#interaction.verda

Part of her felt like she was guessing as she wandered up to the home she'd only been to once after the woman, who just so happened to now be her actual wife, wandering whether she'd be embarrased if she knocked on the door that belonged to a stranger or relieved that she didn't have to face the woman that all but ran from the decision they made. Sure, Verda did so under the guise of needing time to figure things out and at least she gave some kind of warning and didn't flee the state this time, but Emmy's track record when it came to the other agreeing to figure things out wasn't exactly a solid one. Taking a breath to give her some sense of encouragement, she reached forward and knocked on the door in front of her, the only one on the block that looked at least a little familiar. Her hand felt empty as they fell back to her side and she curled them together behind her back instead as she waited. Should she have brought something? Like flowers or pie? What was a person supposed to bring someone they'd just gotten married to but wasn't sure if they were actually going to stay married to?

Her breath fell out in a frustrated huff as the door open and behind the familiar door stood a familiar face, one that instantly stopped her heart in her chest, leaving her frozen on the porch for an entire minute before she found any sort of word again. "I, um..." Emmy was struggling, the backs of her ears burning and flushed as she realized she should have thought about what she was going to say. "I know you said you needed time and I want to give that to you, but it's been a week and honestly, I'm a little afraid you're going to flee the state and we're kind of legally tied together right now and I already had to chill Ty out once, I have no clue how I would explain that one, and honestly I let it happen once and didn't do shit about it, but I couldn't let it happen again without doing anything, so I decided to just show up and see what would happen. Which... I sort of feel was a stupid thing to do and I wouldn't even be mad if you just shut the door in my face and we called it a day." Emmy paused, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth for nothing else but to get her mouth to stop spitting out words. "I'm fucking this up, right?"

“This is super cute, what you have going here,” Cora mentioned offhand to the baker that happened to be standing near as she gazed at the pastries that lined the front case. She’d traveled well in her time with Gabriel and previous lovers, even in the short amount of time she’d been dating around, and it always amazed her how many amazing products found their way into Providence Peak. “Have you been open awhile? I can’t believe I’ve never noticed this here before. I’m sure you get this question a lot, but what would you recommend for someone with a sweet tooth?”

She weaved her way through the crowd of college students looking for their hangover cure on a Sunday morning to the pick up station to grab her coffee, an iced latte with too much caffeine for her mind to worry about right now, as she held her laptop tightly in her hands, searching for a place to plop down so she could focus on the restaurant's numbers while her new chef took over for the morning at Amelie's. Book work was her least favorite thing to do, as she'd rather be in the kitchen, thriving over the breakfast rush, but it was something she had to make herself do if she wanted the restaurant to continue succeeding as it had. The overly sugared coffee was destined to help her get through the work... if she could find a seat available. Her eyes scanned the busy coffee shop until she landed on an empty chair in the corner, not recognizing the brunette in chair opposite it until Emmy approached the area and flopped down in the comfy armchair. A breath fell from her lips and she ignored the hammering in her heart as her gaze met with Ver's, remembering what she'd stumbled upon just a week earlier, subscribing without shame while slightly tipsy and fully single. "This was the only seat available for miles," Emmy stated, mumbling something about hating college kids, setting her laptop onto the coffee table in front of her and cracking it open before adding, "Honestly, just ignore me."

She brushed at her shirt one last time, as though that would be enough to get rid of the scent the last cigarette she'd had after closing up the restaurant that night, completely sober. It was a fresh habit, one that she'd fallen into during her late night walks with Lainey, seeking a reprieve from the stress of a new marriage and a lost head chef. It didn't usually help, but Emmy found herself trying it again and again, just in case it started to the more she sought it out. It was better than alcohol, she justified, though she doubted it was anything more than that. A justification to find another unhealthy way to cope with life. Whether it did or not was a question for another day and Emmy finally gave up on getting the lingering scent off of her, hoping that Verda just wouldn't notice. Grabbing the grocery bags from the back of her car, she set them down only momentarily to lock it, before picking them back up again and making her way to the front door that she'd grown familiar with. Pressing a free pinky to the doorbell, she stepped back and waiting for the other to answer the door, and when she did, Emmy was quick to explain the amount of bags weighing down each arm. "I thought I could contribute a little. It's not like I buy groceries for my apartment." A shrug lifted her shoulders before she added, "Oh, and there's a toy in there for Zepp. I really wasn't what he'd like, but the cashier at the pet store said it's like, indestructible and stuff."

