Aydan needed this pick me up, coffee always helped him throughout the day. He honestly couldn't survive without it. After he dropped the kids off with his parents, he went straight to the French Bean. Getting in line, he didn't mind waiting for it. That was when he heard a woman start in the barista. Shaking his head a little bit, when he was next. "Sorry. Some people, am I right?" He told the barista. "How about this? I get the next person in line's coffee as well." That was when he glanced at the person behind him. "Feel free to get whatever you want, it's on me."
Caroline couldn't help but roll her eyes at the customer who was being rude to the barista. She didn't understand why people felt the need to treat others like that. When the man offered to pay for her coffee, she offered him a smile. "Oh.. Are you sure you want to do that?" She asked.
"That concludes our tour of the firehouse. Any questions?" They did this once a month. Offered up tours to kids and such who had an interest in either becoming firefighters. Not mention anyone that had interest in becoming a firefighter. They basically offered tours to those that wanted them.
Jonathan told Caroline the other week that he wanted to be a firefighter, so when she found out that the firehouse offered tours - she booked one for him. At the end of the tour, the five year old looked like he wanted to ask a question, but was too shy due to the person who gave the tour being a stranger. "It's okay." She assured Jonathan. "How often do you get to slide down the pole?" He finally asked.
"Baxter!" Silas whistled, watching the dog come back to him with a stick. He had just gotten back in town. He would be here for a couple of days before he had to fly out again. Grabbing the stick, from his dog he threw it again. But this time Baxter took off with it, bringing it to someone else. "Oh god." Silas ran over to them. "I am so sorry. He doesn't usually do something like this."
Caroline was out walking her own dog when another dog came up to her, bringing a stick along. She loved dogs, so she wasn't bothered by this at all. Instead she just grinned at him, before glancing to the man who approached her. Presumably the owner. "It's alright." She assured him. "He's gorgeous."
"heckling is rude!" kiana agreed with a nod. she hated when the talent got heckled...even if they weren't very good. they didn't deserve that no matter how terribly they sucked. "but sometimes when they're not very good, and no one is laughing, i almost prefer heckling to the dead silence that can follow a bad joke or punchline. it's so quiet sometimes that you could hear a pin drop, and that's just dreadful."
"I suppose there's that side to it, as well." Caroline said, though she was the type to politely laugh at jokes that weren't funny. "I guess I just know how hard it is to put yourself out there, and anyone who does that at least deserves some kind of respect." Caroline rarely put herself out there these days, she was too busy with Jonathan and the store. But she still did sometimes, and remembered what it was like to do so every single day.
"that's definitely a plus. i always worry about taking them to daycare or day camp or something, only for them to return home not having learned anything," damaris admitted. not to mention she had five kids to think of when it came to things like that. here in the middle of summer, she honestly thought it would be beneficial for the older two to go to overnight camp. "i'll have to look into it. i think my youngest ones might enjoy joining him!"
"Yeah, I get that. You want to feel like your paying for something worthwhile." She said, before smiling at the mention of her youngest joining Jonathan. "How are your little ones doing?" She asked, even though she imagined her oldest was a teenager by now. Caroline loved hearing other parents talk about their kids - to see the same pride on their face that she had when she talked about Jonathan.
"Oh, I don't read that often." Caroline explained, as she leaned on the counter. "I'm here to look for bedtime stories for my son. He's five." She explained. "I take it you read a lot - what do you read?" She asked, figuring the woman was just looking to make conversation. That was something Caroline was never opposed to.
she shrugged a bit, not really thinking too hard about it. "i guess it's nerve wracking for them. for me, it doesn't faze me much," she admitted, knowing that she wasn't the one putting her reputation on the line by standing up on a stage and telling potentially subpar jokes. "what really gets to me is the secondhand embarrassment when they're not very good. that shit can be so rough to handle from the sidelines," she said, shuddering a bit. "or when someone is heckling from the audience. i can't stand that!"
Caroline let out a small chortle at her answer. "I like that attitude." She said, before nodding understandingly at the remark about second hand embarrassment. She had definitely seen her fair share of live music performances that didn't go as well as expected. "Well, heckling is just rude." She said, though she figured that the comedy scene had an different etiquette to the music scene the moment she said that.
damaris laughed quietly, a knowing sound that bubbled up before she had a chance to stop it. she knew full well what it was like to shop with kids around. "i know the feeling," she said, understanding lacing her tone as she gestured to the shelves. "little hands seem to pick up about ten times more than we actually need," she said, glad that she had one day to shop distraction-free. "is day camp worth it? none of mine do that, but if it's fun and educational i might sign them up."
Caroline nodded her head in agreement when she pointed out that kids just grab things that weren't needed. "Jonathan mostly behaves, but it's still hard to keep an eye on him when there are other things to focus on." She explained, not wanting anyone to ever think her son misbehaved. "It is if you work full time like I do. You're able to leave them with people you trust and they get to have a fun day." She said. "I think he is learning a lot, too."
"Name and address, got it." She said, glad that she opted to bring her US passport. She could have brought her license instead, but she didn't like pulling that out of the car. Once she got her passport out of her tote bag, she opened it up and placed it in front of Amara. "Well, I'm Caroline Weaver and I live up in Lakeview." She explained.
CLOSED STARTER: @geekiest-in-town (Amara).
LOCATION: Public Library.
Caroline decided to make a stop at the library after work to pick up another book to read to Jonathan. He had grown bored of the ones he already had in their house, so she figured the library would be a good option until she found some other books he really enjoyed. The problem was she hadn't really been to the library since she was in university, and she spent most of time at university in the UK.
