Polka Dot Sunspot [Jackeroe~!]

[Clarisse Prideaux]

Clarisse had been devastated come labor day weekend when he weeks of caring for students with the flu finally caught up with her. Sickness often worsened side effects, and so Clarisse’d had her gloved hands in a whole lot of mess. She came down with the flu just in time to have to reschedule with Jacky. Labor day had long since passed, but their schedules had only just now lined up again for a day outdoors. The weather was balmy and pleasant, much better than the tragic heat the rest of the country seemed to be experiencing.

For now she was adjusting the large blanket she’d brought for them to sit on while Jackeroe unloaded the car. A small gust of wind threatened to tear the large straw garden hat from her head and she stood up, plopping her hand on top of it to keep it mashed against her hair. “Goodness. Can’t be losing my hat!” she hummed to herself, standing in the middle of the blanket. Her loose jersey dress fluttered around her knees.

“Jacky, is this place alright for lunch?” She called, wondering if perhaps it was too shady. Plus they couldn’t see the water, and that was really no fun. Though it was nice a flat, no rocks or tree roots to poke into the legs as they sat and enjoyed themselves. A heaven forbid the uneven ground should cause the wine bottle to tip over.

[Jackeroe Connick]

Poor Jackeroe had been distraught when Clarisse caught the flu- he had put some flowers in an emptied and cleaned out can of Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup on her desk to show that he felt bad for her. He had no qualms about taking a rain check on the trip, of course- if she wasn’t feeling well he certainly wasn’t going to drag her into the heat. Besides, he reasoned, Memorial Day weekend was probably crowded and stuffy- he wouldn’t have been able to sit back and enjoy the day with her. True, now the humidity in the air was awful and the heat was oppressive, but that meant that swimming would be all the more enjoyable. Today seemed to be a lovely break in the heat, at least for a while.

His brother Asa’s jeep had served for their transportation for the day, courtesy of his sister Mairead. He would never miss it, obviously, but nonetheless he still vowed he would wash it before he returned it as a sort of thank you to him. He had given Clarisse the blanket to pick a spot while he pulled the blue cooler and the basket out of the backseat.

Glancing over as he shut the door, he noted the placement of the blanket and determined the location was not exactly right. He glanced around and noted a tree in the distance- farther from the jeep, but closer to the beach. “How about over there?” He asked with a smile, gesturing to the location with a swing of the picnic basket. He took a moment to savor the breeze before heading in that direction, checking it out for anthills and the like. No use in letting the bugs get all the food, after all.

[Clarisse Prideaux]

Clarisse glanced over her shoulder at the spot Jacky had indicated and nodded. “Alright!” She chirped, whisking the blanket up from the ground and toting it over the site. She watched Jackeroe for the ‘okay’ and laid down the blanket when he deemed the site free of bumps and pests. Smoothing out the blanket, Clarisse nodded to herself. “Oh, yes. This is much better than the one I picked. You’re a genius Jackeroe.” She complimented, taking in a slow, soft breath. “You can smell the water and everything.”

Lowering herself gingerly onto the blanket, Clarisse curled her knees up underneath her, dragging the hem of her dress down modestly. She pat the area next to her, hurrying Jackeroe to sit as well. “I don’t know if I told you this already, but I really loved the flowers.” She said fondly, thinking of how they’d made her laugh when she’d gotten in from sick leave.

Only Jackeroe would think to use something as unassuming as a soup can and make it beautiful.

[Jackeroe Connick]

At the mention of being a genius, Jackeroe’s face turned a light pink and he shook his head. “Nah, I’m no genius. I can barely dress myself in the mornings, you know that.” He didn’t need to go over all the fashion faux pas he had been told of when he first started working at Hammel, nowadays he was lucky if he got his leg in the right hole of his jeans on the first try. Watching her smooth out the blanket, he smiled and looked out over the lake, admiring the clear blue water lapping on the sandy shores. He hoped the water was cold- cold water always proved to be fun to mess around with.

He had, of course, brought a pair of super soakers to fill up. They were still in the car.

