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 Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2015 2:35 pm
Standing out in front of the A&H Bakeries storefront door, Hannah rocked back on her heels fidgeting with her cyan scarf with one hand while the other held onto the business card in her coat pocket. It had fallen on the floor earlier this morning as she was cleaning off her desk, a silent reminder that she should go say hi since she forgot to tell him her own name before taking off. Although now that she was here, looking in at the groups of people waiting in line, some with kids, others with spouses or dates, she half wonder if she should walk down the street and call first before walking in and asking for Arias. Unfortunately as she was fishing for her phone the door swung open allowing the sweet smell of chocolate to spill outside into the open streets. “Oh! I-I’m so sorry.” she quickly apologized to the couple trying to leave. “No worries you’re fine.” The woman smiled kindly, skirting around Hannah while her boyfriend, or husband, held the door open. “Thank you,” Hannah ducked her head under his arm and stepped inside the warm shop. So much for that plan… she sighed looking down at the linoleum tiled floor. Now she was committed, no point in leaving and coming back, and so she approached the first employee she saw. “Um excuse me? Hi, um is Arias here by chance?”Kyuseisha no Hikari Backdated to early December 2014 ish (I think)
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Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2015 2:37 pm
The brunette she was speaking to glanced up and flashed a quick smile; he was just finishing wiping off the counter. A few people were scattered around the bakery, but they seemed deeply invested in their own discussions. "He is," he said; when he turned to face her, a very colorful, muffin and glitter decorated nametag was pinned to his chest. It might have been embarrassing for anyone not a twelve year old girl, but Arias hardly seemed to mind.
In the warmth of his bakery, he seemed relaxed and fully at peace; even with the bakery busy he was enjoying himself. "I'm almost every day, if you're ever looking. What can I help you with?" he asked. As he spoke, he reached for a napkin, opened the display case next to him and pulled from it what seemed to be a prime sample of a freshly baked batch of sugar cookies. He handed it to her without seeming the slightest bit worried about why she was asking for him by name, and though he didn't pressure her for an explanation he certainly seemed curious.
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Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2015 2:37 pm
“Oh, um thank you,” She reached out and graciously accepted the cookie with a smile. “I, I don’t know if you remember me, my name is Hannah. We met a few nights ago…” Withdrawing her hand from her coat pocket she held out to him the business card he had given her and a light blueish turquoise stone cross she had purchased from the craft store several months ago. Something of a good luck charm she often kept on her keychain.
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Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2015 2:38 pm
If they’d met a few nights ago, there was really only one person she could be. He glanced to the card, taking it and the stone cross carefully. “This, I remember,” he said of the card. He rolled the stone in his hand and continued, “This, I do not.” For a few seconds more, he looked at the piece, and then smiled back up at her.
“But it is nice to see you, Hannah. To meet you, officially. I’m happy you decided to drop by, how have you been?”
He was as pleasant and genial as ever; it seemed that knowing she was an ally in this war made him much more eager to open up and chat. Arias was usually a fairly reserved person, but in the right company? Well, there wasn’t much to hide when speaking with someone who was fighting the same enemy as you.
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Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2015 2:38 pm
“I’m doing alright. School gets out in a week for winter break which will be nice.” Not to mention her birthday was in a few days which meant fun times were definitely on the horizon.
“There’s a chance we might go tobogganing next month.” The tone in her voice sounded quite excited to share that bit of news. There was a glimmer of hope in those deep blue eyes since it had been nearly three years since her family took a trip up to the mountains all together; her aunt, uncle, and cousins as well. “What about you? Do you have anything fun planned for the upcoming holidays?”
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Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2015 2:38 pm
“Tobogganing?” he prompted, seeming to have as much fun with the word as the idea of what such entailed. “You must be headed somewhere good for that, I’m jealous. No, I don’t have anything planned for the holidays, just,” he shrugged and looked around the bakery.
“Taking care of things here, dealing with the night job. My sister will be out of school for a while, so I’m going to take advantage of that and spend some time with her. There’s a bit of an age gap, but--you know. I love her, she’s my little sister and,” he laughed a bit sheepishly. “I feel like I’ve been a bit of a bad older brother, so I’ll see if there’s anything she wants to do and see if I can make it happen.”
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Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2015 2:39 pm
“If anything I feel like that makes you an excellent older brother.” Being an only child it was hard to relate to feelings between siblings but she did have two cousins she was close to as well as Delilah.
“You know, you remind me a lot of Dr. Jacobs. Just like you, he has a younger sister but spends a lot of time working at the hospital and helping others. Even though he’s busy, I know he does what he can.” Hannah offered Arias an odd sort of lopsided smile not entirely sure if any of what she said helped at all. “Talk to your sister, I’m sure she’ll enjoy spending time with you.”
The doorbell chimed two more times as a group of five customers filed into the candy store. Glancing sideways at the smallish group of individuals Hannah watched as they made their way over to the front case. “You seem pretty busy today,” she observed, then again it was a weekend.
Just then the front door bell rang and two more people walked in; one girl with long black wavy hair and the other a short blue pixie cut. Arms linked together, their steps fell in unison as they walked across the store like two women on a mission. “If you’d like I can come back later or another day?”
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Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2015 2:39 pm
Arias just laughed at the busy comment; they were usually busy here, and being the weekend, it didn't really make things easier. "I don't suspect it's going to get any less crowded today. If you'd like to come back, I'd be delighted to keep your company again. Come back any time you want, all right? And I'll load you up with all the sweets you can handle."
He seemed in good spirits; business was good and he was always happy to be doing something he loved. "Take care of yourself, all right? And thanks for stopping by, come back soon!"
It wasn't that he wanted her gone, but he doubted they'd be getting much socializing done with as busy as things were today; he'd much rather catch up on a slower day when she wasn't forced to watch the bustle and when he could give her his full attention.
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Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2015 2:40 pm
With a polite wave and sincere smile Hanna exited the candy store but not before buying something nice for Delilah on her way out.
Such a nice guy she mused as the glass door closed behind her. They’d meet again, that much she was certain of. When?… only time would tell.
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