Verity (jokeshopgirl) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-07-11 23:16:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | !complete, esme cullen, verity |
Who: Esme Cullen and Verity Ashford
When: Early July
Where: On the street
What: Random Encounter, Verity gets clipped by a dude on a skateboard, Esme comes to her rescue!
Rating/Warning: Low/None (Verity is pregnant)
Status: Complete!
Verity was on her way out of the coffee shop. She’d been craving a chai latte, and she knew that if she bought one of those big boxes of chai tea mix in the supermarket, she’d drink the whole thing. That much caffeine was probably not good for the baby, so she decided to get a small, iced one at the coffee shop instead. Quantity control.
While she was in there, though, she decided that she wanted a snack, too, and a water bottle. She was juggling all of those things, and putting her wallet back into her purse as she exited the cafe. And her phone rang. So she went to grab it out of the bottom of her purse, when a dude on a skateboard came flying by, and clipped her shoulder.
Everything she was carrying went falling to the ground, crashing all over the pavement under her feet. It was a lucky thing Verity didn’t fall right along with all of it.
Esme had been heading towards the coffee shop when she witnessed the whole thing. Already moving forward to offer her assistance she moved quickly when the skateboarder clipped the pregnant woman.
Esme's motherly instincts kicked in and she placed a steadying hand on the woman's arm, "Are you alright dear?" she asked in concern, "Let me pick this up for you" she added bending to collect the fallen items.
“Oh... oh, thank you...” Verity said. She was still a little confused as to what had just happened. Her chai was the only thing that she’d managed to fumble and keep up in the air. Her purse, cell phone, wallet, pastry and water bottle were all on the sidewalk. Thankfully, the water bottle hadn’t burst open. But her phone had, and the battery skittered to the gutter.
“What... Jesus, could people watch where they’re going?” She said, angrily. Though, the dude on the skateboard probably could have said the same thing about her.
"You're welcome" Esme said gathering the things, including the battery.
"They really should" Esme agreed, "Now I think you should take a seat sweetheart, it must have been a surprise to have that happen so suddenly"
“It was.” Verity had spilled some of her chai onto her hands, but most of it was still in the cup. She moved over to one of the outdoor tables and flopped into a chair, sighing as she moved. “...I was just trying to get to my phone while it was ringing...”
“Oh dear” Esme said as she came to sit with her placing the womans things on the table, “I’m afraid your phone seems to have bore the brunt of the impact with the sidewalk” she informed her almost apologetically. “Can I get you anything? Water maybe?”
“No, no. I’m okay.” Verity said, giving the kind woman a gentle smile. “I’ll be all right. I’m just a bit flustered.” She had her water bottle, she had her chai. After a moment of breathing, she reached forward and picked up her cell phone pieces to put it back together. “Thank you for helping me.”
“It wasn’t a problem, I couldn’t leave you on your own after all” Esme replied, the thought wouldn’t have crossed her mind not to help. Especially given the young woman’s condition. “I just wish I’d have been closer and given that man a good telling off. If any of my children had ever behaved that way there’d have been trouble”
Verity broke into a warm smile, reaching for her chai. “Your children? How many do you have?” Her hand passed absent-mindedly over her baby bump.
“Five” Esme replied, “Six if you include my daughter-in-law. My youngest Alice has just finished school and isn’t happy that I’m making her find a job before she starts college” she smiled as she spoke about her family.
“Oh, wow.” Verity said, nodding. “You must have a lot of experience with kids and babies and all that.” She liked the woman’s smile. It was like a light at the end of a tunnel. That was a good thing to know--that it wasn’t all pain and misery, like she’d been feeling. “I don’t know if I’d be happy about getting a summer job, either.”
"Each child is different" Esme told her, "My granddaughter is the perfect mix of my son and daughter-in-law" She felt a pang of sadness that she wasn't as experienced with babies as she would have liked but didn't let it show. "My husband and I try to make sure our children appreciate what they have and getting a job is part of that"
“That’s wonderful! You don’t look old enough to have a granddaughter,” Verity added, smiling warmly. “I’m sure she’ll be able to find something. There are a lot of places hiring right about now.”
