[OTA] It's the Best of Times

[dreamsofwords]

All things considered, one hasn't seen Alasdair writing much lately. He has been, of course - he's got deadlines - but he's been keeping it to late at night at his house, not so much in public. In light of things, though, school has been called off for the first few days of the week, and sitting in his house feels a bit oppressive just now.

So despite the cold, he goes out with his laptop, dressed for the weather in a coat, a scarf and fingerless gloves, and parked himself at a cafe table with a bottomless cup of coffee. He's tapping away, paying virtually no attention to the world outside.

Storms came and went in Chicago all the time, especially in the winter months. But this system was different. It loomed over the city like a bad mood, and wouldn't be banished, turning from rain to ice to snow and back again. Who knew, Dabney Rush thought as he watched the precipitation pummel the glass of his Gold Coast house, what this kind of weather would bring.

Absolutely, totally normal.

Comments

[dreamsofwords]

"You know me far too well," Alasdair says, his eyes twinkling up at Teresa as he nudges his mug closer to her.

"Am I your only customer today?"

[hey_sexy_latte]

"You are a regular," she answers with a smile as she pours.

And then a laugh, "Well, I'm fairly certain you're the only one brave or stupid enough to be coming out here. You can't work inside?"

Where it's, y'know, actually warm?

[dreamsofwords]

"I probably could, I'm just used to doing it out here." Which was because it usually didn't stay this cold for as long as it had. It was February; spring started to make an appearance by now.

"Are you going to help me carry in all my crap if I do?"

[hey_sexy_latte]

"Do I get an extra tip out of it?" she queries with a raised brow. "Because if so, absolutely."

And even if not, really.

[dreamsofwords]

"I might have a little spare cash to spare for some manual labor," he grins at her as he closes the laptop.

"Besides, you are my favorite waitress."

[hey_sexy_latte]

"You're far too kind," she says with a smile as she catches up his cup, "Don't let the other girls hear you, though, or they'll get upset."

Not that there was anyone else today. They'd anticipated the snow would leave them with fewer customers.

Well. One for now.

[dreamsofwords]

"Not a word will pass these lips," he tells her as he drapes his messenger over his shoulder and gathers up his printed out research on blood spatter patterns. Not that he was to that point yet, but you never could tell how fast these things could go.

"I don't want to start a barista war, you know."

[hey_sexy_latte]

"You'd better not be," she snorts, "They get pretty messy."

She's totally not speaking from experience, of course.

[dreamsofwords]

Of course not. He imagines that it's all sweetness and light and caffeine behind the scenes at a cafe.

"Things have been good, though?" He asks. "Business and stuff?"

[hey_sexy_latte]

A shrug, "Been okay. The snow hasn't helped, but we get the occasional person trying to escape the cold. Should pick up again now that it's stopped."

Hopefully, at least.

[dreamsofwords]

"Nothing like coffee to beat the cold," he says as they step into the significantly warmer cafe and he heads for one of the many empty tables. "Well, other than hot chocolate."

That's what Elani preferred, at least.

[hey_sexy_latte]

"Don't you know? We've started doing hot chocolate here, too."

Might as well expand, right? Although she was half-expecting that the next thing she knew, they'd start doing tea and turn into that shop on the Outside-- Starbunks or something.