» JUST LIKE A DISTANT STAR //

[piper]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,300] OUTFIT | OPEN | WOW, THIS IS A CRAP STARTER POST XD Piper actually really loved having a cafe of her own. She hadn't thought she would enjoy it so much, but she really did. She would like to be the chef, as well, but with her daughter, Jasmine, Piper just simply did not have the time. Perhaps the name O'Reilly's didn't quite fit anymore since Horace died, but Piper wouldn't dare even consider changing it. Not only out of respect for Horace, who'd simply left the place to her after she had run away (though he had been one of her main contacts she kept in touch with after she'd left), but also because honestly, it didn't feel right after being O'Reilly's for so long.  Piper was lounging quietly at her own barstool, her head in her hand and swiveling her chair slowly side by side as for the first time in a long time, she was able to have a little quiet to herself. Jasmine had fallen asleep behind the counter while playing “Doggy” as she called it, and was curled up in a little ball on a blanket, which was probably not as comfortable as it looked, on the tile flooring, but she was sound asleep and Piper wouldn't dare wake her up, she looked so peaceful and she really wasn't bothering anyone, it was a slow day and all of Piper's employees adored her baby and wouldn't dare complain about it.    Piper felt like she was about ready to go back there and curl up beside her and pass out, too. But there wasn't enough blanket room and it probably wasn't very clean down there, so she just sat, swiveling and staring at the counter instead. She probably looked crazy, she’d admit, with her long curly brown hair up in a messy bun, twirling on a barstool, staring blankly down at the counter, but oh well. She was too tired to really care, really, which seemed to be her answer to everything for the past few years. Just too tired for everything. She was really far too young to feel this old, you'd think. She sighed and spun around on her chair so her back was turned to the counter and she was leaning against it, her legs crossed, looking out the window of the entrance, her lips pursed slightly as she was clearly still in deep thought. The only thing that broke her out of this reverie was the sound of the door opening, and she turned her head and looked, a slow, small smile growing on her features. This was the hardest part of owning a cafe when she hung out around it so often. Friendliness. Didn't really come wonderfully easy to her, unfortunately.

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[wesley]

Wesley had finally started to figure out Capeside. Now, he could get to bars and several restaurants. He was really moving up in the world. If nothing else, the main roads were more familiar to him and he wouldn’t have to stop and ask anywhere where the ocean was hiding at… thankfully. Now, he could aspire to be more than just Capeside’s newest drunk—he could aspire to something like becoming a regular at a local café or something. And, due to his aunt’s suggestions, he had a few good ideas of where to start… with directions, too.

Parking his oversized truck in front of O’Reilly’s diner, Wesley stepped out and lightly rubbed his shoulder. Eventually, he was going to get tired of strapping on the limiting shoulder brace and simply lose it altogether. It was only so long that he could follow the doctor’s orders. The only reason he’d put up with it this long was because he didn’t want to have permanent trouble from the thing. The last thing he needed was his shoulder getting dislocated every time he got bucked from a bull. But, at the same time, he didn’t appreciate having less than the full use of his arm at present. The short term gratification was much more of Wesley’s style than waiting around for the long term effects to pay off. Something that likely played into all of his drinking. For today, though, Wesley was resolved to sucking it up and wearing the stupid thing…. And refraining from obsessive alcohol consumption. A little bit of healthy living was good for a person every once in a blue moon. (Emphasis on the once.)

Wesley stifled a yawn as he walked in to the restaurant. Frankly, he wasn’t expecting the place to be empty, especially considering the reviews his aunt gave it. Though, he wasn’t going to complain… unless the food sucked. If the place was empty because of that reason, then he would possibly have to consider rethinking his stance on being swayed by public opinion. It would’ve been easy to assume it was bad because no one was there and walk out…. But seeing as he was the only person there, he thought that would be too obvious. Heading to the counter, he smiled at the woman that was there.

“Good afternoon, ma’am,” He slid into one of the seats and set his hat in front of him as a matter of courtesy. “Slow day?” The question almost seemed unnecessary, given the current state of the building. But, for all he knew, they might have just finished serving some two hundred guests the moment before he walked in the door. “Could I perhaps bother you for a cup of coffee?” If there was one good way to judge the merit of the diner, it was through the strength and taste of their coffee. It was one area where, like women, he could say he’d had the best and the worst. Traveling, if nothing else, gave him a good amount of variety in more areas than one. Thankfully, he usually didn’t have to chose between one or the other when it came to coffee and women—he could have them both, and sometimes at the same time. But, rather than dwell on that, he turned his attention to the woman and kept the casual smile in place. If nothing else, he’d be able to (hopefully) enjoy his cup of coffee, get something to eat, and have a decent conversation.


