2019-08-20 - Turns Out We're Neighbors

It's a warm summer evening and the temperature is starting to drop, which is a relief because it's been a hot as hell day. Out on the front porch of the Kelly house, Jaime sits on a worn out lawn chair with his guitar on his knee, strumming along with a bottle of beer set on the uneven boards next to his seat. He's got on a pair of worn jeans and a grey t-shirt. The windows of the house are open, allowing a bit of air inside.

Whistling precedes his appearance, but Garrett eventually rounds a corner, strolling up the street, seemingly without a care in the world. He is, one would assume, heading home, given the fact that Elm isn't particularly an 'evening walk' neighborhood. He's just passing by when he spots, and hears, Jaime. "Oi! How goes, mate?" Garrett says, stopping in his walk to offer a wave.

Jaime glances up from where he's playing when he hears a voice calling out. Elm is definitely not the sort of neighborhood that one casually strolls for the sights, that's for sure. But for the Kellys, it's home, and has been for a long time. He grins when he sees Garrett and tips an invisible hat in his direction, "Goin' alright, and you?"

"Not too shabby," Garrett replies, a little nod in response to the invisible hat tip. "Just tryin' to learn my way around the neighborhood, you know?" He explains. "You talk to Sparrow at all? Any idea about future band practices or whatnot?" he asks.

"Been busy with work, and I think she's had some stuff going on, so haven't talked to her in the past couple of days, but last we texted, we're going to set up some practices coming up here soon. I have a bit of a lull in the next couple of weeks so I'll be around more," Jaime says. He glances around the neighborhood and then lifts his bottle of beer, "It ain't much, but it's home. You want a beer?"

"Alright, cool," Garrett says, nodding. "Looking forward to it." Another smile, and he takes a moment to (pretend to?) give it some thought before nodding. "Aye, sure, maybe one," he says, taking the offered beer as an invitation to stop loitering on the sidewalk, making his way a bit closer to his bandmate.

Jaime pulls himself up for a moment and goes over to a cooler by the door, grabbing another bottle out of it and handing it over to Garrett before settling back onto the chair he'd been occupying. "So, what's your story?" he asks, lifting his bottle. He gestures toward the other chairs on the porch, or the porch itself, for Garrett to make himself comfortable.

Garrett takes the beer and a seat, opening and raising the former in a silent toast before taking a swig. "Thanks, mate." Another drink and be cocks his head to the side. "What story? Just moved out here for work. Not much a story," he answers with a small shrug. "Town's kind of weird, but no major complaints. That what you were lookin' for, or...?"

Jaime shrugs his shoulders and smiles, "Wasn't looking for anything in particular -- whatever you felt like sharing." He sets the beer down again and idly strums a bit on the guitar. "What do you do for work that you moved up here?" He chuckles a bit about the town being weird, "I guess. I mean, I haven't lived anywhere else, so I don't have much to compare it against."

"I suppose it's all a matter of perspective," Garrett concedes. "Probably just used to bigger cities is all. London, Minneapolis. This is still... a change of pace. Adjusting still, you know? Settling and all that." Garrett rambles briefly before shutting himself up with another drink of his beer. "Oh, got a job as a ranger up at Olympic," he answers, jabbing a thumb vaguely northwards. "Can't go wrong getting paid to spend my days in the woods, you know?"

Jaime nods his head as Garrett talks about what he does for a living, seeming intrigued. "That sounds pretty cool. At least you've got nice scenery while you work, get to spend time outside, not in the middle of a city. I could dig that." He leans back a little in the chair and grins. "Mostly I see highways, but sometimes I get to drive down a pretty nice piece of road or stop and take in some sights if I've got time in the schedule."

"That's not so bad. Get to get around the country, see a bunch of different cities." Garrett bobs his head in an approving nod. "So you're born and raised here, yeah? Any pointers on places a newish arrival oughta check out? Or avoid, for that matter?" he asks, leaning forward a bit, elbows resting on his knees.

"Yeah, it's not so bad. Takes me away more than I'd like sometimes, but it keeps the lights on, and I don't mind the driving," Jaime says as he lets his fingers drift over the strings. "Born and raised," he confirms with an easy grin before considering the question. "I mean, it's Gray Harbor. There's not a lot in the must-see department. Firefly Woods is probably some of the nicest countryside immediately around the town. We've got a couple of bars, neither of which is anything to write home about, but neither's bad. Really, hate to disappoint but there's not a lot to see. As far as places to stay away.. uh." He laughs and glances around. "Here? I mean, this is the 'bad' part of town. Welcome."

