Participants:
| Scene Title | Have Your Cake |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Elaine bumps into Dee, and they share terrible days. |
| Date | November 19, 2010 |
The interior of the dessert bar is lit enough to see the drink menus and the tables but dim enough to preserve the intimate atmosphere that is evident in small tables made for two populate the dessert bar that is Oh So Sweet. Here and there, espresso colored wooden tables are pushed together to seat larger groups, straight backed black chairs surrounding them. Single lights on long cords drop down just out of head bumping range, lighting up the darker regions of the bar.
A massive oak bar takes up one side of the main room, a part of the building from ages past when it was just a bar, mirrors lining behind it to give the illusion of more space and reflect what light there is available. Glasses of varying types and sizes hanging down in holders, stacked against the mirror or under the counter and waiting to be used. And old fashioned looking machine rests in it's copper gleaming glory, capable of producing a variety of drinks like coffee, espresso, latte's, the list is endless. Backless stools line the customer side of the bar, red fabric to match the red damask fabric that hangs down the walls to help dampen the sounds of customers when the place is busy.
Across from the bar runs a glass faced refrigerated counter, shoulder height, filled with just about every possible dessert that one could desire and want, lit up and with little placards dictating what they are. The offerings rotate daily, sometimes every few hours and a door to the kitchen behind them gives access to staff to fill the orders and fill the showcase. The back room opens up to the main area, a small raised area for live entertainment to be had when the times are right. A door marked staff only in the far back leads to the kitchens and another to the restroom's and a private area that can be rented out for private parties.
It would be a day like any other, if Dee hadn't had a baby more than a week ago- so when she finally does show up at Oh So Sweet (patron, not working, she can hear Abby's yelling in her head) there is of course the usual hubbub between her and the others that do work there still regularly. Some of them were atwitter with Walter, some not so much. But after the round of introducing him to anyone there, Delilah has taken him and his stroller to a table in the corner. It's easy to park it at the wall, when the chairs aren't nailed down. But he's not in there, it seems; the baby boy is in his mother's grasp, and she is ministering to his need to look at everything while she takes intermittent bites of eclair and pens something down on what look like forms.
There is a certain puffiness to her face, today, despite the cleanness and tidiness of her hair and clothes. A woman who was like a sister to her was just found dead. Delilah is allowed a degree of looking careworn, even past the newborn being a part of life now.
"I think it'll be alright, don't you?" Walter doesn't answer, he seems more interested in mumbling and looking out the window, and at the fancy curtains. "I'll be needing to see her family though… yes. Yes, of course."
Elaine's not working today. So it's a little surprising when she walks in. She, too, seems to be puffy-faced but still taking care to look presentable. She's here for the sugar—more precisely, red velvet cake. She limps a little as she chats with some of the regular employees, then takes her food with her (as well as a nice cup of tea to go with it) and turns to find a seat. No need for someone to wait on her, she can do it just fine, regardless of knee injury. She almost seems relieved when she notices Dee in the corner, making her way in that direction.
"Can I sit with you? Please?" She implores.
The food on Dee's table is half eaten, and she doesn't look like she's taken a bite for a short while. One head of red locks tilts up to take in the second, and Lilah's reaction is without parallel today. She's happy to see Elaine, maybe the happiest person Elaine's seen today. "Yeah, sure. Just move the stroller a bit there, I shoved it back there so it wouldn't be in the way." Walter squints his eeys shut for a few moments, lifting mitten-hands to rub at his face.
"Cake day, right? Yeah… chocolate icing day for me." Delilah makes a little frown amidst her smiling.
"I needed something I knew wouldn't let me down, so I went with the cream cheese frosting." Elaine settles down in the chair, looking over at Dee's cake. "Chocolate, huh? That's a good choice. Chocolate would seem like the obvious choice in my situation, but…" She glances over at Walter, smiling a bit at him before looking back to Dee. "You seem like you're having a rough day too. Misery loves company. Want to talk about it or do we want to talk about something to distract us from what's going on?" She sips lightly from her teacup.
"They found Else's body, yesterday. Got a call from a precinct out in Yonkers." Delilah is very brief with her news, glancing down at the baby, and yet again mourning silently that Else never got to meet him. "They were going to contact her parents when it was morning over in Europe. I suppose they live in the Netherlands, still." It takes a lot to not sob a little, but perhaps she had gotten enough of that out last night to last her a couple afternoons. "They said it was drug related, but I know it wasn't. She was off them, I know, and they found a guy there with her, one of the house operators. He had priors so they just went with what looked obvious. I can at least tell her folks otherwise."
