2019-06-05 - Memories and Mardi Gras

Having finally gone back to work after taking a bit of time off, Tobin had done the early afternoon cruise and then left the evening cruise to one of the others on staff. So when he got Byron's text, he was on his way back home and let him know he'd be there, to let himself in. It's gray and drizzly, but the house inside is warm and cheerful as ever.

Byron is good at letting himself in and making himself at home at Tobin's cozy cottage. So when the owner of the place does arrive, he'll see that large black Wraith parked in his driveway announcing that his pal had already arrived.

Dressed in more casual attire, having taken the day off to run errands and the like. It's not that he's /not/ his own boss, so of course he has the liberty to do so. Donning a dark mustard hued sweater for this rather chilly day and a pair of black jeans and boots, he's showing Vivian around the place, already making his way towards the door to the garden, though he won't lead her outside. They just got in from the rain. "And this is where I spent most of my childhood... and teenage years, come to think of it. It's always been an inviting place and after all these years, it still hasn't lost its magic. Not for me."

Clearly she was wrong, it can rain all the time. Which is wrecking havoc on her wardrobe so far. Gone are the heels, she's opted for a pair of stylish boots with a pair of skinny jeans, black sweater and bright yellow rain coat that she's left by the front door to dry. As Byron leads her around the cottage she nods, "It's a very lovely home...I'd love to see the yard some time when it isn't raining."

Tobin comes wandering in shortly after Byron leads Vivian toward the back door, shaking off his umbrella before dropping it in the stand and saying, "Wasn't too bad of a tour this morning even if it was grey. Lots of sea birds out. Sedate crowd, but no weirdness to speak of. I'm going to call it a win." He kicks off his shoes and leaves them by the door before making his way back to where he can hear their voices. "My mother was the one to really keep the garden. I've tried to do what I can with it, but it's really not my forte." He smiles as he sees Vivian, "Hi, I'm Tobin." He offers a hand. "Can I get you guys anything to drink?" He's wearing a grey turtleneck and a pair of plain blue jeans that look well worn around the knees from actual wear rather than any particular style choice.

"Yeah, it is lovely. I could even imagine myself buying up one of these cottages just for that homey feel. Then again, I'd always wanted to be a lighthouse owner myself, so I may look into making that sort of purchase when I'm ready to retire." Byron says with a laugh, that smile lighting up his face when he turns on Tobin's entrance. "Tobin! This is Vivian. Yes, that Vivian." Byron's mentioned Vivian b before in the past, way back from when Byron was still in L.A. With Tobin introducing himself, Byron needs not do the honors!

"As a kid, I thought it would be cool to ride out into the bay in rain or shine. As an adult.." Byron looks towards one of the windows to view what almost seems like never-ending rain, "I much prefer being warm and dry with a cup of coffee on hand. Speaking of drinks... coffee would be good." That's when he moves over towards the side table in which he'd set a particular box down. "Brought this for you. From Pâtisserie Vydal. I'm sure they'd go well with coffee."

The box is filled with an assortment of fancy French pastries and chocolates.

The voice of Tobin causes Vivian to twist around towards the source. There is a brief moment of curiosity when the mention of weird is made, but she easily brushes it off. "A homey cottage or a lughthouse?" That appears to be amusing enough that she's putting a mental pin in it as she moves towards Tobin.

"It's so very nice to meet you, Tobin. You've a lovely home." She takes the hand and gives him a solid shake, "Coffee would be lovely if it's not too much trouble?"

"Hi Vivian," Tobin says with a smile. "Nice to meet you. Make yourself at home. Most folks do." He then drifts toward the kitchen as talk of coffee begins and says, "Sure. I was actually going to put a pot on when I heard you guys talking." He heads over to the coffee maker in the kitchen and gets that going, pulling down some mugs and getting ou ta bit of cream and sugar for those who want it. The box is carefully brought into the kitchen and opened up and set in the middle of the table between the mugs so that anyone can reach in and grab something to go with their coffee. He puts out a few napkins as well. "I think you should go for the lighthouse if you can find one. Who wouldn't want to live in a lighthouse if they had the opportunity?"

Byron gently pulls Vivian along with him when he goes to take a seat in a space on the couch, awaiting Tobin's arrival with coffee. "Well I'd looked into it all and most lighthouse owners don't really live IN the lighthouse." Which is probably what a child's dream would be! "They do live in the little cottage next to the lighthouse, so it wouldn't be all that different from this really. Except you also own a lighthouse."