"Yeah, being stuck away from home could get old fast, fair," Garrett concedes. He listens to the recommendations, such that they are, grinning. "Explains why rent is so cheap at my place," he acknowledges, pointing up the road a bit, though doesn't make the effort to specify an actual house. "So, is it actually bad, or is it small town bad? Like, is it London or St. Paul bad? You seem normal enough, and you live here, so can't be that bad, yeah?"

"Yeah, that'd do it," Jaime agrees, glancing in the general direction, but not expecting to know which place is Garrett's, though he does know a lot of the people in the neighborhood, so can figure out several places that it isn't. "Small town bad," Jaime says. "There's some drugs, some crime, the occasional brawl and screaming match in the street, but really.. it's not like shootings on the street kind of crazy." He grins and says, "Guess I'm normal enough, for some definitions of normal."

"Shouldn't be anything too much to worry about, then," Garrett says, nodding and looking reassured. "So, a little bird says you do solo stuff, too, when you get the chance? What sort of stuff you like to play?" he asks, nodding at the guitar in Jamie's lap. "Been at it quite a while, I'm guessing?"

"Yeah, though my stuff is a bit more on the mellow side than the kind of stuff Sparrow wants to do, which is fine. Honestly, I'm just down with playing with others again," Jaime says as he glances down at the guitar on his lap that he'd stopped strumming at some point. "I tend to play this old girl when it's for me," he grins and then nods, "Since I was a kid. Always wanted to play, and my mom gave me a guitar when I was younger. She hoped it'd keep me out of trouble, unlike my brother."

"Yeah, she doesn't seem like the mellow sort," Garrett admits, but his smile is friendly, clearly not meaning it as any sort of insult. "Make for a nice mix. Relaxing stuff alone, noise and excitement with the band. You met the singer yet? Sparrow's neighbor or something, right?"

Jaime shakes his head, "You're actually the first one I've met. She apparently had another bassist she listened to but I guess dropped her before I even got to meet her." He shrugs his shoulders. "But, this is her thing, so I'm not really sweating it." He grins, "I sure hope that we have a singer, because if we're depending on me, we're in trouble."

"Right, heard she'd listened to another bassist. Park. We may have crossed paths in the woods and bands came up," Garrett explained. "Didn't get a chance to hear her music. Wonder if she was any good or what the deal was. Sparrow doesn't seem.... overly discerning. Clearly doesn't want someone that's bollocks, but doesn't really seem like she's holding out for Geddy Lee, yeah?" He shrugs. Probably not overly important. Another tip back of his bottle and his beer is empty. "Well, I thought you sang fine the other day, and I can manage a little bit on vocals if we really need, so if Sparrow's singer doesn't work out, we might not be totally ruined," he says optimistically.

Jaime nods and says, "I didn't hear much about her, to be honest. So I don't know if she was any good or not. But yeah, she seems to be pretty laid back about it. I kind of expected that we'd both get to hear her play and decide. She'd even said I could drop by and meet her but then.. that just didn't happen." He shrugs his shoulders, clearly not thinking all that much of it. He grins over sidelong and says, "Well, I sing my own stuff, so I know I /can/ do it, it's just not the same kind of stuff, is all. I'm sure I could do it if it came down to it. But I'm going to need some practice."

Garrett gives another small shrug. "Sure there was some sort of reason," he says, not seeming overly concerned himself. Beer empty, he stands up and stretches a moment. "Sure it'll all work out," he says with a grin of his own. "But I suppose I can get out of your hair, leave you to it. Thanks got the drink. Ever see me out and about, feel free to drop by," he offers, moving towards the sidewalk once more.

It's about then that a small sleepy face appears in the open window next to Jaime. She looks to be about four, with light brown hair and she mumbles, "Where's mommy?" He glances over his shoulder then and says, "Mommy's at work. I'm coming in." He grins over at Garrett then and says, "I'm sure it will. It always does. And hey, stop by any time. You see a guy around that looks just like me but less friendly? That'd be my twin, Joey." He gets up then, sliding the guitar over his shoulder and moving toward the door. "Catch you soon. Duty calls." He nods toward the kid who waves at Garrett from inside the window, and then heads inside.