2019-11-19 - The Wonders of Giving

One needn't check the weather forecast to guess what is happening outside on this autumn evening, the steady if light drizzle and looming, dark grey clouds par for the course. It's brought Yule in to the coffee shop to find a spot where he can enjoy his newspaper, the man having taken up residence at a table by the windows that gives a clear line of view to watch as well as read. He's dressed in a dark green, buttoned up shirt with the top two buttons left undone, a dark grey pair of jeans, and a black pair of ankle high boots. His grey coat is draped on the back of his chair, and a cup of coffee, mostly full, sits on the table in front of him.

It is certainly a day for coffee, and it seems that Lalo has had the same idea. He has his hands shoved into the pockets of his coat, his shoulders hunched a little bit against the cold outside. As soon as he steps inside and the door swings shut behind him, he lets out a little sigh of what might be relief. It's not that cold, but maybe he's just not a person who enjoys any sort of cold. Good luck in Grey Harbor.

In any case, he starts toward the counter to order, and it isn't long before he gets his drink, since it seems to just be a large black coffee. Once it's in hand, he heads toward the extras station and grabs a sugar packet. He tips it in, then grabs another. Then tips that in. Then another, and repeat.

Yule flips the page of that paper, and then over it gets folded to make the thing more manageable. Those brown eyes slip over the top of it when Lalo comes in, the fellow studied for a second. And then, that attention is drawn back when he sees the sugars, one after the other, being tipped in. "Always curious," He can't help it, that touch of interest, "When people add so much in. Is it the taste you want to change, or do you use it to get both your caffeine fix and sugar fix all at once?" It's a faint smile, a bit of humor that comes from him this.

"Oh my god. Please tell me you didn't actually give them your Social Security Number, mom." Esme is saying as she walks into the coffee shop. "Mom! Why?! You know they don't-oh my god. Calm down. Just-" Esme presses her finger and thumb to her temple and closes her eyes. "I'll handle it. It's fine. Just don't answer the phone unless you know who's calling for now okay? Yeah. Uh uh. Love you too. Bye." She hangs up and looks around for a moment - not really seeing. Just more like she's deciding if she needs alcohol more than she needs coffee.

No, bad Esme. Stick with coffee. She walks up to the counter. "Give me like, your strongest most caffeinated thing yeah? Like. What is that an espresso? Give me the legal limit in shots of espresso." She's dead serious. She pays and gives her name and then looks around again. This time to see who all is there. Oh look. It's a Yule and a Lalo. "If you don't drink your coffee with a ton of sugar in it and/or creamer - there is definitely something wrong with you."

Lalo is in the process of grabbing yet another packet of sugar when he hears someone speak, and he looks over toward the sound, spotting Yule. The expression he had been wearing, one that was probably just neutral but was infused with a healthy dose of Resting Asshole Face shifts to a wide grin, completely changing his affect. "Both," he admits as he tips in the last packet, grabbing a little wooden stirrer and mixing it around before he lifts the cup to Yule in a toast. "It's probably gonna be what kills me, but what a way to go, right?"

He might have said more, but Esme's arrival distracts him, and he looks over that way, gesturing after she speaks for emphasis. "See? She gets it," he adds, before he takes a sip of the coffee he's doctored to within an inch of its life. This time, the sigh he lets out after he's swallowed is one akin to rapture. "Anything good happening in the world?" he asks then, tipping his head to Yule's paper. "If not, lie to me,"

The words of a familiar voice draw Yule's attention away momentarily from his commetary towards Lalo, and up one brow arches as Esme arrives. "Are you expecting a long night, Detective? You'd better not be dragging me into another penguin problem." A wink accompanies that thought, before those brown eyes slide back over towards the other gentleman. "Yeah? Could be. But, hey, I'm always a fan of people looking for /crazy/ ways to go out of the world. Keeps me in business."

A soft snort of laughter comes from him when they both concur about how coffee should be had, "Yeah? I guess I just don't need to dilute things down. I can stand the intensity." Oh what a coy smile comes with that, before his eyes flicker down towards the paper. Does he actually look at an article to help give Lalo a glimmer of hope? Maybe. Maybe not. "Yeah. The holidays are coming up. Town embraces the spirit. Gives to those who need it. Those interested? Should volunteer to help bring Thanksgiving to those less fortunate. Details within."

