Streets of Athens Harbor Chapter One
It was never hard to spot a beautiful woman sitting on the side of the road with that many boxes in a city, it was made all the easier by a town like Athens where things were normally peaceful. Well, at least on the surface. Sabastion figured if it did have a dark, seedy underbelly, he wouldn't know about it. That thought aside, when he spotted Emily on Parthenon Road he carefully pulled to the side and stepped out, giving her his trademark concerned frown. "Emily..." he said gently, glanced at her things, then back at her. "Are you ready to leave?" Something about his tone indicated the question was more than a comment about moving, but more about her situation as a whole. Perhaps that meant more to him, that she was ready to move on with life than simply the act of physically moving to a new residence, not that he'd ever say that out loud.
Emily looked up when the black hatchback pulled up, and when she saw Sebastian, she physically relaxed and visually brightened. She stood off of where she'd made a seat for herself on a box, cushioned by a pile of clothes, and she nodded at his question a bit too eagerly. "Yes, please!" she said, moving to grab as many things as she could to put into his car.
Once again the doctor was left questioning if Emily's motivation came from behind or ahead. Was she eager to leave things or eager to join him? Looking at the boxes of things he suspected it was the former. Well, he supposed that was alright. They didn't know each other personally after all. He only knew she was smart and beautiful and young and very interested in the medical field. That was enough for him to like her as a person. Perhaps he was only a means to an end though, and she did not wish to be closer than they were, didn't want to be friends? Well, he supposed that was alright as well. With a push of a button he opened the back of his car and let it lift while he gathered up a couple of her heavier looking boxes and joined her in loading his vehicle.
As they worked to load the few large boxes and two suitcases of items she had, it seemed Emily was moving rather carefully with her right hand. She had a kerchief clutched against her fingers, but that wasn't out of the ordinary, considering she'd been crying a few moments ago. Her hair was also down in front of her face as she worked, and it wasn't until the back of the car was loaded with her things and closed again that she shifted her hair back to reveal a darkened spot on her cheekbone--a fresh bruise swelling under her normally blemish-free, pale skin. She hissed as the kerchief shifted in her grip and she pulled it away to inspect a series of small scratches in the crooks of her three middle fingers.
Sabastion, who had closed the car, visibly stilled as he caught site of the damage. His first reaction, and action, was to observe what he could The second, was to ask about her condition. "Emily.." he began gently and half held out a hand, as if asking permission to see her hand. "What has happened to you? You were fine this morning. I think I would have noticed this-" His other hand came up to hold her hair away so he could see her cheekbone better.
She pulled her head back from his hand shyly at first, but she smiled. Her smile didn't reach her blue eyes. "They were accidents, really." she shrugged. "I got cut on my house key when he took it from me... I guess I was holding on a bit tight." She then reached up and smoothed her dark hair back from her cheek so he could see. "I ran into the door when he closed it on me... Just accidents." she assured him again quietly. She looked up at him, meeting his gaze again, and said, "thank you so much for coming. I'm sorry if I woke you... I knew I could count on you though."
Sabastion's pale eyes were looking at her intently, the gears in his mind clearly visible. He took in everything: the color of her eyes, the shine of her hair, her bruises, her smile that he was starting to see never seemed to reach those eyes. "You didn't wake me," he said finally. His voice soften slightly. "Come, let's go home so we can take care of your hand." There wasn't much to be done about a bruise, after all. He took a step away from her and went around to the passenger side door to hold it open for her, waiting until she was safely inside before he closed the door. With as many accidents as he saw the woman have, he made sure to check four times that she was clear of the door before he did so though, then returned to the driver's seat to drive her to her new home.
I'm running late on all my deliveries now. I shouldn't have went to the beach. Luke thought with a small frown as he hurriedly climbed from his truck and moved to grab the boxes of fruit, vegetables and milk he produced up on his farm before carrying them into the small grocery store on the corner of the street. "Sorry I'm late." He said softly as he moved to the counter and set the boxes down. "I put a few extra items in your delivery as an apology." He added before he waited silently for the manager to sort the bill, just smiling and nodding awkwardly as the other man tried to make conversation.
