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@estherquinn
ESTHER NICOLE QUINN. essie, es. she/her, cis woman; september 14, 1987. merrockite girly, born and raised, member of the Quinn family. little sister (and current housemate) to Elise, mama to Mae. currently working as a part-time server at Taste and mortician at Quinn Family Funeral Home downtown. can often be found in the park, at the lake or beach or under a big tree somewhere knitting or crocheting.
bio. stats. timeline. connections. wanted. muse. writing ideas.
You're not wearing glasses.
AMANDA SEYFRIED as Nina Winchester THE HOUSEMAID (2025) dir. Paul Feig
"And did that apply to both you and your sister?" JJ asked curiously. "Because I think it's a lot easier to be on the receiving end of a lecture if you're not alone. At least, that was my experience, being an only child and all." He was the oldest son and grandson of the Hayes family, with cousins on his father's side who were at least a decade younger than him. As a result, most of the lectures he had received as a child had also included something about setting an example for the children. "I don't think I've gotten to the lecture-y stage with Mia just yet. She only started talking, and I've been keen on the whole gentle parenting thing." If, when Mia was older, lecturing her became necessary, JJ would cross that bridge when he got to it. However, he was at the point in her toddler years where gentle parenting seemed more effective than lecturing. "For what it's worth, I'm proud of us," he admitted, giving her a nudge. "It's all good." JJ was not worried about Cat's birthday presents. He had already purchased and wrapped them and was planning to give them to her on her birthday next week, before the party at Overlook. "Yeah, I genuinely don't understand why people name things as a certain flavour when they don't actually taste like that. If I ordered a raspberry lemonade, I expect to taste the raspberry. Otherwise, I would have ordered the blueberry like a true Merrockite, wouldn't I?" He let out another laugh before shaking his head. "That's good. And how's Mae doing?"
"I'm not really sure that Elise would have tolerated being lectured," Esther admitted with a soft laugh. Her sister had always been better about standing her ground, being the oldest daughter, or maybe it was just that she had been the kind of kid that didn't warrant a lecture the same way that Essie had. And besides, most of Essie's parenting had come from Elise, anyway, at least the good, important lessons that had stuck with her through the years. "But no, most of the time it was something that was on me. A bad grade or getting caught out a little too late at night, I normally shrugged it off. "Oh no," she laughed again, shaking her head, "I'd be a little concerned if you told me she was getting lectured at her age -- or getting much out of it, for that matter," being so little, she doubted that Mia would understand what her father was saying, anyway, outside of a finger wag and stern look on his face. Those days would come, but he had some time before he needed to worry about it. "Me too," she brightened, nodding her head, "we turned out pretty okay." She couldn't help the amused look on her face as she took the lemonade that was offered to her and swished it around in the cup, mixing the flavor thoroughly -- better than taking a big gulp of nothing but flavor shot, "I think that's why they call it blue raspberry, actually. 'Cuz if they just called it 'sour blue' everyone in Maine would assume it's blueberry," given that… well, everything in Maine was blueberry. And she definitely was not complaining about that! "Mae's good! Happy to be home for the summer, she's interning at the vet's office right now, they keep her pretty busy until she goes back to school."
“That’s what I told her too. It’s okay not to know right away,” Lara agreed. She wanted to help Lily and encourage her to study something she really wanted to do. She also knew that her daughter had all sorts of interests. “Traveling sounds like a fun time. I think she might miss it here too much,” she chuckled. “But it could be a good change for both of us,”
"Life's going to throw so many curve balls and changes and ideas at her, it's better to go into it open minded," she typed out quickly, turning her phone to Lara so she could read the message before letting out a laugh at what she said next, nodding her head, "does that mean she likes living here in town?" Because with kids, it could go either way. Mae had missed Merrock, too -- enough so to decide to go to college in Maine to be closer to 'home' rather than anywhere else in the world.