(Hallo, there. I'm snagging this open thread. And I give you an equally crappy reply starter... post. xD)

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[piper]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,300] OUTFIT | RAVEN AS WESLEY | HELLO HELLO! =D Piper didn't recognize the man who entered through the door, but that wasn't all that surprising. She never professed to knowing everyone in town, after all. He sat down in one of the chairs, putting his hat down in front of him. “Good afternoon.” Piper returned with a polite smile, nodding at his first question. “Seems so.” She said, shrugging. Maybe slow days didn't pay as well, but Piper had always liked them. They were calmer, sweeter. Not like the old days when she was simply a waitress, when it was packed it was ridiculously hectic. There weren't actually normally many slow days still, but Piper enjoyed them when they came around. “No, you can't.” She said to his second question, her face completely unreadable for a second or two. And then before he could really take her seriously, she grinned widely. “Kidding. Of course.” She hopped off her chair, and turned around, heading behind the counter to pour her new customer a cup of her well-known coffee that had just been brewed, careful not to step on her sleeping daughter while she was back there. Her employees were all in the back, she supposed, but she didn't mind reverting back to waitressing every once in a while. She wasn't a slave driver or anything, after all.  She liked to think she was a good boss, anyway. Even if she'd rather be in the back cooking, like she had always dreamed, she tried to give her chef as much creativity as he wanted, she was a bit of a perfectionist in the kitchen. Though with Jasmine, she didn't really have the time or energy to be a full time chef and so she couldn't cook at her own restaurant, unfortunately. Not that she would ever complain about her daughter, of course. Not even one little whine. Jas was practically her entire life, after all.  Piper was probably going to fall completely apart when she had to go to kindergarten, she was absolutely positive. The man looked about mid to early thirties, maybe sort of scruffy, but definitely rather handsome, she couldn't deny that. He'd had some sort of western accent, as well, which was actually slightly intriguing. Piper found herself wondering what he was doing in Capeside, of all places, honestly. And would it be considered rude to ask?  She could never tell whether or not something seemed rude, so she often came across as skittish because she was trying not to say something that would make everything awkward. “There ya go.” She said kindly, sliding the cup in front of him. “Anything else I can do for you?” She asked, tilting her head to the side and crossing her arms against her chest, smiling softly down at him.

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[wesley]

So far so good. Wesley wasn’t sure how the food would be, or even if he’d like the coffee, but the woman seemed nice enough and that was a good thing in his book. Even if the food wasn’t first-rate stuff, maybe he’d just stay and chat with the woman for awhile. Seemed like a good plan, until someone else happened to wander in. It’d give them both something to do. Not that he was sure she wanted someone to talk too, but it was worth a shot, right? At least he would enjoy being distracted for a few minutes. It saved him from having to pace in his aunt’s house for another few hours.

Smiling at Piper, Wesley chuckled a bit. “Almost thought you were going to say you don’t serve coffee.” He followed her with his gaze, watching as she poured the coffee into a mug and slid it over to him. “I appreciate it, thank you, ma’am.” He paused a moment so he could actually take a few drinks of the coffee and, perhaps, make him slightly more coherent when it came to the conversation at hand. Not that he was about to fall asleep, but coffee was certainly good at making everything better. Even if it was the middle of the afternoon, coffee was a good pick-me-up. That, and as he took a few drinks, he silently noted that he was definitely a fan of this place thusfar. He wasn’t sure about the food, but the coffee was excellent. A lot better than some of the truck stops he’d gotten a cup of Joe from in the past, where it’s more of a cup of tar than anything related to coffee.

As she crossed her arms and asked if he needed anything else, he considered it for a second. At the moment, he wasn’t even sure what this place specialized in. For all he knew it could be a pancake house. Not that he’d be opposed to some breakfast after lunch; he was all for confusing his dietary habits now and then, but at the moment, he simply wasn’t positive what he could order.

