2019-06-15 - Mystery + Pie = Mystery Pie

Everyone needed to eat and the Grizzly Den Diner was cheap. So Isolde had decided to take a break from her wanderings and stop in to eat something. Her hair was left down and looking a little wild. There were dark circles under her bright blue eyes like she didn't get enough sleep. Which as entirely possible. She claimed a spot up at the counter peered over a menu. She wasn't sure if she'd eaten in the restaurant yet but surely Alexander had brought takeout from here before. An order for a burger and fries along with a Coke was put in before she unrolled the newspaper she had with her. Flipping to the 'Help Wanted' sections and starting to skim it with her pen. Her attire was a simple pair of blue jeans with a white tank top and a ragged men's flannel over top.

Gideon Hughes has been ensconced at the counter for awhile now, judging by the half-eaten fries and the half-hearted attempt at the club sandwich. The eclectic earthy mish-mash of a place seems purpose-built to swallow him up. He sort of fades into the decor, clad as he is in earthtones. He's hunched with bad posture, and scrolls through something on his phone. It's the kind of zombie-scrolling common to people on public transit or in doctor's offices. After a moment, he looks up, looks down the counter to Isolde and then asks, Eeyore-slow, "Pass the vinegar, please?"

Gina's stance is that their customers deserve their privacy. As such, it's kind of a crap shoot as to what kind of service one received at the diner. People are known for going to the kitchen to place their own orders or even going so far as to bring outside food into the establishment just because they want the place to hang out but don't want to wait forever.

But then there's Bennie.

When she bursts through the front door, still tying on her apron, she brings a whole other energy to the place. "I'm not late, I'm not late!" She's declaring as she streams through the dining area and through the kitchen doors, to disappear for a moment.

Isolde seems startled by the question. Even if it was given slowly. Blinking a bit and turning to look at Gideon, then over to the vinegar. The bottle is picked up and then carefully slid over to him. "Are you trying to be invisible?" It's a sincere question as she studies him curiously. Then she looks back to her newspaper only to be startled once more by Bennie whirling into the diner. Her head tilts, looking a little confused and then looked back to Gideon. "I think she's late..."

"What?" says Gideon. He looks around, then tugs the vinegar towards him. He's about to ask for a further clarification, then a woman whirlwinds through. He watches, eyebrows up, then drawls, "For a very important date?" He chuckles at his own joke, then sips nearly ice cold coffee. "Follow the white rabbit."

Bennie pops back out of the kitchen a moment later, her hands in the process of gathering up her blonde hair into a ponytail and securing it with an elastic from around her wrist. "PHEW." The word of relief is actually spoken as she steps up behind the counter and affixes those there with a wide beaming smile.

"How are we doing, folks? Anything I can getcha? Refills? Pie? For a bribe, I'll even change the music." Which right now is like some Gregorian chant with a dub-step undertone.

Isolde giggled a bit at Gideon's comment. "But don't eat the cookies..." She murmured and looked up at Bennie came back. "I like pie. What kind of pie do you have?" Even though she was still waiting on her actual food. She pauses to listen to the music and then shrugged. Seemingly okay with whatever it was. Likely having never even heard it before. "My name's Izzy." She volunteered to the pair of them, picking her pen up once more to circle one of the ads in the paper.

"Coffee, please," says Gideon as he nudges his mug forward with calloused fingers. There's a little smile that just sort of twitches the corners of his mouth, threatens to become more, then fades. He avoids eye contact, even when he does seem to be addressing either of them. "Gideon." His name is given to the salt shaker if one is to go by where he's looking.

Bennie grabs the salt shaker, making it do a little dance and even assigning it a little voice. "Nice to meet you, Gideon." The inanimate object squeaks out from the blonde's lips, which never stop grinning. "You too, Izzy! I'm Bennie." Or so her name tag says. It's not a Grizzly issued one, nor is her apron, because they are both far too sparkly for anything Gina would give out.

As she reaches behind her to swing over the coffee pot, she starts listing pie options. "Cherry, apple, aaaaaand something that was experimental and is bubbling and I'd suggest avoiding it at all costs." She tips the carafe over Gideon's mug, filling it three quarters of the way to leave room for cream and sugar if he prefers.

Isolde starts giggling again when Bennie uses the salt shaker. "Nice to meet you both." She offered, stifling a yawn. "Apple pie." Is what is decided as she circles another ad and closes the newspaper up. "You're apron is pretty." She offers to Bennie, turning the paper over to a wordsearch it has. "Looking for jobs is difficult. I don't know if I like it."

