2019-09-14 - Cookies and Lasagna

Another beautiful day, the breeze is light, bringing with it the scent of the ocean. The French doors that lead to the backyard are left open for that breeze. Something is baking in the oven but it smells far too good for it to be something Erin assembled herself. She's never been really good at cooking. It smells Italian though. The decorative glass door at the front is closed but between the swirled glass and frosted, there are views of the interior of the house.

Erin is standing at the doors leading to the background, a perfect view of the ocean from there and she watches the endless waves roll in. It's calming. Dressed in a simple pair of pleated shorts in a shade darker than khaki, her shirt is a short sleeved beige with tiny gold buttons down the front. Her feet are bare.

It had been a day off from work for Tobin, and so finding himself with little to do, he'd gotten up early and decided to bake some cookies and bring them over to the new neighbor. Assembled in a pile on a paper plate and covered over with foil, they are still warm from the oven when he makes his way next door. He is dressed in a pair of plain faded jeans and dark green chucks that match his dark green t-shirt. He gives the door a couple of quick knocks, and then waits.

If one know the car Erin drove, the Maserati, they may know who lives there with it going in and out during the day, but currently it was parked in the garage. Hearing the knock, she pads over barefoot and opens the door to find a familiar face. One from school! And the boat tour that day. Surprise registers on her features and she steps back. "Tobin! This is a surprise. Would you like to come in?" Tugging the door open further, she offers a warm smile.

"Heya Erin," Tobin says with a grin when she opens the door, "How are you holding up?" He'd heard about all the stuff that had been going on recently, and it had been part of the impetus for the impromptu cookie delivery. "Heard I had a new neighbor and decided it was about time for a little housewarming gift." He wiggles the plate of cookies and offers them toward her after stepping inside.

"Ohh, Cookies?" They sure smelled like cookies. "Your mama's recipe?" Even little Erin Addington had visited and been the recipient of Tobin's moms cookies when she was younger. The smile widens and she accepts the plate. "All for me?" Closing the door behind him she leads the way to the bakers rack where she places it and opens it up. "Mm, those look so good. Would you like to stay for dinner? It's just a frozen lasagna but I could sure use the company." There's a wry look to her face and the only thing left of her injuries is a bandage around her left forearm. "I'm better. I'll be better when it's all over with. Thank you for asking."

"Of course," Tobin says with a grin. "As if I'd blaspheme by using another recipe. And yes, all for you. I admit I made some extras for me and left them back at the house for later." He's generous, but come on. Cookies. He wanders over, trailing along behind her toward the kitchen, finding a spot to lean up against the counter while she opens them up. When she asks him to stay for dinner, he looks a little surprised for a moment, but then he nods. "Yeah, sure. I'd like that." He nods then, a bit more soberly, and says, "Byrona nd the others were telling me some of what needs to be done to try to make this whole nightmare end. I offered to help in whatever way I can." But they haven't called on him to do so, so baking cookies seems to be his way of doing what little he can.

Even if it was before dinner, Erin can't turn one down once she'd opened them. Taking one, she takes a bite and motions towards them for him to have a cookie while they wait. After a moment, she walks over to the refrigerator, "I have bottled beer, orange juice, V-8, water, milk.." pausing, she glances over at him with a grin. "What would you like to drink? I haven't stocked any soda or anything yet, but I could get some delivered from the grocery store if you have your heart set on it." Selecting an orange juice for herself, she slides it on the counter and takes another bite of her cookie while she waits for his selection. "What can you do?" It's an odd question, but directly related to what he had offered to Byron and the others. "I've been taking nursing classes in Seattle nightly I'm close to a degree. Trying to hide it from my grandmother mostly. She is particular in what I do."

Tobin pulls away from the counter to go reach over and takes one of the cookies from the plate before leaning back once more and taking a bite from it. "Milk sounds good with cookies. Probably water with dinner," he grins. He shakes his head, "I don't drink a lot of soda, really. Once in a while, usually when I'm out." Though when she asks what he can do, Tobin says, "I don't know, to be honest. They didn't tell me specifically what they might need. But I've lived here my whole life, know how the weird things work to some degree. If something needs doing, I can at least see if it's something I'm capable of doing." He grins and says, "Nursing? That's awesome." He rolls his eyes a little at her grandmother. "Yeah well.. it's not her life, is it?"

