2020-05-07 - Have some coffee with your conniving

Harper steps in under Geoff's arm, careful not to dislodge the jaunty hat she's wearing today. Beneath that she's got a soft grey tee that's knotted on one side of her stomach, a pair of well-fitting black jeans, and a wheat-colored, open-front sweater atop that as armor against the lingering chill of the May air.

"I'm disappointed in Jake," Harper replies, matter-of-fact, as if her opinion is what matters to the kid. "Bubble gum passion fruit? That's just wrong." Plus there may be a few stories in the news lately about the dangerous, newly identified health hazards to vaping. But the flavor!

Geoff orders his coffee and Harper chimes in affably, "One for me, too. But I want the cow." She holds her fingers apart to demonstrate just how. "In a little pitcher." This said, she slides into the booth Geoff has chosen and flickers a curious glance around the place to see if there's anyone there they might know. Chances of this in Gray Harbor are very good.

"For some reason I'm famished. I wonder why." A pointed look at Geoff.

Harper sinks down enough in the banquette across from Geoff to prop her Keds-clad feet on his side, crossing her feet at the ankles. She nods solemnly to what he has to say about Jake. "What even possessed him? Didn't Buddy say something?" Because once she had that conversation with Buddy about dangerous situations, she's sure he'd have had some input. "What did Jake have to say for himself?"

She glances to the kitchen as if that would make the waitress reappear that much quicker. It might be that her stomach is growling. Geoff transitions into the next topic and her bright, warm gaze slides to settle on the man sitting across from her. Her smile curves slowly. "Shooting paint at your body? I might be interested in that. Do you want to invite Easton?" A moment, then the quick addition. "And Bennie, of course. I've been wondering if she opened up the presents." The framed drawing and the supersoaker water gun. "Or did you have more of a grudge match in mind?" The last time -- so early into things, neither of them put a name to it -- he went pretty easy on her.

Harper relaxes back into the cushions of the booth while Geoff speaks, amusement sparkling in her eyes as he speaks about Buddy's stake. "An avant garde studio for multi-media presentations," she echoes slowly, trying so hard to shake her head somberly while putting those words together. "I don't even know Jake anymore." She snags the pitcher of creamy goodness and sullies her black coffee with it. "I don't care what kind of likes he'd get. Bubble gum passion fruit is anathema to everything I've seen you build." Here, she's more serious.

Lifting her mug, she breathes in the scent of the java with a bit of a quiet sigh of pleasure. "This was a good idea." Eating at the diner. Geoff goes on to agree that Easton and Bennie along for the ride would be fun. "It seems like Easton's been working a lot lately. I hope he can spare some time." Geoff's personal grudge match: the wrestling anniversary. "I might have a few foggy recollections ... of the way you wiped the floor with my sorry ass." Oh, and they are rather fond memories that are anything but foggy, if the little smile she wears is any indication. "Consider this fair notice: I might be using one of my coupons when that new whodunit movie comes out. Prepare yourself for popcorn."

Harper turns back to paintball. "What made you think about paintball after all this time?" A waitress makes the mistake of walking through Harper's peripheral vision. "Hey! Lana Turner. Yeah, you. I'm in serious danger of expiring from hunger. C'mere and Geoff might smile at you while he orders." The waitress does a who-me glance over her shoulder, then looks trapped and finally, grudgingly comes over to take their order.

"I want a waffle, and bacon, and some scrambled eggs with cheese. But not an omelette. Make sure the big guy hears 'scrambled eggs with cheese', mmkay? Thanks!" Harper apparently is rather hungry if that order is any indication.

The waitress just might be hoping for a few moments of Geoff's attention, if the fact that she spends Harper's order nodding absently and staring at the man is any indication. Harper looks from the waitress (who's wearing a nametag that says 'Becki') to Geoff, highly entertained. "Your order, Turner." The good news for the waitress is Harper calls Geoff 'Turner' rather than 'baby'. The bad news is that hand that he has on her calf.

Becki is dazzled by the cocky grin. She's left staring at Geoff a bit after he finishes ordering. "Extra sausage. No. Extra chorizo," she echoes with a starry look that Gina would consider firing her over. For her part, Harper enjoys the show. She knew how to order because Geoff taught her about omelettes at the diner. Becki sighs and turns to head toward the kitchen.