That's her story. She looks over at Elaine, though not searching for reciprocation. "I hadn't told anyone yet, I had to tell someone. We don't have to share mutually, if you need to forget about something."
"Oh, God… I had no idea." Elaine glances towards Walter, clearly thinking the same thing in regards to Else never getting to meet Walter. "I'm so sorry. My stuff seems kind of… weak in comparison. You need the cake more than I do." She pokes at her cake, then takes a bite. "Magnes and I just broke up. I ended it. It was hurting me too much and I love the man dearly but I wasn't happy… and he agreed that the stuff he's doing isn't fair to me, to make me have to worry…" She shrugs. "He's off playing hero again. I guess it was wrong of me to think he'd ever want to play hero for just me. We're better off, I'm sure of it, but… it hurts and I'm worried that things will change."
"This isn't the first break-up, and not close to the most wounding." Delilah has just a little bit of advising to do, when it comes to Magnes. And it does get her mind off of Else's last rites, and her last …everything. "Magnes has too much heart, I think. Not that he can't find someone, but if someone is going to be with him, there needs to be a degree of willingness, too. Be willing to not only put up with him, but be there right beside him too. Literally, not in spirit. I know you love him."
"Claire was like that, I guess, but then she lost all of her memories somehow." See? Not the worst break-up Magnes has had. Dee is right about that one. "If he was the type to change at the drop of the hat, I probably wouldn't be his friend. He'll need a bit, bit I think he'll be okay." Dee also knows that if Elaine did mean she cared, she'd have said that to Magnes' face too. From the sound of it, she probably did. If he knows he's still loved.
"I know he'll be okay, it's just hard not to think about all the good times we had and the good memories. When things were good, they were really good, and when things were bad, they were horrid." Elaine laughs a bit at what she's saying. "I just… I'm glad he's not going to change… he's changed in a few good ways, I think he's a better man, but… I'm just not the kind of woman he needs. He needs someone just as crazy and heroic as he is and I'm a little too rational for that." She rubs her temple. "I'm just worried to tell people like Sable and Quinn. I mean, it shouldn't change their opinion of me, but Sable is Magnes' best friend, and Quinn is his bandmate, and… I don't want this to mess up anything for anyone. I mean, other than the obvious I'm-Not-With-Magnes part between he and I…"
"Exactly. I gave him the whole- trail and error thing, what with being friends with benefits, but I know I wouldn't be able to keep up that knight schtick. Good thing he kind of outgrew me, huh?" Delilah takes a rather big bite of her pastry, much to the apparent amazement of Walter, who, having been watching and listening, peers intently up at his mother chewing. "I wouldn't worry about the girls. Tell them, but don't make a huge deal out of telling them, or it'll make everything seem more dire. It'll feel less like that after you've slept on it more, trust me. Sable and Quinn are your friends too, anyhow."
Elaine nods a little. "So you think I'm just worrying too much? I mean, it feels like the end of the world… but that's just what happens with breakups." She sighs, taking a sip of her tea. "I think you were the smart one, doing the whole friends-with-benefits type thing with Magnes. I contemplated trying that approach to make things easier but I think it's honestly better this way…"
"That kind of thing isn't for everyone." Delilah laughs sheepishly. "And then sometimes you end up with surprises. Isn't that right?" She looks down at the baby cradled in her arms, and he looks at her face when she does. Not that he knows what's going on, no sir. He lets out a little urpy-noise, tongue working behind his lips. Hmm. "It'll feel less raw in time, just depends how you treat it. You two are young, these things happen as a way of life. It goes on."
"You got lucky, you know? No matter what happens now, you've always got Walter." Elaine smiles a bit over at the baby, watching him and his cute little noises. "It's just… I don't like being alone. I mean, most people don't like being alone, but… my parents died in the bomb when I was fourteen. It… it just changed things a lot. I don't like living alone, I don't like being alone. I mean, that's why I'm moving in with Quinn. I have my own space, but… I've always got someone there. I never got over being a scared little girl, and this is just another scary thing. I'll get over it eventually, I'm sure…" She glances at her plate. "I just need cake."
