go your own way

starter for @weavercaroline where: waffle stop

"If you're willing to wait until summer vacation, absolutely." Caroline said, with a small smile. "I'll be absolutely swamped until then." She said, with a little laugh. Between teaching and being a single mother, time was a precious rarity for Caroline. "And I'll need to make sure I have a babysitter for the evening. Have you got any shows in mind?"

who: open @maplebrookstarters where: book voyage

"Any chance you can help pick out some children's books?" Caroline asked Jonathan, with her teeth gritted. Her son loved to read, while she herself wasn't all that avid. If she was in a bookstore, she was never there for herself. "My favorite when I was a kid was Where The Wild Things Are, but I think that bedtime story has been done to death in the Weaver household. It's time for a change."

Archie reluctantly took the money and put it in the drawer before pulling his attention back to Caroline and her son. "Oh you know I'm always down for a Switch party lil man, we'll find a way to beat it together I'm sure" he grinned before looking back at his mom. "Anytime, you know I'll help you out with anything you need right? Just ask and I'm there, no matter how ridiculous it might be" he smiled, offering out his arms for a hug if she wanted.

Oliver jumped excitedly when Archie agreed to help him with his game. Caroline's reaction to Archie's kind offer was more subdued, a smile on her face. "Thank you, that really means a lot to me." She said, before going in to accept his hug. "How long are you here for?" She asked, once she pulled away.

"Oh well, at that age it's not really their pet. It's yours." She explained, at least that's how she saw it with Stevie. Oliver certainly loved and played with the pooch, but it was Caroline who fed and walked her, so she was Caroline's dog. "Thank you. Lizard is a very unique name." She said, in a genuine tone. It was strange, but she was never judgemental about things. At least not harmless things. She face enough of that judgemental crap for being a single mother.

"Ah, okay, no problem." Jin nodded understanding when she said she didn’t have the isolation shield. “That makes sense.” He made a mental note to check online instead for that. He wasn’t really in the mood to go too far out of the city for this. Jin was a pretty chill person, but that was because most of his rage came out when he was driving. When Caroline offered to get him strings, he smiled at her. “Ernie Ball if you’ve got them? The regular Slinkys.” He walked up to the counter, hands in his pockets. “How are things? Are you all set for the holidays?” 

"Ernie Ball coming right up." She said, as she made her way over to the shelf to grab the requested strings. "Not quite. Christmas is so stressful when you have a kid." Caroline said, in answer to Jin's question. "Elf on a Shelf every morning, a ridiculous amount of toys need to be bought. But it's all worth it to see the smile on his face Christmas morning." She explained, with a soft smile on her face. "What about you? Ready for the holidays?"

"Hey, no need, this one's on me" Archie said, refusing the money for the drinks, he'd work an extra shift next week to cover it. "Oh of course, you go run your errands with Santa and I'll keep this one entertained with Christmas games and treats" he grinned at the boy then back to Caroline. "Plus I can make sure you have a chance to relax after those errands by tiring Oliver out enough to have an early bedtime"

"Oh god, no. I insist." Caroline said, setting the money down on the counter. She didn't want to get him into any kind of trouble. At the mention of games, Jonathan jumped excitedly. "Mummy got me a Christmas game on my Switch but it is so hard to play and I need help!" He announced, and Caroline was unable to hold back the soft chortle. "That would be a huge help, thank you."

"Oh, you have a daughter?" Caroline said, with a smile. She loved meeting other parents. "If it helps at all, I got Stevie when my son was four. It's absolutely fine as long as you find one that's good with kids and your kid will listen when you tell them not to pull on the dog's ears." She said, with a small laugh. "My Oliver is five, now."

"Of course lil dude, here you go" Archie nodded with a wink at Oliver handing him the apple juice carton and then grabbing a lemonade to give to his mom. "So how are you doing? Remember if you ever need a night off to yourself I'm always down for babysitting my favourite buddy"

"Thank you." Caroline said, as she started to fish through her purse for money to pay for the apple juice and lemonade. "You know, that would actually be so helpful with Christmas coming up." She said, at Archie's kind offer. "I have to, you know..." She said, before nodding to Oliver. "Do some errands with Santa."

"She is." Caroline said, when asked if Stevie was the only dog she had. "I don't think I have enough time for more than one, but I always wanted a dog so I had to just allow myself one." She explained, before looking down at her pooch and giving her a smile. Being a single mum and a business owner took up a lot of her free time, but she was happy with all she had nonetheless.

Archie might put on a front of being a film buff who likes classic movies and indie hits, but his favourite nights working at the drive in were always when he got to do the animated kid's movies. He was still a kid at heart after all. "My man Olliebear, how's it going little man?" he grinned, having recovered from the fright and relaxing at the sight of Caroline and her son. "One more drink coming up. And would mom like anything for herself?" he added with a charming smile at her.

"Can I have an apple juice, please?" Oliver immediately asked Archie, as they made their way over to the concessions stand. At Archie's question, she nodded her head. ADHD medication meant that she was perpetually thirsty. Always had something to drink nearby. "I'll have a lemonade, please."

Starter: Open Location: Route 82 drive-in

A kid friendly movie playing at the drive in? That was her evening with Oliver sorted. She loved the opportunity to get out of the house for the evening without having to hire a babysitter. About halfway through the film, Oliver insisted that he needed another drink, so she got out of the car with him and made her way to the snack booth. That was when she ran into Archie.

Jin gave Caroline a wave as he entered the store. He had thought Caroline would be sick of him by now. He had only just arrived in Maple Brook two months ago, but he had been in and out of her store fairly regularly. “Hey, Caroline.” He smiled at her. “Have you? I might actually pick up some of those.” He nodded, his gaze moving around the walls. “I also need to pick up some more guitar strings, and… I wanted to ask if you sell those microphone isolation rigs?” He asked, gesturing with his hands as if to making a shield around a microphone. His home studio was almost complete, but unfortunately a few things had been damaged during moving. 

Caroline gritted her teeth when Jin asked if she had any microphone isolation shields. "Unfortunately we don't do microphone isolation shields." She said, apologetically. "You'd have to go an electrical store for something like that." She wasn't into recording herself, but she made sure to know where to get most things a musician might need. "I can get you some strings though." She said, before making her way around the counter. "Which brand?"

Ema spent a lot of time at the library, whether she was checking ou or returning books, hosting her book club, or what have you. When Toby was young, they spent many a day at story times and other activities that the library offered.

"Oh, that sounds exciting!" Caroline said, when Ema mentioned making her own things for the wedding. Crafts and love, two things she personally didn't have time in her life for - but she couldn't help but smile for others nonetheless. "What sort of things are you planning on making? Decor or something more complicated?"

Caroline couldn't help but smile at the sight of the stranger with her dog - she honestly believed that Stevie deserved all the love in the world. A sweet rescue dog who was so good with children. "Stevie." She answered, when asked for the name of her beloved dog. "I don't know if she was named after Stevie Nicks, but the fact that that was her name felt like a good sign when I was adopting her."