#interaction.rachel

"How many lights do you think is on that sucker?" Emmy questioned the woman beside her curiously as she stared up at the massive tree that sits in the town's center, waiting for the mayor to finish her speech so they could flip the symbolic switch of the tree and the big man upstairs would inevitably be able to see Providence Peak from the North Pole. "You know what, don't answer that. But I am curious what they do if a bulb blows. Like, if they're the kind of lights that blow half the strand because of one bad bulb, who's shitty job is it to replace that entire strand? I can't imagine anyone is thrilled to be digging around in a wild billion-foot-high tree in the middle of winter." Even without alcohol flowing through her veins, the randomized thoughts spilled from her mouth easily, not having anything better to tell the other about. For the first time in forever, her life was going fairly smoothly, and the rose-colored haze from her wedding night still hadn't faded from around her. For once, she didn't have any forbidden thoughts or rusty feelings weighing on her. Just her and the simple life of commitment. "Shit, it's cold, remind me why you wanted to do this?"

She and Maggie walked along the streets of the downtown square, browsing over the craft and food vendors, enjoying the time under the sun after what felt like a forever long winter. The tiny toddler pointing out everything she laid eyes on in her barely fluent words that, more often than not, just sounded like a jumbled mess of sounds thrown together. When Maggie excitedly dropped her hand and pushed past the legs of a woman in front of them, Sage wasn't sure what she'd just gone on about, until her gaze fell to the adoptable dogs at the Good Pets table, the tiny blonde having scurried around a stranger to get to the first dog that she could get her hands. "I'm so sorry, we're learning boundaries, but she's still getting the hang of it."

She hadn't heard from Verda since a few days after their impromptu decision to get married despite the fact that neither of them could even make a relationship work (with each other or anyone else) and Emmy couldn't help but think that maybe it was for the best. Despite the fact that she was still wearing the banded ring that Ver had picked out for her that night, she wasn't really sure what they were supposed to do if the other woman stopped ignoring her. Were they supposed to move in together? Try their hand at living in holy matrimony? The though almost caused a laugh to slip from her lips as she approached the person she was meeting for dinner, glancing up at the temporarily closed sign on the door as her expression wrinkled. "Damn, I guess that option is out," Emmy mentioned, not remembering when Basic Kneads decided to close down. "I didn't even know that was a thing, I swear I just ate here like, last week." Or maybe it had been a few weeks, honestly all of her meals tended to blend together when she wasn't doing much other than working and eating and sleeping. Oh, yeah, and apparently getting married. She looked down the small street of shops and restaurants, wondering what else Claret Park might have to offer. "We could try The Burger Joint in University? Or go back to your place and order take out. For a city that basically never sleeps, there are a lot of sleepy food joints around here."

“Don’t think just because you know where I live that it makes us friends now,” Emmy teased, grabbing two beers from the fridge before making her way into the living area that was still full of boxes and not much else besides a couch. She handed a bottle to Rachel, taking a sip of her own before plopping herself down in an oversized chair and motioning to the boxes stuffed into the corner of the room. “And if you mention all of... that, we’re never going to be friends. I’m the worst when it comes to unpacking, they’ll probably still be there for another year honestly.” She paused for a moment, then added, “It’s official, by the way.”

The restaurant had been packed since brunch and the crowd waiting for tables hadn’t seemed to let up since. Emmy was just glad that she’d passed off the reigns of the stovetop to one of her trusted chefs halfway through the day, eager to head out and save herself from dealing with the dinner rush that was only moments away. One of her last orders had been a name she recognized and Emmy had insisted on delivering it to the bar top seating herself. “Well if it isn’t the devil herself.” Her voice was light, teasing the woman who she gently sat the plate in front of, reaching beneath the bar to offer the other a wine glass. “I was about to clock out and saw your ticket come up, I figured I should make a personal appearance. Maybe offer you a drink on the house? It is New Year’s Eve, after all.”

With a six pack of cheap Bud Light in her hands, Emmy brought her knuckles to the door in front of her and knocked twice, the sound echoing down the quiet streets of Summit Lake. It was different than her own neighborhood, University Heights and the Downtown area always felt more like home than the quieter pieces of the city. She supposed there was a part of her that missed the livelihood of Baton Rouge, yet there was a peacefulness she also found with the silence of the street in the seconds before the door swung open and Rachel came into sight. “Okay, so I brought an offering and I’m not making this unannounced visit entirely unprompted, though I do know just how much you love to spend time with me,” Emmy joked, a smile on her face. “And as much as I am here to bug Charles, I actually have a favor to ask of you.”

She should have realized that in her task to avoid Sophia and Derek and all of the other friends (or friends) Ver had, that she would end up bumping into someone else, which left her sidetracked by Rachel in her mission to hand off the money tree plant in her grasp to Ver and leave the bakery as quickly as she came. Her fingers tightened around the decorative pot as she glanced around the woman, looking for the other half of their messy circle. “Where’s nacho man at? Tell him to stay home? Because I probably would have if my boyfriend’s ex was here looking like that.” Emmy nodded in the general direction of the crowd in front of them, where she assumed Sophia was somewhere lingering, lending the shoulder of support that Ver needed at a time like this, filling a spot that Emmy couldn’t bring herself to fill. “It’s crazy how much this seems like a small town and not a city filled with half a million people when you think about how much drama is in this room alone.”

Her steps aligned with the other’s as they walked around the indoor holiday market. It wasn’t the usual chilly, yet warm, vibe of the holiday market, normally hosted outdoors somewhere downtown, but the ballroom had clearly been prepped into a winter wonderland days, maybe even weeks, before this event and it definitely showed. Lights were strung wherever they could be, booths set up in their most festive decor, both she and Rachel stopped every so often to browse a selection before continuing on with their walk. It was nice. And warm. “So,” Emmy drew out, her pace slowing as she glanced at the woman beside her. “How is...” Her hand gestured toward Rachel, her eyebrow raising in question before she continued, “Y’know, everything going? And by everything, I mean everything, crazy relationship drama and all.”