Tastefully Tubular Tea & Toiletries [Jo]

[ellabell]

Ella's stomach could be described in two words in that moment: Hot mess. The day before, she'd made her weekly visit to her parents. Her mother, a plump southern woman, had opened the door and shrieked dramatically, pulling her daughter inside. According to Mrs. Mary Ann Bell, if a gust of wind would have surely whisked her daughter away. And she was not making a reference to Ella's wings.

In the hours that had passed after that, her mother fussed, filling plates up with fried catfish, heavily buttered vegetables and generous helpings of peach pie. None of these things were part of Ella's vegan diet, but she dared not protest against her mother. (The day she'd told her mother she was a vegan, Mary Ann had told her to stop using made up words.)

Needless to say, the aftermath had been what her mother would have described as, 'impolite dinner conversation.'

Now, Ella was turning to the only thing that ever helped her poor stomach after these episodes-- a steaming cup of peppermint tea from Sunshine's Too.

Ella had frequented the shop ever since she'd moved to Peanut Street and made a point to find every organic vendor she could. It was also nice to be able to pick up shampoo, conditioner and all other needed toiletries while she relaxed in the stores cute interior.

The store owner herself was another reason to come entirely. Jo had always been a warm and welcoming hostess to all of her customers, Ella included. With a shared interest in all things natural and organic, they'd become well acquainted.

The door to the red store chimed as Ella dragged herself through it, heading straight for the counter and scanning the area for Jo. She had to be here somewhere.

Ella stood there, hand over her stomach, looking haggered and waiting to tell yet another tale of the Bell family saga.

[JORDANNA HAILE GARCIA]

Everything seemed to be going to shit. At least as far as the Guardians all went. The sky was still dark, and Jo was still shifting every night against her will. This meant she had to make new store hours so she could get home in time for the shift and so none of her employees would witness their boss disappearing into the form of a mouse. The young girls were still on edge that one of their classmates had been abducted a few weeks ago and though she had been found, her assailant had not. Last thing she needed was for them to call the cops and tell them their boss had been kidnapped when really she was hiding under the large metal shelves in the back, praying no one came across her clothing.

On the plus side, things with Brandon were going swimmingly, and Jo was more than happy with their budding relationship. He was having a hard time dealing with this Guardians thing, too. She had been relieved that he was one as well. It made the fact that they couldn't spend the night together that much easier to explain, because frankly not being able to spend the night with the guy you were seeing really sucked. It sort of ruined the whole screwing-all-night thing she was hoping for. Not that they were screwing yet, but she had every intention to at some point, and pretty soon.

The store was short staffed today since a couple of her employees weren't feeling well, and Jo had the budding suspicion it was due to the secret of the city, but she didn't pry because it wasn't her business, and she wouldn't want anyone to pry her for details that were none of their concern. But in all honesty it didn't matter if the girls were in or not; the store was dead. Since the darkness, most people were staying inside, probably afraid of what would happen if they left their homes which was absurd. Nothing had happened yet, and Jo had no reason to believe anything would so she kept her store open.

She was in the back when the bell chimed and she was glad to hear it. "Do you want me to get it?" Gail asked who was helping Jo sort inventory in the back. The girl looked comfortable, her headphones in as she did the monotonousness work. "Nah, I'll get it. You want a scone or muffin or something when I come back?" She asked since they were going to go bad since there were no customers to nibble on them. The girl gave a shrug and then a nod. Jo picked herself up and moved to the front of the store.

She looked at Ella and gave a little smile. She looked a little careworn and she wondered if it was because of the storm or something else. "Hey, Ella Bella." She said, loving the girls name and not being able to help herself in adding the extra
A to her last name. Her whole name was like a nickname in itself. "What can I do yah for on this formidable day." She tried her best to keep in light spirits despite the overwhelming sense of melancholy that threatened at her door constantly. Just because the world was in shambles didn't mean her store needed to be. She refused to let the darkness in!

