lover don't let me go

no plot to follow here, just repetition of the same old sin

[babette-durandd]

almosttiana​:

Calling in Backup | Tiette

Tiana hadn’t intended for her restaurant to be a quiet, serious place where a family couldn’t bring their children. The whole point was always to be a family restaurant, to be lively and crowded, with people talking over one another and live music providing a soundtrack. So she had known that crying children would probably be part of the atmosphere, and it didn’t really bother her. 

But she knew other diners might have more of an issue, and there was also the fact that the incident had reminded Tiana of her last shift at Chippamunka’s. Luckily, Bridgette had stepped in, but Tiana knew that she wouldn’t always be around. It would probably not be a bad idea to learn a few of the tricks for the next time this happened. The last thing she wanted was for someone to feel like they had to leave because of their child. Maybe she could ask Ella for some pointers…

She was so distracted by the thought, she almost missed the compliment. “Oh, this? This is easy,” Tiana scoffed, though she did take the words to heart. As confident as Tiana was, a little affirmation was always nice. “But I suppose it always is when it’s something you like to do. Your passion, or whatever. I assume children are yours?”

Really the only time Babette had ever been embarassed to struggle with a temper tantrum was at the families home, while parents were around. That could make her look incapable, and since parents could be fussy about their children she worried they might disagree with her methods and end her employment. As far as anyone here knew Babette was the little boys’ mother though, and they could very well gossip all they liked. Kids were sensetive, if she let it bother her Jamie would pick up on that and think he’d done something wrong when he hadn’t. 

“Easy.” Babette repeated with a bemused smile and a shake of her head, glancing around the room again. “Maybe for some, I could not keep this many people happy.” Well, clearly, since she had failed at it already with one crying child. “Oui, even when the little monkeys are throwing tantrums.” Babette turned he face to grin at Jamie, her tone light so that he would laugh. “One of those lucky people who figured it out early. Have you always wanted your own restaurant?”

[babette-durandd]

exsgttibbs​:

Where We Stand Now | Tibbs & Babette#

The urge to say no hovered on the tip of his tongue, more habit than anything else. He usually walked from his home to work, and back again, no matter the time of day. Being a man meant he had the luxury of being able to walk anywhere in the dead of night, if he wanted to, and being a man with combat experience meant he really could just do as he pleased without worrying, though he didn’t think Swynlake was particularly known for its muggings. He had a car, but he didn’t see the point in taking it such a short distance ever day (and the price of a hospital parking permit? Astronomical). 

He usually used the walk, on a morning, to drink his coffee and get himself ready for the day. He wouldn’t know exactly what he was dealing with until he got there and did rounds, of course, but it was all about the right mindset. After work, he would use that walk to wind down. To think back over the day, to make a mental note of what would need to be done the day after, so that when he did finally make it to bed, he could fall into it and not lie awake for hours, thinking.

So, out of habit, he was about to say no. Have his solitary little walk up to the hospital, drink his coffee, and get ready for the day. Except…

Well. Put quite simply, he didn’t want to say no.

“If you’re sure you’ve got the time,” He said, giving her one last chance to back out, if she wanted to, though she had already assured him that she had no plans for the day. Or at least, none for this morning, or nothing so pressing. He, on the other hand, had places to be, so he moved towards the door, holding it open for her with his free hand.

“So you’ve got the day off today, I take it?” He asked, tracing the familiar path towards the hospital. “And no plans?”

She wasn’t sure if friends usually dithered around eachother this much. It was an age old cliche, was it not? Whether men and women could simply be friends. Babette whole heartedly believed they could of course, for if the problem was sexual attraction then it would stand to rights she could not be friends with women either, and no one seemed to have any questions in that regard. Perhaps it was just her, because the axe swinging over her head coloured every interraction, especially with people she was attracted too.

“I’m sure.” Babette assured him again with a nod; she understood, Tibbs was the sort of man who did not want to waste anyones time, and she appreciated that about him. She stepped through the door coffee in hand, throwing a grateful smile over her shoulder at him as she did so. “Oui, it is a rarity.” Babette said, following him down the street. She was familiar enough with the walk to the hospital, important information when you looked after children. “I might pop over and visit my friend Elena later today. She has had babies of her own recently- adorable little twins, so I take any excuse to visit the darlings.”

