martin blinked a couple times before opening his eyes. slightly dazed and confused, he rolled to his side not finding rachel. that was his signal it was time to wake up. “it’s that time already, ugh,” he mumbled. he stretched before getting up. not wanting to change out of his pajamas, he saunters toward the kitchen. there it was: a tantalizing aroma of fresh coffee. he served himself a cup and added his own flavor with a hint of cinnamon that was to die for. he looked out the sliding door of the kitchen and found his wife on their outdoor sectional. the corners of his mouth quirked up as he slid the door with his coffee in hand. in just a matter of seconds, he sat on the edge of the couch. “ morning, love, ” he said tiredly. “ i’m not sure; i think i did. you close your eyes for a minute and then it’s dawn.” he leaned down for a kiss, closing the distance between them. “you?”
rachel accepted his kiss happily, tasting cinnamon and something entirely marty. she thought it over for a moment and shrugged passively, not wanting to bother him too much with the truth. “ okay, i s’pose. ” they had heavy thunderstorms last night. sometimes with storms like those, when she inevitably woke in the middle of the night, she still expected one of the kids to come running into the bedroom for cuddles. truthfully? she hasn’t slept very well in the last few nights. . . the house is far too quiet. rachel deftly closed the journal’s cover, though she knew that her husband wouldn’t ever violate her trust by reading it. “ despite sharing a bed with you for thirty years, your snoring hasn’t gotten any better, and i haven’t gotten better at tuning it out. ” teased rachel over the lip of her mug.
rachel was absorbed in her morning ritual of coffee on the patio with her journal. she loved the alone time, the pages overflowing with her thoughts, all spread out in front of her. ever since the last of their babies was able to sleep through the whole night, she would find herself curled up to the corner of their comfy outdoor sectional ( definitely her happy place ) with her coffee tucked in her lap and a pen in her hand. the muted light just before dawn colored their back garden hues of gray and blue and green. the heat and the humidity wouldn’t come for a few hours. it was just her, and her thoughts, and her coffee. and then --- an excited smile colored her face as she heard marty shuffling along through open sliding door to the kitchen behind her. even now, a small fluttering in her belly at the thought of that first morning kiss. “ g’morning, honey, ” she called softly. “ did you sleep well ? ” ( @mwstbrook )
hiya, friends! isobel here. i’m 21, use she/her pronouns, and i’m playing rachel westbrook: artisan soapmaker, loving mother, doting wife! click below to read more about her.
rachel was born right here in elmerton, on august 12th 1969, the third and last child to chava and weiss schuler.
her dad was a primary care doctor at the local medical center for years and her mother a homemaker, as was customary at the time. they were fairly well off and she was the baby of the family so all of her parents strictness was pretty much gone by the time she came into the picture.
her mom died when she was in high school from breast cancer, and her father passed right after their first child was born. she has always been close to her elder siblings ( and would love to have a few of them around ! ) but more so since their dad died and since she’s had kids.
rachel has always been more creative than practical, preferred writing and arts to science class or math on any day. she was the little kid who doodled on her arms, on her books, on everything.
she has kept a personal journal since she was in the tenth grade.
she met her husband in college, where she studied creative writing. she was absolutely smitten with martin from the moment they met; she loved his optimism, his big dreams, his kindness and his sense of humor… years passed and they grew in love. they got married after graduation. had beautiful babies. made a life.
rachel started making soaps and skin balms to pass the time, just a hobby to keep her sane while she stayed home when the kids were small. her products were well loved, and sold well, for the most part, but it was really all going into savings so that they could leave once the kids were out of the house and start the next chapter of their lives. she would joke about driving cross country and having a food truck so that marty feed the whole of the united states before they kicked the bucket. ever since they got married, the plan was to save as much money as they could and move out of elmerton for good. their savings were pretty much eaten up by marty’s medical bills after his accident, and that pretty much put a wrench in the whole escape plan they had.
things got pretty rough there for a while. rachel was doing her best to keep the family together, to keep their bills paid and the kids happy, and keep martin healthy… his problem with the pills really didn’t help too much. rach saw her sweet and kind husband change before her eyes… he grew sulky and mean when he didn’t have them or when they wore off. for a few months, she was terrified that the man she’d married wouldn’t ever come back. but over time, martin got better. his pt exercises got easier and he got out of the house. spent more time at the diner. and now…. things are pretty much back to normal.
rach is a hands-on mom, she has a really good relationship with her kids. you can probably catch her at any given time hanging out with her family, going to the movies, window shopping with them or just having a quick bite to eat with them.
rach loves to run and work out, she’s always been a very athletic person. she ran cross country in high school and college.
if she’s not with her family or working, you could probably find her at the cafe with a good book that she’s been trying to find the time for or at the gym doing yoga or crossfit or whatever the next big fitness craze is.
TL;DR:
rachel loves making soaps and skincare. she’s been with her husband since college and she’s still head over heels in love. she absolutely lives for her kids. muoy overprocective momma/wifey here. she can’t cook worth a damn, which works out because marty is so great at it. loves to run on the beach in the morning. she’s witty and kind and very sensitive.
if you have any questions or want to plot please hmu ! <3
