The Perk, Thursday Afternoon

[living_endless]

Didi was a bit distracted as she arrived at the coffee shop to meet Karla. She'd realized when she looked at her calendar that Jono was turning 19 today, and she had no plans at all for what to give him. She'd have to come up with something special quickly.

She pondered that as she sipped her tea, watching people pass along the street outside.

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Comments

[glacial_witch]

Didi could always ask Karla, who was walking through the door of the Perk and waving. She always had lots of good ideas!

Err, 'good.'

Karla held up a bag from J,GoB she'd brought for them to share as she headed over to the table Didi had snagged. "You'd mentioned wanting more today, so I stopped and picked up a few," she said, giving Didi a bright smile. Few was kind of a relative term.

[living_endless]

"I did," Didi admitted, shaking her hair out of her eyes and giving Karla a genuine smile. "Thanks. See, if I'd been smart we could have just met there."

[glacial_witch]

"But then I wouldn't have had a reason to stop eating the pastries," Karla said with a smile. "They would have been there, taunting me from behind the glass. Here, at least, once we're done with the bag--" roughly the size of a grocery bag "--we're just done."

She set the bag down on the table between them for Didi to look through. "Mind waiting another minute or two while I run up and get something to drink?" she asked.

[living_endless]

"Take as long as you want," Didi said, with a totally straight face. She was already pulling the bag toward herself. "I need some time to pick out all the chocolate ones, right?"

[glacial_witch]

"I see how it is," Karla said, grinning. "This is all a scheme to get me out of the way, so you can eat all the pastries yourself. I'm onto you."

Not that that stopped Karla from heading over to the counter to order a large iced coffee. Very large. She was still really hot.

A few minutes later, she was back. "See anything you like?" she asked. "I tried to get a variety."

[living_endless]

"I was going to try the orange one," Didi said, holding up a citrus-colored muffin studded with candied fruit. "I know I said chocolate, but I figure it's better to try something new. Which kind is your favorite?"

[glacial_witch]

"I like the ones with the crumbly tops, all studded with cranberries," Karla said, slipping into the chair across from Didi. "The contrast of the sweet of the muffin and the slightly tart of the cranberries. At least, if we're talking muffins. If you're asking me about all of the pastries..." she shook her head. "That would require a lot more thought. And sampling."

[living_endless]

"One of these days," Didi vowed, "I'm going to order one of everything, even if I can only eat one bite of each."

She eyed Karla, wondering if she should banter more about muffins or ask about the weekend.

[glacial_witch]

"I'll help you," Karla promised. "Should that day ever come, I'll be right there next to you."

Such a good friend, that Karla.

"So..." she said, playing around with her straw. "Was it you? This weekend, I mean? I mean, the power didn't feel like you do, but..."

[living_endless]

Didi shook her head vigorously. "Uh-uh. I wouldn't have played around with things that way, even if I had the power right now. Dead people are dead for a reason. There was this rock that did it."

Ah, Fandom logic.

[glacial_witch]

"I went looking in the woods for it," Karla said. "I never could find it though. Probably because I wasn't out looking in the spirit of peace and comfort or whatever. I was in a pretty pissy mood. It kept humming in my ear, you know? It got kind of distracting--at least, when I wasn't daydreaming about my parents."

[living_endless]

"It was distracting," Didi agreed. "In a good way, but ... it made the whole island feel different. I wish I knew where it came from, or where it went."

She frowned in thought. "Why did it piss you off?"

[glacial_witch]

"I don't like someone else manipulating my emotions," Karla said, tearing little bits off her muffin. "Dreaming and day-dreaming constantly about my parents falls under that category, at least for me. It took a long time for me to get to the point where I don't do that anyway, so I didn't appreciate an outside source bringing that all back."

Plus, her relationship with her parents--and their death--was kind of complicated.

[living_endless]

"Huh." Didi seemed thoughtful. "Maybe I haven't talked to enough people. It seems like most people are grateful for the time, no matter what the cost. The stone was trying -- as much as it had a conscious wish -- to do something good."

[glacial_witch]

"It was!" Karla said, glancing up at Didi with concern. She didn't want anyone to think she hadn't been grateful. "It did! Having them back for those few days was worth every minute of aggravation beforehand. But, when I was out searching, I just hadn't realized what was going on yet."

She vanished the crumbs off the table and grabbed another muffin, this time making a conscious effort to eat it, rather than toy with it. "Everything with my parents is just...kind of complicated, I guess. This past weekend was wonderful in a lot of ways, but it wasn't easy."

[living_endless]

"Family is complicated," Didi observed. "I'm not trying to lecture you on gratitude, or ... anything. But they have to love you. They wouldn't have come if they didn't."