"Only trying to prevent my mom's identity from getting totally stolen and fucked up." Esme sighed and then give a touch of a smirk. "Well there we go - I'll rope you into phone duty. Better than the penguins." She offered, eyeing the newspaper. "And here I was hoping you were checking to make sure the whether would be better in New York than it is here." A tease there as she picks up her much needed coffee and takes a long sip.

She nearly burns her tongue in the process but keeps a remarkable straight and neutral face as she swallows it down. Yule gets another long look at his talk of 'intensity'. "Coffee is pretty low on my list of intense things I'm into." Esme laughed, though did look interested in the talk to the Thanksgiving giving. "Hm. That actually sounds like it could be alright. I'll have to look into that more." Anything to not have to deal with the inevitable turkey pot pies that her mother would be putting together.

"Oh, yeah? Me, too. Well, up until the point they actually go." Lalo heads over to Yule's table and invites himself to take a seat -- hopefully the other man wasn't saving it for anyone. Or, you know, wanting to sit alone and read his newspaper. Whatever. He sets the coffee down, letting out a little snort at the 'intensity' comment. He eyes Yule appraisingly, before he pronounces, "Yeah, I could see that. You got a bit of that whole, 'I'm mysterious, you're not gonna change me, but maybe you should try just to make sure' thing going on." This is accompanied by a vague gesture in Yule's direction, as though to encompass that very aura, though his grin widens as he says it.

That is, until Esme replies, and the grin fades into a little wince. "Damn, that sucks," he says. "The trick is not to have anything worth stealing on your identity." He taps his temple as he says that, before he takes another sip from his coffee. Once he's swallowed, he looks back to Yule's paper. "Huh," he adds. "Maybe I'll check that out." The Thanksgiving thing, one assumes.

"Yeah? Should I be expecting a surprise sometime soon? Don't you need to get my birthdate first, so you can surprise me with the plane tickets?" The quip back from Yule is just as easily and light, leaning into his chair as he tugs the paper down, slowly folding it up. "Espresso. It's what I live by every morning. Just one of those small things, that when done right?" It's a whistful look that creases his features, a warmth of memories beyond just the simple enjoyment of a good cup.

His booted foot comes out to push against the chair Lalo heads towards in a silent offering to make it clear he's welcome to join, not that he needs it. "Yeah? That must explain my dumpster fire of old girlfriends who get fed up with me. Hitting their heads against the brick wall that is my unchanging self." It comes with a touch of laughter to it, and then those features fade into something more serious, casting a glance between the two. "I'm going. Assuming work allows. Handing out food, making folks feel welcome. Put the giving back into it, yeah?"

Esme eyes Yule over briefly and grinned to Lalo. "He does, doesn't he? Pretty sure he's always been like that. " She grabs a chair from another table and drags it over so she can join them. Settling in, "Clearly I can't just ask you, when your Birthday is Duchannes. I have to go ask one of your siblings and keep it all very hush hush." Which she totally wasn't doing a good job of if that were to be the case. "I don't drink Espresso too often. I just know it's going to be a longggg night." She takes another sip and nodded to Lalo.

"You're right. I wish she didn't have anything worth taking. Not that she has a lot that I know of but, you know. She's old and stuff. Can't have people preying on the old ones." Esme shrugged, leaning on the table. "Good point, yeah. Everything's so damn commercialized these days. All people care about is Black Friday and a whole bunch of food." She mused. "I'll make sure to bug you both if you're there. Though, with my luck there'd be some asshole who kills someone and Gabe and I will need to check it out. "

"He really does," Lalo agrees with a glance to Esme, his smile returning. "I'm kind of digging it, not gonna lie." You're welcome, Yule. He leans back in his chair, enough so that the front two legs lift off the ground just a little bit, though not enough to fall over, thankfully. For now, anyway. "If you don't have a massive trail of exes, you haven't gotten out enough." Though there's amusement in his tone, as though he isn't taking anything he says all that seriously.

As for Thanksgiving, he continues, "That's cool, man. Maybe I'll head over there if I don't have to work. I usually try to take holiday shifts 'cause most people have family stuff to do, but that sounds like it'd make the holiday pretty nice."

