2020-03-13 - No Crying over Spilt Coffee

Kailey sits at a window seat. In front of her is a sketch book in which she is drawing. Pencil lines fill the page with what looks like a woman, draped in fabric, with wings. There is a large white cup that is half empty near to hand. Yet she seems intent on what she is doing. Pen in hand she carefully inks in certain lines. The tip of her tongue protrudes in her concentration. Her free hand slowly reaches to pick up the mug, but instead it slips and goes crashing to the floor. "Fuck!" She starts, dropping her pen and jumping back from the splattering cocoa.

"You okay?" Garrett appears from the direction of the counter with a fistful of napkins and his own drink in hand, kneeling down to help with the mess. He's dressed in a pair of khaki cargo pants and a black hoodie that proclaims 'Rise Up!' across the chest. He gives Kailey a look, head tilting briefly. "Pourhouse, right? Karaoke night?" he guesses, offering a friendly smile.

Kailey only has a few napkins, and she was rising to get more, when Garrett swoops in. And her smile is startled but also relieved. Recognition sparks in her eyes and she nods. "Right, yes! Hi. Thanks," She says before letting out a chuckle. "Let me go get some more napkins. I've been such a clutz lately. Dropped my eggs this morning," She looks towards the counter, but one of the baristas is already on the way over with proper mopping equipment. "Don't think we actually got introduced though. Kailey," And she wipes her hand, a bit spattered with cocoa, on her jeans and holds it out.

Garrett shifts to the side, unnecessarily with the barista's arrival, to let Kailey past before rising and throwing away his now-soaked handful of napkins. A clean napkin wipes his hand before he returns the handshake. "Don't think we were, no. Garrett," he responds. The poor recently-cocoa gets another glance then a miniscule shrug. "Can't be perfect every day, yeah?" he muses before glancing about the relatively full coffee shop. "You wouldn't mind a bit of company, would you?" he asks, glancing at the table. "If you're not too busy, of course," he adds quickly.

Kailey grins at Garrett and shakes her head. "Not at all. I'd love company. Just working on some art to sell. You know, gotta pass the time till I can work out in the open air again," She says as she, too, steps out of the way. It means the barista can do her work and do it fast. Her helping would just make it last longer. "Let me grab another cocoa quick. You want to split a scone? They look so good, but I'm already staying near a sweet shop that tempts me everyday," Despite the spill she seems to be in good cheer, babbling happily as she heads back to the counter.

Garrett gives the outside a look, then a resigned sigh. "Yeah, have to say, I was led to believe there'd be less snow out this way. It would appear I was lied to," he says, but brightens at the scone offer. "Weeellll, I suppose I could be persuaded," he answers with a grin, leaning out of the way while the batista does her work and Kailey fetches things from the counter. "Am I able to peek at what you're working on, or is that against the rules?" he inquires, tone curious when she returns.

"Oh, sure," Kailey says when she replies. Carefully setting her drink and the plate with the scone on the table. She slips back into her seat and pushes the sketchbook towards him. It's only about quarter of the way full. The angelic woman is standing with a lantern, leading a little girl towards a flight of steps.

Garrett slips into the seat opposite Kailey, setting his own drink down well away from the sketchbook as he leans over. "Nice." He nods, his tone pretty clearly impressed, even if his artistic review is somewhat lacking. "This what you do, then? Or am I looking at your side gig?" he inquires, taking a sip from his drink and smiling across the table.

The sketchbook is filled with many space and nature imagery. Some of it sketches that are clearly of real places. Others are just straight up fantastical. "It's sort of a side gig? I do it all the time. But the thing that bring in the money is the spray paint art," She says. "Oh, here, lemme show ya," And out comes the phone. Swiping through real quick and showing him a video of her spray painting a canvas into a nebular around a purple and green planet with rings she scatters mica into while the paint is wet. "This sort of thing. I do a lot of thing...but this is my passion. What about you? What do you do?"

