Darlin' of the South

Colette Durand Croupier at Red 21 "She has a way with words, red lipstick, and making an entrance" - Kate Spade

[brie-harlow-blog]

“Oh my god, they’re so precious!” Brie squealed sitting down next to the stranger to play with the puppies. “The Landlord? Do you live in the Ragnatela too? Cuz if so, speaking as one of your neighbours, I wouldn’t mind. Our puppies could be best friends!” 

[colettedurands]

“I do! I just moved in yesterday,” Colette laughed, happy to finally be meeting some more of her neighbors. “Aw, I’d love that! Nothing is better than a puppy play date! Except maybe one of those puppy cons that I’ve been reading about in California. Hundreds of dogs just playing on the beach all day; it sounds like heaven.”

“I’m Colette, by the way!”

[notyoursford-blog]

“No, darling, Left,” he laughed, flashing her a smile. “though, you are right. I don’t believe a Casino is suppose to be this empty.”

[colettedurands]

Tilting her head to the side, Colette stared at the man in confusion, trying to understand what he meant by “left”. After a long moment, she slapped her hand down on the table as it finally registered. “Oh! Left! I gotcha,” She smiled sheepishly at the man. “That probably took me a lot longer than it should have, huh?”

“Yeah, I don’t know what’s up tonight. My first night here was jam-packed...”

[allison-lemon]

“Awww they’re so cute!” Allison sat down next to the new girl and lifted one of the puppies into her lap. She had no idea where all of these dogs came from, but it didn’t matter when they were this small and soft. “I think the contract said ‘no pets’, but I wouldn’t blame you for trying to keep one. Maybe you can hide a tiny little one… and then I can visit you all the time.”

[colettedurands]

“I think I’d have to hide at least one; I think I’ve fallen head over heels for this l'il guy. He’s such a sweetie,” Colette gushed, offering the woman a bright, if timid, smile. She had yet to meet many of her new neighbors but this one seemed friendly. At the very least, she shared her passion for adorable puppies. Maybe they could be friends? “I’m Colette by the way. I just moved in.”

[fillefataleoftheragnatela-blog]

“Mom. Mom. Mom. MOM. Oh my God, one second.” She quickly covered the receiver to address the person at her door. “I’m sorry, I’ll be off in just a second – Mom! I promise, everything’s fine! School’s great, my job is great, it’s all great! …No, you don’t need to send me rainboots, I’m fine! I’m twenty, remember? I can buy my own–wait. What–? Okay, I gotta go. Tell Daddy I said hi. Yes, I’ll call back soon, I promise. Okay. Okay. Bye.” 

Finally, she hung up. “God, I am so sorry about that.”

[colettedurands]

Colette couldn’t help but giggle as she watched the brunette try to end the conversation with her mother. It was heart warming to see that kind of interaction again. She waved away the girl’s apology with a grin, “Oh no worries at all, sweetheart. My mama was the exact same way when I went off to school. Not a minute went by where she wasn’t calling me every five minutes and mind you, I was literally down the road.”

“Sorry to have interrupted; I just wanted to introduce myself to the neighbors. I’m Colette Durand, I just moved in.”

[mico-veretti-blog]

“I’m waiting here for a friend, and I like to wait in silence while I read so would you mind kindly turning down the volume on whatever you’re doing?”

[colettedurands]

“You’re the one who decided to hunker down in a casino, sugar. Can’t help it if I’m a bit loud setting up,” Colette giggled but made to turn down her music anyways. 21 Red wasn’t officially open yet but a few of the regulars liked to come in during set up to get a head start on drinking so the doors were often left open. She leaned down on her arms, giving the man a charming smile. “You got a date or something? You seem a bit tense.”

[taz-manian-devil-blog1]

“Got big tips today, anyone down for some drinking?”

[colettedurands]

“Oh, no thank you. I don’t drink... I could keep you company though if you want! I might not drink but I do like those little pretzels they always have at bars.”

[colettedurands]

Task 001: Questionnaire

Basics

Full name: Colette Genevieve Durand

Nicknames: None

Age and birthday: April 11, 1992 (24 years old)

Nationality: American

Hometown: Charleston, South Carolina

Family: One Brother; Parents deceased

Orientation/sexuality: Heterosexual

Appearance

Height: 5′6

Build: Willowy, slim

Eye and hair color: Blue eyes, platinum blonde hair

Coloring: Fair

Distinctive features: Light splatter of freckles across her nose and cheeks from spending too much time outdoors as a kid

Scars: Faint scar on her upper lip, barely noticeable

Body mods: None

Personality

Usual mood: Bright and cheerful

Meyers-Briggs Alignment: ESFJ (The Consul)

Hogwarts house : Hufflepuff

Quirks: Extremely superstitious, loves scrapbooking, and hates when her food touches

Bad habits: Rambling, doing her makeup while driving, and being fidgety

D&D Alignment: Lawful Good

Favorite Quote: “Life can get hard, and things can go wrong, but no matter what you’ve got to stay strong”

Favorites

Food: Lemon-Garlic Chicken Pasta

Drink: Pink Lemonade

Color: Light blue

Band: Lady Antebellum

Movie: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Book: Emma by Jane Austen

Pastime: Reading, scrapbooking, knitting, and watching old movies

Either/or

Morning or night

Sweet Tea or coffee

Books or movies

Town or city

Call or text

Beach or pool

Noise or silence

[colettedurands]

“Have you ever seen anything so gosh-darn adorable?!” Colette exclaimed, not really caring how the other person answered. Nothing mattered when there were five puppies scrambling around your lap. She planted a big kiss on one of puppy’s foreheads before looking back up at the person in front of her. “Do you think the landlord would let me take one home? I’d take all ‘em if I could but I doubt my neighbors would appreciate the barkin’ and whatnot.”

[notyoursford-blog]

“Hm, you know what I just realized that isn’t right??

[colettedurands]

Colette looked around the surprisingly empty casino, a thoughtful look on her face. “Um... is it that it’s past ten and it’s like a dang ghost town in here?" She guessed, not quite sure if this was normal for 21 Red since it was only her second night working there.

[emmacharlottewatson]

Margot Robbie photographed by John Akehurst, 2013.