"She thinks its her life." Erin says, but the words sound a little haunted. Reaching in, she tugs out a half gallon of milk and pours him a glass and walks over to offer it to him, placing it on the counter beside him. "I'm still under orders to drink orange juice to replenish my blood supply," a rueful look his way. "Do you know anything about what has been happening? Any of the story of Billy the Ghoul? A serial killer who killed so many so long ago by slashing their throats?" Curious as to what he did know about everything. If anything. Another bite of the cookie is taken and she follows it with a drink of the juice.

"Thanks," Tobin says when she brings over the glass of milk, taking it up and taking a sip of it before he sets it down on the counter once more, just far enough away that he won't accidentally bump it with his elbow. "Yeah, apparently he killed over 140 people in Gray Harbor a long time ago. His bones were being watched over and he was being kept somehow sleeping by Thomas Addington. Then, somehow, he became active again, maybe because bones were taken out of the Veil and back into the waking world." He isn't quite sure how to distinguish the two yet, so he opts for that term. "Now he's killing people, and able to hurt people remotely. Byron got his ribs crushed while standing in his own apartment." Tobin shivers a little bit as he says it, clearly disturbed by that possibility. "Others, who handled or had part of the bones were getting injured too. Now there needs to be a certain three people or something that need to do.. something.." again with the vagueness, "In order to stop it, as far as I know. And they want to try and get Thomas tucked away somewhere to make it stop.. or.. have to do something more permanent. But if Billy can hop from one body to the next, harming Thomas might just put another person in danger of being possessed, so that's not a great idea either." He smiles faintly, "But.. I didn't really mean to come over here and talk about all that grim stuff. I meant to just bring cookies and welcome you to the neighborhood and all." He looks a little bit sheepish. "Now that we're neighbors and all."

Grateful he had the general gist of it, Erin inputs what she knows in small doses to sort of fill in some of the blanks. "He has possessed my Great Uncle and we're not really sure what sets him off to attack who and when, but until yesterdy I was the last one. I never had any of the bones. When I was in the hospital after being stabbed repeatedly by nothing and no one, my Grandmother came and apologized to me. She had been venting her grievances to her brother, my Uncle Thomas, about her disliking me working at Kelly's Gym. She apologized, because it set off either my Uncle or Gohl to attack me. Now though.." Erin glances away nervously. "Now we need someone strong mentally, physically and in healing. He is going to be ripped from my Uncle in an exorcism and according to the Exorcist, he needs the funeral he never had before so he can be at rest. Or maybe the term is go into the light." She looks like she's just reciting the story without trying to add emotions, keeping those well in check. "I'm glad to have such a thoughtful neighbor." Her smile warm again now that she's not talking about everything else.

Tobin frowns, "So he can be influenced by your grandmother or others to attack specific people? That's.. disturbing. That makes him one hell of a weapon to be used against anyone that person doesn't like." He looks pretty unsettled by that information. "Not that him being a completely random serial killer just trying for a high score was a better situation, but.." He trails off at that point. He nods at what they need and says, "Well, I'm strong mentally, not as strong physically or in healing." He takes a breath then lets it out slowly. Gently, he reaches out and lightly touches her forearm with his hand. "You ever feel lonely over here, or worried, or anything, and you just want some company -- let me know, or just come over. My house is kind of where people just turn up, so I don't mind. And I'm right there." Then he smiles and shrugs, "Hey, I know we weren't super close in school or anything, but we're all in this together, we weird and wacky Gray Harborites, who should really get out of town if we knew what was good for us." His smile is a little lopsided.

