2019-12-04 - Drinking. Family Talk. TWITCHING

The evening has Yule out on the deck that's in front of that vitage airstream trailer, with one of those natural gas, circular firepits that adds a touch of heat to the cool autumn evening. A few lawn chairs are set up around it. With the clear night sky, it makes for perfect star watching, and he's decked out in a warm, gray sweater with a pair of dark jeans and black ankle high boots. It'd been a message left for the cemetery caretaker that if he was available? He should swing on by to have that drink he'd been promised.

Approaching as requested, Thewlis is in one of those thick canvas coats with the fleece and flannel lining, lined pants, the big boots... the usual sort of Northwest Workin' Dude look for a guy who spends time outside. A mesh bag is out of the bed of his truck on his way over, pulling a beanie over his head he makes for Yule's porch, giving the firepit a quick inspection before he sets down the bag that smells particularly of pine tar. "Ev... even... ev'ni... Hi." Thew manages to get out as he looks to the airstream, to Yule, and then down to his feet per usual.

"What do you have there?" Up one brow arches in curiosity, those brown eyes glancing down to that pine tar scented bag, a quirk of a smile curling to the corners of his features. "And by all means, have a seat, yeah? You haven't been summoned to an office... you've been invited over for a drink." Speaking of which? It isn't bottles of beers, tonight, but whisky glasses that are at Yule's feet, along with a bottle of Highland 18 year old Scotch. A nice pour is put into one of those glasses, and out it is handed towards the caretaker.

Taking the glass once settled in, Thew nods thanks, brow knitting together as he takes a moment to get comfortable, the old hand knit beanie more like a slouchy with age, and the scratchy beard is back in full force for the winter. "Pine log. Saw you had your pit going." pulling one out and motioning to see if it's ok for him to put it in. "Buh... bu-bu-b. Hotter... Makes. Less wood. Hotter."

Autumn was coming to an end, winter right around the corner and you could feel it. Esme had finished her shift at the station, returned to her childhood home for dinner, and endured another round of questioning from her mother about where she'd been spending all her time lately. Soon. Soon she could be in her own place. Or at least out of her parents. Now though, she had slipped out once more after making sure they were both squared away for the night. It was a walk that brought her to the trailer park. A bit of a long one, but Esme wanted to enjoy the cooler evening air.

Her hair was left loose, and she wore a black long-sleeved shirt with a raven on it (( https://shirt.woot.com/offers/the-raven?ref=cnt_ctlg_dgn_31 )) and a pair of dark jeans. A white, handknit scarf was around her neck. In her hands was a Safeway bag bearing gifts. Coming upon Yule's trailer she flashed a smile to the medical examiner and the caretaker. "Evening boys. Mind another?"

"Sure. Much appreciated, Thewlis." Comes that warm note of agreement for the addition he has brought, Yule's head dipping down into a small nod. "You going to be putting up any christmas lights or decorations? Tis the season, you know." It's the appearance of another, and one bearing bags from the grocery store that has both brows arching upwards with curiosity, "Not in the least. Join us, yeah? You have anything you've brought that needs refrigerating?" Is the first question that comes spilling from his mouth, even as he lifts to stand, prepared to help with what she's carrying.

Thew, Esme, and Yule are out at the Airstream across the lot road from the Caretaker's trailer. THew and Yule seated with scotch in glasses and Thewlis putting a small pine log onto the fire. The result is fairly immediate as he sets it into the coals. It doesn't become a mini-bonfire. But it snaps and pops as the sap begins to burn, the 'just warm' temperature slowly approaching 'four seasons room' comfortable at the fire pit.
"I fuh... fuuuhhh-huhhh..." he sighs and takes a sip of his scotch which actually draws a small, genuine, smile to his features - the lanky man leaning back in his seat, letting his hat sag on his forehead. "Was. Yes. I like Christmas." tongue running against the inside of his lower lip making him look like he had a dip in for a moment before a cigarette is between his lips and lit with a match popped on his thumbnail. "Nuh... no-oh... Stupid plastic... Animatronic. Lights. Shapes in lights. Icicles..." smiling at the though as he adjusts his jacket, brown eyes lowering to his glass, where it's safe to stare.

