tonixwagner:
starter for: anyone ( @saintclairestarters ) location: Linda’s Delicatessan
Being back in Saint Claire was something that Toni had been preparing for since the day she was whisked away by child protective services. After the loss of her entire family, her mother, her father, her older brother Jamal and her older sister Gemma, Toni had spent five years moving in and out of foster homes until she found a place that welcomed her without open arms. As odd as it sounded both Joe and Claire found themselves giving Toni the space, unlike many of the other homes she had been in.
While she had planned to come back earlier in the years, it was the death of her adoptive father, a man that taught her so much more about life than she could have dreamed of, that she forced herself to stay with her adoptive mother. Three years after his death, Toni packed her bags and returned to her home town. It had only been a week but most of it had been spent holed up in her apartment, one that needed plenty of renovations but it did the job as a place to sleep. She didn’t have much but Claire was adamant about filling her apartment with all the necessities and much more.
As Toni stepped into Linda’s Delicatessan, she was hit with a wave of familiarness and yet, it all felt so new to her. The last time she was in the shop was fifteen years ago, shortly before their trip to Big Bear. Crossing her arms over her chest, she peered at the menu. Her chest rose and fell with a heaviness as she took in each of the items. Nothing spoke to her, nothing screamed, you’ve been here before. And so, she turned to the person next to her, “What do you recommend?”
Casey had nipped out of the courthouse to get something for lunch, heading to the nearby Linda’s Delicatessen because she was craving their cold pasta salad like nobody’s business. It wasn’t going to be as good as any of the pasta she’d had in Italy obviously because it wasn’t fresh, but weirdly something about that was what was drawing the woman towards it right now. Pushing into the delightfully air conditioned room she breathed a sigh of relief, sometimes the summers in Saint Claire could hit a level of heat that was uncomfortable, but at least there was the blessing of air conditioning.
She took her place in the line behind another woman, arms crossed over her chest as she clicked away at her iPhone, the familiar crushing weight of a current case resting on her shoulders but weirdly she didn’t dislike that. Casey had always thrived under pressure which was why she’d chosen the career she currently did. There was nothing easy about being an ADA specialising in Special Victims but there was nothing worth doing that came easily in her opinion. Hearing the girl next to her pipe up with a question she raised her eyebrows, looking up and over from her phone. “I’m here for the pasta salad myself, the one with the red pepper pesto on it, it’s not the best thing in the world but it does a job. Unless you’re here for a sandwich, but if so I would steer clear of anything with the chicken in it. It’s dry.” No one could accuse her of not being straight to the point.