The little salt shaker dance brings a half-second moment of eye contact from Gideon to Bennie, before he's looking down again. He picks up the vinegar and very carefully taps it over his fries. Apparently that doesn't help them enough, because he only eats one or two more before he nudges the plate away. There's a little over half the clubhouse left. He draws the coffee to him instead. No cream or sugar goes in. Instead, he sips it black. A brave man to drink diner coffee black. "Nice to meet you," he echoes, again, the words directed to the counter.

Bennie gives a little twist turn to show off the garment a little more. "Thanks, and they say the BeadDazzler is dead." Her resulting laugh is soft and melodic as she pulls a pad from one of the pockets and writes down Isolde's request for apple, even as simple as it is.

She turns to the window to snag up Isolde's waiting plate and then slides it over in front of the other woman. "I don't know what you're looking for, but I know the Pew Pew Pie is hiring. Two If By Sea needs bartenders to cover some shifts. Rumor is there is a new barbecue place opening...wow a lot of food service options. What about you, Doc Gideon? Is your practice hiring?" Obviously the blonde has placed the good veterinarian once his name was given. Small town and all.

Isolde happily accepts her plate of food, munching on a couple of the fries. Having seen Gideon try the vinegar on them, she leans over to snag the bottle and try a little on one. And her nose wrinkles. Apparently vinegar is not for Isolde. "I dunno what I'm looking for." She admits. Making a note about the restaurant names. "What sort of doctor are you?" Gaze turning back to Gideon.

"Ah, I don't...don't think so," Gideon slides both hands around his mug. "We just hired a summer intern. Student." He sips his coffee. "But I don't know for other work." He speaks quietly, but his voice still carries. He looks a little disconcerted about being recognized by name, but he really shouldn't be surprised. It's not like Gideon is the world's most common name - even less so in a small town. He inclines his head Isolde's way, but doesn't look up. "I'm a vet."

As Isolde wanders off to the bathroom, Bennie props a foot on a shelf and then uses that perch to hop up on the counter and sit a little ways down from Gideon as he eats. Legs are swinging as she regards the vet, "So what's your favorite animal? By some unwritten law you have to like the animals, right? Or maybe you're some sort of sadist, who became a veterinarian just to torture small furry creatures. But you're not right? I can tell. You have nice eyes." You know, when he lets people actually see them.

"Is that...sanitary?" asks Gideon as Bennie hops up onto the counter. There's a roll of amusement in those words, but it doesn't quite reach full joking volume. The comment does make him look briefly at her for a moment, before his gaze inevitably slides away. "Of course I like animals. I like horses. Some dogs. Birds. Wild ones, not caged parrots."

Bennie is sitting up on the counter near where Gideon is having his meal, quite against company policy of letting customers enjoy their meals in peace. "Really? But then you could teach them to talk. Ooh! You should get an office parrot so it can sit on your shoulder and repeat things that you say. 'I'm afraid it's RABIES, I'm afraid it's RABIES." The blonde merrily squawks her impression of a bird before what he said before sort of hits her.

She leans to one side, looking down at the counter. "Don't worry, I won't catch anything from the counter." Not what he meant? She knows, judging by that grin.

Gideon is wearing clothing that fits the colour palette of the restaurant so well that he could almost be part of the decor. His hands are wrapped around his coffee mug and a half-eaten plate with a clubhouse and fries sits nearby. The squaking from Bennie makes his shoulders tense a bit and he smiles awkwardly. "The parrot would have to go to school for a long time before it would be qualified to make that diagnosis," he deadpans.

Cole wanders into the diner, seeking sustenance, and makes his way over toward the counter, settling himself into a seat not too far from where Bennie and Gideon are. He picks up a menu to glance through it, clearly not one of the locals who has memorized it by now. He orders a cup of coffee while he tries to figure out exactly what he wants to get. There's a faint twitch of his lips in amusement as he overhears the comment about the parrot nearby, but he doesn't intrude.

Bennie hops down from the counter as Cole settles at it, scooping up a coffee cup and filling it as she comes over to Cole and carefully slides it in front of him. "Lemme know what else I can getcha." She chirps pleasantly, but at least has the decency to take a half step away and let him peruse the menu at his leisure. "Imagine that, a parrot with a PhD." And she is, judging by the cant of her head and the sudden far off look as she's mentally drawing up the image.