“Depends, I guess.” He smiled, shifting his position a bit to find something a little more comfortable. At some point, he assumed all this pain was going to go away. At least, the physical stuff would. Damn, was he getting too old for his job, but he was still sore a few weeks after the incident. “What’s the special around here? Can’t say I’ve ever been here before… or really anywhere for that matter.” He smiled with a bit of a shrug, glancing around a bit before turning his attention fully back to her. “Anything you’d recommend?” The way he saw it, this woman would likely know what the best things in the place were. Chances were good, as an employee, she’d had more of their food than most others. At least that way he’d probably end up with something half decent, if not downright delicious.

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[piper]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,300] OUTFIT | RAVEN AS WESLEY | =D Piper put her hand to her mouth, faux-gasping for a moment. “Not serve coffee? Never. What kind of crazy place doesn't have coffee?” She shook her head animatedly, breaking into a good natured smile after, as she went to get him his coffee. Piper liked this guy already. He hadn't really said much to make her like him, but he had a sort of kind air about him. She nodded as he thanked her for the coffee, raising an eyebrow at the repeated “ma'am”. “Piper.” She offered. Even as a twenty seven year old mother, Piper still wasn't used to people referring to her as ma'am. She was sure her customer was just being polite, but it still felt a bit weird.  He was shifting a little in his seat and he looked slightly uncomfortable. Piper wasn't positive if it was him or her seats, but she had always found her seats comfortable, so she figured it must have been just him. Though now she would of course be a little self conscious about them and ask all of her friends to make sure it wasn't just her and if she needed to get new chairs for the diner, she didn't want to make her customers sit in uncomfortable seats. She hadn't really changed anything since Horace left, she liked it just the way it was and to her knowledge, everyone had love the chairs. So that must have meant that it was him, right?  Of course that only made her wonder why he was uncomfortable, if he was in pain, why was he in pain, could she do anything to help this.. and then he spoke again and she forgot all about it. She tilted her head to the side as he considered what he wanted, smirking as he asked what she'd recommend, and she leaned in closer a little, as if sharing something confidential with him. “Personally, I love everything on the menu.. But I'm a bit biased, seeing as I own the restaurant myself, but I don't know. However, I have noticed that the seafood linguini is a crowd favorite.” She stood up straight again, chuckling a little bit. “But, if that doesn't seem to tickle your fancy, I can rustle up a menu for you.”  Piper smiled again, wondering if he'd thought she was just a waitress. He certainly was new, if so. She hadn't been a waitress in years, though she seemed to find herself serving a lot of people at her own cafe. But she didn't really mind, honestly. She sort of though it was funny, for whatever reason.

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[wesley]

“Crazy is exactly the right word, but when you travel around enough… you find these kind of insane places.” Shaking his head rather sadly, Wesley ran a hand through his hair and let out an exaggerated sigh. “I don’t know how they live with themselves.” After a brief pause, a smile easily slid back onto his face and he glanced up from his cup of coffee as the woman introduced herself. Nodding slightly in acknowledgement, his smile faded just slightly into a casual smirk that seemed rather fitting on his face. “Nice to meet you, Piper. I’m Wesley.”

Seeing as how his use of the word ‘ma’am’ was probably what prompted her to offer her name, he felt the need to explain it slightly. He thought the idea of only calling older women ma’am seemed idiotic. It wasn’t about age, it was about respect… but for some reason, people around here just never understood that. They always seemed to react like he’d just called them money-grubbing whores. The fact that it was so different from what he actually meant was enough to, usually, confuse him or annoy him, depending on the day. Shrugging off both feelings and simply taking it as is; that this woman probably thought he was calling her old, or something, he decided instead to enjoy his coffee.

Or, try to enjoy his coffee. It would’ve been a lot easier if he wasn’t so damn uncomfortable. He had to stop sitting down so much. Would it be wrong to stand at the counter and eat? Sure, there weren’t many good positions when he was standing, but it somehow felt better than when he was sitting down. Seeing as how there was really no one else there, he thought that it might be acceptable. Running his free hand lightly over his torso, he noticed, at least, that the pain wasn’t quite like before. Healing was coming over the last week or so, but it was definitely taking its sweet time. Patience was never his strong suit. Clearing his throat slightly, he at least waited until there was a bit of a lull in the conversation before he shifted again and slide nonchalantly off the chair. Using his good arm, he leaned that against the counter and supported his weight a bit that way, hoping that it would be a better position for him.

