The First Hundred Years are the Hardest (Sean)

Normally, as the bar was situated fairly close to the entrance, Barb would see immediately when a new customer had arrived. At this point, however, the woman had been so certain that nobody else would be coming that she had allowed herself to more or less bury her nose in her spreadsheets. It wasn't until she heard the bell, then, that she looked up from her work to see a familiar face.

"You sure are," she said with a grin as she ostentatiously shoved her papers over to the side; she had gone over the numbers a dozen times that day, so it wasn't as though she was actually busy. Frankly, she had been waiting for someone or something to pry her away from all those numbers. "Come on in; how've you been?" She asked, taking a moment to clear the area a bit better so that he could sit near her at the bar if he so chose. "How are things over at the school?" Barbara remembered him mentioning that he worked at Hammel; she wondered if they were on break like normal schools were.

Seeing Sean reminded her of all that happened at the holiday party, which was now a few days passed. On the whole, it had been an enjoyable evening, even if it had gotten a bit weird towards the end and ultimately culminated in her seeing a strange man's behind out in the parking lot. It had still been nice to meet a few new people, particularly Sean, with whom she had found quite a bit to talk about.

"Anything I can get for ya?" She asked as she leaned on the bar.

Barbara wouldn't mind telling him what the papers were for - frankly, she would feel comfortable telling just about anyone that she was simply going over some business expenses - and had in fact shoved them away so unceremoniously just to show Sean that she was joking about him interrupting. But after poring over those rows and columns on and off for the past week, she was all too happy to get a little rough with them.

Sean was correct in his assumption about the summer business. Usually Barbara would hire two or three part-time waiters, since it tended to get very busy, particularly in summer evenings when young families liked to come buy for a treat after dinner. Hiring a few helping hands also meant that she could run out if she needed to and leave the storefront in capable hands if she trusted them enough. In winter, she was basically stuck here from ten until nine.

Her curiosity regarding Hammel was certainly satisfied by Sean's response; she had to admit that, despite having lived in the area for quite a while, she didn't really know much about the school. Not being a meta-human herself, she'd never had occasion to go visit, and it wasn't as though people just whipped out their powers here at Shake. She found the whole thing fascinating, especially that they got breaks like other kids (she tried to avoid using the phrase "normal kids," though it sometimes slipped while just in her thoughts). She nodded her head as he mentioned that he would have a few weeks to relax. "Sounds nice," she noted.

"I've been good, I've been good," she replied, and unlike most people, she actually usually meant what she said when folks asked her how she was. She had nothing to complain about, anyway; she had enough money for now, business was a bit slow but would pick up come spring, and beyond that everything else was chugging along. "Trying to figure out if I can-slash-should hire a kid to help out around here for the next couple months," she added, looking bemusedly over at the papers. "Sure doesn't look like I need the help, does it?" She asked, gesturing to all of the empty tables.

Barb couldn't help but laugh. "Within reach? I knew I liked you," she said through a toothy grin as she slipped on a pair of plastic disposable gloves and opened up the case of brownies sitting on the bar admittedly a few feet away. "Worth the trip for a friend," she laughed as she placed it into a dish. "Mint chocolate chip, mint chocolate chip..." she recited to herself as she searched through the bins before finding the right container. "Oh, how's umm..." she began, thinking for a moment as she plopped a few scoops of ice cream into the dish, "... oh, Josh?" She felt a bit guilty for forgetting the other man's name, but heck, she'd met four men in rapid succession and was surprised she remembered any of the names at all. The ice cream joined the brownie in the dish, and Barb went to work quickly adding some whipped cream, hot fudge sauce - the thickest in Vermont, she liked to say - and cherry before placing it down in front of Sean. "Fit for a king," she said, reaching down below the bar to fetch for him a napkin and spoon.

An eyebrow raised into the air inquisitively as Sean mentioned knowing some students that might be looking for work. If Sean knew them and was willing to recommend them, they were probably pretty good, no? "Yeah, I mean I'm hoping to give it to someone who could, ya know, use the money," she said, leaning against the bar with one elbow as she was apt to do. "But one or two kids has already inquired, so I guess I should give them first go, ya know?" She added. Initiative and all that, she supposed. Might as well hire someone who really wanted it. "Appreciate the offer, though; I'll let ya know if I'm still lookin'." She still wasn't completely sure that she would be hiring anyone anyway, but the idea was sounding more and more practical the longer she thought about it.

"Oh good," the brunette replied as Sean mentioned that Josh was doing well. "Glad to hear it." She had learned at the party that Josh was a lawyer of some kind; she didn't remember the specifics, but it had sounded like pretty important work at the time. She found it very interesting that even the court system lightened up a bit over the holidays. "Boy, I guess things are really windin' down for the year then, huh?" She asked thoughtfully. She nodded as Sean mentioned that Josh was celebrating Chanukah with his parents; that was another little tidbit she had picked up at the party. She did have a good memory, when she tried.

