bright eyes & a bright passionate mouth

gabrielle "gabby" coleman, 24, artist at large

[gabcolemans]

steven-dunbar‌:

Being out of the way without any big attractions in it, his town didn’t get many visitors, which made Gabby seem even more of a breath of fresh air. He loved all his friends, but he knew them as well as he knew himself at that point – having someone who wasn’t predictable to talk to, was a nice change. Saying goodbye to the paint, the fact he managed to hold in a chuckle was impressing him. “This way.” Taking the familiar route to what he thought was the best brunch place around, he once again held the door open. “I should probably say you might get a few stares, people around here aren’t used to new people coming in – which can make them a little excited. On the plus side, there’s normally a free drink thrown in to show good custom.”

Gabby followed after Steven with wide, eager eyes, voraciously taking in every bit of the scenery and letting it fuel her excitement for the meal ahead. Sure, Scott had talked it up, but she always appreciate the simple joys in life too, and that included a meal at a new restaurant in a new city. She laughed at his warning and tipped her fingers in a quick salute. “Duly noted. I’m not really afraid of stares, and who doesn’t want to be the beautiful, mysterious stranger in life at least once?” The host settled them in the booths, and she wiggled in her seat to get comfortable. “This place is so cute. What do you usually get here?”

[gabcolemans]

steven-dunbar‌:

“Should I say goodbye to the paint first? I don’t want it feeling neglected.” He sighed, glancing over his shoulder to add to the joke. He’d never been one to shy away from making a fool of himself, he’d always been the happy-go-lucky kid who joked about anything, and he simply never grew out of it. Nor did he want to, at that point he knew he preferred keeping things light and easy – especially when he first met someone. Smiling at her reaction to the hotel, he gave a small shrug at her words. “You do get used to it. Though there are the times when you leave town, come back and find the magic again. You should see it at Christmas, it’s straight out of a Hallmark movie.” Which wasn’t far off the truth, he’d always loved the décor come winter. Opening the door for her, he pretended to bow.

“Absolutely, you’re gonna get an earful later if you don’t,” Gabby played along, a vibrant grin on her face. She was cheerful and good-humored, she loved playful banter and anyone who could keep it up with her. She bounced toward the hotel and chuckled softly when Steven continued the antics. She dipped into a low curtsy and put on her most posh voice for a lofty, “Why, thank you, Monsieur,” then headed inside. The small lobby was far from bustling, but the potted plants and old photos that lined the walls made it feel downright cozy. Gabby was happy to reserve her room at the desk before returning to Steven’s side. “So where’s this brunch you’ve been bragging on?” 

[gabcolemans]

steven-dunbar‌:

“I’m a fan of any time where I can eat.” He joked, shooting her a glance as he began the short drive to the hotel. If there was one thing he liked about the town he grew up in, it was that it never took too long to get anywhere – and the scenery made the drives that little bit better, in his completely biased opinion. “It does seem unfair to mention those activities and not explain them… I guess I can make time for lunch. The spot of pain on the wall probably won’t miss me too much if I stop staring at it for an hour.”

“I don’t know, as an artist, I know how needy paint can be. We better make this a quick brunch,” Gabby teased. As they drove, her eyes admired the surrounding landscape, swathed in trees and snow and nature that she never even tasted in the city. It was nice. When they arrived at the hotel, she pulled her coat tight again to protect herself from the biting chill. Her eyes twinkled with her once-over of the hotel. “This is so cute. Everything around here is so cute, to be honest. I guess you’re used to it all, though.”

[gabcolemans]

steven-dunbar‌:

Smiling as he wanted her kiss her hand before placing it on the hood of her car, it was far from the weirdest thing he’d seen people do to say goodbye to their cars. “You don’t think the town’s many, many activities will keep you busy?” He teased, knowing all too well she more than likely would have seen there wasn’t much to do when they’d gone to get her car. “I have the time.” And he would have offered even if he didn’t, letting someone wonder aimlessly around the town, because they had no idea where they were going, wasn’t exactly the nicest thing to do. “I think I could use a break, sitting around doing nothing was starting to drive me insane.”

Gabby hopped into the car for the short drive to the hotel, a smile on her face thanks to Steven’s kindness. Few strangers were ever this personal and generous in the city, and the unfamiliar gesture touched her more than she let on. “Well, I really appreciate it. Are you a fan of brunch? We could meet then and, if you have the time, we can check out those many, many activities you mentioned.