"...Excuse me." The words were quiet and, once attention was on her, Haidee smiled apologetically
, lowering her chin. Seeing Luke come in with the produce as she was just about to check out, she considered herself lucky. Her basket, mostly empty, sat next to his crates on the counter. "I'm so sorry... but.. I am glad you are here. I come every week for your products-" She pointed to his crates. "But.. this week there wasn't much to choose from and.. I had resigned myself to not having it this week. I am glad to see I didn't miss it." She looked at the manager. "Is this for purchase, please? I would very much like to buy some-" She looked at Luke again, smiling a bit more openly. "How do you keep the root vegetables so tender? Every attempt I've made at potatoes has fallen to fungal infections." Her quiet voice faded off as she became a bit more thoughtful on the problem. "It is the oddest thing..."
Luke blinked down at this girl, and for a moment he found himself struck speechless, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to find the words, any words to say to her as the manager set the produce out of the box so she could choose what she wanted. "W-well.." He started as he awkwardly shoved his hands into his pockets. "I uh..I produce my own fertilizer. I use it with all my plants and they all grow wonderfully. No infection." He said and even managed a timid smile. "I-if you like..you can have some..free of charge of course. Call it a thank you for buying my products."
Haidee nodded along with Luke's explanation as she watched the products be set out, thanking the manager quietly for doing so. At the mention of free fertilizer, she turned her gentle smile on Luke again. "Thank you, that would be very helpful. If.. it's not too much trouble.. would you mind showing me how you do it? It could only help my thesis." Her smile shied and she lowered her eyes again. "Of course, if it's a secret, I understand." He pointed to two ears of corn, four carrots, a handful of potatoes, and large amounts of strawberries, blueberries, and apples to add to her purchases, and thanked him again as he rang them up and bagged them for her. "I know really skilled people don't always like giving away how they became so skilled. After all, you worked hard, you earned it, you'd want others to learn too through hard work and dedication..." She paused and looked at Luke again, her gentle smile losing it's shyness again. "That's very admirable. I admire that, the hard work you no doubt put into this-" She pointed to his crates. "It really shows, your love of what you do, it's why I enjoy the opportunity of it every week. Thank you, for sharing it."
"Well thank you, that's very kind of you to say. I've received compliments before on my food but never anything like that." Luke gave a small chuckle as he pulled one of his hands free from his pockets and rubbed the back of his neck bashfully. "If your thesis is to do with work like this..you'd be very welcome to come to my farm. See how it actually works." He continued as his smile seemed to relax slightly. It wasn't often Luke asked people to come to his farm and truthfully anyone he had asked in the past had found a polite excuse to turn him down. The thought of a day on a farm didn't seem to thrill many. But this girl seemed enthusiastic and he couldn't help but hope that she would accept.
"That would be wonderful, thank you for the offer!" Haidee barely managed to calm her appreciation enough to answer the manager who was asking her to pay. She handed over the money and accepted her reusable bags before turning to Luke again. "I'm not sure where your farm is.. I assume it's near town, since you are here every week, but it's not like I ever followed you home or something." She giggled softly, almost like tiny bells. "When would be a good time to some see everything? And.. where do I go?"
"Take the road that leads out of town, just before you hit the town sign there's a left turn. My farm is at the bottom of that road." Luke directed her then suddenly reached for the pen and small notepad that he kept in his back pocket. He quickly scribbled something down, his hands shaking slightly before he offered the page to Haidee. "My number..if you get lost." He added quickly. "I have to finish my deliveries and then Ive been told to visit a friend tonight but if you're free tomorrow.." His voice trailed off as he watched her, his cheeks tinged pink from embarrassment.
Haidee accepted the paper and read the number as he chattered on, but when he finished, she smiled up at him and nodded. "I look forward to it," she accepted, then waved at the manager and bid him farewell, but as she got ready to do the same to Luke, she stopped and her smile shied again. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I didn't catch your name?"
"Oh!" He started and if it was possible his cheeks became even pinker. "Luke.. My names Luke." He answered before taking a small step towards her and offering her his hand to shake politely.
"Luke," she repeated, taking his hand. "Mine's Haidee. It's a pleasure meeting you, Luke." She offered him another sweet smile before releasing his hand. "I will see you tomorrow, then. Good day." She gave him a little wave with the hand that just held his and a little nod of farewell before stepping around him and leaving the market to take her groceries home. She would also need to let her professor know she wouldn't be in the greenhouse as long tomorrow for a little off-site education. There were few things more helpful than real life experience. She was glad to have the opportunity to see one of the best producers around at work first hand.
