RP: Juice Bars

[shh_dean]

Date: 20 September 2005
Characters: Ernie MacMillan and Dean Thomas
Location: Hammerside
Status: Private
Summary: How far can an employee discount stretch?
Completion: Incomplete

Comments

[shh_ernie]

Ernie decided to make himself useful. After his disastrous interview with Mr. Waterford, he'd eased up on looking for a job. At least for the time being. He also needed to owl Orla as he'd promised Eleanor, but again it would hold temporarily. So today he was going to Hammerside and start planning for this wedding. December 31st would be here before they knew it.

The lobby, while not as packed as it had been for the dance, had a fair number of people. He nodded at a few as he ambled around the lobby. They could set up chairs here so people could see them take their vows. Although maybe tables and chairs might be better. It wasn't as if they'd be inviting the entire town. Room to dance, however, was a must. Pulling a quill and paper from his pocket, he sketched out the lobby and scribbled in his thoughts on where to put everything.

Mission accomplished, he stopped briefly at the juice bar. The drink he'd sampled at the dance was quite good. On the other hand, they were trying to save money. Before he could decide one way or another, he spotted Dean.

"Hello, Dean," he greeted, sliding onto the stool beside him. "How've you been?"

[shh_dean]

"Ernie!" Dean said excitedly as he looked over at his friend. Sam chose that moment to slide over his smoothie and Dean barely caught it before he grinned and handed it over to Ernie. "I think this one is a chocolate banana raspberry. It's absolutely brilliant. Give it a try."

Dean waved at Sam who looked over at him and smiled, "Will that be on your discount too?"

"Shut it, Sam and give me another one." He scowled, then turned to Ernie. Dean was happily surprised to see his mate and when he looked over at him, he grinned. "It's great to see you. What brings you around, mate?"

[shh_ernie]

"Er..." He took the smoothie Dean offered. Mostly because it would have been rude not to do so. "Thank you." Dean hadn't been lying; the smoothie was quite tasty. It was difficult to go wrong with chocolate.

"Wedding planning," he said. "Eleanor's busy with the shop and I...I seem to have loads of free time on my hands." He was fairly certain that Dean had at least an inkling about what had happened. Perhaps he hadn't heard about Ernie's career change. "I...I left the Aurors. Haven't found a new job yet. So..." He shrugged and took another sip. "Here I am. Poking around, deciding where everything should go."

The bloke behind the counter brought another smoothie and set it down in front of Dean. "It's looks as if everything is going well. People are signing up for the gym and dance classes?"

[shh_dean]

Dean felt he was a bit forward with the smoothie after further consideration but Ernie seemed to enjoy it, so he replied. "Right but Dennis does something more with it and it's addictive. I've had four already today."

"Well, the place is yours to do what you want." He smiled and swept his hand over the lobby. "You can even have a flat upstairs for the night before if you and Eleanor aren't planning on seeing each other that night." He listened to Ernie discuss leaving the Aurors and he frowned. "I'm sorry to hear that. I know how much you enjoyed your job." He paused for a moment. "Is it a permanent career move?" Dean was quiet for a moment, commiserating with his friend before he said, "If you need something part time or even full time, the fitness center could use a manager. Someone to make schedules and keep everything afloat. But just an offer, you know?"

"We're doing very well." He glanced at Ernie and picked up his smoothie.
"The lobby is always full and Fleur has just about sold out all her classes. The gym is filling up and no one has had a heart attack working out, so that's a good thing."

Dean took a sip of his smoothie and put it down before he asked, "So, how's Eleanor?"

[shh_ernie]

"I'm going to stay somewhere else for the week prior. Perhaps Cedric. But again, thank you." Ernie busied himself with his smoothie as Dean asked about the Aurors and work. His eyes widened when Dean offered him a job. It was very generous, but he couldn't help but think that it was charity. Dean didn't even know any of his qualifications. On the other hand, he needed a job. Finally, he settled on, "Er...I'll need to think on it. What would be the duties?" Because, honestly, Ernie wasn't even certain that he was qualified to manage a gym.

He smiled. "Well, that's not unexpected. This place is a good thing for Stoatshead. People would want to sign up."

Perhaps this smoothie was a good idea. It gave him time to consider Dean's question. However, it was soon gone. "She's...this whole situation has been...difficult. She's been wonderful to me. I can't say I've done the same for her." He turned his empty glass into his hands and glanced around, mostly to avoid looking at Dean.