Babette sippied her coffee, pushing down the little smidge of jealousy that always tried to take hold at the thought. It was fine, she’d have babies when she found the right person. And wasn’t cursed. “But I like to keep my days fairly open when I am not working, a chance to just enjoy a day without any rushing around.”

[babette-durandd]

melody-the-unwritten​:

Run Reggie Run {Open}

“Cats are good.” Melody offered still embarrassed and with her that took a long time to recover from. She’d like to just hide at this point and not look back.

“Have you looked into travel restrictions? If you have all your paperwork it shouldn’t be a problem to bring a pet across borders. I was watching some youtube videos on it the other day.”

Oh, she’d embarassed the poor woman. Babette really had gotten rusty when it came to interracting with adults outside of a work setting. She’d gone and isolated herself because of the dangers of the curse and hadn’t stopped to think what that would do to her.

“Oh, really? I haven’t done a lot of international travel except for moving here from France. I didn’t know you were allowed to do that with a pet. How do you even do that? I can’t imagine you’re able to take them on a plane..”

[babette-durandd]

rezares​:

Are Curses Casual Lunch Conversation? | Babette & Reza

“I hardly do on the weekends. School days, there’s a routine. Weekends are wildcards.”

Always count on Babette to be armed with anything your stomach could want!

“It depends what you need the luck for.” Reza explained. “There are different spells to make different good luck charms, some with reagents harder to come by than others. The one I sold most recently was for exams, like I said, so the most difficult thing to come by in that case was Justified Certainty. Hard to come by these days.”

“Any good luck charm starts with a drop of confidence and the stated aim of the charm but beyond that it differs. Want to get laid? You need Lust and the smell of a campfire. Moving out and need a bit of luck? You need Promise of Things to Come.”

Babette nodded, appeased by the response. “Good. It isn’t healthy you know, skipping breakfast.” There was a great many teenager Babette had lecutred on the importance of not skipping meals, breakfast was always high on the list. She’d never understood it, breakfast was her favorite meal of the day. It could be anything! (She’d admit to being a big supporter of leftovers for breakfast.)

She listened to him explain the charms as she ate, fascinated all over again by his knowledge and comfort with the topic. It was surprising how specific these reagents could be- justified certainty? That did sound like a hard thing to come by. So many fools thinking they’re the be all end all.

“The smell of a campfire?” Was that what romance was? Babette shook her head, “I’m not sure I want to know why it’s that, actually.” How did she segue the topic into curses? She didn’t want to make it seem like she’d brought Reza here just to use him, he was genuinely good company. “Do you ever handle bigger problems, or is most of your magic work these days centered around smaller things like charms and luck?”

[babette-durandd]

almosttiana​:

Calling in Backup | Tiette

For a moment, Tiana just watched Bridgette in amazement. Tiana was a people-person. Years of working in the service industry and years before that of just loving to be around people had taught Tiana how to read others, how to anticipate what they might do or say or need. 

But children mystified her. And yet, here Bridgette was, seemingly able to get through to them as easily as switching into a different language she was fluent in. Tiana didn’t know how she did it. She had always said she wanted to open a family restaurant, but these kinds of situations still caught her off-guard. Tiana looked at Bridgette thankfully.

“Oh, absolutely. I’m so sorry about that,” Tiana said, even though it didn’t sound like a mistake of the kitchen or the waitstaff. It was just instinctive at this point after years of restaurant work. “I’ll be right back.”

Tiana could have flagged down a server to go get it, but people appreciated when the owner or manager took the time do personally make sure a problem was solved. Bridgette was even-keeled enough not to cause a scene, but Tiana still wanted to help herself. Crying children did not make for a good atmosphere in a restaurant.

She returned quickly with the glass of milk and handed it to Bridgette. “Here you go. That was some quick thinking. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone speak ‘kid’ that well. I’m in awe.”

With the panic and confusion starting to settle Babette bounced Jamie idly on her hip to keep comforting him, and asked Abigail to help with swapping the two boys’ plates around so they would both actually be able to eat what they wanted. She couldn’t blame Thomas for the mix-up, he was of that age where boys like to think they’re indistructible and had probably just assumed he was such a tough guy he barely even tasted the spice. 