Luke watched her go, raising his own hand and waving farewell, unable to keep the goofy smile from his face. He seemed to be doing pretty well today at meeting new people and now one of them was actually going to visit him at the farm. His hand suddenly dropped and he couldn't help but look a little panicked. Someone's coming to the farm..A girl is coming to my farm! He thought before giving his head a small shake to try and rid himself of these panicked feelings. She's just coming to watch you work..she'll probably get bored and leave and you'll never see her again. He told himself and a small part of him felt saddened by that idea. He groaned lightly as he ran a hand through his hair then turned back to look at the manager who was watching him with a raised eyebrow. "S-sorry.." He said looking embarrassed before quickly taking the envelope of money from the manager and turning and hurrying from the grocery store and back into his truck to try and finish off the rest of his deliveries.
"Alright, Lena, I'll give you the low-down of my office before we get there." Risk said as they walked through the marketplace to find his office. "Its not a terribly big building, and its kind of old, too. We're getting ready to move and expand in the near future, so this is only temporary. That being said, don't trust the elevator, and don't be stuck in the basement during a storm." he explained with a small smile. "There are usually three other consults in there aside from me, but they outsource to other countries. I'm the only one working here in Athens."
"Don't trust the elevator, don't get stuck in the basement and you're the only one here in Athens. Got it, got it and got it!" Lena replied as she nodded her head with a smile each time she said got it. "So there's absolutely no one else there at the moment? Boy, you must have been getting lonely. Especially with living in that big apartment by yourself too. But never fear!" She said dramatically before laughing. "You got me now!" She nudged him lightly with her elbow then looked back down the street they were walking on, pushing her glasses up her nose as she did.
Risk laughed and nodded. "Lucky me!" He said, without the least bit of irony. He looked ahead as well. "And it wasn't so bad. I actually spend very little time actually in the office. I clock in, have coffee, look over contracts for the day, and then go out to fill them. There are very few days during the month when I'm stuck inside doing paperwork. I love this job for that reason... It gets me out and meeting people." Namely, it got him out and meeting girls. Women with refined tastes in men, and other people he could charm.
"Oh man..does that mean I'm going to be stuck on my own a lot?" Lena commented with a small huff and a pout as she looked back up at Risk. "Maybe I could go with you? Be a secretary on the move or something?" She asked in a hopeful tone, unaware how much that would probably ruin his chances with the girls.
Risk, not one to be hindered by the presence of another woman when meeting women, have a nod. "That might actually be very helpful. But first, let's worry about getting you on the payroll." he chuckled. He paused in front of a door labeled with a brass plaque stating, "ATHENS CONSULTATION INC." and opened it for her. It opened to a thin stairway leading up away from the market streets and into the office building upstairs.
Lena stepped inside and looked around her curiously as she moved towards the stairs. "This way?" She pointed upwards as she glanced back at Risk.
Risk nodded and told her to go on up, following behind her in the cramped stairway. The stairs were clean, polished white marble, but the stairway was closed in, making it impossible for them to go up side-by-side. Instead, Risk went up after her, and at the top of the stairs was another door. It opened up into a much bigger room, large single-pane Windows letting in the warm afternoon sunlight on all sides of the building. There were a few cubicles off to the left side, and across from them were four office doors, each on with a name painted in black on the clouded glass. The first one they came to was Risk's. He unlocked the door with a set of keys from his pocket and pushed it open, revealing his redwood desk and plush leather swivel chair. He had an expensive computer on his desk, a printer and fax machine, three file cabinets, and a bookshelf full of books. He smiled at her. "This is my office," he said and then turned and motioned to one of the cubicles. "That can be your desk." he said. Even though it was a smaller space, the back wall of the cubicles was a window, making them feel far more open than they were.
"Oh wow!" Lena exclaimed with a look of awe as she hurried to the desk and placed her hands upon it's top so she could lean over and look out the window. "It's perfect! I'll put a plant here..some pictures, maybe even some ribbon!" She smiled as she looked round the small cubicle before turning and looking back at Risk. "I would have been happy sitting on the floor." She joked before looking towards the door to his office. "So..do I have to call you Mr Delorme? Or is Risk ok?"
"Nah, no need for formalities. Just call me Risk." he smiled. He set his briefcase down on his desk and opened it, pulling out some papers and tapping them straight on the desktop. "Now then, I have a meeting to sit in on, so get yourself acquainted with the office. Here's some new hire forms I'll need you to fill out," he said, laying some other papers on her desk gently.
"Ok I'll get to work on them right away." Lena answered with a nod then pulled her chair out and dropped down to sit on it. She glanced at the papers them seemed to search her desk before looking at Risk with an embarrassed smile. "You got a pen I could borrow?"