"The parrot would do fine in undergrad, especially the first few years," says Gideon. Then, after it doesn't sound like he's going to say more, he adds, "The first few years really are just all about...parroting back what you learned. But I think the parrot might struggle with the practicum. Hard to birth a foal with talons." That's not all deadpan, but neither does it get anywhere as close to the chirpy pleasantness of Bennie. He corners a look at Cole, then grins and looks down at the counter.

"Oh, thanks," Cole says when Bennie brings him a cup of coffee, offering her a smile and then reaching for a bit of creamer to pour into it. He glances over at Gideon again and says, "Ouch. Yeah, that doesn't sound like fun for anyone involved." He gives a little bit of a wince and a grin. After a moment or two, whenever Bennie returns, he puts in his order for some bacon and eggs as well as a bagel with cream cheese, lightly toasted.

Bennie takes out her pad and scribbles in Cole's order, at least refraining from adding any embellishments like little hearts to dot the i's or flowers in the border after she had been warned by the cook and threatened with a spatula. Twice. "Bacon, eggs, bagel with smear, lightly toasted!" She repeats before she slides the chit through the window and returns to the conversation at hand.

"Practicum. Good word!" Because that's what she chooses to focus on, even if 'focus' is a rather loose term when it comes to woman. "You must be from out of town." She tells Cole. "I would have remembered that jawline from high school. I'm Bennie, this is Doc Gideon."

"Thanks," Cole says to Bennie when she takes down his order, and then settles in to take a sip from his mug of coffee. There's a glance from her toward Gideon and then back to her, reaching up to rub at his jawline a bit self-consciously. "Hi, I'm Cole, and yeah, I'm new in town. I've only been here for a few weeks now. Nice to meet you. Bennie. Doc."

"I feel like...the nickname of 'Doc' should be reserved for the kindly town pediatrician, not me," says Gideon. His mug of coffee is getting emptied pretty quickly. But then, diner coffee doesn't exactly taste delicious at room temperature. He nods towards Cole, but his eyes only flick up for a moment.

Isolde had wandered off to do something or other. Because reasons. But now she is back! "Hello again." Is said to Cole, recognizing him from the night before. Then she is sliding back into her seat to devour more of her french fries. And make some more progress on the little word search that was in her copy of today's newspaper. "What's up, Doc" was murmured very, very softly with another little giggle. "What should your nickname be then? Everyone has a nickname." Totally inserting herself into the conversation.

"I dunno, Doc kind of matches the wholesome boy next door curl of your hair." Bennie declares to Gideon, turning as she does so to nab that piece of pie for Isolde now that she's returned to the counter with one hand and the coffee carafe with the other to give a warmer dose to Gideon's cup.

"Well, welcome to Gray Harbor, Cole. I like to say if you weren't born here, you got here as soon as you could!" She edges up on her tip toes to gaze at what Isolde is doing with her paper. "Save me the sudoku section?"

Cole smiles a little bit amusedly and says, "Okay, not Doc then." When Isolde meanders over, he glances at her and studies her for a moment before nodding in greeting. "Hey. How's it going?" He dips his head in thanks to Bennie for the welcome and says, "Well, I got here. We'll see if this is where I'm supposed to be, but for now I seem to be settling in to stay."

Isolde offered Bennie a little smile. "Sudoku for you." She promised and tilted her head a touch, looking to Cole. "Is going. How are you? Okay after last night?" She found and cirlced a couple more words before turning it towards Bennie and laying the pen down so she could work on the sudoku if she wanted.

"And if you're from here and try to leave, something will pull you back. Small towns are like...quicksand." Gideon sets his hand over the top of his mug so Bennie won't top it up. He finishes what's in the mug, then reaches for his wallet. "Especially this small town."

Bennie leans over the counter, elbows propped and armed with the pen to start working out some numbers into the little squares. "This place makes you home sick when you're away, that's for sure. I could barely last one season as a camp counsellor over in Providence before I came fleeing back." She comments absently as the pen scratches and her hips bop with the odd music. As Gideon reaches for his wallet, it's like it makes Bennie's waitress senses tingle. "All set? No dessert today?"

"Yeah, well enough," Cole says. After all, he didn't see what Lyric saw. "Though Lyric almost made me drive off the road when she shrieked. We made it back okay, though. You?" He then glances over toward Gideon and asks, "Have you ever tried to move away?" He looks a little bit curious.

