Welcome to Gaia! ::

Jessie had looked at the red envelope she got in the morning mail and sighed. She had signed up for the date night on the urging of her mother and one of her employees. They had pointed out that she didn't get out much anymore and needed a night away from the store... away from books. Quinn had no ulterior motives behind his suggestion, her mother on the other hand did. The lady in question wanted Jessie to find someone to share her life with. She wanted her daughter to have children of her own and wanted very much so to see Jessie happily fulfilled with not only a job she loved but a family she adored, and who adored her.

So it was with reluctance that she had gotten ready and took a cab to the museum. The only thing that kept her from turning around was the knowledge that it would disappoint her mother so much... that and she had hidden a small book in her bag so even if the night dragged on she would have something to do.

After entering the building, having had her ticket inspected, and scooping up the available pamphlets Jessie made her way towards the indicated sculpture on the note card. Her low pumps clicking across the floor. It didn't take long for her to arrive at the intended meeting spot but since she didn't spot anyone else there yet she fished out her book and quickly slipped into the story.

Jessie had become so absorbed in her book she didn't hear anyone approaching. When a voice called out a greeting she jumped visibly, and snapped the small paperback book closed. “Oh, um, hello Jaimie.” She blushed slightly as she slipped the book into her bag. It was one thing to kill time reading but something completely different to be caught reading when she should have been waiting for her date.

With a smile she held out her hand and introduced herself, “Hi, Jessie, Jessica Haze. Although introductions are rather pointless since we both got the note cards.” The brunette shrugged. “So why did you sign up for this thing?” The question was blunt, with no malice behind it. Her head was cocked to the side like a curious bird as she added, “personally I was guilted into it. Apparently I spend more time in books than I do real life. Books however would have been much more imaginative on the topic of destiny being reborn than this artest did.” She nodded towards the indicated statue and added in an apologetic tone, “at least their carving skills are quite good. Can't fault them for that.”

Jessie’s smile was bright as she completely missed Jaimie’s embarrassment, “exactly. Well not the dating part, I haven't been on a date in years, but the hiding behind work part. My employees said that even though I live and work in a bookstore that doesn't mean I should spend all my time reading.” She shrugged and absently patted her purse with the book stashed within. “I tried to explain that I did so much more then just read but he didn't believe me so… Here I am and here you are, both of us standing next to this trope of a statue.”

The brunette studied the statute in question, “it's possible that it is well balanced. There is this one artist who balances rocks in these gravity defying ways using nothing but the stones center of gravity.” She had actually seen a tv special on him, one of the few times she had actually stopped reading the book that was in her hand. It was rather fascinating work. “But I'm guessing there is some hidden support. What would you have done if given the title of Destiny Reborn?” She glanced over at him before circling the statue, her low heels clicking softly on the floor. Humming to herself she contemplated her own question. What would she had created if given the same title. Something that strayed from the norm and cliche.

It was harder then it seemed, Jessie slowly realized as she came up with nothing more than a phoenix rising from the ashes but that was almost as bad as the sculpture she was studying.

Jessie looked over at him in surprise. “That would be quite interesting to see and still a bit better then my idea of a phoenix.” She smiled softly at his idea about just going for something abstract. It was actually what she had expected with regards to the statue in front of them rather then the representation that it really was. “It really can't be any worse then some art pieces that are just colored canvases or a giant blue line. Most minimalist art to me is just strange. Thousands of dollars for a red circle on an otherwise blank canvas.” She shook her head sadly and made her way back towards Jaimie.

“Oh I love my store. E-readers are frustrating but you can not beat the very feel and smell of a book.” She closed her eyes and breathed deep as if she was breathing in her beloved books. “The scent of old paper is such a unique smell. The tactile feel of the pages, the letters, the covers. How could e-readers ever replace them.” The look on her face was one that bordered on adoration. Books really were her life. She opened her eyes and glanced at Jaimie before studying the rest of the room, “it's true that there are some things only found in digital form but what I provide is not just literature but information as well. Ask me about a topic and I will find a book for you, an author, I can find others like it, a general idea and I'll do my best to locate what you're searching for. Yes the web can do this to but I care. I care if the tome I'm handing you is what you need. I care if the paperback you remember reading as a child is the same one I found for you.” She glanced back and raised her brow, “besides a lot of the popular authors who ‘print’ short stories eventually compile them and release them in paperback format. So even if it's only found on the web it doesn't always stay there.”

The bibliophile barely even took a breath before asking the various questions she was directed to ask, something about date etiquette. “So what do you do for a living? Any hobbies? We already covered why you're here…” Jessie slipped a piece of paper from her bag, unfolded it, and began to read off of it. “Who has been the biggest influence in your life? What kind of things make you laugh? What's your favorite place in the entire world?” She paused in her questions and frowned at the sheet, “why would people as such random questions on a first date? On any date really!” Her ever helpful mother had printed out a list of 62 ‘ice breaker’ questions and had given it to Jessie before extracting a promise to use them during her date.