Babette frowned over at Tiana, “why? It’s not your fault, hm? If anything I should’ve checked the orders properly myself.” Sometimes serves talked so fast though, and with a table of three children to look after as well as an internal translation to do sometimes things just got lost. Accidents happened, Jamie would be alright.

She hummed softly to soothe Jamie while Tiana rushed off, unabashedly raising an eyebrow and meeting the stare of anyone still nosy enough to be looking their way. Really, she understood it was a restaurant but toddlers cried, whenever and wherever they felt the need. It wasn’t like the episode had even lasted particularly long, especially by Jamie’s standards. Frankly Babette was relieved the whole thing had a logical explanation- sometiems tantrums did not.

“Ah, merci.” She helped Jamie lift the glass to his mouth and take a sip, giggling with him when he relaxed. Babette turned her attention back to Tiana when she chatted, bu made sure to keep one hand around the glass while Jamie lifted it to his mouth and back down so he wouldn’t drop it. “Years of practice. I have been babysitting since I was a teenager, you get used to basic communication habits. Plus I read a lot when I decided I wanted to be an au pair. We all have our special skills, non? I couldn’t manage a restaurant nearly so efficiently.”

[babette-durandd]

professor-lungri​:

@babette-durandd​

Shere offered up a small smile to the woman, wanting to set her a bit more at ease than she currently was. She wasn’t nearly as panicked as she had been moments ago, his words seeming to have calmed her down enough that she could formulate quicker responses. He was impressed at the breathing techniques she’d employed, as well, wondering idly where she had learned them before mentally shaking himself and tuning back into the task at hand.

There was something to be said for what worrying over a child could do for someone’s state of mind, however. It could break you or it could bolster you and, from the looks of her, this woman would prove to be the latter. 

“He should be, yes,” he answered, nodding his head as he turned to peer around them. “The more dangerous creatures usually aren’t out this early. If he strays far enough, he may come across the gryphons, but I work with them. They’ll recognize me.” As long as he didn’t go near their young or pose himself as a threat, the boy would be fine. 

It would be after nightfall when problems could occur, but Shere was determined not to let that happen. 

“We can always follow some of the more well-traveled pathways. The deeper he goes, the harder it will be to get around, either because the Forest will realize he shouldn’t be going there, or because it’s, well, a bit more wild than out here. Either way, he won’t be able to get too far. We will find him, Miss–?”

Of course, the man could be lying. But it wasn’t in Babette’s nature to be immedietly doubtful of people. Everyone deserved a chance, right? Even strangers you met in forests. There wasn’t exactly anyone else around offering to help her look for Thomas, so even if she had been less sure of him there weren’t any better options available to her. It was him or getting lost herself.

The reminder of the dangerous creatures that made this forest their home- even if he said they wouldn’t be out yet- made her all the more teriffied for Thomas, but also detemined to find him as soon as possible. It wasn’t just talking to strangers she had to worry about here. “Gryphons?!” Babette recognized that word. It was the same in French. Lion bird things, she thought it meant. With sharp claws.

Babette laced her fingers together to avoid twisting them about nervously. “Durand.” She supplied softly, “Babette Durand. I’m his nanny.” 

[babette-durandd]

exsgttibbs​:

Where We Stand Now | Tibbs & Babette

More details were offered up, a story of her time back home in France, teenage years spent weaving tales for other people’s children. Tibbs had wondered how she had come to be in this line of work, whether it was simply a means to an end that she’d found her passion in or something else, and seemingly something else was the answer. It made sense that she had been working with children since she was one herself; she had that way with them that Tibbs had never mastered. He’d enjoyed his paeds rotation at university, and of course he loved spending time with his own daughter, but things were different with Tibby. They had a relationship. Things were a little trickier with children he didn’t know.

He admired her for it. He had always seen being good with children as one of those skills that you had to be born with, not one that you could learn, and he had never even had the opportunity to learn it. He’d never had siblings, his only cousins had lived too far away for him to ever really know them, and he had spent a lot of his childhood studying. He’d never had to babysit for a bit of extra cash; his father gave him an allowance each week which had been more than reasonable, so he’d never really been around younger kids. He admired anyone who just knew how to get on with them, and he admired Bridgette even more so.