When the coffee is brought, he reaches for one of the offerings for a warming sip. "Ahh. Coffee, still my drink of choice." He then goes on to say, "Despite the constant rain, I've been feeling better than I have been for a while now." This is mostly said to Tobin. In fact, Byron's gaze is on his friend at this point. "Hopefully, that means things are starting to change for the better." He hopes.

"You could just remodel one so that you can live in one, as well as the cottage next to it. A nice office upstairs where you could have peace and quiet, get work done with a beautiful view." Vivian offers helpfully as she crosses her legs, getting comfortable. One hand reaching over to give Byron's knee a quick squeeze before she turns her attention towards Tobin, "You have a boat, right? That must be quite fun being able to go out whenever you wanted."

"Well, not anymore, no, they're pretty much all automated now, and they usually lived in little cottages at the bottom that were attached to them. But that doesn't mean you couldn't find an old one that isn't in use anymore," Tobin says from the kitchen, and then brings the coffee and pastries out and sets them in the living room on the coffee table. He smiles at Byron and says, "Yeah, me too." Which admittedly makes him a little nervous. Then he nods to Vivian and says, "Two, actually, a smaller one that I do small harbor tours on, and then a larger one for dinner cruises and big events." He nods, "I like having that freedom, yeah. I'll take the little one out from time to time on an off day and just get out on the water for a bit." He takes a seat nearby, but not before grabbing one of the chocolates from the box.

Byron nods a grin over at Vivian, "Yeah, I was imagining something along those lines. Or hell, just making a bit of loft space somewhere. Hell, maybe even at the very top of the lighthouse, where you can best look up at the stars. And yet, I'd still prefer to own one with history or which held some historical significance."

Going for one of the the pastries, a Paris–Brest, with its circular sandwich like shape filled with a creme, he tries to carefully tear it in half without all the cream falling into his lap! When this is done as neatly as possible, which isn't terribly, he hands an somewhat uneven half to Vivian. All the while, he continues on, "Once the weather starts clearing up full time, I expect to see more bookings for those dinner cruises." Wiping some of that excess cream from his fingers, he takes a bite of the sweet delicacy, saying as he quietly chews, "But otherwise, I'm sure Vivian would like a good sail across the Bay either way."

"Two?" Vivian smiles a moment before she reaches for the coffee, accepting the pastry half handed to her. "But dinner parties and events?" There is a moment of mulling this idea over as she takes a careful sip from her coffee after blowing briefly across the top. There is a nod of agreement when Byron mentions that she'd probably like a sail, "I'd love to, actually. Perhaps..."

There is a second of consideration before she smiles, "Perhaps you and I could discuss something in private, Tobin?" There is a quick, but neat bite taken from the pastry, fingers covering her mouth as she chews, then swallows before adding, "So you have a card? So that I don't have to bother Byron with getting your number later."

"Yeah, we'll be starting up the dinner cruises now that it's June and they will go through the fall. You'll have to come out on one once we get them underway," Tobin says. "There's dinner, dancing, full bar, the whole works. It's nice, out on the water, with the lights of the town in the background. I actually enjoy them quite a bit since I don't actually have to talk through most of it." Unlike the daytime tours where he has to narrate the sights and the stories about Gray Harbor to the tourists. He nods to Vivian when she asks if he has a card and fishes out his wallet. Inside, he carries a few cards so that he can hand them out at any given time. He plucks one free and then grabs a pen from the side table, writing his cell on the back before handing it over to her. "Sure. Give me a call."

Byron is enjoying his half of the cream pastry, listening to Tobin describe what a cruise sail is like, but he then quickly adds on, "Maybe I'll reserve the ship for a party where I have you narrate to a much larger audience than the norm." This is out said in light conversation, but there's hints that he's merely joking. And Tobin would know better than Byron doing something like that.

Taking the time to enjoy a sip of coffee, he asks, eyes on Vivian now, "Planning on holding tranquil sessions on Tobin's boat?" This is probably said out of jest as well, but he doesn't poke to pry more out of her. "I have a for more deliveries to do." Pastry deliveries. "But I'll wait for the rain to die down at least a little before shipping off."

"Thank you." Vivian says cheerfully as she juggles pastry and coffee before she reaches out to accept the card. There is a quick look at it before she tucks it into a pocket, "Are these bookings where people rent out the whole boat, or buy tickets for scheduled dinner cruises?"

There is a nod for Byron's tease, "Yes. With goats, so that we can do goat yoga as well." Vivian is probably not serious about things, probably. The coffee gets sat down, and the half of the pastry that is hers gets nibbled on a little while longer before she wonders, "So Tobin, what can you tell me about baby Byron?"

