Spa-time with Sofia at Antoinette’s was great. They talked about everything and nothing, as he and Sofia were wont to do. They treaded the surface of deeper things, hardly getting deeper though. Perhaps because Sofia deflected, or Iann didn’t dig. They were really good at their friendship.
Regardless they got out feeling refreshed, entering the rainy late morning to go shop-hunting. “Three places,” Iann told Sofia, pulling his jacket collar up, and his baseball cap a little lower. “The realtor found us three places to look at...” he grinned and elbowed her arm. “And one of them happens to be almost opposite Meadowsweet.”
[ Sofia and Iann continue their conversation from here and make further plans for future partnerships.]
@prof-sof
“The leylines everywhere but San Diego are shit, apparently.” Sofia shrugged. She had considered California before landing on New Orleans and still remembered this advice from her teen years. “I thought Florida was the Sunshine State?” The witch titled her head a bit. Even she wasn’t sure if she were asking or telling her friend.
Sofia knew nothing of Antoinette’ s other than its base function. Good reviews sometimes made it to her ear. For the most part they went in one and out the other. This news, however, had her mind whirring suddenly. She sipped from her cup and placed it down with vigor when Iann finished explaining. “That’s an excellent idea, actually. If you can find a reset button for my internal clock I will love you forever, Iann Cardero. — And no you’re not paying.” She held up her whole hand and shook it at him. “What did you do to get everything for free?” Curiosity always got the better of Sofia. “Do I wanna know?” she reconsidered. “That might really work.” She mumbled this more to herself. The simple possibility of success made her feel lighter in her seat.
Iann’s fondness for his bees made Sofia’s heart warm. The rest of her was finally thawed out from the walk from the car, too. “Can we go after this?” she asked, wondering what Iann’s plans were.
“Ohh, that would be cool,” Sof nodded at the idea of another hive. “I was just watering a patch of the flowers she persuaded me to plant for them before I came to meet you.” For now, all that needed watering was a small potted bunch in her kitchen. In truth it hadn’t taken much from Iann’s wife, other than a mention of the name and a sing-song reminder to get her to add the Fiddleneck to the appropriate places in her garden. The fairer Cardero earned herself a different side of Sofia — there was no reason to make her put in the same work as her husband.
“Okay so —“ she started animatedly but then paused to grab a cute triangle of pita bread and dip it into one of the four sections of hummus on the plate. “Have some,” Sofia said. She took a bite and then was clearly ready to launch into — well, even she didn’t quite know. Iann could help her figure it out. That, the witch was sure of. “Go with me here for a second. I’m not trying to be funny either, so don’t go there.” The warning was for once kind of real. Sofia was bringing up something that connected to so many of her passions in one way or another. “I need something other than teaching. I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately. I don’t get many freelance customers. They’re way too exhausting sometimes, anyway.” Judgement was a big factor in Sofia brewing for someone. “I’d like something along the same lines of helpfulness but a little more cut and dry.” She chuckled a bit and took a drink. “Literally,” Sofia realized then. “I’m thinking about a dispensary, opening one. At some point down the road I think it could be really great. Thing is, I don’t know anything about the business side of that world at all AND I think it needs more than weed-y products. This idea needs you.” Sofia wanted it out there in no uncertain terms. Her excitement turned to something more solemn as she finished. Leaning back again, the woman’s thin frame cupped but the chair she assessed how her haphazard presentation had been received.
When Sofia looked at Iann it was in a similar way to how she reviewed her research: carefully and with patience. Throughout her life the brunette had never been this way with people. It was always a race to gather and assess all she could about another person, all while being swift enough to remain undetected. When Sofia wanted to be quiet and learn she was ever grateful for her social invisibility but still hadn’t quite been able to lean into it. That came in time. Iann was the first to let Sofia take the time to connect all the dots - including the ones between her heart and her head in real time - as she did with her magic.
“She was,” the lady agreed fondly. Melissa was practically Christmas and New Years personified. Sofia had to pull herself from this thought. To remind herself not to say it. Not now.