"Yeah? I'd recommend Natalia. Ellis? He'll fall in love with you. Noelle? She'd make it her mission to stalk you around and find out everything possible to gossip about. Snow? Well, she's a good option, but she is always off taking care of... mice. Or cats. Or whatever stray animal she finds. Winter?" Yeah. His family has a whole theme going on here, apparently, "You'd have to wade through bat gauno to find him. Maybe that's your thing, though?

It's a ghost of a smile that curls to Yule's features for Lao's quip back about a trail of exes, but there is a glmmer of approval for the easy anter, hea dipping into a small nod before he lets his thoughts focus more sharply. "They'll be doing it multiple days, I believe. Not just Thanksgiving. Wednesday and Friday as well. And people who dwell on the overly commercialization thing? Such bullshit," He concludes with firmness, cause Christmas? It's something he is in love with, clearly. "Holidays are what we decide to make them be. Ignore all the crap going on, focus on the good, finding ways to make a difference, yeah? It can still keep all the magic it is supposed to have."

"I'll keep that in mind." Esme mused as Yule listed off his commended sibling and the reasons why the others might not be as easy to deal with. Though it looks like she might have some follow up questions - but she's refraining for now. "True. It's all about what you put in to it." Esme agreed, about the holidays and the like. "I mostly just like the decorating part. Well, also making things. I've been working on making hats, gloves, scarves, an sweater or two. Those are for Christmas though. So I put some on hold so I can finish making some casserole warmers." Surprise, the smartass likes to knit apparently. "I'll be there at least one day then. I'm sure I can manage it for a few hours at least."

"Yeah, there's a lot of bad -isms in the world," Lalo replies to Yule, "but one of the worst is commercialism." He says it, however, in a terrible Brooklyn accent, a la Miracle on 34th Street. The good one, not the new one. He gets slightly more serious after he says that, however, and continues, "But I get that. Everything gets so hectic sometimes it's hard to just slow down and appreciate everything."

He might have said more, but the revelation of Esme's knitting habit has him looking that way. "Can I put in my order for a ridiculous sweater now, or are you all booked up for the year?"

"We'll see," Yule ofers up about her keeping things in mind, one dark brow arching up in some unspoken challenge, but that's all put to the side for now as he focuses on the talk of christmas. "Sure. It's shitty, but doesn't mean we have to participate. We can decorate, volunteer, give meaningful gifts." He speaks to Lalo, before that faint smile touches to his features. "I'm Yule Duchannes, by the way. Pleasure to meet you."

It's Esme's mention of all the things she makes that has his brown eyes sharpening, casting another look over her. Judging? Yes, but his conclusion is intrigued and approving, if one is watching close enough. "Yeah. I'm sure you can manage it too." He nudges, encouraging that time to be found, regardless of when it is to give a helping hand to others. Another short burst of light laughter comes for Lalo's inquiry to the sweater queue, amusement seen in his features as he reaches out to grab his cup.

Challenge Accepted, Yule.

Esme takes another long sip and flashes Lalo a grin. "A full on sweater, I dunno. But if you bring me a blank sweater - I can most definitely make it ridiculous." She assures him. "And I'll even give you some gloves to go with it." Chuckling as she relaxed back in her seat. Eyeing Yule, "I get the feeling, Lalo, if we don't go - Yule here will haunt us in our dreams." But shes' smiling still. "I'll be there on at least one of those days. Pinkie promise." She even holds up her pinkie if he wants to make good on it!

"Yule, huh? So you never had a chance against Christmas, I see." It's said jokingly, but there's certainly nothing sharp about it -- the tone is friendly. "Lalo Martinez," he replies, with a wider smile in response to the other man's faint one. "Good to meet you, too. Thanks for the holiday tips." He cuts a glance to Esme then, though, and stage-whispers, "Right?" as his eyes widen like he's actually worried about it.

However, he can't hold that expression for long, and after a moment it dissolves into a smile again as he continues in a more normal voice, "I'm gonna hit you up for that, so you better be ready. There's an ugly sweater contest at the hospital and I'm gonna win that if it kills me. That's how you really make an impression."

"I'll become the ghost of Christmas Past and judge you." Yule promises, and despite the mirth in his voice, there is a look in those brown eyes that promises yes, he'll hold it against them both now that they've expressed thoughts it is a good idea. "Pleasure, Lalo. Mom? She had a love for Christmas." Obviously. It draws a faint smile from his features, but it's clear that holiday jokes? He's heard them all, near abouts.

