regalia.

“Well, ya know.. I don’t rightly know.” Bob laughed apologetically. City folks could get their panties in a bunch quick, but this woman seemed pretty nice. She had stopped and responded, even smiled, and that was more than most passerbys did. 

He took another looked around. “You see, I parked down here with my truck. It’s a red Ford, kinda beat up, has a white stripe, but I can’t remember where I parked the darn thing.” He laughed again, mostly at himself. “All these streets just look the same to me, but I think there was ah… a…” Bob scratched his head, “A coffee shop near it? I parked it on the street.” He wasn’t sure if that was helpful or not.

by a coffee shop? she quickly scanned her memory of what cafes there were nearby. though she was still relatively new to the city - had only been there a little over half a year - she’d pretty quickly gotten a good sense of the whereabouts of the majority of the coffee shops in the area. they were a good source of inspiration for her own recipes, after all.

well ... the nearest one that she was aware of was only a few blocks away - the cafe that she worked at. perhaps they could start there?

‘ ah, i think i might be able to help you there. here, let’s try going this way first. let me know if anything starts looking familiar, okay? ’ 

she took a few steps forward, turning back with a smile to make sure he was following along.

⌜♥⌟  Julius isn’t scared of many things, alright?

It’s just… one of his fears is a natural phenomenon which royally fucks him over, especially when he’s working and a storm rolls in to town out of the fucking blue. It was clear this morning! And now the sky outside is dark, lightning flashing and wind picking up to a whistle at some points. Absolutely terrifying.

Julius is an adult, alright? But he’s still scared of sudden loud noises, and of the flashes that accompany them like harbingers of despair. He’s been trying to keep it cool through the sudden storm, but with the incoming rush of people seeking shelter from the rain and the storm itself, he’s failing spectacularly.

He’s in the middle of asking someone if they’re here for business at the Little Black Dress, if they want to buy something or they just need to wait out the storm, before another clap of thunder hits, and he’s left jumping with a slight screech, gravitating towards the patron on instinct and swerves at the last minute, nearly taking out a mannequin.

Oh, how he wishes he could go to the back, but he wouldn’t be a very good host then, would he?

it had already began to drizzle as she finished her shift at the cafe earlier. still, she considered herself pretty lucky : while the rain had certainly worsened by the time she reached the little black dress, it looked like she had just happened to miss the worst of the storm. thank goodness. 

unfortunately, judging by the drenched clothes and pale faces of many of the other patrons and employees inside, it seemed that others weren’t so lucky. an attractive man - a staff member, she presumed - had just approached her when another roll of thunder roared, eliciting a shriek from his lips. he had startled her, sure - even she had jumped a bit at the sudden scream - but judging from the uneasy look on his face, it was clear that he was the one who had been most affected. oh dear.

she offers him a patient smile.

He was lost.

Bob took a look at the street sign then turned to look at another. Nope, neither were familiar names to him. Back in the country, the paths weren’t clear cut, but he knew his way around. A year in the city and Bob still didn’t know his neighbors, much less all these street names, and now he’d done forgotten which way he parked. The beat up old truck wouldn’t be hard to spot amid all these fancy ones, but finding the darn street was another matter. 

He sighed and headed down the street. 

Maybe someone here could help him? City folks didn’t seem to like being stopped and asked for directions but Bob felt he was running out of options. 

and she hadn’t. while she had allowed herself to sleep in a few extra hours - waking up at 7am instead of her usual 5am - she headed into the city first thing for some much-needed retail therapy. new clothes, good food, a chance to hit the town --- was there any better way to spend the morning?

shopping bags dangling loosely in her hand, she was on her way to the bus station when a wave of a hand caught her attention. her eyes followed the hand’s movement, up to the face of confused looking man. goodness, was he tall. was he new in town? she slowed to a stop, offering him a welcoming smile.