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 Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 9:18 pm
Nye scanned the collars hanging conveniently off the hooks in front of him and turned his attention to a set of maroon ones in varying sizes. He pulled a smaller one up and put it around Lizzie's neck to make sure it fit. He could slip two fingers between the puppy and her collar comfortably, so the maroon deal was a keeper. He dropped it into the plastic basket hanging off his arm.
"She needs one of those doggy everythings," Nye mumbled under his breath as he picked up a matching leash and placed it in his basket as well. Next, he had to meander the isles to find other things that he saw his dog-owning friends have around the house- a brush, nail clippers, doggy bags, et cetera. He made sure to get a small bag of dog food so that he could research more appropriate brands later on.
As Nye was browsing doggy beds, he accidentally bumped into a figure standing next to him, and was about to apologize when he saw who it was. "Allison? What in hell are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing!"
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Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 9:30 pm
After Lizzie had tried on the collar, Ivie decided that they had more important things to look at. Like toys. Can't have your puppy chewing up the furniture, can you now? Lizzie was squirming and Ivie just knew she'd have dog-fur all over her when they left. Still, she kneeled in front of the toy-shelf up the back of the store and placed the hyperactive puppy on her lap.
"Now, let me see..." She mused, scooping her arm around Lizzie so she couldn't dart off around the store. "Bells, leather or balls? Look how many choices we have, Lizzie!"
Reaching out to pick up one of the balls with a bell in it, Ivie waved it around in front of the puppy's eager eyes. Lizzie almost leapt clean out of her lap in excitement, and it was with much laughter and struggling that she was contained. Over at the counter, the tired clerk couldn't help but smile.
"Well now, I think that means one of each, don't you? Your new Daddy seems set on spoiling you." And with that Ivie scooped the puppy into her arms and grabbed three toys by their hangers, balancing them precariously on each finger as she worked her way back over to Nye.
"Nye, your new friend seems rather set on getting - " Ivie cut off, recognising Allison from the hairdressing salon but not quite remembering her name. "Hi there! How - Ouch, Lizzie, bad!"
Apparently the playful pooch had decided Ivie's coat arm was a toy too.
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Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 9:44 pm
"You have a dog."
"I have a dog."
"And there's a girl with that dog?"
"A friend I dragged to see the parade with me."
Allison was obviously a bit skeptical, but she hid her suspicion and rolled those dark eyes of hers instead. "Must everyone get caught up in your spontaneity?" Nye stuck his tongue out at his co-worker, but then regained his sense of civility, seeing as he was in a store and all.
"I'm surprised you're not wearing your coke-bottles."
"Those are for emergencies only. Anyways, Allison, this is Ivie."
Allson blinked at Ivie briefly before recognition began to dawn over her face. "Oh yeah! The redhead we talked about bedpans with. I'm Allison, nice to meet you." The hairdresser extended a golden brown hand towards Ivie, already forgetting all about getting a bed for her dog while Nye continued to browse.
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Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 9:50 pm
"It was less getting caught up and more not getting a choice. Does he make a habit of not leaving his number so you can't cancel?" Ivie said lightly, shifting Lizzie to lie over her shoulder like one might a baby. She then reached out around the squirming puppy to return the handshake. "Ivie. A pleasure to meet you too, though I'm not sure I want to be remembered for the bedpans."
A chuckle, a smile, and Ivie let Lizzie play-chew her hand. "Do you have a dog, Allison?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 9:55 pm
Allison gave her a reassuring nod. "Quite often with girls he seeks to impress or if he wants to apologize. He's usually stood up in the latter case, though." The woman's eyes traveled to the side to look at Nye, who had almost completely frozen up for a moment. "Then again, few can read the great Nye Hemmingway."
As if the ice melted off his body, Nye continued looking for the softest bed in the bunch.
Allison reached over to give Lizzie a scratch behind the ears. "I'm guessing the dog was an unplanned addition?"
"As with everything else in my life," Nye grumbled. Obviously, Allie's last comment hit a nerve.
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Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 10:05 pm
"Seems he couldn't walk past a little girl trying to give away puppies." Ivie said fondly, nuzzling her face into Lizzie's soft head. Oh, she'd even been washed. The little girl must have been very fond of her.
"Girls he wanst to impress, mm?" Ivie did notice that Nye had tensed up a little at the subject matter and common sense told her to drop it. She couldn't help but ask though, since Nye had avoided her question earlier. "He asks a lot of girls out like this?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 10:14 pm
Allison put her can of soda to her lips and took a little sip before nodding once more. "They usually dump him on the second date."