[shh_dean]

From Ernie's reaction, Dean knew he'd been too forward once more, much like he seemed to be with so many others including Parvati. He wondered when he'd stop being such a damn fool and letting his mouth wander before he fully thought things out. "Right, no worries then." He said hurriedly, knowing that he'd made his friend uncomfortable. He smiled as he replied. "It's just paperwork, scheduling, and making sure the fitness center is in order. Honestly, you'd probably be bored to death."

"Good for the community. That's all I really wanted here." He glanced around once more, his pride surging before he took a sip of his smoothie. "Needed to do something for the town and I do well enough as an architect." Dean put down his drink. "That's why I need to hire someone. I can't do both jobs for much longer and I have a big project coming up for my firm."

Nodding, Dean listened to Ernie, wondering if he suffered from the same fears Dean had about Parvati as he listened to his friend. Leaning on the bar, he motioned to Sam for another drink for Ernie before he said, "You've always been wonderful to her, Ernie." Smiling wistfully, he turned his head toward Ernie. "I've never seen a better couple than the two of you." He didn't want to pry but thought that there was more to the story and so he asked, "What's been happening, my friend?"

[shh_ernie]

At Dean's praise, Ernie shook his head. "Not since...not lately. She takes care of me and loves me even when...I'm being..." A complete arse? the little voice offered. He ignored it. "I let all of these little things...and Eleanor puts up with...sometimes I wonder why..."

Thankfully, another smoothie was set down in front of him and he drank down half of it. Mostly to keep himself from talking any further. After he swallowed, he forced himself to smile. "Enough about me. You and Parvati seemed rather cozy at the dance. Things are going well?" Yes, better to turn the conversation to Dean.

[shh_dean]

Dean listened to Ernie berate himself and he wondered what had happened to his friend. He was hazy about all the details of what had happened but he knew Ernie had been hurt and left the Auror force. But still, his mate's bitterness was disturbing and he thought for a moment before he answered. "You love her too though. I know that but isn't it about helping each other through problems, no matter what they are?" Smiling wistfully, Dean replied. "She does it because you're worth the effort and she loves you."

Ernie did like his smoothies and Dean was glad about it because he thought they'd somehow made Ernie forget about Dean's gaffe with the job offer. When Ernie changed topics, Dean went along with him and said, "Things seem to be going well between us now." He didn't want to mention Parvati's slight down turn after the dance, instead he added. "Well, until I find a way to screw it up somehow."

[shh_ernie]

Of course he loved Eleanor. But it wasn't fair when their entire relationship seemed to be her taking care of him. He hadn't even asked her how she was doing with everything lately.

Ernie frowned at Dean's choice of words. Frankly, he sounded a bit like Ernie did and not his normal happy-go-lucky self. "Screw it up? What..." Bluntness would be rude. "Some people would say that attitude will be a self-fulfilling prophecy." He laughed and added, hoping to ease his comment a bit, "And not only Trelawney."

[shh_dean]

He didn't want to explain to Ernie his fears now that he'd told Parvati how he felt and she responded in kind. It wasn't that he didn't trust Ernie, it was just that his fears were probably unfounded and stupid. That didn't still well with him and when Ernie snapped a bit, he winced slightly before gathering himself and smiling, "It's nothing. I've never really been in a relationship before and I'm scared I'm going to muck things up."

Dean's brow furrowed as he took another sip of his drink. Ernie had always been an upstanding bloke and Dean respected his opinion and advice. Looking over at his mate, he asked, "You ever have any of those fears? I mean the ones that you're just not good enough?" Shaking his head, he chuckled. "Funny but I thought after you fell for each other things would get easier."

[shh_ernie]

"Every day," Ernie replied, seriously and quietly. "Especially since...part of me wonders if Eleanor would be better off without having to take care of me." His head snapped up, alarmed look on his face. "Don't tell her I said that. Please. I...I just need to fix myself, get back to normal." He made a mental note to owl Orla and make another appointment.

Sipping at his smoothie, he shrugged. "No one ever talks about what happens after you fall in love. 'Happily ever after' is a bit vague for my tastes." He paused for a moment; Dean hadn't confided in him just so someone would agree with him. "But somehow you muddle through together. You talk things out...although I'm not the best at that. Talking...feelings...But I would do anything for her, to make her happy. So I keep trying. Best I can do, I reckon."

He shook his head. This conversation had taken a thoroughly depressing turn. "Sorry. Er...would you mind looking around the lobby with me? I can run some of my ideas by you first. Before I bring Elle back?"

[shh_dean]

"Sure you take care of her too." Dean heard his friend's admission and replied quietly. "Funny, I met her when the two of you were just getting together and you went back home. I remember how shy and timid she was almost. I think that's why we got along." He smiled at Ernie. "But I can see how she's changed for the better with you. She's become stronger it seems and more self-assured and I think that comes from being with you."