Risk chuckled and nodded, producing one from his chest pocket. He offered it to her and then said, "if you need anything else from my office, just feel free to go in and get it. Also, leave your wage information blank. We'll discuss that when I get out of the meeting." he smiled, then turned on his heel and headed towards another closed door labeled CONFERENCE ROOM.
"Thanks!" Lena called after him before returning her attention to the paperwork. She tapped the pen lightly on the desk as she read over it then quickly filled in her information, leaving the wage information blank as he had instructed. Once done she neatly set it aside then sat looking out of the window, humming lightly to herself as she propped her hand under her chin.
Roughly thirty minutes passed before Risk returned, looking tired, but still smiling when he saw Lena. "Getting settled?" he asked, leaning against her cubicle wall a little.
Lena gave a small nod of her head as she slowly shifted her gaze from the window up to Risk's face. "You can see so much out there. It's fascinating." She smiled then quickly lifted up the finished paperwork and offered it to him. "It's all done."
"Excellent! Then let's go into my office and discuss your pay," Risk nodded, taking the papers and turning away from her, heading into his office and falling into his plush office chair with a grunt. He looked over the papers briefly and pulled out the page about her pay, laying it out on the desk.
"Wait a minute!" Lena said hurriedly as she stood watching him from the other side of his desk, her green eyes wide. "I thought I was doing this in exchange for you letting me live at yours? I don't need money as well Risk."
Risk looked up at her with a raised brow. "Thats true, but how will you pay for anything else? How will you save up money for a car or a place of your own down the road? How will you have money for fun things?" he asked, smiling. "I have no issue paying you for your work, Lena. How does twenty-two dollars an hour sound?"
"Sounds good.." Lena finally replied with a defeated smile and a sigh. "You know, you're one of the nicest people I've met in a long time, giving me a place to stay and a job. I really appreciate it. You're kinda like the big brother I always wanted." She joked with a small laugh.
"Well thank you, Lena, that's very nice of you to say," Risk laughed gently. He scrawled out her agreed upon salary in the blank where it belonged, then smiled up at her. "I'm putting you in here as a free lance work so you can decide your own hours. Sound fair? Just try to give me a basic schedule every couple of weeks or so of you can so I know when you'll be in the office."
Lena gave another nod. "How about we start with three days this week? Allow me to get used to the job first. That sound ok?" She asked politely.
"That sounds perfect to me," Risk agreed. He scribbled out his signature on her hire packet, and then filed it away. He then offered Lena his hand to shake. "Welcome aboard, Lena." he smiled.
"Thank you for allowing me this opportunity. I won't let you down." Lena took his hand and shook it firmly before stepping back and clasping her hands behind her back. "So what would you like me to do now?"
"Well, if you've already acquainted yourself with your work space and your phone, then you'll need to do some computer training for our logging systems. It's this old program called Appointment Mate, and it's how we schedule our meetings and appointments." Risk explained with a shrug. "You can do that, or if you want to jump right into work, you can get started on the back logs my last secretary left me when she quit." he shrugged, then motioned to a closet door in his office.
"I'll get started on the back log, I'm a wiz when it comes to computers so I'm sure I'll pick up how to use the program as I work!" Lena grinned before she turned and moved to the closet and opened the door.
The inside of the closet was unorganized, to say the least. There were boxes of papers, none neatly filed, and stacks of papers that couldn't fit in the boxes sat on the floor beside them. This was at least two weeks' worth of filing work, and that was for someone working eight hour days, five days a week. Risk gave a sheepish laugh. "Well... it's her back logs... plus all the stuff I've accumulated over the last few weeks since she left..."
Lena gaped slightly at the sight of all the paperwork before taking a deep breath and clapping her hands together. "Ok..well it looks like I'm going to be a little busy.." She said as she pulled a pin from her pocket and after twisting her long blonde hair up on top of her head, she used the pin to secure it in place. It seemed that nothing, no amount of work could dull Lena's mood. She pushed her sleeves back then bent to pick up a few boxes, staggering slightly as she straightened up before carefully carrying them back to her desk. She repeated this several times until she was finally left with only an armful of pages and after she had closed the closet door, she turned to smile at Risk, wiping her brow with her free hand as she did. "Can I get you anything before I start?"
Risk looked up from where he was doing his own work on his computer, and he shook his head with a small laugh. "No, thank you. You're my assistant, not my maid." he winked. "Just take your time with those, and if you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask."