"You'll have to take pictures." The man mentions about this whole ugly sweater plan, but then his right hand is extending out. His pinkie comes, and that solemn promise is sealed with a twining of their mutual little digits.

Esme seems pleased that Yule has, indeed, sealed the promise with a pinkie! Pinkie promises are the most important kind after all. Once it's done, Esme curls her hands around her cup again - this time just to warm them again. Her hands, as Yule will feel with the pinkie twining, are cold!

"It's for an ugly sweater contest?" Esme perks up a bit. "Well - I can't say no to that. Don't think I can do a whole one by hand on such short notice. But you get me a blank sweater and I'll make the ugliest one you've ever seen." She promises with a grin.

"Hey, it's a lot more interesting than getting named after your dad. And grandpa. Anyone yelled 'Eduardo' in my house growing up and they'd get all of us running in to see what was up. Especially me, 'cause if my mom was calling me Eduardo I knew I fucked something up good." Lalo grins, taking another drink from his coffee as he looks from one to the other.

Once he sets it down, he continues, "I'll definitely be taking pictures. Gonna hang those up right in the nurses' station forever. I'll get it over to you as soon as I can. I'll just drop it off at the station." Though not as an unmarked package. Promise.

There is something on the tip of Yule's tongue after that pinkie promise, perhaps about those cold hands, but whatever it is? Is just swallowed with a humorous glance cast towards the detective. "At the hospital, you said?" His attention turns to Lalo, considering the man for another moment. "What is it you do there? Don't do anything like that where I work. Course, I hang out with a bunch of cold stiffs, so it isn't surprising."

His coffee - yes, the heathen that he is, without an ounce of sugar or cream - is sipped from to test the temperature, before he gives a larger drink finding it's cooled enough to be just right. It's lifted in a silent salute to Lalo for his own thoughts on family traditions and names. "Mom's always know how to make that particular tone of voice, don't they. Not that I," Yule puts on a good innocent face, glancing towards Esme, "did anything wrong. The siblings, you know."

Esme doesn't very much seem inclined to tell her own name origin story. Maybe she just doesn't think it's very interesting, or maybe it's too embarrassing for her. She is interested in the other two. "Man, that would drive me batty. " When Lalo talks about sharing the name with his dad and grandpa. There's a smirk towards Yule.

"Oh yeah. I'm sure you were the real angel of the bunch." Esme winked to the Examiner. "I'd be extremely concerned if you were having contests with the dead people. But, you know, you could always come on up and wear and ugly sweater with the rest of us. Well. The others. I'm not in the business of wearing ugly sweaters unless it's for a very good reason. But I'm sure the precinct will have something like that going on."

"I'm a nurse," Lalo replies. "Just started there a week or so ago, so I gotta make an impression, you know?" He may have already made one, judging from this conversation, but what impression that is would be the question. He tips his head to the side at the rest of Yule's comment about his job, though, as if he's trying to divine it. "I'm pretty sure you don't work in the morgue," he says slowly, looking from him to Esme, since they seem to know each other. "You the ME?" An educated guess.

"You should wear one anyway," he continues. "And get her to wear one, too. It'll get you into the holiday spirit, Esme. Doing good for people and wearing ugly Christmas sweaters, nothing more spirited than that."

"After what I witnessed the other day in the precinct? I wouldn't be surprised if it involves bikinis and firearms." His chin tucks down to give a meaningful look towards Esme, though those features aren't easily read this time around, and whatever Yule's thoughts are, it's kept to himself. Mostly. "Detective Tessa seemed to have a solid head on her shoulders."

"Speaking of, you still interested in that romantic stroll through the creepy cemetery to see if Thewlis knows anything about those old, dead bodies from sixteen years ago you just happen to know about?" This is his counter to that tease of being the angel of the bunch. "A nurse? Yeah, from here originally, but absent twenty years. Started a month ago. You can find me down in the basement of the hospital. In all seriousness? If you ever have any questions? Happy to lend a hand." It's a twitch of his mouth that comes for Lalo's words about sweaters, and his head adjusts towards Esme. "Yeah? You wear one if I wear one?"