"Thank you" Esme replied, "I've told her to look for something that she finds interesting. I'd hate to think that she didn't enjoy her summer even if she does have to work"
“What’s she interested in?” Talking about someone else was a good distraction from the startle she’d just had. Of course, dropping things wasn’t uncommon for Verity lately. She felt like she was a clutz more than ever before. Butterfingers. But being clipped by a dude on a skateboard still had her on edge.
“Fashion mostly” Esme told her, perfectly happy to talk about her family if it helped the young pregnant woman recover from her shock. “And computers. She’s already potentially got an interview for a summer internship”
“That’s an interesting field.” Verity said with a nod. “Oh, good for her! I hope it pulls through? I have a friend who’s a fashion designer. Jefferson? He owns this shop... he’s made me some maternity wear. He’s absolutely brilliant, I must say.”
"Thank you. It would be nice for her and of course have the added benefit of looking good on her work history" Esme replied, "Oh how wonderful. Its lovely when you have friends who are so considerate"
"I hope she does well in college. Where is she going in the fall?” Verity asked, interested. She wasn’t that far out of college herself, but far enough, and with enough crazy events between now and then, that it felt like a long time had passed.
“Thank you. She is attending Laguna College of Art and Design” Esme replied, “So it’s not too far away thankfully. I like having my family close by” she admitted with a smile.
“That’s nice. Is she going to stay at home while she goes to school?” Verity asked. “I wanted to get away from home--almost as far as possible, you know? But Southern California was far enough for me. A six-ish hour drive from my home.”
“She hasn’t mentioned moving out” Esme replied, “And I would definitely prefer her to stay at home, though I wouldn’t stop her of course, if she wanted to move out. If she stays at home her father and I would need to buy her a good car. Did you not get along with your parents?” Esme asked curiously, “Or are you just an independent spirit?”
“More independent than anything else. I thought that college was a time to grow up a bit, apart from them, figure out who I was. All I did was find a boy who later broke my heart.” She explained. “I found out he was cheating on me. This was... over a year ago. It was terrible. Then I met Oliver, and I fell madly in love with him. But he was a wounded Soccer player, and when he healed up a bit, he went back to Scotland. And left me like this.” Whoa Subject change.
“Oh my god” Esme exclaimed, “And he hasn’t come back? How awful of him. I’m so sorry my dear, you are such a lovely girl” Esme thought it was atrocious that a man could leave a pregnant girl like that, and to move back to Scotland of all places not even close enough to check she was okay. “If you need any help please don’t hesitate to ask” Okay so Verity probably had a lot of friends but one more couldn’t hurt.
“No, he’s … well, he’s helping me financially.” Verity said, then gave a little shrug. She wasn’t really hurting for money. But support in other ways... “You’re really nice to offer. Thank you.” Verity responded with a nod. She was absolutely planning on asking everyone who offered for help.
“Well that’s something I suppose” Esme said, “Still not really the support you need right now” she was rather indignant on Verity’s behalf. “But yes do call on us. Carlisle, my husband, is a doctor so feel free to call anytime”
“No.” Verity shook her head a little. “Not really the support I could use.” She blinked. “Your husband is a doctor? Does he... do you all know about the strangeness in Orange County? You’re not on Valarnet, are you?”
Esme reached over to squeeze Verity’s hand and give her a smile. She’d offered her help and she wasn’t the sort to not follow through on that.
“He is and we’ve experienced a number of weird things here yes. I’ve only recently joined Valarnet, my children decided to show me but Carlisle is too busy at the hospital right now so he checks on things through me”
Verity nodded. “Thank you. For everything.” She had to mull it all over in her head. It wouldn’t hurt to have another doctor around to help her if she needed it. The craziness of Orange County was bound to have an effect on her pregnancy, wasn’t it? Anyway. “I really shouldn’t keep you for much longer. I have to get back to work, too.”
“Oh of course, are you sure you’re okay now?” Esme checked, not wanting to let her go to work if she was still feeling a little in shock.
“Yes. Yes, I’m okay.” Verity moved to collect up her things and tug herself up to her feet. “Deep breaths.”
Esme assisted as much as she could without getting in the way, "It was lovely to meet you Verity even if the circumstances were not ideal"
“I owe you one, Esme.” Verity said, giving her new friend a smile. “Thank you. I’m sure we’ll see each other again soon.” She gave Esme a wave, then started off down the sidewalk--careful not to get hit by anyone passing by this time.