"Got it." Lena smiled politely then took a step towards the door before stopping and looking at Risk once more. "Is it ok if I listen to music?" She asked with a hopeful expression.
"I hope that you do," Risk smiled at her, then added, "at a reasonable volume, of course." He winked at her and then went back to his work.
Lena grinned at Risk then with a final farewell hurried back to her desk. She tuned the radio into her favourite station then sat sorting through the papers, her head nodding along to the music as she mouthed along to the lyrics.
After roughly an hour of them working in their respective offices, Risk appeared in his doorway with a deep-chested groan. "Okay, I'm calling it... I'm starving!" he said and went to Lena's cubicle, leaning against the corner wall again like before and peering down at her. He had not gotten to eat lunch earlier like Lena had at the park, and he was dying to eat something. His stomach gave an audible, resounding growl. "Ugh..." he complained, but said to Lena, "So? How's it going?"
"Really well!" Lena replied enthusiastically as she continued to tap quickly at the keyboard of her computer, a reasonable pile of paperwork stacked on the desk next to her, already completed. She hadn't been lying when she said she was a wiz with computers. "And save!" She clicked her mouse then shut off the computer and twirled round in her chair to smile up at Risk. "Let's get you something to eat." She chuckled after hearing his stomach growl. She stood up and stretched lightly before grabbing the pin in her hair and removing it, shaking out her long hair as she did. "Ready when you are."
Risk smiled at her, clearly impressed with her finished work. "Sounds like a plan!" he said and clapped his hands together eagerly. "Let's see, what can we get... Gyros? Hmm... tacos? Oooh, burgers!" he said as he led her to the front door of the office that led down those thin stairs to the street.
"Sounds delicious!" Lena giggled as she followed after him. "Do you cook? Or are we eating out?" she asked curiously.
"Eh, I don't feel like cooking at the moment, so out it is!" he said and smiled, holding the doors open for her one after the other until they were on the streets again. "Any preferences for dining?"
"I only know the diner..so its really up to you." Lena smiled as she hopped out through the door then turned to look at Risk. "So what do ya think?"
"Diner? You mean Sophie's?" Risk asked with raised brows, and then he smiled widely in approval. "Oh, that's perfect! Best burgers in town, there!" he said and nodded. "Let's go, then! My treat, of course!"
"OK! Lead the way!" Lena grinned then before Risk could protest she hooked her arm round his as they walked towards BotO Sophie's dinner.
Stepping out of the grocery store, Hroda Neander began his quick-paced trek home, holding a large paper bag--containing a frozen pre-cooked meatloaf, two cheap cans of German potato salad, a squeeze-bottle of spicy ketchup and a new bag of gummy bears--to his chest.
"Ok So which way is the dojo again?" Madison whispered as she paused to look this way and that after exiting the diner, before sighing and scratching her head in dismay. "I shouldn't have left my phone at home." She took one final look around then turned left deciding to give this direction a chance.
Jace stepped out of the dojo and locked the door behind him. He was done for the day, no more classes. Sticking his hands in his pockets he headed in the direction of Sophie's, he had really worked up an appetite today and could really use the company of his friends. It had been one hell of a long day. Glancing up he noticed a blonde head coming his direction and frowned slightly. There was something familiar about the figure so he picked up hi's pace so he reached the woman sooner. Within seconds they were only a few feet from each other. "Madison? What the hell are you doing here? Why didnt you call me?!" Jace hurried closer and hauled her up into his arms hugging her tightly.
"I wanted to surprise you." Madison replied after she had squealed excitedly at the sight of him, throwing her arms round him and hugging him tightly. "And I don't have my phone anyway..left it at home when I snuck out of their and stole mom's car." She said then leaned back and gave a guilty smile. "Surprise.."
Jace gave a softly laugh and squeezed her into another hug before kissing the top of her head and gently releasing her. "How are you? Where have you been? Want to have dinner with me?" He had so many questions he wasn't sure what to asked first. Aside from Jade Madison was the only other person he was really himself around. He loved it when she was around, he no longer felt edgy that she was far away and he couldn't protect her.
Madison laughed at her brothers rush of questions. "Yes I would love dinner. I've been stuck at home all this time, going between studying and dancing and I've been bored." She said answering all of his questions with a smile. "Mom and dad wouldn't let me go out with my friends or anything so I decided to get out of there and start fresh, like you did."
