wide open spaces

if she couldn’t understand her case like she wanted too in one place, athena would try to understand it somewhere else. sometimes, changes in scenery helped. whether it the fact that certain spaces relaxed her or it gave her the feeling of having new eyes, it sometimes worked. one such place was oswalds. once again, no one she knew in her work life (or personal, they’re pretty much the same thing) knew that she came here. it was on the list of kinds of places a novak shouldn’t go but it was here where things kicked into place for her sometimes. it was for work. that was all.

that’s what she told herself anyway.

even so, she could not ignore the feeling of warmth she felt when she entered the familiar diner at god knows what time. she was still in her office clothes and had a stack of files she was holding closely to her chest. silently, she made her way to her usual table and sat down. it was only now that she looked around to see if marley was there.

now, if you asked athena why she looked for marley, she would say it was because she made the best coffee not anything emotional like the fact that she liked her. no, certainly not. whatever her reasoning was, she was glad when she spotted her. she held up her hand, hoping to alert the blonde that she was here. “could i have some coffee please?” @marley-callahan​

-

Marley adored her regulars. Always had--didn’t matter if they frequented whatever diner she wormed her way into, or if they were annual guests on the boat she was on charter for that season. Familiarity was key: if people knew you, liked you, even just recognized your face, they were more likely to be generous with their treatment--but if you recognized them? Knew the way they take their coffee, or a piece of information they mentioned in passing, or their name? Generous didn’t even begin to cover it. 

Other than the perks that came with her knack for names and faces, Marley did also just genuinely have an interest in people. They were fascinating, really, when they thought they weren’t being watch, and how that differed from when they thought they were.

It was a busy morning, most likely due to the weather, having gone through coffee pot after coffee pot in the last hour alone. She’d just been waiting on the last of the brewing pot to finish while her eyes roamed the floor, taking account of the tables she needed to check up on--and the new one that’d just walked in.

Marley smiled upon meeting Athena’s eyes, noting the raising of her hand and nodding in acknowledgement. When the pot was done, she was quick to bring it the woman’s way, pouring a generous cup once in close enough reach. 

“Tough case to crack, detective?” She knew the woman wasn’t an actual detective, but she liked to tease. It was typically when Marley saw Athena seated in these vinyl booths, when she needed to think.

–

Of course Emilia would never turn a person down. Marley needed the shower, and she was happy to provide. Though, this wasn’t the first time she helped the other out with something in her home. She was just thankful that this time, she was sober in the effort. While Marley used her shower, Emilia made due to clean in the kitchen. There wasn’t much to clean to begin with, the woman never cooks. But it felt weird just sitting around knowing Marley was in the shower, so she decided to keep busy.

when the other came out, and thanked Emilia, she turned around with a warm smile. “Hey, don’t worry about it.” She reaches into the fridge to grab her water bottle. “You want anything to drink? You planning on staying long, or just needed a stop-by?” She inquires, and it’s clear in her tone that there’s no right answer.

-

Marley had no qualms about accepting help from virtual strangers. Though she considered herself fiercely independent--and had been, it felt, since birth--she didn’t see why that independence had to be threatened by having a problem and having procured enough of a relationship with a person for them to be useful in her solving of it. Did this mean that sometimes Marley formed these relationships with people solely for this purpose? Maybe. But it wasn’t as if they never got anything out of the deal, even if they didn’t know they’d made one to begin with.

“Oh, you’ve done more than enough for me, Emilia.” Marley waved her off with a brush of her hand, locating her bag on the other’s couch and pulling her clothes out from inside. “I can get changed and be out of your hair in a jif.”

“No need to thank me, friends help each other out and if that means offering my shower - then so be it.” He replied back in a warm manner. Also with a smile. The least he could do for Marley. He knew the crap luck that living in Fremont arose. “Well , just let me know if you need it until your power comes back on. I can leave you a key or something.”  The man offered. Most days he wasn’t even home. His time split between being here and on the plane he flew. You would be surprised at the increasing amount of business even in colder months. It never let up which he was more then happy with. The busier the better. “Just don’t give it to some random. I think I may be scarred for some time if I walked in and somebody random was only in towel on my couch.” He joked, while chuckling quietly to himself.

