Who: Audrey and Luke Castellan When: June sometime Where: Baxter Bakery What: Random Encounter Rating/Warnings: Low/None Status: Complete
It was starting to get hot in Southern California now that summer was officially around the bend. Officially here? Audrey wasn’t sure where the actual line was, because it felt like Summer had arrived before June even started. What she did know was that the shop was busier than ever, and the Air Conditioning felt like heaven. And she was low on ice, because her ice machine was on the fritz. (One of the perks of being a witch was that she could make her own ice, however.)
“Welcome to Baxter Bakery!” She called out to the next guy who came in. She was busy making a blended coffee drink so she could pass out free samples. “What can I get for you?”
Luke was starting to get a feel for the city. He was slowly working on being here for a month and he'd spent what time he could out of his current housing and searching for jobs, which Thalia had helped him out with. But today he was going to treat himself to something with the last of the cash he had on him until he figured a few things out. Hustling went against his moral code, but these days his morals weren't very high up there and he didn't think his dream self actually had higher morals. He'd run away from home at nine and never looked back. Then he just started fighting monsters and internally screaming most of the time. He didn't know how he managed to get through all of that shit on his own. It had been a lot like how things had gone with him since he left home in the real world. No one he could really trust or count on as a friend, only in the dreams it was because mortals didn't really believe you when you told them that you fought monsters.
Part of him was waiting for any demigod abilities to kick in and help him out. Apparently being a child of Hermes came with them, but so far, there'd been nothing. At least if he had abilities, he could do something like helping people for a price. Yes, that also went against his general moral code, but once again, until he had money coming in regularly, the likelihood that his moral code had a chance in Hades of being what it was meant to be was low. About as low as the current quality of his clothes.
He always wore the newer ones right after they got washed, but then nice clothes had a habit of growing legs and walking away if you weren't careful in the circles he was in these days, so today was a 'rattier than normal' t-shirt kind of day with cut off shorts. His hair was in desperate need of a trim, but he'd worry about that later. Which seemed to be his mantra. Worry about that later. He wanted to say it was a new thing, but it was kind of something he'd developed while living with his mom. Take care of her, worry about yourself and your needs later.
Going into the bakery had been an impulse decision. He hadn't really thought about what he'd wanted and when he got there, there was the matter of trying to decide from the menu, which wasn't always easy when you were dyslexic. So when the woman behind the counter spoke, he blinked a few times. "Oh, uh." Very eloquent, naturally. "Sorry. I'm still trying to decide. Um. I don't..." Have a ton of money was how that sentence was going to end, but people didn't usually like it when you came into their place with not a lot of money, so he decided not to say that. "Any suggestions? I'll probably take a lot longer if I have to read through everything and make sure I'm actually seeing the words right. Dyslexia." The last word was a way of explanation. He'd figure out prices eventually.
Audrey didn’t judge. Outwardly, anyway. She didn’t say anything about her customers--what kind of a business owner would she be if she did?--but she could tell that this kid didn’t have a lot of money. She assumed he wasn’t the kind who wore torn shorts because it was in style. The ratty t-shirt looked old and used, not vogue. She didn’t think anything less of him, though. Audrey donated to outreach programs who helped the homeless and she baked bread for soup kitchens on a bi-weekly basis. Sometimes people just had a bad course of luck, or needed a little help to get by.
“How much are you looking to spend?” She asked, taking into consideration the comment about dyslexia. She was pretty much going to give him something nice and filling, and delicious, for whatever he wanted to give her--no matter the actual cost of the items.
Luke felt a little anxious about the money thing. He knew it was only a matter of time before he got more, but it was probably going to take some working first. He’d made his money last, though. He’d always been pretty good at that. He just wasn’t exactly a magician or anything like that, so he could only make money last so long.
He shoved his hands in his pockets, feeling somewhat guilty about the crumpled bills and change. He was almost certain it wasn’t enough for anything that mattered, but he really didn’t feel like going to get fast food or something. There were meals at the shelter. He didn’t need to worry about that part. Once he started making money, he might even get a place. He’d have to find somewhere first. Probably with other people. Unless he found the shittiest, most rundown apartment he could. It might not cost too much. “I...well, I have eight dollars and change.” He looked down at the counter, trying not to seem as uncomfortable as he felt. “It’s fine if it’s not enough. It’s…” The last of my money. “Fine.”
“Here,” Audrey said, reaching forward. She took three dollars out of the crumpled mess, and pushed the rest back to him. The baker was a businesswoman, sure, but she was at most a humanitarian. She couldn’t in good conscience take the last of this kid’s money. Or, at least, most of what he had to offer. Her heart ached for those kids who just needed a little help.
“How about an iced latte and a sandwich?” She asked. “I’ll give you a hefty discount if you wouldn’t mind being a guinea pig and trying a new recipe.”
Luke knew when he was being given things. He’d seen it before. All the same, he didn’t say anything. He wasn’t really in a position to argue when it was obvious he didn’t have much. He just tried not to worry himself about it. Once he started getting money, he could pay her back. It would be fine.
