I'm on the trail of somethin'

You leave well enough alone and I'll leave you be. It's just that simple. -Cooper Kennedy, Berry Farmer, Cranky as Hell

[anita-grimsby]

❝ Les Misérables. I admit that someone dropped it off at my work && never came back for it, though the library doesn’t carry it. Strange to think on really, since it it’s actually quite interesting so far. T w i c e?                       I think they just became my hero! ❞

[cooper-kennedy-blog]

“To be fair, it wasn’t a big town.  Though, I reckon’ if we’d lived in the big city, he would’ve managed to do it once.”

“I’ve not read that one.  What’s it about?”

[ryanthewhiterabbit-blog]

“Listen, I have very little patience and very little time for this right now.” Ryan sat heavily in a nearby chair, pinching the bridge of his nose as he tried to relieve himself of headache that seemed to be permeating every inch of his body. His voice had a slight Italian undertone, warm and musical as he spoke. “So, make it fast, or get the hell out of my sight.” 

[cooper-kennedy-blog]

Cooper raised an eyebrow skeptically, but sat down in the chair opposite the other man’s,

“Somethin’ tells me you’re confusin’ me with someone else,”

“I’m here to deliver a message, though I don’t rightly know why.”

One of the Bradshaw boys had passed by his berry stand that morning and handed him a note with strict instructions to go into Fire and Ice and hand deliver it to a “Ryan White.”  He supposed this was who he was talking to.  The possibility of being wrong was very high, at this rate.

[imaginealicek]

Oh My, it’s Jam! // Cooper & Alice

[imaginealicek]

Alice laughed excitedly, clasping her hands together. She tried to hold in most of her excitement for frightening the man in front of her. There was no need for that at all. 

“You’re so very welcome! That’s good, oh, that’s so wonderful. This basket is like a dream come true. I made sure this basket was mine,” she explained.

Pursing her lips, Alice thought for a second before she nodded. “I don’t like apricot. That one’s a strange flavor, but maybe it’s because I don’t like the texture of the fruit.”

There weren’t very many things that Alice liked eating more than jam. Somehow, it was soft, delicious and quite magical on toast. It took someone time and effort to make it and that only made her even happier to eat it. She liked enjoying things that others made. “Shall we sit?” Looking up at him, a smile slipped across her face. “I’m Alice, by the way!”

[cooper-kennedy-blog]

“Cooper Kennedy,” he shook her small hand in his and smiled shyly, “I did notice, by the way.  Everyone else got caught up in basket with the gumbo, but I didn’t forget you were so focused on mine.”

He set the basket down and spread out a checkered blanket.  “I almost feel like we’re supposed to play chess on these things.  I found it in that attic of my house.  I think who ever lived there before I did left it behind.”  Taking a seat, he started taking out jar after jar after jar.  That basket was heavy for a reason.  Peering inside, he chuckled to himself.

“This basket was meant for you.  Not a jar of apricots in sight.”

[imaginealicek]

Oh My, it’s Jam! // Cooper & Alice

When Alice had heard about the picnic, she was intrigued. There were quite a lot of interesting people in the town and she had always wondered what kind of foods they would put in a basket. They were all interesting to her, but the minute she saw one that had jam in it, Alice had to go for it. The girl had a weakness for jam. There was something about the way it tasted that was quite unfair. It was so fantastic, she could probably eat it all the time, every single day. Anyone who knew the value of jam was always on her good side.

After winning the bid, Alice was practically bouncing up and down with ridiculous amounts of excitement. She couldn’t stop smiling and when she found the basket donor, Cooper, the smile only grew. “Your basket smells wonderful! Oh, I’m so excited! I love jam. Don’t you love jam?” she asked, sighing happily. 

@cooper-kennedy

[cooper-kennedy-blog]

Cooper picked up his basket, resisting the urge to use it as a shield against the enthusiastic girl.

“Thank you.  Um...yes?  I do love jam?  I made quite a lot in case there were any flavors the winner didn’t like.  Which would be you, I figure.”

“Do....you not like any jams?”

He had made a little of everything from what he grew on the farm.  Blackberry, blueberry, strawberry, raspberry, apple butter, pear butter, the list went on and on.  The jams were really the best way to enjoy the fruits out of season, and internally he always thanked Ma Tweed for all the times she wrangled him and Todd into the (at the time) thankless task.

[cooper-kennedy-blog]

“Let me get this straight.” Cooper closed his eyes and rubbed at his eyelids, trying to fathom the words that he had just heard, “You want to keep the frame, keep the engine, but make it “sexier.”  And by “sexier” you make this thing more comfortably sit someone behind you.”  He moved his hand away from his face and frowned at the bit of machinery that was John Anderman’s baby.  A motorized bicycle, to be sure, but to each his own.

“Wouldn’t it be better to let this thing have a side car instead?”

[cooper-kennedy-blog]

hatterthehatmaker:

“So they killed the melons? This is so tragic.”