“Even a good origin story,” He said with a smile, doing his best to stow all of those details away. Not because he might need them some day, but rather because he wanted to remember them. To remember things about her. Before he could ask any more questions, though, their order was called — Tibbs stepped up to grab their drinks, handing Bridgette her coffee carefully. “Sorry, where was it you were off to, again?” He asked, reaching for a little packet of sugar to put in his jacket pocket. “I can walk with you a ways, if you like; I’m a bit early.”

It was probably why Babette was so fond of the story; it was something she’d been crafting for years, and there were well over a dozen different versions never written down, lost to time and criticisms. There were young adults in Colmar who’d been toddlers when she’d looked after them who still remembered it, who emailed and asked if they could tell the stories to their kids too. So even if it never became a solid book, Babette thought it had a decent enough legacy to be proud of.

The real dream, of course, was to have kids of her own she could tell the tales too. A real book would make that all the better; she’d be able to write their names in the dedications, she could give them snippets of as yet unwritten adventures. She could have her own rainbow gang.

Babette took her coffee with a smile, accidentally on purpose letting the tips of her fingers graze Tibbs’ as they made the exchange. It was as bad an idea to flirt now as it had been since she’d first been cursed, but she could not resist this one small moment. It was the perfect crime; easy to misunderstand as an accident, but still he might think of her hand brushing his for the rest of the day, and Babette was lonely enough to want that. “Oh, nowhere.” Babette shook her head and sipped her coffee, “nothing booked in today. I just came out to take a walk and grab a coffee.” She smiled, one bemused eyebrow quirking up, “I can walk with you to the hospital though, I’m in no rush.”

[babette-durandd]

melody-the-unwritten​:

Run Reggie Run {Open}

Melody rubbed at the back of her neck looking down at her feet. Yeah the woman was right but she couldn’t help but feel like she was five and being lectured. The apology was right at the tip of her tongue.

Taking her hand Melody offered an embarrassed smile. “Yeah i hoped he’d help with my anxiety. Running has gotten easier since I’ve had him.”

Babette shook her head and smiled, “sorry. That was very lecturing mother of me, wasn’t it? You’ll have to forgive me, force of habit. I’m an au pair, so.” So she was embarassing grown women out on the street, apparently. Jeez, she needed to get it together, she was so tense lately.

“Oh, pets are great for that. I’ve been thinking about getting a cat.” Which did scream lonely old spinster, but Babette really just wasn’t a dog person. She wanted something she could pick up and cuddle. “I’m not sure if I’ll be in town permenantly though, or if I’ll be going back to France in the next few years, so I don’t know if th ecommitment is smart.”

[babette-durandd]

almosttiana​:

Calling in Backup | Tiette

At least, Tiana thought, this table was more considerate than the one that had been the final straw for her at Chippamunka’s. Knowing that Bridgette was looking after the kids, Tiana had faith that no food fight was about to break out. But a crying toddler was still a nuisance for other diners, and Tiana wanted to preserve the atmosphere for the other diners. 

Still, she felt sympathy for Bridgette. And for the crying child. Sometimes, these things happened and there was no stopping them. Only reacting and making things better. That was what you learned how to do as a waitress: react, smooth over, offer solutions, get things back on track. So Tiana didn’t want to make Bridgette step out, nor did she really like the idea of leaving these two other children unsupervised. 

“No, no, that won’t be necessary. Let’s just see if there’s something we can do,” Tiana said quickly, running through her list of potential tricks. Unhappy children were harder to read than unhappy adults, and less easily-placated. If this were an adult complaining and making a scene, Tiana might have been able to pull out the Free Dessert Trick, or the 25% Off Trick, or some other prize that made the customer feel like justice had been served. But toddlers didn’t have a conception of “justice,” at least not in the same way.

She crouched down to Jamie’s level. “What’s up, bud?” she asked, smiling sympathetically.

Babette pressed the back of her hand against Jamie’s forehead and frowned; no fever. She’d been with him all afternoon and his mother was pretty meticulous, if he was already showing signs of feeling sick in any way Babette would have been told, but she hadn’t been and he’d been just fine all afternoon. She kept fussing and swaying with him on her hip, even if she knew it wasn’t going to do anything- at least it would give nosy onlookers the impression she had at least half a clue what she was doing.

