cool and groovy

Honestly? No, not really.

In fact, she kind of loved when people asked. For so much of her life, Destiny had felt unwanted and sheltered. She had little in the way of friends. Felt like everyone saw her as a burden. Who wanted to hang out with the blind girl?

But over the last few years, she had pushed past her limits, her fears. Now, she had friends who didn't mind waiting on her. Who were always accommodating, and, most importantly:

Who seemed to actually miss her when she was gone.

"Yes, I'm--well, I still have a concussion but it is getting better every day. It wasn't that bad, really. How have you been?" She hadn't seen him in quite a bit!

Ken winced in sympathy. He'd had a few concussions in his lifetime, so he knew how that went. Even if it didn't feel bad, the effects of a brain getting bonked around weren't fun.

"Me? Yeah, I mean, I'm good! Things were super busy there during Prom season but they've slowed down now so– yeah. Good," he said with a little nod. It took him a second to realize that this was the prime spot for a segue into why he had chased her down out there. If only he'd had the foresight to think of a good reason to get her back to the thrift store.

I generally try to keep a positive outlook as much as I can. I know not everything is in my control. But the things I can control is how I choose to see things and how I choose to let my evening go. And thankfully I had wonderful company and got to dance afterward in my outfit. I'm curious what you'll say about it. I've attached a picture of me in it, so you'll have to let me know if you think it's a great choice. I personally had fun with the style and felt very comfortable in it too which is amazing.

I know my cousin cares about my feelings, but he also thinks that I shouldn't be spending so much time caring about what he sees as a frivolous event. I don't know that he'd apologize because he thinks in his own way that he IS helping me, you know?

You're right. A lot of things would be better if I did move out. Except that I can't cook and I do get well cared for while I am at the farmhouse. And I worry I'd really hurt my Imo's feelings if I moved out without a real plan or like... without a good reason like a partner or getting married. I know that sounds really silly and old fashioned, but I don't know. Some things are traditional in our family. I do think you're right though, there's a lot I could learn and do if I did move out. I'll keep thinking about it.

The commute is so simple, that's also true. Thank you Ken. I'm really glad we're still writing these letters. After a long day I feel like I can unwind and reach out to someone who understands. I hope you feel you can talk to me about anything that troubles you too.

Wishing you well, Judy Moon

[attached outfit just imagine Judy's pictured in it]

Dear Judy Moon,

Overall, I'm glad you had a good time then. As for your outfit, thank you for the photo, and you put together an incredible look. The dress was great alone, but the accessories you added really made it all come together with the gold detailing down the front of the dress. You attention to the details is always impressive, but given your line of work I guess I shouldn't be that surprised!

I think I can understand what you mean, but if that is the case then it sounds like he just isn't hearing you when you talk? If he thinks he's helping you, even when you say you want to do something, and goes ahead and does whatever he wants to do that just seems like his priority isn't with you. Again, I don't know him and don't want to say anything bad against him since he's your cousin. I'm sorry again that you felt embarrassed about the whole thing.

I also get what you're saying about not wanting to offend your family. Believe me, I completely get wanting to not have to constantly defend a decision you've made at every conversation. If you like where you are, then no harm done. But like I told you before, if you want something don't be scared to make it happen for yourself. Your family clearly loves you, maybe give them the chance to show you that by bringing up the possibility of moving out and seeing how they react.

Yeah, I'm thankful for these letters and you, too. I absolutely feel like I could tell you anything that's bugging me, but the only thing that's been doing that recently is emails. You know how the town's text messages have a habit of finding the wrong phone? I think that's happening with my work emails!

But Destiny was restless. The last year had given her a taste of the outside and she wanted to go back. Her friends actually missed her, checked in on her, and wanted her to come out.

So, she'd gone out with an escort today. Her mother, of course, but she had convinced her mum to rest at Hatter's while Destiny took a loop around on her own.

It was going well, until someone called her name and she startled slightly, then nearly tripped over a bin, catching herself, but with the side effect of twinging her wrist.

"Hi!" Destiny said, with a little breathless laugh as she pushed some of her hair back. "You don't have to tell me that, you know. I know your voice." Her cheeks warmed a bit as she said it. She never wanted people to read into it...but she also didn't want them to think she didn't recognize them. Even if it wasn't the usual way people did.

[outfit]

Lucky for Destiny, Ken hardly read it into anything! His brain wasn't the place where things went to go get over analyzed and sit around for years on end, turning over and over. At least, not things comments like that from people he considered his friends. Those he always took in good faith, since that's what they deserved.