"That was what I was thinking. I wonder if everyone attacked has been Gohl's enemy, my Great Uncles or my Grandmother. Any of them would be frightening to consider." Erin nods a little hesitantly. "Exactly, it makes it more personal and less random." The touch to her arm seems to take her out of that silent reverie she slips into sometime. "Thank you, Tobin, I appreciate the offer and I may be taking you up on it. At the apartments there was always something going on around there. Here, I hear every little creak of the floor, every tree branch brush the house. But sometimes the sound of the waves drown it out." Matching his, she gives a crooked smile, "I think you're right. But I can't imagine this town without all of us here."

Walking over, she takes out some plates and silverware and places them over to the breakfast nook table. Next, she fills a glass with ice from the dispenser on the door and uses it for water also which is placed by one of the plates. "I hope you're hungry, there's far too much lasagna."

"Yeah, I know what it's like. The house sometimes gets a little too quiet. But, I have a puppy now, and he keeps me company on most nights when random people aren't dropping by," Tobin admits with a little bit of a grin. Then he nods and says, "I can't really imagine being anywhere else, either, to be honest. Gray Harbor is all I've ever known, you know? The thought of picking up and going somewhere else... for any number of reasons.." He shrugs his shoulders, trailing off. He chuckles then, and says, "I am always hungry for lasagna. It's one of those things that I've always wanted to take the time to make but never do."

"A puppy. What's its name?" Taking interest in that as she continues. Getting glass of water for herself too, it's placed by the other plate. About then, a timer goes off and she's removing cheesy garlic toast from the warmer, the top part of the oven. The bottom holds the now bubbling lasagna, the timer going off immediately after. Both are taken to the table. "As much as I've considered leaving this town, I don't think I can. I'm too attached to it." She motions towards the table with a smile, depositing serving utensils with each dish. "I like it. I wish I knew how to make it homemade, but right now I've got so much going on right now I don't have time for proper lessons and it's not something I've considered before. Do you live over there alone or ?" Honestly not knowing the answer to that.

"Mason," Tobin says when Erin asks what the puppy's name is, with a little grin. "Minerva found a number of puppies abandoned near Firefly Woods and I decided to adopt one of them. He's a cute little guy, but he's going to grow up to be big." He pauses a moment and breathes in at the scent of garlic toast. "Oh, man.. garlic bread. My favorite. Be careful or I'm going to end up haunting your place in search of delicious Italian food." He grins, teasing a little bit. He wanders over toward the table then, settling into the seat that she motioned toward. "I can't either, but.. there's reasons that I need to stay." He smiles, "Yeah, I suppose I have time for lessons, I just haven't taken any." He nods when she asks if he lives there alone. "Yeah. Ever since my mom disappeared, it has just been me. Though, I have plenty of friends who stop by and visit, so it's not like I'm there all by myself all the time. And Raf comes by, too."

"You are more than welcome to come over anytime." Erin reassures, making sure salt and pepper and anything he's going to need. She was new at this so she was trying to anticipate any needs in advance. "It's good to have a familiar face around. I can't wait to meet Mason. What kind of dog is he that he'll be huge? Will he be an inside dog once he grows?" Taking a seat across from him, she settles in. "It feels like it's been so long since your mother disappeared. Mine did the same when I was a baby, but I always knew where she was, even if that was as far away from me as she could manage." Her smile lifts further. "You always did have a lot of good friends. I'm glad that's stuck through all the time and tribulations. Raf?" Her brows arch. "I don't guess I know that name."

"He's an English Mastiff/Rottweiler mix," Tobin says when she asks about Mason. "He's pretty adorable. Oh, yeah, he's always going to be an inside dog. I wouldn't leave him outside. I mean, he'll go out when he wants to, but I couldn't imagine leaving him outside all the time." He takes a sip from his glass of water and grabs a slice of garlic bread, serving up some of the lasgana into his plate after she's had a chance to get some. "I don't think that mine meant to disappear," Tobin says as he pokes a bit at the lasagna with his fork. "I think she's lost in the Veil somewhere, and that she just can't get back." Which is precisely why he can't leave. "Rafael," he explains, "My boyfriend. He's new in town. A music teacher. He moved here not too long from New York, along with his brother Ignacio who is working part-time for me at the boat tours."