-

A key? Marley’s eyebrows raised, unable to keep the amused grin off of her lips. It wasn’t the first key she’d been offered, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last, though Evren’s came as bit of a surprise to her. After all, he had yet to even see her naked. “Oh, baby, that’s a dangerous offer.” Her head shook slowly, as if to warn him of the jeopardy he was placing himself in. Flopping onto the aforementioned couch, she’d already proven her silent point: Marley had a bad habit of making herself right at home. Ironic for someone who knew no sense of the word. “Give me a key and I might never leave.” Her eyes wandered around the room, as if truly considering it. It was a nice enough place--TV, couch. Big shower and a roommate that’s not so bad on the eyes...what more could a girl need? “You could get real sick of me.” The smile that tugged at the corner of the mouth almost dared him to try.

Eventually, slick hands reached to turn off the shower handle, and Marley stepped out of the shower into the steam-filled bathroom and the comfort of a towel wrapped around her body. "That might’ve been the best shower that I’ve ever taken in my entire life.” Marley announced with a laugh as she opened the bathroom door, having left her clothes in the other room. “I seriously don’t even know how to thank you.”

DAY EIGHT: SATURDAY, JANUARY 30TH, 2021 — open to anyone in fremont, at the anchor inn.

( @elisabethstarters​ )

Every time the power went out around Fremont Andi swore she’d finally fix her generator, and every time it came back on she conveniently forgot to allocate the funds. If not for work she probably would’ve gotten hypothermia by now.

Yawning, she moved from the cots upstairs to the main bar - ambling down just in time to catch someone come in from the cold. 

“Morning.” Even her teeth felt tired when she smiled. “I can get you coffee or cocoa, and there’s some bottled water and snacks—-” gesturing with her chin to a folding table in the back, Andi tied an apron off around her waist to start another shift—- “but if you’re lookin’ for a hot meal it might be awhile.” Without a kitchen they were at the mercy of the community, and the Tremblay’s wouldn’t be through with free soup and sandwiches for at least another hour. 

-

From what she’d heard, this sort of thing was normal for Fremont. The loss of power after bad weather, no idea when it’d be restored. Though there were no snow storms where Marley was from, she certainly remembered this feeling well. Fourteen years old and calling the electric company, persuading them to turn their power back on for just one more day--two, tops--until she could get the already months late payment to them. Digging through her mother’s work clothes, her purse, in the couch cushions, to collect the funds that should’ve been the older woman’s responsibility, and yet one of many that she couldn’t be trusted with. 

The hostel worker had informed it’s current residents that they were working on their generator, but in the meantime, Anchor Inn was one of their best bets for electricity. Though Marley knew of more than a few beds she could occupy, the mention of the pub brought along thoughts of Andi, and she figured the woman could use a visit.

God, it was cold, the warmth offered by the building a saving grace, though the walk between the two establishments was, realistically, virtually nothing. All thoughts of the chill vanished, however, at the sight of her friend, looking absolutely exhausted. “Oh, baby, who needs a hot meal when you’re standing right there?” She teased, leaning against the counter on her forearms. “I wouldn’t say no to a hot chocolate...maybe with an extra kick?” Her eyebrow raised, mischievous smile tugging at her lips. It was five o’clock somewhere, wasn’t it?

.

Kit hadn’t met many women in his life who had managed to cause the breath in his throat to hitch, but Marley was certainly one of them. There was something about her that made him immediately jealous of anyone he had to share her with, regardless of whether or not he knew them. Kit had once wanted her all to himself, and for a short while he did. But he knew that she was a wildfire, she couldn’t be contained - she was too beautiful to be contained. Even life itself couldn’t take a hold of her before she was running off in the other direction. “The view from up here? It’s breath-taking. You ought to try it out sometime.” although he was unsure if Marley could ever see herself the exact way Kit could see her.

Her fingers toying with the metal chain was like a magnetic pull and he felt himself leaning in closer to her. “But now you’ve got me wondering how long I have left before you disappear on me again.” Kit would never admit it but since their separation, he had felt her absence like an itch he couldn’t scratch. In a split second, the room was plunged into darkness and the crowds erupted in laughter and cheer as if it were all for theatrical show. 

