Mary Crawley (forgetwhatisay) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2014-01-15 11:27:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, mary crawley, samwise gamgee |
Who: Mary Crawley and Samwise Gamgee
When: End of December
Where: Coffee Shop
What: Mary’s sister has forced her out on a date with a servant the gardener
Rating/Warning: G, Some very mild angst
Status: Complete
Since she always stopped by the same coffee shop right after work, Mary pretended she wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary as she walked down the street as the sun slowly dropped beneath the skyline. She knew Sam would probably already be there, since she was running late. Perhaps she had enough time to convince herself that running into him was just a matter of chance, and not a date her sister had orchestrated. Sybil, it seemed, found it very easy getting her brain to accept the preposterous, so it couldn’t be that difficult.
Sam was just going to take Padme’s advice and not mention the fact that this had been set up by Sybil unless Mary mentioned it first. He didn’t want to make this any more awkward then it already inevitably was. He didn’t know why Sybil had chosen him to try and set Mary up with, because they had to know other guys, but he supposed this would give him a chance to get to know Mary a little better. After all, he was around the Baggins’ house enough and he saw Mary on occasion, but never really talked to her.
Reaching the coffee shop, Sam stepped inside and glanced around to see if Mary had arrived yet.
Mary didn’t know if Sam was originally from California or not, but there was something about his appearance that seemed to scream that he was a native of the area. He was so American-looking, with his beachy blonde hair and tan skin. He was a product of the sun, while she came from the rain and darkened sitting rooms of England.
She was standing at the counter when he entered, the last person in line as it slowly dwindled down. She turned at the jingle of the bell on the door and put on her best attempt at a welcoming smile.
Sam spotted Mary when she turned towards the door and he too gave her a warm smile then moved to join her, “Hey. How’re you doing?” He asked, running a hand through his beachy blond hair, as she had put it. Sam wasn’t originally from California, but he’d lived there long enough that he considered it home since he didn’t remember much of Oregon before his father had decided that moving to California was a better place to start up a gardening business.
“Just waiting in line for my coffee,” Mary replied, which explained what she was doing, rather than how. She was nervous. Sybil had placed her in an awkward position with a nice boy, and even though she wouldn’t have asked Sam out herself, she didn’t want to do anything that would hurt his feelings. He worked for her uncle, after all.
“Not tea?” Sam teased lightly, not wanting her to think he was making fun of her or anything, “Did you drink coffee before you moved here?” Sam didn’t actually know when Mary moved to America from England, but he figured this was a fairly easy way of finding out. When he thought about it, the fact that Mary was English and Frodo’s niece was pretty much all he knew about her.
“After work, I need coffee,” she replied, her smile just a tad more natural than it had been before. “To bring me back to life.”
The last person ahead of her placed their order. When it was her turn, Mary asked for a simple, medium coffee. Nothing fancy. She’d add her own milk and sugar at the counter. However, realizing there was some question of who should be paying for today caused her to linger at the register. She wasn’t used to paying for men, but at the moment she felt responsible, so she turned to Sam and asked, “What would you like?” before reaching into her purse.
When Mary reached into her purse, Sam shook his head and went for his wallet, “No, let me get that.” He ordered his own drink then handed over his card. Mary might have felt obligated to pay because it was because of her sister that they were there, but Sam didn’t think that meant that she needed to pay.
Despite what she had attempted, she was not the sort to stop a gentleman from behaving like one. Mary closed her purse and thanked him, and was sincere about it. Their drinks were made, milk and sugar was added, and they walked to an empty table.
Mary was overdressed, compared to everyone else in the shop. She was typically overdressed for her own office. At the moment she was wearing a black dress and string of white pearls, real ones, of course. Taking a seat, she adjusted her hemline to keep herself neat, and felt awkward by the time she looked a Sam again. “So… how was your day?”
“It was alright. During the winter I don’t have as many jobs a day since it gets dark earlier.” Sam actually preferred the summer months though, because in the winter he didn’t really know what to do with himself once he was done with his work. “How was your day? And what is it that you do?”
“I work for my uncle,” Mary said. A little smirk appeared on her lips. She hadn’t thought about it before, since their situations had seemed so different, but perhaps they were not when one looked more closely. “A secretary, basically. Do you work for many people aside from Frodo?”