Tobin squints at Byron and says, "You know I'd just get Dawn to do it, right?" Dawn is the ever sunshiney assistant who usually sees the boat off and welcomes it when it returns, handling all the tying off and setting up the ramps, taking tickets and counting guests -- but she does also narrate tours when Tobin isn't there. He pops the chocolate in his mouth and sighs with contentment, "Damn, those are good." There's a moment where he pauses and blinks. "Goat yoga? Goat on a Boat Yoga sounds like something out of Dr. Seuss. Would you could you with a goat? Would you could you on a boat? No sir, Sam I am, I do not yoga in the dark, I do not yoga in the park, I do not yoga with a goat, on a boat, or in a moat..." He can't help but laugh a little. "Depends. Some of the cruises are open to the public and they can just buy tickets to go. Some folks rent out the whole boat for an event."

"Oh, I know that you'd let Dawn do it." Byron says, finishing up the rest of his pastry, "But I'd pay good money to have yo do it personally. In a tux. It would be one of those special evenings to remember under the stars." Either way, Byron's all grinning right about now. Though, when Tobin goes on this whole Dr. Seuss rant, he can only watch his friend with this blank stare, blinking only once. He then takes another sip of coffee, dusting off his hands of crumbs before saying, "That sounded far too well rehearsed. I've almost got this sneaking suspicion that you both contacted each other behind my back to set this very conversation up."

With Vivian being nosy about his childhood, Byron looks to neither of them, still savoring the soothing flavor of his coffee, "Go right ahead. Tell her. I don't mind. I mean, I doubt either of us have many photographs from that time laying around." And that's usually the worst part about talking about one's childhood!

"I promise you that we didn't. But I wish we had! That was very well done, Tobin. Bravo." Vivian gives him a quick smile before she nods, "But goat yoga is a thing, very trendy. I'm not sure that I would do it. On a boat. But a tour to help sooth the nerves isn't a bad idea for therapy."

Which is a clue that wasn't her initial plan. "No pictures? I'm a little crushed. I bet you were adorable." Vivian teases, checking her hands and clothes quickly to make sure she isnt wearing part of her pastry, "But seriously, I'd love to hear all the stories."

Tobin just smirks at Byron and shakes his head, "It's going to take a very special occasion to get me into a tux." Not that he hasn't been in one before. There's been a wedding or two he's attended, and a high school prom he went to solo. He breaks out into a grin and then a laugh at Byron's expression.

Though he does circle back around to the topic of childhood Byron. "Little Byron was probably the most industrious kid you'd ever meet. If there was a lemonade stand, a car wash, a lawn mowing enterprise, he was probably behind it. I never knew anyone who worked as hard as he did. He was the sort of kid that everyone liked to be around, popular, good looking, charming. Parents liked him. Kids wanted to be him. Girls swooned over him." Tobin grins as he takes another sip from his coffee. "I'm pretty sure he just hung around me for my mom's cookies." He's grinning when he says it, though, clearly kidding. "Oh, there's some pictures. Not a lot of pictures.. but there are some."

Now with his hands perfectly cleaned off, Byron rests back against the comfortably couch, draping an arm around Vivian's shoulder, feeling sated with the caffeine boldness and the sweet grace of expensive French pastries. "Speaking of which," He murmurs when Tobin mentions the tux, his own mind going back to the prom, even with those word unspoken, "The Summer dance is coming up. Planning on going?"

It's both awkward and somewhat pride-inspiring when listening to Tobin sing praises about him as a kid. "If only all girls swooned over me. Then again, I probably wouldn't have the time to work on bettering myself and who knows where I'd be right now." He says wearing a mild grin, brow lifted, adding in "The other parts. All true." There's a slight pause there, before even he has to laugh, knowing that it wasn't always smooth sailing during their youth.

"Hey, if you're going to bring out pictures, just remember that most pictures that I'm in, you're in too, buddy." Byron says as a playful warning.

"I bet we could find the right occasion for you to wear a tux." Vivian observes, one finger lightly tapping at her knee as she starts plotting a way to make that happen.

Then Tobin starts to describe young Byron and her smile widens as she reaches for her coffee again. "Sounds like he always had the drive and ambition then." She glances over at Byron, watching him for a second before she nods, "They still swoon. You should have seen the girls in my sorority going out if their way to run into him on campus." There is a good natured roll of her eyes. "Almost all of them swooned over him."

But pictures! There is a quick laugh, "Share...you're both torturing me now."