[ellabell]

Ella smiled at the nickname Jo had given her. "Formidable is certainly the word for it. I'm trying to keep a sunny disposition about it, but I'm in serious need of some vitamin D." Just talking about the weather was making her depressed and tired. "I'm also in serious need of a peppermint tea. Mama Bell has done a serious number on my stomach this week and that tea has been the only thing sounding mildly appetizing to me all day."

Her enormous bag held everything that one might need at any given time-- a brush, bandaides, a notepad, sever writing utensils, a bag of trail mix, a sewing kit, her phone, some homemade lip balm, mace, a small booklet of family photos, keys, a bottle opener, a camera, a book, and many others. Because of this extraordinarily large collection of things, as she dug into her bag, it took her a moment to locate her wallet so that she could pay for her order.

Pulling out some singles, another thought popped into her head, "Actually, I should probably pick up some more conditioner while I'm here. For some reason, I always use like, twice as much as I do the shampoo." She replaced the singles, and pulled out a twenty dollar bill instead.

For whatever reason, Ella found herself chatty around Jo. Maybe it was because she was always so busy at work, and that left her little time to socialize, or perhaps Jo was just a warm person. For whatever the reason, she felt the need to spill her guts every time she saw her. "So anyway, I go to visit my parents yesterday, and my mother proceeds to force feed me till I think I might explode. I have no idea why, but she seems to have a personal vendetta against anyone who wears anything smaller than a ten." She shudders thinking of the large, smelly pile of fried fish. "And you can't even rely on my dad once mom get's going because he's just as scared of her as the rest of us."

Her George Bell was a quiet man, who always seemed excited to see his daughter during her visits, but then totally abandoned her with her mother as soon as she got on the subject of Ella's weight, Ella's love life, or really anything that could be considered controversial between the mother and daughter. Which really meant that Ella saw her dad for about five minutes a week.

"You know how parents are though. I think my mother is just a particular breed of insane." Her eyes rolled, and she caught herself before continuing. "But enough about me. Anything new in your life since my last cup of tea?"

[JORDANNA HAILE GARCIA]

Jo folded her arms on the counter as Ella started chit chatting, and when she mentioned the tea she turned and got to work getting the girls mug and tea together. She had tea bags available for to go orders, but when they were in house she filled a tea ball with loose tea, because Jo insisted that it always tasted better than from a bag.

She gave a little laugh at the comment about her mother feeding her too much. Jo had long since stopped feeling jealous for those who had mothers who cared for them. Jo's never had, not until it was too late. When Jo was nineteen she met up with her mother and had a serious talk with her, confronting her for giving her up to family when she was four. Her mom had confessed she was too young to have a child and she just didn't know how to mend the relationship. It hurt Jo, especially since her mother had moved on and had gotten married and was pregnant at the time. Now Jo had a half decent relationship with her mom despite still not knowing who her father was, and had an awesome eight year old sister who was the spitting image of her with big blue eyes.

"And you can't even rely on my dad once mom get's going because he's just as scared of her as the rest of us. You know how parents are though. I think my mother is just a particular breed of insane."

Jo laughed and simply nodded at her rhetorical question about knowing how parents were. She didn't know, but she didn't need to flaunt that sort of information, either. "My mothers a nut job, too." She offered, sliding the mug to Ella and resting her arms on the counter once more.

"But enough about me. Anything new in your life since my last cup of tea?" Jo smiled warmly. "You mean aside from this crazy storm scaring away all my customers?" She teased, looking at the window and seeing that it looked far later than it was. Now she knew what it was like to live way up north where it was dark for half the year. "Well... I met someone." She smiled a little bashfully, biting her lower lip. "God, he's a total dream, too. I feel like a teeny bopper even saying that, but seriously this guy has it all. He has a successful fishing company, he's smart, traveled the world, speaks like a dozen languages or something and hot. SO hot." She sighed and shook her head. "I'm just waiting for my ex to fuck it up somehow, and if not him something else. I have thee absolute worst luck with guys. I mean, I don't think you had the pleasure of meeting Kit, but he was a reeeal winner." She rolled her eyes thinking about her ex. She loved Kit, and she wished him well, but she was done wit that chapter in her life.