[gabcolemans]

steven-dunbar‌:

Chuckling softly as she spoke to the car, it wasn’t the first time he’d heard it, which meant he simply shrugged it off, before shaking his head. “The customer isn’t supposed to help, but thank you for the offer.” He smiled, it wasn’t exactly common for someone to offer to help, but he knew he’d never take her up on the offer. Finishing securing the car, he walked over to the desk to write a note for his boss to explain what was wrong the car in case he showed up. “I can show you to the hotel if you want? My next few hours are free anyway – slow days are somehow a blessing and a curse.”

Gabby kissed her hand and pressed it against the hood of her car before wandering after Steven when he wrote his note. She knew nothing and no one of this town, even its name she realized, save Steven, so she flocked automatically where he did. “Well, let me know. I think my next few days are bound to be a little slow, too,” Gabby chuckled as they headed back to the car. “And really only if you can spare the time. I’d really appreciate it, but I don’t want to be a bother.”

[gabcolemans]

steven-dunbar‌:

“Sounds like a great mini little adventure, until car trouble got in the way.” He mused. He may never have planned to leave his hometown permanently, but he certainly had never been opposed to just packing up his car when he had some time off, and driving somewhere different. A change of scenery could greatly improve a mood sometimes, and he’d always been one to believe that seeing something in pictures, never matched up to seeing it in person.

Turning his indicator on when they made it to the garage, he chuckled at her question. “Both. The majority of the cupcakes are normal flavours – but that never stops them from trying out new seasonal flavours every so often. Haven’t had one yet, that I haven’t enjoyed though.”

“Precisely,” Gabby affirmed Steven’s idea about her little road trip without explaining the less than wholesome reason she’d needed to leave. Why should she when she’d just met him? “That sounds perfect. I’ll have to get one of all of them; I don’t want to miss out on any flavor.”

Gabby smiled grimly as they pulled into the garage, and she hopped out of Steven’s truck to examine her own car that trailed behind it. “My poor baby, Steven’s going to take good care of you, and you’ll be up and running in no time.” Turning back to Steven, Gabby asked, “Can I do anything to help you?”

[vancestones]

steven-dunbar‌:

Chuckling at the ‘confession’, he gave a simple shrug, the smile never leaving his face. “Lesson learnt for next time, now you know how far you can go in one day.” He teased, glad that she was taking everything so well. Even with the people he’d known his entire life, they could end up blowing up at him when he mentioned how long something would take. Granted, they always promptly apologised, so it wasn’t too much of an issue. “How far were you planning to travel today?” He asked, mostly to make conversation – never being one who was comfortable in silence. At least until he got to know someone.

“Some of my favourite things?” He parroted, mostly to buy himself more time to think over his answer. “If we’re sticking purely to desserts, they do the best pies around, can’t beat them. My all time favourite thing however is their cupcakes. May, that’s the owner, bakes a new flavour each day, so you never quite know what you’re gonna get.”

Gabby was a little different than Steven – she actually felt safer sharing some details she’d normally hide given the fact that he was a stranger she’d likely interact with very little and never see again. “I don’t know,” she replied to his question, shrugging ever-so-slightly. “I was just going to go until I saw something I liked, or I was too tired to go anymore. Whichever came first. I guess it was neither,” she concluded, smiling slightly. As Gabby spoke, she kept her eyes out the window to avoid meeting Steven’s and to soak in their surroundings.

She listened closely as Steven described the menu, and her mouth practically salivated at the short list of desserts. “God, a cupcake would be heaven right now. Are they normal flavors, or are they the fancy, weird ones?”

[gabcolemans]

steven-dunbar:

Chuckling when she shot his comment back at him, he had to admit that he was genuinely liking her company. It wasn’t often that he met a stranger in town, which made her even more refreshing. Getting to talk to someone who offered a fresh perspective on things, was never a bad thing.

“Feels like I should say sorry for not being able to instantly fix it.” He shrugged, something that he’d always felt a little guilty for. Logically he knew he couldn’t solve every problem right away, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to fix everything right away. “If you’re starving, I definitely recommend getting dessert as well. One of the hotel workers makes everything from scratch, and the desserts are just… amazing. If I could I’d order the entire menu whenever I went.”

“I will admit, I’m all about instant gratification,” Gabby confessed jokingly. “But I can’t blame this on you. If anything, it’s my fault for driving her so far in one day.” She followed Steven to his car, so she could climb in after him. (She made sure to remember her buckle this time.)