At her suggestions for lunch—for dinner, depending on how you looked at it, he couldn’t help but lightly cringe. “Hm… Seafood, huh? Never really been a big fan.” Being in a seaside town was a great place to be if you weren’t a big seafood guy. “Got anything a little less… fishy?” Hell, he’d take a ham sandwich if she’d offer it right now. He wasn’t really all that picky, but the idea of eating slimey little fishy things in his pasta seemed fundamentally wrong. That’s what you get when you grow up in the middle of Texas, having avoided beaches and seas and all the other water-like places until you were older.

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[piper]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,300] OUTFIT | RAVEN AS WESLEY | =D “Oh, you poor dear. That sounds absolutely traumatizing. They really ought to be ashamed of themselves.” Piper said sympathetically, pursing her lips and shaking her head along with him, holding back a smile. Piper did love herself a good cup of coffee. Not quite as much as chocolate, of course, nothing was as good as chocolate, but coffee was high up on that list of Piper's most favorite things in the world. Jasmine, of course, being number one. “Nice to meet you too, Wesley.” She smirked right back at him. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she tried to figure out what he was doing, why he looked so uncomfortable. Certainly, it couldn't be anything she was doing, could it? “You okay, honey?” She asked, her eyebrows raised. Piper sort of had a habit of calling people endearing terms, no matter who they were or how long she had known them. Ever since Jas was born, it seemed, she just started calling everyone honey or sweetheart or dear and all else similar terms. It was actually really weird for her, she did call people such things when she was younger, but it didn't really kick in as much as it did now until Jas. She laughed at the face he made as she mentioned her seafood. “All right, then. No seafood. Got it.” She said with a grin. Simpler foods it was. “Chicken tenders, hamburgers, sirloin steak, chicken pot pie.. you know what, honey, you name it, I can make it.” Another, albeit this one much more confident, almost cocky, smirk. Piper had extreme confidence in her cooking abilities. It was basically the only thing she absolutely knew she was good at and she didn't see a point in hiding that from the world when she had the chance to show it off. Now, she did of course have a chef, who was extremely talented as well, but Piper did love to take over her own kitchen whenever she possibly could. And thankfully, her chef understood that. “I do have employees, I promise.” She said with a chuckle as she realized that she most likely looked like she was running this place all by herself with her serving and declaring she would make him whatever he wanted. But it wasn't often she really had the chance, Jasmine's naps didn't usually last this long (and at that, they weren't usually in the floor of Piper's cafe, either) and Piper was usually out of here or distracted by now.

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[wesley]

Wesley grinned a bit at the woman, nodding his agreement. “They definitely should.” Taking a drink of his coffee, he could already tell he was going to like the place. If, of course, they did have something other than seafood. The idea of fish still just made him shiver. But, thankfully, he could mask that with the coffee and enjoy the conversation at hand. Wesley always liked when he found someone willing to talk to him, even if this was the woman’s job. It didn’t really matter, when it came right down to it. “Pleasure is mine.”

As she asked if he was okay, shortly after he stood, he smiled back at her quickly and adjusted his position one last time. “Oh, yeah, sorry… I’m fine. I just dislocated my shoulder and broke a few ribs couple weeks back. They’re still bit sore; feels better to stand.” At least that was a reassurance he wasn’t going to walk out the door just yet. Or that he didn’t like their seats. Didn’t mean to offend anyone; he just needed a comfortable position so his chest would feel so sore and his shoulder wouldn’t bother him. At the moment, standing was definitely that position. He didn’t even want to go into how hard it was to lay down comfortably, let alone anything else. Not that it really stopped him… it just meant a little extra ache on top of whatever (or whoever) it was he felt inclined to do.

As Piper offered him the other options, he tilted his head and thought about it for a moment. “Actually, a hamburger sounds delicious. Let’s go with that.” Seemed like the right thing at the moment. That, and the only meals that came to mind were Mexican, and he highly doubted she was used to cooking Mexican food in a place like this. He could be wrong, but this was much more a mom and pop type place than a place you’d find a bunch of Mexicans and tortillas in the back. He would’ve been surprised if she had anything like that on her menu. And, then again, even if she did, he hardly believed it’d taste the same as the authentic stuff. If there was one place to get authentic Mexican food, aside from Mexico, he thought that Texas was a good place for it… especially when he started visiting closer to the border.

