andhiswife: (resolved)
As far as Darrow antics go, this one might top the list for bloody eeriness. At the cottage, they can almost pretend nothing's happened. Between the garden, the chickens, and the staples she always keeps well-stocked, there's no immediate threat of starvation. The power hasn't failed yet, but even if it does, she thinks they'll be able to work around it — neither she nor Anne are exactly accustomed to being without it anymore, but that doesn't mean they've forgotten how to get by.

And surely things will go back to normal sooner or later. They always do, and she refuses to believe that—that whatever this is might be special in that regard.

But it's still unsettling. Even though it only seems to be the locals who have vanished, there were always far more of them than anyone else, and never has she felt the difference so keenly. Whole blocks are abandoned, shops either permanently shuttered or, more often, left unmanned mid-shift: the lights still on, but no one at home. But what she hates most are the littler signs of lives abruptly interrupted. A lone briefcase sitting at a bus stop; half-drunk beverages glued to their coasters by dried condensation; shopping carts left idle halfway down an aisle.

Regan is taking it especially hard, and no wonder.

It would be easier to avoid town entirely, and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't tempted. But she can't abide the thought of hiding out in the countryside when there are still plenty of people who need help. Not when her hands still remember how to feed a Village.

So she's stolen a bakery. Or, well... borrowed. She's borrowing a bakery.

It hadn't been hard to find. Even cleaning it up hadn't been too much of a challenge: people had already made off with the displays' contents, so there was little rotten food to be dealt with. Obviously there were no fresh ingredients worth salvaging, but things like flour, baking soda, and spices don't go bad overnight. There's plenty to start with, at least.

Getting the word out had been the bigger challenge. She's texted everyone she can, and Saoirse has made some very colorful signage to post in the bakery windows and in other places around the city, letting people know that there are fresh-baked goods available. She can't imagine charging for any of it, but after the first few hours (and some discussion with Anne), she'd added some signage suggesting that she wouldn't question where any raw ingredients might have come from, if people wanted to bring some.

It's mid-afternoon when she slides two more trays of muffins into the oven, sets a timer on her phone, and then steps out of the kitchen for some slightly cooler air. Her hair is falling out of its bun and she's probably a mess, but it's satisfying to see people eating something she made: something fresh and good that hasn't come from a bloody can.

[ooc: a mini-gathering for the vanishing NPC plot! If your pup knows Greta, you can assume they've received a text; otherwise, there's plenty of signage letting people know there's still one functioning bakery in town.]
andhiswife: (smile - tiny)
Greta and Saoirse spend the week or so leading up to Thomas's birthday quietly, carefully scheming. No great fuss had been made of the occasion last year. In fact, no fuss had been made at all, except for a rather small one after the fact, as Greta realized -- with slowly increasing dismay -- not just that they'd missed it, but that he hadn't mentioned it because he hadn't remembered it, because it had never been a celebrated occasion for him, ever. Not even as a child. She'd known his history was rather bleak, but she hadn't imagined the tragedy extended to 'no birthdays worth speaking of.'

In retrospect, maybe she should have. There was no reason to think his categorically awful parents would have indulged him one day per year while leaving him in the nursery for all the rest. Nor does she expect Lucille ever managed much, due to either the limits of their situation or a more personal shortage of warmth.

Regardless, she decides that they're going to make up for all those missed opportunities this year. And Saoirse, once brought into the loop, makes for a very enthusiastic co-conspirator. There are secret shopping trips for gifts and decorations and silly paper hats, which are squirreled away in places he won't be likely to find them. Greta plans something special for every meal -- nothing so complex that she'll have to spend half the day in the kitchen, but things she knows have become favorites of his -- and gathers all the ingredients for what is sure to be an excellent cake.

Sunday afternoon, while Thomas is out working in the little shed he's built for himself in the backyard, Greta and Saoirse wrap all his presents and stash them under the girl's bed.

And when she rises early the following morning, even though she doesn't technically have to, because she's surreptitiously called off work, he of course thinks nothing of it. A brief kiss and a murmured insistence that he stay in bed is enough to settle him back to sleep for a little while, which leaves her free to creep downstairs to her hidden stash of crepe paper streamers, birthday-themed glitter, and a large 'Happy Birthday, Thomas!' banner that Saoirse spent a good few hours rendering in colored marker.

Not long after, Saoirse quietly rises and comes down to help. By the time the smell of waffles starts to waft upstairs, the streamers and banners have all been hung, and there's a respectable pile of gifts on the dining room table.