"That's how it was with Else. We looked out for each other." Delilah murmurs, trying to make what Elaine's saying not remind her of things, but it is proving difficult. "And I know how it is, to lose your family. Just, mine wasn't the bomb. I suppose we're more alike than I thought. Cause I was scared of being alone, too." Delilah lifts her hand to brush her finger against Walter's cheek, smiling over at Elaine. "So eat it already, won't you?"
Elaine hungrily takes a bite of her cake, chewing on it before she looks back over at Dee. "I'm sorry about Else. I can imagine how hard that's got to be. I didn't really know her but she was nice from what I do know… and since she looked out for you, I bet she was fantastic." She smiles. "I'm jealous of Walter, though. I wanna have kids someday. It'd be weird if I just found myself pregnant from Magnes, that would be… well, that wouldn't be what I wanted at all… but I want kids someday and seeing how cute your little baby boy is… it reminds me of what I'd like in the future. I dunno. Maybe if I never find someone special I'll have one on my own."
"I was the same as you, then- well." Delilah looks askance a little. "It's the weirdest thing, though. It's not like we weren't careful about- you know." Chances are not many people know this particular story, they probably just think of the parents and nod heads. "It was Italy, but I'm pretty sure condoms are supposed to work the same everywhere you go. I don't remember it breaking, either. So I wonder if it had just been in that dresser too long." She is Very Serious about this.
"Pro tip, make sure everything's in order." Dee shrugs once.
"I guess things just happen sometimes. But… that's kinda romantic. Maybe I'll go abroad and meet some cute guy and have my own ginger baby." Elaine teases, glancing over at Walter. "The baby's got to have some friends, you know?" She sighs, heavily. "I'm really glad for you, Dee. He's gonna be an amazing boy, for sure."
"He will." Delilah grins. "And his family, so far as I'm concerned, is everyone that's mine now too." She pauses to consider the last thing Elaine says. "I ought to tell someone about all the things that make that true, I think. Else's songs… Do you remember that old man that stopped in at the baby shower? The one with the big package? I'll have to tell you about him sometime when we aren't out. About the stuff he's told me." And maybe not hide that package in the closet, anymore.
"I can't well tell anyone like Eileen, she'd shit herself. I tried to tell Teo about him, he seemed nervous. I think everyone else is scared of him. Maybe." Oh, the story of Samson Gray will be a story alright.
"But even without things like Samson, without things like Else making poems about him… I know he'll be amazing." Sugary sweetness! Delilah tickles the baby's cheek. "Don't need a bloody precog to tell me that."
"Yeah, your face, after he gave you that… I was kind of curious. You should tell me. I'll be at Quinn's full time now, so you can find either of us there… and hopefully Sable will be hanging out with us a lot there, so you've got the three of us to keep you company any time, day or night." Elaine smiles, then looks at Walter. "And, you know, if you ever need a language tutor for Walter, you just say the word and I can have him speaking anything and everything. They say you can learn languages really well when you're young. When he's up and talking English… he could learn anything at that point." She takes another bite of her cake. "He's amazing all on his own merits."
"Well." Delilah pops the rest of the pastry in her mouth, taking care to reposition Walter while she swallows. He gets a decent view of things, now, looking blearily over at Elaine. There are two moms. "I think I want to teach him Japanese. French. Teo will teach him Italian." What a polyglot he'll be! Not as much as Elaine, but still. "Do you think, when he starts trying to talk, that you'll understand it? I mean, babies talk, right? In that weird…baby language?"
"Japanese and French are good choices. I can teach him the accents, too." Elaine grins, making a bit of a face at Walter, then she suddenly blinks, looking back to Dee. "I've… been thinking a lot about that, actually. I mean, I pick up languages so quickly, and… he is expressing something verbally. I'm not sure how well it would work… but I want to try. I mean, how could would that be to be able to communicate with Walter, much less a baby in general?" She grins. "There's a lot of possibilities with my ability… people practice their ability and I practice mine all the time, and I think I'm getting better… and the more languages flow… the more things come together… it just clicks. Someone asked me what language I thought in and I thought about it and I'm not sure I think in any particular language… I have all these ideas.." She sips her tea. "It's exciting."
