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Post by mabel on Jul 14, 2009 1:20:06 GMT -5
[New Day]
Mabel's homecoming had not gone over as well as she might have hoped. Her mother embraced her, sobbed and was a right mess. Her father gave her a kiss on the head and kept his distance. Despite her mother's insistence that nothing could make them happier than her being home, Mabel was certain that wasn't the case.
The apartment was cramped and meticulously clean--undoubtedly Mrs. Fitzpatrick kept insanity at bay with continuous tiding. Mabel was sharing her room with the her little brother who was going through bouts of illness. He was a strong little boy, but he was young. Medicine was costly and the Fitzpatrick's savings were being spread thin.
Mabel's coming home would do zero good.
Having spent the day in and out of shops looking for work, Mabel, having run out of options, was wandering the shoreline. One of her mother's best day dresses was now being dragged through wet sand and foamy surf and Mabel found herself hard-pressed to care after a day of continuous disappointment.
There was a bookshop nearby that seemed to be looking for some kind of shop assistant. Mabel could happily spend her days in a bookstore--it suited her. Much more than peddling papers did, anyway.
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Post by Evangeline Macleane on Jul 15, 2009 17:54:20 GMT -5
Evie had gathered part of her shipment as she walked across the beach, there were at least three books she wanted to read and she would get to that. The shop was tidy, things were where they should be and-- well she hadn't had the pleasure of running into Jim as of late. Though that in itself kept her amused there wasn't more for the former debutant turned bookseller to do.
And that was exactly how she liked it. Turning she found a bench near the beach to read, setting the stack of books beside her and looking over the beach. "Perfect.." honestly she'd given up expectations for a book store. All in all to her it was a fair trade. |
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Post by mabel on Jul 16, 2009 19:12:16 GMT -5
Moving away from the surf and up the beach, Mabel cringed at the feeling of her wet dress clinging at her ankles. The bench nearest her was noticeably occupied, but there really didn't seem to be anywhere else Mabel could comfortable wring out her dress that wouldn't get her covered in sand.
Approaching the bench, Mabel cleared her throat and gestured towards the bench, "Pardon me, may I-" Oh, what a silly thing to do. There was bench to spare and all her inquiry was doing was disturbing the lady. Sitting awkwardly on the edge, Mabel squeezed the excess water from her dress and brushed away the sand. Pulling her stockings on, she slipped her feet into her beat up shoes.
Just as she moved to leave, Mabel caught sight of the stacked books to her left. They were lovely with clean covers and unfrayed binding: they reminded her of the kind of books she used to have in the old library. That was the worst thing about losing everything--there just wasn't space for all her old books.
"I'm a bit envious," Mabel quipped, flicking her wrist towards the books. "Are they all yours?"
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Post by Evangeline Macleane on Jul 20, 2009 22:45:43 GMT -5
Her head lifted and she smiled at the girl, she looked sharp enough. With a smile and a nod she handed her one of the books. "I own a book store in the bronx, I hate to say that I am a lush when it comes to fine literature and leather bindings... would you like to sit?" she scooted the books over enough to allow the girl to sit. She looked, like someone Evie could have associated with in the old days. But found the same fall from grace.
"I just got in a new shipment and I've been just dying to read these. I've never read these ones before and that is one of the perks. Being able to handle your own stock." she flashed the girl a smile, she had the grace of a debutant but she didn't throw her weight around like so many of her former peers. |
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Post by Naomi Talbot on Jan 8, 2010 20:22:54 GMT -5
((New Day))
Naomi was awash with emotions as she ran her hands threw her dark hair she had for once chosen to let fall down over her shoulders. Her eyes cast a glance across the waters, her mind far away this time. Where she had once been, and where she almost wanted to be. What could she do now? The silence hit her thoughts, the water crashed amongst the rocks and she folded her arms to fight the chill, tucking them in her muff as she let her hair waved in the icy wind.
People change, and some things don't. She was still in love with Bryce and no other man since. Sure, she had found herself tossed into lust but never had she felt the same emotions as she did with Bryce. He was here now but he was still keeping her out. It made her ache and she closed her eyes. "Oh lord give me some kind of strength for all this.."
