“And you’ll be able to say that you built it from the ground up. Which is incredible.” Although Gemma never pictured herself running the aquarium or founding something of her own – she could see the appeal of working for yourself. Even with all the effort and struggle associated with it. “That’s good, I hope they’ll be ready to take some of the burdens off your back soon.” She knew that the holidays in themselves could become overwhelming – and with businesses like Alex’s, she could imagine that the pressure only grew as the New Year approached. “We grew up in Washington D.C. – so there was a ton of it around, especially this time of year.” A soft smile grew on her lips at the memories, head tilting curiously at the other girl. “How about you? Did your family have snow growing up?” At the interest in her animals, Gemma couldn’t help the spark of enthusiasm that grew in her tone. “We’ve got a red octopus right now – she’s so smart and is constantly trying to cause mischief. The little kids love her because she blends in so well with her surroundings that it’s always a little scavenger hunt for them to find her. But honestly – I love them all, and I think we’re planning to expand next year, so hopefully, we’ll get a lot more animals for people to learn about.”
A soft chuckle escaped her breath, “Really? Considering how many new siblings we’re getting, I wouldn’t have thought three was a lot.” But perhaps all family ties weren’t as close as theirs was – and even then, she knew that her relationship, to Noah especially, had been rocky before they’d worked on mending it to where they were now. “It’s good being with someone who’s going through it all too. It’s been a bit difficult… trying to figure all of this out on my own.” Of course, she had Noah, but his pain far outweighed hers, and Gemma knew that she had to be a source of comfort and familiarity for him. There was a comfort in being able to share this with someone else, and a thankful smile was extended towards the other girl at the acceptance of friendship. “Uhh… they – actually passed away when we were younger. But they… they really were, we were lucky.” It’d been a while since the topic had come up, and the words hung heavy on Gemma’s tongue. Funny, you’d think after all this time, she would have gotten used to the revelation, would have found a way of saying it that made it hurt less. “The world’s a big place, there are many Noah’s. It could have just been one of those weird coincidences.” There was a soft insistence in her voice, not wanting to place blame on someone she’d just met for not putting together the pieces. In truth, she probably wouldn’t have either ( and even if she’d have come close, if Gemma was in Alex’s position, she didn’t know if she’d have even wanted to realize it. ) “Thank you as well – I… I wasn’t sure what to expect when I found out, or even when I approached you, but I’m glad to have you as well.” What she’d expected to be a painfully awkward conversation had turned into the opposite, something she knew she had to count herself as lucky for.
“That is true, but Diana helped a lot long the way. I couldn’t have done it without her so really we both build it together.” She was more the designing side of it and Diana was the business and finishing touches. While they seemed like an unlikely pair they just worked— she didn’t even know because they had little in common. “Here’s hoping, but who knows bartenders can be as fickle as a fart in the wind.” Letting her accent slip out, she didn’t even care to hide it in this moment. “Really? I think I’ve maybe only seen snow a handful of times. I’m a little jealous of all of you right now.” She admitted. Snow was nice to see, but she knew that she couldn’t stand living on the East coast or midwest where it snowed heavily. At the thought of it she found herself shivering. “Do you miss the snow or is the sunshine more your thing?” She asked the blonde. “Rarely. I truly thing I can name all the times I’ve seen snow on one hand. I grew up in the south so it was super rare and any time we even got a snowflake the whole city was ready to close down.” She told her with a laugh. Noticing Gemma excitement at the mention of her animals got Alex even more invested in them than before, she gave Gemma her full attention. “I didn’t know there was different kinds of octopus’ much less a read one! Is it rare?” She asked. “Is she open to the public? I want to go see if I can find her since she loves hiding so much!” If there was anything that Alex loved it was a good mystery, something that was as mischievous as her.
“I mean considering how many of us there already is having three more just adds to the bunch.” Alex joked with a laugh. “I get that. I’m hoping that it gets easy as we go and that there won’t be so much awkwardness, but we’ll see.” Part of her was hopeful that things would work out for the best, she’d end up with three more siblings, she’d be close to them. “I’m so sorry to hear that.” Offering her sympathies to Gemma, she knew that it didn’t really help, but she couldn’t stop herself. “You’re right.” Nodding softly at her words, but she knew that she was the oldest, which meant taking the blame was her responsibility. “Well I’m glad that this wasn’t a horribly tragic experience that made you and Noah run for the hills.” She admitted, she knew that this could have gone way worse than it had. Thankfully it had went pleasantly. “Would you want something to drink? I can get us a round of beers? It’s on me — so basically on the house since I own this place.”