"Well if you need a place to stay you can stay with me or Jade. She's got plenty of space." Wrapping his arm around Madison's shoulder he steered her back towards the diner. He of all people knew how their parents could be and he would be glad to help get her out from under their watchful eyes. "I'm surprised you've lasted so long under that roof."
Madison shrugged with a small smile. "Well I'm out now and I don't plan to go back." She said as she looked up at him as they moved back towards the diner. "I was thinking I could try and set up my own dance school. What do you think?"
"That would be nice. Something to keep you out of trouble. Just kidding. It would definitely give the girls a different variety." It being such a small town there wasn't always a lot for the kids to do so the dojo was a nice outlet and if Madison did open up a dance school that would be a nice addition. "Mmm I can already small the burgers!" Jace reached for the door and held it open allowing Madison to step into boto Sophie's dinner first.
The night air was beginning to cool outside as the sun set and the natural breeze from the ocean was beginning to drift further over the little town of Athens. The diner door's little bell jingled softly as Luke and Haidee stepped out onto the sidewalk. Stars were just starting to appear on the eastern horizon, a splash of hues arching across the west. Haidee took a deep breath through her nose, admiring the colors of the sky with a fond smile as she waited for Luke to join her. Once he had, she took the lead, as he would have no way of knowing where she lived, but her pace was slow and leisurely. "Thank you," she spoke softly, glancing at Luke as they walk, shoes making soft scrapes on the pavement of the walkway. "For walking me home. I'm glad I have some more time to get to know you."
"You want to get to know me more? I'm afraid you might be a little disappointed." Luke replied softly as he walked slowly beside Haidee, his hands pushed into the pockets of his jacket as they moved. "I'm not very interesting. But I guess if there's a question you want answering, please feel free to ask." He glanced at Haidee and gave a polite smile before he looked up towards the distant stars.
"Well..." Haidee replied and appeared to think about it for a moment. "You're obviously a strong and handsome successful business owner with a good home and land... Why are you so nervous?" she asked finally, giving him a gentle smile that showed she was more trying to comfort him than tease him. "If it's not too forward to ask.. I just noticed you seem very worried about something. Is it only Mr. Risk's interest in your property?"
Luke grimaced slightly at the mention of Risk and his farm. "Its not Risk technically that wants my farm, its the company he works for and the mayor too. I have to go and see the mayor tomorrow, try and convince him to leave me alone. No matter how much money he's offering I'm not selling." He replied then glanced at Haidee and blushed. "I was also a little worried that you were going to be won over by Risks charms..most women can't resist him. I was worried he was going to steal you away from me." He confessed keeping his eyes away from hers as he spoke, his cheeks firing up even redder than before.
Haidee laughed softly, that same distant sort of sound of bells. "I wouldn't worry about that," she assured Luke as confidently as her soft voice would allow. "I'm much more interested in being your friend. We choose our friends after all. It's pretty rare for our friends to choose us against our will. I don't know Risk, and I'm not sure I have a desire to. Unlike you. I very much want to get to know you. I find it very admirable you want to protect your farm so sincerely. It's really endearing, and inspiring. It must be a beautiful place, to grow under your care, produce such wonderful food, and be desirable to the mayor of this town. I really look forward to seeing it tomorrow."
If it was possible for Luke's cheeks to go any redder they did as he listened to Haidee speak and he couldn't help but smile proudly at her words. "It is a good place. I worked hard to make it what it is today." He said then finally looked back at her. "I bought it when it was nothing so it was pretty cheap, I had to rework all the land to make it good enough to plant on and fix up the house because it was so rundown before building the stable and the barn but I managed to accomplish something which I'm really proud of and I think you'll like it."
"It sounds amazing. Did you always want to be a farmer?" Haidee asked. She had other questions but for now they could wait, at least until after tomorrow. They would be too presumptuous now.
"Yeah.." Luke replied with a confirming nod. "My parents were lawyers and they really wanted me to follow in their footsteps but I knew that wasn't the career I wanted. I loved being outside, getting my hands dirty and seeing the delicious efforts of all the hard work I'd put into growing things. I even had a secret garden growing up. I'd sneak out to tend to the things I was growing and then just pretend I'd bought them from the store when they were ready to be picked." He chuckled lightly and rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed slightly from his confession. "What about you? Any thoughts on what your future holds?"