He set the basket and the cooler down carefully before dropping himself onto the spot Clarisse patted. He braced his palms behind him and leaned back, sighing as he looked all around. The park was beautiful, for sure, but it didn’t even come close to the lovely woman next to him. He tilted his head away from the scenery and looked over to Clarisse, grinning as she thanked him for the gift. “I thought you might like it. Hopefully it helped you get better, yeah?” While she was gone he had also cleaned out Chi-Chi’s terrarium and made sure the tarantula was comfortable- on a daily basis. Some people joked that they weren’t sure who Jackeroe was better friends with, Clarisse or her spider.

“It really is nice out.” He said, slightly in awe of the weather’s cooperation. Leaning forward, he popped open the cooler and brought out a can of Pepsi- the wine would be saved for later when they had pulled out all the food- maybe after a swim. Lying back on the blanket he looked up at the sky, noting how fluffy the clouds were. He couldn’t name them, of course. He wasn’t that smart. But he did know that the clouds were harmless. They were too white and moving too fast to dump any rain on them. He tried to find shapes in them, but that was easier said than done. He waved at Clarisse, trying to coerce her into doing the same thing. “Help me find a cloud shaped like a high heel, or a pretty hat.” He said, shifting slightly to the left in order to see around a branch.

[Clarisse Prideaux]

“Have you ever seen a picture of Einstien?” She countered to his poor-dress comment. “He was a genius, wasn’t he?” Clarisse remembered vividly her first impression of Jackeroe, or rather, Jackeroe’s clothes. He was definitely a boy in a man’s body—the kind of boy who’d only just learned to button up his shirts. Dressing himself was something Clarisse was fairly certain Jacky would never learn.

“Poorly dressed or no, you are a very smart man.” She concluded playfully.

“It certainly made me feel better.” She thanked. Clarisse was a scientist, and knew that even the loveliest of flowers wouldn’t have made her healthier any faster. But the fact was, knowing that Jacky was thinking about her (and taking care of ChiChi!) had encouraged her to do what was necessary to get better faster. “So, in a way, yes. And thank you.”

Clarisse tilted her head at a silly angle to try and see Jackeroe right side up, laughing she flopped down beside him. “Well they all look like the fluffy innards of stuffed animals to me.” Clarisse murmured, squinting at the clouds. “But that one looks like a kitty!” She chirped, pointing up and to her left at a cat head-shaped cloud.


[OoC:: @.@ SHORT. Sorry </3]

[Jackeroe Connick]

Jackeroe had seen pictures of Einstein- in fact, he had an Einstein bobble-head doll in his office right next to his bobble-head Gandhi. He imagined the two of them had very good conversations with the William Shakespeare paperweight. “Einstein was a genius. But he also had good hair. I don’t think my hair could do that.” To prove his point he shook his head quickly and tried to muss it up, the resulting effect making him look like he stuck his finger in a light socket, or a fork in the toaster. (He knew from experience that forks in the toaster were a bad idea.) “See? Doesn’t quite work.”

He smoothed his hair down again and popped the top of his Pepsi can, downing a couple gulps of it before surfacing for air, the burn of the carbonated drink on the back of his throat making his eyes water. “Yow. That’s good.” He placed the can next to him on the blanket, making sure it was stable before turning back to Clarisse. “I’m glad they made you feel better. The soup certainly made a good lunch for me.” That wasn’t a lie- with a decent amount of pepper and oregano the chicken noodle soup became a wonderful dish to nurse while watching Doctor Who on his TV.

When Clarisse said something about stuffed animal innards, Jackeroe had to laugh. “Like those huge stuffing machines at Build-A-Bear.” He realized she might not understand that analogy, and he wondered if she had ever actually BEEN to Build-A-Bear. If not, well, that was a trip he was certainly going to make with her. Tilting to the side so his face was right next to hers, Jackeroe found the could she was pointing out and smiled. It really did look like a cat- but he wasn’t going to tell her that. So he squinted at it and made a ‘Hmmmm’ sound for a few seconds. “I think you need your eyes checked, Clarisse. That cloud looks more like... A hot rod.” (Yeah, he totally pulled that off the top of his head. “A wrecked hot rod. Geez, you’re bad at this game.” He joked, reaching for the picnic basket.