“Like this one,” she held out the list and pointed to the question in question. “‘What combination of fixings makes your perfect burrito?’ Seriously?” A confused frown crossed her face as she continued to read over the questions. “I guess I should have read this over before I actually got here. ‘What is in your fridge right now?’” She paused and actually thought about that, “um, I think three eggs, some juice, and leftover pizza. You?” Her mind tended to bounce to random topics so maybe the questions weren't such a bad idea. It would give her something to talk about besides books, not that she knew much besides them.

"Yes well Aristotle once said that 'the aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance' so I guess there is more to this sculpture then what we see." Jessie studied the sculpture again but when she didn't see anything deeper than what she saw at first she turned from it and wandered towards the next sculpture.

As Jaimie started to answer her asinine questions the brunette paused in her movements. "You have a twin? A sister? What is that like?" She was an only child, as far as she knew. Adopted as an infant Jessie never knew what it was like to be anything but the center of her parent's world. What it would have been like to have a little sibling to take care off or a older one to tease and play pranks on. "Oh and fun fact, Ted Bundy typically approached his victims in public places, feigning injury or disability, or impersonating an authority figure and since you have done none of that I think we can assume you aren't a serial murderer." She smiled at him and laughed, "but it's good to know that you haven't killed anyone, neither have I."

Jessie's smile faded as she remembered those she was unable to save, technically she did kill them. By choosing the response she did she effectively signed their death warrant. That negaverser had killed them, two innocents, but Jessie felt just as responsible. And here she was, laughing, while they had just been written off as yet another unsolvable murder. She didn't even know if they had ever been found. If their family had ever gotten a chance to grieve for them.

With a mental shake Jessie shoved her dark thoughts back into the corner of her mind that she tried to keep locked. Tried to keep it contained. With a flush she focused back on the conversation, vaguely aware she had missed some. "Mail man's liver? Fava Beans? Your mail man cooks?" Her head cocked to the side, curiosity clear in her face until it was like a light bulb went on and her eyes sparked as she laughed. "I think you mean census taker not mail man. You do mean the novel a by Thomas Harris right? I think it was called..." She paused a moment and hummed as she mentally went through the books in her mind. "The Silence of the Lambs." She snapped her fingers as the title came to mind. "It is actually the second in the four part Hannibal Lecter series the author wrote. Red Dragon, The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, and Hannibal Rising . I personally have not read them since I am not a big horror fan but they are apparently pretty popular. There was even a movie based off of them... which I haven't seen either."

"Oh I haven't. Apparently the movie adaptation is really popular and I have a few fan's of the genre who frequent my store so I pick up quite a lot of trivia from them." Jessie had wandered to the next sculpture. It appeared to be a clock draped in white sheet but the plaque stated that it was all carved from marble with the 'wood' stained to have the appearance of walnut. She studied the stone creation and only absently replied to Jaimie's statement, "Which question? I asked a lot of them."

"Oh..." She glanced away from her examination and studied Jaimie. "Well really I was curious as to what it was like to have a sibling. I honestly have no idea what it's like. I'm an only child," She paused a moment and seemed to have a bit of a faraway look in her eyes, "my dad says my mom and I are the center of his world... it was nice to be the only person that my parents payed attention to but also very lonely and kind of smothering at times." Jessie shrugged and added, "its better now that they are traveling but I still can't get away from them completely. It was actually my mom who pushed me out on this date. She wants me to have a family so she is constantly checking up on me, on my life, on my dating scene. I would think having siblings would help ease some of that focus."

The brunette loved her parents but sometimes her mother's pushing, meddling, and questioning really drove her up the wall. It was easier to cave sometimes to the pressure that her mom exerted which is how she ended up out on unwanted dates, although this one was pretty interesting, going to events she didn't want to, and had a few outfits that Jessie really didn't like. "But I can see how it's hard to explain what its like. Its like asking a fish to explain flying. Don't worry about it." She smiled at him in a reassuring fashion before turning back to the statue. "This sculpture really did a fascinating job."

"Snarky? You were being snarky?" Jessie hadn't picked that up at all. She mentally shrugged; sarcasm, snark, innuendos, pretty much all the nuances that made up the human language Jessie missed. She knew she missed them and honestly didn't really worry about it too much. Instead she remained quiet as Jaimie explained his family dynamic. It was tempting to interrupt and ask one of the many questions formed as he finished but she let them remain unasked. "Well that stinks. It shouldn't matter who your dad thinks would run the company best but who actually would regardless of gender or even blood ties." She paused for a moment before adding, "I can tell you though that it's a pretty common literary device. Typically there will come a time when your father comes to realize he was an a** so it's always possible that he will eventually apologize." Her smile was sweet, broad, and full of childlike optimism.

Not really aware of how her words could be taken, or even interpreted, the brunette turned back to the statue before shrugging, "Eh, I'll live. I owe my parents everything so a dinner here or there or a date once in awhile is the least I could do. I however put my foot down on having a child just because my mother wants to be a grandmother. Sex is overrated and adoption is just not feasible as a single, busy, store owner. You can't even see the tool marks. I wonder what the artist was going for with this piece. Likely something like the 'absence of time' or something." Her shift in topic was startling and abrupt... and pretty typical for her.