RP: A Day In The Park

[devri_york]

Date: May 8th, 2011
Characters: Devri York, Bradley Thomas, Casey Thomas (NPC)?
Location: A Park in Fort Worth
Status: Semi-Private
Summary: Devri decides to spend the afternoon people watching, despite the heat.
Completion: Incomplete

Comments

[bradleythomas06]

Today was all about keeping Casey distracted. It was hard, because Mother's Day propaganda was everywhere, but the best bet was staying out of the apartment and away from the TV. It wasn't that they weren't acknowledging it--he'd let Casey buy a card and a plant and they'd talked earlier. But it made them both a bit upset, and he thought it was best to keep them going so it wouldn't settle too heavy over the boy.

It was good, he thought, that Nora was going to take him in a couple of hours. Nora seemed to have a real way with him, and Casey seemed well on his way to adoring her. Not that Bradley wanted to find a replacement for Sally, no, but a warm friendly woman figure wouldn't hurt, especially one that might be able to offer a listening ear that Bradley couldn't provide.

But for now, it was the park, teaching Casey to pass a basketball and dribble on the path, since there were too many people on the court. He looked up as two big dogs came up and a familiar woman. "Hi," he said, catching the ball as Casey passed it. "Yes, Devri, right? From the coffee shop," he said.

[devri_york]

Devri smiled faintly, truly surprised that Bradley had remembered her. "Yeah, wow, you do remember me." she remarked, glancing down briefly to make sure that her two dogs were behaving themselves. "Bradley, right?" Devri continued, shifting her gaze between Bradley and the younger boy with him. "And this must be Casey?" She inquired, smiling gently at the little boy.

[bradleythomas06]

"Hard to forget a Minnesota girl down here," Bradley said with a faint smile on his face. A pretty ballet dancer, at that. "Yes, Bradley," he said with a nod. So she'd definitely remembered him too. That was kind of nice, really. He didn't consider himself the memorable sort.

"Yes, I'm Casey," the seven year old said, walking up to his uncle's side, not hiding behind him but neither stepping in front of him boldly. "You're one of Uncle Lee's friends?" he asked curiously, though his gaze was much more rapt on the GIANT DOGS SO INTERESTING. "Are they both yours?" he blurted after a moment. "Can you ride them?"

Bradley hid his smile behind his hand, unable to not be amused at his nephew's question.

[devri_york]

Devri smiled softly. "Yeah, I guess there is that." She replied with a shrug. Devri never really thought of herself memorable, but obviously being a Minnesotan in the Lonestar state probable helped with leaving a little bit more of a memory with people. "How have you been?" Catching up would be nice honestly, she had truly enjoyed their discussion over coffee.

Kneeling down to get closer to eye level with Casey, Devri grinned at the young boy. "Nice to meet you Casey, I'm Devri." She said, making a conscious effort to stay out of his personal space. He didn't necessarily seem entirely confident about her just yet. "Hmm. Not sure if you could call us friends, we spoke over coffee once." Devri replied honestly, glancing up at Bradley to see if he had anything more to say in way of answering Casey's question. She didn't miss the fact though that the young boy seemed far more interested in Moose and Rufus, then he was in her. "Yes they are, this one here is Moose." she explained, patting the black Great Dane on his head. "And this is Rufus." She continued as she scratched the Brindle dane behind his ear.

Letting out a fit of giggles at Casey's question, unable to stop herself. That sounded so much like a question her own nine year old sister would have asked, it was almost refreshing. Quickly composing herself, Devri replied. "Not sure I could. Think I might be too big for them." She pulled a face, smirking faintly. "But honestly, I've never tried."

[bradleythomas06]

Bradley shrugged. "Been all right," he said. "Busy. Moved us to another apartment, got him in school, among other things." He put a hand on Casey's back, urging the boy forward a little. "What about you? How have you been?"

"Nice to meet you," Casey said automatically. He had, after all, been taught his manners, and he tore his eyes off the big dogs--he'd never seen them so big before. He started to reach out and then held back, looking back up at Devri. "Can I touch?" he asked.

Bradley couldn't help but chuckle as she began to giggle. Casey looked up at them both curiously, not quite sure what he'd said to generate the laughter. "You're not that big," the boy protested. After all, she was smaller and definitely skinnier than his uncle, though she was taller than Miss Nora.

[devri_york]

Devri nodded, listening to Bradley as he explained having found another apartment and getting Casey into school. She paused, thinking about what had gone through her life since seeing him last. "We made it through our final performances of our last ballet, and now we're deep in the throngs of rehearsals for Don Quixote. I guess really my life still pretty much revolves around ballet." She replied with a shrug. God, when she said it aloud she truly did sound kind of dull, maybe Laine was right, maybe she did need to get out more.

She smiled warmly at Casey as he politely greeted her back. Devri watched as he seemed to want to reach out and pet one of her dogs, and nodded her head when he asked if he could. "Sure, worst thing they'll do is lick you." she replied. Moose and Rufus may be huge, but neither one of them had a mean bone in their bodies.

Trying to gather her composure again, Devri smiled at Casey as the young boy stared at her, curiosity written on his face. Of course to him his question had probably made complete sense. "No, you're right, I'm not that big." She replied honestly. Maybe if that same statement had come from an adult she would have had issues with it, with someone noticing she was just a wisp of a thing. But coming from a child, it didn't bother her. "But dogs aren't really designed for riding, sweetie."

[bradleythomas06]

"Oh, wonderful," Bradley said with a smile. "When do performances for Don Quixote start then?" he asked. Now that he finally had some people in his life to babysit more often, he might actually be able to come to a performance. Bradley had always liked the arts, even though he had no personal talent or creativity (in his mind, at least) at all.