"I hadn't really thought about it," Tobin answers Byron on the topic of the summer dance. "The idea of going by myself again is kind of, eh.. and I've only just met Raf, so I think it's a little early to ask him to a high school dance." He watches Byron's expression after his praises and smiles amusedly, "He was also a huge closet nerd, though. Played D&D with us and everything." Then he puts up both hands and says, "Hey, I was a damn cute kid. I've got no shame about those pictures." Though he doesn't bring them out quite yet, glancing over to Vivian. "Do you, now?" He does pull himself up then and goes to grab an album from inside a console on the wall. There are several inside, all neatly stacked. "Hell, I had a crush on him in high school," he tells Vivian and then sits on the arm of the couch next to her, opening up the album. This one is from the middle school years. He hands it over to her to flip through, pointing out Kevin, and Byron, himself, Lilith, Geoff, some of the others from around their age who show up in one picture or another.

Byron isn't afraid to admit, "I'm not usually fond of the annual dances either, but it's a fundraiser more than anything else. Bring your friends." But when the topic moves on to him being a closet nerd, his usual smile can't get any wider, feeling just a tiny bit embarrassed by this revelation. "I gotta admit, those were fun times. Though that was a long time ago. Would I do it again?" He then shrugs, "I don't have any against gaming. I was usually just way too busy to continue with the hobby."

The smile lingers even as Tobin rises to wander off and collect a photo album from the console. Then this is where Tobin freely admits his crush, something which Byron had a feeling about, but had never brought up. "And I was pretty insufferable throughout high school, unless you really liked being talked to about various business ventures." Scooting a bit forward in his seat, body turned to get a better look of the album presented to Vivian, while looking at your childhood self can be embarrassing sometimes, Byron wasn't overly distressed by it. His own gaze looks over the young happy faces of his childhood friends, many of which he's still in contact with to this day.

Then there's Lilith there, before she bailed on them. Those were different times.

"I bet I could, mhmm." Vivian agrees as she takes the album, settling it on her lap to start looking through the photos. She's moving slow enough that she can put names to the young faces. "Is everyone still in town?"

It's probably a very innocent question.

"I'm sure you weren't insufferable. Maybe just focused." Vivian replies with a laugh, shaking her head, "You all looked like you had a lot of fun growing up. Thank you for sharing." She starts to close the album when she reaches the end, "Now what is this about a dance?"

"Yeah, it's a fundraiser but it's still a dance. I can send a check and not actually get dressed up and go," Tobin points out with a little bit of a chuckle, letting Vivian flip through the pages. Tobin as a child didn't look all that different. Skinnier, a little rounder-faced in middle-school but easily recognizable as the same kid. Tobin's let out a lot of things over the past few weeks, and it seems that he's just not holding it all in anymore. "You weren't all that insufferable. You were pretty focused. Nothing wrong with that. You had a lot on your shoulders," Tobin says to Byron though his eyes are on the pictures instead, grinning a little at some of them. He points to one where they're all standing on a log. "Right after that picture, Geoff grabbed my arm to catch his balance and ended up pushing me face first into the water... which is why I'm soaked in the rest of the pictures."

He says, "Most left town for a while, but most have come back," when Vivian asks about whether they are all still in town or not. "I stayed here, but I think everyone else pretty much left for at least a little while." He chuckles when Vivian uses the same words that he did for Byron. He then takes the album from Vivian when she's finished with it and puts it back.

"That's true." Byron will concede, because the idea of this hokey dance doesn't really seem like a good time. But it's a town experience, he figures. "It's held at at our high school. You can buy tickets to go solo or for pairs. This year it has a 50's theme for whatever reason. It's all meant to be in good fun anyway. I don't always find the time to attend, but I do donate if I can't make it."

Byron, himself, looked very much the same if he'd shaved. In fact, if he did shave, he probably would look far younger than he does now, which is why he doesn't. He was a lanky kid and during middle school he'd grown his hair out longer both at his bangs and at the back. Looking more like a... Prince than the professional he is today. He will say when Tobin brings up that he had a lot on his shoulders, "You're right about that. But I always knew what I wanted to do and that was to become successful and get out of town. " He ca't help but smile a little here, "I'd done just that and yet, I'm still here."

When Tobin points out the picture right before he got soaked all thanks to Geoff, Byron laughs, remembering that day fondly enough. "Geoff's always been the troublemaker of the group, though I'm sure his intentions weren't to ruin Tobin's presence in the rest of the pictures taken that day. But, I gotta say, you look great soaked, man." He then nods slowly, "Seems like most of us who did go off on our own eventually returned. But, thanks for that." There's this genuine warmth in his voice, "Giving me that trip down memory lane."