The steam rose out of the pan she had cooking on the stove a little too quickly, alerting the fire alarm in the kitchen before she even had a chance to do anything about it. The loud beeping of the alarm was enough to drive her insane — if the thought of dinner with two people who, for some reason, considered themselves mortal enemies hadn't already driven her to insanity. Groaning, she plucked the pan off of the stove and chucked it into the sink, giving up on the sauce she was prepping in favor of just serving everything that was already finished, which was already more than enough food for the three of them. Part of her wished she would have invited Jeanie along, if for nothing else than to get some type of amusement from what would inevitably be her downfall. Instead, she risked spending the night alone with her best friend and her wife, the stress of which already had her craving the brand new cigarette pack now residing in her jacket pocket hanging by the entryway. Fanning the space near the alarm with an oven mitt, Emmy was thankful when it shut off and she was able to hear her own thoughts again, offering Verda a grateful smile when she caught the other's presence in the kitchen. "Everything's finished. I think. It just needs..." She trailed off, the doorbell ringing catching her attention. "Speak of the devil." Her heart thrummed wildly against her chest as she pressed a soft kiss to Ver's cheek as she passed by. "I'll set the table if you can get the door? She might need permission to cross your doorway," Emmy couldn't help but joke nervously, her fingers giving the other's arm a gentle squeeze before she turned her attention back to loading her arms with as many dishes as she could carry and moving them to the dining table.

Part of her wanted to grin as soon as Verda answered the door, start out her greeting with a honey, I'm home kind of joke — but the other ninety-five percent of her instincts said she should know better than that. She knew the woman wasn't happy with the audition news; not happy that she was doing it and definitely not happy that the news had been dropped on her just days before Emmy was set to fly out to Los Angeles for said audition, the near radio silence from the other while she was away definitely hinted at just how unhappy her wife was with her and she knew it was deserved. After their history, it was bold of the chef to even step foot in Los Angeles, let alone into another cooking show audition and even though, in her defense, the favor to her friend was agreed upon before they'd ever even said 'I do', she knew anything the other woman threw at her would be deserved. So instead of being excited to see the brunette on the other side of the door, her fist clenched one strap of her duffle, not even bothering to stop by her apartment after her flight landed, making sure her Uber beelined it for Claret Park instead. Nerves flooded her veins when she heard the rustling of a confused dog behind the door, followed by footsteps she knew all too well. The door opened and Emmy sucked in a deep breath, her gaze meeting Ver's the moment it could. "Hey," came her soft greeting, lamely, she might add, unable to find anything better to say instead. "I, uh, hope it's okay I just showed up like this... my flight landed and all I really wanted to do was see you."

Emmy didn't normally go out of her way to make friends with her employees. Be friendly, of course, but she could count on one finger how many employees she ended up friends with and that singular one apparently happened to be Albert Torres, who in the midst of divulging the man in the impulsive choice she had made recently, suggested that they should get together over dinner, with her newfound wife and the man's partner, which the restaurant owner noted was a new fact she'd learned about Albert. The effort she'd been attempting to put into her marriage, into proving to Verda that she'd changed and grown had her showing up to The Glass Onion, one of her nicest silk blouses unbuttoned to a dangerously low level (a small reward for roping Ver into yet another friendship) and a pair of slacks that she ran the palms of her hands nervously over as she walked into the restaurant beside Albert, following the host to their table after giving her name. "Looks like we're the first ones here. Should we be taking bets to see who shows up first?" A soft laugh trickled from her lips as she sat down next to the man at the round table, immediately ordering Ver's favorite wine. "Although I'm usually the one people are betting on to be late, so this is a new one."

The silhouette of the woman at the winery's booth was one she would know anywhere, and though she remembered just where the same exact run in led two years prior, Emmy couldn't stop herself from approaching the booth, sidling in next to the brunette, and greeting her with a smile that was too confident for someone standing in front of an ex-girlfriend who she'd been craving like wildfire for the last few weeks. "What are we having today?" She questioned the other, eyebrow raised curiously as she looked at the sample cup in Verda's hands before her gaze fell to the woman's outfit. "It's good to know wearing exes hoodies to these things isn't some weird annual tradition of yours. Spring looks good on you, though."