"Oh no, well. Maybe." Esme looked down towards the two bags she had. "This one is leftovers from tonight. Mom's lasagna. This." She lifted the other bag. "Is cookies I snagged because I was feeling like I wanted something sweet. The cookies can stay out here. The lasagna. Well. If either of you want any you're welcome to it. I'm just trying to make sure we don't get too much food accumulated in that house. Sharing is caring and all that." Esme chuckled softly, handing the bag of lasagna off to Yule and then settling in one of the free seats. "How have you been Thewlis?" She asked with a lift of a brow.

"I love decorating stuff. If you decide you wanna put some up and need an extra hand."

"I love it too, yeah? Best time of the year. Got an itty bitty little christmas tree. Cutest damn thing you've seen. I'll put up something nice outside as well. Classy, yeah? Not gaudy." Seems the two are in agreement there, his head dipping to the man. "Scotch is by my chair, Esme. Help yourself," He says, even as Yule reaches out to pluck up that bag she hands over to him, a faint smile curling to the corners of his mouth. "Your mom know you are out this late at night?" Comes that playful tease, even as he starts stepping around and towards the entrance of the airstream. "You hungry, Thewlis? I can put some on a plate for you, if you are. Else, it sounds like cookies are an option."

"I'd duh-dihh... Grave. Dig own. Grave. F-f-ffor... Home made lasagna," Thew lifts his glass in salute to Esme, his own eyes remaining off center of the fire. "I'm... I. Guh-guhhoo..." pausing, breathing brown eyes closed and he takes another bracing sip of the scotch, the appreciative smile returning before he gives Esme a polite thumbs up, and then jerks that thumb at himself to answer her. A few more moments are spent getting his bearings. "New LED... way... easier. Set up. Holiday. Set up. Lights. Cheaper, too. Going to... make. Nice as I... For. I can."

Jade steps out from the caretaker's trailer, shrugging into an oversized coat that clearly does not belong to her as she heads across the way towards the small fire and the people sitting around it. Approaching, she offers an easygoing smile towards Yule and Esme, "Hi, sorry I'm late, I had to finish up some research for the next broadcast. Its great to meet you both, I'm Jade Rivera. I'm Thew's girlfriend." She turns towards said caretaker and leans in to shift his hat back on his head so she can drop a kiss to his forehead even as she sneaks a hand out to swipe his cigarette, grinning and winking at him as she pulls back to take a pull from it before handing it back. Finding herself a seat, she settles in and sighs contently, "I like this. You can't do stuff like this back home. Requires permits and planning and its just a nightmare. Easier to head out towards Everett and do a proper bonfire." Jade glances back to Thewlis and lifts a brow, "Where did you get the scotch and how do I get a glass?"

Esme pulled the cookies out of the bag. It was a mixed package of chocolate chip, white chocolate, and double chocolate . She opened the package and picked out a double chocolate one before offering the package to the others. She then leaned down to grab the scotch from by Yule's chair with one hand. Biting the cookie off with the other hand. "Right here. I'll pour ya one." She offers to Jade a little mumbled because of the cookie. One glass poured and then handed off to Jade before pouring one for herself. "Haven't done anything like this in forever. Where you from?" She asked Jade curiously - after the cookie bite was swallowed.

"Yeah? All right. I'll be right back out." Though as he gets to the trailer door and tugs it open, the brown eyes of the man shift to fall upon Jade. "Pleasure to meet you. I'm Yule. My sister, Nat? Sure you know her. She runs the trailer park here. And Thewlis. You didn't tell me you had a girlfriend," Cause, like, that's totally the thing you share when you are going through old cemetery records, right?! In he steps, leaving the scotch getting in the good hands of the detective as he slips inside to settle out the food.

Blushing, though not as hard as he has before, when Jade kisses his forehead, once she's settled, Thew is half up lay a finger under Jade's chin to turn her face so that he can pop a small kiss on her himself, turning beat red because he dared to do so in front of PEOPLE. The cookie bag is thus accepted, a double chocolate taken and the pack offered to Jade. "THuh... thah... Thank you. How. You. Are you. How. Esme?"

