(Untitled)

[the_support]

The rain seemed never ending, but that never stopped Ellie from doing anything before. She'd found decent clothing for the weather - umbrella included - earlier that week. It made for an actual pleasant walk most days when she could enjoy the weather without being soaked by the time she got to the Compound

Comments

[9mmshotglass]

She usually wasn't a donut girl. It was yogurt and salads and fruit (now) or fish. She stayed away from the stereotypical donut thing. Far away. Except that today it was hitting her in the face as she went for coffee, again. Second cup. She stopped and eyed the woman.

"My mother used to make donuts on Sunday morning for my dad to have with his coffee," she said, brow furrowed just a bit like she'd just remembered that piece of information. It, at least, got Jack smiling in the wee hours of the morning. She started the coffee by rinsing the pot out, filling the tank with a full pot's worth of water and carefully measuring out the grounds for what would become the best damn pot of coffee she'd ever make.

It was a ratio thing.

She watched the coffee start to drip.

[the_support]

Ellie had been vaguely aware someone had come into the kitchen, though she only looked up from the magazine when she heard her speak. The woman wasn't familiar to her, but she smiled at her all the same.

"This is the first time I'm trying this recipe," she replied. It had sounded good, at least, which was what led Ellie to make the food in the first place. "There'll be extra once they come out of the oven, if you want some."

[9mmshotglass]

"Always helpful to have a second opinion on anything baked," Reese said quietly. "I'd definitely like to try one. New recipes can be a challenge." Mild irritation at the coffeemaker set in a second later as the light indicating the pot was on went off. She jiggled it gently, then frowned.

"Oh come on," she grumbled. "Don't deny me coffee."

[the_support]

Ellie watched her for a moment before setting aside her magazine for the moment to head over to see what was the matter.

"Need some help?" she asked. She'd fought with the machine plenty of times herself, having a morning clinic shift like she did each week. Coffee had been near a requirement that day for her.

[9mmshotglass]

"It's being stubborn," she said with a soft frown. "See if it likes you better. I'm beginning to think it's just being temperamental because I'm actually making a whole pot." Lazy machine. "Or it could just be a loose connection. Hell if I know."

[the_support]

Ellie let out a small laugh, taking a look. It was times like these she wished Devon was around. Maybe if he wandered in later, he could figure out what was wrong if they couldn't. The timer of the oven started to beep, and she nodded towards it.

"Could you take those out for me?" she asked. She had her hands full just then.

[9mmshotglass]

"Sure," she said, already moving before she had finished talking. Oven mitts to the rescue, Reese set the pan on the range. "That damn thing keeps trying to cut off my supply almost every time I make more than two cups at a time. I'm beginning to think it's sentient."

[the_support]

"With how this place is? Sometimes I wonder," she admitted, shaking her head. The jukebox and the bookshelf certainly seemed like they openly had minds of their own. "I'm Ellie, by the way. I...think I got it going."

There was drip action going on, anyway. Whether or not that meant good coffee would follow was the question.

[9mmshotglass]

"Ah, thank you," she said. "I'm Reese." She slipped the mitts off and put them next to the pan with a wry shake of her head. "The washing machines are nearly as bad. I keep expecting to find raccoons running them or something. Oh, the Jukebox and I. We do not get along. I actually shot it once because it was driving me insane."

She kept her eye on the drip and was satisfied there weren't any ground in it yet -- which would mean she'd have to start it all over again. It was a total waste if coffee, but you just can't drink coffee with grounds in it. It's like...drinking sand.

[the_support]

"Don't mention it," she replied, stepping away from the machine to head over and check her doughnuts, carefully transferring each to a plate so she could bring them over to the glaze she made. "I think that jukebox goes after everyone. I know it's certainly gone after me before. Not quite to that point, but it certainly knows how to get under people's skins."

[9mmshotglass]

"I recall that had been just a really awful day," Reese said with a soft snort and a small smile. "I hadn't been here long enough to just eyeroll and let it go." That was certainly true. Now it wouldn't have bothered her at all. In fact, she might have even laughed. When the coffee had finally brewed, she poured a mug, doctored it with cream and sugar because she felt like it and grabbed a seat.

Reese wrapped her hand around the mug and took a careful sip that turned into a sigh of pleasure.

"Got lucky. It's still good coffee despite the interruption."

[the_support]

She started to roll the donuts carefully in the glaze as she spoke. She at least understood the frustration. A lot of things on the island seemed to be out to get people. Her own issues usually was mainly with the clothes box, which seemed to dole out more bad than good increasingly as the days went by.

"I've gotten used to most things around here," she said, conversationally. "How long have you been on the island? I've been here - well, it's nearing a year, now."

[9mmshotglass]

"I arrived in March," she said thoughtfully and then her eyes widened. "Jesus. On the 13th I will have been here for eight months." It was startling, so much so that if she hadn't been sitting, she might have had to anyway. "I thought it had only been six." Reese watched the rolling process for awhile and shivered, wondering how she could have misplaced two months.

"I still keep waking up expecting to be home, though," she murmured into her coffee. "As odd as it sounds, this damn place is getting to feel almost normal. Wake up confused, go to bed even more confused, rinse and repeat."

[the_support]

"I just feel lucky my brother and fiance are here," she admitted. It didn't matter where she was, as long as her family was here. "My fiance showed up months after me, and it was tough without him for a while. Now it's...not so bad, you know?"

Even when the island could change her into a Ghostbuster for a few days.

[9mmshotglass]

"I can imagine it's better if you've got people who love you around," Reese said neutrally, taking a long sip of coffee. "Family's important." Family was always important, even when your family wasn't exactly...nice.

[the_support]

"It does make things a little easier," she admitted. "Though I'm not quite sure how easy it's going to be planning a wedding here."

There were so many variables that she didn't have yet, and how she was going to get them still wasn't obvious. It made things just a little more stressful.