Merry Christmas, Emily!!!!
So it's the 20th now, and since that was the date we could start revealing our Secret Santa gifts, I have yours! I actually just now wrote it.
To preface, the character of mine that is in this little story is one that isn't actually in the game yet, but will be in the game soon. He's Hope's younger adopted brother and he's quite a handful. But I was sitting here, thinking about him, and then I thought of this idea and it was just too wonderful NOT to do even if you don't actually know him yet. But he does have a face! His name is Jude and he will be portrayed by the lovely English actor, Andrew-Lee Potts.
So there you have it, and here you go. And no, I won't tell you which character of yours he's paired with. You'll just have to read it to find out.
I Like The Ones With The Pink Stuff In Them
Jude wasn't used to not getting his way with women. He was a bit of a charmer, in fact. He could usually flash just a grin and have the ladies eating out of the palm of his hand. But that wasn't the case when it came to her. And it drove him absolutely nuts.
He'd met her in the most unlikely of places; the lunch line in the cafeteria. She was standing with a group of her friends, piling food on her tray, and she remarked on how good the cookies were with the "pink stuff in them". That was when he saw her, glancing up from behind the serving line. It was accent that had caught his ear, but it was her smile that had caught his eye. Jude had nearly fallen over himself to speak to her, something that had never happened to him in the history of his twenty-one years of life, but it had happened then.
"They're Matcha Tea Macarons With White Chocolate Strawberry Ganache." He nearly yelled it at her, brown eyes wide, hair a mess beneath his hairnet which he'd forgotten about completely. "They're mine. I made them. They're... Italian." And he was left looking like a fool as she gave him that look that he'd seen girls give other guys millions of times, but never him, you know the one that translates to "Wow, you are crazy and creepy. Stay far, far away from me.", before she smiled tightly and replied, "That's nice.", and then swiftly made her exit.
And thus began their love affair... Or at least that was where his fascination started.
Day after day, Jude would toil in the kitchen all hours of the night to prepare delicious treats specifically for her. One day it was Bianco e Nero Cookies, the next day it was Baci Cake With Drunken Cherry Sauce , and then he made some Strawberry Tiramisu, because he knew she liked strawberries. And every day he would wait for the chance to see her in the line, and he would watch to make sure that she tried some. And every day she did.
And then there was a day that she didn't. He had made Pumpkin Panna Cotta With Caramelized Pears. And when she came through the line that day, she passed it by. She didn't even ask to try it! Needless to say, he was crushed.
After debating with himself for nearly ten minutes, he finally grabbed a cup of it and marched out into the cafeteria to find where she was sitting. He placed the cup down on the table before her and she glanced up at him with that shocked look on her face, replaced by that familiar look of... Well he wasn't quite sure what that look was about and he didn't think that he really wanted to know.
"You didn't try my Panna Cotta." He announced. "I made it for you."
"Uhm..." Eyes darted to the cup before moving around to her companions, then she warily looked back up at him. "I don't like pumpkin."
To look at his face, you'd think she'd just told him that his dog died. "Oh." He replied softly, standing there silent and still for just a moment. "I'm... I'm sorry." He finally whispered before he reached for the cup and then made his way back through the double doors and into the kitchen.
For nearly a week, there were no more homemade desserts. The students were getting restless and there were a few of them that knew exactly why. Point in fact, there were several that made a point to tell her that she should have just tried the damn Panna Cotta.
In addition to the lack of desserts, there was also no more Jude. He wasn't there to stare at her as she walked by, to smile at her shyly. And it was almost as if the entire kitchen had felt the loss of him. The food became more and more bland each day, and the lunch ladies started to get that sour look again like they'd had before Jude had came.
And then one night, just after midnight, there was a knock on her door. Waiting for her outside was a beautiful tray of all sorts of homemade cookies and treats. Accompanying them was a note that read; My name is Jude. I'm sorry if I frightened you. I didn't mean to. I just think you're lovely, is all. Please forgive me.
The very next day, things in the cafeteria were back to normal. There were all sorts of desserts and the food had found its spice and the lunch ladies were smiling like they'd all just won the lotto. But there still wasn't any Jude to be found. And the next day it was much the same way. This went on for nearly a week before she asked about him.
"Oh, that crazy boy. He only comes in in the middle of the night and works until the morning then he leaves before you kids come around."
She knew it was her fault. She'd driven him off. And she hadn't the slightest idea how to make it better.
Weeks went by and there was still a dreadful hole in her day where Jude should have been. But the food in the cafeteria continued to be quite wonderful and, at least twice a week, she found a platter full of treats at her door. Each time they'd have a note accompanying them that contained strange little facts about him, like the fact that he was born in Edinburgh, that he'd been in a rock band that had been quite popular in Dublin, that he was named after a Beatles song (as if that one wasn't obvious), that he'd wanted to go to culinary school but his parents wouldn't hear of it, as well as little tid-bits about all the places he had visited since he'd been in the states, and all the odd jobs he'd had; carpenter's assistant, deckhand on a fishing boat, he'd even spent a brief stint as a carnival magician, not the kind that got dunked into tanks, but one of the ones that guessed ages and weights.
And then one day she wrote him back, leaving the note tucked beneath the empty platter that she placed outside her door.
This little bit of note passing continued on for weeks. And though they'd never met in person, aside from just those two times prior, they got to know one another far better than they would have had they spent every day together. There was something safe about putting things down with pen and paper, and they both found themselves spilling secrets they never would have shared any other way.
It was nearly four months after the first time they'd met when Jude decided to take the leap. And leap he did, in true Jude fashion. It was the middle of lunch, the cafeteria was full, and Cassie was at her usual table. She jumped, as did most everyone else, as quite suddenly a man leaped onto the table with guitar in hand. She recognized him instantly. He began to strum a tune, and in his thick, Scottish accent, he sang for her a song, Cassidy by The Grateful Dead, though he changed up the words a little bit of course.
I have seen where the wolf has slept by the silver stream. I can tell by the mark he left you were in his dream. Ah, child of countless trees. Ah, child of boundless seas. What you are, what you're meant to be Speaks his name, though you were born to me, Born to me, Cassie...
Lost now on the country miles in his Cadillac. I can tell by the way you smile he's rolling back. Come wash the nighttime clean, Come grow this scorched ground green, Blow the horn, tap the tambourine Close the gap of the dark years in between You and me, Cassie...
Quick beats in an icy heart. catch-colt draws a coffin cart. There he goes now, here she starts: Hear her cry. Flight of the seabirds, scattered like lost words Wheel to the storm and fly.
Faring thee well now. Let your life proceed by its own design. Nothing to tell now. Let the words be yours, I'm done with mine.