Except Kit wasn’t in the room, no… It was in a club somewhere in Paris, or Barcelona. And it was just Marley and himself, and nobody else and nothing else mattered. She had totally eclipsed his sun and without even a second thought, Kit had leant forwards to hastily press his lips upon hers. To steal a kiss while the rest of the world turned a blind eye.

-

He was certainly something. Marley had known it from the start. A spark in him that couldn’t be matched, yet something she looked for in everyone who’d come after him. It’d been years, and nobody had even come close. There hadn’t been a doubt that they would run into each other again. Though, perhaps it was more like a hope that they would, but one that came with a knowledge that she’d have been more than fine if they never did again. That was life, wasn’t it? And they were merely along for the ride. The one they’d had together just hadn’t been too bad.

“Oh, I think I’ll need a lot more champagne in me for that.” She laughed, the sound echoed in the minimal space between their bodies. She’d hardly tugged on the chain of his pants, and yet closer he pressed. The smirk that pulled at the corner of her mouth could hardly be contained. “Before I disappear on you, huh?” Typically, that would be how it went. Marley was a flight risk by nature. But that wasn’t how she seemed to remember their story going.

Before she could remind him of as much, the room was plunged into sudden darkness. Marley’s eyes had barely had a moment to adjust, attempting a scan of the room as other’s applauded and whooped. Her own breathless laughter joined theirs, turning back to Kit with wide eyed amusement, when a pair of lips were suddenly on hers.

Not a pair of lips. His lips. She’d have recognized their touch anywhere. Surprise momentarily took her, though not for long, the hand gripping the metal chain moving to settle gently on his waist to keep him close.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 22ND, 2021 —  at the rockwater resort with @marley-callahan.

If she didn’t already feel the weight of one hundred judgements upon her shoulders before Andi certainly did now. Once upon a time she had a mid-dinner dance party a night. These days the closest she got was an awkward shuffle to the bathroom while Pandora blared from her phone. She tuned out of her surroundings, though, and focused solely on the safety net of Marley’s hands and the music’s beat. Instinct trumped inhibition. Her knees bent and her hips began to sway. For that one, careless moment all the burdens upon her shoulders dissolved to the recesses of her brain, affording her the chance to finally breathe. 

Figuratively, at least. By the time the song tapered into the next her chest labored for precious air. “I can’t believe I just did that.” Marley wouldn’t understand the why, nor comprehend the rarity of the giddy laugh that bubbled out of Andi next. It didn’t matter. Fingers clasped tight, she beamed over, then gave a tug toward the bar. “C’mon. I need that drink before I start realizing I should be embarrassed right about now.”

Andi was a natural. All of that fuss and fighting and for what? Marley couldn’t help but to watch her, see her stiffness melt away in a flow of limbs and hips. Once she was sure the woman wasn’t just a mirage, and would disappear the minute she looked away, Marley joined her in the dance, allowing herself to get lost in the music the very same. She doubted that anybody was even looking at them, but they definitely should have been.

But then the song ended. Though prepared to simply groove into the next, Andi seemingly had different plans, their joint hands falling from above their heads. It was only then that Marley’s eyes opened, stared at the wide eyed gaze of amazement? Embarrassment? Disbelief? that had overtaken Andi’s own. “Well, believe it, babe.” Because she had just done it, and she had been amazing. Before Marley could tell her as much, she was being tugged in the direction of the bar--a direction she didn’t mind in the least. 

“What could you possibly have to be embarrassed about?” Marley huffed, leaned against the counter as Andi ordered their drinks. 

Amelia was taking a well earned break from smiling and making small talk with friends of her parents at the bar so she could drink something other than champagne. Nothing wrong with that drink, but the blonde thought she was due something much stronger, hence the double vodka with slimline tonic she’d been quietly consuming for the last couple of minutes. Mia was in her own little world going over every single interaction she’d had that evening so she could adequately overthink them when she felt a pair of eyes on her, the unknown woman on the next seat apparently wanting to make conversation. Of course she did. There was never a moment that Mia could just take for herself on nights like these. Steeling herself from the inside she looked over, a single eyebrow raised, taking a split second to consume the appearance of the other before he spoke. “Considering where we are it could be anything, likely some kind of affair. One thing I can promise you is it’s probably not as interesting as it looks. It never is. If they’re as smart as they are old it’s them each chastising the other for the horrendous fashion choices they made this evening.” 