"Seattle born and raised, I'm PNW for life," Jade offers to Esme with a grin, accepting the glass of scotch. "Thanks." She settles back and grabs a white chocolate cookie that's offered. Thewlis' kiss is a surprise, but a pleasant one, prompting her to turn a warm smile towards him. Looking back towards Yule, she calls out, "I'm a recent development. Only been in town maybe a few weeks, really. Kinda fell right into his lap, you could say." She reaches out and lays a hand ont he back of Thewlis', lifting a brow, "Are we talking Christmas decorations? We're getting a real tree, right? Rivera's don't do plastic trees. Not when we live in the best damn tree farm state ever. I have a whole set of 'classic' Christmas horror figurines. Got Dracula, Wolfman, Mummy, Thing from the Black Lagoon.. they're all together and carolling with the hats on. Then I got individual figures of Freddy, Jason, and Michael in Christmas hats. I need to call mom tomorrow, have her send them up." She blinks, then looks to Thewlis. "They're gonna end up coming up here, you know. THey'll want to see who I'm spending the holidays with. And meet you. And... um. Probably my brothers and sister too. But they'll stay in a hotel!" Because no way is she trying to share a trailer with six more people!

"Oh, shit, right. I'm Esme. Nice to meet you." Esme offers to Jade with a flash of a smile, relaxing into her seat. She takes a slow sip of her scotch and sighed contently. "I'm doing just fine I think Thewlis." She offered to the man. "You two are adorable by the way." Crossing one leg over the other. and sinking a little further in her chair. One more bite of cookie. "Also I'll totally bring you more leftovers and stuff if you guys want. Mom has always cooked too much for three people to finish." Esme listened to Jade with interest. Chuckling softly. "I like your style I think. I did my training in Seattle. Some work, but mostly Spokane before I moved back here. Gray Harbor is home." She glanced back towards the trailer briefly, not even really a conscious gesture before focusing on the couple again. "I'm going to be helping get the decorations out and all in the next day or two and put them up. Got one of the fake trees this year. Easier to put together with just us. And way too many decorations but we'll make it work."

It doesn't take long for Yule to emerge with a single plate of lasagna, but he's made certain it's a good heaping amount, just in case Jade decides she wants some of what Thewlis is having. "Yeah? Strange how that happens, isn't it. One day you are just walking along, minding your own business, and then there someone is, just refusing to go away." A fork is on the plate, and this is deposited to the other man once he is ready for it. "Sounds like it will be a great visit." Down he leads, offering as a staged whisper aside to Thewlis, "If you need a place to hide for a few hours," It's a knowing look he casts to the caretaker, before down he settles back into his chair. "So what is it that brought you to Gray Harbor then, Jade? Always interesting to hear the stories that brings people through this little part of the world."

"I don't... I... use. Fake. After... Holiday. Have a. Fire. Cooking for. Fire. In the yard." brow knitting at the compliment from Esme, and the fact that he dared PDA. The hand rested on his is captured though, gently holding and squeezing Jades. "Should be. Those decorations Fun. I usually. Movie stuff. In lights." he accepts the lasagna looking decidedly perked up as he rises a little in his seat. "I... I wouldn't... I won't. Hide, Wont. Would be." he knits his brow, "Insult. Jade is... I think she. I know... She's..." biting his lower lip he closes his eyes and concentrates. "She's... wonderful. Wouldn't... want to. Hurt. Feelings. Theirs. Hers" offering Jade the first bite. That wonderous, golden moment. Lasagna. Like sex. For your face... Well I guess... You know. I'm back tracking. Own that shit.

Jade flashes a grin towards Esme, "Its okay, I just assume that people will give their names when they're ready." She sips from her own glass and squeezes Thewlis' hand, glancing towards him with a warm smile, "Thanks. He sweet-talked me with his encyclopedic knowledge of horror movie trivia and I was just.. gone. Head over heels." Looking back to Esme, she grins, "Thanks. I like the cut of your jib, too. My dad is the cook in our family. Puerto Rican, his family moved to Seattle when he was three. He brought all the flavor from the islands with him." Turning towards Yule, she chuckles and gives a nod, "Reasonable question. I actually came here with my best friend since forever, Liam. We went to college together, ended up finding our Third Musketeer there, Nate. He joined us freshman year and seriously, it was like we'd all grown up together. But, uh.. Nate kinda disappeared during spring break. He'd come here to visit family and.. disappeared. So we came to find him as soon as we graduated over the summer." Jade chuckles when THewlis offers her the first bite, leaning in towards him with her mouth open wide. She takes the bite and chews on it with a smile, waiting until its swallowed before offering, "Now that is some GOOD lasagne. Can I get your recipe? I might have to make this myself!" Smiling once more at Thewlis for his response, she leans in and kisses his cheek, "That's because you're amazing, Thew. Don't worry, my family are good sorts, they don't bite. Mom learned the art of la chancla from gramma and she's not afraid to use it on any of the family that gets out of line."

