Books & morning sun [ open ]

[JORDANNA HAILE GARCIA]

It had been nearly a week since Jo found out her ex was having a baby with one of her employees. It was bad enough that she and Kit had ended up both moving to the same city, and it was worse that they couldn't seem to shake each other, but this? He had taken things to a whole new level of fucked up.

Anyone who knew Jo knew that deep down she was pining for her ex. Kit had never been a good match for her. Sure, they made a decent couple at times, but in the end he didn't want anyone "nagging" him and she couldn't sit by idly and watch him drink himself to death. She loved her orphan too much, and having both come from messed up upbringings, both not wanted by their parents and both finding each other, Scriptor Bay natives in Vegas, it was hard not to care for him. Deep down Jo always felt that she would end up with Kit. They were too alike, and they shared a deep history together. But when Hadley had gone and got knocked up by him, and then proceeded to tell Kit in HER store, Jo realized she needed a change.

The "No Kit" sign went back up in her store front window, and there it would stay for the rest of time. She was tired of his shit, tired of wasting her time, and personally, tired of seeing Hadley and that stupid, ugly baby bump all the time. She cut the girls hours, but she had no reason to justify letting her go. Hopefully, she thought, Hadley would get the clue and just quit on her own. It was too painful to know that the baby that should have been her own was growing inside of that two-faced little snot. And to think she had liked Hadley!

Jo had hoped that the pain would ease with each passing day but she was finding it hurt more and more. She was less angry now and more devastated, like she needed to mourn the loss of someone important. And in a way she was. She was mourning the idea of any future with Kit Rathbone. What she needed to do was get him out of her mind, but the girl had no clue how to do that.

This was the reason she found herself heading to Luminality Books. She had heard plenty of good things about the store, and plenty of not so good things. They sold books on witch craft and spirituality, things Jordanna had never really looked much into, but being a girl who worked with herbs, she had a feeling they would have some sort of recipe's to cook up something to ease the overwhelming depression that she had begun to sink into.

She walked in and looked around, biting her lower lips. Maybe she would grow her hair out again. Maybe she needed more changes. Maybe she would call one of her friends and offer them a huge bonus to move to the city and manage the store, then she could consider opening a NEW location away from Kit. That idea, she knew, was a bad one, though. She didn't have the funds for a new location just yet. Sunshine's Too had barely just begun to take off! Maybe in a year or two, but by then Kit's evil seed would have been born and knowing Hadley, she would come around and flaunt the little demon. Jo decided she wouldn't be kind to the child.

Jo had no idea where to even begin her search. She didn't even know what her search was for. she looked around and noticed the man behind the counter and approached him. There was something familiar about him.. She'd definitely seen him before, but then again she had seen loads of people in the city before. It was one of the perks of owning and operating a small, popular business. "Hi." she started semi bashfully. "I was wondering if you could help me find a book on some powerful homeopathic remedies? Especially for, like, deterring you from wanting to murder your ex and the employee they impregnated?"

[JORDANNA HAILE GARCIA]

When the man offered her a cup of tea she could hardly contain the silly grin on her face. Tea had been a got to for her in bad times since she was a child. It started with her great grandmother who had been her caregiver when her own mother had decided she could no longer care for Jo at the tender age of four due to her accidentally burning her and her very young mothers home down. Her great grandmother had taken her in, and every afternoon they had a cup of tea and Jo would sit and talk about whatever Jo liked and granny would listen patiently, sipping her tea and nibbling at her biscuits. The habit had stuck with her all those years, and she knew it was a large reason why she went into the business of tea.

"No, thank you." She declined in her typical sweet voice, though it was soft feeling modest now. Her dark eyes followed him a he stood. The man towered over her, and though she felt dwarfed by him, she often felt dwarfed by people so it didn't matter, and again she thought he looked familiar. He'd probably been to the shop.

"If you'd like, I can go through the books with you to try and find exactly what you're looking for."

The offer made her blush. She suddenly felt awkward and out of place in the store. She had no problem asking for help, but to have him pour over books with her meant she would probably need to talk more and she certainly didn't want to weigh this poor man down. He had been enjoying what she assumed was a tea and a book when she came in and now he was offering to search through books to find something to make her pathetic self feel better?

"You don't have to do that.." She said meekly, her cheeks flushing again and giving him the opportunity to back out since she knew he was probably regretting his offer. He was just being friendly and helpful, like she was at her own store. It was a good practice. "I really just need something to make me a little less edgy. Tea, unfortunately, isn't doing it. I just don't like the thought of prescription stuff.."

[JORDANNA HAILE GARCIA]

The man was helpful and Jo smiled a little when he agreed about the prescription drugs. Jo tried to keep, for the most part, a healthy lifestyle. It was difficult at time since she ended up calling in for dinner most nights since she worked pretty much all day every day, but she made good, healthy choices. Cooking was overrated, anyway and she wasn't great at it. Until Scriptor Bay she had always lived off others cooking. First it was whichever relative she happened to be living with and then, at sixteen when she moved in with friends, they often did the cooking. Jo would sooner do laundry that cook, but she had difficulty even doing that sometimes. The dry cleaners had become a favorite place for her.

"How about I point out the ones I think will be most helpful and you can flip through them? If you've got any questions, just come and ask."

She blinked up at him and then gave a shallow nod. "That would be wonderful, thank you." She said in a gentle voice, still feeling mildly bashful for some reason.

