Not Enough Friend Time

Participants:

katherine3_icon.gif veronica_icon.gif

Scene Title Not Enough Friend Time
Synopsis Veronica and Katherine go shoe shopping.
Date November 6, 2009

Time for retail therapy! Veronica's been putting together information and a plan to go after Hana Gitelman, but a girl needs a break sometimes. She heads to the apartment, hoping to find Kat there. Winter's coming and there are new coats and boots and sweaters to be had!

"Get your jacket. We're going shopping," the current Company agent tells the former Company agent. "You're going to need a warmer coat and the summer and fall clothes aren't going to be warm enough for winter, and I feel the need to wrack up my credit card today."

Katherine has some books in front of her. She has class tonight, but she's really been studying hard, so there's no reason she can't take a break. "I have some money now that I've been working at Lucy's." Tips and such. She hasn't gotten her first paycheck yet, though she still has a little bit of money left from her savings account that was still being decided upon since her 'death'. She stands and reaches for her jacket. "Okay. I suppose I could use a few new things." She lets Veronica lead the way out.

"You don't need to buy anything. I want to spend money, and I have more than I need, so you get to be spent on," Vee says with a grin, tucking her arm in the others, looping it like young girls sometimes do. She ushers them out of the apartment, into a cab, and down to a street full of stores that would make most women drool. "What do you want to look at first? Shoes? Coats?" Veronica's usually fairly low-maintenance, but she does enjoy pretty things. Shopping isn't a sport or hobby, but every few months, she enjoys it.

Blank look. A decision needs to be made. Katherine has really been working on this since her chat with Abby. She needs to start learning to make decisions, no matter how insignificant. She glances down at her shoes as she gets out of the cab. They look okay. Sneakers, nothing fancy. Maybe she could use a more comfortable pair for working at the bar. "Okay. Well, how about shoes?" It would be a decision if it didn't sound like more of a question.

"Shoes it is," Veronica says, sounding decisive to give encouragement to the decision making that isn't that easy for someone like Kat. She scans the street, vetoing silently the places that only sell stilettos and strappy sandals and such. She nods toward a store. "Let's try here." It's a good shoe store with "comfortable" brands made for working and walking in — Merrells, Simple, Clarks, etc. Winter boots are displayed in the window, but there are plenty of every-day shoes to choose from. "So tell me about your classes. Tell me what time we need to stop shopping so we can get you to class on time, too."

Katherine follows Vee as she at least makes the decision on where to shop. Kat look into the display window as they walk by the sidewalk and then enter the store. The bell jingles as the door is opened and the two step in. Kat is already touching a pair of shoes at the door. A woman who is labeled as 'Melony' notices them and walks over welcoming them to the store. "Is there anything I can help you today?"

"What kind of shoes do you want? I think a pair of boots for winter… maybe some Sorrells?" Vee glances at the sales clerk to see if they have them, and she gets a nod. "And something for … work?" she glances down at Kat's sneakers. She moves away to look at some knee-high black boots, and let Kat speak to the sales clerk, lets her speak for herself, though it's difficult for her.

As Veronica walks away, Kat starts to become just a little flustered. "I work at a bar. Waitressing. I'm on my feet alot and I go to college. So, maybe something.." she stammers through her explanation. Melony watches Veronica walk away as well and gives her nose a little wrinkle. "Well, we do have these New Balance. Maybe we should try them on. Do you know what size you wear." Katherine pauses for a moment, as if remembering. "8, I think. Can I try it to be sure?" Melony nods. "Of course, let me go get a pair."

As Melony heads to the back to grab the shoes, Veronica heads over to look at the shoes she pointed out. "Those look comfortable. You see anything you like for winter boots?" Veronica gestures to the display. "You like what you're learning? Do you think it's something you want to do?" she asks softly. She doesn't want Kat to be hurt by the people she can't save, the people she can't help, but surely that percentage is lower than the percentage she can.

"It's tough. The learning, but I think I have a handle on it. I'm catching up. I'm finding that I can remember things I'm learning, which I guess is the point of learning. At least that part of me isn't broken." Kat reaches for the first pair of winterboots she sees and holds them towards Veronica. "These maybe?" They are kind of an ugly brown and there probably isn't much they'd go with. It's fairly obvious that Katherine just picked the first pair she saw instead of attempting to really look and make a decision about them.

