ᵗʰʳᵒᵘᵍʰ ᵗʰᵉ ˡᵒᵒᵏⁱⁿᵍ ᵍˡᵃˢˢ

"Thank you. That's, uh, reassuring. I think," Sam said with a laugh when Alice teased that she was not in charge of the photography. "And I am gladly doing my part. The least I could do," he grinned. He then let out a chuckle when she said she'd buy lunch. "Well, I wouldn't say no to that. I guess lunch is probably better than cotton candies. Where are we going then?"

“You’re welcome,” Alice grinned. “I’ll put in a note to get you from your good side,” she said, watching him with amusement. It was only fair that she’d throw in an offer for lunch for the trouble wasn’t it? “Very true, although I wouldn’t say no to more cotton candy or any other dessert,”

"That's amazing. I know I always like reading your articles. You write very well, Alice." Mariah smiled. She was one of those people that did enjoy reading the newspaper in her actual hands. She was sure that would consider her an old person. Her eyes went back to the twins who were still in a deep sleep. "Yeah, they had a pretty great day. I'm hoping they sleep good tonight as well." she nodded with a smile. Tonight might be the night that they sleep in their own beds throughout the entire night. Mariah could only cross her fingers about that. "Oh yeah? Did you have a favorite sample or do you recommend a food truck I should visit once the twins wake up?"

“Well thank you,” Alice smiled. The stories in the paper were always popular. A physical copy could still be found every now and then. But she still was grateful that some people still appreciated having a copy in their hands. She smiled and nodded. “A nap does sound pretty amazing, especially in this weather?” She chuckled. The twins looked happy and peaceful after a long day of fun. “I liked the sno*cones, and I got my hands on a tasty strawberry lemonade earlier. If you wanted a good snack, the truck over there has some good choices too,”

You know, it only took everyone about twenty-five years of me telling them that if I were the Benefactor, I would not be spending my money on other people to have them finally believe me. I don't know what part of 'I'm a selfish bastard,' people don't like to believe! You do, as always, but otherwise, summer has been... summer. I saw the forecast for this week this morning, and I am not looking forward to the heat.

You know how people are! They won’t believe things until there’s proof in all shapes and forms. I’m actually glad you’re on the other side of this and do your own thing. From my point of view, I don’t think you’re selfish, though if that helps. I’m only hoping my a/c doesn’t give out again. Or I probably would end up staying in the office most of the time.

"I don't think it would be obvious," he admitted, leaning back a bit against the bench, "I feel like they've been here long enough, if it were obvious, we would know... right? Whoever it is, I feel like they just live an average, every day life around is, which somehow makes it worse." Because they weren't talking about a mansion on a hill or a castle in the woods, that would be too easy. Maybe a townhouse located in the heart of things, or one of the bigger, converted farmhouses... or hell, maybe they lived on Lupine Lane in a trailer, really did their best not to stick out. It was impossible to know. "You would think," he said with a nod, licking a spot of crumbs off of his lips, "I don't know. I guess one thing we know for sure is that they really put the mystery in mysterious benefactor."

“Probably ending up being the person you least expect, right?” Alice chuckled. “If, after all this time that remains the theory. The lives of Merrockites seemed simple enough. There weren’t many people and look at and the first thing she thought of was that they are the mastermind behind the town. She could investigate more, but there was probably something better she could do with her time. Sometimes she wondered if this Benefactor was monitoring the newspaper and the stories. Probably, but then it would be obvious because all the published stories were accessible to anyone who stopped by a grocery store or had access to the internet. “I bet you there’s a pool somewhere of people guessing who it is and picking names out of a hat.”

"Uh oh, that's worrying. What kind of headlines will you make with my soaked, half drowned look?" Sam asked with a smile. He then let out a chuckle when Alice said she was taking aim with her eyes closed. "That's even more worrying. I'm so happy none of the wild throws hit me," he joked, giving her a grin. "I did have fun. Always glad to help for a good cause. Would be better if I don't have to get wet but it's summer. I'll dry quickly."

“All good things, I promise,” Alice smirked. “It’s a good look. But I can’t promise a whole lot. I’m not in charge of the photography,” she teased him. “Good! Hey, that’s always a plus. And I mean, it’s all for charity. So you’re just doing your part,” she giggled. She looked up at the sky. It was still a little overcast but it was warm and the sun was going to make an appearance any moment. “Come on, I’ll buy lunch.”

