InsaneJournal

Who: Ariel and Lorna
What: Making friends
Where: a medical marijuana dispensary
When: 9/2
Warnings/Rating: PG for discussion of drug use
Status: Complete



Ariel had read in the paper that the Department of Justice wouldn’t be taking action when it came to medical marijuana facilities in the states that had legalized them. He was pretty sure that meant California, but he wasn’t entirely sure. Nonetheless, he hadn’t smoked in almost a month, and while it wasn’t a flat-out addiction, it was starting to bug him. Smoking weed relaxed him, as it did most people, and he’d needed to be relaxed lately. He’d tried to contact Margarita about his annual visit with his daughter, and she’d laughed and hung up. Now he had to get the Godforsaken judge involved.

He was standing outside a medical marijuana dispensary, weighing the pros and cons of going in. The state cops were still, presumably, watching places like this, and he didn’t want to get caught. Talk about never seeing Alisa again. But this headache wasn’t going away anytime soon without any weed.

Lorna was on her way inside, humming cheerfully as she approached the door. She smiled at the man outside the shop, and stepped toward the door. “Going in?” She asked cheerfully.

“This will sound strange, probably, but I’m debating it.” Ariel smiled shamefacedly. “My usual source moved out of state.”

“Ugh, I know that feel.” Lorna said with a laugh. “You have your license? They’ve got a doctor inside who can help you out if you don’t.”

“I do.” He’d gotten it right after he arrived, thankfully. “Admittedly sometimes I just want to relax, but it really does eliminate my migraines very nicely. I’m just a bit nervous - I keep hearing conflicting information on whether or not I’ll be arrested upon entering.”

Lorna chuckled. “Well, If I don’t come out in handcuffs, I guess you’re safe. If I do, tell my husband to flush my stash.” She smiled at him and walked into the dispensary.

“I will remember.” Ariel saluted. He watched her go in, and gave it about ten minutes. He figured it would be all right by now, and followed her in.

No one else had joined the line behind her, so he did. “Thank you,” he told the woman. “I’m sorry to have been silly, just, it matters very much that I have a clean record.” He smiled. “I’m trying to get custody of my daughter.”

Lorna nodded, smiling sweetly at him. “I understand. It’s such a risk, though less so now, thank goodness!” She held out her hand to him. “I’m Lorna Summers. It’s nice to meet you. How old is your daughter?”

He shook it, smiling right back. “My name is Ariel. Alisa is three, and right now she lives with her mother in New York.” He didn’t, obviously, go into Margarita being a paranoid bitch. “Her mother and I don’t get along, but Alisa likes spending time with me. Or at least she used to.” He chuckled, hoping he didn’t sound too depressed. He was, but it wasn’t appropriate to burden a stranger with it.

“That’s too bad. I’d hate to be that far away from my daughter if I had one. Or my dad, for that matter.” Even though her father was a semi-triggery subject. She doubted she’d ever see the person who’d impregnated her mother as her dad. “The laws are so muddled about this, I can see why you’re nervous.” she gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile. “But I hope things work out okay for you! What brought you to the west coast?”

“School,” he replied. “Afterward I just stayed; I like it out here. Things are fairly calm, for the most part. I run a rare bookshop just north of here, and it’s a fun way to spend my time.”

“I haven’t been to the east coast, but I liked how calm things were here, too.” Lorna said with a smile. She wondered if she should warn Ariel about the crazy. He might rethink bringing his daughter here. “What kind of bookstore?”

“Mostly rare books, with a focus on the occult.” Ariel smiled, hoping she didn’t think he’d gone mad. “It’s interesting, if useless, and I do stock some mainstream titles to bring in more traffic. The rare books are more for collectors and they sell for high dollar.” He debated a minute, but went on eventually. “After I had a dream about alchemy, I happened to get in a few old grimoires, or spellbooks. Silly stuff, of course, but fun to look through.”

“You dreamed about alchemy?” Lorna asked with interest. “That sounds pretty neat. I’m more scientifically minded, myself, but I like to read almost everything. Is your shop more New Age-y with books about, like, crystals and stuff?” There was no judgement in her tone, she was just curious. She didn’t believe in religious magic, but she sure as hell believed people could do magic-like things.

“I have some of those things, but some Christianity-based magic tomes as well.” Ariel chuckled. “There appears to be a large gothic community in the north of this county, so they patronize my store often. But then, for example, I had a society lady come in recently asking for books of fairy tales for her young daughter. I see all kinds.”

“I bet. Everyone’s interested in magic, to one degree or another.” Lorna said with a giggle. “Heck, I am too, and I’m a scientist. What we used to call magic we’re now trying to explain with science, and we’re doing an okay job. It’s fascinating seeing what people used to believe, and imagining what people in centuries will think of us.”