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Post by Bryce Andrews on Jan 8, 2010 20:48:54 GMT -5
He stood there and watched her for a moment, the way the wind stirred her hair, the curve of her neck and everything else that was so familiar to him and yet still somehow felt like they belonged to a stranger. For as far as they had come since in the past few weeks and months, there was still much further to go. So much had occurred since they had last known each other, experiences and events that colored and marked their very souls and Bryce knew they couldn't simply pick up from where they had left off...no matter how much they wanted too.
"You're going to catch a chill out here, baby doll," Bryce said softly, interrupting her musing, hating he was the cause of the crease in her brow. "And then where would I be?" He smiled down at her a little, wanting to reach out and touch her but not knowing if she would permit it. There was always an underlying tension between them, all those years that had passed, unspoken things that needed to be said but neither could find the words for.
Bryce had battled his whole life with his private nature, but after all that had happened it was harder to let go than he ever imagined. The potential danger that could lurk around the dark corners of his mind and heart had him holding tighter than ever to the security blanket of his silence. "I'm sorry, Naomi..."
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Post by Naomi Talbot on Jan 8, 2010 23:23:21 GMT -5
When she heard his voice she let out a sigh, her eyes slid closed and she turned to him, watching his long legs stride, comfortable in the trousers. He was as comfortable in those pants as he'd been in a suit and tie. She'd seen it so many times before and so long ago. His words, just the simple ones that he had always had such a hard time saying drew her towards him.
Closing her eyes for a moment she set her hand on his chest, pulling it form the warmth of her muff to set it over the strong beat of his heart. She loved him so much it was almost as if she needed that love to exist. When she opened her eyes once more she took a breath and offered him a smile. "What ever could you be saying you are sorry for, Bryce? No one is really at fault in any of this... it just is what it is. Now, where do we go from here?"
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Post by Bryce Andrews on Jan 8, 2010 23:52:20 GMT -5
Bryce lifted an arm and wrapped it around her shoulders, pulling her into him and pressing his nose into her and breathing deeply for a moment. The scent of it, so innately feminine, stirred memories and desires inside of him that he was sure had been long since buried. "I'm not an easy man to love, Naomi," He commented, resting his chin on the top of her head. "It's difficult for me to let people in...especially ones that I care about."
He pulled away for a moment so he could look down into her face, caught her chin in his hands and tilted it so he could see her eyes, try to read the emotions there and his heart nearly ached with the love he saw so openly inside them. "I don't want to hurt you baby doll, and there is no guarantee that I won't."
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Post by Naomi Talbot on Jan 8, 2010 23:58:13 GMT -5
"There are no guarantees in life, Bryce. Only chances.." she'd said something of that effect once before, long ago on another shore-- on another dock. And he'd made a choice and she'd taken a chance. Things changed with every breath that we take, she wanted him to not regret having her close any longer. It pulled at her heart and she let out a sigh, her lips curving slightly.
"But it doesn't matter, I want to take this chance. I've been waiting for you to take a leap Bryce... I didn't want to have to push you over just to get you to leap." she smiled softly, angelic yet sinful features alight. "Take a leap with me?"
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Post by Bryce Andrews on Jan 9, 2010 0:05:02 GMT -5
How could he say no to her? How could he when he knew deep down what he wanted was Naomi and to have her in his life. But wanting and having were two entirely different things, Bryce had learned that over the years. Those words when she'd said them so long ago had challenged him then and he'd made the choice he had to make. But now everything was different and they had a chance to be together, to possibly be happy: how could he walk away again when the first time had nearly ripped his heart.
"You might have to be patient with me," Bryce said finally, reaching up a large hand to cup her cheek, brush his thumb across her cheekbone. "It's been awhile since I've done this." He wanted to have someone who mattered to him, and who he mattered too. And there was no other person than Naomi that he wanted that to be. They had a long road to walk, a lot of things to work out but Bryce felt almost cheerful at the prospect that they were doing it together. "I will leap."