Nye brought his palm up to his forehead in a manner of frustration as soon as Allison had said this. She was always blunt and tried to embarrass Nye (and sometimes Jean-Pierre) in any way she possibly could, but this was too much. "I always warned those girls to bring a change of casual clothes if he told them to dress up. There was that one time you took that Sarah girl out to a rodeo bar after seeing some chick flick that bored you to tears, didn't you?"
Nye's shoulders shook with laughter. He remembered that time a bit too vividly, and... it was probably the one date he didn't regret going a little too far on. He had dared his date to ride one of those electronic bulls, and she, being a daredevil, took the challenge on. At the end of the first three seconds, she was flung off and her nice cocktail dress ripped at the rear, showing her black lace to all. "I remember the noise her dress made when it split on the back. Everything was like, dead silent after that."
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Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 10:24 pm
"Second date? My..." While Allison and Nye went on about some woman named Sarah, Ivie kept the puppy still and continued patting her. She had to control her laughter as they told the story of one of Nye's more unfortunate dates. Oh, poor girl.
"How'd you get home?" She asked, giggling. "Did one of you have a jacket, or something?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 10:27 pm
"Stubborn as a bull, that one, pardon the pun. She just kinda left and called a cab."
Allison snorted. "Yeah, after she bruised your cheek. You were red on one side of the face for a week." Nye snatched up one of the more expensive looking dog beds and held it in his free hand while Allison gulped down her drink again. "Zack kept asking me if I was only half embarrassed."
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Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 11:14 pm
"And you never heard from her again?" Ivie asked rhetorically, peering at Nye's face and trying to imagine it half-red. She failed, coming up with some comical image of Two Face instead. Smiling, she glanced over to the store's clock: 5:45pm.
"Oh, I should go!" She exlaimed, offering Lizzie to either Allison or Nye, whoever would take her. "My bus goes at 5:50, and the one after is at 6:30...I probably shouldn't miss it."
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Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 11:28 pm
After the Christmas hype began dying down, Nye found himself in the hospital once more, drowning in the smell of antibiotics and illness. But at least it wasn't him in the paper gown.
"Timmy, Timmy, Timmy," he said as he plonked down onto one of the bedside chairs. The dark-haired boy from the salon sighed and poked at his pudding in dismay. "A post-Christmas concussion." Tim nodded gravely, but then smiled.
"At least I didn't hurt my hands!" he exclaimed cheerfully. "And I should be out by tomorrow. I bet Jean-Pierre's gonna shower me with affection, I'm the second hospital case this past month!" Nye rolled his eyes and took a parcel out from his coat. He set it, shiny and tied-up, on Tim's bedside table. "Merry Belated Christmas, goofball."
After a short while of idle conversation and Tim gawking at his new watch, Nye had to leave. His extended break at the salon was almost over, and he had appointments to attend to!
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Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 12:12 am
Ivie just caught her bus, in case you were curious. It seemed a lot of people had the same idea as her and the thing was crammed. Ivie was sardined in between a sweating fat man and a poor old grandmother who no-one sitting down would stand up for. The ride was half an hour. Ivie gave up the next free seat for her.
Christmas was its usual whirlwind of dinner and presents and, before she knew it it New Years was over and she was back at work. Uni didn't go back for another two weeks so she had time to recover from the post-Christmas lull.
She was working a day-shift, covering for some lucky nurse who'd gone on holidays. This meant she was awake and able to smile at the patients for a change, no coffee required. The decorations had been taken down a few days earlier yet an air of celebration still wafted through the air.
That, and they had left-over Christmas pudding in the staffroom. Glee~
Speaking of which, it was time for her break. She coaxed Josie out of the staffroom before going straight for the cake. Five minutes later, she flopped down next to Melissa in the nurse's station.
"You're not meant to eat in here."
"Says you." Ivie jabbed a fork at Melissa's own hefty slice of pudding. "Sides, I'm on for another four hours, I'm going to need the energy to deal with Mr Therdore."
"Ew, the senile old coot in room 244? That thinks you're some whore in the vietnam war?"
"That's the one.
"Gross. Good luck"
"Thanks. Kinda wish I was I was on desk work."
"Ohhhh no you don't, sweetheart. Dull as dishwater, this stuff, and - Oh, hellloooo~ there. Who's this now?"
Pushing her cake out of sight, Ivie leant back on her chair to see Nye walking down the corridor in jeans and pea-coat, like some sort of de ja vu experience.
Melissa giggled, adjusting her dress, her voice lowering. "Hot secretary look, 101, Ivie. Dig the glasses."
"Nye!" Ivie pointedly ignored her excited co-worker. "What on earth are you doing back here?
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Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 1:42 am
Nye was trapsing down the corridor, completely immersed in his own thoughts about the day's schedule (which mainly consisted of training Lizzie) when he was startled by a strangely familiar voice. Nye jumped a little and looked about before the familiar redhead came into view.