The side of her thumb swayed over the pokiness of his stubble pointing directly back beneath his chin. Beneath his warm and certain hold her fingers curled to caress Iann’s face in a brief though not all together absent motion. “I’m sorry we couldn’t be together on the real days.” Sofia had apologized already about Christmas and its Eve. Her family’s solstice celebrations did not allow for outsiders on those days. At other points in the week Sofia had tried to get Iann out of the house and over to her her sister’s or her cousin’s or wherever festivities were to be. Whenever he declined she found other ways to make herself available to him without being obnoxious about it.
Mostly grateful to have her hand back for the sake of the food, Sofia picked up her fork and cut into the portion of Iann’s choice for the table. “Not really. I usually set intents when there’s a new moon. But I’ve been doing that forever.” She shrugged. “I’m kind of over New Year’s in that way. I mean, you can set a goal at any point. Right?”
Iann pondered the California ley lines, and chuckled about the Sunshine State (he didn't really know either), nodding as Sofia seemed to take to the spa idea. "Your circadian rhythm will be playing bossa nova in no time. I'm close with the owner; saved her life a couple times," Iann said with a grin, although he wasn't actually so nonchalant about it. He was surprised that Sofia wanted to go now though. "Well- sure. We can do the sun-room today if you like." It was so...good to hear Sofia reminisce about his wife. Her friend. Iann didn't volunteer anything, but he stayed quiet, sharing a moment of memory with his friend. When Sofia switched topics, Iann dug into her hummus, listening intently. He forgot to swallow though, the longer she talked. And Iann just stared at Sofia for a long moment before he finally gulped and then asked, "Sofia Floros. Are you asking me to work with you? Go...go into business together?" Iann's throat turned dry then and he coughed, then drank deeply from his coffee.
Iann waved aside the apology, totally understanding her family necessities over the holiday. It wasn't as if Iann was even looking to spend that time with anyone; and Sofia was there for Iann, always there for him. He couldn't ask for better support, really. But as she dismissed his jokey question about New Years Resolution, Iann just grinned, watching Sofia with an attentive sort of adoration. "You want us to work together..." he sang, low and in the back of his husky throat.
In another town Iann’s statement about Bellamy might have shocked the witch. Not in this town. After all, each of the two of them had their own tales to tell where death and damage had been good for more than dramatic flare at parties. Sometimes Sofia could still see Iann’s limp body flying toward the trunk of that tall Pine or feel the way the rope had cut into her bound limbs when her night terrors were particularly vivid. At least those hadn’t been a problem as of late. “No, I want to see your bees..” she said softly. “But maybe this weekend for the spa. Does it book far in advance?”
For a second Sofia figured she’d really screwed this up. She’d learned Iann needed time to process like she did but something about the way he was so stagnant caught her attention. “Why are you saying it like that?” she asked, nerves in her gentle laugh. The question wasn’t an answer, obviously. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Did you set a Resolution, Iann?” Suddenly Sofia sounded like an accusatory mom. She might as well have had her hands on her hips. “We work together all the time. It’s really not that different.” Her little smile after showed her trepidation lingering. The witch had reasoned it all out during her drive back to Soapberry. Hours and hours of hypothetical ideas. None of which seemed complete without Iann. She was not concerned about rejection so much as bringing up something so big too soon. It was a risk, and because it affect Iann’s heart Sofia worried all the more.
"Ohhhh yes. Yes, totally bees today!" Iann said, once he understood what Sofia was asking. He beamed proudly, like a father as he boasted some more about them to Sofia, mainly just rather dull facts and tabulations about honey yield, bee numbers, and so forth. But Iann was just rambling for the sake of rambling - and it was obvious for anyone who knew him well. He was yammering so that he could think about Sofia's proposal. It was incredible how she did that. How she just came to him with this idea, after months where Iann had just let Mal Ojo go fallow, despairing over what the hell he was going to do with the space. Mal Ojo would never be the same - and moreso, Iann just didn't want it any longer. But something new. Something new with Sofia Floros, a woman he admired not just for her quality of spirit, but for her witchy brilliance, her creativity. Her ability to take Iann's ideas and galvanize them. And conversely, how she could scatter her seeds of ideas in front of him, and let him help her grow them. They'd built their strange and wonderful friendship on creativity and /creation/ - starting with Iann's beloved Floros-Cardero Contraption - and trust Sofia to take it one step further.