“So I have some bread, and jam, and peanut butter. Lots of jam. Tons of jam. We could make a jam monster out of all this jam.” He had brought all the jam that was in his refrigerator, after all. Strawberry, grape, blackberry, and raspberry were the basics, but then there was rhubarb, peach, and his favorite, blueberry, which he really wanted her to try. Setting all the jars out along with the peanut butter and white bread, he pulled out the plastic knives and offered her one to spread with. “Take your pick. I recommend blueberry, but it’s my favorite.” True to his word, he reached for that jar and tilted it, scooping some out with his knife to put on a piece of bread before using another knife for the peanut butter, eyes full of glee when he completed his sandwich.

Jackeroe, childish? Never.

[Clarisse Prideaux]

Clarisse just shook her head and giggled quietly as Jackeroe went about the spectacle of trying out Einstien’s hair-do. “I think your hair is just fine the way it is. Einstien was really the only man who could bother to pull that one off.” She reached out and patted his arm comfortingly. “Maybe try again when you’re old and your hair is white.” She joked.

Peering at him curiously out of the side of her eye, Clarisse chewed the side of her cheek. “Build-A..Bear?” She chuckled. “I don’t think I know what this, Jacky.” They didn’t have those in France. And she was a little old to be doing silly heart rituals in a stuffed toy factory. She waited patiently for his “hmm”ing to end, and looked distraught when he confessed that it really looked like a car. “It does not!” She whined. “You made that up!” She accused, pinching him delicately near his elbow; nothing so much as to hurt him.

Clarisse managed to wiggle into a seated position without compromising a rising hemline, crossing her folded legs at the ankles. “You and your preserves.” She teased, shaking her head. Taking the knife and a slice of bread, she followed Jackeroe’s lead and spread a thin layer of the blueberry jam over her bread. She was never a fan of peanut butter, and so enjoyed the treat as it was. “Mmm…Jackeroe this is delicious. I can never make fun of you for liking jam too much again.”

[Jackeroe Connick]

The thought of Clarisse never going to Build-A-Bear was so alien to Jackeroe that he gave her a horrified look and made a silent vow to take her one day as a surprise. He dragged his nieces to the store once a year, ever since the mall in Pilot Ridge acquired one. Rhodes and Mairead weren’t happy about it- they claimed he spoiled their kids and he was secretly trying to steal them. His reply was that it certainly was no secret. Caught up in the thought, he snapped out of it when Clarisse pinched his elbow. “Yow! You’re just jealous I see much more interesting things.” He accused her, sticking his tongue out at her before grinning.

Munching away on his lunch, Jackeroe could only smile brightly and give her a thumbs-up as she sampled the blueberry, happily munching and crunching away before polishing his concoction off. Gesturing to her unfinished sandwich, the man frowned, hoping he hadn’t made a fatal error. “You don’t like peanut butter?” He questioned, fixing himself another sandwich, spreading one side with both strawberry and grape jam before taking a bite out of it. He hoped that Clarisse wasn’t allergic or anything- if so he was going to beat himself up for his error later.

After devouring three sandwiches and polishing off his soda, Jackeroe found himself full and decided that it was getting too hot to laze around in his clothes all day- especially since he was in his swim trunks anyway. With a quick glance at Clarisse, Jackeroe decided that she wouldn’t mind if he stripped just a little. Sitting up, he noticed he got jam on his shirt and frowned, scratching at the spot. “Aw, dang.” He muttered before pulling it over his head and sitting it in his lap. He could see the stain better from there anyway.

Jackeroe wasn’t muscular, not in the slightest. He didn’t have abs of steel of thick upper arms, or even strong shoulder blades. His stomach wasn’t even all that good to look at, honestly. He wasn’t fat, of course- just not super fit. He did have a tattoo on his back; something he had gotten when he was young and stupid, just out of Hammel. It looked great, of course- but it was expensive and he didn’t talk about it much. He wasn’t sure if he told Clarisse about it or not. He’d have to ask later.

Scratching the back of his head, he looked over to Clarisse, smiled, and gestured to the lake. “You want to swim now?” He sounded so much like a child at that moment, it should have been criminal. He didn’t even bother with waiting an hour after eating, he figured that they’d stay in the shallows anyway. “If not... I have super soakers!” He chirped, pointing to the jeep across the way. Water guns were just as fun as swimming, after all.