she threw her phone into her bag and immeaditely felt a little bit more at ease seeing as he was being understanding. "honestly i think i need that on a poster or a t-shirt but yes...i very much need to slow down. " she smiled a bit and let out a small laugh most at herself. " nope, no fire at all. actually the pressing matter in question is a chocolate chip muffin which is a little more mortifying as i say it out loud. " she put her hands up in a little self defense manner. " could i interest you in one and a coffee, perhaps as an apology?"

"great...i hope you concur. otherwise we'll add another layer to the embarrassment of rushing towards a crappy muffin. " jo gives one single nod of understand his gesture and begins to walk. "is it a cop out if i say both? definitely need it to function some days on the office however, the syrup and flavor concoctions they come up with these days are unparalleled in my opinion. even if people look at me a little sideways when i drink a lavendar latte. " she cut herself off from her ramble and turned the conversation back to him. " what do you think, what type are you?"

joanna has been a MESS with her house to say the least. all the painting has been done but, moving the furniture in and around the house has been a travesty to say the least. she's had a few choice words shared fairly loudly within her walls---to no one but herself of course. and she thinks she must be a neighbor's worst nightmare at this rate. to minimize the damage and to assure that is isn't going to be a normal occurance she walks over next door and knocks on the door. once it opens with a small smile jo says, "hey there...i uh, just moved in. half of this greeting is a hello and the other half is apologies. i'm sure it's been quite noisy but i swear i'm almost done."

"yeah, sorry-- my name's joanna. i'm a uh, new old resident." she smiles a bit and shifts her hands beheind her back to stop from nervously fidgeting. "honestly, elephants sounds pretty accurate. you won't be hearing much of the chaos i've got all the couches and big furniture all set. serves me right trying to be independent and do it myself without movers. but, i most definitely give you my word you won't be hearing much from me anymore. " she really was acting like her own wrost nightmare with all of this. "scout's honor, i swear."

that was the thing about cat, jo's day always got a little brighter upon seeing her. the smile was evident on her face as she walked further into the shop, looking around and admiring all the flowers. luckily her head is turned away from her in the moment that she asks about what she is missing in jo's life. there's a small frown as the thought runs through her mind of what she could possiby say about her time away. but, she quickly settles on a brief deflection of the new postives. "well..." jo turns back to face her after grabbing a nice pre-made bouquet. "i bought a nice little house in culver's point now. just finished the painting and the wallpaper so now i think it's only right that i add some finishing touches to the decor. how have you been, wht have i missed?"

At Jo's questions, Cat has to admit that things have been somewhat the same as always here in Maple Brook. "Oh, well," she starts, looking around, "you missed this flower shop, of course." A light laugh. "But really, this town doesn't change much. It's beautiful and picturesque... I think you may have missed the New England air more than anything. And the feeling of being blissfully stuck in time. Or maybe that's me being a romantic again."

" you're going to have to kick me outta here because i'm going to end up buying everything." she jokes, letting out a brief laugh. there's a small hum of acknowledgment as she nods listening to cat. jo understands completely, though the words always get caught in her mind. "i've missed the way you speak so beautifully. i think i need a little bit of that romantic sense. " her hands briefly passing over another bouquet that she'll inevitably get as well. " i think i like the idea of being back where nothing changes but, i'm not the same person. " redemption, is the primary thought in jo's mind. " you should come by for dinner sometime. i could attempt to cook- most likely ill burn it and then we can get a pizza or something."

"oh commercialized for sure. " jo intially responds and began to think about it in her head a little further. at one point in her life she deeply cared about the holiday, now she's become exceedingly indifferent towards the day. "only thing worth it is the candy for sure. and i do very much love eating the speciality cakes and treats that are out now though." she shrugged, turning fully to turn to the other woman. "what are your thoughts on the subject?"

it had been a long day of trial preparations and a lot of long winded conversations for jo on her first day back. she wasn't necessarily complaining but she was looking forward to rewarding herself with a drink---something caffinated or alcoholic at this point. she was absent-mindedly trying to get off this last phone call as she was walking down the street. she's managed to hang up but a quick look makes her realize her brain was in a daze. of course she's walking in the complete opposite direction of how was intending. without even a thought, after making a full stop in the middle of the street to turn the second she does, she runs into someone. jo being absolutely mortified and after a moment of her collecting herself she offers up, " oh damn it--- i actually just became my own worst nightmare i am SO sorry. " as if she can't stop because now she's snowballing in her own head. " embarrassing really, i apologize i just...i don't know i---dont actually have a good excuse..."

she threw her phone into her bag and immeaditely felt a little bit more at ease seeing as he was being understanding. "honestly i think i need that on a poster or a t-shirt but yes...i very much need to slow down. " she smiled a bit and let out a small laugh most at herself. " nope, no fire at all. actually the pressing matter in question is a chocolate chip muffin which is a little more mortifying as i say it out loud. " she put her hands up in a little self defense manner. " could i interest you in one and a coffee, perhaps as an apology?"

