Laurel Hill Springs

Okay, so maybe the Alice-In-Wonderland reference wasn't the most obvious choice for naming a flower shop, but Brahn had never been known for his naming skills. He was happy the shop was finally open, though. Between the minor renovations and getting the relevant permits, he was just happy to be getting on with things. He flipped the wooden sign board from 'closed' to 'open' and took a sip of the Styrofoam cup of coffee, which was clutched in his hands like it was the only thing keeping him alive.

The shop was more or less ready for business, minus the mess of dirt in the back corner where he'd been re-potting some tulips. He was happy with the current assortment -- enough to sell, enough to make bouquets or arrangements if he had to. He'd grown most of them in the attached greenhouse. The atmosphere was cozy, with bursts of color in every direction from the flowers. The building itself was definitely older -- parquet flooring and wooden walls, and the single-pane windows made it necessary to have a little heater buzzing away in one of the corners. Still, they were great for letting in the sunlight, which the plants would definitely need. It spilled over the floor and walls like liquid honey, making the overhead lights sort of redundant at this hour.

He sighed and leaned against the counter, messing around with the magazine display until he was happy with it. He just hoped there was actually a market for plants in this little town. It'd be a shame if he'd gone through all this trouble and had to file bankruptcy, after all.

Pearl had noted the rather familiar name on the directory update paperwork she had received after a few days of vacation... It couldn't be!?

So, on her lunch a while later, the leggy vintage ginger made her way a bit too quickly over to the newly established Golden Afternoon.

Like a flower, herself, Pearl looks like some Karen Paige or a Christina Hendricks pinup, right out of Mad Men. She's all perfectly pinned bouffant with a soft yellow dress and nude heels.

Outside, she tries to catch a glimpse before entering.
"B????!"

Brahn liked to think he was prepared for a lot of things. He always liked to make sure he knew what situations he'd be walking into -- or at least, a rough estimation of them. Seeing his cousin walk into his shop on it's first week of operation definitely didn't make that list -- not all the way out here in the middle of nowhere, a place so remote he'd specifically selected it just to get away from people. Still, of all the family members he could have run into, this wasn't one he minded to much.

"Pearline?" He was clearly in disbelief, almost knocking over the magazine stand but righting it at the last second, his eyebrows hitting his hairline at lightspeed. "What on earth are you doing here?" It wasn't that he wasn't happy to see her -- he was just perplexed. He finally seemed to recover from the shock of it, at least a little, because he stood up straight and self-consciously adjusted his sleeves, rolled up to the elbow. "It really is a small world after all." He quirked a half-smile, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

Pearl laughs as the magazine rack clatters and is righted again! They share some of the same mannerisms even after so long apart!

Not wanting to intrude too much, she raises her hands apologetically to Brahn. "Yeah! I just got back and had a note for our business directory. I couldn't resist a lookie-loo, forgive me." She smiles, dipping her head. From a gift bag Pearl produces a small box secured with curly blue ribbons.

"Aaaah, on the off chance that this was you, I brought some tea. From the Teapot. This is a gentle herbal blend." She can't resist smiling but she wants to be polite and not bowl him over any more than she may have already.

"I work at the town hall. Umm... been here since mom & dad moved from back home..." she looks down with a remorseful gaze. He can probably tell she means she should have reached out sooner.

Brahn folded his arms on top of the counter, leaning into them. "Wow. Look at you. Working with business directories." He grinned, raising one eyebrow. "I s'pose the last name gave it away, huh?" He huffed a small breath, eying the little gift box. He did like tea. It'd be perfect for when the weather started getting cooler. "Thanks." He said, finally giving her a genuine smile. He pushed away from the counter, going around and holding a hand out for the box. "Did you wrap it yourself?" He asked, tilting his head.

Aaaah. So she'd been here while longer than him. Not that it would take much. He hadn't been here for long at all. "Yeah. I sold mom and dad's house after they..." He trailed off, his face doing an odd little twist. "Trey and Heather didn't want to deal with it. They're already settled in their own places with their own people. I don't mind though, it means I had the money to come out here and buy this place." He gestured at the rest of the shop with both arms, before they dropped back down to his sides. His parents' car accident had happened nearly seven months ago, so it was about time he'd finally decided to handle things and move on. He hadn't been close with them for years, but it had still been hard to accept that the opportunity of bridging that gap no longer existed.

He shook himself, tugging away from that line of thought. "Anyways. D'you like it here? It seems nice."

(Sorry for the late reply, I've been working a loooot of hours @.@)

Pearl looks down with a little laugh, nodding. "Yeah, very specialized field. Babysitting local government representatives and filing the occasional police report." Laughing at herself a moment, she looks back up at his face. "Last name got my attention, for sure."

As Brahn eyes the box, she holds it up and approaches to place it on the counter. With a little smile, she uses one finger to nudge the box toward him.
"Of course! Just a little welcome & congratulations to you." A little pause and she shakes her head. She'd been nervous to make it just right.
"Ah, I asked Enoch to wrap it. I did pick the shade."