Esme laid a hand over her chest and gave a dramatically sappy sigh when Yule asked about the graveyard stroll. "You truly are a man after my own heart Duchannes." She even through in a fluttering of lashes before laughing and, on a more serious note, "Yeah. We'll go. I can't help it that unsolved crimes are my jam. I definitely do not have a room dedicated to finding out who the Zodiac Killer is."

At the ugly sweater talk, Esme looked between the two men skeptically. "Maybe." She relents, taking a sip of Espresso. "I pick yours, you pick mine?"

"Thanks," Lalo replies at the offer of answering questions. "Once anyone goes down to you it's usually above my pay grade, but maybe I'll come hang out on my breaks so you have some live human contact." You're welcome, Yule.

He grabs his coffee then, standing up as he looks form one to the other. "Speaking of, I gotta get over there now. I'll leave you both to plan your romantic evening," he continues as his smile tips a little crookedly. "Take care." With that, he turns to start for the exit.

Yule leans over in his chair, closer towards Lalo, his voice lowering to a whisper that is still loud enough he makes sure Esme can hear. "It's not a room, it's a closet. Bet she's looking for a bigger house so it can be rooms." Plural. And then up he straightens, another long sip taken from his coffee. "You're on, Wilkinson." There isn't a single second of hesitation once she's extended that offer.

"Yeah? I'm always happy to teach a bit. Seriously. Even if it isn't in your wheelhouse, sometimes the oddest things come in handy when you least expect it." It's an earnest offer towards the man, his hand lifting to give a wave before his attention squarely back on the detective, a faint quirk of a smile crossing his mouth. "Think it was something I said?"

Esme rolled her eyes as Yule's teasing about her Zodiac Killer shrine. "Truth is, I need to buy a second house just to have enough room." A wicked grin briefly crosses her features as Yule takes her up on the ugly sweater offer. "Alright. This can only go terribly." A laugh leaves her, already trying to think up some good ones.

"Take care Lalo. Good seeing you." She waved to the man as he departed and looked back to Yule. "I dunno, I think you behaved yourself pretty well. Probably that whole mysterious vibe was getting to him." Esme winked. "Also I am definitely going to raise that firearms and bikini contest thing with Stevens. She'll love it." A beat of pause. "Chen will definitely hate it though."

Esme's observations about how that particular pairing will respond draws a small nod from Yule in agreement, her assessment quite in line with his own. "Must have been it," It's the thought of Lalo he responds to instead, a faint smile curling to the corners of his mouth, "Probably sad I didn't offer him the walk through the graveyard." It's all a light, playful thought, not serious in the least.

Unlike his next words. "Yeah? So when are you going to ask me for my number. Or have you already run your background checks, pulled my file, and have surveillance on my trailer, and a bug in my phone?" Up his coffee cup comes, taking another long drink from it. "If you have time now, I can check and see of Thewlis is around."

"Tracking app and everything. I know where you are at all times Duchannes. Pro Stalker right here." Esme tapped at her chest and laughed. "But, uh. I that's a good idea. I figured I was just gonna bug HR to cough it up. Because, you know, I have to do everything the hard way." She shifted a bit to pull out her phone. Navigating to a new contact - she slid it over to him. "Here, put in your digits so I can flood you with terrible dad jokes and adorable animal pictures."

Peeking at the time in the corner of her phone, "Yeah, go ahead and check. I've got time."

There is a small pause, and forward Yule leans, just a bit, watching the detective closely for a bit. "Yeah? Were you really going to go to HR?" It's hard to tell what his thoughts on this are, watching with a critical look before his fingers reach out to pluck up her phone, sliding in his digits so she has them. Back over it's gifted to her as the examiner settles back into his chair, his own phone pulled free to tap off a few things. It buzzes a second later. "Yeah. Looks like he is there. You need directions, or a ride?"

Esme just shrugged, her expression ambiguous. She might have, she might just be joking. Hard to tell! When she gets her phone back, she does a little more typing - likely setting up his contact name to something suitable for her and then put the phone away. "This town ain't that big." She chuckled. "I'll meet you over there. I don't wanna leave my car parked out here. Too many delinquents hanging around this area lately. Hopefully he's got some info for us." She mused, finishing off her coffee in one final gulp before starting to stand up.