“Homemade dessert? You’re really speaking my language here, Steven,” she said, smiling at him over the gear shift. “My stomach is going to hate me for asking this, but what are some of your favorite things on the menu?”

[gabcolemans]

steven-dunbar:

“I don’t know about that. The city slickers I’ve met seem plenty nice.” He paused working for a moment to smile over at her. It might have been a little cheesy, but it was true. She had been perfectly pleasant so far, despite the fact she clearly wasn’t having a good day. When someone could be nice when their car broke down in some random place, they were clearly just genuinely nice people.

A small look of sympathy appeared on his face when she mentioned classes being stressful, it was a pain a lot of people could understand, even if they’d all understand in different ways. “It is all that matters – it’s never a bad thing to learn something new. Even if it’s something you might never use again.” He rambled, though he did believe in his words. Learning something new was never a bad thing, even if it wasn’t particularly useful.

Relaxing slightly when Gabby took the news he couldn’t fix the car right away well, he shrugged off her thanks. “Just doing my job.” He spoke, before going to the trunk of his car to get what he needed to tow her car back to the garage. “I’m sorry that I couldn’t fix it straight away, but I promise that we have a nice hotel in the town. Their food is also some of the best around, makes it that little bit more special.” It wasn’t exactly a grand hotel considering they didn’t have a lot of visitors, but they did keep things as nice as they could, which brought the standard up a lot.

Steven’s line might have been cheesy, but it definitely pulled a smile out of Gabby. Inspired and unique as she might want to be, at the end of the day she was soft for simple affirmations and goofy quips. “Funny because I could say the same about the townspeople I’ve met,” Gabby returned the compliment.

She was genuinely grateful she’d met Steven after her disaster of a day. He’d never know it, but his warm eyes and kind offers were exactly what she needed to nurture her hidden troubles. “Don’t be sorry, it’s not your fault. Thank you so much for checking out my car and figuring out what’s wrong. And the hotel sounds great. I could definitely go for some of that food right now, I’m starving.”

[gabcolemans]

steven-dunbar:

“So it’s not as bad as people say?” He asked, keeping his eyes on the road. Part of him felt like he was being rude by not looking at her, but the other part reminded him she’d probably he rather keep her safe, than merely be polite. Nodding as she mentioned it being frustrating, it was something he couldn’t argue with – not when he’d seen more than a few meltdowns when a bus broke down, and made someone late. “You get used to it. Luckily someone normally offers you a lift if your bus just… Doesn’t show.”

Relaxing a little when he realized he hadn’t completely messed up, he smiled slightly at her answer. “So a little bit of everything? Seems like the best way to do things, make sure you don’t miss out.” He’d always been of the mind that if you enjoyed something you should do it, even if it didn’t get you anywhere. The fact she seemed to enjoy her job, just seemed like a bonus.

Shaking his head at the question, he gave a small shrug. “I was always pretty sure I was going to stay around here. It feel like home you know? It seemed a little daunting to leave somewhere that I loved, when I wasn’t sure I’d like wherever I moved to.”

As soon as he noticed her face fall, he almost wanted to apologise, before reminding himself that he hadn’t actually done anything to apologise for – besides being the one who had to tell her the slightly bad news. “The car needs a new part, that will probably take a few days to arrive. The good news, is that as soon as the part comes in, it’s not a hard problem to fix.” He answered, deciding it was best to get the good news out as quick as possible. “I can tow your car back to the garage, then show you to the town’s hotel? Unless you want to call someone to pick you up, and I’ll just get in contact once the repair’s done.”

“It’s not as bad as anyone says,” Gabby promised, leaning against her car as she spoke. She turned to face Steven, watching the slight movements of his body buried under the hood. “City slickers are extremely dramatic. And definitely not that nice. Not that I don’t have some friends that would help me out, but they’re busy too.”

“Yeah, that’s a good way to look at it,” Gabby mused, interested by Steven’s perspective. “When I was in school it was really...stressful because all the disciplines are required as intro classes, and you’re graded on skill even if you don’t have any. But I got out alive, and I have new skills, so that’s all that matters.”

Gabby nodded at Steven’s answer, though more out of politeness than understanding. She’d always wanted to go. Home was never enough, and the daydreams were barely enough to sustain her lust for Anywhere Else. She couldn’t imagine sticking in one place, certainly not the place she grew up in. She was almost...in awe. What was it like to feel so at home, you stayed forever? Gabby wasn’t sure if she’d ever have that, though.

