fester. From what you have told me, at least.” She was more than willing to admit that she may be misjudging the situation, warm and helpful if a bit tentative on account of the fact that she was trying not to overstep. Lennon let her thoughts trickle to her brother. It’d be cool if he were a superhero, she thought. She could be his sidekick, or maybe that person on the other side of the comm helping him out. Of course, she didn’t think that was his nature. Then again, she didn’t exactly know her brother well enough to make that assumption. But then her mind was forced back to the conversation at hand and she was choking on her drink. “Oh..my..” she lifted a hand to cover her cough and then laughed. “I mean, I suppose the term ‘bastard’ works, but the way that I am familiar with that certain word is that it means you just don’t know who your father is,” she explained, slightly amused. “For both Cohen and myself, we knew who he was and we had a relationship with him. He just didn’t give out certain bits of information that he had a secret life or that either of us existed,” she said, frowning at that last bit. She had been so angry at her father when she’d learned about Cohen. And her mother had just...forgiven him. It had been tough to take, which was why she’d started traveling in the first place, keeping herself distant. “It’s a big mess and there is a lot to it. I’m fairly certain Cohen really doesn’t want anything to do with me, but he’s nice enough to offer me a place to stay until I figure out what to do with myself. Believe me, he doesn’t care much that I’m here. But...I didn’t have anywhere else to go,” she said after a swallow and looked down at the cake, amazed that it was already almost gone. What an odd man their father was! And possibly not really a person that she would get along with terribly. Not that she could look down on secrets and slyness too much, because a Hob she may be, but Fae all the same. None of them were completely virtuous, at least by current human standards. But still keeping children secret was definitely not something any of her relatives would do. Knowingly. Hobs were, well. Things happened, on occasion. Those were accidents though! The Sharma’s were affectionate and warm, but at least no one in her immediate family would not tell the others about children. It just wasn’t something to be ashamed about. “Well. Sort of. A bastard is someone whose parents weren’t married when they were born. It can make inheritance, especially with the nobility, a bit tricky.” Depending on where one was from and such. Though that wasn’t such an issue here, or with a family like her’s. That was an improvement compared to many. Her heart ached for the girl, and she wished that she was closer with Cohen so she could offer something more concrete and comforting. Instead all she could do is offer food, and a hand across the table to place it on Lennon’s, thumb running soothing circles over her knuckles, “Letting someone into one’s home is a serious thing. I don’t think he would do that unless he cared, and trusted you to at least some extent. It is, at the very least, a positive sign and a good base to start anew, isn’t it?” “Ah, but you see, my father was married to both my mom and Cohen’s mom,” Lennon explained. “As I said, it’s a huge mess. Dad was married to my mom first, but then he met Cohen’s mom and married her and he stayed married to both but never told the one about the other and had children with them both… It’s messed up, but not exactly unheard of in some cultures, though in those cultures the other woman knows about the other,” she shrugged. “It hurt Cohen a lot, I think. And me… I try not to think about it too much,” mostly because she didn’t want to admit how badly it had hurt her as well. She had idolized her father up until that moment Cohen came to their door, and then she’d been disappointed in both her parents. She looked down at Shara’s hand and smiled at the comforting touch. Lennon had never talked fully or openly about her life as she was doing right now and it was a bit strange. “Maybe,” she said of Cohen. “I mean, you’re right on the trust issue and all. I don’t know how he feels exactly, it’s not as if we’ve really talked other than for me to explain why I showed up on his doorstep.” They probably needed to talk more. “I’m hoping we can work things out. He’s all I have now.” In Shara’s experience, not thinking about it too much is a sure indicator that it did, in fact, hurt. Though, honestly, she couldn’t really blame her. That sounded like quite the twisted familial history, and personally, Shara would be quite angry at her father if she found out he had been keeping that tier of secret for so long. The real question is who would hold their mother back. Speaking of which. Her tact was not enough to stop her curiosity, “What did your mothers think of all this, if you don’t mind my asking?” The hand on Lennon’s was drawn back so she could reach back to pull her hair back, even though part of her wanted to stand up and go hug the girl properly again. The child may not be a child to the rest of the town, or may not want or need someone looking after her, but Shara was more than willing to adopt her all the same. Look after her since neither woman had the family they were used to having close by, “Hearts take time to heal. You did no crime to him. I’m sure he’ll realize that,” Or, she hoped at least, “But it will take talking.” Shara held her hands up, palms skyward as if to say what can you do?, “Although you are always welcome here. I own the whole building and live on the other two floors, if you have ever a fight with your brother, you can stay with me if you need to alright?” Her hair was brought back to order and she returned to her drink, “I know that’s a bit of an odd thing to offer, but those of us far from home and what we are used to have to stick together right? And besides. I’m a Fae, if I was trying to trick you, I wouldn’t be so obvious about it.” The attempt to make the girl laugh again was accompanied by a wink as she leaned forward like she was letting her in on a secret, although the Fae not being able to tell a direct lie was not uncommon knowledge. Lennon sighed as she thought about her mother and the fights they had had concerning her father and Cohen. “My dad was a musician,” she started. “Small, not worldly famous or anything, but still,” she shrugged. “Musicians have groupies and that means women who want to sleep with the ‘rock star’,” she put in air quotes with her fingers. “I think my mom knew that my dad wasn’t faithful, but I don’t think she