Haidee's expression faltered a moment, her smile dipping almost imperceptibly, but she seemed to recover quickly, gentle smile back in place and she nodded. "I'm hoping to find a way to start teaching people self sufficiency. To care for themselves and their family, by growing their own garden. I am not at all against buying things from the shop!" she quickly added, holding up an apologetic hand to Luke. "I just think.. it would be really nice, for the community. If Mrs. Simms grows peppers and Mr. Jones grows mushrooms, they could trade and barter and it can really bring everyone together. I think that would be wonderful..." She sighed wistfully. "I grow strawberries myself," she added to Luke. "It's the only thing I have room for right now. I tend to a lot of things in the greenhouses, but they aren't mine. Would you... I mean, you may have your own strawberries, but I buy your produce every week so, if you don't have any. Would you.. I mean, once a week, maybe we could trade?..." She bit her lips slightly, looking at him with hopeful eyes. She really was a very big fan of his work. Two years now she had made Thanksgiving dinner for her family with almost nothing but his work.
"Sure, that sounds like a good idea to me. Pick out whatever you like from my stock tomorrow..or maybe you'd like something different each week..that's completely fine." Luke smiled brightly. "Honestly..I think your idea is wonderful. I always just dreamed of growing things, you know not wanting to make any profit. But unfortunately I needed to make some money." He shrugged bashfully with a small chuckle. "I would definitely invest in your business idea."
"I think it is not a very good business plan," Haidee replied with a bashful smile of her own. "I don't think I could sustain myself financially with it. Oh but to have a little cabin of my own in the woods some where... a small garden of all the things I need for myself, trading harvest for seeds to prepare for the next season... How lovely would that be." It didn't seem to be a question. She crossed her arms and rubbed them against the cooling wind. "I hope I can always help things grow and live. A spring garden of flowers or a autumn pumpkin patch, grape vineyards or apple orchards, they are all so beautiful- Oh!" She smiled brightly at him. "Would you ever want to go apple picking with me? It is a lot of fun. I think we'd make a great team, reaching the really good ones at the top!"
Luke chuckled lightly at her enthusiasm before nodding. "Sure sounds like fun and your dream of that little cabin..that sounds great." He said then shrugged out of his jacket and offered it to Haidee when he noticed her trying to warm her arms up from the wind. "You look a little cold."
Haidee offered him a grateful smile that was borderline apologetic as she accepted the jacket and draped it around her shoulders, holding it around herself. "Thank you," she said softly then looked up the sidewalk as they continued. "It's not much further. I'm just up there-" She pointed about a block ahead at a flower shop they were approaching. "It was really good to talk with you Luke. I enjoy our time together."
"Yeah..me too." Luke replied and for once he wasn't just being polite, he truly meant it. He felt comfortable around Haidee, felt no unease or worry that she was going to laugh at him. He was happy to be with her. "I don't think I've talked this much in a long time. I never realized how nice it would be to have someone who shares my interests.." He smiled at her and for the first time he didn't blush. "Thanks for stopping me in the store."
"Thank you for stopping," Haidee replied quietly as they stopped by the flower shop. Another door on the front of the building revealed a narrow staircase that led upstairs. It was a little run down, but the smell of the flowers from inside was nearly intoxicating. She carefully slid his jacket off of her shoulders and held it for a moment, before holding it out a bit further to him, a shy smile on her lips but she was at least able to look at his face. "Thank you for walking me home," she added. "I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow."
"And I look forward to seeing you.." Luke smiled as he took the jacket from her and quickly slipped it back on. "So..I'll see you tomorrow then." He watched her a moment unsure how exactly one would end a causal walk like this. A hug? A handshake? A high five maybe? In the end he opted for a pat on the shoulder, which as he turned away, he immediately regretted. Why did you do that? He thought with a groan before he moved on back up the street, heading in the direction of his home.
"Jade, wait, please, wait-" Dorian tried as Jade led the way out of the diner. He offered as many kind, apologetic smiles as he could to the staff and patrons but every time his eyes returned to Jade and he was concerned. The little bell chimed as they exited the restaurant and it was only then that he was speaking and trying to calm her down. "Jade, Jade, please..." he muttered soothingly as he followed along, catching up to be next to her and, finally, when they were a few blocks away from the shop, he wrapped her in his arms and held her, making her stop. "Jade it's ok... He's just mad, he'll calm down. It's going to be ok-" He rubbed gentle circles on her upper back as he spoke, glad the streets here were empty if only for her sake. "... Do you want to go to the beach or home? I'll stay with you if you want, wherever you want."