Casey tentatively started petting the two dogs, obviously thrilled. They were big and cool and just neat, he thought. "My dog is too small to ride," he confided in her, looking up happily. "She's like this big," he gestured in roughly the right size for a Pomeranian, "and poofy. Like a warm pillow." That kissed him when he was sad or happy. He loved Triscuit. "She's as nice as your puppies are."

[devri_york]

Devri smiled when Bradley asked about performances. “Performancesstart June 10th, and run for just that weekend.” She replied. Thethought of maybe having a familiar face in the audience was a nice one. Herfamily used to attend every performance of hers while she had been in Duluth,but now of course had yet to see her dance with The Texas Ballet Theatre atall. “We had a second set of dates, but they’ve since been cancelled.”

She listened as Casey told her about his own dog, a faintsmile on her face as he described it too her. “Yeah? I would have to agree thatsounds too small to ride. But perfect for cuddling with.” Devri replied afterthe young boy had finished talking. “I’m going to let you in on a secret, I usethese guys as pillows sometimes.” She commented with a laugh. “Though they aren’tpoofy, just warm and cuddly.” Devri continued. “Oh yeah? Does your puppy have aname?”

[bradleythomas06]

Bradley made a mental note; he would try to attend one of the shows, if not the opening show. He didn't know if she would like him attending, but he usually figured that most people wanted more seats filled in the audience to something like that. "I'll try to be there, then," he said with a smile. "It's been awhile since I've seen a ballet."

Casey's eyes widened slightly. "Biiiig pillows," he said with a grin. "Her name is Triscuit 'cause her color is like the food," he told her.

[devri_york]

Devri smiled, surprised when Bradley made the comment that he would try and attend. "Well, if you do make it to a performance it'll be nice to have a familiar face in the crowd." she replied honestly. "Not to sound biased or anything, but this will be a good one to go to. So far it's looking like it will be better then our last show."

She just laughed, nodding her head in agreement. "Yes, very big pillows." she said with a smile. "Oh yeah? That's creative. Mine aren't nearly as creative." Devri remarked. "This is Moose, and the other is Rufus." She explained, first motion towards her black dane and then the brindle one. "My little sister named them."

[bradleythomas06]

"Well, then I'll definitely give it a try. Especially with a recommendation like that." Wasn't every day someone in a production could or would give that kind of recommendation, or so he was given to understand. He could be wrong, though.

"Moose and Rufus are good names," Casey protested, giving Moose some more petting. His colors were interesting. "You have a sister?" he asked curiously, looking back up at her.

Bradley looked apologetically at Devri. The boy was curious, he couldn't help it, but it did annoy some adults a lot.

[devri_york]

“I’m pretty sure you won’t be disappointed, that is if you truly enjoy ballet I guess.” She replied with a shrug. The company director probably wouldn’t appreciate her giving out recommendations like that, not when she pretty much said their last production wasn’t stellar, but Devri liked being honest with people.

“Yeah? I’m glad they meet your approval.” Devri said, smiling brightly at Casey. “Yup, I have five sisters and a brother, actually.” She replied, not bothered by Casey’s curiosity at all.

Devri caught Bradley’s apologetic look, and she could only assume he felt bad that Casey was being so curious. Though it didn’t bother her, she honestly liked children. She flashed a understanding grin at Bradley, trying to ease his worry or concern.

[bradleythomas06]

Bradley did indeed enjoy ballet; it had just been awhile since he'd been free to go out and enjoy himself the way he used to. He'd always liked to catch shows and go out to nice places and such. Some of his family made fun of the fact; others seemed to think it was his only redeeming feature, especially if he was feeling generous and treated them.

Casey looked at her wide-eyed. "Wow," he said. "My Mama had lots of brothers and sisters too, but I don't think that many. I have lots of cousins though."

"She had four brothers and one sister," Bradley said. One of those brothers was, of course, him. "All of whom have at least two children of their own, except for me." Which again made him the oddball of the family, not having any children of his own.

[devri_york]

Devri just laughed softly at Casey's wide-eyed look. "I know, it's a lot of siblings to have." she replied with a smile. "Oh she did? and do you see your cousins a lot?"

She turned her attention to Bradley when he supplied how many brothers and sisters Casey's mother had. "So not nearly as many, but almost as close." she remarked, though she couldn't relate to the children thing. "You're just taking your time to be the cool uncle. I mean is there a rule in your family that says you have to have children?" Plus she kind of thought taking Casey in had to count for something, right?

[bradleythomas06]

"I used to stay with them all the time, when my Mom was sick." Casey had, unfortunately, been shuffled around a bit between the siblings and even a couple of the grown cousins while his mother had been so ill. "I like my cousin Lacey bestest, she's really nice and didn't mind Triscuit at all."

Unlike some of his other relatives.

Bradley chuckled. "I suppose so." Though as the family black sheep, he wasn't considered quite as cool by many. "It's just a large family, and I think they assume I should be settled and have kids of my own to add to the pack by now." But he'd never been big on having kids, thinking maybe one day, and it was just as well it was Casey, who was already a good kid and harder to screw up than his own probably would be.

[devri_york]

Devri didn't know exactly how to respond to that, maybe taken a little off guard by the comment. "Oh? and now you're living with your Uncle Bradley?" She asked, although she already knew the answer to that question. "Lacey sounds like a good cousin."

She laughed. "Completely understand large families, though I'm the oldest and nowhere near ready for kids. So no pressure to have any, not yet anyway." Honestly her parents understood letting her lead a life before she settled down and started a family. Plus she didn't peg herself as the marriage and kids type, not yet anyway. Her career took up too much of her time right now.