-

“An affair. Hm.” Marley echoed with a nod of her head, attention drifting from the woman next to her back to the couple. Who would have been the one to cheat? Him? Her? The both of them? His grip on the back of her elbow was tight. A sign of possession, or fear of her running off and spilling his infidelities to whoever would listen? Her body kept a good amount of distance from his, however. A chill between them. The root of his infidelity or the cause of hers? Either way, the two weren’t keeping up appearances nearly as well as Marley figured they might have hoped. She didn’t consider Elisabeth a small island by any means, but wondered if gossip spread like wildfire just the same. At the other woman’s promise, Marley couldn’t help but laugh. “Well, of course. His tie doesn’t even come close to matching her dress.” Almost like he’d chosen so on purpose. Her hand came to rest on her chest, as if the very thought scandalized her.

@luceehq​

“I really hope not.” Lucy admitted, she wasn’t vegetarian nor was she vegan but the thought of beaver tails didn’t sit will with her. The line outside of Glow Tube was long, and standing there without a coat wasn’t the best decision she’s made all night. It was freezing, and the women couldn’t wait to get out of this dress. Taking a deep breath, the Chicago native held on tight to her little purse and tried to keep her hands warm “It’s so fucking cold out.”

-

“I take it that you’re not from here, then?” From what she heard, Beaver Tails were a staple, as was the cold, and the woman in front of her seemed to have no fondness for either. Marley couldn’t blame her, not a particular lover of the cold herself, but the scent of the confectionery that filled the air offered a hope of warmth that she, for one, could not wait to partake in. 

marley seemed to hesitate, and marlow thought the blonde woman was going to say no, give some reason why she was interested in going out in the cold. but that ddin’t happen, marlow’s head tilting at the mention of a condition. however, a laugh escaped them when marley spoke, insisting they go on the glow tubes next. “oh, you’re on.” marlow grinned back, almost bouncing on the soles of their feet again. “let’s get the biggest, warmest coats they have, and show that ice who’s boss.” marlow loved ice skating, had learned it as a kid, and had always enjoyed it. 

-

Their childlike glee was certainly a sight. Marley couldn’t help but grin back, watching Marlow bounce with excitement, listing off the supplies they would need. Had Marley ever been this excited over anything? She couldn’t recall. “Oh, lead the way, darling.”

date: 22/01 time: 12:01 am location: rockwater resort status: closed for @marley-callahan​

“Oh, wow!”

Between the drunken competitive sledding, the giggly snow angels and the near-blinding dazzle of glittering dresses and, quite frankly, some odd conversations, Archie is thoroughly imbued with the night’s celebrations. That is to say, he’s hammered, and they’ve forgotten all about the sulk they’d carried with himself into the whole event, having dropped it off in a lonely corner the moment they’d picked up their third glass of bubbly.

Now, he’s face to face with someone he’s pretty sure he may or may not have seen hiking around the Fremont trails. Then again, he’s pretty sure he may or may not have seen half the island hiking those trails. It doesn’t stop Archie from gasping at–

“Your dress!” They coo, hands on their cheeks, “it’s sooo pretty, oh my!”

-

It took a moment for Marley to realize that it was her dress being referred to. Glancing away from her attempt at getting the attention of the bartender, her eyebrows raised at the sight of the patron next to her with hands pressed to their cheeks. It was only when she saw that their sight was set on her dress that a grin pulled at her lips, unable to keep herself from laughing.

“Oh, this old thing?” She teased, playing at modesty, before shaking her own head, gesturing to their own outfit. “My dress, though?” Her fingers reached to run through the fur at the neck of their coat. “I am in love with this.”

“And what do we think they’re fighting about?” She asked, bringing her glass to her lips.