Jamie was doing well with learning to talk and most of the time could string together a simple two or three words that would let a person know what he wanted or needed. Of course as a toddler it was not easy to remember that you were capable of this when you were overwhelmed with emotion. He was still quite shy with strangers though like most kids, curling further into Babette and babbling with his face hidden in her shoulder. “Hey..” She patted his back, “this lady is in charge here. Remember we talked about we were going to Tiana’s restaurant? This is Tiana, and she wants to help okay? Can you tell us what’s wrong?”

He was mumbling and sniffling and still making general noises of distress, but eventually she did manage to discern a word thrown in there, “ouch?” Babette repeated, “what’s ouch, Jamie? Where?” The little boy stuck his tongue out at her and for a moment she thought his tantrum had turned surly, but he was pointing at it and still looking at her all sad. “Your tongue?” After thinking for a beat Babette dipped her finger in the sauce on his plate and tried it for herself, realizing quickly what the problem must have been. She shared a look of relief with Tiana. “Thomas wanted spicy sauce and Jamie wanted peanut.” It made her laugh a little that she hadn’t thought of that sooner, “I probably got the plates mixed up.” She shook her head, “any chance the kitchen could spare a glass of milk?”

[babette-durandd]

exsgttibbs​:

Where We Stand Now | Tibbs & Babette

A lot of Tibbs’ job was listening — listening to a patient’s complaints and to their history, or listening to dopplers and heart rates and all sorts of things. He liked to think it was a skill he had developed along with his surgical skills and the like, over years and year of being a surgeon. It was one of those handy skills that lended itself quite well to his life outside of work, too; he was a good listener, most of the time, even if he was a little hapless when it came to giving advice.

But listening to Bridgette was easy, and not just because the gentle lilt of her accent was melodic enough to draw even the most ignorant in. Especially when she was talking about herself; for as often as they saw each other, Tibbs didn’t really know anything about her, and each peek behind the curtain he was offered, he wasn’t about to turn down. He was drawn in, hanging off her every word, even if all she was describing was a children’s book.

It was still impressive, though. And a lovely story. He supposed he was creative, in his own way. More of a problem-solving way, he was creative in finding solutions, in overcoming hurdles and new obstacles as they were thrown at him. He didn’t think he could ever come up with a story like that, though. Maybe it was because she had read a lot of them in her time (Tibbs had missed out on all of that with Tibby, something he realised he regretted now, even if it couldn’t be helped (he did often wonder if he would ever get the chance to do all of those things, the bedtime stories and everything that came with them, with someone else, but that wasn’t the type of thing to be thinking about in line for coffee)), or maybe she was just that talented, though he was suspecting a little of both.

“How very generous of them,” He said with a laugh, though he thought it was a lovely ending. And one of those that had a message in it, too; it was always a good thing to encourage sharing and generosity, wasn’t it? “How come you’ve never gotten it published? It sounds wonderful. Tibby’s a bit old for it, maybe, but if she’d been younger, I’d think it was the ideal bedtime story.”

Babette knew how to get a persons’ attention. Though admittedly her learning to do so had been something of a crash course when during her teenage years certain... Assets had developed, and she’d had to figure out how to be interesting and dynamic enough that their eyes weren’t just immedietly drawn downward. She did not want to be reduced to her chest, no matter how nice it was, thankyou very much. As a result she’d become excellent at spotting when exactly she managed to have a person captivated.

Though it baffled Babette why Tibbs might be that way now while they stood in line for coffee and she talked about a childrens’ book she’d never managed to get published. It wasn’t as if she had been pulling out her womanly wiles as of late, given how dangerous they had suddenly become. It was possible he just found her interesting, which was even more dangerous because of how flattering it was and how she absolutely could not follow that line of thought.