Esme chuckles softly, polishing off her cookie and taking another sip of scotch. "I'm sure you all will have a lovely visit." She listens with interest as Jade answers Yule's question. Though there was definitely some interest when she talked about this Nate person. "Have you been able to find him yet? Your friend?" She leads with. Then backs up and adds, "It sounds like your family is pretty fun. I don't do cooking. It's my mom's thing but I'm sure I can get it for ya. I love her lasagna. Well all her cooking really. It's a wonder I've not gained thirty pounds being back here." She laughed, taking another sip. "But, yeah, I'll ask her if I can pass it along."

Up Yule takes a few moments to make certain he gets his own whisky glass of scotch, and it's just a small sip he takes before his free hand lifts, giving a reassuring squeeze to Thewlis' arm if he lets him. "Just a joke. Promise. Family? It's all great. But I think your fairly familiar with my siblings," It's a glance over to the trailer right next to them, where at least a few of thse Duchannes brothers and sisters are residing at. "Wouldn't be the holidays without them." And then, as Jade gives the rason she is here? One might see him slowly counting down, 3... 2.. 1... just as Esme takes up those questions he had fully expected. "She's a detective," He explains, a faint smile curling to the corners of his mouth. "If anyone can help you, if you are still looking?" Those eyes cast a glance towards Esme, focusing on her for a few seconds. "Hey. Speaking of which? What I talked to you about? It's inside, if you want to go in and take a look. Old notes and files, laying on the couch."

All the mentioning of family is getting Thew twitchy. No metaphors here, he is having trouble keeping glass and plate steady for a few moments as he fights the urge to fend off phantom blows, eyes closed and holding his breath. It's a wonder there isn't even a squeak, only a sharp inhalation through his nose at the grip to his arm. Eyes open, there's glimmer rolling around him like a storm cloud, for those who can perceive it... But it stops, like a switch was flicked and he's taking very long breaths... and throwing back the entire glass of scotch in a gulp.

Shaking her head, Jade offers a faint sad smile, "No, we haven't found him yet. We've already talked to his parents but they haven't heard from him either. THey assumed he just went back to school until the school contacted them because he wasn't showing up for finals and nobody had seen him on campus since before break." She glances over to Yule and chuckles, "Well, that would certainly be helpful." Looking back to Esme, she offers, "We'd be happy to talk to you further, Liam and I. When you have time, of course." Glancing back to Yule, Jade flashes a grin, "My family is pretty closeknit, this is the first time we aren't all in Seattle for the holidays.. so I expect as soon as I call, they'll start making plans to come up here." Before Esme can head off, she calls out, "You'll like my dad and older brother! They're both Seattle PD!" Looking back to Thewlis, she frowns slightly and murmurs, "Thew? You need a subject change? What's your favorite Christmastime holiday-based horror movie?"

Listen, when a perfectly intriguing possible case is just laid out in front of a detective, how can they resist? She eyes Thewlis for a beat. She can't sense glimmer or anything but she can tell when someone's getting distressed. "Are you okay Thewlis?" She asks gently. Esme glanced over towards Yule, then back to the others, rising to her feet. She produced a card from her wallet and handed it to Jade. "Here, feel free to call me any time to set something up. I'm happy to work you in." So what if she was officially homicide instead of missing persons? Did it really matter in this town? Nope. As for the question Jade proposed, "Jack Frost. Hands down. I'll tell you why next time." She gave a little grin. "But I should check out this thing Yule's put together." She leaned down to give Yule a quick kiss to the temple. "It was good seeing you two." And then she would retreat into the trailer.

