ɢᴀʟᴇ (traps) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2016-10-05 13:14:00 |
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Even before the assassination attempt that had taken out Jill’s right lung, she knew she would never become a professional dancer: she loved eating, and eating sweets in particular, too much for that. While she was lucky enough to have a willowy build, she couldn’t starve herself the way the dancers at NYCB did. And that was okay: she loved to dance, but she loved eating more. She’d yet to find a go-to bakery in the OC like she had in New York, but she was hopeful. When her explorations of the area took her to a bakery she hadn’t seen before, she walked in, her bodyguard by her side as always. Without hesitation, she made a beeline for the front counter. Fortunately, there weren’t a lot of people here at the moment, so she could take her time and examine the offerings. *** Mellarky was pretty amazing, and Peeta an amazing baker - he’d taught Gale well, during a time when the soldier was struggling to find his place somewhere and learn more about what he wanted to do in his civilian life, after transitioning to Army Reserves which actually allowed for that sort of thing. But it was obvious that baked goods remained Peeta’s calling - however, Gale still liked working at the bakery (which was Peeta’s livelihood, his baby for all intents and purposes) and helping out with whatever was needed. Heavy lifting, maintenance, ordering and pricing, even some of the baking itself. He’d just finished a batch of whoopie pies, which he brought out on a tray to slide into the display case now that they were cool enough and all put together. There were a variety of things to choose from, though. Cookies, cake-and-pie-by-the-slice, brownies and bars, scones, mini-cheesecakes. The whole shop smelled like it should, all sugary confections and clouds of sweetness. Gale could do customer service too and he may be wearing an apron that was dusted in flour, but it added to the charm? He, with his stoic exterior and rigid posture, even managed a smile which reached stormy grey eyes. “Hey, welcome to Mellarky. Can I help you with anything?” *** Jill glanced up from the display case and gave the man behind it a friendly smile. Unlike his, hers came naturally. “I'm having a small party and wanted to get some pastries for my guest,” she said. It wasn't really a lie…all right, it was. Jill wasn't having a party, but she did want to get something for the guards who watched over her night and day. Just because they were paid to do their duty didn't mean they shouldn't get extra thanks in some small way or another at times. “What would you say are the must haves from here?” *** Small party, fair enough. Even if the customer wanted to buy a dozen pastries and eat them all herself, Gale really couldn’t blame anyone for doing that and wouldn’t judge - everything here was really fantastic, and he’d vouch for Peeta’s skills. “Hm, good question - “ He studied the selections in the various glass cases, giving it a good think. “Depends if you and your friends are chocolate fans or not? If you are, I’d go for the peanut butter and chocolate cheesecake - these are individual so you can get a few, and they’re on a cookie crumb crust. I also just made these, they’re devil’s food whoopie pies, with a caramel cream cheese frosting between the sandwich part.” Oh, but wait, that wasn’t all. Gale had even more suggestions too. “The fruit scones are good too. Or any of the cakes with mocha icing. I’m getting my wedding cake from here,” he added. “And I would even if I didn’t work here, trust me. Cakes are top-notch.” *** Jill’s eyes grew wide as he listed all the options. They all sounded amazing, and she was sorry she didn't have a bigger stomach. She wanted to eat them all. “I'll take three of each,” she said decidedly. So maybe that raised the pastry-to-bodyguard ratio to a little over 1-to-1, but they all had healthy appetites. She had no doubt the sweets would be gone in short time. Decision made, she looked up with a bright smile. “Oh! You're getting married? How wonderful! Congratulations.” She spoke as warmly as if they were dear friends and not complete strangers. *** One of each? Well, damn. That was a big order, but Gale would gladly fill it - he’d be eager to tell Peeta that people out there were scarfing down half the pastry supply in the shop. “Coming right up,” he nodded, and sprang to it - he was used to following orders quickly. Came with the lifestyle he was accustomed to - it’s never ours to wonder why, it’s ours to do or die. That kind of thing. The civilian life, working in a bakery of all places, was clearly different - but there would always be those instincts he couldn’t control. “Thanks,” his expression turned a little bashful, actually, at the congratulations. “It’s in December so we’re just kind of in the planning stages now,” he explained as he put together one of the white cardboard bakery boxes, and began pulling out treats (using wax paper) to carefully place inside. Seemed like two boxes would be needed. “My name’s Gale, by the way. I work here a few times a week.” *** “I love weddings,” Jill said dreamily. She was a big old romantic at heart, and she loved the