audrey (bidabble) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2015-05-07 12:02:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, audrey, isabelle lightwood |
Who: Izzy and Audrey
When: Late April
Where: The Bakery
What: Catching up!
Rating/Warnings: Low/None
Status: Complete
“Hey Izz?” Audrey poked her head out of her office into the cafe. There were customers milling about, baristas hard at work. There were a couple of bakers in the back--in the kitchen part of the building--working on tomorrow’s breads and pastries, too. Audrey had been in her office doing some brainstorming on the frequent customer app that she was dreaming up with Merlin.
“You got a minute?”
“Sure” Izzy replied turning from her job and making her way over. Izzy was rather happy, she’d passed all her post-Easter exams with flying colors and was well on her way to being a qualified baker. It was all thanks to Audrey and her belief and support. She’d never dreamed she’d end up here but she wouldn’t give it up for the world.
“What’s up?”
“I’ve been toying around with the idea of making a frequent buyer punch card. You know, the kind of thing where our customers pick up a business card and get a hole punch or a stamp every time they buy a drink? Then the tenth drink is free, right?” Audrey said, leaning against the doorway and folding her arms across her tummy. “But those are a pain, and they always get lost. So I’m thinking… what about a smartphone app? One where they can scan in at the Bakery whenever they make a purchase.” No one ever loses their smartphone. Even still, there could be some sort of account on file with the bakery, so none of the info ever got lost.
Izzy listened and nodded, "I get it. So we have like one of those barcode thingys that we let people scan and that updates the app?" while she wasn't a computer person she was a shopper and she'd seem a similar thing in a clothing store once.
“Yeah, totally.” Audrey said, nodding and smiling. “Think like a facebook app on your smartphone. They scan it in, and our computer keeps track of how many drinks and other things they’ve purchased. Then when they hit a certain amount, the next drink is free. What do you think?” She was pretty excited about the idea. Maybe after $50 the next drink is free. Or 10 drinks. She wasn’t sure which would be better.
Izzy smiled, “I think it’s a great idea and it’ll be popular too. I mean people forget cards but their cell phone is hardly ever forgotten” she said, “We could work out which would seem more attractive to customers and what won’t bankrupt us too” she added with a wink.
“I agree. We want to keep this mutually beneficial. Keep people coming in, but also give them incentive to spend what they can.” She thought about it, tapping her fingertips against her jaw. “...We’ll crunch some numbers and see.” She added with a smirk. “I’ll need to borrow your calculator"
"Exactly" Izzy said, "There should be a calculator in the office I think" she said, she used it for new recipe weight measurements sometimes. "I'm guessing we're getting a professional to help with the actual design?" she asked since her IT skills were not that good.
“I’ve asked Merlin to take a look.” Audrey said, giving her a smile. “I’m sure we’ll come up with something amazing if he and I work together. Whatever we can’t come up with together, we can hire out to design for us.”
“Oh of course. I keep forgetting your Merlin is a computer wizard as well as an actual wizard” Izzy grinned, “I’m sure you’ll come up with something awesome between you”
That made Audrey laugh. “Yes, he’s both. He’s wonderful at everything, really. Brilliant man, amazing father, loving husband, computer whiz… and possibly the most powerful wizard that ever lived.” It was obvious by the smile on her face that she was head over heels in love with her husband, and almost as proud of him as she was of her son.
Izzy chuckled, “The way you two talk about each other is adorable and pretty amazing you know?” she said softly, “You’re setting the bar pretty high for the rest of us” she added teasingly.
Audrey looked a bit sheepish, though the grin was still there. “Sorry about that, love. I can’t help myself sometimes. I’ll try to refrain.” She paused for a moment. “...what about your love life? I should ask, but I never seem to know how to find the right words. Everything going all right there?”
“Oh please don’t. It’s nice to see you so happy. You’re one of the most deserving people I know” Izzy told her honestly, thanks to Audrey taking her on Izzy had found a job, no a career, she adored and was pretty good at. “If by all right you mean non-existent then yeah it’s peachy” she laughed, “I’m single and happy for now. But you can ask anytime you like” she added because she didn’t mind.
“I’ll definitely keep asking. It’s not always going to be non-existent,” Audrey gave a little chuckle. “I’m sure you’ll find someone if you really want to. And if you’re content the way things are, all the better.” It was when Audrey stopped looking that she found someone. Maybe it worked that way for everyone?
“I’d like to think it’s not always going to be that way but I am happy right now which is definitely the main thing” Izzy said with a cheerful smile. She liked her life and being unattached gave her the freedom to do as she wished which was good when she was working hard on her apprenticeship.
And the hours of an apprentice baker weren’t exactly the best for maintaining a relationship. Audrey and Merlin struggled sometimes with how early Audrey had to be up and out of the house in the mornings. But they made it work. And now the odd hours were nothing compared to having an infant in the house.
“Being happy is the most important. Leaving yourself open to change is the second most important.” Audrey said, sagely. Then grinned.
The early mornings had taken some getting used to but Izzy had become a bit of an early bird now. And she kind of liked being up when everything was still quiet. She imagined it would be hard to get someone else used to that kind of schedule though, especially if they were on a normal one.
“Thank you for the sound advice” Izzy replied bowing as if to a sensei before grinning back.
Audrey gave a laugh, then bowed herself in return. “Okay, now get back to work.” She teased. “I’m gonna go through some more paperwork in here, but I’ll be out in a bit.”
“You got it boss” Izzy saluted, “It should all be organised but don’t get buried in it” she added with a wink before heading back out.