"Yes. Yes, my resolution! My resolution this year was to rebuild myself, Sofia. To move forward. Jesus. Did you want to use that space? I can renovate it to whatever works for you. I'll even give up some of the workshop, if you need more space, hm? And we can design it all together, how things can be arranged. I mean - you'll have specific requirements, I'm sure. I - well right now I don't have any requirements. I just need space for my research, so...ay mamicita," Iann looked up suddenly, his eyes large and wide. "But what would we even /call/ it?? Did you think up a name?!" Iann was loud now, like he always got when he got excited. But fortunately the shop was busy, so most people paid him no mind.
Mal Ojo as the space. Sofia never would have considered it. Not ever, not without Iann’s prompting. Even with all his great engird around her mishmash of ideas it still left her unsettled somehow. She would need to think on that — and let Iann think on it in a private moment just to be safe. “You’re so amazing..” Sofia smile was huge and relaxed. Astounded by him and his just-add-water soft of inspiration. Sofia lived for it and that was clear in her expression and tone She talked over her friend softly. “I told you about as far as I got. No name, no nothing. — I think we could be really good together. Not only do well, but have fun and a good balance.”
“Of course. Lots of research space, no matter what we do.” Sofia was keen on that too. She’d always coveted Iann’s large workspace, nearly lusting after it and so many of his tools, too. His raised voice didn’t bother her any. It comforted her to see a sliver of something she hadn’t witnessed in many months. Iann almost completely himself. “I’m open to anything as long as we’re in this together.” Dipping another slice of bread into the hummus, Sofia had to roll her eyes at how “after school special” she’d sounded just then.
Iann grinned. "Should we pinky swear on it?" he laughed, because he also picked up on the slight corniness of the sentiment, even if he loved it at the same time. Iann only remembered the food then, and began to eat it with a quick, birdlike gusto. "Jesus, it's going to be great, having...something. Um...something..." Iann paused, because he wasn't sure how to describe it. He looked at Sofia, squinting. "You know how it is, when you have a goal, but then it all just loses focus, hm? Because things always happen, they always change. And - you know, Sof." Iann began poking his pita bread in one of the dips, over and over.
"If we make this work, it'll make. It'll be - " Iann huffed again. He wasn't even sure what he was trying to say, feeling stuck like a broken record. Instead, he just looked at Sofia, his dark eyes sad and appealing. Not a current sadness, but one of mourning, of trying to let go of the past in a gentle way, and move himself forward. "Sometimes I get afraid that I'm unable to move forward. And other times, I'm afraid that I'm moving too fast. Is that...is that normal?" Later, once this meeting was over, Iann would rethink using the Mal Ojo space for their new venture. New meant new - not building over the bones of the old.
Sofia nodded. That same giant sappy smile had climbed its way up to her eyes. “I think so. To make it really official. Officially the start of our next endeavor.” She reached across the table waiting for his hands to be free and for his full attention to seal this deal. When Iann stuttered she was quick to jump in. “No, I know what you mean.” She needed something too. Very much. Not a distraction but a challenge. Something she could be selfish and picky about. “Change and focus aren’t always friends. Not for me, anyway. I don’t think they’re supposed to be.”
The next time she didn’t try to finish his sentence. In observing she could see more on the tip of his tongue. To take that away from him would be so much less valuable than waiting and letting him sort through the clear bombardment of her friend’s mind. “In hard times..” Sofia mused. She did think it was normal. “Not comfortable, but normal. —You’ll find your pace again.” The brunette believed that. Losing her father was not like losing a lover but she could empathize in some form for how time and emotion had betrayed her then. “Don’t you think? — You will, Iann.”
"Change and focus aren't always friends...." Iann repeated, pondering the words with no small wonder. It was a sentiment that Iann couldn't quite understand right away; he'd definitely have to think about it later, roll it over in his mind. Maybe it was just a passing insight from Sofia, but Iann really did value so much of what his friend said to him. He didn't think any word was wasted; Sofia didn't just talk to fill air. And besides, he liked the idea, even if he didn't yet wrap his mind around it.