Jade laid her head on his chest and listen to his head beat for several seconds before answering. She already knew the answer but she needed to calm down before she responded. "The beach. I'd like to stick my feet in the water for a while, if that's that okay. Unless you need to get home." The first time he met Archer and the guy was a complete asshole to him, that was just inexcusable. You don't treat people that way. If she were his commanding officer she would throw him in the brig or... make him run for hours or something. Some best friend he didn't even know Dorian. Sighing heavily she turned her head up to look at him, "Im sorry."
"Don't be sorry, you have nothing to be sorry for," Dorian assured her quickly and pressed a kiss to her hair again as he squeezed her in a hug. Only then did he lean back a bit to give her a supportive smile. "I will follow you to the moon and back, if you want me there. The beach is actually a rather reasonable request." He took a step back so that he had one arm around her shoulders to ward off the incoming ocean chill and walked with her to BotO The Beach.
"Yeah I think that's a good idea, that must have been hard for her." Madison replied with a small nod as she pulled her jacket more tightly around herself before glancing up at Jace. "That was pretty rough, huh? Are all your dinners this eventful?" She joked before shaking her head. "I get the feeling this place is going to be pretty interesting.."
"With Jade dinner is always eventful but no, nothing quite that..." Jace furrowed his eyebrows and grumbled. "Violent. Come on, my place is actually above the dojo. Are you going to crash there for the night? I've got a spare room, it's nothing special and small but its there." As they walked in front of the dojo Jace unlocked the door and ushered Madison inside, once inside her re-locked the door. "Right to the back, through the garden there's a cedar staircase that'll take you upstairs. Take this food upstairs and I'll meet you up there, I've gotta check on the plants really fast." Jace handed over there bag before heading into the garden which he was quite proud of the work he'd done in the garden, everything was custom made with red cedar and lovingly done.
"Alright well don't take too long or there won't be any food left for you." Madison teased as she took the bag of food from him then turned and headed for the staircase. Once she was upstairs she took the food into the kitchen and set to work unpacking it, humming lightly to herself as she did.
Jace waited for Madison to go upstairs before flicking a switch. He waited and listened as his river system began channeling through the garden. It was set on a timer so in 5 minutes the entire garden would be watered and it would automatically turn itself off. Flicking the lights off Jace jogged up the stairs and joined his sister to eat. "Mmm smells delicious.
"I should have know you'd only appear once it was completely ready." Madison joked as she turned and offered him a plate with his food on it and a fresh drink. She smiled at him then fetched her own and moved to collapse onto the couch with a contented sigh. "Thanks for this Jace. I knew I could rely on you for help. Hopefully I'll only have to stay for a little while and while I'm here I'll try to keep the place clean..but I can't keep any promises." She grinned then lifted her burger and took a large and hungry bite.
"Eh stay as long as you'd like. Believe me, the company will be nice. It gets lonely sometimes. Especially with Jade working all the time. It's ridiculous. She never sleeps. Its not healthy. So how are mom and dad?" He laughed aloud and shook his head as he sat down next took her to dig into his own dinner.
"They're the same as always." Madison replied with a small shrug once she had swallowed her large bite of burger. "Dad's working long hours and mom's redecorating the house for what feel's like the hundredth time. She's going with greens this time.." She said in a matter of fact tone before smiling and picking up a few fries. "Nothing's really changed much since you left. Still the same old home. So how have you been?" She questioned curiously as she watched Jace.
"Fine... good just lonely. That's partly my own fault though I suppose." He knew it was. He never dated, never really let himself feel anything for anyone not since his divorce. His parents practically disowned him after that. In there family divorce wasn't an option, well it hadn't been his choice. He'd loved... his wife. He still couldn't hardly think about it. Looking down at his burger his appetite lost. "I think I'll head to bed." Leaning over he kissed the top of her head and got up from the couch to throw his dinner away. "First door on the left is yours. There are towels in the bathroom and more linens for the bed in the closet if you need them. Let me know if you need anything." With that he headed to his room.
Madison frowned sadly as she watched him go. Maybe I shouldn't have asked.. She thought as she looked back down at her own food. She managed to eat only a few more fries before she gave up with a sigh, too worried about her brother now to eat. she stood up and moved to the kitchen and quickly cleaned up all their dishes before she grabbed her bag and headed for the room that Jace had indicated was hers. "Goodnight.." She called to him, before she disappeared into her room to get some rest.
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Blood of the Olympians
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