Call: Jasper to Miranda

[jasperwoods]

Date: January 13, 2012
Characters: Jasper Woods, Miranda Jackson
Location: Respective locations
Status: Private
Summary: After almost two weeks, Jasper finally decides to call Miranda.
Completion: Incomplete

Comments

[jasperwoods]

“Yes, I was,” Jasper agreed, his voice tinged with humor. “Thank you. I still wonder what in the world I’m doing at times, but for the most part Abby makes it pretty easy.” There was definitely a hint of pride in his voice, even though he couldn’t really take credit for how Abby was, but he had contributed half of her genetics, which he knew played into who she was.

Jasper didn’t think being cautious was anything to be ashamed of, but neither was he going to push the point with her, as she’d already admitted that he was right. “Yes, it can make things fun,” he agreed with a small chuckle.

“Would you believe me if I said I’ve been told that a time or two?” he asked, grinning. He knew that it wasn’t exactly a good thing in some parts of his life, but he didn’t really want to change who he was. “Hmm, red velvet cupcakes and gingersnaps, I’ll remember that,” he said softly, filing that away. “Now, I am really good at sugar cookies. They were my favorite growing up,” he admitted, trying hard not to focus too much on the way her voice had sounded. It wouldn’t do him any good to read more into it than was there.

“Hmm, let’s see. I spent two years in Peru doing mission work after high school. But that’s not something from my childhood, so let’s see what else I could tell you,” he trailed off, thinking about it for a minute. “Oh! I learned how to ride a bike, for the most part, but I didn’t really like it. I was really good on roller blades, though. Spent a lot of time at the roller rink in my spare time.” He wasn’t really embarrassed by that. Not everyone liked riding a bike, and at least he could ride one if he needed to.

[miranda_jackson]

Miranda wasn’t surprised to hear that Abby was an easy kid, she had seemed that way when Miranda had met her. Chatty, but that hadn’t been bothersome at all, and Miranda didn't have much experience with kids, but she thought most of them were probably that way. “Mmm, and you have the proud daddy voice down perfectly.” She told him, familiar with the tone. She’d heard her father use it enough growing up.

“Actually I would,” Miranda replied, “It is better than being easily offended and high strung, I think.” She didn’t know anyone that would prefer those traits to being too easy going. She laughed softly at his exclamation about sugar cookies; it was somewhat refreshing that he’d even admit things like that. Some men were so funny about things they viewed as traditionally feminine. Miranda thought it was stupid really. “Is that so?” She asked rhetorically, “And are they still your favorite now?”

Miranda eyebrows rose when he mentioned doing mission work in Peru for a few years and she asked, “What made you pick Peru?” She knew some people chose the country because it was somewhere they wanted to travel, but some also chose it for a specific type of mission work. She’d been in church enough growing up, and even now, that she was familiar with mission work in general, even if she had never done any herself. “Oh? Did you learn X Game type things?” She’d watched more than her fair share of the summer X Games with Davis growing up, and always thought everything looked more dangerous than fun. She’d be a little amused though if Jasper said yes.

[jasperwoods]

“Oh, do I? Must be because I practice it when I’m by myself,” Jasper joked dryly. It was really because he’d always been expressive, and Abby was really a kid to be proud of, in his opinion. He didn’t really see the point in pretending to be ashamed or not proud of Abby. “Really though, it’s not hard to be proud of her.” Abby was smart and cheeky, and she did try to do right most of the time, which he thought was pretty good for a six-almost-seven year old.

Jasper couldn’t say he was surprised that Miranda believed that, and he had to agree with her next comment. “Yes, I’d say it is better than that. And, I think it’s safe to say that I am neither of those things,” he assured her. He didn’t think either of his serious relationships would have lasted even as long as they had if he were easily offended or high strung. “Mmhmm, it is so,” he answered, despite her question sounding rhetorical. “They are, yes. Snickerdoodles, too. My mom makes ‘em better than I do, but I’m not half bad at ‘em,” he answered.