His explanation of the events leading him here sent Pearl on one of those strange inner emotional rollercoasters where your nostalgia and memories feel kind of like they've been sitting in a sandwich bag in the backseat of a hot car. Or the way a Sunday afternoon can feel a bit sorrowful. She swallows.

Here, as he asks about the town, Pearl looks thoughtful and provides a thorough and sincere summary. "Laurel Hill is special and strange. Quiet, safe, never ever boring. Lots of good people.
Definitely avoid The Independence Inn. You're not missing anything there."

"I joke about work, but I really do love it. There are some truly magnificent people around town." She nods at the box of tea. Here a brief pause and she looks proud. "You've done a beautiful job with the place. Just holler if you need me, you know?"

(No problemo! )

Brahn grinned, picking up the little box and picking at the wrapping paper. "I like the color. He did a better job than I could have." He'd never been good at wrapping things -- it didn't mean he didn't wrap them, it just meant that his gifts tended to fight back when you were trying to unwrap them. Lots of tape. He glanced back up at her when she mentioned the Inn, his face wrinkling up a little. Both in thought, and at the sensation of his curse reacting to the advice, a tingling spreading over the back of his neck like a trickle of warm water. "You're not the first person to tell me that. The, ah.. the woodworking place's owner. Caprice? He mentioned something about avoiding the Inn too. What's wrong with it?"

He looked back down at the tea and ran a finger over the label. It sounded like it was going to be delicious. He offered her a sunny smile at the compliment, looking slightly bashful. "Thanks. M'hoping everyone likes it." He was rather proud of the progress he'd made; the building had obviously been some sort of shop in the past, but Brahn had had to build the greenhouse attachment on his own. Luckily it hadn't taken a long time, and there were already plants starting to thrive within it's walls.

Pearl's nod confirms the same for herself. "Ah, me too. I'm a gift bag type, I think."

Pearl's perfectly plucked eyebrows lift in a curious-interest way. The sudden blush in her cheeks said a lot, at least about Caprice. "Eh... Militia cosplayer, mistrustful, phobic types. They don't tend to bother people lately. I don't trust them as far as I could throw them, you know?
Glad to have a new bar opening soon. There's not much big city entertainment, but, the rest are a pretty social and good bunch.
Say, do you have one of those purple velvety ummm... lamb's ears?"
She'd buy it or patiently await one.
And she'd offer her phone # just in case.

"Thanks, Brahn! I think everyone will love it. It was really good to see you-- Oh!"
She pulls a small stack of flyers out. "Could I leave some of these with you? They say Monday the 29th for general public. However, there is a soft open on the 25th -27th. I'd love to take you, if you're free and up to it."

Brahn laughed a little, rocking on the balls of his feet. "Haha, yeah, I probably should be too." That would definitely be kinder to his recipients than his 'put enough tape on it that it lays MOSTLY flat' approach. He DID notice her reaction when he brought up Caprice, and wasn't that interesting? How cute.

"Ugh. Yeah, alright, that's all you had to say. Not going to be checking that out any time soon." He didn't like intolerance of any type -- didn't matter what it was. At the mention of the lamb's ears, he perked up a little. "I do have a couple, actually. They're still really young, but I can go ahead and get one for you if you'd like." He was pretty sure he had a few in the greenhouse -- not quite shelf-ready, but he wouldn't mind handing one over to Pearl now.

He did reach out to take the stack of flyers, tilting his head and reading the material as she continued on. "The Crow bar?" He asked curiously. "...Yeah, you know, I think I'll go. It'd be a good way to meet people." He was a little nervous -- group settings made it easier to slip up, but he couldn't exactly avoid them forever. Besides, maybe this place was safe enough for him.

Pearl is very normal and chill!

She nods & smiles, "Sure!!! I always like to see the progress. This might help me learn plant-mom-patience."

"Oh, excellent! I can pick you up around 7:45 on Thursday? I admit, I probably won't party late... but... I know Vik has also coordinated for some DDs if you decide to stay longer." Who knows, Maybe Pearl will stay awake past 9 PM again!

Brahn grinned at that. "I've got full faith in you. Hold on, I'll go get one." He turned and headed through a screen door behind the counter, the sounds of stuff being dragged about and scuffling floating through before he popped back in with a small potted plant. "This one ought to do well. It's been growing pretty fast." He set it down on the counter, nudging it closer to her. "Consider it a gift. It really is nice to see you again." Unexpected, yes, but nice.

"That sounds good! We'll just have to see how the night goes." He really hoped he was able to make some new friends. He tended to stay up pretty late himself, which was why the flower shop typically wasn't open until noon. Every now and then -- like today -- he'd have an early night and open up in the morning instead. "Here, I'll give you my address." He grabbed a notepad from under the counter and scribbled it down, tearing the page off and holding it out to her.