“I’ll admit it’s perhaps a bit corny.” Babette shrugged, “but kids deserve stories with happy endings.” Even if life did not always go that way, she thought it was important to instill senses of hope and optimism, else they might struggle to find those things once they got older and really needed them. “Ah, kids books are a surprisingly political arena. It’s got magicks and some same sex couples and locations accross the globe. The way I wrote it made clear that I intended to portray all those things in a positive light.” Babette tsked, a sort of ‘you know how it is’ look on her face. “Plus, I haven’t had any formal experience or teaching in writing, so there’s that." She smiled, “that’s how it started. Just a bed time story, when I was babysitting in Colmar as a teenager children would get bored of the same books, so I started making them up. Thus the Rainbow Gang was born. One of the mothers’ overheard me telling it one night and said I should really write it down, so...” She trailed off, laughing softly, “so, at least now I can stop forgetting the chracters names and where they’ve already been.”

[babette-durandd]

melody-the-unwritten​:

Run Reggie Run {Open}

Melody grinned rubbing the back of her head. “Yeah, I meant to pick up a new pair but I thought I would be fine for a little longer at the very least. I’ll probably have to get a membership at the gym for at least the winter. I always end up cancelling it as soon as the weather warms up and I can come out. Especially since this little guy is getting better at going out for runs now.”

Again Melody found herself rambling without a second thought.

“Reggie’s okay. He tends to run into things with or without me. oh- I’m Melody by the way and this is Reggie.”

Babette shook her head, “you should never cut corners with footwear. Ripped jeans and tops with holes in can be repaired, but you shouldn’t treat your shoes like that. Well, I suppose there are some kinds you can get re-soled, but not trainers.” She sighed, “a gym membership sounds much safer at this time of the year, they have running machines if this is your favorite way to exercize.”

Babette grinned down at the puppy, “he’s a sweet little thing, hm? A friend of mine, he got his daughter a dog recently. They seem to be very good for helping people get out of the house.” She offered her hand out to Melody, “pleasure. I’m Babette.”

[babette-durandd]

professor-lungri​:

@babette-durandd​

The woman was panicking. She needed to stop, was Shere’s first thought, though he knew that was easier said than done. 

Raising a hand and motioning in a placating gesture, the Vaagh’s eyes roamed over her face, the wobbling lower lip and the way her hand shook as it ran through her hair. She was worried. Worried and scared. He could see it and he could smell it; it rolled off of her in waves, pungent and distinct. He refrained from wrinkling his nose by the power of will and his many, many years of learned composure. 

“It will be alright. He’s probably not gotten far and I know the woods,” he said, voice low and calm and patient, eyes scanning her face, still, and the area around them as he answered her question. “Now, he has a backpack. That’s good. Means we have something to look for. We can search together.” 

If they didn’t find him before night fall, however, they could telephone the police. 

“I work with the Magicks taskforce, though I doubt we’ll need them. The forest won’t hurt him. If it let him in, it believes he is a Friend, you as well. It shouldn’t be too hard to find him.” 

Babette used to be better at staying composed. Since everything that had happened with Emily and the nightmares she’d been plagued with for months after her nerves of steel had really taken a beating though, unsurprisingly. It also did not help that the threat of death loomed over her head at all times.

But Thomas was her responsibility right now and he couldn’t afford for Babette to be so in a tizzy she totally overlooked important details in the situation. Here were the facts: he was in the forest- maybe lost, maybe on a trail- she was also in the forest, and now also accompanied by a man who knew the woods. 

While he talked Babette focused on taking deep breaths and pulling herself together. It was still daylight, and Thomas was smart enough not to talk to strangers. “A red backpack.” She repeated with a nod. “So he should be safe?” Babette sighed in relief, shoulders relaxing a little. There was that comfort at least. “Okay. Right, good. I don’t know where to start, I... I’m not sure if he’d stick to the trails, but that’s probably better than wandering blindly, right?”

[truitt-story]

Calling in Backup | Tiette

While Tiana liked to spend time in the kitchen overseeing everything and experimenting with the specials, she was finding it just as important to make sure everything ran smoothly in the dining room. 

And tonight, nothing was running smoothly. One of the new waiters had gone around telling every table the wrong soup of the day, the new online table reservation system was glitching, one of the line cooks had called out at the last minute, and it was only five PM. By that point, however, Tiana thought she had put out almost all the fires. Until she heard it. The sound of a piercing scream coming from a booth near the window.

Oh no. It was a restauranteur’s worst nightmare. A toddler temper tantrum.