She made her way to the front desk and offered the librarian a smile. "Hello, Amara." She said, glancing at the woman's name tag. "Any chance on me getting a library card? Do you need a form of ID in the US? Because I was sure to bring my passport."
as she cleaned off the stage, lights dimming to return to normal, she heard caroline's voice through the din and looked up at her. "why, thank you kindly," she said, putting on her best southern voice. she was no better at it now than she had been when first moving to palmer, and she wondered how long it would be before someone decked her after finding it offensive. it was all in good fun, though, and she honestly admired the accent. "i actually don't find them - they find me. they either sign up for a slot on my website or they come and ask for one directly. i never know how good or bad they're going to be, so i'm just thrilled when no one bombs."
"That's even better, your club is a place where people seek out the chance to perform." Caroline said, offering her a grin. As a music teacher, she did have producers and bands reach out to her from time to time to see if she was teaching anyone who could work with them. She just wondered if it was like that at all, but the more the thought about it, the more she realized that you can't really learn comedy. You're either funny or you're not. That was a true talent. "I'm glad no one bombed tonight, I can imagine it's nerve wracking when you don't know how it's going to go."
she was shocked, honestly, to hear her name being called from seemingly out of the blue. people in town didn't know her all that well, other than seeing her at the gym. she kept to herself mostly and didn't make a lot of waves, but having children meant getting to know other moms without really meaning to. she had grown quite fond of caroline, however, and brightened up upon noticing that she was who had said her name.
"things are going well, actually," she answered, looking down at her cart full of grocery items. she used to wonder how it would feel to be an adult; well, being an adult meant being excited to afford pantry items in the current economy, apparently. "i've got the privilege of a rare day out by myself. don't worry, i haven't spent all of it running errands. i got my nails done this morning," she said, holding her hands up to show off her freshly-done french tips. "how are things with you?"
"Oh no, you can't let those go to waste." Caroline said, giving Damaris a smile. As a single mother and business owner, she knew how precious those days were. So few and far between. When Damaris showed her french tips, Caroline offered a smile. It wasn't the kind of manicure she'd get - mainly because it makes playing stringed instruments impossible - but they looked nice. "They're good, just running some errands before I pick up Jonathan from day camp." She explained, as she put the carton of milk into her cart. "I love the kid, but it's better to shop without him."
Jonathan wasn't due to be picked up from day camp for a few more hours after Caroline finished work for the day, so she decided she would take advantage of not having a bored five year old to think about and do some grocery shopping. Making her way down the aisles, she opened up her bullet journal to find her shopping list, and starting grabbing a hold of everything she put on there.
When the time came to get some milk, she made her way over to the refrigerator area and reached out to grab a semi-skimmed carton. Once it was in her cart, she turned around and immediately recognized the woman standing behind her. "Damaris, fancy seeing you here." She said. "How are things?"
"Hey, Kiana. It was a great show tonight." Caroline said, approaching the younger who she met a few times through business owner functions. She liked to support small businesses around down, especially since she now knew how hard it all was. "Where do you find these people? They're brilliant." She asked, taking a sip of her soda. It was always satisfying when a night out was worth finding a sitter for Jonathan.
Starter for: Emerson & Open
Location: Sweets & Treats
Of course one of Emerson's employees had called in and she was swamped. Normally she spent most of her time in the back crunching numbers and coming up with new flavors for them to sell for following weeks. With the nicer weather appearing though, she was spending a lot more time up front because people were ordering cakes and whatnot for big celebrations as in mother's day, father's day, graduation and then it was also wedding season. She smiled as she walked in from behind the curtain and walked up to the next person who was waiting. "Hi there, how are you doing today? What can I get for you?"
Caroline always had a bit of a sweet tooth, one that she mostly kept under control. In part, to set an example to Jonathan. Too much sugar is bad for you. But when she allowed herself a treat, she was sure to pick up something for her son as well. On her way to pick up her son from day camp, she made her way over to Sweets & Treats to grab some cupcakes. "Hello. I'm good thanks. You?" She said to the woman behind the counter with a smile. "What kind of cupcakes do you have in today?"
Caroline was born an only child in Kent, UK to two parents who loved her very much and always encouraged her passion for music. Especially since it was the only thing she seemed consistently passionate about. All her other interests came and went just as quickly. This all made sense when she was diagnosed with ADHD in her late teens.
She ended up going to university to study music, and opted to do a year abroad in New York, and even spent a summer taking a road trip through the country. She loved it so much, she decided to move back to the States after she finished her final year in England.
There, she settled upstate in New York and commuted to the city every day to work in the pit at several Broadway shows. She wasn’t a big fan of musicals beforehand, but her job gave her a newfound appreciation for them. She worked on Mean Girls, Wicked and Six.
While working in the pit at Wicked, she found herself falling for the actor playing Fiyero. He was from a rich family and they clearly bought his career for him, but she didn’t really mind that. She loved his charm.
Then he got her pregnant. And promised to stick around.
After giving birth to her son, Jonathan, the fighting started. He didn’t support her as much as he promised and he got defensive whenever she broached the topic. Eventually, he left her all together.
Naturally, Caroline milked all the child support she could get from him and decided to start anew in Palmer. She decided to open a music store, and enjoyed being able to focus on music she enjoyed. She got a dog, made some friends. Loved her son with everything inside of her. Built a new life.
prguitarman
dededos
blakekathryn
jacobvanloon
turnnoffyourmind