“My church was sponsoring a new mission down there, and Mattie’s husband was going as the Missionary for it, so I went down with them,” Jasper answered, thinking it was a simple enough answer. “Have you ever been out of the country?” he asked curiously. He laughed briefly at her question. “No, I can’t say I was that good.” He’d never even really watched much of the X Games, but he didn’t see the point in admitting that. At least he knew what they were, right?

[miranda_jackson]

“She seems like a good kid, she’s very precocious,” Miranda said, “And I think that will work in her favor.” She didn’t mind talking about Abby, she was important to Jasper, and Miranda thought it would make a bad start t a friendship if she gave him limitations on what he could talk about.

Miranda smiled. “My mama makes everything better than I do,” She admitted, “She’s amazing in the kitchen. I keep hoping the more time I spend with her that it will rub off.” She wasn’t awful in the kitchen, but she wasn’t a pro either; she could feed herself and manage to not burn the apartment down. “I never had much interest in learning until I was out on my own. Chinese takeout more than once a week is not a good thing.” Even Davis had given her a hard time about her diet the first few months out of college.

“Oh, okay.” Miranda said, “So your sister and her husband, were they short term or long term missionaries?” She wondered if they were still in Peru or not. “I have,” She replied, “I’ve been to Mexico and France, I spent a short time in London also. My college roommate liked different destinations for our spring break.” And Audrey’s parents had usually footed most of the bill, though Miranda insisted on paying part of it, she never liked the idea of taking advantage of her friend’s family. “You probably avoided a few broken bones in not trying to be,” Miranda commented.

[jasperwoods]

“Yes, she is,” Jasper said with a laugh. “And I have to agree that it will work in her favor.” He hoped that she would keep that quality, really. Abby was such a good, kind kid, smart too, and he definitely encouraged those things in her.

“Isn’t that usually the way of things?” Jasper asked rhetorically, amused. He knew his own mother was better at most things in the kitchen than him, and he really wasn’t embarrassed to admit that sometimes they traded new recipes that they’d tried out. “Well, maybe it will,” he said, his tone hopeful as he had to stomp down on the impulse to offer to show her some things in the kitchen sometime. Maybe someday, once they were more familiar and comfortable with one another, but right now they were still in the very early stages of getting to know one another. He laughed at that comment and said, “No, it’s not, but it’s so good.” He really was not picky with food and would eat just about anything, but Chinese takeout really was good.

“Long term,” Jasper answered. “They’re actually still down there, but I know my mom’s been making noises about wanting them back in Texas. They’ve been down there for almost seven years, and they’ve only been able to come back to visit three times. We haven’t even met Lucy, Mattie’s youngest.” He wasn’t sure why he’d just gone on and on about that, but he hoped she wouldn’t mind. The whole point of calling had been to get to know one another, right? “I see nothing wrong with that, though it looks like you’ve seem more of the world than I have,” he commented. “I’ve only been to Peru.” Maybe someday he would change that, though he thought that might be a little more difficult now that he had Abby. “Yeah, I probably did. I’ve never actually broke a bone.”

[miranda_jackson]

“Osmosis hasn’t worked in my favor so far, but I remain optimistic.” Miranda said and brushed her hair out of her face again. She really should have remembered to bring a hair band out with her. “So very, very good.” She agreed with a laugh, “There’s a place down in the Hulen Mall area that I swear makes the best Chinese in the city.” Now she was sort of rambling, and she really didn’t want to do that, “Not that I’ve tried every Chinese restaurant in Fort Worth, I’m not quite that bad.” Maybe half of them, but Jasper didn’t need to know that.

Miranda smiled at the way he kind of went off on a rabbit trail about his sister and her family. “Oh, my Mama would be the same way,” She said, “I don’t think she would ever actually tell me, but I think she was happy I didn’t get offered the position I wanted in Seattle.” She couldn’t imagine the reaction if she decided to move to a different country long term, “She was so happy over the holidays to have both of her girls present.” Even if it hadn’t exactly been a Cleaver kind of experience. She smiled again when he said she’d been to more places that he had, “Only because my college roommate had wealthy parents who were more than happy to pay the bills for Spring Break excursions.” She told him. “Seriously?” She hadn’t meant to sound as surprised as it came out, not everyone had broken a bone, “I broke my wrist in middle school.”

