I just love a happy ending...

HAPPIESTPLACEHQ TASK 11 - INTRO & CONNECTIONS

fawn weathers ~ fifty-six ~ baker ~ she/her (cis woman, asexual) [ bio / muse / headcanons / spotify ]

Child's pose. Breathe in, breathe out. The sound of the gentle waves crashing quietly against the lakeshore was wonderfully soothing, just as Fawn had expected. There was a nice breeze, too, which helped her avoid getting too hot under the direct sunlight of that summer day.

"I'd never thought about mosquitoes that way," she commented, her nose grazing the grass. "I suppose everything is interconnected, even the smallest, peskiest creatures of this world."

Upward dog. Fawn stared up at the clear blue sky. It was such a lovely day, but she was still preoccupied by the same concerns that had been bothering her the whole week. She had hoped that an afternoon of yoga could help her get her mind out of the topic that had her burning her toast, forgetting her keys, and now been stopping her from focusing entirely on meditation.

Business had been slow, according to his siblings, while he was off on his travles. Whic, was to be expected, no one could lead a boat tour like he could. So, he figured he’d get back into the swing of things. Just getting a few last items organized, his attention was pulled at the sound of a voice. “Why yes it is!” He called back, standing to his full height. “Welcome to the Bug Boat Tours. Names Raymond, but everybody calls me Ray.” 

.

“Well, hello, Ray, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said with a smile and a little playful curtsy. “I’m so glad I caught you, I thought I might end up having a dull and empty afternoon.”

Fawn turned to the boat, inspecting the ship they would be embarking in. She had some experience sailing, though for whatever reason she had never done so in Redwood Hollow. “I like the boat. For how long have you had it? It looks well loved,” she commented as she approached it.

Fawn's clogs sank into the muddy grass as she hurried to the river's dock. She quickly checked the time on her cellphone. She wasn't precisely early, but the man in charge of the boat tours was still there, so she beamed and made a last effort to slog through the dirt.

"Hello!" she asked, waving her arms to call his attention. "Excuse me –this is the boat tour, right? Is it still open?"

-

she knew her aunt was trying but unfortunately for fawn, rose had checked out and was far more interested in the idea of doing literally anything else other than reading her textbook. “ugh, it’s so boring”

“no not really” she was an environmental sciences major, there was only so much she could do outside of a lab. “does getting milkshakes count as practice?” she asked, perking up from her chair to see if she could get away with the suggestion. 

.

“Well... I’m getting a bit bored myself,” Fawn admitted with a little grin. “And milkshakes do sound pretty good right now, quite honestly.” She had been trying to drink less milk byproducts lately, but really, what was wrong with just one every once in a while? And on that note, wasn’t it scientifically proven that several small breaks did, indeed, wonders for one’s ability to focus? If one was to keep that in mind, then taking an impromptu milkshake break was just the best option.

“But you better, you know, get back to your studies when we return. Alright, dearie?”

~

Nani nodded. Thanks to Lilo, and so many kids-turned-teens-turned-young-adults who attended dance classes, Nani liked to think she had a decent working of who was who in her siblings’ age bracket. (Whether it was really the case was up for debate.)

“Lilo’s a photography major,” Nani replied. “And Stephen’s a music major. They’re both pretty chatty so they might know your niece, though… some of the friends they bring back can be quite… odd. So unless your niece is a total oddball… What’s her name?”

.

“Her name is Rose, Rose Bryar,” she told her as she raised her eyebrows, hoping the name would sound familiar. It would be wonderful to know that Rose had two new friends through college. “She’s an environmental science major. Isn’t that a fascinating choice? I had such a hard time deciding what to pick, back when I was college aged.” In the end, the middle Weathers didn’t quite follow the plan her parents had expected when she began her English major.

“Oh, I don’t know if I’d call her an oddball... I was the oddball in the family, so I think I’d be able to recognize a fellow kindred spirit,” Fawn laughed. “Photography major! I’ve never dabbled in photography, but it must be so fun. And music major, boy, I’ve heard there’s a great music scene in Redwood. Bet he knows all the hot spots, right?” For a brief second she fantasized about what her life might have been like, if she had taken either career path. She blinked herself back to the present with a slightly wider smile. “What about you, dear? Are you a Redwood College graduate?”

