RP: Lunch Break

[cale_bright]

Date: Monday, March 7th 2011
Characters: Cale Bright, Jack Avery
Location: JPS, a park
Status: Private
Summary: Cale picks Jack up for a lunch date.
Completion: Incomplete

Comments

[jackavery]

After finishing with the placement of an elderly patient into a nearby hospice, Jack was ready for a break. This had been the third such patient today, and it wasn't quite noon. It was one of the functions of her job, though, so she handled it like she did anything else, but it was never pleasant to have to tell a family that it was only a matter of time until they lost a loved one.

Once she had signed off on the file, she grabbed her purse out of her desk and headed over to the main building. She wasn't sure what Cale had planned, but she knew it involved food and conversation, so the specifics weren't too important. She left the building and scanned the area until she saw his Jeep. Walking over to it, she opened the door and got inside. "Where are we going, Mr. I Have to Keep it a Secret?"

[cale_bright]

"Hello to you, too," Cale greeted her with a crooked grin as he waited for her to get settled in his passenger seat and buckle her seatbelt. "Yeah I'm having a fabulous day, how's yours?" he teased as he pulled out onto the road and started maneuvering through traffic.

Flashing her a quick wink, he took a moment to let his gaze slide over her, soaking up the sight of her before turning his attention back to the road. It wouldn't win him any brownie points if she distracted him more than he already was.

"We're going out. It's lunchtime. That's what normal people do, or so I've been told. I thought it should be something we try out to see if there's any merit in it."

[jackavery]

"Mine sucks," Jack said bluntly. "I've spent half the morning on the telephone finding places for patients to die. It's one of the worst parts of the job, and it's hit three times already just today. If I'm lucky, that's all I have to deal with in a week. It doesn't bode well for my week, that's for sure."

Jack stretched her legs out and looked around the Jeep. It was relatively tidy, especially for a single man who drove around a lot for work. "Yes, I figured we were going out, since that's the sky and not a ceiling." She arched a brow. "But where out are we going?"

[cale_bright]

Cale glanced over at her again briefly. "No, I can see that would not bode well for a Monday. I never realized that was a job description, let alone part of yours. You have my sympathies," he answered, changing lanes and driving on the route he'd picked out over the weekend. "Well, maybe if the worst got out of the way this morning, the week can only go up from here? Or I could just be ridiculously optimistic..."

Cale flashed her a quick grin. "Out out. Ten minutes out. Maybe. Unless I hit red lights, and that I've got no control over, so you can take it up with the city instead. How was your weekend?" he countered, changing the subject.

[jackavery]

"I'm a social worker. It covers a wide variety of duties, including finding hospice care for patients and helping patients get medications. Not to mention dealing with crime victims, helping patients with forms, translating occasionally, and helping homeless people find room at shelters." Jack smiled. "It can become tedious and frustrating sometimes, but I've been doing it so long that I generally know what to do in most circumstances."

Jack frowned. "Now might be a good time to tell you that I dislike surprises," she said dryly. "As for my weekend, it was fine. I took my little sister to lunch on Sunday, and I spent a couple of hours volunteering at the women's shelter, which I try to do once a month, at least. How was yours?"

[cale_bright]

Cale looked suitably impressed. "My, for someone who doesn't like surprises, you're certainly full of them. That sounds like a complicated career to juggle," he admitted honestly, having never thought about what all was involved with her social work. He'd had a vague idea, but that shed a lot more light on the matter.

"You have a little sister?" he asked, wondering if he'd missed that somewhere along the way, then realized she probably didn't mean a blood relation. "Mine was... not really a weekend, honestly. I spent most of it working. With me on site all last week, a lot of my paperwork got pushed off, so I spent most of Saturday and Sunday catching up."

[jackavery]

"Tameka is my Little Sister, capital letters, I suppose," Jack said. "I've been a Big Sister since I graduated college. My first Little Sister, Erica, is at UNT now, though she isn't sure of her major yet. We keep in touch, so it's almost like a real little sister."

