2019-08-16 - Meeting People

Cracker Barrel isn't the most upscale place, but it's food is a bit better than the Waffle Shoppe and Minerva had needed a change of pace. The one eyed woman is seated at a small table near the fireplace by herself with a pile of paperwork and a tea next to her. Food has already been ordered so she's just waiting it seems.

She could have stopped anywhere on her way in to work to get lunch, or dinner for her, but for some reason she was craving some chicken pot pie. Zoiya pushes the door open, her large purse worn crossbody, her steps brisk. She waves energetically toward the waitstaff, she's been here countless times, and finds a seat. It's almost directly across from Minerva, and as she sits and crosses her legs, she offers the woman a polite smile and wave of her hand. She pulls out her phone, swiping her thumb over the screen before she sends out a text, tossing it back into her purse after.

Minerva gives a look up when someone comes in and finds their seat. There's a bit of a smile and a dip of her head to Zoiya after the woman waves to her. "Good Afternoon." she tells the woman. She takes her hat off and settles in down on the table as she'd forgotten to do that on the way in.

"Love the look." Zoiya responds to Minerva's greeting, picking up a menu even though she knows what she wants. The waitress comes by and she sighs, gazing down into her purse for a moment before she orders. "Yeah, I'll have the chicken pot pie, a large sprite, and another chicken pot pie in a to-go container, please?" She sets the menu down, her eyes settling on the hat that Minerva has taken off. "You carry a parasol around too? There isn't always a lot of sun around here, but when it's out.." She trails off, her gaze moving to the pale woman.

Minerva gives a look to Zoiya and there's a small smile, "Thanks. Black is easier to take care of most times." she admits with a chuckle. She doesn't interrupt her order any. Though she shakes her head, "No parasol, most times I'm not out of work before it's starting to get dark so the hat keeps the sun off." she admits. "I've wanted to find one at an antiques place though." she tells her. "I'm Minerva." she offers in greeting. "New to town?" she asks her.

"I think parasols are a nice little statement piece, draws the right kind of attention. It would very much fit the look you have going on." Zoiya briefly gets to her feet, stepping closer to offer an inked hand. "Nice to meet you Minerva, I'm Mae." She retakes her seat and gets comfortable. "Yeah, been in town for a few weeks now. Almost a month, time really flies sometimes." She props an elbow on the table, letting her chin rest lightly on her knuckles. "What kind of work are you into?"

Minerva gives a bit of a smile to the parasol comment, "I will have to look into picking one up." she nods to that. She reaches out and takes the hand that's offered, shaking it lightly. "Nice to meet you, Mae." she tells her. "And welcome to town. I'll have to admit it can be a bit weird at times, but seems to be attracting all sorts of new folks." she states. "And yeah, time has been going really fast this year. Summer is almost gone." she muses. "Work? Oh, I am a psychologist. I own Kosimar Psychiatry just down the way. Specialize in Child Psychology and Paranormal." she tells her. "And you?" she asks her.

"Now I'm gonna have to get your number, so when you pick it up you can text me a picture. I love seeing shit like that." Zoiya dips her head when she's given a welcome, a grin on her face. "I kind of like winters out this way, so I'm looking forward to it. Summer has been nice, hot though." She doesn't speak on the weird, it's too weird. "Psychologist? Sounds fancy, so you look into the strange things that happen around town, study them?" She makes a face when she is asked about her profession, a finger points to the exit. "I dance a little down the way at the Cabaret. Been in for a drink yet?"

Somebody's been puttering around in the gift shop area. That someone is Harvey, who currently has a ceramic flamingo LED table light under his arm and a brown paper bag in his hands, when he comes sliding on into the dining area. He has to walk past Minerva and Zoiya - and straight into their conversation - in order to get to his table close by. "Child psychology and paranormal? You specialize in child ghosts?" Because it's the question anybody would have when they are nosing into other people's conversations. His light-up Flamingo is put in the center of his table before he flops into his seat, and raises brows in Zoiya and Minerva's direction.

Minerva gives a nod to Zoiya, "Sure, I could do that." she tells her. "I'm looking forward to Autumn and Halloween." she muses. "Not that much of a shock I'm guessing." she admits. "Summer has been Hellish. And I'm waiting patiently for it to be over." she states with a frown. Summer had been Hellish for other reasons. "Yeah, I finished my Doctorate last year and then went into business." she smiles to that. "And when weird stuff crops up I look into it. If kids are involved they usually get sent over to me if they need evaluated." she tells her. Then she shakes her head, "No, haven't been down to the Cabaret. It's not really my kind of place, but people seem really excited over it." she tells her. Then there's a look to Harvey who just wanders into conversation, "I specialize in child psychology and paranormal psychology." the one eyed woman tells him as she nods in greeting to him.

