here comes the sun

"The eighties..." Eliana repeated, the timeframe not only making her feel her age but also reminding the redhead that the Dawn Ranch house had likely undergone plenty of updates throughout it's long history. "I guess they're pretty old then," Ellie laughed. "Nothing lasts forever, does it?" The rhetorical question came with a lighthearted shake of her head. Things worn down over time, that was what time did. "I think it's awesome," she admitted, complete admiration, "I wish I had that kind of knack and ability. What all are you looking to update?"

"i just assume everything's from then or older." the owners before her had done the majority of the hard work in adding rooms to make the bed and breakfast what it was today. a lot of it was still perfectly good, but no, nothing lasts forever. she sighs, sorting through the different styles of knobs and bars, "honestly, i'd like to try to recreate the original style entirely, but it would be insanely expensive." and the bank had already talked her out of it when she finished her last loan. her poor financial agent would have a heart attack if bri asked to budget for a full restoration plan. "everyone's telling me a new build would be the most profitable for now, so that might be on the table."

like many things, the daily lunches out in town had to stop when she bought dawn ranch. "i used to be a real one. up to three times a week for years," her voice trails, unable to truly verbalize the amount of time and money she had spent in the restaurant, "yes, we are so going." even if brianna had planned to take pru somewhere else, she would have happily gone wherever the other seemed most excited about. "anything with a mole sauce is a good bet and then my favorite, the al pastor. they also do great seafood, if you're into that."

     It could be claimed as a hobby of his to get under people's skin. There was something oh so satisfying about it for a man that wasn't governed by his emotions. ❝ ⸻  Sure, cuts costs and saves the hassle. Unless it becomes more expensive in the long run because a professional should've done it in the first place. ❞ Xavier also loved to play devil's advocate. ❝ Do you manage all the land care as well? That's a lot of acreage to keep up with. ❞ There were already ideas of what he'd do with it if Brianna gave him a price to buy her out. 

she barely hears the mention of wine, shooting a narrowed glare over her shoulder before he's out of sight. of course, he would add more- poke, poke, poke. bri could tolerate his persistence with a humorous angle, sometimes even likening him to an overeager freshman trying to chat up a senior girl if he was behaving particularly charming, but it was still a nuisance. and the worst of it all? he wasn't wrong. predatory tactics aside, xavier was a natural businessman with sound instincts; it was a large space to care for, costs were rising overall, the work was exhausting. even as she sped through the aisles, her eyes caught items that reminded her of more tasks that needed to be finished and it almost hurt to leave with the one tube of epoxy glue. but not as much as it would for her to ever let him win.

❝ well hi... , ❞ jordyn greeted calmly while she gathered herself . ❝ we can run some errands. I do need to get some stuff at the hardware stuff to build a bookcase..❞ she replied with a smile in her voice . ❝ we can grab something to eat. what were you thinking ? ❞ jordyn laughs as she looks up at the young woman.

"great! i love when new furniture needs to be fixed before it can be used," she answers, half sarcastic and completely joking, "i'm sure we'll remember everything between the two of us." brianna could always complain about the frustrations of flat-packed shelves, but would never deny the satisfaction of completing the project. "it feels like a sandwich kind of day for me- salty goat or babydudes?"

marisol blinked, looking over at bri like she’d just dramatically announced a death in the family. the gasp, the full-body clutch-the-pearls routine—honestly.

maybe she was being a little extra, but shame was for the young. she laughs at herself even if marisol doesn't find it as funny, "yeah, yeah, i know," waving away her friend's mild look of disapproval. though, with the way she was describing her cravings, things would be smoothed over easily. brianna hums an approval, "it sounds like we might find all we need over at fool's gold. they even have a chocolate-covered strawberry pie."

A flash of amusement crossed the redhead's face. Eliana had pictured the drawer and the handle coming right off and while she could easily say it was such a small issue, she understood the tiny frustration throwing everything off. Too many times it had been the smallest, most insignificant thing that would do it for her. "Are they original, or I suppose... how old is the cabinetry? With the history of the ranch I can only imagine just how everything comes up one after the other in needing fixing, updating, replacing..." Her home was new but before then she'd lived in a ranchette in the foothills and had easy memories of that very thing.

at one point, she had joked that the big house had become a theseus paradox; would it still be considered the same building after it's all been replaced? "i doubt it. they look like they're from the 80s." it would have been a real treasure to have the solid wood pieces, but someone else had traded them for the laminate of her childhood. "well, the internet helped a lot," she readily admitted, taking pride in her friend's compliment, "but i've always been arts-and-crafty, so the shift to construction wasn't a hard stretch. a skill of necessity, really."

Safiye hadn't tried many places in town because she preferred to go grocery shopping and to make new recipes. But that had been halted now that her kitchen, and entire home, was being remodelled for the most part. "Let's try Stax. I've never been before. I haven't really tried or been to many places since moving into town now that I think about it." It was a shame given the amount of time she'd been here but figured since she was planning on moving anytime soon, she had the time. "Unless you think there's somewhere better? I'd like to have some drinks as well."

whenever bri gave suggestions to those visiting town, the wine bar was a popular choice. "stax it is, then. they usually have a brunch menu with a couple of cocktails available; bloody marys, mimosas, sangria, things like that," she explains, pausing briefly to check the time, "but if we happen to not make it today, they do have the full bar open with lunch." new restaurants opened and closed often as the trends changed, leaving them with quality over quantity. "i know it sounds ridiculous to say, but everywhere is good. is there somewhere you're curious about?"