Yule's gaze settles squarely on Thewlis for a long moment, and then his eyes dart to Jade, gauging her own reaction and observations, seeing if she /sees/ or just sees. "Would you like a bit more?" Comes his softly spoken inquiry to the other man once he downs that scotch in one go, and Esme's words get a warm smile briefly flashed her way. His hand drifts behind him, just enough to touch against her arm and trail down to her fingers until she's headed into the trailer, his head shaking a bit. "Know it'd be gnawing at her until I let her see. She loves a good, unsolved mystery. Seriously." And then he lets a touch of quiet settle in, eyes flickering from one of the pair to the other, all to see how Thewlis seems to be doing in the aftermath of whatever happened.

Brow knitting, Thew's eyes open, overbright and he offers his glass towards Yule. "Puh puh... please." pausing again, thinking about Jade's question. "Jack Frost. The Keaton movie. It can't possibly really be intended as a family holiday comedy. It's an hour and forty of nightmare fuel..."

"Wait. Seriously? No Gremlins? Black Christmas? No Santa's Slay or Silent Night? Krampus?? Jack Frost, both of you?" Jade seems more disbelieving of this than anything else. She pauses to take the card Esme hands out, smiling as she tucks it away, "Will do!" Then its right back to the disbelief. She looks to Yule, "Help me out here. Please restore my faith in humanity and tell me your favorite winter holiday horror movie is NOT Jack Frost." A pause, and then she adds, "Though the non-Keaton one was pretty hilarious. Anti-freeze." Shaking her head, she looks back to Thewlis and smiles softly, "You'll watch Die Hard with me Christmas morning though, right? Its never really Christmas until Hans Gruber has fallen from Nakatomi Plaza." Leaning in, she kisses his cheek and murmurs something in his ear before pulling back to sip from her scotch and smile towards Yule, "I haven't actually met many of the folk here in the park yet, but I'm hoping to run into them over time. I don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon, after all." Flicking a fond look towards Thewlis briefly.

Yule's hand finds that bottle of scotch, the cork pulled off of it to give Thew another helping of that delightful, amber liquid. It's a faint smile, but one that has those features cast full of mischief when Jade looks for relief his way, "Not really a horror sort of person. Not even a movie sort, usually. Work tends to interrupt it way too often. I usually curl up with a good book, instead. Though," It's a look of faux innocence that comes across him as he leans back into his lawn chair, "Does Home Alone count as Christmas Horror? I really remember being terrorized by that growing up." A deep breath is drawn in, his head tipping into an understanding nod towards Jade. "I've only been back a couple of months myself. My family? You have Natalia - which means Christmas day - Winter, Snow, Noelle... and her twin Noel, whom we call by his middle name Ellis." Yup. Someone in the family really had a thing for the season when it came to naming them all. "Now Die Hard? That I have to agree with. Even I have a special place in my heart for it."

"Die Hard is for Christmas Eve, Die Harder is for Christmas Day, Gremlins is for dinner, and Krampus is for right after." Thew nods to the refill and takes a small sip before he starts on lasagna. He's hunkered into himself so much that he's not even stuttering - operating on auto pilot while his brain re-sets from whatever happened in his head. He slouches in his seat, brow knit and letting his hat slump over his brow more.

"Hmmmmmm... Gremlins 2 for New Years Eve? I know its not -technically- horror, but the musical number in it makes me giggle every time." Jade turns an overblown pleading face towards Thewlis, puffing her lower lip out for an impressive lipquibble, giving him the big puppydog eyes. She waits until she has a response before looking back to Yule, "I will grant you Home Alone. Those robbers should have been dead like... twenty times over. That was some kind of Hell realm he had them trapped in. I can only imagine the horrors they faced that we didn't see." Lifting her glass towards him, she sips from the scotch and lets out a slow breath. "My mom wasn't quite so seasonal with our names. She mostly just went for 'easy to pronounce'." Watching Thewlis retreat further, she slides out of her seat and moves to seat herself on the ground between his feet. Resting her head on his thigh and hugging an arm around one leg. "So Yule, what's your thing?"

A warm, brief burst of laughter comes from him to Jade's points about Home Alone, and has that showing of amusement fades, it turns to one a look that mingles between interest, approval and nostalgia as he watches the interplay. "Esme's right. You two are adorable. Sounds like you nearly have the whole holiday plans laid out. And easy to pronounce, I find, has it's own blessing... and curse. Especially when you are in trouble, and your whole name can be said before you have a chance to run." A small sip is taken from his glass, that drink savored, and it draws his eyes down to the fire. "My thing? Well, if you mean my interests? Car rides. Long, lazy drives to... wherever the road takes me around here. I also do a lot of research on odd topics. History, biology, you name it. But recently? I've developed a great fondness for further discovering the art of tarot reading. And," Those eyes flicker back up, giving a bob of his head towards the trailer. "Murder mystery documentaries."