knew the extent of it,” she frowned. “But she just...took it in stride. If it hurt her, she never let it show to me. We had fights, she and I, because I thought my dad had betrayed us all, he wasn’t the man neither of us thought and so on,” she licked her lips and then took a drink of her mocha. “But mom was determined to stay, to keep the ‘family’ intact. I mean, it wasn’t as if she had to fight Cohen’s mom off to keep my father, when Cohen showed up it was only because he had been looking for our dad because his mom had died,” she looked away, feeling horrible about how her father had lied to Cohen about not being there with him after that. “But I don’t know how my mom felt deep inside, or if it even mattered to her.” She smiled at Shara’s offer, and took it to heart. It would be easier for her and Cohen if she left him alone, but then Lennon had never really taken the easy way out. Or maybe she had? Traveling had kept her away for a long, long time so she didn’t have to deal with anything. Or anyone. “I’ll keep it in mind,” she smiled again. “I think that I need to at least try to see how it will go with Cohen. Whether he wants to believe it or not, I’m all he’s got now, too.” “Ohh Fae?” She wagged her eyebrows up and down. “I suppose I’ll be keeping a watchful eye on you,” she let out a small laugh. She knew Fae and their tricky little ways, but also knew that they couldn’t give a direct lie, either. She was sure that Shara was only trying to be helpful and she appreciated it. “I probably shouldn’t have weighed you down with all my drama, I’m not even sure Cohen wants anyone to know anything,” she said with a tiny sigh. A strong urge to punch Lennon’s father rose up in her that she managed to stuff down and keep from her face, if only because now definitely wasn’t the time and Lennon clearly still had some mixed feelings towards her father. Who could blame her, really? “It sounds like your mother was a strong woman.” From what Shara could gather, it sounded like her mother had passed, though Shara wasn’t sure how, the poor dear, no wonder she was living with a brother whose feelings towards her were so...unknown. She reached out for Lennon’s hand again, “Those horrible things your father did, the lying and the secrets, that’s not anyone’s fault other than his own. You kids shouldn’t have to pay for his mistakes.” Or blame one another, but she knew full well how hard it was to be rational when the heart was involved. She shook her head even as she laughed with her, “Oh I’m the last one you need to worry about, but if that means you’ll be staying around then by all means, keep an eye on me.” There was hope for the girl though, she could feel it in her bones, “You’ll figure it out. You have some steel in you, I can see it.” For whatever that was worth, at least. A gentle tap on the plate with the cake, “Do you want more? And don’t worry, this is between us. Secrets shared over sweets are sacred.” It wasn’t a direct promise, but it was closer than Lennon would normally get out of a Fae, especially one as old as her, worth more than her weight in gold in it’s own way. “I don’t think it’s about us taking fault or blaming one another...though I guess you can say that one or the other kept dad away for longer than he should have been but I don’t think that’s it,” Lennon frowned. “I think it’s more that it’s just the reminder of the betrayal and the hurt,” she shrugged. She hoped they could figure it out, that Cohen would see her more than their dad’s betrayal and more like his sister. “It depends on Cohen on whether I stick around or not. Though, the more she got to know people like Marie, James, and even Shara, she thought that no matter how her brother was she might stick around anyway. She smiled at the offer of more cake and she gave an eager nod of her head. “Yes, please. I’ll work it off later,” she said, thinking she’d go to the gym after this was done and sign up for a membership. “This cake is fantastic. So good.” Ah, that made sense. Unfortunately. Too many things that neither of the children had control over tangled up when they looked at one another. Even more sad considering they were apparently the only family they had left, if you couldn’t count on your blood, then who could you count on? Shara had always believed that, even though when pressed she believed that love could be taken away from even family if pushed, but it would take an awful lot for her to turn her back on her siblings. “You both seem like the patient sort, I’m sure you will manage to get through this together and be stronger for it,” Shara stood, leaving her drink on the table as she stretched her legs, “Though I hope you won’t let him dictate things like that for you, Lennon. You should live where you are comfortable, and safe. Especially in these times.” Not that Shara would force anyone either, but she did have a meddling streak almost as wide as her love of food, and for a Hob, that was really saying something, “I’ll go get you another slice, you look like you could need it.” A hot chocolate too perhaps, with lots of whipped cream. Shara made her way back behind the counter, grabbing (what was quickly becoming her signature) a warm whiskey cake cupcake with salted caramel frosting, and a hot chocolate with real milk and cocoa, along with a mountain of whipped cream. Oh, and a glass of milk, just to cover all of her bases. All three were set in front of Lennon, and her empty dishes swept away with a flourish before she returned one more time with a handwritten business card, “Here Lennon, take my phone number, you can call me at any hour if you need help, or need to talk alright? Don’t hesitate. Anything at all.” Lennon wasn’t sure what she’d let Cohen dictate for her. Why would she stick around if her only family didn’t want her around? She was sure the town was big enough for the both of them, but the question was if they could really coexist. She wanted them to be able to, but they needed to get past the whole dad thing. “I don’t know what I’ll let him dictate,” Lennon sighed. “I generally do my own thing, play by my own rules. But I just don’t know right now,” she shrugged her shoulders. Cupcake and hot cocoa and whipped cream, oh my! She was in love with Shara. Or at least in the food and drinks that Shara made. “Thank you for everything, Shara,” she smiled before shoving a bite of that delicious cupcake in her mouth. The business card was stowed away into her back pocket, she’d enter it into her phone later. Shara might have just become her best friend and therapist as well as the person to go to when she had a sweet tooth. |