He hadn’t even started to think about the fact that she was offering to do everything. Where there other people around? He hadn’t seen any. He iddn’t know what she’d do during the lunch hour rush, but it seemed highly unlikely that it was just her all the time. “Do ya, now? I don’t see any of them around here. You sure you don’t work alone?” Mop the floor, cook the food, greet the customers. Sounded like a pretty hefty job.

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[piper]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,300] OUTFIT | OPEN | SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG Piper's eyes narrowed in surprise as the man explained his predicament, but she nodded understandingly. "Sounds like quite the bar fight." She smirked. Above all else, Piper was a motherly woman, though, and she couldn't help but wonder what had really happened to do that damage. And if there was anything she could do to help. But seeing as this was a cafe, and not a hospital, the answer would most likely be a negative, so it was probably a waste of breath to ask. But all the same. "Anything I can do?" "All right, hamburger it is." Piper smiled again. Hamburgers were easy enough. Rather simple, actually. But, whatever. If he wanted a hamburger, a hamburger would be on the way. Before she could respond to his query about her employees, she felt a tugging at her pant leg and she looked down with a surprised smile. She bent down and picked her daughter up. "Nah, she's all the help I need, aren't ya, Jas?" She kissed the top of her daughter's head. "Looks like I won't be the one making your lunch after all." "Hi!" Jasmine said with a smile, wiggling in her mother's arms until she set her down, and then she promptly ran around the counter to her mother's customer. "I'm tree years old!" Piper smiled as she pushed open the back door and called for her chef to make a hamburger, made sure he was listening, and then she came back to the front for her daughter, swooped her up and put her on one of the barstools. "Is that any way of introducing yourself?" She asked her, tickling her playfully and laughing with her when she giggled. The thought of someone not liking children was never present in Piper's mind. She couldn't even comprehend how  someone could dislike her baby girl. So she didn't really pay much attention to Wesley's comfort level at the moment. After all, he was already in pain from his broken ribs or whatever it was that he said he'd had, who knew how uncomfortable that was? Certainly not Piper. Worst pain she'd ever been in was being in labor. "Okay, okay!" Jasmine pushed her mom's hands off her sides so she wouldn't tickle her anymore and looked back at Wesley. "I'm Jasmine! Who are you?" She leaned forward in her chair, towards the man. So much for stranger danger.

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[wesley]

Wesley laughed a bit as she mentioned how it must’ve been quite the fight. Yeah, something like that. He’d claim that the other guy looked worse, but he was pretty sure the bull didn’t have a mark on him. Not like he was really trying. He might have been stupid for getting on the bull in the first place, but he wasn’t dumb enough to try and fight one. He was a bull rider, not a matador. Not like she knew that, either way. Smiling anyway, he nodded a bit. “Yeah. Hell of a fight… all in one blow, too.” Shaking his head quickly as she asked if she could do anything for him, he reached for his coffee cup again. “Believe me—this is help enough. Thank you.” If coffee and some pain killers every now and then couldn’t do the trick, he didn’t know what would. It sure wouldn’t be someone babying him, he was positive of that.

He almost thanked the woman again as she restated his order, but he found himself a bit distracted as a little girl appeared. Smiling as Piper picked her up, he set his cup back down and shifted. While he’d never really been around kids all that much, he didn’t have anything against them. With two nieces, it wasn’t like he was completely unsure of what to do when there were little ones around. Though, it always seemed easier when they were someone else’s kids… at least, he imagined so. All the fun and none of the responsibility, because you know you’re not the one that has to take them home when it’s all said and done. “I bet she’s a great helper.” Wesley looked from Piper to her daughter, smiling and waving for a second as the girl looked his way and greeted him.

“Well, hey there.” It seemed like as soon as Piper had set her down, she was running around the counter and promptly announced how old she was. “That so?” Flashing a mock frown, Wesley tilted his head a bit and glanced down at her. “I don’t have enough fingers for how old I am.” The ‘sadness’ only lasted a moment before he smiled again, taking a moment to get a drink as Piper tickled her. Thus far, Jasmine didn’t seem that hard to please—which was always good in a child, he thought. Saved you from having to constantly stimulate them.