With a smile and the adjustment of his glasses, Nye walked over to the desk, looking a bit surprised. "Ivie, it's an hour where humans are normally awake. Are you sure you should be at work?" He remembered quite well that Ivie's hour started absurdly late and ended absurdly early. It was quite the shock for him to see her relaxed, refreshed, and behind a desk during the daytime. "Ah, Tim has a concussion, so ol' JP put me on the check-up duty. He seems to be fine, and too-optimistic as ever. I'm pretty sure he'll recover."
Nye's eyes wandered to the other woman enjoying her Christmas snack, and his eyes found her name tag almost immediately. So this was the one. He extended his hand to her politely, with another charming smile as usual. "Ah, Melissa! Pleasure to meet you. Terribly sorry about the glasses, my dog seems to have misplaced my contacts for me."
Obviously someone forgot the whole 'hot secretary' conversation over waffles.
"What'd your folks think of the cut, Ivie?"
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Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 3:49 am
Ivie had popped another mouthful of Christmas cake and cream in her mouth, and dabbed at her lips the the napkin before replying with a smile. "I know, I know. It's the holidays though so Uni's out, and one of the other nurses is off in Burma for her honeymoon, so I got promoted to dayshift for the next two weeks. Much more of this and my sleep pattern might be normal for a change!"
It was pretty obvious that Melissa was intending to flirt - the woman had pulled out her compact while Nye had been walking over to make sure her mascara was still looking fresh - and she had her fullest, poutiest smile at the ready when she shook Nye's hand. How the blonde managed the pout and smile at the same time was lost on Ivie; it seemed to be some sort of mad skill the Melissa practised while any hot guy was around.
Melissa, this is Nye Hemingway. He was in a few weeks back - "
"Ah yes, Olga said you were one of the most polite patients she'd ever handled." Melissa cut in smoothly, and Ivie rolled her eyes, leaning back to eat some more of her cake while she had the chance. "The pleasure's mine, I assure you. As for the glasses, well, I find them rather charming on you. I've always told Ivie the best men are the ones in glasses."
Ivie almost choked on her cake, trying to supress a mixture of a groan and a giggle that errupted at once. She waved her hand at Nye, begging a moment, as she swallowed. Why did everyone always make her laugh when her mouth was full?
"Well my Dad didn't even notice, naturally. Mum and the aunt brigade had a good old fuss about it - they said to thank you for forcing me to do something with 'those dratted curls', by the way - so all's good on that front. Grandmother thinks I should have left the highlights, but she likes the style. She's against colour at all though so I think you got everyone happy on all fronts." In the moment it took Ivie to take a deep breath after that stupidly long explaination, Melissa had taken up the baton again.
"Oh, you're a hairdresser, Nye? You must meet a lot of interesting people there, hear a lot of things." Melissa, could you get any more obvious?
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Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:07 pm
"Burma sounds rather thrilling, actually. I can't say I've been, but I'll have to add it to my list." Ah, Nye's endless 'black hole' list of places he wanted to visit. It seemed to take up endless pages of scattered paper, all shoved into one convenient folder for him to prop open when he felt like spending time and money on travel.
Melissa's tone reminded Nye of the conversation he had over waffles with Ivie. It was a little late to pull out the coke-bottles now, so he decided to be courteous (and friendly) instead, just to kind of hint that he wasn't exactly interested. "Oh! Well, tell Olga I miss her company. And thank you very much for the compliment, although I still rather prefer wearing contact lenses. Being a hairdresser and all, I have to look down and when I have to constantly push them up on my face, it gets kind of annoying." Which was, in any case true. How rude would it be if his thick glasses fell on top of the head of a customer? They'd probably get a concussion from the sheer blow, and Nye's lenses would crack.
"That's interesting, my dad's usually the first to notice if I do something new with myself. Mom fusses once he points it out, for some reason. It's strange. And yes, Melissa. I'm actually responsible for Callagher's new hairdo, so you can judge my skill based on that, I suppose." Nye paused in his speech and then began patting down his pockets for something. "That's my main reason for working in a salon. It's fun to hear people's stories and stuff." A satisfied expression came over his face when he pulled out a small, thickish packet out of his breast pocket and slid it over to Ivie. It seemed to be one of those photograph envelopes for prints, although slightly beat up from travel. At least the copies inside were still in good, freshly-printed condition.
Little did Ivie know that Nye scribbled his phone numbers (work, house and cell, don'tcha know it) on the backs of three blank shots that he had taken of the snow. Clever of him. "From the festival. I managed to get some copies for the both of us."
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