But home was soon the least of her worries. Her eyes widened at the bad news, ready to lose herself in a frenzy at the news. She breathed a sigh of relief, however, when Steven said it wouldn’t be a problem to get the part and finish fixing her car. “All right, I guess that’s not the worse,” Gabby said. “And, yeah, that’d be great. Thanks for all your help, Steven.” She really did appreciate all the help from a stranger in a strange place. 

[gabcolemans]

steven-dunbar:

When she mentioned being a visual learner, his first thought was that it made a lot of sense, given her chosen career. “I don’t think it could be much worse than people make out.” He joked, hoping she took it the right way. As he said it, he didn’t realize it could come across a little sarcastic, which wasn’t how he meant it. “I’m guessing city transport is a little more reliable. We only have a few buses that cover the area, so if there’s a traffic jam somewhere, there’s not really an alternative.” It was one of the disadvantages of the town, but one he could definitely live with.

“What’s your medium? That’s the correct term, isn’t it? For what you prefer to do… Drawing, painting, sculpting… All of that.” He rambled, mentally kicking himself before shaking his head at himself.

Quickly moving on, he shook his head when she asked if he had ever wanted to do anything else. “I did think about engineering for a while, but it was hard to get a job around here as an engineer, so I never thought about it for too long. Mechanic was the plan since… I was a kid.”

After she confirmed it was her car, he gave her an encouraging smile – or at least that’s what he was going for. “Then let’s see what I can do to help.” Getting out of the car, he grabbed his tools before walking over to her car, and examining it for a few minutes, before grimacing to himself. Turning around to face her again, he nodded back to the car. “Do you want the good or bad news first?”

“You’re definitely right about that one,” Gabby laughed at Steven’s joke -- it didn’t even cross her mind that he might not be poking fun at cityslickers’ dramatics...well, actually, it was usually the visitors who made a fuss. Gabby wouldn’t call them out, though. “I think people hyped it out so much that it was a relief to see how easy it actually was.” She nodded as Steven described the small town bus system. “That would be extremely frustrating. I know how much I rely on the subway. A breakdown could ruin my whole day.”

Gabby smiled when she caught Steven shaking his head at himself. “No, no, you’re completely right,” she replied enthusiastically and encouragingly. She didn’t want him to feel bad about himself or think she’d judge him, especially since art didn’t seem to be his specialty. “I prefer drawing and painting, but I sculpted some for school. It was pretty stressful to get graded on it, but I’d like to try again someday.”

She smiled as Steven described how set he was on working as a mechanic. She’d been the same way, always with her hands around a marker. “Did you ever think about going somewhere else? Or did you always know you wanted to stick around?”

Gabby followed Steven to her car, still wearing a smile on her face. The whole trip with him had been fairly convenient. The garage was one of the first buildings she stumbled across in town, and Steven had time to take her right to her car. With his tools in hand, Gabby had no doubt that he’d send her on her way in a few minutes. She stood off to the side and watched him work his magic, trying not to ask too many questions about his work or personal life.

At Steven’s question, Gabby’s face fell. “Oh no,” she said. “Bad, then good.”

[gabcolemans]

steven-dunbar:

Chuckling when she mentioned getting lost at first, he didn’t want to admit he found that prospect a little daunting. While he did like venturing into the nearest city on occasion, he did have a momentary panic about ending up in the wrong place. “How long did it take you to get used to it?” He questioned, turning onto the main road – even though it still never got too busy.

Nodding as she spoke about her job, he smiled when she mentioned she was an artist. “Job security does make sense; do you still create your own stuff in your spare time?” It seemed like the easiest way to keep up their conversation, considering he didn’t know too many people who couldn’t talk about their hobbies for hours.

Glancing over when she asked why he choose to be a mechanic, a small smile appeared on his face. “I always loved taking things apart to find out how they worked – now people just pay me to do it, works perfectly for me.” Of course, there were other jobs that would let him tinker around with things, but there wasn’t so many of those opportunities in his town. “Is that your car?” He asked, pointing slightly further up the road – assuming it was either her car, or two people were having pretty rotten luck that day.

“Not too long. Honestly, I just needed to look at the map instead of asking for directions,” Gabby shared. “I’m a visual learner, so once I could see it, it made way more sense to me. It’s nowhere near as bad as people make it sound; it’s all about finding what works best for you.”