"Do they have big Halloween things around here?" Zoiya watches Harvey maneuver through tables, her eyes on his purchases as he settles down to sit. Child ghosts, it gets a brief laugh from her as she pulls her phone from her purse so she can get Minerva's number. "Excited over naked people, it's novel." She deadpans, but the grin on her face belies any grouchiness that could come with that statement. She points a finger at the flamingo as her pot pie is dropped off. "Those things look any good? I need something fun to stick in my front yard."

"Oh, huh. I guess that makes more sense," Harvey says to Minerva when she clarifies, leaning back into his chair to thumb open his menu. "I bet you get a lot of work in a town like this," is a sort of distracted remark, before he looks up off the menu and back to Zoiya and Minverva, though more focus is briefly on the former rather than the latter, considering the attention on his flamingo. "I don't have a place to put it yet but I figured it'll bring some color to whatever home I find myself in. You work at the Cabaret?" Another brow-lift, as if he's making sure he eavesdropped correctly on that part of the conversation. "Yanno what I was always curious about?" It's rhetorical, he's going to inform them both, as he leans forward towards his knees and drops his voice to a conspiratorial whisper: "Is it true that there's absolutely no sex in the champagne room?" A big, dimpled grin punctuates the ask.

"I wish they did. I just tend to set up stuff for the kids and things." Minerva chuckles a bit. She digs a card out of her purse and hands it over to Zoiya, "My cell is on there." she tells her. "And yeah, who gets excited over naked people these days?" she jokes. "I hear it's a nice place though." she tells her. Then there's a look to Harvey and a dip of her head to him, "It's no problem." she tells him. Then she's taking a bite of her food and listening to them.

"We don't have a champagne room, but I imagine there wouldn't be sex allowed in there. Nobody wants bodily fluids as a champagne chaser." Zoiya answers her voice as quiet as Harvey's, looking like she's trying not to suddenly burst out laughing. She unwraps her silverware from the napkin, pausing to introduce herself to the new addition. "Hey, I'm Mae.".

Hazel eyes shift away from Harvey, and she looks as if she's managed to get her amusement under control, digging a fork into her meal. "Should start something, Halloween is a fun holiday. Throw a wild costume party somewhere, something spooky and fun." She takes the card, giving it a once over before she tucks it into her large purse. "The Caberet has its ups and downs, just like any place you can work. If you're a night owl, it's great." She gives the flamingo another look, considering.

"So Chris Rock was right? Damn," Harvey doesn't look disappointed, just mildly impressed by the fact he just stated. He leans back to straighten up again, chuckling as he holds up a hand in salutation. "Harvey O'Donnell. With the Gazette. Editor, not writer, so don't worry, I'm not here to steal your stories for the front pages," there's a hint of amusement in his eyes as he adds, "But if I was, I definitely would want to write an expose on champagne rooms. Or whatever they're called in the Cabaret. But that'd probably be too scandalous for small-town news."

Minerva gives a nod to that, "I tend to throw a Halloween party since it's my birthday, don't know if I could get anyone else on board for a Halloween Festival or something. Might be neat to start a new tradition in town though." she smiles. "You could do a Halloween theme at the Cabaret." she smiles to that. Though she grows quiet and eats while Harvey is talking. When he introduces himself though she gives a nod of greeting, "Nice to meet you."

"Scandal sells, and it would get us more customers. That's why I'm not going to mention it to my boss, I try to stay out of press." Zoiya goes quiet for a few minutes, enjoying her food and drink, nodding to the waitress when she approaches to make sure everything is okay. She is chewing another bite of chicken when Minerva mentions her birthday and a party. "Your birthday is on Halloween. That's trippy, but at the same time kind of awesome." She pushes her food around her plate, considering the Cabaret idea. "That might actually be fun, can give out candy too. People like candy." She takes another bite of her food and glances over at Harvey, grinning. "Right?"

"I dunno if people go to the Cabaret looking for that kinda sugar, but, sure?" Harvey shows a lopsided grin in Zoiya's direction, the dimple on that side deepening before he shakes his head with a laugh. The waitress swings by with a coffee, and he reaches for a packet of sugar, flicking the side of it before tearing it open and dumping it into the black stuff. "But I bet the Gazette'd be willing to market whatever Halloween event you want to hold," this was more for Minerva's benefit. "It's the kind of front page material we seem to be looking for," he adds, and that's spoken with just a hint of disappointment.

