DJP

“I honestly almost fell asleep even by just talking about that subject so no, definitely am not missing out on any of that shit.” Archer pointed out, not really certain if she was joking about that fact or really being serious now. “Real stuff? What is real stuff to you?” He asked really curiously. “Teaching will make you look like Umbridge if we don’t do something about that soon. There’s still salvation to you I think.”

. 

“There are so many great euphemisms though!” Diana protested. “Not just in Donne but across that period. Fish? Means prostitute.” She grinned mischievously, “Can you guess what ‘the small death’ is?” What was real trivia to her? She shrugged, honestly not sure. “I mean preferably academic topics, because I’d win. But really as long as it’s not specifically sports trivia I’d probably put up a decent amount of points.” The Umbridge comparison had her rolling her eyes so far back into her skull that, for a moment, she wasn’t sure they’d be able to get back to their normal place. “Okay, I know I wear a lot of pink but I’m far from a crazy cat lady with no sex life.”

 Books where one of Jamie’s favorite things in the world, outside of cooking. He could spend hours lost in a book. He used to spend so much time in his grandfather’s library hiding instead of dealing with tutors and business lessons. He loved fiction, he could escape to another world. His love for was something he wanted to pass on to Winnie, he loved reading and signing to her telling her stories.

Jamie was so lost in the books that he did not notice her. “Omg, sorry. I did not see you and you are all good,” he answered holding a book in his hand. “I got so lost in this book that I did not notice anything else.”

.

“I get lost in them too,” Diana admitted with a small smile, “that’s usually how I end up sitting on the floor. Not really the best place, though.” She tried to look at the cover of the book in his hands, but couldn’t quite make out the title or author. Holding up hers so he could see, she continued. “Neruda is the kryptonite of the day. What’s yours?”

“Donne poems? Oh no no, I will pass this little adventure, sorry not sorry,” he snorted. “Really? Come on, it’s some bar sports, maybe we can find something you are actually good at. Trivia? Trivia nights can be fun and there’s no coordination needed, just some good brains.” He tried to find something they could potentially do that wouldn’t be far too lame. “Okay, the more we talk, the more I realize that we need to get you out more often.”

.

“Aw man, you’re really missing out on one of the best early modern poets,” Diana laughed, knowing she was never going to get anywhere on that front. “I could probably do trivia. As long as it’s like real stuff and not sportsball.” She took a sip from the bottle on the edge of the table and sat it back in its place. “I won’t argue with you there. Teaching has made my social life almost nonexistent.”

Archer could only roll his eyes and laugh at the woman’s words. An interesting game turned out to be quite the surprise when she surprisingly ended up being one he easily could talk to and the game was nothing but fun. “I never enjoyed things coming in easy in my life, so excuse me if I was expecting a little bit more of a challenge here,” he teased.

.

“I mean if you want to analyze some Donne poems with me then I’ll be able to put up more of a fight,” she laughed, “But I’ve never been much good at anything involving hand-eye coordination.” Her older siblings had all done various sports, some of them did several all at once. Diana, on the other hand, was very obviously bad at ballet even as a little girl when everyone is bad at ballet. Add a ball in the mix and she was hopelessly lost. “I’d kick your ass at Scrabble, though.”

He chuckled shrugging his shoulders. “To be fair, I wouldn’t have known about it at all had I not heard all the other attendings getting giddy about the possible traumas incoming.” He offered. “Sam Ward. I’m new to Seattle, but I’m glad I was here. That could’ve been one heck of a bad day.”

.

“Giddy... about traumas?” Diana cocked an eyebrow so high one might think it would continue going all the way off her face. “That’s some interesting word choice.” It took her a little too long to realize it was probably a joke, and she chuckled awkwardly at herself before returning the introduction. “Diana Palmer. Nice to meet you, Sam. And believe me, I’m glad you were here too... Or I might have wound up meeting those attendings in a not-fun situation.”

Cristian was back at the Story Keeper, another slip of paper in his hand. A real recommendation this time, not like last time he was here when his cousin sent him on a wild goose chase. Cristian peered at the slip, rereading the author’s name as he scanned the shelves. He was much too distracted to notice he was looking in the completely wrong section, or to notice the woman sitting on the floor. She spoke up, startling Cristian and making him jump a step back. His eyes snapped downward, meeting hers. “No!” he said quickly with a shake of his head. “Sorry, I didn’t see you there. I almost stepped on you, I’m sorry.” Cristian wasn’t sure if that last part was true, but it sure would have been, had she not spoken up. He stepped around her, apologizing once more. “Sorry, I interrupted your reading…”

“Oh no! Please don’t apologize,” Diana rushed to stand, trying and failing to be graceful as she got up from the ground. “I should have found a real seat instead of just popping a squat.” Looking down at the book, she realized she’d lost the page she had been reading and muttered a curse under her breath before looking up and noticing the scrap of paper in the man’s hand. Gesturing to it, she asked, “Looking for something specific? I know this place like the back of my hand if you need help...”

Scanning the titles, she saw a Pablo Neruda collection she didn’t already own and pulled it down. She sat on the ground and began to read. After a while, she noticed feet pointed at her and she looked up sheepishly, “Am I in your way?”