Responding to Steven’s second question, Gabby smiled and chirped eagerly, “Oh, yeah, all the time. Selling my art for a living is still the dream, but I know I have to work on it first...and I’m definitely working,” she added with a laugh.

When Steven took his turn answering the question, she turned to watch him speak. Noticing the subtle smile peek through his lips spurred one to poke across her own. Steven clearly enjoyed and truly cared about his work, and that was always refreshing for Gabby, passionate advocate and quote reciter, to see. “That’s really great. Did you ever want to do anything else, or did you just always know this was what you wanted?”

Gabby didn’t even recognize the road they drove, so she was surprised by how quickly her car appeared. The route seemed so different and, frankly, faster by car. “Yeah, that’s it!” she said with a smile, waiting to hop out and get to the bottom of her troubles.

[gabcolemans]

steven-dunbar:

Nodding at her question, he chuckled slightly as she answered for him. “I don’t really know anything, so I don’t have anything to compare it to, but I love it here. It’s nice knowing everyone, and I love the fact you can never get lost.” He wasn’t sure he could handle living somewhere without that sense of community. He liked talking to the people around town, asking how they were, checking in with the people who were ill to see if you could help out – that was all part of who he was now.

Once she’d buckled the belt, he pulled away from the garage, setting off for where she said her car was. Glancing over as she spoke, he kept his main focus on the road, but wanted to do something to say he was listening.

As much as it wasn’t for him, he knew there were a lot of people who loved city life, and he couldn’t criticize in any way – it just wasn’t for him. What he did pick up on was her job. “Curator must be an interesting job. If you don’t mind me asking, how did you get into that?” He’d always loved going art museums, but had never thought about it in a career way.

“That does sound appealing. I can’t count the number of times I got lost taking the bus when I first moved to the city,” Gabby admitted, a spark of amusement in her eye. She did like to talk, too. It was pretty amazing that Steven could make small town living seem fairly nice.

Gabby kept her eyes peeled as Steven steered through said town. Her wide eyes soaked in as much as the quaint, old buildings peppered with snow and whimsical holiday decorations. The warm lights bathed the town in a Hallmark-ian glow, and it was like a cute attraction where all the buildings rolled past their vehicle as they stayed put.

“Interesting, for sure. It’s pretty fun to take care of everything going in and out and setting everything up, but it’s a lot of relying on people too, which can get tricky sometimes. I love it, though. I’m actually an artist myself. I’ve always loved creating, and I got my art degree in college. I just went into curating for some stability,” Gabby explained before prompting, “But what about you? Why a mechanic?”

[gabcolemans]

steven-dunbar:

Closing the door behind Gabby, he went to the driver’s side of the car and quickly sitting down in his own seat. Glancing over at her at the question, he laughed softly to himself. “Only all my life.” He said, his tone keeping the good nature up. People seemed to think it was strange that he loved the small town life so much, but he’d never needed anything more.

Starting up the car, he glanced over to her. “What about you? City or small town person?” It seemed innocent enough – it wasn’t asking anything about where she actually stayed, simply what she preferred. With one last glance over at her before reversing out the garage, he cleared his throat a little awkwardly. “I am so sorry, but would you mind?” He asked gesturing towards her belt. As much as he assumed it had just slipped his mind – which made pointing it out seem a little pointless, he also didn’t want to start driving until her belt was buckled – mostly so that nothing happened to her. Her day already sounded pretty bad without adding to it.

"That is definitely a long time,” Gabby replied with a chuckle, her eyes slightly wide. If she was impressed by Steven living in the small town before, that was nothing compared to the revelation that this little town was his entire life. She was fascinated by the idea, for someone else at least. “So do you like living here? Well, I guess you probably do, since you’ve been here so long,” she answered her own question quickly, still leaving a beat for him to pick up with his opinion.

When Steven gestured to her belt, Gabby snapped it across her body in quick surprise. “Oh, yeah, my bad,” she said as she clicked the buckle into place. She smiled sheepishly at him, tucking hands under her legs for warmth as she readied herself to drive off.

“Born and raised in one of America’s finest suburbs,” Gabby said. “By which I mean the exact same town as most of the U.S. population. But I live in the city now, and I love it. I’m a curator at a small contemporary art museum.”