"We'll have to try it. He doesn't make much noise now. Yet. When he starts developing his muscles, it will be less of-" Delilah points this out by making a burbling noise. "and more of-" She proceeds to make the usual boo-boo-boo baby noises at Walter. He looks …..perplexed. "He'll be my squeaky little sidekick, you'll have time to see." The idea is interesting, at least. Worth a theory and an experiment.
"Yeah! Well, we should hang out, more, then. Babies are adorable and I think he's gonna be fun to be around." Elaine nods, finishing off her cake after a moment, setting about just sipping her tea. "If I end up being able to talk to him, I'll have to set up playdates and come have conversations with Walter. We can find out what he thinks of the world at an early age. Or at least, his favorite color or toy or something…"
"When the island opens up again, you can come over whenever you want. For now I'll have to stick to getting around over here." Delilah sighs at the mention of Roosevelt. "No hurt in letting you see. It's not like you know many babies yet. I heard Melissa has one somehow, now. You know anything about that? Nobody told me much cept that it's there with her." Melissa isn't the first person Dee would think of to adopt a baby, but her protective instincts are through the roof. She could do it if she had to.
Elaine shakes her head. "I have no idea… Melissa was housesitting while Quinn, Sable, and I were on Pollepel, but I didn't hear much about the baby. That's kinda crazy… seems like it's becoming a trend." Elaine chuckles.
"In any case, I'm sure he'll love having all these redheads around." Walter affirms with a bit of a 'meh' and mittens to his cheeks. "And all the boobs too, I suppose." Because even Delilah knows those are great and powerful objects. "Thank god I know some grown men too, or he'd just be growing up in a henhouse."
"He'll know how to respect women, at least. Or one would hope, with enough people telling him!" Elaine chuckles. "And I'm glad he's got some good influences, at least. I hope his father will make sure to do boy-things with him. Heavens knows he'll have enough girls dragging him around to things."
"He better respect women. He better respect everyone." Delilah lifts her chin up, and it is apparent that it's one thing that won't go untaught. "I have the feeling there will be lots of boating and fishing. Sicilian things." That's one way to put it! "We can all raise him to be the kind of guy we wish we'd be able to marry, right?" Teeheehee.
Elaine giggles. "Right. Prime him for some lucky lady. Or man, like Sable mentioned…" She sips from her tea. "I dunno. Hard to tell right now what he'll be like. I'll be excited to see him grow up. When he gets older, though, it's gonna make me feel old, you know? I always feel that way… meeting someone as a baby and then a few years later being astonished at how fast they're growing… although I'm certainly going to visit more than once every few years. But you know what I mean.
"I'm looking forward to being 'The Hot Mom'." Delilah admits, without restraint. Come on! "I wonder if babies work for women like puppies work for single guys." Not that she's going to start looking right this second. "I'm not even not a teenager yet, neither are you! You can be his smokin'aunt. One of …several. I was going to finish our walk when I was done, if you'd like to come along. I bet the air will help both of us, the company a bit more."
"I'd really like that, thanks. I could use the company. I haven't told Quinn and Sable, and I want to make sure I don't look like hell when I do." Elaine stretches her arms a bit. "Babies work to attract single women when men have them… I've seen it happen. It's proven! I bet if you're the hot mom, that'll make people come crawling. People are always talking about MILFs."
"I have the feeling if Sable gets me alone I may need an adult." Delilah snickers. "We can take all the time you want getting around. Most of what Walt does right now is eat, poop, sleep, and cry. And stare. Right?" Yeah, he's doing that right now. Hi, Elaine. "I'm going to get Samson back in a week or two, when things settle back in. You could always help me walk him too? He's pretty good about walking with everyone. Sable's helped a couple times, but he could probably… eat her." Nothing personal.
"Sable's got good dog-experience now. She was taking care of someone's dog, Tamara's I think, on the 8th and while we were on Pollepel. She's getting to be a pro. But I'd love to walk Samson. It'll give me stuff to do, distract myself when I'm not working." Elaine smiles cheerfully.
"I'll pay you in cookies." Delilah nods once, gathering Walter to her and shifting to get up from her seat. Time to put him back into the stroller, looks like. "Can you watch him for a minute? I need to slip into the restroom before we go anywhere at all. I think my boobs are making my bra wet." Just- let her do what she has to, really.
"Oh, go ahead. That's totally fine." Elaine nods towards Walter. "He'll keep me company. Go… fix your boobs or whatever you need to do. I'll just finish up my tea and Walter can watch me."