     While he knew a thing or two about to-do lists Xavier was certain his were far different from what Brianna was referring to. He had staff, that he paid above their means, that knew their duties and kept the resort running in top form. In seeing the brunette do all of this herself he only further wondered why she wouldn't sell and unload the burden of it onto him.

god, he's such an ass. she rolls her eyes and feigns insult, scoffing a laugh in response to his digs. "i have staff! just not as much, that's all." one good manager and a pair of speedy housekeepers were all she really needed to keep the b&b together, but bri wouldn't exactly say no to a couple more people around to pick up the slack. "anyway, i like doing things myself; it adds a personal touch to the place." plus, she saves quite a bit of money not having to call a professional every time.

there's a groan, an exasperated "right?", and a small chuckle that follows. brianna had gotten better with remembering deadlines as the years went by, though subscription services had helped immensely. blockbuster would have been a menace on her bank account. "sergio's is great! they've been around forever, they're very nice- like, on it with service and they remember the regulars," she starts, thinking back to when she first ate there, too. she almost cried over the tacos al pastor. "and i swear, they have actual abuelitas in the kitchen making fresh tortillas all day."

the tiles had been cracked this long already; what was another couple of days? "yeah, it's alright. the last two had to be done today so i don't get docked with late fees," she explained, shrugging her shoulders, "it's no problem." after all, brianna had said that she would 'host' prue around town for a few hours and it wouldn't be fair to dictate their activities. "is there anywhere you haven't tried yet? my treat."

marisol wasn’t one to complain—unless, of course, you were one of her unfortunate close friends. then you were basically signing up for a front-row seat to her daily commentary on life’s many inconveniences. but today? today she was on her best behavior, happily tagging along while bri knocked out a list of errands like some kind of overachiever. her stomach had started making unholy noises back at the library. like full exorcism-level growling but she kept it to herself. she had to stop by the post office anyway to send out the ugly mug times, a chaotic monthly masterpiece of deals, open mic announcements, and passive-aggressive haikus from that one guy who always brought his ukulele. so technically, she was being productive too.   “what if i told you my stomach’s been staging a full-blown revolution since we met up?” she said, one eyebrow raised like a challenge. “would that speed up this whole feeding-me situation, or…?”

"mari, no!" with the gasp coming from bri, she may as well have been told marisol had been hiding a broken foot all day. "oh my god, you should have said sooner- we passed by so many places!" her own hunger was conditioned to run on crumbs when she was distracted and it wasn't until someone else made the suggestion to stop. she probably could have gone another hour or two before her own stomach joined the protest. then, it's feed me seymour! "so what does it want? would a dessert to share at the end help?"

Safiye enjoyed doing her own errands but with a need to fill her week with activities that wasn't drinking a bottle of sangria by herself by her pool, she was keen to join Brianne on one of her errands. "I don't need to go anywhere in particular. I'm happy to go to lunch right now and then we can look around if you'd like." It was often when she window shopped that she found the best items but she understood that not everyone had time. "I could use a drink, preferably with some alcohol in it."

"alright, we could do that," she agrees, accepting the chance for a break when it comes. even though she was the one to set her schedule, brianna often needed to be reminded to stop. "so, i think stax or fool's gold? they have great lunch specials- but really, anywhere is good." coyote valley was lucky to have a number of stellar restaurants with each one as good as the last. "or if there's somewhere you haven't been, we could try it today."

The most prominent thing that Jasper and Brianna had in common was that their ‘easy’ days weren’t exactly easy. There was always something that needed doing, so when there was a free few hours in his schedule Jasper would do his best to complete the task. But with his errands and Brianna’s it made sense that they did them together. Two heads were better than one, two pairs of hands were better than one, and so on.

whenever her spare time needed to be functional rather than fun, jasper was great for the company. more often than not, the conversation ended up being more productive than the tasks themselves.

     Since buying the Sundown Inn Resort & Spa e'd made a point of getting to know the owner of Dawn Ranch. They ran similar businesses in many aspects, the woman move aside of him had simply been doing so longer in the area. She also had a nice big portion of land, and some of his interest was in finding out if she had a price. Was she tired and wanting to move on? How much would it take Brianna to sign it all over to him?

sometimes, when brianna knows she'll be spending an hour or two around xavier, she'll try to guess how long before he starts laying the bait; he was so close to making it inside somewhere. she chuckles to herself before answering, "oh yes, for the list. it never ends." it made her wonder if he kept one for sundown himself or if someone else in his staff was responsible for that. she couldn't exactly see him going through rooms and changing light bulbs.

There was something special and important about being apart of the little things in another person's life. A something that hardly ever got recognition or consideration. But didn't mean something to just be the company in someone's mundane? To be a comfortable part of the atmosphere?

"there's always something," she starts, with a tired chuckle following after. given the chance, bri could find a use for nearly everything in the store, but she would have to narrow it down to just a few for today. "the drawer pulls are loose. i've been having to tighten them every so often, and this morning, one finally just popped off. the little screw on the back was completely stripped." it was such a small thing to take priority of her day, leaving her somewhere between annoyed and amused about the task as a whole.