There is a moment when he barely registers the movement, but when Jade is sitting on the cold ground the lasagna plate is set aside, and the scotch. Leaning to attempt to gently lift the girl up and set her in his lap, arms around her and his face buried against her back. "Anything... want. What. You. Anything." answering the Gremlins 2 question maybe? He keeps quiet though, otherwise. He's less twitchy, as if he's not so much holding Jade as burying himself in her by the way he holds her.

"I figure so long as I keep making a date with him for something, he can't leave me for someone better, he's too nice to break a date," Jade offers with a teasing smile towards Thewlis. She then promptly lets out a 'meep!' as she's lifted up onto his lap. Chuckling, she settles into her new position and smiles towards Yule, "See? Won't even let me sit on the ground, even when he's not feeling great he still thinks of me first." Twisting around, she wraps her arms briefly around Thewlis in a tight hug and drops a kiss to the top of his head. "You're the best, Thew." Turning back around, she flashes a grin towards Yule, "Oh hey! I do a lot of research myself. Mom's a librarian so she kinda instilled good research habits early. Mostly for cryptids and supernatural phenomena, though. Liam and I do a whole Twitch stream, Youtube channel thing. We don't have a podcast yet, but really its only a matter of time. I run all the equipment, Liam's the face."

The last of Yule's scotch is drained off, and the bottle and his own empty glass is slid into the bag that houses those cookies Esme brought. "That is what it's all about though, yeah? Finding people who are willing to put you first when you need it." It's the last bit that Jade adds on that has something click, a soft ahh coming from him, "The youtuber. Noelle mentioned it. Well, you are certainly in the right place for it. Grew up here, though I moved for college. Twenty years in NYC. But the stories you'd here around here growing up." That bag is gripped as Yule finds his footing, flashing a faint smile towards them. "I should go and see if she's pinned up every piece of paper onto my walls, given she is still in there. It was a pleasure to meet you, Jade. And anytime you guys see me out here? Feel free to stop by."

"Do. Will. I. I mean. I." Thewlis blushes at the kiss against his head, "Tha... tha-han... appreciate the. From you. Invite. Thanks." looking up to watch Yule get himself picked up the caretaker curls Jade in a little tighter "If. Want. Movie night. Horror. Invited if. It's. You could." seems he's at the best he can for the moment, adding a last. "Fun." before he frowns to himself, resting his forehead against Jade's shoulder.

"Oooooo, yes! Yule, do come! We do horror movies right. We can even start with something more funny than scary. Like Evil Dead 2 or Slither! Killer Klowns From Outer Space. Oooooooooo, or Tremors!" Jade gets aexcited at the thought of doing a horror movie night with some friends, grinning brightly. "You can bring Esme! I'll invite Liam. That way we can keep it small but still have enough to make it a fun little group." Reaching up, she sends a hand back to squeeze Thewlis' shoulder, "That was a -great- idea. Since Yule is heading in, you want to help me put out the fire and we can go cuddle up on the couch with Aliens."

Thewlis is quiet, but he nods, smiling as he is complimented though his brow remains knit. Using the pit lid to smother the flames and get the lasagna plate picked up (his scotch is gulped again - and he'll just bring the plate back washed anyhoo). It's only when the coals are barely there that he finally has the ability to speak. "Yeah. Or... lay in bed... watch it on that tv?"

Grinning, Jade tidies up the area as Thewlis handles the fire and gets the lasagne plate settled. Straightening, she grins at him and nods, "You are just full of the best ideas tonight, Thew. That sounds great. Curl up in bed and watch Aliens so I can fall asleep curled up around you by the time Ripley yells 'Stay away from her, you bitch'." Moving towards him, she slips an arm around his waist and snugs in tight to his side, smiling up at him, "I love you, you know. Don't think I told you yet today."

The hug and the words are the thing that cracks through and Thew gives her a genuine smile, his free arm going around her, squeezing her tight to him. "I love you too." leaning to kiss the top of her head. "Lets go get... snuggly." leading her back the short distance to their home.