"Yep, that's the point of learning. Did I ever tell you I was going to be a doctor? So I think it's a pretty cool career choice, to do what you're doing," Veronica says with a smile, reaching out to pat the woman's shoulder. She raises a brow at the ugly boots. "Well. Yeah, they'll keep your feet warm. I know you don't care much, but at least maybe something that goes with most your stuff." She looks around and picks up a pair of casual snow boots. Practical but somehow cute in their chunkiness, with a gray tweed fabric, black rubberized toe, gray fleece to keep the ankles warm. She turns them over to check their tread. "These will go well with jeans and black pants, too, I think. Unless you want something dressier looking."

She hands the pair to Kat then looks up at the other woman. "I know you're trying to make decisions. It seems hard. But here's one thing I want you to know — you never have to choose something just to try to please me, okay? If you don't have an opinion, I'll help you… otherwise, it really comes down to what you like or don't." She gives a mischievous smile. "Like these?" She points to a pair of nylon boots in navy blue with black trim. "These? I think these are ugly, even if they would keep my feet dry." She taps a pair of sweatery looking boots with pom poms hanging off of them. "And these? I think they're cute. Don't laugh. I would wear them if I wasn't supposed to be all serious Company agent and if I knew that in a blizzard, they'd be all soggy and my feet would be cold."

The former agent looks at the boots. "They don't seem like they'd be really effective." There, they are assessed. Katherine takes a closer look at the boots this time and each reaches out and picks up the pair and turns them around in her hand, even to the point of reaches down into the boot to see how it feels. "These feel nice," she comments as Melony returns with the sneakers. "Let's try these on." She motions to a chair and Katherine sits, with the boots still in her hand as she glances up at Veronica. "You need to take off the shoes you're wearing, hon," the clerk says and Katherine complies. "Sorry about that."

Veronica sits beside her. "I guess those in her size, too," she says with a nod toward the boots. "But only if there's not something she likes better." She'll leave it at that — if she wants to go with the pair Veronica pointed out, she can; if she wants to assert herself and declare that gray and black boots are hideous and Veronica has no fashion sense, that would be welcome too. "How's the nun doing? Er, Abby."

"She seems to be fine. Having a hard time in pharacology, but doing well otherwise." Kat sticks out her foot, to let the clerk help her try on the shoes. "Go ahead and tie them up and stand and walk around and see if they fit you." Katherine reaches down and laces up the shoes and then walks up and down the aisle, as Melony moves to go get the boots now. "They fit okay." She takes a few more paces, then stops. "No. They feel wrong at my heel. It rubs weird," she says as Melony returns. "Oh, dear. Let's try a half size up, or do you want to try another pair." A quick glance towards Vee before she nods to Melony, "I'll try a bigger size."

It's a small victory — that instead of just saying they're fine, Kat spoke up and said something, rather than trying to please Veronica or Melony, or make their lives easier. Of course, this does please Veronica, who smiles and nods just slightly. A silent 'good job' to encourage Kat finding her own voice, being her own person. "I sometimes think about … going back. To be a doctor, like I always wanted to," Veronica says quietly. "Like my father. But all those books you have — maybe it's good I didn't. I don't have that kind of patience!" She laughs a little, though of course it's not true — she had already been accepted at Berkeley as a medical student before she changed her major to law enforcement.

Katherine sits back down and the shoes are taken off, and the boots are put on and she stands and walks again. She's listening to Veronica, "I think you should go if you want to. Though you're gone alot, and they don't like you to miss class. If you're going to go, you should just go." She lifts her feet up and down like she's marching in time. "These fit okay though. I think they're the same size, so I don't know why they feel different from the other shoes." Which at this point are being brought in a half size larger. "I like the boots," she tells Melony as she sits back down.

"Tell me about it. Jeans are even worse," Veronica says with a rueful shake of her head, that makes Melony smile a bit. "Nah, if I were to go back, I'd have to quit the job. Can't do both." She drops the topic of work, in case Kat forgets they shouldn't discuss even the little bit she remembers of the Company job. "Those are cute on," she adds, regarding the boots. "I think with a gray or black coat, or even red, they'd look great. We can do that next. The jacket you're wearing won't hold up past Thanksgiving for weather."

The larger sized shoes fit much better and Kat decides she'll take both the shoes and boots. "Okay, so coats next then?" It is starting to get a little chilly out and the one she has is not going to keep her warm once winter hits. They walk to the counter and Melony rings up the purchase and announces the total cost. Katherine places a hand on Veronica's arm. "Thanks for taking me shopping."

Vee squeezes the hand on her arm. "My pleasure. I needed some friend time." She doesn't have enough of those. She pulls out a credit card and hands it to Melony. "And it's on me. I'll let you buy me a coffee at Starbucks, okay?" She takes the card when it's passed back, signs the slip and hands one bag to Kat while taking the other. "On to coats."


Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License