"I don;t know if you remember that girl Hadley that worked here? Yeah, my ex got her knocked up, so my luck with guys? Not usually notable." She laughed and shrugged, then reached over and grabbed a couple of loose bags of the peppermint tea, sliding it across to Ella. "Keep those around for later, and don't tell anyone I slipping you a couple freebies."

[ellabell]

Grasping her cup of tea in one hand like it was the difference between life or death, she blew into the cup, waiting for it to cool slightly. In reference to the storm, she just nodded. "This weather is seriously depressing. But I can't say that I minded closing up shop early today since I feel like crud." That morning actually, she'd woken up to a single feather in bed next to her. It wasn't like she'd never shed a feather in her life, but she'd usually been able to tell when it was coming. She'd left it there, not bothering to pick it up. She'd have to wait till she had time to burn the thing. She was always overly cautious about disposing of the larger than life feathers. It probably wasn't even a big deal, but you never knew who went snooping around your trash, and if they suspected anything.

Ella took a sip of her tea and it felt like heaven sliding down the back of her throat. Her eyes were hooded, as she enjoyed the sensation, but then snapped back open the moment that Jo said she'd met someone. Without needing any prompting, Jo continued, telling her about the hunk she'd snagged. Smart, worldly, fluent in a million different languages and a job that revolves around fish? Ella thought to herself. He sounded exactly like an Avisaille.

Their community itself was a pretty tight knit one, and Ella wondered if maybe she'd crossed paths with him at some point. "Ooooo... he sounds so... cultured. What's his name? Is it dreamy just like his hot bod?" She took another sip of her tea. Speaking of hot. [Ooc: Sorry, couldn't resist the pun. CONTINUING ON.] Listening to Jo talk about her ex was just flat out depressing. It sucked that such nice people could get stuck with scumbags. Ella didn't have much experience of her own on the dating front-- She'd gone on a good number of dates, but hadn't ever had anything serious. Her mother could happily report to the neighbors that her daughter's virginity was still perfectly in tact. Referring to Kit, she mumbled under her breath, "Sounds like a peach."

Internally, Ella was feeling two things: 1. Genuine excitement. She couldn't help but be ecstatic for Jo after seeing her basically turn to goo while talking about this guy, but also 2. A bit of desperation. Ella was forty-six for Christ's sake. For an Avisaille, that was not such a big deal, but for someone who spent a lot of time around humans, she was feeling like a... what was the term? Ah. Cougar.

"That is just amazing, Jo. Really. After all that drama with your ex, no one really deserves to be happy and with a new man more than you." She raised her steaming mug in a lame version of a toast, and happily sang, "To Jo and her new dream boat!"


Her stomach did a sickening flip again, and the color that had crept back into her face with the help of good company and Jo's tea, retracted itself. With her free hand she stuck the extra tea bags into her purse. "Screw firemen and the police. You are a true hero for these."

[JORDANNA HAILE GARCIA]

Cultured. That was a good word for him. He was cultured! He was also a little down in the dumps lately, but Jo didn't want to get into all that because his reason for being down was sort of a private issue. His leader was dead, and he was feeling generally a little under the weather. Jo wondered how long this whole darkness thing would last!

She laughed and shook his head. "His name is just okay. Brandon. Cute and boring. Brandon Garcia.. Makes me think of the Grateful Dead." She laughed and shrugged as they continued to talk a little, the color in Ella's cheeks coming back a little as she nursed her tea. That was one of the best feelings for Jo. Seeing her products bringing others enjoyment, and in this case some solace. She had a fine collection of teas, in her opinion best in the country. It was completely up to the buyer to make their blends. Sure, she had lots of premixed ones, but they could buy tea loosely and mix and match them to make endless combinations. No other place she knew of did that.