Jack made a face. "That doesn't sound very fun. I work from home sometimes, but it's usually by choice and not required. Did your beasts ever get over your uncle's absence? And are you planning to tell me where we're going or are you seriously going to make me wait?"

[cale_bright]

Cale chuckled as he wove in and out of traffic, then took a shortcut that got him to the little park by the river only a few moments later. He found a parking spot and pulled his Jeep into it before turning to grin at her. "Why tell you when I can show you?" he countered calmly. "I thought you might like a picnic outside to get your mind off work for a bit today. I even picked up subs. I hope you like either turkey or ham, because I had no idea what your preference might be," he answered, plucking the bag from a nearby deli out of the backseat before hopping out of the Jeep.

Without hesitation, the movement coming without thought or intent, he rounded the Jeep and opened the door for her, offering her his hand to help her out. "Hungry?" he asked her with a crooked grin.

[jackavery]

"A picnic in the park?" Jack smiled slightly as she looked out at the river. It was a pretty spot, even if it was a little cool to be eating outside. She had a sweater, though, so it wasn't like she was going to melt. "I like turkey and ham. We can take half of each, if you'd like a little variety."

She took his hand and got out of the Jeep, smirking slightly as she looked him over. "Ravenous," she said, smoothing down her skirt over her stockings before she walked over to the nearest picnic table. Since no one else was crazy enough to have a picnic when it was in the sixties and windy, they were alone in the park, which was nice.

[cale_bright]

Cale followed her and set the bag down on the table, getting out the two subs, a small bag of plain chips and a small bag of barbecue, as well as two bottles of water. He eyed the picnic table and her stockings for a moment, propping his hands on his hips. "I've got a blanket in the back of the Jeep, if you'd prefer something to sit on?" he offered. "I can grab it real quick, if you want?"

[jackavery]

"If this was a date instead of just lunch between friends, I might be suspicious about the convenience of you having a blanket in the Jeep," Jack said, giving him a pointed look. "As it is, I'll accept the offer because I don't want to snag my stockings. If they were cheap pantyhose, I wouldn't care." She reached for one of the bottles of water and twisted the cap off.

[cale_bright]

Cale chuckled all the way to the Jeep and back, draping the thick plaid blanket over the seat for her. "I'm all about convenience. That and I always have an emergency stash of whatever in the back of my Jeep. I go out in the middle of nowhere enough that I try to prepare for the worst, just in case. However, if you want to attribute a more devious purpose to it, please feel free," he added with a wink as he sat down on the bench and started divvying up the two subs.

[jackavery]

"An emergency stash of whatever?" Jack took the blanket and smoothed it out on the seat before she tugged up her skirt slightly and sat down. "I don't think I've ever seen a store that sold 'whatever', but it somehow doesn't surprise me that you found one." She took the bag of barbecue potato chips and opened them, tossing one into her mouth while she waited for her sandwich. "I think you're always devious. Except when confronted with a box of crayolas. Then you're just confused."

[cale_bright]

"I will never live that down, will I?" Cale laughed as he split the subs in half and gave her part of the turkey and part of the ham. "And for the record, I said I was fine with Crayola. It was the Wall of Sherwin Williams I found daunting, thank you very much."

[jackavery]

"Hmm...Let me think about it." Jack ate another chip and licked the messy coating from her fingers before she said, "Nope. I don't think you will, color challenged boy. But, hey, I could have given you that nickname to my friends instead of Hot Home Depot Guy. You're very fortunate, all things considered." She picked up the half of ham and took a bite. "Besides, why do you think I'm so generic when you ask the color? If you're so good with color, though, I'll have to stop that, I guess."

[cale_bright]

"I'd say you could send me pictures instead, but that would probably get me smacked," he teased her as he sank down on the bench beside her, straddling it so he could face her while he grabbed his half of the turkey sub. "And I prefer Hot Home Depot Guy, so I am extremely thankful for my luck. Is this friend the one you went and had lunch with last weekend?"