ceremony, the romanticism and just everything about weddings. “I hope yours go really well. And I'm Jill, sorry I didn't say that earlier. I guess I should've. Anyway, this is my cousin Lara.” She gestured to the statuesque woman beside her, who - despite her casual demeanor, carried herself with a kind of military discipline recognizable to another soldier. “Congratulations,” Lara said, with an easy - if subdued - smile and a faint Swiss accent. *** “Nice to meet you both,” Gale glanced back and forth between Jill and her cousin - who looked like serious business. Was she a guard of some kind? No doubt that she could kick someone’s ass pretty easily though, so it would make sense if she was. The accent? Interesting. “Did you just move to Orange County?” he asked, meaning the both of them, but he was curious as he continued to pack up their sweet treats. Because honestly, if they did just move here, they were in for a hell of a lot. The OC wasn’t exactly for the faint of heart but newcomers seemed to learn that pretty quick. *** “Just a few weeks,” Jill replied. “It's been great so far! I'm from New York, so I'm not used to all this sun, but I like it; I like being able to go to the beach whenever I want and not worry about it being too cold. Not that I've had much of a chance to just yet. But I'm trying out surfing this weekend!” All this was said in one breath. When Jill got excited, she sometimes forgot to breathe. *** A newcomer who was bubbly, even better. Well, the place could use more cheerful people - Gale was ashes, coal dust, and soot enough on his own. Nothing wrong with a little bit of sunshine. “Surfing’s cool, I’ve been a few times,” he shared as he finished packing the second box - he’d organized everything nicely too, with the scones all together and the cake slices, and so forth. Then he taped both boxes so they wouldn’t come undone and spill everything everywhere - a depressing thought. “I don’t know if you’re in the market for fancy designer shoes but my fiancee runs a place called Shoegasm. If you tell her I sent you, I’m sure she’d give you a discount. There’s a Valar network discount too, but - “ Obviously you had to be on the forum to get it. And if Jill wasn’t? Gale wouldn’t advocate joining. Nope. Now with the goods packed, he gave her the total amount due. “Oh, do you need a bag for these boxes or anything?” *** Jill loved a lot of things in life: food, weddings, and shoes. Shoegasm sounded like just the place for her. “Can you give me the address?” she asked as she handed over her credit card. “I’ll need a bag, yes, thank you. I can’t say I’m in the market for them, but I can enjoy looking at them.” It wasn’t that she couldn’t afford it, but part of keeping under the radar was to look like a normal student, not a celebrity’s kid. Jill’s love of fashion would have to be kept to simply admiring, rather than owning, while she was here. That was all right; she’d grown up without the funds to buy Manilos or Jimmy Choos. She was well used to wistful wanting. “Are you on the Valar network?” she asked curiously. “I tried it the other day. Everyone was so friendly!” *** Gale rang her up, swiping the card and giving Jill a receipt to sign. He also gave her a bag as promised, stacking the bakery boxes in there. “It’s in Huntington Beach, here, let me pull up the address on my phone,” he said, and once he had hands free that was what he did. Though he wouldn’t tell her that the shoe store was originally owned and operated by Cinderella, of all people. That would be something to figure out later - besides, the actual Cinderella, or a version of her? Who would believe him? “It’s got a pair of glass slippers in the window,” he added as a helpful tidbit, when he’d written down the address on a scrap piece of paper and passed it over. “But yeah, I’m on the network too - it’s kind of an interesting experience.” One that had scarred him, literally, but there were good things too. He’d met Leliana that way, and Wash, so it couldn’t be all bad. “So if you ever need to message me, feel free. I think that having, uh, allies around here is important.” *** That was an interesting word choice, one Jill had heard all too much at Court. There, it was all about political affiliations, and the strength of your allies. Jill’s smile faded. She was a pretty good liar when she was prepared for it, but when she was surprised, it still took her a moment to school her expression. She was, however, determined not to let paranoia dictate the life she was going to build here. She had a full security retinue to do that. She could focus on trying to be a normal girl. “Thanks,” she said, taking the bag and the receipt. By now, she was smiling normally again. “And thanks for all the suggestions. I'll see you around!” *** He didn’t mean to be the bearer of bad news or anything - but having an inkling of what you were getting into was kind of helpful. That way you weren’t too blindsided when shit started hitting the fan - and it could come along fast. Most people were only around a few weeks before they got bonked over the head with the dreams. “Sure thing,” Gale nodded. “Really nice meeting you both, and enjoy the pastries.” Especially the whoopie pies. Yeah, he was pretty proud of those, not gonna lie. |