Sharing a grin with her daughter, Greta says, "Right. If this doesn't have him down here in five minutes, you can go jump on him."
andhiswife: (smile - pensive)
Greta's done her best not to feel guilty for how focused she was on her Bake Off appearance, especially in retrospect. It was what it was, and she knows that in the grand scheme of things, a couple of months isn't that much of a commitment.

But Saoirse's growing so quickly, a fact that becomes all the more apparent when Greta finally regains the wherewithal to focus on her properly. She's a long way from being a beanpole, but she's still grown out of last year's winter coats by a shocking margin, necessitating a shopping trip (the necklace Magnus enchanted for her might still qualify as 'wearing' her coat -- enough for her own magic to not know the difference -- but she still needs a coat that can ward off the chill). And she's eight. It's hard not to wonder how close they might be to Saoirse deciding she's too old to cuddle on the couch, or that the games and stories they've enjoyed thusfar are for children, which she is not.

So, both as an implicit apology for being so distracted over the past few months and as a means of taking advantage of the time they've got, Greta suggests a mother-daughter outing. Saoirse seems to enjoy any excuse to dress a bit more sharply than normal, and Greta just wants to give the lass her undivided attention for an afternoon. Things at the cottage may have returned to normal, but a little outright spoiling is overdue, she thinks.

Three o'clock sees them stepping into the café that has the best hot chocolate, by Saoirse's decree (and when Greta sees just how many options there are in the toppings department, she can understand the girl's reasoning).

"Goodness, that's an awful lot of options," Greta observes as she looks over the chalkboard menu. "What do you think? Any ideas?"
andhiswife: (downcast - focused)
Greta hesitates outside her own front door, apprehension stilling her hand. It's stupid, really. She didn't do poorly, or embarrass herself, or any of the other things she feared might happen. She'd actually done well. They all had; the judges and the hosts had gone on about what a difficult decision it was.

Part of her is relieved, even. She'd been wanting to get her life back, and now she has it -- minus next weekend, of course, when they'll all be gathering to watch the grand finale. Things can finally start getting back to normal. She can think about Christmas, and their upcoming anniversary, and other things that are more about them and not just her.

But it was the hosts who delivered the bad news back in the tent, and now she has to be the one to share it. However she feels about being out of the running, it seems vaguely unfair that it's suddenly her job to tell people. There's no cheerful way to spin I lost.

There's a quiet snuffling on the other side of the door, followed by an impatient, canine groan. Well, there's no use hiding out here; the dogs know she's home, which means Thomas does, too. She shakes her head, then lets herself inside.

Sadie and Cú mob her immediately, and she seizes the excuse to focus on them, letting them sniff her hands and then ruffling their ears. "Yes, yes," she murmurs. "I'm home."
andhiswife: (it's not okay)
September 8th, 2018:

It might as well be some sort of magic, the way it happens.

Greta's out shopping on a Saturday morning, Saoirse in tow. Window-shopping more than anything else; people are starting to put out their autumnal displays. It's a little premature, but after the long, sticky summer they've had, she really can't begrudge anyone a little wishful thinking. And Saoirse is understandably excited for the season that includes her birthday.

(With any luck, she'll actually have able to have it on the day, this year. If there's to be another Purge, no one's whispered of it, yet.)

Not that she has any business invoking luck. Her own has been in rather short supply for the past few weeks. Nothing dramatic, just a steady trickle of inconveniences and little accidents. Things she could brush off if they spaced themselves out more, or if she still wasn't leaving out offerings for Sweeney, as if they might do any sort of good.

So she's a little on guard, though there's really no guarding against what happens. They're headed down the sidewalk, Saoirse's hand in hers, when Greta registers a few odd, metallic pinging sounds, like a pebble tossed into a tin cup, and then a hiss not far from her left ear, as if a fast-flying insect had gone past. She turns toward the sound with a reflexive start, frowning. Then she registers the tear in her sleeve -- when did that happen? -- and as she frowns at it, bewildered, the blue of her dress begins to slowly bloom with crimson.

She's bleeding.

Only then does the pain kick in, as if her nerves were waiting for her to work out what had happened before sounding the alarm, and she stops short with a little squawk of dismay. Her grip on Saoirse's hand tightens. Without thinking, she tries to shift her arm to get a better look at the injury. The pain flares. "Wh--?!" she squeaks, appalled. What happened?
andhiswife: (smile - pensive)
If asked, Greta would insist that Saoirse's solo shopping mission was a rousing success. The lass had made it to the store and back, obtained everything on the list, and seemed terribly pleased with herself. All good things. But Greta hadn't truly appreciated how fussy other people would become over the whole affair. Granted, Saoirse looks younger than she is, but any child old enough to go to school would've been old enough to send on an errand back home. And they didn't have phones in the Village.