“...how else are people supposed to eat them?”

[cooper-kennedy-blog]

anita-grimsby:

❝ Oh that’s true! Honestly, there’s this book that I’ve been meaning to get caught up on … perhaps I could find the solitude needed for                                           that there! ❞

“I’d reckon you could find it on a park bench.”

“What’s the book?  I had a friend who managed to read our town’s entire library twice.”

[happyneveraftergossip-blog]

[anita-grimsby]

❝ It may be my day off, but I’m still not sure what to do with it. ❞

[cooper-kennedy-blog]

“You could always go to the park.  Lots of in’erestin’ people in the park.”

[cooper-kennedy-blog]

littlejelizawhite:

Jeliza wasn’t too sure how to answer this. She tended to avoid this question. Not that she was ashamed of what she did, but she always got weird looks when she said that she worked as a stripper and she had just met the man.

“I’m a performer,” she said, giving a shrug. “Dancing, mostly,” she added, taking another apple slice.

“That must be nice.  An’ you must be very strong, too.  Dancin’ can take a lot outta you.  Hell,” Cooper gestured towards the dancers waltzing away, “Just look at how many people’re huffin’ away at the sidelines ‘cause they can’t catch their breath.”

[cooper-kennedy-blog]

isabellenewton:

“Really? How did he use to look like?” Belle said assuming Cooper meant that his friend eventually grew into his features, “is he coming to the party?”

“That’s great to hear Mr. Kennedy. I’ve been good. This party really seemed to make the business bloom, there were a lot of orders last week.”

“No.  No...he...he died.” he paused for a moment, getting lost in memory, only to shake himself out of it, “Growin’ up, we used to always be the same height.  But then I shot up like a bean sprout.  He stayed smaller’n me, and he had goofy ears that’d stick out all the time.  My Pa used to joke that he could always see his ears pokin’ up through the bushes.”

“It’s good to hear y’all ‘re doing so well over yonder.  D’you see a favorite hat floatin’ around this shindig?”

[cooper-kennedy-blog]

littlejelizawhite:

“The queen sure does love the color red, doesn’t she?” Jeliza chuckled as she finished the apple in her hand. “You gonna have one?”

“I think it’s her signature color,” he whispered conspiratorially, “Sure.  Why not?”

He picked up a slice and took a bite.

“What do you do for a living?  You know my occupation.  It’s only fair.”

[cooper-kennedy-blog]

“Listen, I don’t have time to play around.”

[cooper-kennedy-blog]

msevaclark:

“When did I say anything about pleasant? You’re putting words in my mouth, sir, and I haven’t even known you five minutes!” She said with a small laugh.

“Well why the hell else would you visit the place?”

“Good lord!  At least go visit somewhere you like!”

[cooper-kennedy-blog]

littlejelizawhite:

“One of yours? Does the queen use your fruit often?” she asked with a smile.

She placed the apple in her mouth and took a bite. “Yeah, this tastes a lot better.”

“The castle chef has a standin’ order for fresh fruit from the farm.  Most of ‘em are red, now I think of it.  I was even told that it’d be my head if a green apple was in one of the barrels I sent.”

[cooper-kennedy-blog]

littlejelizawhite:

“That’s very interesting,” Jeliza said, giving him a small smile. “Maybe you can teach whoever made this how to actually make some decent grapes,” she teased, now studying an apple slice from the swan.

“Do you think this is safe to eat?” she asked, holding the slice up to him.

Cooper looked at the apple thoughtfully.

“I don’t see why not.  You can only do so many things to an apple for it to not taste right.”

“If it’s one of mine, it should be alright.”

[cooper-kennedy-blog]

What do they want?  Fanfare?

Cooper’s eye twitched as he read the latest bit of gossip printed by the overenthusiastic--if mysterious--X.  Every Sunday, without fail, it was on his doorstep, looking innocently up at him.  And this Sunday, there was one about him.

“’Fanfare?’” he muttered to himself, “What the hell do they mean by ‘fanfare?’”

He wanted to ball up the silly thing, but instead put it on his dining room table.  He shook his head and made his way out to the barn to load up his truck.  The clunker was running low on gas, but it should at least get him to town and to market.  Fanfare?

-

Cooper’s eye twitched yet again later that day as a puttering aunt pawed at his apples and her niece and nephew kept bumping the baskets of berries.  When she finally chose her items, he took a brown paper bag and put everything inside.  What was he supposed to do for fanfare?

“Have a fantastic day.” he said loudly.  Both children winced and looked up at him like he grew two heads.

....probably not that kind of fanfare.

He sighed and turned to the next person in line.

“Yes?”

[cooper-kennedy-blog]

veronica-peterson:

“Apparently they’ll do anything if you have enough money.”

“I guess it would pay to have that kinda skill.  And imagination.”

“It’s hard for me to see a watermelon as anythin’ but round.”