"Simpler times, everyone was riding the high after winning the war, it was an idyllic moment." Vivian points out at the mention of the theme, "Obviously looking back we can see the flaws in that time, the inequality. But that doesn't change the fact that most if white middle America idolizes it." She smiles at Byron, like there is a far more pleasant thought on her mind.

But then she turns towards Tobin, "You mentioned a Raf?"

"Oh, he just lost his footing and grabbed me to steady himself, but I wasn't expecting it so I just went in face first," Tobin laughs. "There's plenty of times we did shit to each other intentionally, but that wasn't one of them." He shakes his head a little bit and says, "I mean, if you like the drowned rat look, I guess," he laughs at Byron. Then he smiles over at Vivian and says, "Oh, the theme is fine. Some of the other themes have been downright painful, though I did like the year they did a Mardi Gras theme.. that one actually came out pretty good." When Vivian asks about Raf he says, "Rafael. He's a piano teacher, from New York. Just moved to town. We've got a date for coffee."

Byron has no opinions on the 50's, really, rather than it's not his cup of tea. Though when Tobin brings up the Mardi Gras year, he's quick to say, "They really need to bring that back. I'd even prefer if they'd do that full time. Turn Gray Harbor into Vienna." Lowering his chin to take another drink of coffee, it doesn't take him long to consider before saying, "We could lure a lot of interest in our town that way, holding a lavish mysterious festival every year. And not for one day either. Like.. a week." Yes, Byron is suddenly thinking bigger and bolder than just a high school dance. But that's Byron for you!

Vivian's inquiring of Rafael has Thorne's attention lifting to Tobin. "And someone who I've yet to meet. But he and Tobin's only just met so, I'm giving them time to themselves before I intrude into their lives." Though when New York is brought up, he immediately turns to Vivian, "That reminds me, did you really skip out on a potential job offer in New York to come here?"

"Mardi Gras sounds exciting." Vivian agrees with a smile, reaching for her coffee to take a sip from it. When Byron goes on about his big plans she points out, "If only you knew someone that could throw a party like that."

When he asks about New York she shakes her head, "I did not skip out on a job offer. I just chose to not accept it, that's all." But piano and coffee dates, she shifts right back to Tobin at that, "Sounds lovely, you should ask him to the school dance."

"Could do something like that, start some kind of mysterious festival. Hell, this place is mysterious and weird enough all on its own. Pretty sure that it wouldn't be too hard to create something that would bring people in," Tobin says. He's always been a supporter of Byron's various schemes, even those he didn't directly take part in. He does grin a little and says, "I'll introduce him to you soon. I'd actually like to have our first actual date, first. Though.. speaking of New York.. remind me to tell you something about that later." That is said to Byron. He shakes his head to Vivian though and says, "Seriously.. he is not going to want to go to a high school dance.."

"Now I'm tempted to send a suggestion in to the Mayor. I'm sure we'll get a lot of investors and sponsors for it. I mean, tourist bring in money after all." Byron says, reaching into his pocket for his phone once his cup of coffee is set down. He quickly taps in a reminder to do just that. "Send suggestion to Mayor about week long, town-wide Mardi Gras-esque festival." Yes, he says this aloud, though adds '$$$' at the end of this note.

There's this look given to Vivian, watching her in quiet, though saying nothing in response to her not taking this offer. There is a very faint smile on his face though. Then it's Tobin's turn to talk about New York, never mind that his mentioning started this craze. "Sure. I'm always eager to learn more about the dark underbelly of the big city." Byron has no idea what Tobin is planning on telling him. "However, the rains slowing down a bit and I should get back to playing delivery boy. Reminds me of my youth." He then says to Vivian, "Did I tell you, I used to ride my bike to make deliveries for the Fried Fish stand at the Boardwalk when I was kid. First real job."

"Never know...maybe he went to prom alone, too. Deserves a do over." Vivian suggests, but when Byron mentions there are more deliveries to make she takes a final sip of her coffee before setting it down, "It was really nice to meet you, Tobin. I'll give you a call, later. About that question I had."

She shakes her head at Byron, "You didn't, at least not that I remember. Sounds like a great first job, though. Plenty of time alone to be with your thoughts in the wide outdoors. I shuffled papers for my mother, very boring."

Tobin just watches with that little smile on his lips as Byron's wheels begin turning and the idea begins to percolate and bubble. He's seen this happen so many times before, and the results are always interesting to see. He glances over toward Vivian and smiles, guessing that she's likely seen it as well. "Well, I'm glad that you came out, Vivian, and it's nice to finally meet you. You're welcome here any time. And yes, give me a call." He says to Byron, "Thanks for the sweets. It's going to be a challenge not to try them all in one go." He grins and then rises. "Always good to see you."