At the mention of the Benefactor, Lan scoffed. “Oh, don’t get me started on that. I’ve been trying to make an effort to spread the word about how terrible a resort would be for this town. People do seem to understand my frustration, though I’ve gotten some side-eyes from the older crowd.” Not everyone was a fan of his persistent activism, but he didn’t really care. As long as he was getting the word out, he was content. “But otherwise, I’ve been good. Nothing particularly eventful has happened in my life since the Benefactor stuff. I’ve kind of just been working…I work for the Times, by the way. I’m a journalist. Maybe I should have led with that before mentioning the activism, I don’t know,” he laughed. “But they kind of go hand-in-hand. How was…wherever you went after you left?”
"It seems like the town's being really proactive about it," she gestured around herself, "the Spring Fling and this gala coming up, plus all the restaurant stuff going on, so that at least makes me feel like people care enough to do something." Rather than just rolling over and letting this person do what they wanted to do, just because they had done nice things in the past. She had worried about that when she had first started attending the meetings after hearing the rumblings, but seeing people she grew up with come together to try to stop something bad from happening really did feel good. "Hey, to be fair, journalism and activism can go hand in hand! And it seems like it would be a good position for you to be in, caring so much about what's going on," she assured him with a warm smile. "Vermont -- it was nice! Pretty, good little town we lived in, but not quite home, you know? I spent a couple of years in Massachusetts, too, for school."
"Just Lizzie for right now. As a kid growing up, my grandfather had a parrot that was kind of... foul mouthed," Oliver laughed. He wasn't sure where it had gotten that vocabulary, and he would have guessed it was his grandfather's doing. But he always found it amusing when he'd sit around the study and his grandfather's pet bird was throwing insults every now and then. “We also had horses on the property,” he nodded. “I might consider adopting another dog later on, though,” he said. His grin grew. “Absolutely. Lucky us, huh?” He chuckled. “Okay! So September, then. I’ll remember that.” Oliver nodded again. “It is nice to get out and get all dressed up once in a while. I think the town has a nice way of doing that,”
"Yeah, that's valid," she laughed through her words, "they pick up on a lot, right? Hearing what they do around the house, they don't have a problem with mimicking everyone!" She had always thought that parrots were cool, but... wasn't sure that she could handle an animal that was that smart, truth be told. "Slow and steady -- I'm sure that when the time is right, you're going to find the perfect dog, and you'll know that it's meant to be," Essie had always believed that was the way people found the pets they were meant to have: fate intervened, and there it was. "I'm hoping to experience that again," getting to be out, dressed up, having a good time. She could remember attending galas and fancy parties in the past, both before she left town, and also when she would come home to visit, and had to admit that it excited her to get to jump back into that.
"And that's why sharing is caring!" Cori couldn't help but to laugh with the fact her birthday had turned into her treating others. Specifically, with cake. "I'll take some coffee?" Cori really didn't want to be too much of a disruption, more just wanting to share the good.
"True," she said with a laugh, holding up one hand to show that she would be right back and slipping out of the room to the kitchen area, busying herself with prepping two cups of coffee, setting them on the little tray that she kept tucked aside for meetings with clients. And of course, she took the time to add all the necessary stuff -- milk, creamer, sugar, a few other little flavor options before making her way back out to join Cori. "So, another year older, how's that feel?"
AMANDA SEYFRIED Net-A-Porter, February 2026
Dominic let a breath go very slowly, and then shook his head. "I think it's about time I made more of an effort," he admitted. "This has been my home on and off for so long, and I don't really feel I'm making the most of it since I returned." Summer would be the perfect opportunity to do that, though. "I'm going to do that. I need to do that I think," he told her with a nod of his head. "Uh, that's a good question... I don't know really. The Great Escape's always fun for something different, and I do love the gallery on the coast."