Minerva gives a nod to Zoiya, "Yeah, it's my birthday. It would be fun to have a festival or just a horror movie marathon or something at the theater. But I think some have a disdain for it." she admits. She gives a look to Harvey and Zoiya, "Scandal does sell, and very well." she adits. Then there's a look to Harvey, "The Gazette not wanting you guys to run all the bad shit that's happening lately?" she asks him.

"No, the people who come to the Cabaret are absolutely looking for a different kind of sugar." Zoiya wrinkles her nose, mirroring Harvey's grin before she shakes her head and looks away. She studies Minerva, finishing off her food, pushing her plate aside. "Well you can't please everyone, so just invite people who pick up on what you're putting down. Have fun, that's what a birthday should be about. People you like, things you enjoy, and cake. Can't forget cake." She turns back to look at Harvey when Minerva asks her question, mostly because she hasn't heard about any bad shit, and this is an opportunity.

"Oh, hey, no. I'm not saying that," Harvey wraps his hands around his coffee mug and takes a gulp. "They ran the story on the murders cropping up around town. Before that, the suicides on the bridge. Though, both of those were before my time. Just saying that a family-friendly Halloween party's a bit more palatable than dead guys and serial killers," he points out. "Reality is that the weird stuff doesn't make it to print. Not in it's natural form, if you know what I mean. Not that it should, I'm betting that's just an invitation for disaster anyway." He shrugs, taking another big gulp of his coffee cup and setting it aside. "Besides, it's been some dark days in Gray Harbor, if the word on the street is any indication. So if the chief says print something happy, we print something happy. Maybe it'll do some good."

"I don't seem to be able to please anyone really. So I just do my own thing." Minerva tells Zoiya with a bit of a chuckle. Though she looks to Harvey and there's an apologetic look, "You guys in the media have had it rough the last few months, so I apologize for that." she tells him. "I'll see if I can team up with a few others and see about a Halloween Festival." she adds. "Unless the Mayor drops something on my head for the idea." she muses. "Are you new to town, Harvey?" she asks him.

Murders, suicides and serial killers. Zoiya's expression doesn't change as the topic rolls into some heavy things, her glass of soda is in her hand and she occasionally sips as talk goes on. She does gently butt herself back into it after Minerva speaks. "Hey, if you want, I can ask my boss if he wants to do something fun for Halloween. Doesn't have to be out here at the club, depending on what you dream up." She winces at the mention of things being dropped on heads, and glances back at Harvey.

Harvey lifts a brow at Minerva's apology. "Unless you're the one doing all these random murders, you don't have anything to apologize for," he replies, adding after, "I'm pretty sure there wouldn't even really be a media to be a guy in if it weren't for the bad things to print." He shrugs his shoulders, taking another quick gulp of his coffee before he starts to bob his head in an affirmative nod. "Yep, pretty new. Came in from San Fran. I wasn't really expecting to stay but.. pretty sure this town's got a way of keeping you here once it gets its claws on you," that's a joke, evident by the big dimpled grin tacked to the end of the sentence. "Still looking for a place, actually. The breakfast at the B-and-B is great, but it's not really sustainable on the long term."

Minerva gives a nod to Zoiya, "Could do something like that." she smiles to that. "Still got a bit so plenty of time." she admits. Then there's a look to Harvey and there's a bit of a thoughtful look in that one green eye of hers, "Yeah...once it gets ahold of you it's not really wanting you to leave." she frowns to that. "Welcome to town though, I'm not sure if there are any rentals available at Bayside, but Byron is a nice guy, owns the place." she admits. "I live above my work so it makes it easier on consolidation really." she muses.

Zoiya taps her phone as she gets t oher feet. "Plenty of time, but hit me up via text if you wanna brainstorm." She picks up her take out container, grabs her phone and her purse and jerks her chin toward the door. "Work is calling, it was nice to meet you both." She heads in that direction, only pausing to turn and call out, "Have a good afternoon!" She left a decent tip for the waitress, and finger guns a few of them on her way out the door.

"That huge apartment building on the beach?" Harvey stares for a moment at Minerva, and then laughs. He'd probably laugh for a long while, if it wasn't time for him to go, based on the chirping of his phone in his pocket. So he tapers off the chuckles and gets to his feet, throwing down a couple of dollars for the coffee. "That's a dream. But on my salary? I doubt I'd be allowed to sleep on somebody's couch down there, let alone have an entire apartment," he grins, then waves to the two of them. "Thanks for the chat. I'll see you both around, got a biker with a python and a cheap room on Elm to meet." And then he's off.