"Oh?" Garrett's interest is piqued when the fact that there is other art that brings in the real income. He shifts in his seat, leaning in to get a better look at the phone, eyes widening, blinking a few times and giving a slow nod. "Hell. Those are brilliant," he informs her. The question about his own doings gets a small laugh and a shake of his head. "Nothing half as interesting as all that," he says with a nod towards the phone. "But since you asked, I'm a park ranger up at Olympic," he answers. "And the bassist for Lowered Expectations, but that isn't even enough to call a side gig," he adds with a little laugh.

"Oh I dunno. I've stayed in my fair share of state parks over the last few years. Living out of my camper van, travelling where the tourists are," Kailey says as she breaks the scone in half and begins to nibble on her bit slowly. "So I can appreciate the job you rangers do. I had a black bear come hump my van once for a few hours. I wound up calling the ranger station for help," She says around her bites. "Bet you've a few funny and good stories if you've had any time on the job. And being able to play bass it cool. As good as I am with my hands, never could get string fingering down."

"Really?" Garrett's expression is interested, but he doesn't pry. He does chuckle at the van-humping bear, though. "That tops any stories I have, but I've only been at it for...." He pauses, eyes half-closed as he counts briefly, before refocusing on Kailey, "Seven months now, so not much time to have crazy stories," he confesses. "I mostly play bass by necessity. I'm more a guitarist than a bassist, but needs must," he explains with a small shrug. "It's only fair you're not able to play guitar, too. It's be downright unfair," he suggests with a grin and a glance at the sketchbook.

Kailey lets out a laugh and says, "I probably shouldn't meantion I can sing right?" And she playfully wrinkles her nose while smiling. "Here, check it out," She says and hands the sketchbook over. "I'm sure if you keep at it you'll get your own stories." She pauses to sip at her cocoa and take another bite of her scone while he flips through it. "Did ya plan to be a ranger? How'd you wind up in the job?" She asks conversationally, leaning back in her seat. Relaxed and cheerful on this cold day with new and good company.

"So can I, so that keeps things nice and even," Garrett counters with a wink before his attention shifts downward, beginning to leaf through the sketchbook. His attention is more on the artist than her art, though, gaze fixed across the table more often than not. "Sort of, yeah," he answers in regards to if being a ranger was planned. "I mean, I wanted to be a musician, but my mum was hoping for something a bit more.... readily employable, and wouldn't help with school unless I went for something a bit more professional than a music major, so I went with the backup plan. Environmental engineering and forestry majors satisfied her, I was pretty confident I could get an appropriately outdoors job with those degrees, an lo and behold..." He waves a hand about, finally pausing to take a breath. "So yeah. That's my story. I'd ask how long you've been making art, but if you're like any other artists I've met, the answer will be somewhere in the vicinity of forever?" he ventures, grinning across the table.

Kailey wrinkles her nose when he mentions his mom being pushy. "Hmmmph. Parental figures sure can be pushy, right?" She asks as she picks up her cocoa and cheerfully starts gobbling whipped cream and sprinkles from it. Listening as he talks, head bobbing a bit. "Well, yeah I've always enjoyed drawing. But my story is a little different. Art therapy is really what got me where I am with it now. I spent..." She trails off and then shrugs, "Guess I'm still doing it for myself because I enjoy it. The spray paint stuff can be as destructive as it is creative. I was raised in the foster care system. I was lucky enough to not move around too much. I found a family I like and they wound up wanting to help me, so didn't pass me off like all the others had," She says it in a very blaise fashion, leaning back in her chair again. "So do you like to write the music as well as play? I don't remember...did you sing that night at Karaoke?"

"They can," Garrett agrees with a laugh in regards to pushy parents, but then gives a small shrug. "She meant well, so I don't hold it against her. Worked out in the end," he reasons before switching to listening. His head cocks to the side in interest as everything is explained, the art therapy getting a quirked up eyebrow but the good grace not to pry. "I write some of the music for stuff, but not much. And I did, yeah! Duet with Sparrow; Let's Do It," he answers just as his phone buzzes at him. He gives it a look then sighs. "Hell. Looks like I have to work today after all. We'll have to chat again some time, yeah?" He flashes a bright smile as he rises, waving over his shoulder and heading for the door.