Mariah chuckled softly and nodded. "Very important." she whispered, glancing at the twins before looking back up at Alice. "Yes, that sounds wonderful. I'm sure when Sera and Schuy wake up they'll be hungry and ready for some funnel cakes and ice cream." She smiled as she listened to Alice explain how she was enjoying the event. "Notes? Oh, are you writing a story about Pride for the paper?" she asked before taking a drink from her water bottle. "We've had a good time. The kids did a lot of running around and got their faces painted. Sera's a fairy and Schuy's a lion. Very fitting for them. We played some games and eaten some really good food. I've mostly let the kids run around and get their energy out which worked because they fell asleep during our water break." she grinned. "We got some really cool stickers and flags too. Have you been able to buy something or eat some food?"

“That’ll be perfect, then!” Alice said. She loved both ice cream and funnel cake. There was never a bad time for either. “I am, I’m working on the article for the weekend’s story, which is what I usually do,” she said with a nod. She showed Mariah her notes. “And then we have a space for photos and anyone to write in their thoughts about it. So it’s a whole process, but the newspaper is still going strong so it’s still working!” she grinned at her. “Aww, that’s so cute. And very fitting. I love that for them. Sounds like they’ve had quite an exciting day. I too would probably be ready for a nap after all that fun! And then ready again for snacks and more fun afterwards,” she smiled. “I did try out the food trucks and got some samples around here,”

"I'm glad to hear it!" She beamed, happy to see everyone out and about at Cityview Park that afternoon. The distant lyricism of queer icons- including Chappell and Muna- she was sure she'd have to exchange numbers with whoever was in charge of music by the end of the day to get their recs. "We may have taken our time making things 'official ', but we're quite happy," Aisha gave a bashful smile, always a bit doe-eyed when it came to her girlfriend. "Pink is my color, so it seemed fitting," she giggled, before nodding at her goal. "Not a bad plan. I was going to check out some options myself. Want to check out your next choice with me? My treat."

“That’s still so awesome,” Alice said. She could see Aisha beaming with pride and excitement. It was great to see. She loved seeing people in town, her close friends being happy with their partners. And she was a supportive friend who always rooted them on. “Pink is a fun color. I’ve seen lots of pink, tie dye, plenty of rainbow and glitter around. It’s just a happy feeling, isn’t it? I love that part,” she said with a nod. “That sounds like a plan. Let’s take a look around,” she said.

"I'll start practicing my reactions," he said with a warm laugh, knowing that it would be less surprising if he had a heads up, but that top secret hypothetical information would make him feel pretty special, regardless. It was odd to think that there could be someone in town who actually did know who the Benefactor was, and could blow the lid off of the whole thing, but... he doubted that they were going to get those answers now, if they hadn't spilled already. "Oh, oh, of course," he laughed again, nodding his head. "I think your part is pretty pivotal. There are people who stay on the outskirts of this whole thing, they don't have time for the meetings, they attend events like this without maybe really getting the gist of it, so if they can open the paper and see what you have to say, that's going to help a lot," he popped a piece of bread into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully.

“I see…” she smirked. “But imagine if it is someone in town, though. Think it would be a wizard of oz situation with them pretending to be them or would it be more obvious?” Everyone probably had their theories. There was no shortage of letters to the newspaper office that had people guessing. What could she do about them and except read and be amused? They couldn’t publish those. “I try! I do my best to help everyone out and do my job by writing about it. And make sure everyone is kept in the loop. I feel like everyone has so many questions that they won’t all be satisfied but we have to try, right?” She took another bite of food. “And you’d think we’d know more as time went on, right?”

WHERE: Summer Carnival, downtown WHO: Sam and OPEN (0/4)

Alice gave him a smile. "All in the name of the newspaper," she said, clicking her pen, before sticking it behind her ear again. "Honestly, I'm kind of surprised I even hit anything because I swear I had my eyes closed," she laughed. "I'm just glad I didn't hit you," she smirked. "Did you have fun, though? Do you feel like you contributed to a good cause?"

"Seriously, out of the two of us, how did you end up being the one who brought work to the carnival?" She asked her friend, laughing softly at the thought. Usually, Erin would be the one who complained about drafting contracts and writing opening statements while attending events around town. But since it was Fourth of July weekend and paperwork could not be filed while the courthouse was closed, she was actually off the clock for once. She did not think about work for even a second, actually enjoying the carnival and making the most out of this much-needed break. "I have no problem with having a caricature done, but if you want to include mine as an example in the paper, I expect compensation," she replied to the other's question with a laugh.