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Post by Naomi Talbot on Jan 9, 2010 0:08:47 GMT -5
A small smile crossed her face before it bloomed into a glowing warm happy smile. She reached up and set her hands on the one holding her cheek, she could not hide the smile. How could she? This man, the magic in these hands--- they could breed beautiful music or cause terrible violence. But for this moment and for the time after, they were hers. She wanted them on her frame.
She set his free hand on her hip and tilted her chin up so that he could see all that he needed to in her doe eyes. "I love you Bryce, it hasn't changed in all these years and I can promise you, it will not as long as I live."
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Post by Bryce Andrews on Jan 9, 2010 12:13:06 GMT -5
"I can only hope that I'm worthy of it," Bryce said softly, dropping his head so that he could press his lips briefly against hers, a simple taste of what he longed for. The wall that Bryce had built up around his heart and emotions was notoriously thick and tall and though he longed to return Naomi's declarations of love and affection, they just didn't come as easy for him. It was something borne of his past experiences, but also a well documented Andrews family trait with Brooke Lynne suffering some of the same hesitations.
"In all those years since I put you on that boat, I never stopped thinking about you," Bryce said, pulling away to look into her eyes again, his fingers straying to toy with a piece of her hair. It was an honest truth, despite the women that had passed through his life and through the murky, dangerous roads of his past, Naomi had always been something of a shining light. The radiance of her smile, the curve of her cheek and the soft cadence of her voice sometimes coming to him in his darkest moments. Dark moments that Naomi knew nothing about.
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Post by Naomi Talbot on Jan 9, 2010 13:07:50 GMT -5
They were two people born of their darker places, the places that rarely saw the light. The places she would never tell him of, or didn't want him to see. And he, well he was guarded because of them just as she was bold for the same reason. She had learned that time waits for no man, or woman. She didn't want to wait for her life to be at its end before she told him what she needed and where hear heart stood. How could she?
When his lips found hers she returned it with warmth, watching him pull back. That smile never leaving her features. "I've thought about you... wondered how you were, what you were doing. If you had forgotten how to laugh.." and he had from how to seemed. The backs of her fingers brushed his cheek bone before the set against his face gently. "I missed your music, Bryce.."
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Post by Bryce Andrews on Jan 9, 2010 13:42:31 GMT -5
"I don't play as much as I used too," Bryce commented, looking at his hands and then down in her face. He couldn't remember the last time he'd found a piano to play, though he had discovered long ago that his fingers never quite lost their skill, always feeling at home against ivory keys. In some ways his life with music felt like a lifetime ago, but whenever he played he found a soothing strength in the music, the movement of his fingers and the ease with which the creativity filled his soul.
"Laughing hasn't been much a part of my life recently," He admitted, remembering the soberness that had surrounded everything around him the past few years. Brooke Lynne's face the last time he told her goodbye, somehow his deeply thoughtful sister seemed to know it was for far longer than the week he had claimed. He suspected his sister knew a great deal more than she ever let on, she was intelligent enough to deduct why he never shared as well.
"Perhaps together we can find a little laughter," Bryce felt a smile toying at the edge of his lips, knowing that it was a distinct possibility. Naomi always found away to get beneath the surface of his skin, finding the things that made him smile and drawing them out until he couldn't ignore them any longer. It was part of what made her such a good match for him, she saw his need for privacy as part of who he was and not the obstacle and annoyance that most did.
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Post by Naomi Talbot on Jan 9, 2010 14:23:13 GMT -5
"You mean like watching Sarah grab one of my men by the ear and giving him a good scolding for making one of my girls cry," she was smiling, oh how could she live without this man? She didn't see a way around it. Her lips had the curves to them that made her mysterious and alluring, in reality she just wanted him to smile for her and her alone.
"Or the fact that Jim just loves to be able to tell people to fuck off.." her good friend who had needed that job to find some sense of sanity. She was glad for that as she held Bryce's hand in hers. Her eyes alight as she watched him. He'd said he would stay, he would be with her and that was all she wanted. A Foolish and childish need but hers alone. One she wanted to share with him and no other. With a soft sigh she brushed her face against his hand. "Oh how I missed you... if only you knew.."
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