After getting herself some food and a slice of the toast, Erin takes a sip of her water before getting more into the food. "Mastiff is pretty big. I bet he's a good dog." Understanding about leaving him as an inside pet. "Have you found anyone who can navigate inside the veil? I know Alexander is pretty good at finding his way around. Maybe you should all form a team, I'd go, I'm a healer. Once this Billy Gohl thing is over we'll have more time and less fear." She smiles at who Rafael is. "Music teacher? That's really nice. What does Ignacio do for you at the boat tours?"

"He is a pretty good boy," Tobin says with an obvious fondness for the little canine. "I have some experience with it, but up until recently, I wasn't aware that one could enter it voluntarily and am just learning how to do that, myself." He takes a breath and lets it out slowly, "I could really stand to learn how to do it better. The idea that I might be able to go looking for her.." He shakes his head a bit, "I didn't even really know that was possible. It's definitely something that I want to do. It's just not my area of specialty." He smiles a bit, then, and says, "Well, let's take care of the crazy serial killer, first. As much as I want to find my mom.. I don't want anyone else to die, either." He does have priorities. "Ignacio does the narration for the tours while I drive."

"It would be worth finding out if you could do it and the more support you have with you going there, the safer for all involved. It's really skewed. Almost like a skewed version of the real world. The buildings elongated, the trees scary, the creatures really different and they talk. Sometimes helpful, sometimes not, sometimes deadly." Erin goes about her eating between talking. She nods at what Ignacio does for the tours. "Your busy season is just about over now isn't it?"

Tobin nods his head and says, "I had always thought that the Dreams were a part of the Veil, not that the Veil itself might be a place that cound be crossed into. Somehow, I had always kind of equated the two as some sort of connected thing, but now it seems that the Dreams are one thing, the Veil another.. one having a tie to the physical world, and the other being kind of a construct, that perhaps doesn't persist? I'm not real sure.." He frowns a little, rubbing at the back of his neck. "And yeah, I would definitely want some backup. Wandering in alone is not a good idea." Then he smiles and nods, "Yeah, Labor Day is generally the end of the season, but since the weather's pretty mild here even into September, we usually go til the end before basically shutting down in October."

"I don't know the difference in dreams and the veil, I do know that we entered it the other day to talk with someone who had a few answers even if they went vague with them when we asked. The chairs moved by themselves and dumped us out once the questioning was over. I know it's not always a friendly place either. But the dreams, what do you know of those? I don't know. I've had them and most times you wake up with wounds from them. Is it all one and the same?" Erin continues eating while talking and discussing, her water almost finished as well. "Are you intending an end of the season tour? Inviting several of your friends? Byron took me with him last time when we met the Glonetrotters." And Ginger!

"I'm not sure exactly what the relationship is," Tobin says. "Mostly, it's speculation on my part, but I think that the Veil is this boundary between our world and some other dreamlike place. And when we slip through it we are in what we call the Veil, and then there are the Dreams.. and those seem to be more temporary constructs, maybe? Something less grounded or tied to the real world? I don't know.. I honestly don't know. It's going to take a lot more research to try and figure it all out." He smiles and shakes his head a little bit. Then he nods, remembering the tour. "Yeah, that was.. one of the first times I actually used some of what I could do in front of people." He takes in a slow breath and lets it out "My mom always told me to hide it, to not let people find out, to not let the Dark Men find me. I didn't have anything in particular planned to end the season, really. I was thinking of doing a haunted tour or two in October if the weather wasn't too bad, though."

"I don't know either but it does seem to fit the way you describe it. I've been in less dreams and more times in the veil. I think. Some could be crossover. I'm not real sure." Erin continues on her food, her bites are small and she doesn't eat a whole bunch. Mostly, she's still recovering from her own ordeal. "It sounds like your mom had it too then if she knew about the dark men." She falls silent a moment before continuing on. "That does sound fun, haunted tours. Save me a place and I'll pay in advance. I'd like to go to one of them."