Tiana took a deep breath and rushed over, already noticing the other diners making faces at the table in question. Oh no. This could ruin someone’s whole experience if Tiana didn’t act fast. And this whole situation was bringing back painful flashbacks to her last day at Chippamunka and her dramatic quitting. She needed to redeem herself.

“Everything okay over here?” Tiana asked, noticing a familiar and very frazzled-looking face. “Bridgette? It’s nice to see you again, er, what seems to be the problem?”

@babette-durandd

[babette-durandd]

Babette was good with children, obviously. Years of experience and learning had made it so, she could predict most moods and nip most issues in the bud. But she wasn’t infallible or perfect. Kids were unpredictable, they couldn’t always articulate the problems they were experiencing, they were going through so many things for the first time ever that it was often overwhelming.

It wasn’t often these mishaps embarassed her, especially after having handled so many of them, but little Jamie had been in such good spirits all afternoon, only taking the sudden sour turn when she’d brought the three children out to eat- their parents had been delayed in their return home, she thought she’d treat them- and Babette was at a loss as to what had caused it.

Thomas frowned and put his hands over his ears to block out the noise, and Abigail regarded the scene with the cool and unimpressed nature teenagers could affect so well. Babette had been so looking forward to finally eating here too, the starters had proved that Tiana’s skill extended far beyond her beignets. 

Still Babette tried to stay calm, muttering soothing nonsence in French, trying to discern exactly what had set him off. It wasn’t hunger or thirst, considering their location. Tired? Maybe. Diners looked on judgementally and Babette had to hold her tongue on how much she wanted to tell them to piss off and have some empathy. Jamie was clearly already flustered and embaressed by something. 

When they caused such a ruckus that Tiana herself came over Babette had gathered Jamie into her arms, resting him on her hip and swaying a little in an attempt to calm him. “Tiana, I’m so sorry.” She managed a strangled laugh, “I don’t know whats gotten him so riled up. We’ve been having such a nice afternoon. You know what toddlers are like, I’m sure. I can step outside with him for a moment if we’re being too much of a bother.”

[babette-durandd]

rich-kid-problems​:

Can I Help You | OPEN

Yeah. It was. But Pin couldn’t really blame the woman. Sometimes shopping was just too bothersome to go out and do it multiple times a week. Pin actually had shifted to mostly online shopping, only going to the mall in NTO on very special occasions.

“Here,” he said, holding out his hand. “Give me that really heavy one on your right first so you don’t fall over.” Pin took the bag from her and had to actually try not to tilt with the weight. He’d known it was heavy by how she was carrying it, but he hadn’t expected it to be this heavy. “Wow, did you buy someone a bowling ball?” he asked, holding out his other hand for more bags. 

She wondered if he was new in town. Given how often she was asked to assist with the school run or pick kids up to take them to clubs she had been around the secondary school while all the students were milling about outside quite a few times, but she didn’t recognize this boy.

“It’s a dollhouse.” Babette explained of the bag with a soft litttle laugh, handing over a couple more much lighter ones. “I’ve been looking after these most darling triplets in the next town over as of late and when I saw it I just knew they would love it...” She had a habit of talking to everyone as if they were already a friend, a habit she’d devloped over years of looking after other peoples’ children. If you were comfortable so were they. “Thankyou, again. I don’t live far I promise. Did you and your family move to town quite recently? I work mostly with local families but I don’t recall ever meeting you..” 

Babette examined his face a moment more, shaking her head before she set off towards her block of flats, “non, definitly not. You must be new- or homeschooled, perhaps. I’m a childminder so I know most of the kids and teenagers in town.”

[babette-durandd]

melody-the-unwritten​:

Run Reggie Run {Open} 

Melody pushed herself up onto her bum first surverying her knees and her hands. It seemed the morning jogs would have to be taken inside soon even if the brunette didn’t want that.

Taking the offered hand Melody stood and offered to take back Reggie’s leash, the puppy’s tail just wagging along as if nothing had happened.

“Oh I’m fine this happens like eight times a week. Usually not with ice and usually not with a dog that wants to run away but often enough really.” Melody rambled.