“I couldn’t agree more, actually. Alchemists were the scientists of the Enlightenment, after all. We do have a science section. Should you ever see fit to stop in.” He smiled.

Lorna smiled right back. “I think I will. I’m always looking for a new book to read. Do you have a business card?” She didn’t want to forget, and she was very prone to doing so.

“I do, I think.” Ariel rummaged in the back of his wallet, eventually pulling out a few. He handed one over, inclining his head. “It’d be a pleasure to see a scientific mind, Mrs. Summers. We’re all slaves to superstition most of the time, myself included.”

She took the card and tucked it into her own wallet. “Sometimes superstitions have us doing good things for bad reasons, which is okay, I guess? People who don’t walk under ladders because it’s bad luck don’t get paint dripped on them or knock over ladders, for example. I just like to know the hows and whys of things. I majored in botany but there were a lot of fields I wanted to know more about.” And now she knew about geology, geophysics, and a little bit about astrophysics, thanks to the dreams. Not to mention a whole slew of fascinating things she learned thanks to her powers.

“Botany, really. Any particular reason?” What an unusual subject. He rather liked her more for it. “I got a music degree; singing is a bit of a hobby and I wanted to do it professionally, but of course, many do and it doesn’t work out.”

“That’s cool, I wish I was musical.” She laughed a little, then stepped up to the counter. “I actually got into it because I wanted to study the rainforest. When I was a kid I wanted to be a tree when I grew up. I’ve since been using my knowledge for semi-nefarious purposes.” She snickered a little and ordered without looking at the varieties. “I used to own my own dispensary, actually.’

“Oh?” Ariel waited his turn, fishing his card out of his wallet. “That must have been interesting, if difficult.” And she must have had access to a truly enormous amount of marijuana.

“It was. My shop was broken into and pretty much destroyed, so I gave up on that and started teaching instead. It was a better career choice for me, actually. I like being around kids a lot.” She smiled while he was served. “I still have a grow license, so I’ve been keeping my personal strain going. Thinking about marketing it, but it would be kind of awkward if my students found out.”

“Perhaps, yes.” Ariel chuckled. “Despite its legality, those two career options might not mix. But working with young people is a very laudable thing. I’m sure you do a lot of good.” He wasn’t being patronizing; she had an air about her that was patient and kind. Young people, especially teenagers, needed people like that.

“I hope so. I work with at-risk teens in a kind of combination probation rehab program. I hoping we’ll get more teachers, actually. I do math, science, and a very pitiful art class, but I think that we’d be doing a better job for the kids if we had the ability to expand our classes to encompass-” She stopped and laughed at herself, shaking her head. “Sorry. You’re right, my career goals definitely don’t work together well, and clearly I’m pretty passionate about teaching.”

“Most definitely.” Ariel couldn’t help but smile, despite her run-on. “It’s actually rather refreshing to meet someone who is passionate. Too many people go through the motions.” Himself included, for a long while. It was only recently that he’d managed to find meaning in what he did.

She smiled. “That’s the one thing I can’t do. I either believe in what I’m doing or I do something else.”

“I salute you for it.” Ariel chuckled. “I mean, ideally, I would be singing in a band or something, but I’ve had to find meaning in my store instead, in helping people and finding rare books that people might have been looking for for a lifetime.” He got his prescription bag, for which he nodded a thank you.

“I hope that you can find happiness in that. I know I enjoyed running my shop, and I was passionate about it, too. Maybe you could self-publish your stuff on Youtube? Sometimes people make their big break that way.” She smiled at Ariel and bounced ahead to hold the door for him.

“Always possible.” Unlikely, and he’d feel like an idiot, but not unheard of. He walked out with her, making sure the door shut behind them. “Are you off to work, ma’am?”

She shook her head. “No, all I have workwise is a shawl to finish for a commission. Are you going back to your shop?”

“Yes, but I’m not opening for now. I have to go through some new inventory.” He’d been putting it off; besides, being able to do it with a buzz and no headache would make the task go much quicker.

“Oh, well it was nice meeting you, then.” She said with a smile. She didn’t want to impose on his free time. “I hope your migraines go away.”

“It’s been a pleasure, Mrs. Summers.” He extended a hand for her to shake if she wanted. “I hope I’ll see you in the store. And whatever your malady may be, I hope it’s improved.”

She shook his hand, smiling brightly. “I’m sure you will. Take care until then.” She waved at him when the handshake stopped and turned to head toward the grocery store. It was next on her list of errands.