“ he was fine with it too, snortin’ along all happy he was gettin’ the time of day. ” mary may chuckled, flipping through the worn spread eagle scrapbook to install the newest picture- a shaky shot of barnaby the hog in his shiny little paper hat. it was a distraction, she knew that. people needed something to focus on that wasn’t the threat that loomed above their heads at every goddamn moment of the day, wasn’t the spray painted sigils on the door that marked them, wasn’t the money dripping out of their pockets like sand from between their fingers.
she looked up when grace spoke, something tender, almost vulnerable flickering through her gaze for a quiet moment. “ yeah? ” the woman smiled, shaking her head once, twice. “ one day I’ll get a laugh out of you too, armstrong, you can mark my words. ”
doubt it. her lips manage to seal before pessimistic energy slips through, fingers tensing against polished wood. she can’t stand it. knows full well her pops would tell her to cheer up. speak some sort of wisdom that would restore her hope. her energy. she has to do that for herself these days. “ that so ? ” she challenges instead - inner thoughts hidden like a stain beneath a rug. a finger twitches nervously. she just hopes mary doesn’t turn the rug over.
“ consider ‘em marked. ” grace offers a soft smile, one that takes a surprising amount of effort. “ you’d’a had thing or two t’ learn from my pops. he was a real pro at that, jokes 'n' all. had some god awful ones too. I’ll bet he even tried a few of ‘em on you at some point. ”
amandla
romaincrisis
andulkaphoto
tangentwithtanner
discoholicmusic
theartofmadeline
