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sunbaked_baker Sunday was a glorious day. Rae and Mel both had the early morning shifts at the coffeehouse, which left them with the whole afternoon and evening free. They had a late lunch - made late by the absolute necessity of going up onto the roof of Mel's place and making love in the warm, May sunlight. After they finished their leisurely lunch, Mel settled down to work on that week's project (apparently the motorcycle in question had the habit of sputtering and jerking whenever the bike got above 40mph) and Sunshine headed out to the library.
The new acquisitions shelves were full of mostly uninteresting things, but Rae simply had to check out Temptation's Altar, for the title alone. The rest of the afternoon was spent out in the garden, stretched out in the sunshine, reading while Yolande tended the garden.
All in all, a rare good day.
As ever, it was still dark when Rae parked the Wreck at the nearest parking lot to the coffeehouse that next morning at 4:30. She never had to worry about finding a parking space when she had the morning shift; the fact that Charlie's stretch of Old Town had been made into a pedestrian precinct put parking places at a premium during peak flow hours. Rae still had to make the last few blocks on foot in the dark, but she could feel the dawn creeping nearer as summer unfurled in New Arcadia. It was enough to make her smile despite the darkness - but it didn't last long.
"The cinnamon rolls won't be ready for another hour and a half," she said shortly as she got out of her car.
"I can wait," replied Pat patiently, leaning against the SOF vehicle parked nearby. "Thought I might walk you over."
That Pat was there, waiting for her and meaning to stay with her until they got to the coffeehouse, told Sunshine a number of things, but only two truly caught her. Pat wouldn't be the only SOF in the area. There'd be others that she wouldn't see, ready in case something happened. That they'd be waiting in case something happened meant that something had happened already that night.
"What's wrong," she said, succinctly, letting him fall into step beside her.
"Maybe it's nothing," Pat offered in reply, "but-"
"Like hell it is," Rae interjected, irritably. "SOF's got me an escort to work - on a national holiday I might add - and you haven't slept." The shadows cast on Pat's face by the dim, fake old-timey streetlamps were very blue.
"As I was saying... Maybe it's nothing, but I doubt it," Pat continued, calmly, trained eyes scanning the darkness as they walked. "There've been some unconfirmed reports coming in from No Town. Pretty vague. Some kids out clubbing..."
Sunshine felt the contentment of the day before leave her completely, as she struggled to keep her face clear of the emotion gripping her heart. They wouldn't be coming to her if they weren't pretty sure it was vampiric in origin. Which meant... and there'd be no way out of it. Con would tell her if she didn't tell him.
Super ultra kali toxic damnation. Especially the damnation bit.
"What happened to them?" she asked, quiet, in the pause as she absently dug in her bag for her keys. She felt like her thoughts were going every which way at once (mach one-hundred and twelve), but had to keep most of those thoughts off her face. Too soon, she wanted to say. Much too soon. But there wasn't a time when it wouldn't be too soon, was there?
That was the problem.
"Like I said, the 'fo is pretty vague," Pat replied, watching her hand miss its first attempt to get the key in the coffeehouse door's lock. His expression was half the look of a SOF sizing up a perp to be interrogated, half the look of a person who knows their friend is troubled but doesn't know how to go about asking.
"Listen," he said, as the door opened and the alarm within began to beep its timed warning, "I need to check in with HQ, and see where this is going. I'll be around, but I'll come in a little later, to make it look more natural."
"All right," Rae said as she went in to turn the alarm off and get started on the morning's baking. And gee, thanks, she thought, irritation flaring minutely out of the dark ache growing in her chest and throat. She clung to the warmth of that irritation, but it was soon lost in the cold flood of fear. It was only by strength of will and habit that she kept from simply going back to her car and driving away. Fleeing. Maybe she'd go hide out at the lake. Ha, ha, ha.