Iann nodded as Sofia answered his question. It wasn't a complicated question, he knew. He knew he wasn't alone in this feeling, for various reasons - but it was nice to just get that affirmation, from someone who's opinion mattered to him. And she was right: normal didn't always mean comfortable, or vice versa. He'd lost people before himself, especially in the past five years, but. This loss of his wife, it was something Iann was willing to admit felt like a huge part of his life died with her. A chunk of his world that he was trying to figure out how to fix. For now though, Iann just looked down at Sofia's long, slender hand, waiting for him to make their idea and business-partnership official. So being Iann, instead of proferring a pinky for a little cute shake, the man spat in the palm of his hand and thrust it towards Sofia enthusiastically for a handshake. "Shake on it, Sofia Floros."
Closing one eye, trying to get her eyes to focus, Shivonne tried to look at her watch to check the time. It was either 1 or 2am, she couldn’t quite see, the combination of a bloodstream with a ninety percent alcohol saturation and terrible eyesight working against her. She sat down on a picnic bench, just out of the way of the canopied stalls and drunken people making their way to their homes. She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a packet of cigarettes and a lighter that she was half sure she didn’t bring with her to the festival.
Shivonne placed the cigarette in her mouth, at least she thought she had until it tumbled out of her hand onto the table and rolled through one of the slats onto the floor. She haphazardly ducked under the table to pick it up, and on her way back up she cracked her head on the table. Groaning and scratching the place she whacked, she pointed at the table with her cigarette and slurred to it “You are on your final warning mister. Any more of that and I’ll use you for fire fuel”
What she hadn’t realised was that someone had heard her giving the table a scolding, until she noticed a pair of legs next to her. She looked up slowly, closing one eye again, and noticed who it was. “Sofia! I’m not on duty right now, this guy right here is giving me jip”
She once again placed the cigarette in her mouth, successfully this time, and lit it, taking a long puff from it. Shivonne tapped the empty space on the bench next to her, making a loud slapping noise. “Sit down with me for a bit! You smoke?” she said, pushing the packet on the table towards her colleague.
Iann stood in front of the isolated little cottage that was once inhabited by Sofia Floros. Ever since the raid from Ned’s Boys, where the Deputies had gleefully destroyed the Floros-Cardero Contraption, Iann tried, persistently, to contact Sofia. He needed to tell her. And eventually, from the lack of response, it started to become something of an obsession. First a text a day, mostly just things like ‘Sofia’ and ‘Prof’, like a small child trying to annoy an adult for attention.
Then, whenever he could, he would drive or walk by her home. He didn’t want to admit that he missed her, even to himself. Iann felt that would impose too much imaginary pressure on the very private, very internalized witch. If he missed her, then she’d feel obligated to make sure he didn’t miss her. And logically (to Iann), hat was unfair to her.
And he didn’t bother wondering if she missed him.
Then when days turned into weeks, he became worried. Was she alive? Was she captured? He fretted; but Iann then had a hundred things to fret over. And with a blend of guilt and anger, Iann put Sofia’s whereabouts on the back burner.
But now everything was cooling down, and Iann found himself back in front of her modest little home, just as the sun set, staring at the front door. Alright; Iann patted at his lockpicking kit, complete with some items used to detect basic hexes. Today he was going to get answers.
He glanced around, then made his way towards the front door, hoodie tugged up over his baseball cap. Iann knelt, and got to work on the front door lock.
[TXT] It came up that you're testing and collecting the hearts around town... [TXT] Was my invite lost in the mail? You a one man show now? :P
[TXT] did the wife tell you? or did you see the posters? which she designed, such talent
[TXT] what what? you want to help with my research? I am forever obliged to you, Sofia
[TXT] if you’d like to bring your heart by as well, I can take a look at it. I’ve collected some but other people want to keep theirs. I’ve taken photos of them and measurements
[TXT] it’s an extraordinary but awful situation, Prof. The people these hearts once belonged to...ay dios mio
