Beverly | Dr. Beverly Crusher (beverlycrusher) wrote in thedoorway, @ 2015-02-23 17:30:00 |
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The last time Beverly remembered going furniture shopping, it was for a desk and shelves for use in her office at Starfleet Medical. It was the second time she sat as its head, and she had planned on finishing her career there, and so had wanted good, solid shelves and a desk big enough to allow her to be as untidy as she ever was. Wesley had gone with her, and he’d talked her into a sturdy rocking chair, to plan ahead for the day when he and his partner would have children. She smiled to herself, remembering it; but her smile faded as she realized that was one of the last memories she had of him, before they faded completely. But those memories were older than her body; they’d arrived several months ago and while she remembered birthdays and celebrations, her body had remained the same, and she was making new memories now. Those memories now would include shopping, together, for their own new home. They had plans to replace the standard-issued furniture in their apartment, together. Beverly’s hands held several brochures. The top one was open as she read the details about the sofa she was standing next to, a big thing that was soft to the touch and looked comfortable enough to sleep on. And it was entirely out of their price range, if they expected to also be able to pay a commission on a bed and anything else they wanted to have Sully make for them. Quality furniture cost money. She looked over to Jean-Luc, putting one hand on a sofa cushion, and raised her eyebrows. “I think we might be looking too high,” she said wryly, and smiled. Shopping for furniture with Beverly Crusher had not been something that Jean-luc had ever considered that he would be doing. Even if something with Beverly had worked out, which, there had been any number of reasons why it might not have at home, they were Starfleet officers, and they spent little time planetside, but this place was different. This place they had reason to do precisely that, because while they did finally have the opportunity to visit space again - they were not living there. They were living here, in Potts Tower, and that meant they had the need for furniture and thus, the need to shop for it. They could have kept with the standard furniture of course, but since they had decided to share an apartment - Jean-Luc wanted them to have something that was more their own. And they really couldn't commission everything. He favored Beverly with a smile. "Perhaps we should look on the other side of this divide and see if they've kept the less expensive, yet still classy, furniture on that side of the showroom?" Beverly nodded, tucking the brochures into her purse. One hand found the crook of his arm, while the other lingered on the soft fabric as he guided her to the divide. “A part of me wonders if we should look towards the modern, yet classy, sort of furniture, in the hopes that we’ll find something that suits both of us?” In truth, the modern furniture reminded her of the chairs and sofa she’d left behind in space and on an earth far in the future. She didn’t mind it, but she wasn’t so certain that the ones they were walking past just then were as comfortable as the ones she’d known. “Tell me what you like. Tell me what stands out to you.” Jean-Luc considered the request as he looked around the furniture. He was so used to the simplicity of Starfleet furnishings that the idea of what he would want at home hadn't really been something he had spent much time on. But he supposed part of the reason that he had suggested the commission was because he'd thought the idea of classic lines, of wood, suited this particular place and time and harkened back to the types of furnishings he had grown up with. And all things considered -- even if he hadn't wanted to stay on the farm -- there was a nostalgia in thinking of it. "Natural materials, but simple lines," he responded. "So yes, a bit modern, but classy… I think that's a fairly good call, Beverly. It will fit in well with Potts Tower as well. There's nothing wrong with more classic, or even historical pieces, but they fit in some place like my home, not really some place like Potts Tower - which is a very modern building all things considered. But does that suit you? This is our apartment after all, and it should be our own." “I don’t think we want anything that’s going to overwhelm the rooms, like the overstuffed sofa over there. It’s comfortable, but too big,” she mused aloud. She agreed that classical pieces would be altogether too fussy, but in another place… well, it was too soon to think about that just yet. “What about this one over here?” She pointed to a white sofa that certainly looked comfortable, with clean lines and a classic look. “I do like that one.” Beverly smiled wryly at him. “You know, the only house and furniture that I was ever really attached to was Nana’s, and she had nearly all antique pieces, big heavy things fit for a house on the moors on the Scottish Highlands. I loved it, you know, and always thought that someday I’d settle down there on her land, or someplace like it.” "Besides we want sitting places not a second bed in the living room," Jean-Luc inclined his head towards a modular piece which he was confident was wider than the bed in his captain's quarters on the Enterprise. "I like that one as well. We don't have animals or small children, so it should stay fairly clean, and it's classic, without being fussy or overwhelming." He walked over to the piece and considered it for a moment before choosing to sit down on it and see how it sat. Sometimes things were less comfortable than they appeared at first glance, but this sofa seemed to meet expectations and he nodded his head for Beverly to join him for a trial run. "The sort of pieces that make sense in a manor setting, or even a cottage built in the right time?" Even in a larger home, the modular piece would seem far to big for her tastes, and too much like they were seeking to set as much space as possible between them. While the two of them weren’t particularly demonstrative