"That is just amazing, Jo. Really. After all that drama with your ex, no one really deserves to be happy and with a new man more than you. To Jo and her new dream boat!" Jo didn't have a cup to clink with but she pressed her fist to the mug as Ella took a sip. "Thanks." She said genuinely. It felt good to have a guy again, and she hoped Bran was everything he seemed to be, and hopefully more. Who knew, maybe he would really be the one for her! The one that lasted without going completely sour! The thought made her sigh contently.

Jo laughed when Ella called her a hero and shook her head. "I don't know about hero. Goddess, maybe.. " She teased and shook her head again. "No. God, I'm definitely no Goddess. You look a little pale. Why don't you go sit?" She suggested, nodding to the chairs and love seat she had set up for her patrons in addition to the handful of small tables with chairs. Since no one was in the store she made herself a cup of ginger mango tea real fast and came around the counter to sit with Ella.

"So what do you think about this weather?" She asked conversationally. "Crazy, huh? People have been saying it's because of the tree splitting. I don't know, though... seems sort of odd." Jo liked to keep unbiased when it came to Guardians and the legend and all that stuff. She didn't want to make it obvious what she was, but she didn't want to dismiss it like she didn't believe it either. "It does have scientists and meteorologists baffled, though!"

[ellabell]

Ella made a perch of her chair, folding her legs up indian style, hunching over her mug, keeping it just an inch away from her lips. Mmmm... free steam mask with every order of tea.

Ella had heard of this Brandon guy once or twice. She didn't know much about him personally, other than he got in a lot of fights. Something about his sister's honor or something. She could respect familial bonds, but sooner or later that chickadee was going to have to learn how to defend her own honor. This WAS the twenty-first century after all. She kept her comments to herself, not wanting to spoil Jo's moment. Instead, she'd stick to the weather conversation.

"Asking me what I think about this weather is like asking me what I think about world hunger. Not a fan." She peeked out the window at the frightening clouds and wrinkled her nose. "I can't even look at it without feeling drained. It's like a dementor. This is honestly some real Harry Potter shit." She snorted at her own joke, and took a gulp of tea, feeling more ambitious with the size of her mouthfuls now that it was getting cooler. Taking another look outside, she got more serious with her second, real answer. "But really. I don't want to believe that the tree split open, but I'm really running out of options as to what sort of hot or cold front could be making that monstrosity outside.


"Of course, my mother called this morning and practically screamed through the phone that the world was going to end. Then Dad took the phone from her after forty-five minutes of behavior that should probably get her medicated. He just wanted to know how my stomach was feeling and if I'd found a renter yet." She sighed. Her parents never ceased to remind her of the Bennets from Pride and Prejudice. Except her mother wasn't only concerned about finding her a husband. She was concerned about EVERYTHING.

On top of her still queasy stomach, Ella's wings were feeling sore. This was not something that she could openly complain about to most people though. Although she had a lot of tell-tale signs that she was an Avisaille, she wasn't really fond of saying it directly. First of all, if there was one thing she'd learned as a kid was that humans would be freaked out if they knew that part of her. And the thing about humans is that they all have ears to overhear conversations about these things. Ella hadn't even come out with what she was to Jo, although if she was in fact dating one of her kind, she wouldn't really give a rat's ass. Jo may have even figured it out by now and just never said anything. Whether she knew it or not, Ella enjoyed her conversations over tea with Jo, and didn't really feel like intterupting any of their conversations to be like, 'Hey, by the way--' WOOSH WINGS, 'I'm a fuckin' bird woman. Now what were you saying?'

[JORDANNA HAILE GARCIA]

Jo grinned at Ella's comment about the weather being like world hunger. She wasn't a fan, either. No one was, and she had a feeling if scientists couldn't figure it out they'd evacuate the city. It definitely seemed like some crazy sci-fi stuff, and in reality it sort of was. Beings coming from a another dimension through tree? No way. "I can't even look at it without feeling drained. It's like a dementor. This is honestly some real Harry Potter shit." That was a MUCH better way of describing it and Jo laughed again. She had been a fan of the series in her younger years. She still was, but not nearly as hardcore. "I hear yah. I never thought of it like Harry Potter, but you're right. It's totally like that!" She encouraged, taking another sip of her tea.