Isolde peeks at the paper as Bennie starts working on the numbers. Making a thoughtful little noise. "The bad things try to suffocate the good things in this town. But we can't let them do that." Blinking a little and eating another fry as she looked towards Cole. "I am okay. Sad about the girl...but made it home okay."

"Did my first year of undergrad in Seattle, then on a whim, I applied for a veterinary program in France. I was accepted, and spent four years studying. And then, I stayed. I've only been back home for about a year." Gideon sets the cash on the counter that he knows will cover his food plus a good (not extravagant) tip. "No dessert today. Though that mystery pie sounded..." he head-wobbles, "...tempting." Another one of those twitchy smiles.

Something that is said by Cole has Bennie's head swiveling in that direction. As if a switch was flipped, the woman's smile is gone and all the sunshine has been replaced by clouds. Her brow pinches up so tight a small 'x' appears on the bridge of her nose. Her throat is cleared as Isolde mentions bad things suffocating the good, and she ducks her head to shield her face by a curtain of blonde. "Thanks." She murmurs as she sweeps Gideon's money off the counter, "'Scuse me. Back in a jiff." She tells the others, going to shoulder back into the kitchen.

"I want to go back," Cole says to Isolde. There's a kind of determination there, to find something that can be done. He doesn't really elaborate more than that though, frowning a little bit as he looks into his mug of coffee. Unfortunately, there are no answers there. He then glances over toward Gideon and says, "France? That's pretty cool. Where in France?" He does notice the change in Bennie's expression though and asks, "Are you o..." but then she's gone back into the kitchen and he glances toward the other two. "Was it something I said?"

Isolde peeks over at Gideon when he mentioned France and Cole inquired further about it. "Est-ce que tu parles français?" She asked him and then nodded to Cole. "Yes. I am researching. We can talk." Later. Presumably. Because she also doesn't elaborate. Just takes a bite of her burge. She also seems oblivious to Bennie's sudden change in attitude before her disappearance into the kitchen and just gives Cole a little shrug at his question of it being something he said.

"I have no idea," says Gideon as he watches Bennie go. He shrugs on his jacket and straightens it. Well, as straight as the rumpled hunting jacket can get. To Cole, he says, "Toulouse for school. And a couple of different places in Provence for work." He nods once to Isolde, "Oui." But apparently he's not going to show off more of his skills right now, because he simply nods. "Nice to meet all of you." And then he lifts a hand and heads for the door.

Cole considers Isolde for a moment, but then he nods, apparently seeing no reason not to talk about her research later. "Nice to meet you, as well," he says to Gideon when the man gets up to leave. "Have a pleasant evening." He then glances back toward the kitchen once more. Eventually his food comes out, someone bringing it to him, and he smiles gratefully in thanks.

Isolde gives Gideon a little wave goodbye, still chewing on her bite of burger. She turns back, taking a sip of her Coke. "Where's the best place to look for jobs?" It's such an out of the blue question as she looks back at Cole. Curious mostly. "And what do you do if you don't know what kind of job you want? There's too many choices."

"Well, I found the one I'm currently working on in a coffee shop talking to some folks, one of whom needed some work done on a place she was opening up," Cole says. "I'm not sure that's the best way to go about it, but it's what worked for me." He smiles a little bit crookedly and digs into his eggs and bacon, sighing contentedly. He must have been hungry.

A thoughtful noise at that. "Bennie gave me some ideas too." She opened the newspaper up again to tear off the little notes she had made and add information about the ads she circled to them. "I will figure it out." She said, mostly to herself maybe. The paper was left for Bennie to do the sudoku when she came back out to the kitchen. "Your name is Cole, yes?" Another piece of the newspaper is torn off and a number is scrawled on it. "Don't go alone to that house. More people is better." Sliding the paper over to him. "Send me a message and I will let you know more the researching."

"It is," Cole confirms when she asks about his name. He takes a sip from his mug of coffee and applies some salt and pepper to his eggs while she tears off the piece of newspaper and scrawls a number on it. He takes it, glancing at the number and then tucking it into his wallet. "I wasn't going to go in there by myself. There's definitely something in there, and I'm not sure that I could take it on my own, even if I could figure out how to get to it. I'd be interested to see whatever research you come up with."

Isolde smiles then, "Good. That's a smart thing." When he talks about not planning to go off on his own. She stands up off her stool and nodded. "I'm happy to share. I want to help the girl. But...even if we can't, I want to stop the house from being a bad thing." She nodded matter of factly. "I need to go home now. But I will talk to you soon." She did order an extra slice of apple pie to go before she headed out.