Barbara nearly beamed with pride as Sean complimented the sundae; she secretly really enjoyed seeing how adults turned into little kids when a big ol' bowl of ice cream was placed in front of them. It especially meant something coming from someone like Sean; he seemed to have this important job and this big life with lots of friends and such; Barbara didn't know much about that. "Yeah, I think I'll have one too," she replied with a laugh as she set about making up a dish for herself. Who was she to resist a bowl of ice cream? And she hadn't had mint chocolate chip in a long time.

"So remind me what you do at the school?" She asked as she brought a spoonful of ice cream up from her own dish into her mouth and chewed thoughtfully. It had been mentioned at the party, but only just before a bit of craziness started, and she didn't recall. "I know you said you work with the kids." She was dying to ask what they were like - not the ones he dealt with specifically, but the meta-students in general - but figured such a question might seem too nosy.

Barbara nodded her head in gratitude. "'Preciate it," she stated. Speaking with Sean about the issue had helped her all but make up her mind on the matter; she appreciated having someone to bounce ideas off, which wasn't a convenience she often had.

The middle-aged woman misconstrued Sean's remark about the new year as one less about the Mayan calendar and more about people just generally not being pleased as time moved forward. Getting older and all that. She had to agree with them, though, at least to a point: she sure wasn't getting any younger, and getting out of bed in the morning to come to the shop and wait on people all day wasn't getting any easier. As it was, she didn't know much about the Mayans and all that mumbo-jumbo. She supposed that was because she didn't pay attention to the news much: it was mostly just depressing anyway.

Barbara certainly didn't wait for the place to be empty before breaking out her trusty spoon, but it did help make the experience a bit more peaceful. She grinned as she watched the man take his first bite. "Yeah, now just imagine getting to work here," she replied facetiously. "You'll start lookin' less like you and a lot more like me," she added with a hearty laugh. "Glad you like it, though," she said sincerely; again, this seemed like a high compliment coming from the likes of Sean Neville, as opposed to the random folks who came in every so often.

"Right, right," she thought aloud as Sean reminded her of his occupation. That sounded like it could come with its fair share of stress and then some. "So, like..." she tried to think of the way to ask her next question. "Does that mean you got somethin' goin' on, too, or what?" She was interested in knowing if he had some sort of special ability if he worked at the school; she figured that wasn't an impolite thing to inquire about, though the question was intentionally left vague just in case.

Barbara snorted. "Oh please, I could fit you in my mouth whole," she retorted with a toothy grin before plunging the spoon into her mouth once more. Boy, was she glad Sean arrived when he did; not that she hadn't been picking at the various cartoons all afternoon, but it was nice to sit down and have a real treat like this. As far as she was concerned, being a bit overweight was a small price to pay for getting to enjoy all this.

She lifted her free hand. "Not at all," she replied, looking down at her dish. She decided then she wouldn't charge him for it. She had enough money, and it was nice to do something for someone you liked. Barb had so few of those that it made it a little more special. Besides, she was in a good mood now.

Barbara didn't know much about those 'super powers' (as far as she was concerned, that was sort of what they were to her), and beyond that she just didn't have much in the way of 'book smarts.' She wasn't bright academically, but she had street smarts and good instincts, which was what had allowed her this modest success in the business world. As it was, she completely misunderstood what telepathy was. "Oh, so you can, like, see my future and all that?" She asked, a bit excited, between bites. "So tell me, when am I gonna make my first million?" She was joking, of course, about that part, but she really did think that was what Sean had meant.

Barbara laughed heartily. She appreciated a man who could take a joke and fire one back; it seemed rare these days that someone a bit older - and that was a phrase she used to describe both of them - could find humor in the world. She joined Sean in enjoying their sundaes, and for a few moments everything was more or less quiet as the two adults amicably gobbled down their desserts.

The brunette had to admit she was a bit embarrassed to be corrected; she wasn't sure she ought to feel that way - it seemed like a big word to her, at least - but she couldn't help but wish she had known the true meaning of the word in the first place. "Oh, oh, I see," she said, nodding her head fervently. "I'm sorry, you'll have to forgive me if I'm not totally up on the lingo," she added, using her spoon to scrape down the sides of the dish that she had rather quickly polished off. "It's like... okay, so I know what Hammel is and all that, ya know? Like, I'm not totally stupid," she explained. "But it's like, I don't know, I get that Pilot Ridge is chock full o' superheroes and all that jazz, but I guess I just don't pay that close attention to that stuff. Everyone's got their own stuff, ya know?" She shrugged her shoulders. "I mean, it's cool though, ya know? Not for me, but it's cool." What exactly she was talking about was unclear, but she did think it was interesting that people had... special little characteristics.

"So, like, how does it work?" She asked, changing the subject to Sean's abilities specifically. "Like, do you just hear what people are thinking whether you wanna or not, or do you have to kinda like... climb inside?" She did find that fairly fascinating. "I mean, not to pry or anything. But it's not every day someone who can read minds walks into your store." Or maybe it was and she just didn't know. Whatever.