It was actually a little ironic that they both worked for Frodo in a way and Sam smirked as well before taking a sip of his drink, “We have a couple of regulars then every season we get new clients from word of mouth from other clients.” Sam wasn’t the only gardener either, but he always took care of their top clients, because he was one of the hardest working gardeners his father had.
“It’s your father’s business,” continued Mary, “Is it not? Was it something you always wanted to do?” Nepotism wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but she knew for certain that she didn’t want to be a secretary her entire life.
Sam nodded as he took a sip of his drink, “Yeah, it is. I used to help him when I was younger and so it just sort of happened. I like doing it. I like getting my hands dirty and seeing the finished product whether it’s a garden or just pruning. Maybe it’s weird, but that’s what I like.” He knew some people wouldn’t understand and he’d been asked before if he thought that someday he’d get a real job, but this was his real job.
For all Mary’s ability to play her cards close to the vest, she had a devil of a time keeping some thoughts to herself. When she looked at Sam, she saw someone who was kindhearted and goodnatured, which were worthy attributes, but too often they went hand-in-hand with being simple-minded or settling for less. “I’m sure it’s fine for now,” she replied, without batting an eye.
“Well, I’m probably going to take over the business at some point.” Sam didn’t take offense to what Mary said, instead figured it might be better to make her understand that he wasn’t settling for this job in the least, “My father started the business when I was little and he never tried to push me into it. I used to go with him on jobs sometimes in the summer and watch him work and sometimes help and all in all it’s just a really rewarding job.”
“Did you go to college?” Mary asked, still sounding a little too casual about it. They weren’t exactly pointed questions that she was asking, but they were a little on the familiar side.
It said a lot about Sam that he didn’t get offended by Mary’s questioning. Instead, he nodded his head, “University of California. I studied plant sciences and business.” He had no problem with the possibility of taking over the business from his father and had been working towards that for awhile now. “What did you go to college for?”
“Business,” Mary said simply, and somewhat lamely. Her major had basically been chosen for her by her family. It was always expected that she’d marry rich and not need to rely on it. That was before the scandal, however. “They really give degrees in gardening?”
Sam nodded, “Yeah. Well, not gardening exactly, but agriculture and that kind of stuff.” He took another sip of his drink, “What’re you planning on doing with your degree? Obviously working for your uncle isn’t what you want to do in the long run.”
“You ask that as though I had a plan,” Mary replied. She hid her face behind a sip of coffee and looked away for a moment. She’d realized she’d been unconsciously needling Sam, hoping to get a rise out of him, because… she was ever so slightly jealous. A father who looked after him, a career he had actually pursued. “I was shipped off to America to… figure out all those things.”
“Damn. That sucks. I’m sorry.” Sam would have hated it if that sort of thing had happened to him and was glad that he’d always had been able to make his own decisions when it came to his life, “But hey, here you can do whatever you want, right? I mean, Frodo doesn’t seem like the type who would make you stay working for him if there was something else that you wanted to do.”
“My uncle has been patient with me…” Mary said quietly. And then, she fell quiet for a few moments. Minutes. When she sipped her coffee, there was no sound, as well. When she spoke again, it was as if the subject had totally changed, which it had. “I know the two of you share the same dream world. What is that like? You didn’t know each other before, did you?”
It was obvious that Mary didn’t want to talk about her job situation anymore or herself in general and Sam wasn’t going to push her to do it if she didn’t want to so we went with the topic change, “Yeah, we dream about the same place. Ironically, I was Frodo’s gardener in Hobbiton. And no, I didn’t know your uncle until I joined Valarnet. It’s a little strange, but it feels like I’ve known Frodo longer than I actually have.”
“History repeats itself for you, too, then?” It was more of a statement than a question. She had faced the same romantic scandal in both worlds. Being a gardener sounded much...well, at least it didn’t sound like a scandal.
“Yeah, I guess so. In the dreams I knew him for a lot longer though. I mean, Hobbiton isn’t as big as Orange County is. Every hobbit knows each other.” Sam smirked and took a sip of his drink, which was almost empty, “What’re your dreams like?” He was curious, if Mary and her sister had different dreams then Frodo, what were they?