Babette did have basic first aid training of course, but it didn’t look like the woman was in too much pain and she managed to sit up and stand alright without too much assistance. Didn’t wobble on the spot, goof sign. “You need better grips on the bottom of your trainers” She admonishes with a smile and shake of her head, “they should’ve salted these roads already, too. It’s preposterous that we’re skating around like this, is the puppy alright? He doesn’t look too unnerved.”

[babette-durandd]

exsgttibbs​:

Where We Stand Now | Tibbs & Babette

It was also funny, given how often they saw one another, that Tibbs didn’t actually know any of these things about Bridgette. Well — the board game thing did ring a bell, actually, though he wasn’t sure if they had discussed it before or if it was a deja vu sort of thing. He’d never really given much thought to board games, before. Growing up his parents had never exactly been the type to sit down for an hour or more to play Monopoly, or whatever the game might be. His mother had too much to do around the house, all the cleaning and cooking and running the place, and his father had always thought that sort of thing was nonsense. He could never be pressed to go outside and kick a football around, or anything like that.

Maybe he’d suggest it with Tibby the next time she was round, or for Christmas, perhaps. Christmas was a time for board games and thing like that. Or a game night — they could have Bridgette round. Did she have plans for Christmas?

He was getting distracted. He looked back at her, listening as she talked about writing. Now that he certainly hadn’t known about, but it intrigued him. He wasn’t a particularly creative person, by his own estimations, so anyone with any sort of creative streak was a wonder to him. Though it did feel like something uniquely personal — he caught the way her smile shifted, a little sheepish, almost. Shy. He’d never really seen her like that before.

“A children’s book? That’s brilliant,” He told her, smiling brightly. “Do I get to ask what it’s about, or is it top secret?”

There were not a great many people who knew Babette well these days. Her prents, certainly, and she had some old friends in Colmar who she tried to keep as up to date as possible- though the afffair, the curse, that they did not know- and Elena. She wasn’t sure if that was normal. Was she meant to be more popular? She was still young, she was probably supposed to have lots of great friends. 

It had always been hard for her to open up that way though, from being a shy kid to a busy teenager juggling school and working to help her family, to being an adult with a job that required full time focus. She’d never had a lot of time for personal relationships, and maybe that was why things ended up happening the way they did.

The realization that one of Emily’s biggest draws might have been her convenience is a strange thing to struggle with while standing in line for coffee. Babette blinks owlishly at the server for a few seconds before actually registering her words. “Um- cinnamon spiced coffee, thanks.”

She shouldn’t have been too surprised by Tibbs’ enthusiasm, but still she could feel a little heat rising to her cheeks. Suddenly Babette felt like a teenager again, trying to impress a boy in class. She shuffled over to the side of the counter to wait for their order, “it’s called the rainbow gang.” Babette starts, “it’s about a family who travel the world looking for rainbows- the father, he’s a magick and he can predict the weather, so he knows where to find them. And they travel around meeting people from all walks of life, then...” She laughed softly, always feeling a little foolish explaining the premise to adults. “There’s always a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, and they share it with all the people they met along the way.”

[melody-the-unwritten]

Run Reggie Run {Open}

Frosty morning didn’t stop Melody from her morning runs, it didn’t even stop Reggie from joining her. The pup had little booties on to protect his feet from the snow or the ice just in case while Melody ran around the paths all bundled up, Her nose turning pink as she ran.

It was a good run until her foot hit a patch of black ice and in good Melody fashion she went down. And considering she was on a small hill she kept going down only letting go of Reggie so he wouldn’t be pulled along with her.

Grimacing Melody didn’t even get up but she was too far from Reggie to grab his leash again. “Excuse me can you grab him!”

[babette-durandd]

Babette made a point of getting out for an early morning walk when the frost started to hit. She adored the crisp air and frozen drops of dew on grass, and an excuse to make incredibly indulgent hot chocolate after her lunch later. It was so funny to have her mornings back still, as an au pair she had gotten used to having to help wake kids up and get them ready for the day. Granted there were still days where parents had early starts and would call for a little help, but most mornings were her own.

She was coming over the top of the hill when the young woman slipped down it, and though initially Babette’s thought was to rush over to her, she called attention to the runaway dog so Babette went after the animal first. “Oh you poor thing.” She tutted, offering her other hand to help the woman up, “they really should have these roads salted by now. Are you alright?”