A moment later, Jasmine’s eyes were back on him and he was being asked who he was. He wasn’t positive if she was curious or she was conducting an interrogation, but he assumed it was simply the former. “My name’s Wesley.” His smiled soon returned as the girl questioned him. Shifting a bit so he could offer her his hand, he waited to see if she would shake it or just ignore it and continue one with question asking. “Nice to meet you, Jasmine.”

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[piper]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,300] OUTFIT | OPEN | HOPE YOU DON'T MIND ME BRINGING IN JAS <3 Piper laughed softly. "How very impressive." She said, raising her eyebrows. Though he didn't seem to be serious about it, she wasn't going to press him on it. It was none of her business, after all. She nodded as he basically told her there was nothing else she could do for him when it came to his uncomfortableness. And that was enough to soothe Piper's nerves- at least about this, anyway. She didn't have much time to worry any further about him by the time that Jasmine woke up. "Oh, yeah, she's the absolute best of her kind." Piper assured Wesley with a nod. "She washes the dishes, sweeps the floor, serves the customers-" "No I don't, mommy!" Jasmine interrupted, wrinkling her nose and shaking her head animatedly. "You don't?" Piper looked confused, and then she nodded as if remembering. "Oh, that's right. You just eat all the food." But Jasmine just giggled at that. Piper chuckled as Wesley told her daughter that he didn't have enough fingers to show her how old he was, but that didn't seem to phase Jas at all. "So you're old like mommy!" She said, making Piper close her eyes and cover her face with her hand. "Jasmine Rachael!" She said, hardly supressing another laugh at her daughter and her need to inform everyone around her that her mother was old, even though Piper was still only barely twenty seven. Piper's eyes watched Wesley closely as he interacted with her daughter, introducing himself and holding out his hand, which Jasmine promptly took with a hilariously serious expression with her own tiny little hand, and shook it. Piper was slightly surprised she didn't just high five it and keep talking, but of course she didn't stop there. "You've got big hands!" Was all she said, looking down at them, and Piper couldn't help herself from rolling her eyes with a smile. "Jas.." She said warningly, raising one eyebrow at her and forcing back her smile. Which of course, never did anything for her. It seemed Jasmine didn't have any problems talking to people like her mommy did most of the time. At least she wasn't asking why he had big hands, though. Why seemed to be Jasmine's favorite question, or rather, word, lately, whether anyone knew the answer to her questions or not. "I'm sorry, she isn't bothering you, is she?" Piper remembered then to ask, looking back up at her customer as Jasmine tilted back again, leaning on Piper's stomach. But as long as she wasn't perched precariously on the edge of her seat like she had been a second ago, Piper didn't mind, and she reached up to stroke her daughter's soft brown hair.

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[wesley]

“Less impressive if you’re the one getting stomped on by the bull.” He smiled anyway, running a hand over his torso lightly and noting that most of the pain from his ribs had subsided. While they still ached on occasion, he was feeling much more comfortable with actually moving. Which, ironically, tended to help in daily life. Who knew that being able to twist and bend were necessary skills to have if you want to function in everyday life? Apparently he’d only just gotten that memo. If nothing else, he was glad that the movement was coming back and everything was healing. The sooner that happened, the sooner he’d be back to work and ready for the next injury to get thrown his way. Or, rather, for him to get thrown at the next injury.

As the mother and daughter had a little exchange, Wesley smiled and busied himself with his coffee. It reminded him of the times he’d watch his sister and two nieces. The exchange seemed similar, at least, even if the exact words were different. Glancing down at the counter, he let out his breath and cleared his throat. Hiding behind a coffee mug seemed a lot easier than simply sitting there and watching the woman. Not that he had a problem with it, it was simply too much like home. More specifically, it was too much like being around his family. Damn. Could he really go halfway around the country and still not escape them? It was too much to think that the problem may have been with him, rather than his family. It wasn’t like they were the bad guys in all of this—they were as much a victim as he was. No one planned Junior’s death—no one that he would ever see, at least—it had just happened and he had to deal with it. The only problem was, he didn’t want to deal with it.

Thankfully, the little girl wasn’t going to let him just sit there and bemoan his life. Despite the thoughts still running through his head, he smiled and glanced from Jasmine to her mother. “I don’t know. I think I’m probably older than mommy, even.” He turned back to the girl and leaned against the counter a bit. “Besides, your mommy doesn’t look old at all—not like me.” He leaned his head down a bit to show her where his hair had started to grey. Thirty-three wasn’t too old to be graying, right? He didn’t think so. His dad had started to turn gray when he was still in his early twenties. Thirties had to be average, right? Something like that. But, to a kid, it probably meant that the person had a foot in the grave already.

