Neena Thurman pours drinks, kicks ass. (fallsinplace) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-05-14 01:03:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, anya corazon (spider-girl), elaine mallory, neena thurman (domino) |
Who: Cora, Elaine, and Neena
Where: a park
What: chatting
When: earlier in the week
Warnings/Rating: PG at worst
Status complete
Corazon was practicing choreography sequences in the park after school, while Elaine sat on a bench nearby and watched from over the top of a book. The eight year old was artfully fighting imaginary Nazgul, picking imaginary pockets with an invisible Artful Dodger, and pirouetting across the grass like it was Swan Lake--and she was so caught up with her dancing that she almost forgot to watch where she was going.
Dante loved kids. He also loved the park. Neena loved to run, and was in no way opposed to letting Dante lick a few little strangers. When Dante saw the little girl dancing in the park, he whined a little and stopped walking until Neena sighed and led him over. She smiled when she recognized Elaine, and waved. “Hey! Is your little girl allergic to dogs?”
Elaine smiled, and waved back, moving Cora’s backpack to make room on the bench beside her, just in case Neena wanted to sit. “Nope, she’s not allergic,” she replied, “She loves dogs. And yes, that ninja ballerina over there is mine.”
By that time, Cora had noticed the old dog noticing her, and was gravitating toward them like she’d been caught in a tractor beam. “Can I pet him?”
Neena smiled at Cora’s question and nodded. “Sit, Dante.” The old dog sat with a huff, his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth. “You can pet him. It’s nice to meet you, Cora. Nate told me a little about you, but he forgot to mention how pretty you are.” Neena smiled warmly. Thomas was right, she was going to be a real beauty when she grew up.
Cora’s cheeks, already flushed from dancing, turned even darker pink at Neena’s compliment, and she murmured a bashful thanks as she held her hand out to Dante. “I heard about the fire,” she said, “I’m glad you came back safe. Everyone was worried.”
Nate had shared Neena’s secret of not being dead with Cora, but Cora had promised not to tell, so she didn’t mention that. She didn’t want to get Nate in trouble, even after the fact.
“I am too. Thanks.” She smiled at Cora. “I’ve been getting an earful about it from all my friends, so I don’t think I’ll do that again.” Dante was clearly enjoying the attention. He licked Cora’s hand and face. Neena kept an eye on him, but he knew better than to misbehave. He was a good dog.
Cora laughed at the puppy-kisses, ruffling Dante’s fur behind his ears. She liked the attention, too. “Are you gonna come to my recital with Uncle Tommy?”
Recital? She remembered Thomas mentioning it, now. “Of course. We’ll be there with all the rest of your entourage. But you have to promise to sign an autograph for me afterward, okay?” She grinned. It felt so normal to do this. Just out enjoying her day, talking to a friend’s kid.
“Totally!” Corazon promised, thrilled to be asked for an autograph. “It’s only two weeks away, but it’s gonna be awesome.” She had every confidence that it would be. And even if she messed up, she knew she’d just keep dancing, because her whole family would be there.
“I bet. Were you practicing when we came over?” The girl’s enthusiasm was amusing. She liked to see kids just being kids, even if it made her miss her own son a little.
“I was,” she said, “I’m in a lot of scenes. Newsies, and Oliver, and Weathertop...” There was quite the list, but she wouldn’t name them all right then and there. Just highlights. “We had our first dress rehearsal this week.”
“Sounds like you’ll be busy. I’ll definitely be looking forward to it.” Neena promised. It would be nice to see the recital and spend more time with Thomas’s family. She was pretty fond of them, they seemed like good people.
“I hope you like it,” Corazon said, still dividing her attention between Neena and Dante. She still sometimes wished that she could have a puppy. Maybe once Harry and Elaine settled down and got married. Because that was totally going to happen.
“Mom has some postcards for it, I think.”
“Yes, mom does,” Elaine said, reaching into her book bag to procure one such postcard. “And so does Corazon, except I think she left them in her other backpack.” She smiled, and offered a card to Neena. “That should have all the pertinent information for you, in case Thomas has misplaced his.” Thomas’ housekeeping had never been the greatest.
Neena took the card and laughed. “Luckily we’re not relying on Thomas’s house cleaning.” It was the one domestic thing Neena was great at. Being obsessive compulsive had its perks.
“Good for you,” Elaine said, “Though I’m sure he has other talents.” She smiled. “How are things with you guys?”
“Pretty well. He’s staying over most nights now, to kind of ease into actual full time cohabitation. It’s pretty nice to wake up every morning next to my amazing hot and incredibly sweet boyfriend.” She grinned widely. It was even more fun falling asleep next to him. “I actually sit down to eat breakfast now, so I can hold a conversation with him.”
“That is always nice,” Elaine agreed, nodding. She enjoyed having Harry around on a regular basis, and it was good to see that he and Cora had bonded as well. And she knew that Harry was excited for Thomas to have someone special in his life. “It’s good to have a few quiet moments in between the excitement, every now and then.”
“It makes you appreciate the excitement more.” Neena said with a laugh. “I’m glad things are calming down, though now that I’ve said that some stupid thing’s going to happen.”
“It does,” Elaine agreed, but she shook her head at the suggestion that Neena may have jinxed the season of quiet. “Whatever life throws our way next, we’ll get through it, together.”
“All for one, and one for all!” Corazon chimed in, brandishing an imaginary saber, “And three for five!”
Neena laughed, grinning widely at Cora. “See, you’re a smart little girl.”
Cora smiled, and shrugged her shoulders. “I do my best.” Because, of course, there was no try.
“You’re going to be fun to watch grow up, kid. I don’t envy all the grey hairs you’re going to give your mom.” She ruffled Cora’s hair, then turned her attention back to Elaine. “I should get going, before Dante decides to run off with Cora. It was great to see you again, tell Harry I said hi.”
“Will do,” Elaine promised, nodding her head. She had a feeling that between Nate and Cora, there were going to be a lot of grey hairs earned.
Corazon hugged Dante and promised she would see him again soon. “And you, too, Neena!”