original_clone (original_clone) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2015-10-13 16:48:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, !partner thread, sarah manning, susan ashworth |
Who: Susan and Sarah
What: Opportunistic encounter
Where: Hospital
When: Early October
Rating: Low/Mentions of child death
Status: Complete
Sarah had just finished her sessions with the young people on the children’s ward and was making her way out of the hospital when she spotted a woman she recognised heading into the staff lounge. Deciding to take the opportunity presented to her she changed direction and followed her into the room.
“Uh hi, Susan right?” she checked as she smiled, “I promise I’m not a weirdo. My name is Sarah, I’m a friend of John’s” she explained.
Susan had wanted a cup of coffee; she’d just come on shift, and she could already feel herself getting tired. This seemed to bode poorly, since she was only an hour into a twelve-hour rotation. When she heard her name, she turned around and cocked her head. But when the other woman followed her into the staff lounge and then mentioned John, Susan’s blood ran cold. “Oh, bloody hell, is he dating you?” Susan didn’t know John well enough yet to gauge if he was the specific sort of twat to date multiple women.
Sarah laughed then, “No, no, god no” she said, “We’re just friends” Previously with benefits but Susan didn’t need to hear that. John seemed to be crushing pretty hard so that was over with now anyway. “He’s just been talking about you a bit and I couldn’t help my curiosity. I’m a nosey bugger, sorry” she grinned.
An eyebrow raised and Susan moved to pour herself a coffee. “Do you want a cup?” Interesting they were both English. “Maybe he just likes our accents. What does he say about me?”
“Sure thanks” Sarah nodded, “You know I said that too. He told me you were a nurse from England, and that despite him putting his foot in it you forgave him and had a lovely evening” she grinned, “He absolutely fancies the pants off you, it’s kind of sweet really”
“He didn’t put his foot in it that badly,” Susan smiled. She poured Sarah a cup of coffee and shrugged. “He listened to my sob story about my dead husband, the least I could do was let him say something silly once.” Though Susan wondered what there was about herself to fancy.
“Thanks” she said as she took the coffee, “Sounds like an interesting date” she couldn’t help comment, “But you’re both still interested so that says something right?” And while Sarah wasn’t into women even she could see how attractive Susan was, she could definitely see why John was interested.
“It’s rather charming how arrogant he acts when really he’s sort of squishy inside,” Susan admitted. “I haven’t been on a date since my previous husband passed, mostly because nobody asked. So he earned points, I’ll admit.” Susan liked John’s brazenness.
That was interesting, he’d never come across as arrogant to Sarah but maybe he’d been trying a little too hard and gave that impression. “That’s good to hear. He’s a good guy, he just needs bringing out of himself a little more. Tease him, he needs it”
“There’s nothing I like more than bursting people’s bubbles,” Susan replied. She was fond of being dry and sarcastic, which tended to stop cocky blokes like John in their tracks. “I just hope he doesn’t mind cats. If he comes over for dinner or something, he’ll have to deal.”
“No cat aversion as far as I’m aware” she replied, “I’m sure it won’t be a problem. My daughter wants a pet but I’m trying to put it off, I’ve never really been a pet person” she admitted, they were too much of a commitment for Sarah.
“You could always get her a fish, or a frog. Something to look after that’s quiet, and doesn’t take as much work as a mammal.” Susan tried to be helpful, but Zoe hadn’t gotten old enough to ask for anything. It made Susan’s heart ache to chat to this woman as if Susan’s daughter would be at home when she went.
“Oh I like the idea of a frog, that might be possible” Kira might like that too and if it stopped the requests for a puppy for a while then that would be even better. “Thanks for that, you may have just saved me”
Susan smiled. “They’re surprisingly cute. And not all of them make loud noises at night.” They were pretty common at pet stores too. “You’re welcome. You’ll have to tell me what she names it.”
"I definitely will" Sarah nodded, "I'm sure she'll love the idea. It's not something I'd have ever thought about"
“I used to catch them when I was little, but I’m afraid I’ve moved on to being a cat lady now.” Not that Susan had a problem with that; she loved her furkids.
“I’ve never really had a pet so other than cats and puppies I’m pretty clueless. But Kira will enjoy looking everything up about whatever we get” A frog was the most likely, even Sarah didn’t mind the sound of that.
“It must be nice to have such an inquisitive daughter,” Susan smiled. She was trying not to be so scared and flinchy around children. She’d been around Splendid’s son with minimal problem, and talking about older children helped too. She was, at least, less upset about the issue than Dream Susan.
“Nice but tiring” Sarah said though there was obvious affection in her voice as she spoke, “She’s better than I was at that age though, she listens for one thing and enjoys learning”
“That’s good. My daughter passed away when she was a baby, but I’d like to think that Zoe would’ve taken after me that way.” Susan’s voice only trembled a little when she talked about Zoe now; after ten years of mourning, Susan thought she was doing pretty okay.
"I'm so sorry" Sarah said, "I can't even imagine how that must feel" She couldn't bear the thought of losing Kira, she knew that much. Susan was a brave, good woman, Sarah could see that.
Susan smiled sadly. “She and my husband were in a car accident. It was a long time ago. It’s sad, in my dreams it’s even worse.” In her dreams, Susan felt directly responsible for Zoe’s death, which only made Dream Susan more crazy.
“That’s awful. Sometimes the dreams really do suck” Sarah said, that she could sympathise with though it sounded like Susan’s dreams were far worse.
“I’m sure there’s people who have worse,” Susan sighed. She then looked down at her watch. “Oh, shit,” she muttered. “Sorry, break’s gone a bit long.” Susan chugged her lukewarm coffee and binned the paper cup, shooting Sarah a smile. “You should ring me - ask John for my number. We can have lunch, and you can tell me how your little one gets on with her frog.”
“Sorry my fault for taking up your time” Sarah apologised, “But I’ll do that. Thanks. I look forward to seeing you again with news of a frog no doubt” she smiled before letting the other woman head out back to work.