"Sometimes we just get busy," she assured him with a small smile, knowing how it went -- Essie didn't always make the time that she should have for the things that she wanted to do, and the older that she got -- gulp, shudder -- the closer to forty she was, she knew that she should change that. "Well, since I'm finding my way back to all the good stuff, and you want to make more time for the good stuff, so when you want to do something fun, let me know," she offered with a sincere smile. "If you need someone to tag along with you and the kids to a beach day, or go fishing or for a hike, I'm always down for adventure with a friend." And she really did mean that -- it was better than trying to do everything on her own. "Oh! I haven't checked out the gallery yet, that's actually a good idea for my bucket list."
“And that does explain a lot,” Mandy giggled. “It’s me, after all,” she said with a nod. Getting into trouble was her specialty. Anyone who had known her since she was a kid knew that she was good at making trouble but always found a way to get out of it. The best part was that a good chunk of the time, it worked. Mandy nodded in agreement. “And then you guys can have those intense conversations people have over a glass of wine. Or just enjoy chatting and gossiping like I do,” she grinned. “We all did that at some point didn’t we?” She smirked, before bouncing her way into the next area. “Oh my god, they’re so cute,” she said, already taking a seat next to a couple of the baby cows. One of them lifted its head and moved towards her curiously.
Letting out a warm laugh when Mandy admitted that she was one to get into trouble, Esther was glad for the fact that sometimes, nothing really changed, and the people that you knew stayed the same through the years. It was comforting, in its own way. "Sort of like a right of passage," she said with a nod of her head, "although my mom did all of the gossiping with me and Elise sitting right there, anyway," she shook her head. "We just had to have sparkling juice instead of wine." Well, up until a certain age, anyway. Essie was fairly certain she wasn't denied a glass of wine at dinner when she was nineteen, she just didn't have to admit to that. "Aren't they?" she grinned, stepping into the stall after her friend and closing it behind her. "They look so fluffy!"
Alright, I got some peaches at the market this weekend, and I've dug my ice cream maker out of storage. We're going to do some family bonding ice cream making and, if you're really nice to me, I'll let you drink the leftover bourbon I used for the syrup.
That's the sister that I know and love! You know, I really do think that homemade ice cream is the very best ice cream. The stuff at the Creamery is really good, don't get me wrong! And I like the stuff that they sold at the carnival, but the stuff that we make... top notch. Do you do ice cream at the restaurant at all? Y'know, wine infused?
"Actually, quite a few. We do intro days for kids who've never danced, and then some pretty intense courses for our advanced kids. Mostly those who are already performing and competing." Those kids could also book private classes through the entire summer too, so they could keep up their practice.
"I'm pretty sure some of the kids I had this morning were determined to try." Kenzie said in reference to attempting to eat and drink everything that was on offer. And hearing that made Kenzie super glad she was giving the kids back to their parents.
Esther nodded her head thoughtfully, listening as Mackenzie explained what they did during the summertime, knowing that it sounded pretty intense, but was probably pretty appreciated by the students. And, of course, the parents who knew that their kids were kept busy all summer. "So you keep yourself on your toes all summer long, then!" Which wasn't a bad thing, sometimes it was good to stay in a routine during the off months.
"Oh yeah," she laughed, nodding, "I remember when Mae was that age, and I always felt like I had to stress that we only needed to take home one bag of cotton candy, not... one of every flavor. And don't get me started on the sno*cones!"
"We sure did!" JJ agreed with a laugh. "I don't know about your parents, but mine were quite strict with me when I was a kid. So, everything turned into some sort of lecture. Sometimes, I felt like I didn't have a choice but to go along with what they wanted. But in the long run, I think that was for the best." Some might say that the strictest parents raised the sneakiest kids. In his case, however, the constant criticisms, rules and expectations had led him to become more grounded. He owed that to his parents, even though he knew that they had not always been right about everything. They had their moments, but they had done their best. He knew that now. "Yeah, I wouldn't admit that to them, either. But hey, we turned out just fine, and that's all that matters." He let out a soft chuckle, shaking his head at the thought. "Well, I wouldn't say that I would get in trouble at work. Candice is one of my closest friends. I just don't want to do something she wouldn't approve of," he explained with a shrug. "Red. The blue stuff does not taste like raspberry to me," JJ remarked, letting out a soft chuckle. After paying for their drinks, he took the change back from the cashier and tossed it into the tip jar. "So, how have you been? Are you all settled in?"