Quietly, he put the rest of his money back in his pocket. “Oh. Sure. I don’t mind that.” Because what else was he going to say? No? Yeah, that wasn’t how it worked. His mom would have been disappointed in him if he’d been rude. “Thanks. For all of this.”
Audrey nodded. “You’re welcome. And thank you for being my guinea pig. See, I’m ridiculously pregnant at the moment?” She turned a little, so he could see the baby bump. “And so many things taste absolutely delicious, so I need to know if it’s just me, or if these are actually good recipes to suggest to customers.”
While she spoke, she put the money in the register and moved over to the espresso machine to pull his shot. “...like bacon with tuna salad. Man, that’s good stuff. But it’s also sweet and savory stuff. I don’t mess much with coffee--shouldn’t drink too much caffeine, anyway--but when it comes to food? I’ve been trying all sorts of combinations.” It only took a moment for her to make the latte, then she held it out to him. “Come down to the sandwich bar and I’ll show you what I mean.”
Luke looked as she mentioned being pregnant and he smiled. He hadn’t really interacted with all that many pregnant people. Maybe a few on his travels. They were the most likely to take pity on you and he felt the most likely to need whatever money they’d offer to help him out. So he always asked to repay them in favors. Most of those were helping to fix up little things at their houses or clean up their house and do various chores. It was the least he could do when he was the one that was imposing.
“That’s bound to be difficult. Then again, most everything tastes good to me.” But that was more because when you didn’t have a lot, you accepted whatever you were given. Even if it wasn’t something you were all that fond of. “Bacon and tuna salad sounds interesting anyway. And people tend to put it on everything.” But he followed her down to the sandwich bar anyway. Whatever she offered him, he’d try. It was the least he could do to actually help. Especially if she was serious about it.
“I’ll probably end up eating bacon and tuna salad for the rest of my life. It’s so damn delicious.” She gave him a grin as they both moved to the sandwich bar section of the cafe. “Have you tried bacon and peanut butter? ...maybe I’m just on a bacon kick. I swear it goes with everything. I mean, maybe I’m not getting enough sodium in my diet or something.” She grinned, then started to grab bread and put together a sandwich. Starting with bacon. She made a half tuna salad with bacon, (and all the trimmings) then half pb and J with bacon. It was a bacon party.
Luke had never heard of bacon and tuna or bacon and peanut butter. He guessed it couldn’t be terrible, but he was more concerned about how the bacon and peanut butter was going to taste than anything else. “Maybe. I don’t really know how much sodium I’m getting. And I haven’t ever had bacon and peanut butter. I’m not sure how it’s going to taste, but I guess I’ll figure it out.” While she made the sandwiches, he made himself comfortable and tried not to think too much about what jelly and bacon were going to taste like. “I guess there’s a first time for everything.”
“That’s the spirit.” Audrey said. She came around the back of the deli counter with his plate, and settled him down at one of the tables in the cafe. Then she sat down across from him, giving a little groan. The woman was huge. Very pregnant. She wasn’t due until September, but it was her second child. She fell quickly and easily into the “big as a house” part of the pregnancy. “I won’t impose for long. I just want to see what you think of the food before I head back to work.”
Luke took the plate, smiling at Audrey. He’d never known anyone who was pregnant before. At least not all that well, so he didn’t know if he should offer her any sort of assistance or if she was okay. “It’s fine. I’m kind of in your bakery anyway.” At least he was pretty sure it was her place. “So if anyone’s supposed to be here, I figure it’s you.” He took the tuna and bacon sandwich. It wasn’t actually bad, but he figured that it wasn’t going to be. “Definitely keep this one,” he commented. Now for the other one. He looked at it skeptically for a minute before he took a bite. It was weird, but not terrible. Luke couldn’t say he understood it. “Okay. That is not the worst thing I’ve eaten. It’s just a different taste than I’m used to. But there’s probably people who would eat it. You should probably also try it with chicken salad. Maybe not whole bacon, but like bacon bits mixed in.”
Audrey watched him sampling the food, and her smile grew at his mention of the tuna sandwich. “I never thought about mixing in the bacon bits. That sounds perfect, actually. Thank you!” She hoisted herself up from the seat. “I really should be getting back to work. But thank you for being my guinea pig.” There was a pause, while she observed him. “You’re welcome here any time. You know? Any time.”
“I’m told I occasionally have good ideas. Every so often.” He smiled, finishing the sandwiches. He didn’t know what he was going to be eating at the shelter tonight, so he figured it was better to go back with at least something in his stomach so he wouldn’t be too hungry. “You’re welcome. I’d rather be a food guinea pig than anything else.” Again he smiled. “Thank you. If you need anything else besides people to just eat food, you can let me know. I don’t mind helping out. Especially since being pregnant probably makes it more difficult to do some things.” Standing up himself, he cleared his throat. “I’ll see you around. Oh, and my name’s Luke. Luke Castellan.”
“Well, thank you, Luke.” Audrey said. She gave him a warm smile. “Come on by and pick up a job application. I’ll figure out something for you to do around here, if you need the work.”