Mary took a sip of coffee from her own nearly empty cup, which she was using as something of a shield. She couldn’t recall the last time she’d spoken with anyone about her personal life. This may as well have been the first. “My family is all there, but we live in the past. The last thing I dreamt about is World War I.”
Sam’s brows rose slightly as she spoke, “Wow. That’s got to be kind of crazy. It’s weird dreaming of a completely different time, isn’t it?” He knew that there were other people on Valarnet who dreamt or the past or the future and he wondered what it was like for the people who dreamt about the present. He wondered if they felt cheated at all or if they preferred it.
“It’s more strange being carted back to England every night,” replied Mary. It felt like she was being escorted to and fro against her will, which was, unfortunately, nothing new. It was very annoying at this point.
Sam nodded, “Yeah, I can see how that would be an annoyance,” He knew that some people enjoyed their dreams, but for every person who enjoyed them there seemed to be two more who dreaded them and Mary definitely appeared to be one of those people who didn’t enjoy them in the least, “Hopefully yours will end soon so you can get a reprieve.”
“Do the dreams end?” she asked. Her voice was nearly plaintive. Sybil loved the dream world, but Mary couldn’t wait to be done with it, if such a thing were truly an option. Everything good that happened to her was so fleeting.
“From what I’ve read on Valarnet, sometimes they reach an end.” Sam had a feeling that his would end at some point, because the quest had to end eventually. “I think for some people the dreams might reoccur once they’re over, but for the most part they do eventually stop.” Especially for the people who talked about dying in their dreams.
Mary had never heard that before. Sometimes she genuinely tried to avoid the Network that had such a hold on everyone. Her eyes brightened a little as she thought over what Sam had said. “Well, that’s actually quite reassuring.” At last, she put a crease into her empty paper cup.
Sam smiled, glad that he had been able to give Mary some reassurance, “Hopefully yours reach their end sooner rather than later.” Sam on the other hand hoped his dreams continued for awhile. He didn’t know what to expect, but he wanted to know what happened after him and Frodo split off from the rest of the Fellowship.
Silently, Mary told herself that the date-that-wasn’t-a-date hadn’t been a total waste after all. Maybe Sybil was onto something. It wasn’t a love connection, but Sam was easy to talk to. Mary knew that dealing with her required a great deal of patience. “Hopefully yours do, too. Unless yours are more pleasant,” she said, smiling a little. She folded up the rest of her cup.
“They’re….not so bad, but there have been a few things that I could live without.” Twice Sam had thought Frodo had been killed; once by the Ringwraiths and once by the cave troll. He could do without that feeling again. “I’m sure they’ll end at some point though. I just hope the outcome is a good one.” There were only two ways the quest could end and Sam hoped they survived it.
Mary rose to her feet. She could have asked more about Sam’s dream world, but it felt a little like sneaking around her uncle’s back. “Uncle Frodo only talks about them superficially,” she said, her eyes beginning to scan the room for a trash receptacle.
Sam stood as well, spotting a trash can near the door and gestured towards it, because it was clear that they were almost done. “I can understand that.” After seeing the way Frodo had reacted to just being near The Ring, he could understand why he wouldn’t like talking about the dreams.
Mary didn’t know about The Ring, but she did know her uncle spent a lot of time in that underground bunker of his, and that there was something fishy about it. There were times when Aunt Merrill looked nervous for no discernable reason. Mary tried to respect their privacy.
“Well,” she said, now that her trash was disposed of, “Thank you for joining me, even if it was planned under somewhat awkward circumstances.”
“Anytime. I’m glad we got to know each other a little better.” Sam said as he tossed his own cup in the trash, “Maybe we can hang out again sometime. Or set Sybil up on some awkward date.” He smirked, “Do you need a ride or anything?” He didn’t want to take off and leave Mary if she needed a ride or something.
At the suggestion that she and Sam spend more time together, all Mary could do was quietly nod, but it was totally non-committal. Regardless of enjoying herself--what a surprise--she wasn’t ready to make more plans ...and Sybil was still going to get a talking-to.
“No no,” she said, as they stepped outside. “I have my car.” Which was a very nice car that Frodo had loaned from his collection. No matter how nice Sam was, she wasn’t going to be riding home in his pick-up truck.