of their affection in public, at home, just the two of them, Beverly felt no need to hold herself back from the casual touches, warm hugs, and even the passion that could flare between them. She sat beside him, her arm resting against the arm of the sofa. The cushions molded against her and she sighed contentedly; her feet were beginning to hurt. “We could get a different color. I’ve been known to get so engrossed in a book that I let my tea fall over in my hand.” She gently nudged him in his side, teasing gently. “Yes, those. Nana had so many pieces like that, replicas of originals that she brought with her. They themselves were so old that they were continued antiques themselves.” But oh, the kitchen table. Large and made of oak, lovingly cared for. Even the pock marks and scratches from generations of Howards were varnished over, and polished. She had so many memories of that table -- doing her homework, meals, learning to cook, being taught about the local herbs and plants. Beverly had even sat at that table and poured her heart out to Nana her senior year in high school. Her eyes landed on another sofa, nearby. “Those aren’t the pieces I think are for us. … The brown one over there… do you like it? The one with the brass tacks on the arms.” Jean-Luc smiled and nodded. "We had a table like that. It had been my grandfather's before it was my father's, and I believe had been made by my great-grandfather, or possibly my great-great- grandfather? It's been long enough I'm not certain I remember which. I just know that it had been in the family for generations and it was made so sturdily that it was every bit as strong as it had been when it was initially made. I suspect that Sully may be able to provide us a piece like that. He seems to take pride in his work." Of course, it was unlikely that either he or Beverly would be around for generations to hand the piece down to children. Or that they would have children. Both of them were a bit past that stage of their lives and this place, for all it could be a much worse place to reside, did not lend itself well to long-term plans. "But we wouldn't want tea stains, or wine stains," he gave her an amused glance. "So yes, maybe we should consider something darker." His eyes moved to the second sofa she had pointed out and he stood to walk over to it and as he did so his eyes landed on the sofa behind it which was a darker color, but looked very similar to the one they'd just been sitting on together. "Beverly what of this one?" “Oh, that’s tempting,” she said, picturing one in her mind, even indulging imagining it filled a family of their own. But only for a moment; thoughts of that sort belonged to a woman much younger than she. Besides, there was no room for a large table. “In a year we should revisit that idea.” Assuming either one of them were still here in a year. Beverly found herself holding onto optimism, that she would have a real chance to build a life here. It would, by the very nature of this world, be completely different from the one she had known, but it could be a very good one. Oh, to be indulged by a handsome man. Beverly gave him a smile, laced with a sweetness that was reserved, unconsciously, only for him. She stood to follow him, running her fingers along an occasional table as she walked by it. She turned her head from yet another survey of the showroom and found the sofa he’d found. “I like that one. If it’s as comfortable as the other one, I’m going to put it as a top contender.” She sat down, bouncing slightly on the cushion and then leaning back. It was just as comfortable as the other one. “But we don’t have to buy anything today, if you’re not completely enamored of anything we’re seeing today.” "But it would be nice to have an idea of what we think we might like," Jean-Luc pointed out. "So far it seems as if we're leaning a darker fabric or material rather than a lighter one. We could also do a leather sofa I suppose if you would prefer that. It certainly makes me think of an old English study or something. Very 20th century of us, but we are less far removed from that than we usually are." He smiled and walked over to run his hand against the back of the sofa, ending the movement by dropping it on her shoulder. If the Tesseract would leave them here, then they could spend many years happily together - something it seemed they would never do at home. The thought was bittersweet, because while there had always been challenges in a relationship, it was easy for Jean-Luc to see that those same challenges at home had kept them on their own distinct paths, while here… here it had pulled them together. Alternate realities and universes… it was always interesting the changes that wove through them. And the similarities. "We'll need a coffee table as well, and perhaps some arm chairs. I do like this sofa, though. Shall we at least add it to a possible list?" Beverly laughed. “I’ve never had leather furniture. It seems a little… wrong, I guess? Let’s look at them, but I’m inclined towards fabric,” she remarked. She lifted her hand to twine her fingers with his. “Let’s add it, and go look at coffee tables as a break. I think they’ll have some armchairs to go with the sofas we like.” She stood to step around the sofa to stand beside Jean-Luc. “I never dreamed I’d be doing this with you. This may not be a surprise to you, but this isn’t my favorite activity in the world. But this… with you, I like it.” Jean-Luc smiled, sliding his hand through hers and looking at her. Doing things with her, doing this life that they had here together was perhaps the greatest gift this place had offered to him. It had been otherwise like an early retirement - no Starfleet, no space. But in its place it had offered him this life. It was not an altogether bad trade-off. It might not be the life he chose at home, and it might not even have been the life he would have chosen had someone set the courses in front of him, he could find himself content in this life now. "Let's go checkout the coffee tables, Beverly. We've got to have both after all." He smiled. "I'd probably build castles in the sand alongside you. It's a good place to be." |