As Jasmine shook his hands and so nicely told him he had ‘big hands’ he wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that. The first reaction was to say ‘You know what they say about big hands, right?’ but thankfully, his brain didn’t let that come out of his mouth. He was sure Piper would appreciate him teaching her daughter that. Instead, he simply opted for the slightly less inappropriate response of saying, “Really…? Well, maybe your hands are just small.”

He was distracted from his conversation for a minute as Piper asked if she was bothering him, making him smile and shake his head. “Not at all. Quite a friendly daughter you’ve got there.” Normally, when thinking about kids that age, one would caution them on being too friendly. But, since her mom was right there with her, it seemed a bit better. Given other circumstances, though, it’d likely be good to teach her some idea of who to talk too and who not to talk too.

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[piper]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,300] OUTFIT | OPEN | (: Piper's eyes widened slightly as her customer implied that he'd been run over by a bull, and she paused for a second. Was that some kind of metaphor? Stomped on by a bull? She'd never heard it before. Maybe he was being serious. ... he'd been stomped on by a bull? He didn't look like he was joking, though he was smiling. That was certainly .. interesting to learn.. Piper could honestly say she'd never met anyone who had ever been stomped on by a bull before. "..Oh." Was all that she could manage to say, her eyebrows raised and her voice wispy.   She shook her head as Wesley only took her daughter's comment in stride, telling Jasmine that he was probably older than Piper herself. Piper couldn't imagine him being too much older than her, though, he certainly didn't look old to her. People did seem to think she was older because of her three year old daughter, though, unfortunately, but she had gotten married at age eighteen, it was sort of something she brought on herself, she supposed. Jasmine inched up in her seat to see the gray hairs that Wesley was showing off, and she sat back down with an amazed expression. "Woow." She breathed. "Look mama, he has hair colored like Sasha!" She turned around and told Piper, who chuckled. Sasha was her sister's dog who was four years older than Jasmine, and also, arguably, her best friend in the whole entire world. "No kidding?" Piper asked, her eyes wide.   Jasmine looked down at her hands as Wesley told her that maybe her hands were just small, and then she wrinkled her face up with a smile. "My hands are 'ittle bitty!" She told him cheerfully, holding them up so he could see them. Piper honestly did not know where this sudden conversation about hands had sprung up from. Jasmine could certainly talk about anything, though, it seemed. She was by far one of the most talkative little girls Piper had ever known, personally. Though she still had not quite decided whether that was a good thing or not.   Piper nodded when Wesley told her that he didn't have a problem with her daughter, and she smiled. "You have no idea.." She told him amusedly, looking back down at Jasmine as she began to speak again. "Mama says I can talk the hind leg off a monkey!" She said excitedly, and Piper closed her eyes and shook her head again with another chuckle. "A donkey, honey, a donkey." She patted her daughter's head. Piper was probably one of the most protective people you'd ever meet of her little girl. She rarely let her out of her sight, and the few times that she did she made sure that someone she trusted was around her. Jasmine was probably going to grow up one of the most sheltered girls you'd ever meet, to be honest.   Piper had always had a problem with letting go. If she had the time for it, she'd probably homeschool her herself, but running a cafe full time was time consuming. Plus, being the friendly little girl that she was, Jasmine would probably not do very well being cut off from other little girls her age.

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[wesley]

By Piper’s reaction, Wesley could tell that she was either incredibly confused or the slightest bit frightened. Understandable, he supposed. It wasn’t like everyone off the street had run-ins with bulls every day. He imagined that most people in Capeside really hadn’t seen a bull in their life, let alone gotten close enough to ride one—or, from there, get stomped on by one. Smiling a bit, he glanced back over at her. “It’d probably make more sense if I explained that I’m a bull rider… I wasn’t just randomly attacked by a bull walking down the street.” Thankfully, the streets of Capeside were not plagued by loose bulls running around and causing problems. Thankfully, he didn’t think any streets were having that problem, unless you happened to be a part of the Bull Run in Spain… but that was planned.