But Darrow is different. And while it rankled to hear people implicitly equate allowing her daughter a bit of independence with neglecting her, this may not be a culture war she can win by attacking it head-on.

So she adapts. There are things Saoirse can do in the countryside, where there are fewer people to potentially threaten her or decide she's in need of rescuing. And Greta's found that sending her for items in a shop is generally considered unobjectionable, as long as Greta herself is there, too, within earshot of any overzealous samaritans who might take it upon themselves to 'help.'

Today, she's taking advantage of some end-of-summer sales and picking up a few things for their expanded household: an extra set of bedsheets to add to the rotation, additional bath towels, that sort of thing. Saoirse is tagging along, and Greta can tell the lass is on the verge of boredom. "Here," she says, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial hush and bending to Saoirse's level, "why don't you nip over to the books section and see if they have anything good?"

It's only half a dozen rows away, and Greta's seen unaccompanied children loitering there before. No one should object to Saoirse being there, and if the lass finds a book she likes, it'll make the whole trip seem worth the bother.
andhiswife: (smile - pensive)
It's been a blessedly quiet couple of weeks since Saoirse returned from the sea. They've both needed it, Greta thinks, while they find their way back to something like normal. Or figure out what the new normal is going to be, now that the school year is wrapping up -- and now that Saoirse is talking again, for good.

The weather's a little on the cool side, which is all the excuse Saoirse seems to need to clamber into Greta's lap one afternoon. Greta folds her arms around the girl, leaning back in the deck chair she'd dragged out of winter storage.

"Have you worn the dogs out for me?" she asks with a fond smile, brushing Saoirse's hair back with her fingers. Ever since that mess with the demon, Saoirse's been a bit cuddlier than usual, but Greta hasn't minded in the least. Any excuse to hold her, reconfirming that she's still here after being taken by the other selkies, is perfectly welcome as far as she's concerned.

The dogs trail up onto the deck and cheerfully collapse. Greta looks down at them, her daughter warm in her arms, and it's hard not to think that this would all be perfect, if. That there's just the one thing missing.

She hasn't broached the subject with Thomas, yet. In part, it's because he's such a bloody gentleman that she half-fears he'd do something absurd, like insist on marrying her, first. But the other reason is that it's only fair to talk about it with Saoirse before she does anything else. There's already been so much upheaval in the lass's life, and while Thomas's presence at the cottage is frequent enough, there's still a sizable gap between 'often' and 'always.' She doesn't want it to be one more big change than the girl can handle.

Not that she's planned any kind of approach for Saoirse, either. "This is nice, isn't it?" she asks, dithering a little as she tries to decide how best to go about it.
andhiswife: (self recrimination time)
May 5th, 2018:

She feels so foolish. And probably a lot of other things, though with the demon gone -- and the music with him -- 'foolish' is the one that looms largest, and requires the least parsing. She should have known better than to make any errant wishes, and now she's made one that killed people, and could have killed more.

And to think, she'd just thought it was so convenient that Darrow was doing something that suited her, for once. It hadn't even occurred to her that it might all be her fault, when all was said and done.

She's fairly certain she doesn't deserve comfort, after everything. But she still clings to Thomas's hand all the way back to the cottage, grateful that he's still with her, that he came to her rescue, like something out of a fairy tale. Whether she deserved it or not.

The cottage looks warm and inviting in the gathering dusk -- the opposite of that dark, dusty theater -- and Greta lets out a breath at the sight of it. She squeezes Thomas's hand before releasing it, needing both of hers to unlock and open the front door as quickly as possible.

And there are the dogs, nosing at her hands, unaware of any reason they shouldn't welcome her home with as much enthusiasm as any other day. There's the sitter to be dealt with, but Greta can't bring herself to look the girl in the eye just yet (what if she knew someone who was hurt in all the trouble Greta caused?). Instead, she looks for Saoirse, needing to know that the lass is all right.
andhiswife: (smile - pensive)
They've settled into something of a routine, now, something nestled comfortably between 'new enough to not be boring' and 'established enough to be familiar.' Not that life with a seven-year-old and two dogs is ever likely to be boring, of course, especially with football practice starting up again soon. Thomas's frequent but variable presence works wonders, too.