[jasperwoods]

Jasper chuckled, shifting on the cushion of the couch to stretch his legs across the expanse of empty couch. “Oh yeah? There are a couple down near Hulen Mall that I like,” he said. He grinned when she continued, amused that she seemed to want to make sure he knew she wasn’t that bad. “No judgment,” he assured her. “Damien liked to order delivery a lot, so I’ve tried a lot of places in Fort Worth over the years. And anyway, didn’t you say Fort Worth was where you grew up? So it would make sense for you to have tried a variety of places.”

Jasper had to bite his tongue, telling himself that it would probably come off so wrong if he said he was glad she hadn’t got a job in Seattle. They still didn’t know each other all too well, and just because he was glad that he was getting the chance to know her didn’t mean he needed to go saying things like that. “Well, hopefully it didn’t turn out so bad for you even though you didn’t get the job you wanted,” he said instead. “That’s not a bad setup, if you can get it,” he commented with a small laugh, and he really couldn’t blame her for taking them up on the Spring Break trips, though he hadn’t really gone anywhere too exciting, and he’d stayed in the states. “Seriously,” he confirmed, amused by her surprised tone. “How’d you do that?”

[miranda_jackson]

Miranda laughed softly, "Maybe I should get together with him and compare notes on all the takeout restaurants in the city." She joked, "And yes, it is where I grew up, but I don't remember having takeout very often when I was younger. My mama was a stay at home mom." She explained, "And I've always preferred nice little sit down places over takeout, but when you work my hours I guess I just got into a habit." She shrugged a little bit. "It would probably work better for me to have a roommate, then at least I wouldn't be eating the same takeout for a week all by myself."

"Not at all, actually. The Dallas job was a better position with a better salary and opportunity for promotion." Miranda replied, "I just had a sentimental attachment to the firm in Seattle. I interned for them for two years." She knew the move to Texas had been the smartest for her, and she could say now that she liked having the chance to reconnect with family; even if it still carried an amount of awkwardness with it. "It really wasn't. I'm not nearly as adventurous as Audrey though, so I did spend some of it in the hotel room while she partied. And I insisted on paying for a portion of things, I didn't want them to think I was taking advantage." Especially because Audrey's family had known that Miranda's family was relatively wealthy. "Cheer camp. We were stunting and my spotters didn't catch me properly. It could have been worse though, they could have dropped me on my head." She explained with a small laugh, it was amusing now, even it hadn't been then.

[jasperwoods]

Jasper felt a little guilty at just how much he hated that joking suggestion that she get together with Damien even to just exchange takeout notes. Just because he’d wondered about his ex’s interest in his best friend didn’t mean he needed to worry that his crush new friend might end up with an interest in his best friend. “You could,” he hedged. “Or I’d be happy to compare notes - I’ve tried almost as many as Damien has, mostly because of him, but still.” It occurred to him then that she’d probably been joking, but he couldn’t take his words back now, so he would just have to hope she wasn’t put off by it. “So was mine, and we didn’t have a whole lot of takeout, either.” He frowned at her words, and before he knew it, his mouth was running away from him. “That’s a shame. I’d be happy to treat you to a sit down meal sometime.” Jasper knew it wouldn’t be a good idea to let himself keep speaking without censoring himself, at least he thought it wouldn’t, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. “Takeout really is better when you have someone to share it with,” he commented, and he was just a little embarrassed by the slightly flirtatious edge to his tone.

The relief Jasper felt that Miranda wasn’t disappointed with getting the job in Dallas rather than Seattle wasn’t really warranted, he knew, but he felt it nonetheless. “Well, it makes sense that you’d have a sentimental attachment to them, then,” he commented, leaving his own thoughts on the matter out of it. “Well, you don’t have to be adventurous to have a good time, I think,” he pointed out, actually finding that quality very attractive. “Stunting? Is that when they throw ya up in the air and you do flips and stuff?” he asked before continuing on to say in an amused tone, “It’s a very good thing they didn’t drop you on your head.” It would have been a shame if she’d been more seriously injured than just a broken wrist.