[gabcolemans]

steven-dunbar:

When she chose to drive back to her car, he went over to his ‘office area’ – which was really just a desk at the back of the garage. Grabbing his keys, he paused to send a quick text to his boss explaining what was happening, just in case his boss happened to show up and find him missing. “That’s the good thing about living in a small town – you can find most things pretty quick.” He quipped, with a small laugh.

Some people who visited the town absolutely hated how small it was, but he’d also liked it. Granted, there were times where he wished there were a few more shops or restaurants around – but he’d take the community feel, where everyone knew each other, over having a few more choices.

Walking over to the car, he opened the trunk, placing his tools inside before turning back to her. “Ready to get going?” He asked, moving to open the passenger door for her.

“That sounds pretty nice,” Gabby said politely about the small town size. While she could see some convenience in small town living, and her wallet could probably stand a move, the idea had never really appealed to her. Gabby always had to have her nose in the action, whether her own or others’. Which was not to say smaller towns couldn’t be nice for some people--they just didn’t excite her.

Gabby nodded, flashing Steven a grateful smile as he held the door open for her. “Thanks,” she said, hopping into the passenger seat. She waited for Steven to settle in beside her, forgetting her buckle. As he slid behind the wheel, Gabby asked, “So have you lived around here long?”

[gabcolemans]

steven-dunbar:

“It’s nice to meet you, Gabby.” It probably sounded like meaningless pleasantries, but it was always nice to meet someone new, considering most of the people he knew, he’d known forever. It was the drawback of living in a small town, there wasn’t too many new people. When someone new did show up, it was a bigger thing than it should have been. Though he couldn’t say it was the nicest thing, that the only reason she’d stopped in town was because her car had broke down.

Listening as she explained what happened, he walked over to grab the case with the tools he could carry around. “I can’t say if I can definitely fix the problem or not until I see it. I could drive, or we could back to your car if you prefer?” Walking a mile or mile and a half, and then walking back that way pushing another car might have been a little more work than necessary – but she had just met him, and getting into a car with strangers was ill-advised. “I don’t have anything scheduled for today, so I can look at your car right away, see what needs to be done. It’s your… semi-lucky day.” He finished with a joke, knowing nobody could ever call their car breaking down completely lucky.

“The pleasure’s mine,” Gabby assured Steven with a wide smile. Her sentiment was half polite pleasantries and half genuine gratitude. It was safe to say she wasn’t feeling her best when she embarked on her sporadic, desperate road trip, and car troubles didn’t exactly ease that state of mind. She was just relieved and excited that Steven would be able to square away this road block soon.

Gabby nodded at Steven’s suggestion that they ride back to her car. It wasn’t a far walk, but her nose and ears still stung from the frigid trek to the garage. “Yeah, we can drive back if that’s all right. It’s a little chilly out there,” she understated. She smiled at Steven’s light joke. “No, seriously, I’m so glad I was able to find you so quickly. If I’d broken down even a few miles back, I’d still be walking in the middle of nowhere. And thanks for helping me so quickly.”’

Hands in her coat pockets, Gabby tilted her head toward the door. “So should we head out?”

[gabcolemans]

steven-dunbar:

Considering it was a slow day even for the garage, when his boss had asked if he could leave early, Steven had readily agreed. He didn’t have anything to work on, and it made no sense for the both of them to wait around doing nothing, just in case someone happened to show up with an emergency. If someone did show up and the job was too big for one person, he could just call his boss up. The benefit of living in a small town was that it took fifteen minutes max to get anywhere by car.

Sitting at the chair in front of the desk, he was mindlessly flipping through a magazine about motorbikes when he heard someone speak. Looking up, he noticed someone he had never seen before – a rarity in the town. “I can certainly try.” He smiled, putting on his best good natured smile, before extending his hand. “Steven Dunbar.” He introduced himself, figuring it seemed like the most professional thing to do. “Where was it that your car broke down?”

Gabby didn’t want to break out into a full sprint to get to the garage, but the excitement and relief seized her too tightly for her to get away with a casual walk. She ended up approaching the garage in a hasty, crooked trot, but the woman hardly cared as she came face-to-face with, she assumed, a mechanic. Gabby took his hand with a broad smile, shaking it lightly, as she’d never mastered the proper grip, as she said, “Thank you so much. I’m Gabby Coleman.”

Her body swung softly as she gestured in the direction from which she’d come, “Not too far that way. Maybe a mile or a mile and a half. The gas tank was still half full, so I’m not exactly sure what the problem is. I took a peek under the hood, but I’m hopeless, honestly.”