"Oh, yeah," she rolled her eyes, "you couldn't grow up in the Quinn household without getting at least one good lecture a day!" Although she couldn't say that they were all unwarranted, there were quite a few speeches she got that she might have deserved a little bit, not nearly as good at getting away with things as her big sister was. Some lessons, little sister just couldn't learn quite as well. "I tried to be less lecture-y with Mae when she was growing up, but I think some of it is necessary," you couldn't raise a kid without having to eventually lecture them on the small and big things alike. That was just called being a parent. "We did," she smiled, nodding her head. Essie liked herself, felt like she was a good person with a good head on her shoulders, figured that had to count for something, that whatever part her parents played in that, she was grateful for. Regardless of anything else. "Okay, okay, but! Sentiment stands, I won't encourage you to get someone's disapproval," she teased, shooting him a smile. It was good to have friends, especially the kind that you could have close relationships to. "To be fair, I don't think it's really supposed to, I think they just needed a name to slap on something sugary and blue," her nose wrinkled playfully, "and in saying that… I do love it sometimes." Especially if it turned your tongue blue and had a little bit of tartness to it. "I'm good! Mostly settled in, got a nice routine down, feel like I'm catching all the fun stuff in town, which is nice."
"That actually sounds so good. You might have sold me. Maybe." She laughed and looked in the direction of the ice cream. It was the best option for the heat, and she could use a break from it for a few minutes. "Are you sure? You really don't have to. But I'll share some of mine too! I want to see what they have, but I'm thinking maybe strawberry or cookies and cream?" She'd be surprised if they didn't have those flavors, but she liked to look at everything before picking. "I promise."
"I can be very, very persuasive when it comes to desserts," not that it really took all that much, most of the time -- who didn't want a good ice cream? Sometimes, you had to try something new to find a favorite! "Of course, I trust that you don't have cooties," she teased as she pocketed her hands, rocking on her heels and looking at the length of the line in front of them. It wouldn't be too long of a wait, at least. "Both of those are such good flavors. You could do both -- even if they touch and do the little melting together thing, there's worse options than a creamy strawberry and savory cookies and cream, right?"
Lan usually wasn’t the type to ever really go to the coast in the summertime. He felt that it was often too hot for him to handle, and that there were often too many people with small kids around. Of course, that was kind of what he agreed to by moving back to a small town with many families with kids, but being around young kids who weren’t in his immediate family circle only made him more adamant that he would never have kids. He thought of himself as a good babysitter, but he really could never be a father to anything that wasn’t an animal or a plant.
Still, he found himself at the Marina because he really needed to take his mind off of…well, a lot of things. Being incredibly fixated on the current Benefactor situation, work, and being cooped up in his house simultaneously was probably going to lead to premature graying among other things. He didn’t need all of that baggage. What better way to relieve stress than to watch boats? The waves did manage to calm him somewhat, even if this wasn’t his ideal way to relieve his plaguing worries. Perhaps he needed to start writing as some kind of creative outlet again. Getting his words on paper seemed like a smart idea.
He was so engrossed in his own thoughts that he failed to properly hear or acknowledge his surroundings. Thus, he gave a slightly delayed reaction at the calling of his name, but looked over towards the sound of the voice anyway. He hadn’t seen Essie in…years, truly, (which was kind of his own fault for basically abandoning Merrock right after he finished high school and for the many years after that) but her unexpected presence caused him to smile a bit. “Oh, Essie, hey,” he chuckled slightly. “I hadn’t expected…wow, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? How have you been?”