But it's nice to feel settled without also feeling as if she's settled into a rut. It's a pleasant enough change of pace that she's almost afraid to appreciate it too directly, as if the moment she lets herself get complacent, it'll all come crashing down around her.

Today, at least, is nearly in the bag. Saoirse's just got home from school and is running up the path to the front door as Greta lingers by the mailbox, retrieving the day's offerings. Junk, mostly, but then there's a letter marked for Saoirse in a child's careful but untidy scrawl. Greta notes the return address and smiles. It's from Jack, which is entirely adorable. Maybe it's a formal invitation to a sleepover or something.

"Saoirse? There's something for you, today." Greta waves the letter to get her attention, then, once she's run back, hands it down to her. "Wait until we get inside to open it, all right?" It'll be easier to sweep up a few stray bits of envelope from the floor than it will be to go chasing them across the yard.
andhiswife: (grin - smug)
Dated December 31st, 2017 / January 1st, 2018:

Attending the New Year festivities up at Kagura is out of the question, for several reasons. Firstly, Greta just doesn't want to chance it after last year's mess, especially with Saoirse in tow. Nor does she want to leave Saoirse with a sitter, in case whatever madness the new year unleashes ends up terrorizing the countryside while Greta's away. No, after all the busyness of the holiday, she thinks a quiet night in sounds far better than a mountaintop soiree that may or may not go horribly wrong at the stroke of twelve.

After a bit of waffling, she'd also invited Thomas over. Holiday preparations had become so all-consuming since the party that she hadn't seen much of him since then. She had stopped by his shop to give him a small gift: some high quality Earl Grey tea. Busy as they both might be, she wasn't about to drop off the face of the earth after their date had ended so agreeably. But while she'd been tempted to invite him for Christmas, she had also worried it would seem like a bit... much. Casually entertaining a pair of wayward near-strangers had been easier to contemplate than the thought of having Thomas over.

Perhaps she was worried about impressing him, after he'd all but literally swept her off her feet. Or perhaps she just didn't want to spend Christmas constantly squashing the urge to haul her guest off and do something Too Forward to him.

But as New Year's approached, there was no getting around the fact that she simply missed his company. Surely, she thinks, she can handle a quiet night in without embarrassing herself.

The preparations are far less overwhelming than they could have been. The cottage still looks charming; all the decorations she'd been scrambling to finish before Christmas are still up. She's got plenty of wood to keep the fireplace going throughout the evening (for the atmosphere, if not out of any real necessity). Even cooking doesn't manage to intimidate her; she's spent far too many months trying to please a manor full of fussy children to quail at the thought of making dinner for three. If anything, she's rather excited to make something that doesn't have to involve peanut butter or ketchup in some form. There's a fresh loaf of bread sitting out on the counter, and beef, potatoes, and vegetables in varying states of completion.

By the time Thomas arrives, the scents of roast beef and rosemary are already permeating the cottage. The dogs have been watching the proceedings with such rapt intensity that she half-wonders if a knock will even draw them from their posts, but they do end up scrambling towards the door.

"Saoirse, love, could you go welcome our guest?" Greta asks, glancing over her shoulder at the lass. Saoirse had been so keen to see Greta all dressed up for the party that Greta had spent the last week-and-change before Christmas frantically putting together a fancy little dress for her, so she could get in on the fun. For her own part, Greta has kept things rather casual, unwilling to wear anything that couldn't handle the rigors of the kitchen. She's in one of her nicer dresses -- just nice enough that she questions whether she ought to be wearing it to cook at all -- but there's an apron slung over it, and her hands are... rather a mess, actually. She wipes them off on a spare dishcloth, backing out towards the hall until the front door is in sight.

"Hello," she calls out, grinning at Thomas once he appears. "Sorry, I'm just a bit of a mess, but I'm fairly certain it'll be worth it. Saoirse can take care of you, in the meantime."

Mo grhá

Nov. 19th, 2017 04:20 pm
andhiswife: (listening - mild)
Dated 11/4/17:

When the party finally comes to an end, Greta's vaguely surprised by how early it still is. Most of the youngest children had lost steam and been carried to their beds only a little later than their normal bedtimes, and once the chaos had wound down, everyone else had been eager enough to just call it a night.

It's probably down to the timing as much as anything else. The week following the Purge had been an odd one, and even the people who had fared relatively well were still drained from it all. And with the sun setting earlier and earlier, perhaps it's no great surprise that by the time 7:30 rolls around, Greta feels as if they should have all turned in an hour ago.