Turning more in his chair, Wesley found himself a comfortable position so he could sit sideways and hear Piper while still talking to Jasmine, since she seemed to be the one that needed the most attention. Or, more precisely, the one that would want the most attention. Judging by the conversation thus far, Wesley began to think that it didn’t matter if someone was paying attention to her, she would just talk regardless. But, he was enjoying the conversation—it was a nice change of pace from some of the people he’d talked too lately. “See? I left it that colour just so I would look like Sasha.” Wesley nodded, not exactly sure who the hell Sasha was, but figuring it was a good thing to say. For all he knew, Sasha was some preschool teacher that was sixty-seven and had white hair. Smiling at Jasmine, he couldn’t help but chuckle.

The fact that she then looked to her own hands to see their size before allowing him to examine then just made him chuckle again. “Well, I’ll be darned, they are itty bitty.” A look of mock shock spread across his face as he considered them, squinting his eyes a bit and leaning in as if he had to focus really hard just to see him. “But, I think they’re just the right size for you.” He nodded, smiling as he took another drink of his coffee and rested an elbow on the counter beside him and propping his head in his hand as he listened to Jasmine start to go off again.

Would it be wrong to record the girl just so he could send it into some TV show and win a million dollars? When she so confidently told him she could talk the hind legs off a monkey, Wesley nearly spit out the coffee he’d just taken a drink of, his first reaction being to laugh. Once he managed to not joke, he chuckled and shook his head a bit. “I think a monkey is just about as good as a donkey, though, right? And they still have legs.” What was the point of having sayings unless you could mess them up? Things like that happened all the time in his family, anyway. ‘Let them eat meat!’ ‘No, ma, that’s ‘Let them eat cake.’’ It was always interesting to see what new way his mom would come up with to butcher another saying, and most of the time, it was hilarious.

If Wesley remembered more about how old you were when you started school, he would’ve asked if Jasmine liked preschool or whatever it would’ve been. But, really, it’d been a long time since he had to know all of that and remembering it all hardly seemed important. It wasn’t like he was going to need to know anytime soon—as far as he knew, there were no Wesley Jrs running around… though, he supposed, it was entirely possible. But, since none of them were under his care, he didn’t have to figure out anything regarding school. Thank god for that.

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[piper]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,300] OUTFIT | OPEN | (: Wesley's explanation was not exactly comforting. The very idea of riding bulls for recreational or occupational purposes was like pulling teeth for Piper. But that was probably just her. She was always far too skittish for her own good. She was afraid of practically anything that potentially bring her daughter or herself any harm, much less provoking the beast and then leaping on its back. At least, that was how she'd imagine it to happen, she didn't know. Her expression was probably not any better, though she tried to tone it down a little. "That's.. very interesting." She said with a short laugh.  Piper stifled a chuckle when Wesley told her daughter that he had kept his hair that color so he'd look just like Sasha. Jasmine looked pleased enough with this response, however, and she giggled again. "You're silly!" Jasmine told him, very matter- of- factly, but in a way that made it sound more like a compliment than anything else. "I like silly people." She expanded before Piper could scold her, nodding her head seriously. Piper's daughter was almost an even bigger mess than she was, and that was saying a lot. But at least Jasmine was a mess in a good way. Piper had many reasons that made her a mess, few in any sort of good way.   Piper was so entirely glad that he hadn't decided that her daughter was too talkative, which a lot of people seemed to think, and instead just decided to have a conversation with her. Jas never cared, though, she'd go in the back room and find someone else to talk to. "I told ya so!" Jasmine told him, smiling and wiggling her fingers, and then putting them back down on the chair again. And then her smile widened even more when he told her that they were just the right size for her. He was good with her. It was a nice change from a lot of people who didn't know how to react to children, much less Jasmine, whatsoever.   Piper couldn't help herself from laughing at Wesley as he almost choked on his coffee, she threw her hand up and covered her mouth with it though to keep the laughter quiet. "Monkey's close enough." Piper agreed, crossing her arms over her chest and looking back down at her daughter again. "I saw monkeys at the zoo!" Jasmine volunteered. "They made a lot of noises." She said as she pulled her legs up on the chair and sat indian style, looking up at her newfound friend.   Piper smiled. Jasmine seemed to be able to find something to say about everything. That was probably a good thing for her, but she did tend to talk for hours about whatever at all possible. And Piper usually listened, but when it was going on for so long it was sort of hard to pay full attention to it.

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