Jo nodded along with Ella when she mentioned the tree. She didn't want to believe it was the tree either, but what logical explanation was there? There had been witnesses, Brandon included, to the tree cracking and spewing the mass. She couldn't not believe it. "I know what you mean." She said not wanting to give away that she knew it was the tree.

Ella was a riot when she spoke about her family. Jo wished she had a fun family dynamic; a crazy mother who loved her severely and a father who was doting and had to keep her mom in check. Instead she had no father, a crazy mother who sort of cared about her, and a really nice step-father who wanted to get to know her, but was a little bashful about approaching the subject.

"Maybe Harry Potter is in Scriptor Bay." She teased with a laugh. "Maybe there are dementors everywhere. Could you even imagine what that would be like? Dementors floating around?" Jo laughed and rolled her eyes. "This is going to sound stupid but I totally wanted to be a wizard because of those books. They had so many neat things! I mean could you even imagine going to class to learn about Hippogriffs? I would have been ten times the student I was in high school if I could learn to change a mouse into a teapot." She wrinkled those nose. "Not that I would do anything to a mouse. They're very noble little creatures.." She grinned and sipped her tea again, not believeing she was talking Harry Potter with Ella

[ellabell]

Ella was feeling a bit bubbly now that the conversation was turning more to the witch and wizarding world of Harry Potter. "ARRY POTTUH? 'ERE IN SCRIPTAH BAY?!" She shouted a little too loudly to be publicly decent, and covered her mouth afterwards, giggling. She almost wished that someone were around to hear them laughing about things. It felt good to be silly. For the first time all day, she was feeling good and ironically it was all because of a dementor. However, one of her thick brows on the subject of mice. "I'm all for not messing with mice. Animal cruelty is whack, for sure. But noble? That wouldn't be the first word I'd choose when speaking about mice. Adorable, perhaps though."

Her tea was now at the perfect temperature. The only bad thing about her tea being at the prefect temperature is that it always seemed to get too cold five seconds later. She took a few big gulps for that reason. Also because she was stalling a little.

Ella didn't have too many close friends in town-- they were all more like friendly aquantinces, and she just felt like she needed to get out more in general. She was hoping that she could perhaps get some of them together and get them all to go out together. Also known as, 'PARTAY-HAY-HAY' in Ella's book.

"So hey." She cleared her throat, and smiled, trying to make the transition not so awkward. "I was thinking this Saturday I'd get some people together. We could all go out for some drinks and some dancin'. Before you say yes though, I must warn you. I have some pretty sweet moves on the dance floor. You may get a little intimidated to say the least."

[JORDANNA HAILE GARCIA]

"ARRY POTTUH? 'ERE IN SCRIPTAH BAY?!" Jo nearly jumped out of her skin at the sudden loudness of Ella's comment and then laughed. It was a silly side of her she got to see sometimes, but not like that! She leaned back in her spot and laughed harder, shaking her head. What a goof!

"I'm all for not messing with mice. Animal cruelty is whack, for sure. But noble? That wouldn't be the first word I'd choose when speaking about mice. Adorable, perhaps though."

Jo raised a brow. Yes. Mice were sort of cute, and she had to admit she made one fine little mouse; white with big brown spots. "Trust me, they're noble." She teased with a silly little girn. "Haven't you ever seen Tale of Despereaux? He was totes a noble little mouse! Sure, the other ones were sort of wimpy but.. noble. Definitely noble." She laughed again and took a sip of her tea.

When Ella invited her out to go dancing Jo got really excited at first and nearly opened her mouth to blurt out yes, when she realized there was a huge flaw in that plan. Jo shifted at night and she was pretty sure Ella wouldn't want to dance with a mouse in her pocket. She immediately felt a little depressed.

"I would love nothing more than to go out dancing with you, and.. I will definitely take you up on that but evenings have been difficult for me lately. I mean, if it's during the day then I'm SO game but nights just... they've been a little rough for me lately." She bit her lower lip and looked into her mug. "I guess your plans are for the evening, huh?"