"Yeah, I've been in and out a lot over the years, but I'm still trying to sort it all out," Tobin admits with a faint sigh. He picks up some of the lasagna though and digs into it, sighing contentedly. "Damn, this is good for frozen lasagna." But then, there's very few actual /bad/ lasagnas out there. "My mom's who I learned about it from. She was like me.. powerful with emotions, illusions, and electricity. I don't know if I got it from her, or if it's coincidence, but she taught me a lot before she vanished." He grins and says, "You're more than welcome to come along. We'll do a few of them. Alexander provided a whole lot of tales for Ignacio to add into the tour."

"I imagine you really miss her. I didn't know how much I'd miss mine until she was gone for always." Erin doesn't linger on the sadness. There'd been far too much of it lately. Instead she smiles and nods about the dinner. "It's one of my favorites." Eating the last few bites of what she'd gotten herself she gestures to the entire rest of it. "You are more than welcome to take the leftovers home and share them with Rafael and Mason. They will go to waste here. The toast also." Finishing off her water, she places the glass down on the table. "I look forward to the tour and the new content. Alexander is one of the smartest people I know."

"Yeah," Tobin admits. "I do. I keep hoping that.. until I know for certain that she's gone.. that she's out there somewhere, you know?" He smiles a little wanly. "Maybe that's wishful thinking. Maybe it's not healthy after this many years. But I can't help but hold out hope." He continues to make his way through his piece of lasagna, a bite at a time. "Sure, I'll take some leftovers if you don't want them." One brow arches a little at her comment about Alexander, "Yeah? I always liked the guy. I mean, I get that he bugs the shit out of the cops, but.. I find him interesting, and he's never been anything other than chill with me."

"If you feel her out there, she's probably out there somewhere. That's what I would judge it on. I don't think it's wishful thinking to hold out hope for her to come home someday. But maybe she won't have aged or something. What if she was the same age and you are both close in age?" Erin has no idea. "I can wrap them up for you whenever you are ready to go. But yeah, Alexander is a good guy. He and Isabella make a great couple."

Tobin smiles a little bit and glances over at her, "That's kind of how I feel about it, but I know some people think it's crazy that I'm still holding out hope. Some people think I should just accept the fact that she's probably dead by now, especially if she's somewhere in the Veil." He raises both brows when she speculates about his mom still being his age. "I mean.. mom was older than I am now when she disappeared. I was 17, so she would have been.. 40? So she'd still be a good 12 years older than me even if that were the case." He raises both brows then, "Are they a thing? I didn't know that. But then, I guess I don't pay too much attention, either."

"I was just guessing at her age, I wasn't really sure how old she was. I didn't remember. I'm sorry." Erin gives him an apologetic look for assuming, but at the mention of Alexander and Isabella, she finds another smile. "They are a nice couple. Both are happy." Thennn she adds about her own. "Geoff and I are no longer a thing."

Tobin smiles and shakes his head at her, "Nothing to apologize for. I was just trying to figure it out, myself, to be honest. I always have to take my age and add 23 to remember how old she is/was. She'd be 51 now." He nods about Alexander and Isabella, smiling again. Though when she mentions she and Geoff he says, "Oh.. sorry to hear that." Tobin and Geoff had been buddies in high school, getting into mischief together, and they'd reconnected recently, but hadn't seen one another as often has he would have liked. "That.. must've been recent?" Because the last time he'd seen Geoff, he was going to talk to Erin right after her folks had died.

"She was still so young then when she was taken. Or wandered off and got lost." Erin is finished eating but she makes no moves to get up as of yet. "It was fairly recent. A few weeks or maybe a little more by now. It took me a bit but I'll survive. Something about not meant to be and all that." The smile comes easy, she truly was over him it seems. "So, does Rafael live with you or anything?"

"Raf's the first relationship I've ever had," Tobin says with a faint smile. He'd never dated at all while they were in school, not that any of his friends ever saw, anyway. "I had real brief flings with summer tourists every once in a while, but I was pretty deep in the closet. I didn't even really come out until late winter, early spring." He takes a sip from his glass of water, then shakes his head. "No, he and Ignacio have a place. He teaches out of it and has his piano there. We've been seeing each other for a little bit, but we're not quite at the whole moving in with one another stage yet."

