Another Cup of Coffee(Joshua)

[Joshua Bernstein]

"Then I'll have to make a point of visiting when I'm in town so that you'll know I'm still alive." He could set aside his opinions about Hammel long enough to go on campus and say hello to an old woman; he'd certainly set aside his opinions often enough to appease his mother, and Ingrid reminded him very strongly of a younger version of the woman he called mom. It was probably the meddling; he didn't believe for one moment that she had only begun meddling after she'd reached a certain age. If she was anything like his mother she'd been meddlesome from an early age and only used her status as elderly as an excuse to be less subtle about it.

"Are you volunteering to be my tour guide?" He queried, dropping his sandwich onto his plate only because he couldn't both hold his sandwich and wipe crumbs from his mouth at the same time. "Because if you are I'd gladly take you up on that offer, if Richard will spare you." She'd been in Pilot Ridge for longer than anyone else he knew, so she would surely be privy to nooks and haunts that other, younger residents would be ignorant of, or, at the least, she would have an idea of places to go that would be of interest to him.

"Or do you have someone in mind who knows the place that I should ask?" He'd met a few locals, but nobody he would feel comfortable asking for a tour of the area. Oddly, the people he'd been spending most of his time with recreationally were newer to town than he was -- although both Cobalt and Leila had gone to school at Hammel neither had lived in Pilot Ridge for years, and he wasn't clear on how much time students spent in the town; probably not enough time to remember where things were after decades of absence. And while Anya and Clarisse worked for Hammel, neither were local in the same sense that Ingrid was, and given how cautious Sean was being lately he didn't think his friend would be keen on giving tours until he was certain beyond all doubt that Gabe had vacated. "It would be a good idea to learn the area better..."

[Ingrid Barnes]

Ingrid smiled, glad to have smoothed over the issue before becoming to offensive. And her boys acted like she had no tact. "That would be quite nice. Us old ladies like visits from young men." More like Ingrid just liked having as much company as possible to fill up her days with gossip and snooping.

"Well, I've been here for almost half a century. I should know this place like the back of my hand." She quipped, grinning into her coffee. Being old had some advantages. It wouldn't be the first time she'd have shown someone around. Ingrid kind of liked playing tour; it gave her a reason to give her opinion on every place in town. Not that she'd ever waited for a reason to give her opinion before. "Richard could stand to spare me from time to time, I think. Give him more time with his poker buddies."

"But if you'd rather not have an old bat show you the ropes, I could think of a few others who'd be well suited for it." She put down her cup, tapping the table in thought. "You could always ring up Richard, he could use an excuse to get out every once and a while. And there is several members of the Hammel staff who know the town well enough, or at least they ought to with as long as they've been here."

"I can attest to that. If you're going to live somewhere, it's within your best interests to know the area. You don't want to walk around looking like a tourist after half a decade of settling." The last time she had went to visit her oldest son up state, she had been appalled at his inability to navigate his city. Ingrid found in ridiculous to not explore when you move. "Not only will it give you a better familiarity of the area, you'll meet new people while you're out and about. It's a win-win, really."

[Joshua Bernstein]

"I could certainly ask Richard, but if he won't even stop working for his lovely wife I don't know that I'll have much luck luring him out." He really only saw Richard when their paths crossed for work, although they got along well enough he wouldn't have minded getting to know him better on a more casual basis. The likelihood of that happening when the older man already had an established group of friends and spent most of his time at his office seemed slim, however.

"Mmm. I do need to meet some more people." He mused at the suggestion he ask some of Hammel's staff. "And Sean hasn't been inclined toward the social lately." He had good reason, of course, but that did not change the fact that this wasn't how Josh had expected moving to Vermont to go: he had expected to move and then have his friend introduce him into his social circle immediately. Instead he had moved and Hammel had been attacked. Definitely some poor timing on his part!

He shrugged, polishing off the remnants of his sandwich. "I have no objections to having you as my tour guide, though. And we can do two in one, tour and meeting people. I am correct in assuming that you know everyone? Or at least, everyone worth knowing." There were certainly benefits to asking the more meddlesome members of any given community for the tour; not only were they usually quite pleased to give one, but they were excellent for introductions and networking. Ingrid was probably one of the more invaluable people to know as far as Pilot Ridge's citizens went. "Although I think that I can be forgiven looking like a tourist as I haven't even lived here a year." And visiting Sean did not count, as they invariably stuck to Sean's house.

"So shall we plan on this? I have plenty of free time, so whenever you feel up to showing me around..."

[Ingrid Barnes]

(occ: I'm so so sorry, somehow I missed this when posting for Ing yesterday.)

"Hmm. You'd be surprised." Ingrid said, chuckling. Ah, the perks of being a workaholic's wife. But she knew the man wouldn't mind showing Joshua around if he ever took time off. It would just take some cataclysmic event or more forced leave before he'd get that free time. Richard did have a circle of friends, but most of them came strictly from work or people Ingrid made him meet. He was actually pretty friendly under that gruff act, one of the many things he and Ingrid had in common.

"Sean, bless his soul, is just over protective. A good trait really, but in this case..." She drawled, the look on her face clearly showing she meant her coworker no disrespect. He was one of her oldest and most liked students. "I think that going against his wishes a tiny bit won't hurt." Though she might get an earful when he realized Ingrid was over stepping her bounds. But Ingrid was far past caring about stuff like that. Besides, a chance to drag someone around town and gossip? How could he expect her to refuse?

Ingrid was ready to step up to the challenge. "I can't say I personally know all the young people, but I've got this town under my thumb. She grinned in slightly unsettling way. "I'll make a townie of you yet. By the time you're done with my tour, you'll be a regular and not the least bit a tourist." If prompted, Ingrid was already laying out a mental map of the best places to hit. And the people he needed to know. And places he should avoid.

She drained her coffee absentmindedly, debating on whether the Catholic church's organ player should go on the know list -he did own that one dinner and give discounts- and generally staring off in the distance. But she was still listening. "Anytime that's not during school hours is fine by me. My weekends are almost always free and I can do it during the week if I plan ahead for it." That way she would know to get grading done to the day before so she wouldn't have to stay late. "Just pick a date and I can be there."

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh could only nod in agreement with Ingrid's assessment that his best friend was over protective. After thirty plus years of friendship he could testify to that fact with an abundance of evidence, but just because he had decades of experience with it didn't mean he found it any less inconvenient.

"I don't know that the young people will want to spend time with an old geezer like me," He remarked wryly. The only young people he spent any amount of time with were either relatives or coworkers....or the coworkers of his friends. And even then the relationship was more one of amused tolerance on both sides than it was friendship. Let the youth spend time with one another; he was perfectly happy for his social circle to consist of other middle-aged men and women. "But I'd be delighted to meet any of your friends." Or other people she thought he should know. He may not end up being close with them, but he liked to know as many people as possible. Knowing which businesses had what reputation would be useful, too. He knew a handful from Sean, but not enough to feel as though he really knew the area. Ingrid's expertise there would be appreciated.

"Pick a date? Then how is next Sunday? Say, around noon? We can do lunch, my treat." He had to repay her for playing tour guide somehow; might as well pay her in food. After all, everyone had to eat. "I'll take careful notes. And if Richard comes perhaps we can add his expertise on to yours."

He caught sight of the waiter heading toward them with his bill and so slipped his credit card out of his wallet, ready to be handed off before the young man even made it to the table. "It was lovely seeing you again. I look forward to next week."

(wrapped)