[ellabell]

Ella had in fact read that book. Along with a bajillion others. One reads a lot when on a ten year trip in pursuit of wisdom. But she found it amusing as Jo tried to justify her adjective use. "Okay, okay! The noble mouse it is!" She giggled.

When Jo's face got excited, Ella was sure that she was going to say yes. She was preparing herself for some partying fist pumps, but then the girl's face dropped.

"I would love nothing more than to go out dancing with you, and.. I will definitely take you up on that but evenings have been difficult for me lately. I mean, if it's during the day then I'm SO game but nights just... they've been a little rough for me lately." Rough nights? The upset/bitchy version of herself couldn't help but accuse that Brandon guy of depriving her of a girl's night out. Rational/nice Ella objected, and said for all she knew, she could be taking care of sick, elderly people by night. "I guess your plans are for the evening, huh?"

She tried to brush off being upset with a laugh, "Unless you know of any clubs that are open strictly during the day time." She took a gulp of her tea, allowing herself to drop her smile, if only for a second. Then it was back on her face, "It's all good though! We'll find something else to do soon. We're both excellent cooks! We can make a picnic and catch some rays." She glanced outside. "... Maybe an indoor activity actually. We'll figure it out, no worries!"

Regardless of Jo not being able to come, she couldn't help but still want to get out of the house. DO something. Ella was kind of a neat freak, but she'd been feeling single as fuck lately, and because of that, she'd been accumulating an impressive pile of dishes in the sink, the rug in her family room desperately needed to be cleaned-- they had lots of globs of melted ice cream-- and the birds that she liked to feed had decided to thank her by crapping all over her windowsill. The place was a mess. And that ice cream was making her fat. She'd gained some weight. She was a forty-six year old virgin and she was getting fat. Life sucked.

[JORDANNA HAILE GARCIA]

"Unless you know of any clubs that are open strictly during the day time." She didn't. Well, that wasn't entirely true. The Jack Kit was open during the day but it wasn't much of a club until the evening. In the day it was primarily just a bar, but it didn't matter anyway. Jo's ex owned that bard and she wasn't about to show her face there, not after telling him to butt out of her life recently.

Jo genuinely felt bad, not even just for bailing on Ella. She wanted to go out. She wanted more girlfriends, dammit! But explaining herself just didn't seem like a good idea. Ella wasn't close enough to know her secret and she wasn't sure the girl would be cool with it if she found out. Ella seemed to get over the disappointment quickly though and suggested a picnic. She beamed and then frowned realizing that catching rays wasn't exactly in the cards, either. "... Maybe an indoor activity actually. We'll figure it out, no worries!" She giggled and nodded.

"An indoor activity sounds great! I am definitely up for an indoor activity." She nodded, leaning forward on her knees as she bent over her mug. "Oh!" She yelped looking up at Ella. "My new guy has a sister who is interested in putting around with some of my lotions and stuff. We could experiment with some of the facial cleansers! Have a complete chick day!" She gushed. "We can have it at my place. We'll order in pizza, make cosmos and just do all the girly shit we would pay hundreds of dollars to do for free here! Well, almost free. I mean, cosmos and pizza will be a few bucks, but I'd be happy to donate all the cleansers! What d'ya think?!"

[ellabell]

Ella perked up at Jo's idea. A home spa day? That sounded lovely. And within her budget. Maybe they could have it after she went out so that she could soothe her hang over wounds. "That would be WONDERFUL. I will bring the pizza-- vegan if you don't mind. It's honestly not as bad as you might think... I mean, it's totally not as good as regular pizza, but it's got a little bit of yum in it still!.. On second thought, I'll make my own and you guys can order up a big ol' delicious greasy thing on the way there.Oh, Pizza. Pizza might be the one thing I miss..." She zoned off momentarily, thinking of alllll that gooey cheese, and crunch crust... Oooh yes.

She joined Jo back in the real world after that, "We'll be just like those ladies from Sex in the City. Except for much less glamorous with our clothing. I will be wearing yoga pants and a tank top."