When Geoff starts to state his surprise about coupon use, Harper parts her lips only to have him fill in the blanks with her answer all on his own. "It's your own fault," she agrees. "You should be more aloof or difficult, all sorts of uncooperative. You know, keep the mystery alive. Make me work for it." She takes another drink and sets down her cup before countering, "Or you could keep doing what you've been doing and turn me into a diner-glutton. Among other things."

Easton. She tips her head faintly and considers Geoff. "I'll bet he's missing you just as much. I'd suggest another Vegas trip, but you two have to find a way to make the marriage work under everyday conditions. I mean, you could have missed him crashing on your sofa a dozen times in the past two weeks and you'd have no idea because ..." A lightning bolt strikes Harper's awareness. The next words come slowly. "Is there something you want to tell me, Geoff?"

Do they agree that Geoff should be more aloof? Harper is puzzling over this with a musing smile past the talk about Easton and straight into her lightning-bolt epiphany. "You have ..." Of course he's been open. What could have ended up sounding accusatory is paused. Harper drags her feet out of the booth seat on Geoff's side to pull one up beneath her as she leans into the table. Her coffee cup surrounded by her forearms as she tangles her fingers together and regards Geoff quizzically. "I think that we may have bypassed a critical discussion somewhere along the way." She breathes in, exhales. "And I think you know exactly what I'm talking about."

Becki has impeccable timing. This is when she arrives with all the food. Geoff receives his doctored hashbrowns with extra chorizo. The plate looks delicious. A bowl of spicy gumbo that would put even some Creole restaurants to shame is slid beside that in front of him, along with a plate of sausage links. Harper is startled out of her tangled thinking as a waffle plate is bumped without apology into her arm. To this is added a plate of bacon and a side plate with some cheesy scrambled eggs over which some chopped green onions have been scattered. "Ummm... thanks." The response is utterly uncharacteristic of the librarian. Food just feels discordant at the moment. And somehow amidst all of that, Geoff is also served a complimentary glass of Dr. Pepper.

"Did you?" Harper asks. She may have discounted Geoff's promises thinking there would be formal conversations at some point before plans were put into action. She settles back from where she had leaned forward because all the plates spread about the table now make that less feasible. She regards the waffle, the eggs, and decides to pick up a piece of bacon to eat.

Has it been perfect? Damn, Geoff Turner. It's been better than good. "I just think -- I don't think living together is something you just end up falling into because it's convenient. Just like sex isn't something you do just because --" Harper shakes her head. That logic doesn't work at all.

There's a whole second debate going on in her mind. Is there some objection worth having here? Is there anything she doesn't like? "It scares me, Geoff." She's quiet for a few long moments. "But I don't want it to change. I just ... don't ever want to be on different pages because we didn't talk about things." She considers the man sitting across from her, trying to walk through the logic he's used over the eight months that have passed. "I know it's simple to you. Did you think I would just realize it at some point and shrug?" The query is honest, not malicious.

Harper slides her right hand into Geoff's without hesitation, setting down the bacon on the plate. He agrees with the right parts. Then he makes his argument plain, simple, and strong. Harper continues to listen. She looks down at the hand holding hers and rolls the thought around in her mind. Without lifting her gaze, she slowly pulls her hand back and moves to the edge of the booth to stand up, only to slide into Geoff's side of the booth, facing him with one knee up to make the positioning comfortable. "Geoff." She gets that far and stops, searching his face, then lifting her hand up to curve around his collar against his neck. "It can work: I believe you. And I love you for trying to make something monumental more bite-sized. The last thing I want to do is make demands of you. I don't want to be that girl. I promise not to be that girl."

Harper exhales a sigh when Geoff lightly brushes fingertips against her soft cheek. "Okay," she answers simply. She'll tell him. The kiss is easy to steal, but it's gone before Harper can do anything but receive it. Erasmus kisses make her smile again. "Erasmus is wise and prejudiced in all the right ways, kisses and otherwise." She casts a sidelong look down and at Geoff's food. "I wish there was some other word," she murmurs gently. "My boyfriend was the man I was dating."