"Oh! Right," he said, reaching up to touch the corner of his mouth with his finger tips. Huh. He had the knowledge that his voice was uniquely his own but it didn't really register on a daily basis. It didn't occur to him that it was even all that distinct! But, on top of his accent being different to the majority of Swynlake's residents (even if there was a lot of Americans in town), it must have just been something Destiny noticed more, considering.

That was neat!

He knocked the puck back toward her and she leaned forward to use her mallet, knocking it to one side and hoping that it would ricochet off and back toward Ken's goal again.

"I... no not really. Other than the police training. I really just... I was very single minded growing up," Judy admitted with a sheepish smile. "I guess I can still be that way sometimes. Do you ever get like that over things?"

Ken's eyes followed the puck and tried to remain in that moment. He had been so good at that before he had gotten possessed, being able to stay present with someone while they spoke and hear everything they had to say. These days, he noticed things slipped passed him. He had to write things down more, leave physical reminders because his mind couldn't hang on strongly to things. It was still building strength– still remained to be seen if it could get back to what it had once been.

He had to plant his mallet on top of the puck again to get it to sit still while he answered, not realizing the irony of the question.

"The other way, I'm afraid." Hera admitted with a rueful smile. "I usually don't have much trouble finding something, but I think there may be too much choice this year, if anything."

"Oh no," Ken said, face falling in earnest. That wasn't what he wanted to hear– and not just because he was trying to make a sale. It was sad to hear someone wasn't going to go to Prom! It was a great event!

Her reasoning gave him some relief, smile and hope renewing that maybe he could help put her back onto the idea.

"That's nothing that can't be fixed! I've been recommending just locking in on one dream and going from there, or picking one piece of an outfit you really like and building off of it," he said. "There was someone in here earlier who found a jacket and next thing I know, they've got a whole plan for a Pokémon inspired thing going on."

Right. Grad school defense in her Gale Weathers cosplay. Not a bad way to go.

"I think leaning more Scream 7 side of the scale over the OG." The red was a little dramatic for her, but it was kind of a sleek modern look over the very 80s look of the original. After a small pause she said, "She's got a hot leather jacket look too."

What? She could dream. Maybe for afterwards.

Ken couldn't help but to put a hand to his chest at the mention of Scream 7, the very mention of that movie making his heart break for how disappointing it was all over again. But he quickly recovered and moved along because there was a mission at hand here.

"Okay– how about this?" he asked, pulling free a black and white hounds tooth blazer from the wrack. He held it up so she could see. "It's a classic pattern, and while it isn't all black, it does have enough visual motion for you to be able to put on black underneath it and it not look entirely flat."

I'm sorry you've been kept so busy. I would've loved to have seen you at prom! It's a shame you didn't get the chance to attend. I had a really nice time for the most part. My cousin did end up taking advantage and calling me for issues that came up with his protest so I ended up having to work during prom a bit unfortunately. Other than that it was fun! I wore this really pretty pink greek inspired dress. I can send you a picture if you're interested. I think it suited me nicely.

I know people can separate between me and my cousin but it is still incredibly embarrassing, you know? Especially with him dragging me in to deal with minor things like someone ripping up one poster. I don't know. It's a lot. I'm glad that's over for now.

You didn't miss it entirely! We decided to go to the beach after prom just to make things easier. It was a difficult compromise to reach, but thankfully we managed to make it work. Honestly the whole thing was a lot. Family, you know? It's making me wonder if maybe I should move into my own place now. But at the same time... it is nice to have the comfort of my aunt around. I don't know. What do you think is better?

Wishing you well, Judy Moon

Dear Judy Moon,

Please do! I would love to see any and all pictures of your fit! Thank you in advance. I am sorry to hear that you had to work because of your cousin, that sounds complicated. Most things tend to be where family is involved. As long as you were able to have fun and it didn't really put a damper on the night, I'm happy to hear it.

That is tough. I'm sorry he put you in that position, seems pretty inconsiderate on his part to not think about the people he cares about when he's doing something like that. I don't know your relationship or anything, but I hope you can talk to him about it and how it makes you feel. Maybe if you can tell him that his actions make you feel bad he will think twice about it? Or apologize, at the very least?

Personally, I think you should move out. I understand you like being around your family, but from what you've said previously in your letters, it also sounds like you haven't really had a space of your own for some time. I think you should try it out! Give it a go. If it doesn't work out and you end up hating it, you can always move back with your aunt and cousins, right? But take it from someone who was scared to leave their family, sometimes it's actually helpful to be away from them in your own space. You get to know yourself better.