She was so pumped now. Sure it wasn't a crazy night, but it sounded like a fun, comforting one. She wanted to find a group of people that she could feel that with here in Scriptor Bay. She'd been so focused on work lately, that she'd forgotten about how important friends were until she'd realized how desperately lonely she was in her huge apartment, all alone.

"This is going to be great. I'll bring over some chick flicks, too. As a perpetually single woman, I have quite the extensive collection." She thought of her personal favorite, The Wedding Date, and the scene that always made her insides melt. 'I'm allergic to fabric softener. I hate anchovies. I have a degree in comparative literature from Brown... and I think I'd miss you even if we'd never met.' Got her every time... she really needed a love life.

[JORDANNA HAILE GARCIA]

Jo wrinkled her nose a little at the sound of vegan pizza. Vegetarian pizza? YES! Vegan? Something about non dairy cheese didn't sound all that tasty, so Jo was glad when Ella mentioned she would make her own pizza and she and Mel could have the real deal. "That sounds awesome! Because.. I want a lot of yum in it." She laughed, all for trying new things as long as it didn't take away from the things she loved too much. Like hot, greasy pizza.

"This is going to be great. I'll bring over some chick flicks, too. As a perpetually single woman, I have quite the extensive collection."

Jo was genuinely getting excited for all of this. "This is going to be great! I have loads of them myself since I've been single for the better part of the last twenty eight years." She laughed, sipping her tea and feeling as though she wanted to bounce. She hadn't had a girls night in since, well, she lived in Vegas. Not that it would be at night, but it flowed better than girls day in. That sounded sort of weird.

"I'll text Mel. You'll love her! She's the sweetest girl in the world, and she happens to be my new flings kid sister, so I really need an excuse to pry juicy details about her brother out of her." She giggled, texting Brandon's sister.

When Jo finished texting the girl she slid her phone back into her pocket. "What days are good for you? I can do nearly any day as long as I can find some coverage for the store. Oh, hey how's your stomach doing?"

[ellabell]

"Vegan pizza may not be filled with so much yum... But it IS covered in soy cheese. Which is good for you. I'm going to be immortal, I'm so healthy." She tried to sound enthusiastic about her cruddy pizza, but couldn't muster it up. "Who knows. Maybe I'll throw caution to the wind and have a slice right before I head home. That way I can deal with the repercussions in the safety of my own home and bathroom." She snorted, then covered her mouth suddenly, embarrassed by the sound, which just made her laugh even harder.

"I'll text Mel. You'll love her! She's the sweetest girl in the world, and she happens to be my new flings kid sister, so I really need an excuse to pry juicy details about her brother out of her." She nodded vigorously. "Yes! This is your in. We will discreetly and sneakily infiltrate the fortress of secrets. Although, after a couple cosmos, I may not be so discreet. But I'm never going to be one to turn down an opportunity to day drink." Jesus. If her mother knew how much she drank, she'd make her move back in and ground her for life.

"As for what day is good for me, I'm pretty sure I'm the only vegan reasturant in the area, so I don't think I'll suffer too much if I put up a 'family emergency sign' for a day. I do need to hire someone ASAP though. That place is wearing me thin. How about tomorrow though, if that's not too short of notice?"

When Jo asked her about her stomach, her first thought was, 'What's wrong with my stomach?' But then she remembered how fucked up she'd been, coming into the store. Her cup of tea was now drained, and honestly she felt just fine at this point. "Surprisingly... fine. I swear you put feel good drugs in this shit. It really is amazing." She picked up her purse and waved it around a bit, the contents making a ruckus. "And now... I have my own stash."

With her purse still in her hand, all of a sudden 'Nsync's Dirty Pop started blaring from her phone. Unabashed, she pulled her cell out and checked the caller ID. "Good grief. It's my mother again." She looked apologetically at Jo. "I think I have to take this... Do you mind, and I'll see you soon?" She held her finger over the talk button, predicting her answer and preparing herself for another verbal ambush.