She lets out a sigh of relief once they're all back at the house -- back home -- and she can set down the large bag of gifts she'd been carrying. They can sort them all out tomorrow, she thinks: find places to put everything. There's no shortage of storage space in Saoirse's room, at least not yet, and the little (and not so little) toys and books and things will liven things up.

For now, though, Saoirse looks about ready to drop. Greta helps her out of her coat and hat, then says, "You've got two more presents waiting in your room."

There was such a pile of them at the Gardens that Greta isn't entirely sure Saoirse noticed that none of them were from her. But -- perhaps selfishly -- she hadn't wanted her gifts opened in the general chaos of the party. Besides, though neither gift is heavy, her shoulders are grateful that she didn't have to carry them there and carry them back along with everything else.

Both gifts are resting on Saoirse's bed, loosely wrapped in decorative tissue paper. Greta had wanted to preserve a bit of mystery without actually making Saoirse work hard to get them open.

The smaller (and heavier) of the two is a book of Irish folk tales. It's an unassuming, leatherbound little volume she found at a second-hand shop after realizing that newer collections -- especially those aimed at children -- tended to contain a paltry handful of enthusiastically illustrated stories. Greta had wanted something that would cover more bedtimes than a week's. This one isn't as eye-popping, but there are some charming little ink drawing scattered throughout that she thinks Saoirse will like.

The larger is a scarf that she'd knitted over the past couple of weeks. The yarn is varying shades of blue shot through with little silver filaments that sparkle when the light hits them. It was the closest thing to ocean-colored that Greta could find, but the overall effect is rather striking. It's not a color she normally would have worked with, but it seemed right for Saoirse. Even if the lass's connection to the sea is something that Greta can't help but dread, it's not something she's willing to deny, either.

Anyway, that's what you do when you love someone: you give them a scarf.

She sets the bag of other gifts by the wall next to Saoirse's bedroom door, then waits, somewhat apprehensively, to see what the girl thinks of them.
andhiswife: (smile - friendly)
This might be premature. The house still doesn't feel like hers, and she's still not entirely convinced she'll be staying. But Saoirse's been excited to see it ever since Greta mentioned it, and she doesn't suppose there's any harm in showing it to her.

It's tidy, though that's no great feat. Everything Greta owns can fit comfortably in one of the spare bedrooms, and that's where many of her belongings still are: out of the way until she can find a more permanent place for them, gathered together in case she decides there's no permanent place for them (or her) here. But there's enough in the way of furniture and such in the living room and dining room that it looks like it could be a home, even if it feels more like a mockery of one. And there's more than enough room for a little girl and a big dog to romp around for a bit.

It'll be nice to get a little more life into the place, she thinks, even if it's just for a visit.

She wraps up her shift at Green Gardens right around Saoirse's return from school, and finds the girl up in her room, dropping off her backpack and fending off Cu's delighted welcome.

"I thought you might like to see the house today," Greta offers, giving Cu an absent pat when he bounds over to bestow some of his spare excitement on her. "If you don't have too much homework."
andhiswife: (overwhelmed)
It's not easier this time, or better, it's just different. She doesn't cry as much, because she doesn't have the energy for hysterics anymore. It's less like being tempest-tossed and more like being adrift, gritting her teeth through the intermittent swells of sorrow or bitter self-recrimination until the waters still again, and she can get on with things.

And she doesn't want to talk about it. She doesn't want another round of sympathy from her friends, she doesn't want to be pitied. She doesn't want to be the person who just can't seem to stop suffering all the time. She's so tired.

But someone needs to tell Saoirse, and Greta's not letting it fall to anyone else. She ought to hear it from someone who knows how much Sam and Jordan meant to her. So after her shift is over, she goes off in search of her, eventually finding her out on the lawn with Cu.

"Saoirse?" It's a bright day, and Greta distantly wonders if she's about to ruin it as she shades her eyes. "Can you come here a moment?"
andhiswife: (smile - pensive)
Greta hasn't said anything to Saoirse about the misunderstanding at the hospital -- the one neither of them had bothered to correct. She'd explained it all to Baz, with no small amount of embarrassment. In that case, she hadn't had much choice. The bill would have arrived, and the paperwork would have ratted her out, and then he and Simon would have wondered why she hadn't told them.

Fortunately, they hadn't seemed to mind. She wonders if being perceived as a bit of a bumpkin (who of course wouldn't understand how hospitals work) has been to her advantage. At any rate, she's not about to argue that she knew exactly what she was doing. Better to shoulder the embarrassment of an honest mistake than delve into how dishonest the whole thing truly was.