"I appreciate this. I sort of have no clue what I'm doing. I mean, I have a basic understanding of how some herbs aid in some things, but vervaine is just not doing it for me these days." She offered a soft laugh. "I work with a lot of herbs.." She offered as she moved with him through the store. "I own Sunshine's Too. I'm not sure if you're familiar with it but we make hoe made organic toiletries and I also have a tea shop." She had a feeling that was where she'd seen him before, but didn't want to assume. "I just thought maybe this place might have more information. I've really only just begun to scratch the surface."

[JORDANNA HAILE GARCIA]

Jo beamed when he mentioned her teas. She was never too modest when it came to people complimenting her product. She had worked hard for an entire decade to perfect her store. She still made little adjustments here and there, and without fail had a new tea blend quarterly. Same went with her lotions. She tried to have a new one out every four months or so to keep things fresh, retiring old scents and keeping the best sellers. Occasionally the quarterly blends made it to best selling list, and for a fee she didn't mind whipping up a discontinued flavor of anything. It was certainly no surprise her business had survived as long as it had.

"Thanks." She said to his compliment about her hand salve, her smile wide and genuine. "I thought I recognized you, too." She said and her eyes turned as he pulled a book out and then continued to talk about the importance of her product. It was so nice to hear this from someone! She got comments like this often, but she never tired of it.

"No, it doesn't sound silly at all. You should know what goes in your body and what goes on it. Especially for people with allergies, organics are so, so important. Children and elderly I find benefit from the stuff I make the most. I get moms coming in all the time telling me that our lotions are the only ones that don't make their child break out in hives. It's just a great feeling knowing you're clean of toxins."

She took the other two books he was offering her and looked down at them. She didn't know where to begin, but she assumed since he knew what he was talking about, and seemed to have a good udnerstanding of what she was interested in finding, these would be a good place to start. She juggled the books and offered her hand in a bashful, but polite offering of greeting. "I'm Jo, by the way." She said softly. "And this is a good start. Thank you.." She bit her lip and looked down at the volumes she was holding. "Anything in particular I should be searching for?" She asked, trying to manipulate the books so she could page through them as they spoke.

[JORDANNA HAILE GARCIA]

Passionflower wasn't something Jo was entirely familiar with. Passion fruit, yes, but flower? The other things he mentioned had all occurred to her already. "I drink chamomile tea nightly." She informed him. It had always been one of her favorites. It aided her in calming down before bed, something essential for someone like Jo who was often frazzled by this or that. She had always been on edge, it was simply who she was. Neurotic, edgy, explosive... all things that described the fiery little mouse but she was also kind and gentle and giving. She was an emotional contradiction. She probably needed a shrink more than anything else.

She watched the man aiding her silently as he tapped the book against his chin, obviously pondering. She was grateful now that he was so willing to help. She would have been lost in the store. Not that she wouldn't have found anything she liked, but she might not have found what she was looking for. Given what she'd seen in the one book already she knew he place was a gold mind of information to help her business. She would definitely be back to browse for more books, hopefully of a happier nature.

"Consuming isn't necessary. I just thought it would be the quickest." She said softly. "A scent might help, or the pillow.. I'm not naive enough to think anything I do will make the pain go away, but now it's just... I'm overwhelmed and I have a business to run. I don't like hiding from the things that are bothering me anymore. I used to bottle it all up and then I'd explode. I don't like taking my anger out on those who don't deserve it, and working with the public and trying to maintain a certain image.." Jo shook her head and sighed.

"I'm sorry." She said quietly, her cheeks flushing. "I certainly don't mean to pour this on you. I just wanted a few recommendations of things to try that would make it a little easier to breath until this all passes." She flipped through the book on top. "I'm sure these will have what I'm looking for." Her tone was sullen, but she didn't want to bother him any further than she already had. She didn't want to burden anyone with this whole mess.

[JORDANNA HAILE GARCIA]

She was glad he didn't feel weird about her dumping things on him. In fact he was encouraging it in a way. It was good to talk about what's on your mind, especially to an unbiased audience.

This man got her. He seemed to be on the same page about pretty much everything, which was a nice change of pace for Jo. Sure, she had friends who were on the same page but mostly they were women or gay men. The thought occurred to her suddenly. Was this herb wizard gay? She didn't care either way, but if he was she felt more comfortable spilling her guts to him. Straight men didn't seem to care about what she had to say or used it against her one way or another.

She suddenly realized she was considering the strangers sexuality, and how extremely inappropriate it was. Almost as inappropriate as the comment that slipped from his mouth as she finished her thought about him potentially being gay.

"I'm worried I'm making this sound horribly sentimental, but I'd say just take care of yourself. It’s the one thing it sounds like you have control over."

Ouch. That stung.. She knew he didn't mean it in the way it sounded, especially when he looked sorry for saying it, and his apology confirmed the way he looked. It had come out wrong. Still, it hurt to hear and she forced a weak smile on her face and nodded, staring down at her feet. "No, it's sort of an accurate observation. I don't have control over outside forces, and can really just take care of me." What Kit did wasn't any concern of hers anymore. It wasn't her business who he decided to impregnate.

She hugged the book she was holding and sighed. "I'll go ahead and maybe try that herb pillow. I'm sure there's some suggestions in one of those books." She said, feeling mildly embarrassed now and sure he wanted nothing to do with her anymore.