And Swynlake is a small town, so if you miss them the commute to get to them isn't too bad.

You got this!

It had been a busy few weeks around the thrift shoppe, but now that Pride, Prom, and graduations were over and done with the place had cleared back out to the normal amount of people coming and going. It had given him more time to put toward a personal project he had been working on! One that had taken him much too long, given what said project was.

And when he heard about what had happened with Destiny, he'd had a serious post-possession attack (at least, that's what he had been calling them) due to the intense guilt that had emerged. Paired with the exhaustion from all the work, anyway. All this time, he had been telling himself he wasn't going to take this second chance at life for granted and there he had been– getting too invested in working rather than doing something for a friend.

A friend who could have been gone before he had gotten the chance to give it to her.

He had finished it and then had tried figuring out the best way to get it to her. Only his plan sort of went out the window when he saw her out the window! Ken dropped the box he had been holding and hurried out of the thrift shoppe onto Main Street.

"Destiny!" he called, and started forward, only to bump into someone. "Oops. Sorry. Excuse me! I just have to–" Ken navigated around the others on the sidewalk and jogged to catch up until he fell into step beside her. "Destiny, hi! It's Ken."

At least it made up for her weaker attempt before.

"Well Kevin played soccer and Jacob did basketball. And they both did some form of karate too so they could beat each other up in a safe space sometimes too," Judy said with a shrug and a smile. "They always had a lot of energy really."

Judy's recount of her brothers had Ken laughing and it distracted him enough for his reflexes to not fire off fast enough to catch the puck as it came barrelling across to his side at a good angle. He caught it at the back with too much strength behind it in his panic fueled desire to get it before it got passed him. This back fired as the puck went off to smack against the wall with a ping. The angle sent it right back toward Ken's goal, and disappeared into the slot.

"Whoa!" he said, smiling. Ken looked up at the score bored as the bright red numbers changed from 00-00 to 00-01. He shot her a thumbs up and reached down to get the puck where it spit out down below, putting it back on the table and knocked it back toward her.

"Soon? I guess we should check our calendars."

*****

Calendar check had been shockingly easy, and now they were here at the store. She could feel Ken's bubbling excitement which contrasted pretty directly with her own freaked out cat energy as she stared around the lot.

Of course, this was why she'd asked Ken to do this with her in the first place. It made it less likely that she would just bolt intot he forest to avoid it.

"Okay. Let's do this."

Ken breathed in deeply. Aaahhh, he loved the smell of clothes. And this one was a different smell to that of the thrift shoppe, where most things that came through had acquired the smell of whoever had owned them previously but then had to be washed to get that scent out. This was the new clothes smell, which he thought was way better than the new car smell everyone raved about.

He turned to look at Mary when she spoke, brows arching with open curiosity as to what she was going to say. Ken smiled when it turned out to be positive! Well, it sounded positive to him anyway– it was better than Let's get this over with, right?

I think it's so nice to send letters like this. Honestly it's a shame that people stopped doing it. There's something so exciting about anticipating a new letter and wondering what someone will be saying. I'm glad I could help you with your handwriting. I don't know if mine has improved or not, but I know it's been a nice way to voice my thoughts and talk to someone I admire.

I'm afraid all my doodles are sad attempts at any sort of art. I don't have the patience for much more than stick figures. But I am grateful for this way of talking and you're also always welcome to write down whatever you want. I hope things are treating you well now. I'm getting more excited about prom! Even though my cousin is being...ridiculous and trying to stop it from happening. Embarrassing for me really.

Will I be seeing you there? I don't know if I have the plans necessarily, but my family is sort of...commandeering the plans and trying to force a beach trip. My parents and brothers have come to visit so... naturally Jun thought we should do it on prom weekend. You can guess perhaps how I feel about that option.

Wishing you well, Judy Moon

Dear Judy Moon,

I'm sorry for the late letter! I have been so busy with all the preparations for Prom. This will have been my third Prom working at the thrift shoppe, and yet I still do not seem to have a grasp on just how busy we can get. I feel like it was more this year since the theme had so many options, and most of them had people looking for older looking clothes. Don't get me wrong, I had a great time trying to help everyone find what they needed but I sure am tired. I also help people alter clothes or tailor them to better fit, and my hands were cramping. I've never experienced that before.

Now that they're better and I am able to write, I am sorry to say that I did not attend the dance. It was a real shame, but I was relieved to hear that none of Swynlake's usual horror stories had gone down. Did you have a good time? I wish I could have gone and seen your outfit! Or anyone's for that matter. Or did you even end up going?