ᶜᵘᵗᵉ

if there's ever anything thats a necessity in jo's world it is coffee. and after staying at the office reviewing a few briefs and preparing for upcoming motions she plans to reward herself with the biggest cup she could buy. after getting it and turning around she notices the other seemingly asleep. a part of her doesn't want to disturb. clearly he is needing a rest. but if it was jo she would want it to be in the comfort of her own home not in a public place. maybe that's why she quietly tried to say something after sitting at a table nearby. upon waking him up she automatically feels a bit of guilt. "sorry uh---yeah, sorry i just was wanting to make sure that you were okay, i guess. didn't really mean to bug or disturb you. that's on me."

when his eyes settled on her face, he let out a soft, happy hum and let his eyes flutter closed again. it had been a long time since he'd dreamed of joanna, but they had always been warm, happy dreams. and after the day he'd had, he needed happy dreams. but he was hearing real, spoken-out-loud words, and it felt weird in his brain. his eyes opened again and refocused on her face. "i--..." he started, but then gave his head a little shake. "yeah, i'm good. just a long night." he took a long swig of his coffee. "hey, you're joanna, right? it's zac, remember me?" he flashed his trademark grin at her, although it didn't quite reach his eyes anymore.

" no, no i totally get it. happens to the best of us. " joanna settles finally into her seat, resting her back against since and lets out a little sigh of relief that she didn't fuck his whole night up. the worst case scenario played through her head of potentially getting cursed at but that's just her playing through every possible outcome. she looks back at him for a moment, staring blankly for a moment. then it hits her and suddenly she feels awful again. "oh god, zac---yes, i do. i'm sorry...again. " she laughs a little, mostly at herself for not even realizing it was him at first. " i think i kind of just assumed my existence was forgotten about, that's my bad... you had a long night what have you been up to these day?" she asks in an attempt to get the focus off her bad and embarrasing memory. how could she forget.

and all worries are washed away she she's greeted by catalina. she can't help the smile that comes to her face as she responds, "boy, am i so glad to see you. " she finally releases a subtle sigh of relief and walks further into the store. " it's as gorgeous as ever in here... not that it wasn't before or anything but..." she laughs softly, cutting herself off and adding a, " how are you doing?"

"No, no, I understand!" Catalina says cheerfully, "it's been awhile. Even after a single day off I'm stunned walking back inside. And, how am I doing? So much better now that you're here." The thing was, Catalina worked well in silence, sure. Her and the tinny radio she got years ago and played when it was empty... but something about having others hear made the creativity flow through her. Like Yapping was the magic that Cat needed to make magic happen. "Talk to me, what am I missing about your life while I'm in here snipping leaves and tying bows?"

that was the thing about cat, jo's day always got a little brighter upon seeing her. the smile was evident on her face as she walked further into the shop, looking around and admiring all the flowers. luckily her head is turned away from her in the moment that she asks about what she is missing in jo's life. there's a small frown as the thought runs through her mind of what she could possiby say about her time away. but, she quickly settles on a brief deflection of the new postives. "well..." jo turns back to face her after grabbing a nice pre-made bouquet. "i bought a nice little house in culver's point now. just finished the painting and the wallpaper so now i think it's only right that i add some finishing touches to the decor. how have you been, wht have i missed?"

truth be told jo was definitely more of the suffer in silence type when it came to doing something. but, she had blindly scoured the shelves picking out a few books that had caught her eye but not the ones she was actually after. typical---buying more than actually needing to her ever growing collection. she had made her way to the desk after finally hyping herself to get the courage to ask. "oh cool." is her first response then prompty kicking herself for it probably not being the best in her head. " i just... do you happen to know where any stephen king are? i might be totally blind and embarrassing myself but...it seems i'm at a loss. "

zac was exhausted. he had just finished a 16 hour stretch in the pediatric icu, who was desperately understaffed after being ravaged by a flu bug, and had already fallen asleep standing up while waiting for his coffee. they called his name and he took his drink, finding a booth to sit in. unfortunately, as soon as his butt hit the seat, his eyes were closed again. he hadn't even had a sip of his coffee yet. they didn't open again until he heard a voice, talking to him. he jumped slightly, his eyes flying open, his cheeks turning warm with a blush. "i'm so sorry, i must have dozed off for a second there. what did you say?" he asked sheepishly, finally taking a sip of his coffee.

if there's ever anything thats a necessity in jo's world it is coffee. and after staying at the office reviewing a few briefs and preparing for upcoming motions she plans to reward herself with the biggest cup she could buy. after getting it and turning around she notices the other seemingly asleep. a part of her doesn't want to disturb. clearly he is needing a rest. but if it was jo she would want it to be in the comfort of her own home not in a public place. maybe that's why she quietly tried to say something after sitting at a table nearby. upon waking him up she automatically feels a bit of guilt. "sorry uh---yeah, sorry i just was wanting to make sure that you were okay, i guess. didn't really mean to bug or disturb you. that's on me."

and all worries are washed away she she's greeted by catalina. she can't help the smile that comes to her face as she responds, "boy, am i so glad to see you. " she finally releases a subtle sigh of relief and walks further into the store. " it's as gorgeous as ever in here... not that it wasn't before or anything but..." she laughs softly, cutting herself off and adding a, " how are you doing?"