conrad thought he'd be used to it by now : the schmoozing , the shows of concern over someone's unimportant problems , the free things he had to act overly gracious for . but the truth is , he hadn't really realized how demanding the mayor's office was . sure , conrad had pictured town halls , budget meetings , public appearances . . . but this ? strolling along at the sunday farmer's market , trying ( and failing ) to look invisible ? this was the worst part . he can feel someone creeping up behind him again , a secret prayer sent upstairs that it isn't mrs . taylor again coming to remind him that the teenagers at the skatepark must be stopped . he fixes his face into an approachable expression and turns toward them .
“ oh ! well , good mornin' , ” almost a look of relief crossing his face as he takes in the person opposite him . he immediately starts a conversation , almost to save himself the hassle of talking shop . “ i'll tell you what — every week i tell myself i'm gon' get here in time for the cinnamon rolls . n' every week , i get here too late . i'm startin' to think they're just a myth . ” he doesn't even care for cinnamon rolls , but they don't need to know that . . .
amusement briefly flickers across poised features , hand resting around the strap of canvas tote hanging from her shoulder . “ i don't know , mayor . at some point you've got to consider the possibility they're not real . ” despite the early hour , the farmer's market is already buzzing with life . families weaving between stalls , children's sticky fingers going for more samples than they were meant to , warm and friendly greetings that feel like home . then there's the lone rangers , those content to take in the morning at their own pace . those of which category summer falls into .
conrad had likely been moments away from being ambushed . at least , that's what she assumes . a prominent figure in a town like willow glen rarely gets to browse in peace . sooner or later there would be a nosy neighbour with their latest suggestions , or a parent coming to complain and put their two cents in . saturday mornings , however , should be exempt from all that . “ honestly ? have you tried the cinnamon and custard cruffins ? ” the corner of her mouth twitches . “ i'd rank them far above these ... mythical rolls . ”
" now ... why in the sam hill are we at this joint ? " on queue, a glass shatters from somewhere within the building, an obnoxious string of profanities following behind. he's sure if he waits a few moments, he'll hear a cat yowl, like in the cartoons. " i ain't been here since i learned how to cook a burger proper since they clearly won't learn how ⸻ damn thing was still mooing when they served it t'me. " merrick is dramatic about it, too, cupping his ear toward saloon doors that swing open and closed wildly. " you can't hear them fresh cattle in the back ? they're still doin' that shit wrong. " to make matters worse, drink that he'd ordered from what had to be at least thirty minutes ago arrives, sloppily slid over as foam sloshes onto the countertop. chef side-eyes his companion, deadpan. " and would you look at that ⸻ foam. all foam in my guinness. " a loud kiss of his teeth, loud enough to tear a nasty side eye from bartender who older man is ready to buck at, environment of pub growing like mold. " i ain't religious like that, but this gotta be what my ma was sayin' hell is like. bad brew and nickelback. "
“ and yet ... ” fingers curl around the neck of her beer bottle , perfectly manicured nails standing out against the dark glass . “ you walked in . voluntarily . ” summer doesn't so much as flinch at the latest crash from somewhere deeper inside the hideaway . glass breaks , somebody starts yelling , the jukebox skips halfway through a song before correcting itself . it almost feels comfortable, and perhaps that should be unpacked at some point . the fact she finds herself feeling at ease in a venue where nobody cares to pretend they're someone they're not . just people looking to take the edge off whatever followed them through the door . though , she won't . “ after the week i've had , i wanted a drink somewhere that looked worse than how i felt . though , that sad attempt ... ” head nudges toward the foaming guinness , condensation gathers against her fingertips as she lifts the bottle halfway to her lips . disgust evident in her gaze . “ is really bringing the mood down . ” finally , a smirk , and she takes a swig of her tasty beverage . lucky her . she hums around her swallow , setting her bottle down . “ and don't give me that about nickelback . they are highly underrated . ”
even the mountains cannot hold all you have been carrying . . .