[miranda_jackson]

Miranda bit her lip to keep herself from making an amused noise at the way Jasper offered to compare notes with her. She wasn’t going to read more into it than was there, but it was kind of cute nonetheless. “Or I could do that,” She agreed, “I doubt you’d laugh at my color-coding ways. Or at least if you did, you’d try to be polite about it.” She didn’t know Damien at all, so she didn’t know if he would, but given the option she’d rather spend time with Jasper than his friend. “Would you?” Miranda countered as her eyebrows raised. She certainly wasn’t going to read any more into that statement than a polite offer. Her eyebrows raised eve more when he continued to speak, and thank goodness he wasn’t there to see her surprise. She was also caught just a little off guard by his tone, it sounded more than friendly. “Yes it is.” She agreed, and now she really wasn’t imagining what a dinner with Jasper would be like. That line of thought just wasn’t a good idea right now. Even if it had sounded like he had been flirting, she couldn’t trust that it wasn’t her brain reading more into it than was actually there.

“I could have really used you as an ally back then,” Miranda commented, “Audrey used to give me the worst time about staying in. But I do agree, you really don’t have to be adventurous or reckless to enjoy yourself.” Thankfully Audrey had never pushed her that hard to do things she didn’t want to do. “Yep, I was always one of the smallest girls on my squad, so I was almost always relegated to being the flyer.” It had been fun and she had never had a worse injury than her broken wrist. “Yes, somehow I don’t think I would have recovered quite so quickly or well from that.”

[jasperwoods]

Jasper chuckled under his breath. “Oh no, I would never laugh at color-coding. Now Damien, he would definitely laugh.” His tone was slightly teasing, but it was still the truth. “I would,” he confirmed. “You shouldn’t let a busy work schedule keep you from enjoying something you like.” That’s what he thought, anyway. And he really did hope that she would take him up on the offer, if only because it would give him a chance to spend more time with her and get to know her better. Friends went out to eat together all the time, right? And he really needed to not imagine sharing takeout with her, as the directions his thoughts were going in just weren’t entirely appropriate.

“Well, you’ve got an ally in me now, should the situation arise again,” Jasper assured her, his tone amused. The fact that she agreed with him only really drew him to her more, and he was having to remind himself that all he was allowing himself to want right now was friendship. He needed to focus on just being a dad to Abby before really thinking about dating again. Miranda was just making that a little difficult to remember; the more he learned about her, the more he saw that she really was an attractive woman in so many ways. “That would make sense. At least it was fun, right?” At least he hoped she hadn’t done it if it wasn’t fun - being a father now, he wouldn’t want Abby to participate in something like that if she didn’t enjoy it.

[miranda_jackson]

"That's what I thought," Miranda replied, scrunching her nose at the slight teasing; she could take it in good humor, she knew sometimes she went a little overboard on organization, but it was a habit she just couldn't break herself of, "So, I think I would definitely prefer you." She smiled at his confirmation, "Could you just text that phrase to me once a week or so? Help me to remember." She said lightly. It would be nice to go out with a friend, Ezra didn't seem the type to enjoy something like that, even if he was good company, and she liked the idea of spending an evening with Jasper; the more she spoke with him the more she wanted to get to know him.

Miranda couldn't help picturing what Audrey's reaction would be to Jasper, though a part of her would be mortified if Audrey called him Dimples to his face. She knew it wouldn't do any good to warn Audrey off of saying that, if they were ever in the same room. "I'm sure it will," She said, "Last time she was down I was drug out on Halloween, costume and all." She made a face, though she would have to admit that the evening had been fun, it just wasn't what she naturally enjoyed. "It was fun. I would have continued into college if my schedule had allowed," But it hadn't, so she'd been content on not continuing.