It was funny, in some ways. So much about their small town stayed the same, including the people -- but they changed so much, too. They became different versions of themselves, grew into adults, left childhood and youth behind. But the people that she remembered so well were still the same people, at the end of the day. And that included any one of the Newman clan that she had known so well growing up, especially Harland. Having graduated just a year ahead of him, she remembered passing in the hallways, sitting near each other during assemblies and, of course, running in the same circles when it came to growing up in two prominent families in a small town where everyone knew everyone.
He hadn't changed much, except for in the obvious ways, but she supposed that she hadn't really, either. "Hey," she replied with a bright smile, stepping a little more forward to where he was standing and lifting her hand in an almost shy wave. "A long time," she agreed with a nod of her head, "I just moved back in May, so I'm still settling in." Merrock, for the most part, was the same town, but coming back as the single mother of a college student felt a lot different than what she was used to.
"I'm good! Busy, I feel like I got back to town and sort of catapulted into all this… stuff?" she gestured around loosely, "with the Benefactor and everything." Helping Elise out at Taste meant that they were spending quite a bit of time working up menus and ideas for food events or parties -- and by that, Essie absolutely meant that Elise was doing the hard work and she was nodding her head and telling her how great it all sounded. That counted, right? "What about you, what's new and exciting with you, Mr. Newman?"
"I know that, she tells me that all the time, but it still doesn't really make sense to me..." Xander said as they made their way toward the touch pool. But then, there were a lot of things considered social norms that didn't make any snese to him. "My mind does the opposite all the time," he said with a shrug. "I guard myself from everything." Literally everything. As they reached the pool, he observed the kids for a moment, then looked over to Essie, laughing at her words. "Be really bad if we were the only kids."
"That's how it goes with moms and kids -- very little actually makes sense," and it went the opposite way, too. Just as much as a son might claim to not understand where his mother was coming from, a mother rarely understood where their child was coming from, despite having lived that experience. All they could ever do was their best for one another. "Hey, that's okay, everyone's brain works a little differently. Yours probably saves you from things mine regrets going through with," Essie teased with a lopsided smile. "Totally embarrassing. We might be the oldest kids, but at least we're not alone," she listened to the instructor, and carefully dipped her fingers in to touch along the smooth surfaces of a few shells laying on the sand.
"Those are really good ideas actually. I'll have to remember both of those things." Mariah smiled before taking out her phone and making a note of Essie's suggestions. "Oh yes, please do! My twins and I will love them I"m sure. I'm not much of a cooker, but I've learned some things to survive. I make a mean dino nuggets and tater tots though." she chuckled softly as they rounded the corner and walked up to the front of Rossi's.
Mariah nodded as she listened to Esther share her experience of working in her uncle's funeral home. "That's very admirable. I would be terrified at first...well, probably for a while I would be." she chuckled softly. "But that's amazing that you could push through those fears and make a career for yourself." she smiled before telling the hostess they needed a table for two. "Do you want to sit outside or inside?" she asked turning to Essie.
"And if all else fails, get a swimming pool!" she let out a laugh, "doesn't have to be a big one, you can get one of those little inflatable ones that they can really only sit in, but man, I remember Mae used to spend hours and hours in hers in the summer time." It didn't really help in the cold months, but… sometimes, it was the summer that ended up being the hardest. "Oh, see? That's one of my favorite meals! And you can dress it up if you decide to make it loaded tater tots, lots of options there!"
Following Mariah inside, she nodded her head with understanding, "I think it's perfectly human to be, and that's what I reminded myself. And then reminded myself that it's a job that someone has to do, right?" Essie was a firm believer that everyone had their place in the world, and she might not have predicted hers as a little girl, but knew that it was very important. "Oh, how about outside?" she asked, a smile on her face, "the weather's nice enough, I feel like we should take advantage of that."