I had heard about the petition to put an end to Prom, a lot of people were talking about it. I'm sorry it made you feel bad! I'm sure people know that his actions aren't a reflection on you, since you're two separate people but I can guess that people might jump to conclusions since you're family.

Happy to hear your family is in town! Or did I miss their trip entirely? Did you go to the beach? Or stick around town?

She was very much glad to see Ken approaching, wondering if she could use his arrival to duck under the rail and make an escape of her own. But Serena took her things and left, as if her whole diatribe had never happened. Hera, finally, turned to Ken.

"I was." She agreed. "Though I was in two minds about going anyhow; that might be the final nail in the coffin."

Ken's brows dipped at Ms. Alexander's answer, eyes traveling to the door where Serena had just disappeared out of view of the front window's and then back to the other woman. ...what had he missed?

Being the optimistic person he was (especially these days!) he took a guess as to what she had meant by that comments, "As in, it just sold you on going?"

He wasn't planning on going himself but he thought everyone should go to Prom! It was fun! Getting to dress up was the best! Even if someone didn't like the theme, like Serena, he knew that there was something that could be pulled out of the hat to wear and feel good in. There always was.

"Yes! I like that part best," Destiny said. "It's like handling old and lovely things. The fabrics are so rich and I can only imagine how colorful too!"

Destiny loved fashion, even if she couldn't see most of it. She wanted people to know she still had a personality underneath her disability and the cane she carried.

"For this show in particular, it's going to be a lot of good stuff! I've never seen the musical, but I've seen the stuff from the movie. Complete time capsule of the 80's with the blazers and shoulder pads and different textures. The costume designer on that movie was amazing! She did the second Tremor's movie, too," he said. As a horror and fashion fan, he memorized movies by their costume team rather than directors or who produced it. Whoops!

"It is pretty colorful. I think every character has their own color palette," he agreed, just as happy to discuss the topic. "It'll be a lot to keep with considering the layers everyone's wearing. Hopefully there's enough hanger space in the dressing rooms to fit it all."

"Its probably better to just go shopping and get it over with. That way I can buy the stuff in the store and no risk of someone else buying it out from under me."

Plus Ken was...not terrible to shop with. He knew everything, so all she had to do was wander around, put on the clothes and try not to have a meltdown.

Experience showed that the last one of those was the trickiest.

Oh, good. So there was some time to look around. He wouldn't have minded the challenge but– Ken patted at his pockets and when he didn't find his phone, he peered around the room in search of the clock that hung up on the wall. It would have been a bit of a time crunch to get out in the world and go look around for something.

"Get it over with," he echoed, shaking his head with a bit of sadness to know that this was something Mary did not like to do. He wished he could change that for her, make it a fun experience like it would be for him. "Come on, it'll be great! We can get a pretzel! Oh my god, I've been freaking dying for a soft pretzel since October."

He stood up, then paused, turning to look at her.

So, she stayed in costumes, where the only thing she could really injure herself with was a needle while she hemmed.

She would've been content to keep talking about the play, but then Ken asked about her swimming. And she felt...suddenly shy again. She shouldn't have mentioned it, even if it was true. And even if it was normal for someone to like swimming...it just felt like she shouldn't talk about it too much. Or she'd draw attention to herself.

"The lake, usually. That's why it's only a summer activity. Once it warms up. I just...like being out in nature and the water...less things to run into." It was the excuse she always used, but it was still true. More so than people realized. It was much easier for Destiny to navigate in the water.

Switching the topic back: "You bring costumes from the thrift shoppe? That's so nice of you! I'm sure it's super helpful to the department."

Ken gave a little aahh of understanding, nodding along with that assessment of the openness of the lake versus the sharp and hard lines of a swimming pool. That made sense, and he appreciated getting that insight that he would have never otherwise thought about! (Even if he had hit his head on the walls of the pool several times, just from being oblivious.) It did suck that she couldn't enjoy it year round because of that, especially if she loved it as much as she did.

He wanted to ask more, but she went back to the play and costumes. Not that he minded– Ken was more than happy to talk about clothes.

"I try to, anyway! Yeah, you know, I never really noticed all the smaller stuff that's involved with costuming? Like socks, for example. When we were doing Shakespeare a few years back, you can't exactly have someone with a Nike swish on their socks. People might not really notice it, but the one person who does gets taken out of it," he said. "It's also been helpful in all the little tips on like, getting stains out of certain fabrics or what gets the funky smells out of clothes since you can't just be throwing everything into a washing machine."