Saoirse's kept the cast. Greta's stomach twists every time she catches a glimpse of the pink plaster, both a reminder of the day, and an unnecessary hindrance. She could have been healed in a moment; this could have been so much simpler. But there was an agreement: her coach and teammates and half of her teammates' parents had all seen the injury, and it would have been too conspicuous for her to show up to the next practice looking as if nothing had happened. There might even have been grumbles about unfair advantages.

Greta would have argued that speedy healing is perfectly fair when all the other children are twice Saoirse's size and knocking her into the dirt every other minute, but she can see the wisdom of keeping any magical influences well-hidden. She doesn't like it -- and the Greta of eight months ago would have gawped at the thought of not liking a bit of magical restraint -- but she understands it.

It's nearing the end of her shift, and she's putting the last few dishes away, making sure everything is in order. There's a spare lemon tart wrapped in a handkerchief and waiting by the door, so she won't forget it. (Despite Mad Sweeney's reassurances, she can no longer convince herself that a mouthful of bread -- even her bread -- is a sufficient offering for someone so bloody enormous.) And then there's a knock on the door, one she easily recognizes as Saoirse's. Though she knows the sight of the cast will give her a pang, Greta finds herself smiling fondly as she goes to open the door.

"Hello, sweetheart." She almost adds that Saoirse doesn't need to knock, that she can come visit whenever she likes, but then she remembers that with only one hand at her disposal, doors must be harder to handle. "Are you hungry? I could fix you something before I go."
andhiswife: (smile - pensive)
This, Greta thinks, is probably overdue. Jordan might not be Saoirse's age, but she's about her size, and Greta's fairly certain they'll get on. She's a little less certain about Marvin and Cu. The sheepdog has excellent manners, but there's no getting around the size disparity between him and the little terrier, and Marvin might not like it. Then again, Marvin also might not even show. She'd told Sam that Cu would be here, figuring he'd know best whether his own dog would actually enjoy tagging along.

She's also not entirely certain about the beach as a meeting place. Saoirse loves it, of course, which might be part of the problem. Even without any sign of her coat, Greta can't quite shake the fear that the seals will end up calling her into the water. It's probably paranoid, and even if it isn't, she's heard enough stories about selkies to know she doesn't want to be that person -- the one who so fears losing them that they do something awful just to keep them a little longer. But she's grown desperately fond of the girl, despite knowing what she is, and it's hard not to dread what seems like an inevitable departure.

Not that it'll be today or anything. Jordan and Sam will be distracting enough that Saoirse won't even be tempted to look too long at the waterline, probably.

She's rather looking forward to seeing them, with or without Marvin in tow. They'd checked in during the attack of all those awful little toys, so she'd known they were all right (and vice versa). But it's still reassuring to actually see them, happy and in one piece. If she's being entirely honest with herself, part of the reason she arranged this playdate is so she'd have an excuse to spend time with them without seeming... fretful. Or needy. Or other things she generally isn't.

The private insistence that this isn't all about her might be what prompts her to look down at Saoirse and ask, "Are you excited to meet Sam and Jordan?" They've only just arrived at the beach, and she hasn't spotted the pair yet, but she expects they'll find them soon enough.
andhiswife: (smile - fond)
They take the bus down to the boardwalk. Normally, Greta avoids modern means of conveyance as much as possible, and the walk from Dimera to the beach is nothing by her standards. But she doesn't want Saoirse to get tired or bored before they even reach their destination, so the bus it is.

Part of her wonders if she's making a mistake - if it might be foolish or even cruel to bring the girl to the seaside when she's still... as she is. Can she truly enjoy it? Or would it be worse not to take her, when it might be something of a second home to her? Granted, it's much too cold to go for a paddle or anything, but at least being on the beach might provide some comfort. It might even help with the vague illness she's been saddled with in her sealskin coat's absence.

Pitiable as Saoirse's condition might be, Greta can't help a stab of apprehension at the thought of what will happen if she actually finds her coat. She's heard enough stories about selkies to know that that's when they leave you -- and, selfishly, she doesn't want the girl going anywhere. She's grown terribly fond of her already.

"Now," she starts, holding Saoirse's hand as they cross the road and head over to the boardwalk, "it's too cold to go into the water, but I bet we could find some shells if we looked. Or there are all these shops along the boardwalk. There's a lot to see." She drops down to Saoirse's level and brushes some of the girl's hair out of her eyes -- it's rather blustery out, though at least the sun is warm. "What would you like to do first?"

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The Baker's Wife

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