⋆ ⭒˚｡ [ sarah pidgeon, cis woman, she/her. ] was that 𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒏𝒆 i just saw over at STERLING TOWER ? you know, the THIRTY ONE year old PSYCHOLOGIST that’s been around willow glen for MOST OF HER LIFE. people around town say they can somehow both be A PERFECTIONIST and PERCEPTIVE, but if you were to ask them, they’d probably say they’re more like OLD FAMILY PHOTOS TUCKED AWAY IN DRAWERS, THE IMPOSSIBLE HABIT OF ALWAYS KNOWING WHERE THE EXIT IS, HANDWRITING TOO ARTICULATE FOR SOMEONE WHO NEVER STOPS THINKING, A GLASS OF WINE AND A CIGARETTE AT THE END OF EACH DAY, PAUSING AT FAMILIAR STREETS ONLY TO KEEP DRIVING. the town sure has been rumbling about them lately, apparently they TURNED DOWN A HIGH PAYING JOB IN DALLAS TO COME BACK . . . but who knows if that’s true, i guess i’ll just have to stop by THE JUNIPER and find out !
⋆˙⟡ 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 ⸺
full name: doctor summer boone. nickname(s): sunny ( touchy with who uses this ). age: thirtyone. star sign: -. date of birth: -. sexual/romantic orientation: bisexual/bioromantic. marital status: tba. gender: cis woman. pronouns: she/her. occupation: licensed psychologist ( specialising in child and adolenscent psychology ). education: bachelor of science in psychology, doctor of psychology (psyd) in clinical psychology. languages: english. residence: willow glen, texas.
positive: ambitious, compassionate, dependable, protective, devoted, empathetic. negative: stubborn, self-sacrificing, hyper independent, controlling, workaholic, emotionally guarded, resentful. astrology: - sun, - moon, - rising. hair colour: natural brunette, dyed blonde. eye colour: blue. height: five foot ten. tattoos: tba. piercings: both earlobes, seconds lobes, right daith, belly button ( closed up ). parallels: jo march ( little women ), fiona gallagher ( shameless ), spencer hastings ( pretty little liars ), andie anderson ( htlagitd ), tba. hobbies: piano, baking ( not to be mistaken for cooking ⸺ she does not like that at all ), mat pilates, reading, stationery collecting, reorganising people's pantries, early morning walks, paddleboarding, horseback riding.
her bookshelf is filled with books that she has started, gotten half way through but yet to finish. each with their own bookmark.
showers twice a day. morning showers are quick, purposeful, whereas her nightly showers are long, thoughtout and she goes through a process ⸺ hair first, rinse thoroughly, washes her face, body wash and body srub once a week. it's practically a ritual.
keeps her phone volume slightly too loud because she refuses to miss calls from people who might need her.
has a drawer at home full of things she’s meant to throw away but can’t. old notes, dried flowers, photos she didn’t remember shoving in there. it's the only place in her home that was transfered from the moving box, to a drawer.
even though she is a doctor, she never refers to herself as "doctor summer boone". when people try to call her as so outside of the profession, she gently corrects with a smile, placid wave of the hand and a warm "please, call me summer."
⋆˙⟡ 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵𝒎𝒆 ⸺
summer is the quiet mum friend. the one who notices someone hasn't eaten, stays back a little longer when she can tell they don't want to be alone yet, doesn't check in by explicitly asking how someone is outright, instead shows up through action and anticipation. she's learned, both professionally and instinctively, that most people don’t need solutions immediately; they need to be understood first.
she's the dependable one. the daughter who rarely failed, who learned early to shoulder burdens heavier than they appeared and who became the person others leaned on without ever being asked to. somewhere along the way, it went from "keep an eye on your siblings" and became a quiet responsibilty she held for herself to carry the weight of every burden of everybody she knew.
in her core, summer is a perfectionist shaped by pressure rather than vanity. just because not a hair is out of place, or her lipstick never smudges, doesn't make her obsessed with appearance. it's far more ingrained.
despite there being a gentleness to summer, she is not fragile nor fluid. she is controlled in the way someone becomes when life makes you. her warmth is real, and perhaps that is because there is a fire burning deep inside that. settling beneath her skin like something permanent rather than fleeting. it does make her lonely in ways she does not dare name out loud, and the angry she feels often has no where to land...
at some point in her twenties, she "shed" her original identity in a physical reinvention. it was more than simply going from brunette to blonde and it wasn't about becoming someone new ⸺ but about creating enough space between who she was and who she needed to be in order to function.
summer loves deeply and fiercely, yet it is not easily accessible. she is more comfortable with being needed than being held. being the recipient of the care she usually gives is exposing, jarring, and she deflects.
theartofmadeline
snowghoul
blakekathryn
prguitarman
pixelskylines
vaporwave