As it was, she didn't see Pat again that day. The coffeehouse became a mad-house of activity, keeping Sunshine extremely busy in the bakery once the coffeehouse had been opened and the morning news had been broadcast. Not that she complained. As it was, she preferred that there was no one in the bakery with her as she heard the distant breaking news report from the tv in the main room.
Four Found Dry in No Town.
One mustn't weep in a public bakery.
The new acquisitions shelves were full of mostly uninteresting things, but Rae simply had to check out Temptation's Altar, for the title alone. The rest of the afternoon was spent out in the garden, stretched out in the sunshine, reading while Yolande tended the garden.
All in all, a rare good day.
As ever, it was still dark when Rae parked the Wreck at the nearest parking lot to the coffeehouse that next morning at 4:30. She never had to worry about finding a parking space when she had the morning shift; the fact that Charlie's stretch of Old Town had been made into a pedestrian precinct put parking places at a premium during peak flow hours. Rae still had to make the last few blocks on foot in the dark, but she could feel the dawn creeping nearer as summer unfurled in New Arcadia. It was enough to make her smile despite the darkness - but it didn't last long.
"The cinnamon rolls won't be ready for another hour and a half," she said shortly as she got out of her car.
"I can wait," replied Pat patiently, leaning against the SOF vehicle parked nearby. "Thought I might walk you over."
That Pat was there, waiting for her and meaning to stay with her until they got to the coffeehouse, told Sunshine a number of things, but only two truly caught her. Pat wouldn't be the only SOF in the area. There'd be others that she wouldn't see, ready in case something happened. That they'd be waiting in case something happened meant that something had happened already that night.
"What's wrong," she said, succinctly, letting him fall into step beside her.
"Maybe it's nothing," Pat offered in reply, "but-"
"Like hell it is," Rae interjected, irritably. "SOF's got me an escort to work - on a national holiday I might add - and you haven't slept." The shadows cast on Pat's face by the dim, fake old-timey streetlamps were very blue.
"As I was saying... Maybe it's nothing, but I doubt it," Pat continued, calmly, trained eyes scanning the darkness as they walked. "There've been some unconfirmed reports coming in from No Town. Pretty vague. Some kids out clubbing..."
Sunshine felt the contentment of the day before leave her completely, as she struggled to keep her face clear of the emotion gripping her heart. They wouldn't be coming to her if they weren't pretty sure it was vampiric in origin. Which meant... and there'd be no way out of it. Con would tell her if she didn't tell him.
Super ultra kali toxic damnation. Especially the damnation bit.
"What happened to them?" she asked, quiet, in the pause as she absently dug in her bag for her keys. She felt like her thoughts were going every which way at once (mach one-hundred and twelve), but had to keep most of those thoughts off her face. Too soon, she wanted to say. Much too soon. But there wasn't a time when it wouldn't be too soon, was there?
That was the problem.
"Like I said, the 'fo is pretty vague," Pat replied, watching her hand miss its first attempt to get the key in the coffeehouse door's lock. His expression was half the look of a SOF sizing up a perp to be interrogated, half the look of a person who knows their friend is troubled but doesn't know how to go about asking.
"Listen," he said, as the door opened and the alarm within began to beep its timed warning, "I need to check in with HQ, and see where this is going. I'll be around, but I'll come in a little later, to make it look more natural."
"All right," Rae said as she went in to turn the alarm off and get started on the morning's baking. And gee, thanks, she thought, irritation flaring minutely out of the dark ache growing in her chest and throat. She clung to the warmth of that irritation, but it was soon lost in the cold flood of fear. It was only by strength of will and habit that she kept from simply going back to her car and driving away. Fleeing. Maybe she'd go hide out at the lake. Ha, ha, ha.
As it was, she didn't see Pat again that day. The coffeehouse became a mad-house of activity, keeping Sunshine extremely busy in the bakery once the coffeehouse had been opened and the morning news had been broadcast. Not that she complained. As it was, she preferred that there was no one in the bakery with her as she heard the distant breaking news report from the tv in the main room.
Four Found Dry in No Town.
One mustn't weep in a public bakery.