"You can trust me, Ernie." He winked at his mate. "You've got my secrets too, so we have each other over a barrel."

"I think that's good advice." Dean nodded. "I think that I think way too much and get myself in knots." He smirked over at Ernie and said, "Might be good advice for the both of us though."

"Let's do that and then I'll buy you lunch if you'd like." He led Ernie away from the bar. "You can tell me what you want and maybe then before you bring back Eleanor, we can set it up that way to give her an idea of your vision."

[shh_ernie]

Ernie didn't know if Dean was merely trying to make him feel better. He didn't think that Eleanor was any different. To him, at least, she'd always been warm and friendly. It wasn't likely that Dean was lying, but Ernie had no idea how to respond to that. So he didn't.

Glad to be moving again, and hopefully not embarrassing himself quite so much, Ernie went first to the center of the lobby. "We've already talked about having the ceiling charmed so we can see the stars. And I was thinking that, rather than having chairs that have to be moved after the ceremony, we could just have tables and chairs. People could watch us take our vows from there and then sit there for eating as well." He'd never seen anything like that in a film so he wasn't certain whether it would be acceptable or not. He gestured to the area behind the fountain. "The tables could go here." He walked a few meters away. "And we could stand here for the actual ceremony." Quirking an eyebrow at Dean, he shrugged. "What do you think?"

[shh_dean]

Dean knew it was time to stop change the topic of conversation for a bit and hoped that Ernie wasn't too upset with him. He'd only said what he did because he thought it was true but he didn't want to push discussing the topic, even if he had more questions about relationships and what not. Still, he had one more thing to say and he smiled at Ernie. "You two are the best couple I've ever seen and I just hope I can be half the boyfriend to Parvati that you are to Eleanor."

He loved to walk around the lobby and glanced up toward the ceiling. The charms had been a brilliant idea that Fleur had made and now the grey blue of the sky outside was reflected in the interior of the lobby. It made Dean smile as a sense of contentment overtook him. When Ernie started to speak, Dean snapped out of his reverie. He leaned in to listen to his mate carefully before he thought for a moment and replied. "The idea with the tables is brilliant. We could set them up to leave a long aisle down the middle for Eleanor to enter." Dean frowned before he smiled. "How would you like the front set up? Would you like a dais to stand on for you and Eleanor? Dennis is brilliant with plants and arrangements too." One more thought passed through Dean's mind and he asked, "Would you want a buffet setup or service? Rosie over at the Five Alarm catered our dance and she'll give me a real good price if you want to order your food through her."

[shh_ernie]

Ernie considered Dean's suggestions for a long moment before breaking into a grin. "I like that. I'm certain that Mr. Branstone would like to walk Elle down the aisle. Plus, I've already thought loads about that moment when I first see her." He could feel himself blushing, but kept grinning. "And it would be fantastic if Dennis could help with flower arrangements. He'd have to speak with her about that; the flowers are her domain."

He chewed on the inside of his cheek. The Five Alarm had decent food, but the food for the party was hors d'oeuvres. "I was thinking more along the lines of Roma. They have the best food in town. But I'll let you know." He glanced over to where the band had been playing. "And a band is likely overkill. We're not going to have a huge crowd. Perhaps we can have a sound system...CDs and records and such." Because there would be dancing.

"Any other suggestions for me?" he asked Dean.

[shh_dean]

"Do you get along with Mr. Branstone?" Dean asked while his brow creased. "Do you think that's important?" He inquired, wondering about his own situation and how Parvati had said he had no chance of ever winning over her parents. He grinned at Ernie. "That's going to be a memorable one for sure. Did you know that Dennis' brother is an excellent photographer? I don't ever remember seeing Colin without a camera the entire time he was in school with me."

"A sitdown dinner? That's a great idea." Dean replied excitedly. "The food at Roma is excellent too." He tilted his head and asked, "How many people are you planning on inviting?" Grinning at Ernie's request for a sound system, Dean replied. "We have a sound system wired through here. You can hear Dennis' jazz playing lowly now. If you get a DJ, you can just wire into the system."

He was surprised when Ernie asked him for advice. Smiling, he thought for a moment before he looked around and said, "We could keep the lobby seasonal. If you want something more Christmasy, we can leave the Christmas trees we plan on having out and the lights. If you'd like to do something more New Years themed, we could do deep jewel colors depending on Eleanor's dress and what she wants. If you wanted, a quick firework display outside to celebrate."

Dean grew quiet again before he said, "If you'd like, I could paint you two before the wedding. Just for memories sake."