Alice laughed. "I signed up for this," she grinned at her. Well, she did love her job. She probably loved her job more than most people. And the paper needed someone to pick up a story about the celebrations happening in town. Since she was the lead writer, she took that responsibility. "And I will personally take care of that part," she nodded at her friend. "The booth is over there, I think," Alice pointed towards the section across from them. "Speaking of work, how're things going with you? Raf's not working you too hard is he? I may have to bully him otherwise."

Mariah wiped as much as she could off of Alice's shoe. She put the napkin in a little trash bag on the wagon. Her head turned to make sure her children were still sleeping before looking up at Alice. "It is nap time." she said quietly. "I'm afraid if I move them, they'll wake up and they'll be extremely fussy. Maybe you stepping on the funnel cake was the universe's way of saying I didn't need to eat it." she shrugged softly. "How have you been enjoying Pride Palooza?"

Alice reached for an extra napkin as well. "It's all good, I promise," she assured her friend. "Ahh, yes. Nap time is very important!" she said, making sure not to raise her voice too much since the kids were sleeping. "We'll just grab another one later. Maybe some ice cream too," she nodded. "I'm loving it! I've been taking notes, walking around. How about you? With these two tuckered out, looks like you've also been having fun."

"You can tell me," he said, leaning in a bit as though he was going to get some sort of deep, dark secret right then and there on the bench that they were sharing, "what am I going to do, share a tip with the Merrock Times?" And then Alice would be able to throw it in the trash and pretend that she never saw a thing. Really, if she was the Benefactor, she would have pretty smooth sailing of being able to escape culpability. It also added to the mystery of who this person actually was, but… Jason had long ago given up on trying to figure that out. "To be fair, that's a kid thing, right? Getting so excited to see someone's reaction that you forget to let them have a reaction," but that happened -- and you might learn the next time, or you might just keep blurting everything out as you went. "We do," he said with a warm smile, "and with the way the world is now, it's kind of nice to be a part of that."

Alice leaned in as well and smirked at him. “Maybe, maybe next month’s special will be an exposé, and we will all have to act surprised,” she teased. That certainly would raise some eyebrows and get people’s attention. Maybe not in the way she actually intended but it would get some attention nonetheless! She turned her head to him again, letting out some more laughter. “Shhh… yes, butC those are all technicalities. And no one has to know,” she said, wrinkling up her nose a bit before laughing. Well, she had to agree. There were plenty of things happening. At least if she could help with one small part, it would make a difference. At least that was the goal. “Love getting to play my part even if it’s something tiny. It still counts!”

Pride was always special to Aisha. Although she'd been to a few over the course of her travels, the people of the Merrock seemed to go all-in, embracing everyone and showing up big time. She was happy to put on something cute and show up to the year's festivities with her girlfriend. Something that made the event a bit more special. She'd decided to check out some of the booths, Aisha catching the eye of some cupcakes with bright frosting. Beaming at Alice as she spoke up, Aisha nodded. "Besides hanging with my partner? I got some hair tinsel, figured it was in the spirit, and have been checking out local vendors for my accessories collection. How about you- enjoying yourself?"

Alice loved seeing what the town had to offer for pride. And it was always fun to support her neighbors too. “Even better, actually!” She said with a nod. One of the best parts was that there was always some kind of dance party going on when there wasn’t a dance party happening. Everyone just knew how to have a good time; she could hear the music blasting from the other side of the park. “How are things going with you two?” She asked with a cheeky grin. “And absolutely loving the hair tinsel, by the way,” she nodded. “Been looking at every booth and making it a goal to try out every snack,”

Even though she was kind of over giving the same explanation, Jasmine knew she had to have some decorum. "For the low price of $5, you get to stick your hand in this tub," she tapped either end of the container full of Styrofoam peanuts, "close your eyes and grab a prize. There are some actual things in there, but also some capsules with a piece of paper saying what you won. Think you want to try your luck?"

Alice quickly took her wallet out and placed a five dollar bill in the donation bucket. She gave Jaz a smile. “Let’s go ahead and try it out then,” she said, tapping her fingers together before sticking her hand in the tub. Her eyes squeezed shut until she picked something up. “I think I got something?” She said with a soft laugh.