"Interesting. Geoff and I were talking about moving in together. I'm just glad it never got that far. It made it easier." Erin's brows arch when he mentions the summer tourists. "Hey, stay true to yourself, you do seem happy and content. I admire that." Getting to her feet she starts collecting the used dishes, only his if he was finished. The lasagna is wrapped in foil and the toast placed into a large ziploc baggie. "Happiness is what's important."

Tobin nods and says, "Yeah, I can see how that'd make it easier. I'm still figuring things out with Raf. He and I are both kind of new at this whole relationship thing, it seems. So we're kind of bumbling through it together as we sort it out." He pauses and then says, "I am happy, at least, as far as that goes." He gets up with her when she begins to collect the dishes, carrying the glasses over when she carries over the plates and silverware. "Yeah, it is." He then asks, "What about you? Just.. taking some time to be on your own for a bit?"

"You sound happy and you look happy in regards to your relationship. That makes me happy that you've found someone. That it actually works out for people." Erin rinses the plates and places them in the dish washer, leaving it open for him. "Thank you," a nod towards the glasses he had gathered. The silverware is added. "I think that's what I am doing. I'm sort of in this fugue while I wait and see what is going to happen to my uncle. I'm not dating or anything, I'd never add anyone else to the danger that my life has become."

Tobin grins a little lopsidedly and says, "Well, whether it works out or not -- we'll see. I am hoping that it will. It's still new. But I'm willing to give it time and work for it, and I'm going to hope it lasts." He rinses off the glasses and slips them into the dishwasher as well, fetching whatever else needs to be washed and slipping it in as well. He nods and looks over toward her, "Well, you're not alone. Even if you're not with someone, you've got friends, and at least one neighbor, who care, and who are already a part of this crazy mess. Once you get through it, then maybe in that breath of fresh air, something new will blow into your life."

"Just know I'm pushing good thoughts in your direction." Erin says once they had finished loading the dishwasher. "Would you like another cookie for dessert?" She starts the dishwasher to get it running, checks the ovens are off and his items were wrapped well enough for transport. "I don't mind being alone. I do worry what my grandmother will do once my uncle is gone. If he's gone, afterwards. She's not used to being without her brother." There's a light shrug. "I am in no hurry for something to happen. I don't mind living alone."

Tobin nods, "I don't really mind living alone, either, to be honest. But I've been doing it since I was 17, so it's kind of just the norm for me." He shakes his head at the offer of another cookie for dessert. "Those are yours. I have some at home I can raid tonight when I get back." He leans comfortably against the counter then and says, "Thank you, by the way, for having me for dinner. I had no idea what I was going to make tonight." He grins. "And I appreciate the good thoughts."

"Did you ever wish you had any brothers or sisters? I guess if they were younger you'd have had to take them on and grown up really fast. I think my parents had me and realized what a mistake that was. Not me necessarily. Just an addition to their family. Someone they weren't ready to care for. That's where my grandmother stepped in. I'm really grateful for her." Erin finds another smile with warmth, "I am glad you came by, I'll enjoy those cookies. Thank you for the company."

"Yeah, sometimes," Tobin says when she asks about siblings. "I think I would have liked to have had a brother or sister. I mean, hell, I might have a half-brother or sister. My dad left when I was pretty young, so he could have a whole other family at this point." He shrugs a shoulder, "Doubt I'll ever know either way." He says, "Well, for what it's worth. I'm glad that they did, and that your grandmother was at least around for that much. Because you're great, and I like you better than my last neighbors." He pushes off the counter then and says, "I should head back and feed Mason. It was really good to see you, Erin. Don't be a stranger, eh?"

"You could hire a private detective if you wanted, track him down and see what's up. You don't even have to contact him, just find him and see for yourself. I admit I'd be curious enough to do that." Turning, Erin gathers the leftovers and offers them to him. "Thank you, I didn't know my last neighbors so well, but I already like you being mine. I'll see you soon and thanks for the cookies."