-

she wasn’t a fool, she knew how important education was, but right now she wasn’t for listening about it. 

“it would be better to not have to do it at all” she huffed and flipped the page of her textbook over “how is this going to help me? all this does is test my memory rather than put the skills into practice” 

.

“Well...” So this was Fawn reaping what she sowed. Rose must have listened in to her complaining about her childhood teachers, and now it was coming back to bite her in the bum. “... Well, dear, I think... I mean, it’s good to test your memory every once in a while, mine’s all scrambled most of the time,” she tried to joke, with a little stuttered chuckle.

“But... I must say, as important as getting your education is, it’s true that... Well, that it doesn’t truly take into account how important practical knowledge is,” Fawn had to agree. She leaned slightly away from her green stem braids and towards the book Rose was holding. “Can you think of any way we can put what your textbook says into practise? Then you might have an easier time absorbing those lessons.”

"Okay, you're going to add some vanilla extract to the milk and confectioner's sugar, and then add the beet juice, that's going to make it a nice bright pink," Fawn said excitedly. "Not too much, though!"

"My, aren't you a poet!" Fawn laughed. "That was lovely! Did you come up with that, or is it from a book?" That reminded her, she should read more. Particularly something that wasn't a blog post, or a recipe.

~

Tina nibbled away at the sweet treats, but her enthusiasm quickly waned as she observed the odd woman through narrowed eyes. As quick as she had been to volunteer her mouth, she was just as quick to shut it and watch the woman dig a deeper hole for herself or her aunt.

It was either Aunt Mary’s fault for never once listening to her and actually learning what she did, too scatterbrained to retain the information like always, or it was this woman’s fault for not listening to Aunt Mary. A little bitterness (insecurity) made her inclined to believe it was the former. She didn’t know this woman at all, how was she supposed to know?

By this point in Fawn’s floundering, Tina had stopped eating all together, brow slowly knitting together. “What else did she say?” Tina asked. “Maybe that will jog your memory.”

.

The young woman seemed preoccupied by something, but it was barely registered by Fawn, who kept staring at the cookies on the tray. Had she had breakfast? She had the vague recollection that she did: it had been a busy morning, all things considered. But had she had anything alongside her tea?

She glanced back up at Tina’s face. Just then she realized the slight resemblance to Mary herself. Not in an obvious way that jumped out to you, but something very small, much like what she imagined Rose would have after years of living with her aunts.

“Hm... Well, I might obviously be misconstruing what she literally said,” Fawn had the good sense to say. “I think... She once said something about you fixing some of the teapots and teacups, if I’m not mistaken. I couldn’t imagine myself doing it, all my tea sets would be awfully leaky if I tried,” she attempted to joke. “I tried making my own set in Mary’s pottery class, but a good teapot is much harder to make than it seems. Have you ever tried pottery?”

~

Nani nodded solemnly, in part because she never had the luxury of not planning ahead when she was Lilo’s age. She complained about how unorganised, or messy, or childlike her siblings were (Stephen, at this point, was considered her little bother, even though she was technically his legal guardian) but never, ever, would Nani take that away from them or ask them to grow up as quickly as she had to. If she could help it, Lilo and Stephen would have the normal lives or normal nineteen and twenty-year-olds.

“Hindsight is a wonderful thing, huh?” she replied. How on earth did this conversation about groceries veer so quickly toward existentialism? “Lilo’s twenty, Stephen is nineteen,” Nani explained, hoping that her answer would finally clarify that they weren’t her actual birth kids. “I don’t think they’ll be flying away any time soon though, luckily.”

.

Once she began spending far too much time reminiscing about her own childhood, that was when Fawn started to feel her age. She chuckled and shook her head. As hectic and loud with arguing the Weathers household had been during those earlier days (and three children of about the same age, all with different tastes and preferences and ways to do things, could definitely get loud), it would be a lie to say that Fawn didn’t miss it. At least, back then, they had empty time to spend together...

“Oh! They’re almost about the age of my own,” Fawn smiled, forgetting to specify that Rose wasn’t actually her child. “May I ask, are they studying at Redwood College? Maybe they happen to know my niece.” The particular names of Lilo and Stephen didn’t quite ring a bell, though. If Rose ever mentioned them, she couldn’t quite remember.