[jasperwoods]

Jasper was glad that Miranda would prefer him, he couldn’t deny that. “I could do that, yes, if you’d like,” he answered, though he wasn’t sure she was serious about it. “So what else do you enjoy that you don’t have or make the time for?” he asked curiously. And if he was hoping to get some ideas of things he could do with her that she would enjoy, so that he could get to know her better, of course.

“Oh yeah?” Jasper said, and he couldn’t help but wonder what she’d dressed up as. “I took Abby to a church Halloween party, but I didn’t dress up. She and Bryn dressed up as Disney Princesses. What did you dress up as?” he couldn’t stop himself from asking. “That’s too bad then. Did you have time for any extra curriculars?” He was curious. He’d worked while going to school for the first three years, it was just during his last year of college that he’d not worked so that he could focus entirely on his classes, but with everything he was taking he hadn’t had a lot of time for extra curriculars.

[miranda_jackson]

It took a few seconds for her to think of her other hobbies; it had been a while since she got to indulge in any of them. “I like to horseback ride,” She told him, “I also like to watch old movies, but not many theaters show them regularly.” She wished they would more often, “I like the old silent films the best.” It had been something she had stumbled into and just fell in love with. Though it was even rarer to find a theater that showed the old silent films. “But I don’t mind newer movies either, as long as there is some kind of discernible story to it.” The summer blockbusters where the storylines consisted of things blowing up were definitely not something she enjoyed.

“Alice in Wonderland,” Miranda answered with a little smile, “Audrey chose it for me, claimed it was the only thing she found that would fit my costume requirements.” Which honestly, weren’t that stringent. “I was in a sorority, and did quite a bit with that. But I didn’t have much room with my schedule for anything else. I had a tendency to overload on credits.” Surprisingly she’d been able to manage it, but wouldn’t have if she’d joined every club or service group she’d wanted to.

[jasperwoods]

Jasper listened as Miranda told him some of the things that she enjoyed, filing them away for future reference. He grinned at her comment about newer movies. “Y’know, I do prefer movies with a point to them, ones that make you think,” he commented honestly. He just wasn’t fond of the kinds of movies and shows that most guys his age were into. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen an old silent film, though, and I’ve never been horseback riding,” he admitted. He wondered what it might be like to do some of those things with her. “How do you feel about bowling?” It was something he enjoyed and was pretty good at, though he hadn’t gone in… Jasper realized then that he hadn’t been in almost a year, since before he’d started dating his ex, and that was pretty sad.

“Hmm, I could see that, yes. Did you have the little blue ribbon in your hair and all?” he asked, his tone teasing, though not in a malicious way. Alice in Wonderland was one of Abby’s favorites, so he’d seen it quite a few times over the months she’d been with him. Really, Abby had a lot of favorites that she watched frequently. “Ah, I can understand that. I didn’t go the fraternity route, but I worked the first few years on top of a full course load, so I didn’t have a lot of free time for extra curriculars,” he explained even though she hadn’t asked.

[miranda_jackson]

Miranda wasn’t surprised that he hadn’t seen a silent film; she hadn’t met too many people near her age that enjoyed the medium. “Well, the next time I hear one is showing I’ll have to take you, so you can say you have.” She told him, “Same with horseback riding, I’ll take you out sometime.” By no means was she an expert, but she could teach him at least enough for a trail ride. “Bowling?” She’d gone a few times through middle and high school, but she’d never been very good, “It was fun the few times I went, but it’s been years. Why?”

“Yes I did,” Miranda confirmed with a laugh, “It was very authentic.” Even if it hadn’t been her idea, or something she would have done without Audrey pushing her to do it, she had been impressed with Audrey’s attention to detail. “And I couldn’t keep her from loading pictures to Facebook.” She scrunched her nose up; at least they hadn’t been inappropriate, so at least she didn’t have to worry about that. “Oh? What kind of job did you have?” She’d never had a job before graduating college, her schedule had always been too packed to allow one, and her parents hadn’t required that she find one.