2020-10-13 - Chili Today, Hot Tamale

One of the worse parts of being a first responder? The overnight on call shifts, some people do them from home, others from the station. Tonight Lucas is in for the long haul, and he is dealing with it the best way possible, by brewing up a huge pot of chili.

"Something smells amazing." Bennie intones in a chipper sing-song voice as she comes in from the locker room, apparently fresh from the shower as her hair is hanging damply over her shoulder. Her EMT work shirt gets tossed over the back of a chair, wearing just her pants and a tank until a call comes in, nose still directed down at the screen of her phone. She's either texting or playing a very in-depth game of Angry Birds, but the resounding SQUWAK from the tiny speakers fills in that blank quiet nicely unless she has a very odd text alert. "Hey Lukie." She greets, hopping up on the table and tucking one booted foot behind the crook of her knee, the other leg swinging freely.

"Hey Gorgeous" he says over his shoulder as he tastes the chili and then adds some more spices, "you stuck here tonight too?" He is in his t-shirt, pants, and suspenders, boots off, his stocking feet pad around the kitchen. "I figured a pot of firehouse chili was on order this evening, it's cold out"

"Yeah, it's getting there. Fall is in full swing. Time to miss the sunshine for another six months." Bennie smiles ruefully. Why anyone who seeks the sun so much lives in this dismal place no doubt attributable to the draw of the Veil. "I wouldn't stay stuck, but I'm one of those idiots who loves her job. I mean where else do I get to help deliver babies and stick my fingers in a spurting artery all in one day. Well, besides the hospital but no one has time for that kind of student debt." Her nose wrinkles and she shakes off that notion with a shake of her head and discard of her phone to rest by her hip. "Though I guess right now, I'd say I'd rather be home." Her fingers start to work through blonde locks, separating their drape into sections so she can plait it.

He chuckles softly, stirring the pot, "I don't know, I typically just run into burning buildings, I guess an EMT's life is just more glamourous" He grins a little, "I didn't mind the long nights at the fire house before...." he shrugs, "I guess it's having something to go home to that changes that a little"

"Oooooh, Lucas has a snuggle buddy waiting for him?" Bennie teases in true camaraderie fashion. "Or are you just like, really addicted to your World of Warcraft game and can't bear to be apart?" Her fingers work deftly, twisting her hair into an acceptable work hairdo, going one step further to wind the braid into a knot at the back of her scalp and secure it with an elastic from around her wrist.

He nods slowly, "A few weeks ago my girlfriend asked me to cancel the lease on my apartment. It's.... something to get use to" He looks over at her, "I am surprised you hadn't heard the rumors"

"Oh, you know me, head in the clouds." Bennie makes a swirling finger gesture up in the air, "My attention span for gossip is like, grain of sand tiny. Unless I hear it directly from the horse's mouth I don't pay attention to it much and then, even when I do, it's in one ear and out the other, so there is a good chance we might having this exact same conversation next week. What's her name? Have I met her? I mean, it's a small town, but that doesn't mean I know her."

He keeps stirring and does not look at her as he answers over his shoulder, "you might have met her, she's a local. Her name is Atli"

"Oh! I ...maybe? But I hear she's sweet as pie." So much for Bennie not putting much stock in rumors, and here she is relying on that particular word of mouth. "That's really great! I'm so happy for you. How's the cohabitation going? I know it can be a real culture shock sometimes. I know Easton and I couldn't be further apart when it comes to our living styles. He's an ex-marine, and I'm a tornado."

He scoffs, "She is more like cough syrup most of the time. " He grins, "She rubs a lot of people the wrong way, but has good intentions, the kind you can pave a road somewhere with. " He grins, "She really is a sweetheart, but her family, and her upbringing have left her with some entitlement issues, and she is very much obsessed with how other see her."

"That's an Addington for you. I wouldn't wish that family stigma on anyone." Bennie makes a face and then hops down off her perch to hover around Lucas at the stove, trying to get a peak into the pot. "Need any help with any of that? Pretty sure the Eff-Dee and the Pee-Dee combined couldn't finish that in a shift, might need to call in a small army of reinforcements."

He chuckles again, "Hamburger was on sale, though maybe I did go a little overboard" He nods to a near by cutting board with some diced onions, garlic, and peppers, "you want to bring those over and add them in?"

"Oh, I think I can handle that. We don't do a lot of fancy cooking, but scraping things off a flat surface is kind of in my wheel house. Granted, it's usually like, at a pedestrian versus motor vehicle accident, but I got this!" Bennie snags the edge of the cutting board and the knife, using the flat side opposite the keen edge to sweep off veggies into the pot of chili, only managing to fling a few stragglers every where but.

Lucas smiles stepping aside a little to let her pour, he pops up a piece of raw onion that missed the pot and pops it in his mouth, " The benefit of dating an Addington I am sure she will know someone needy if I have to get rid of left overs. "

"You don't need an Addington for that, all you have to do is go under the boardwalk. Oh! That's a great idea, Lucas! After shift, you should take the rest down there with some paper bowls and plasticware and you can have your own little impromptu soup kitchen. Chili is just what those poor souls need with the weather changing. You're such a peach, for thinking of that. I'm sure they will doubly think so." Bennie just volunteers him for public service.

He smiles, "Sounds like a plan, are you going to come with me?"

And at that, Bennie looks a tad bit guilty, "I made a promise to myself to stop spreading myself so thin between all my obligations. So normally I'd say abso-positively-lutely, but I have to carve out a few hours every day for some me-time. But promise me you still will? Maybe Atli would love to help you, or one of the other crew? But between here and the bar..." And a significant other who just returned from the dead and may or may not be mentally scarred and a touch unstable (spoiler alert: he is). "I just...well, I wish I could."

Lucas smiles and nods, "Hey your working two jobs, plus everything else, I am not surprised your spread thin, don't worry I can handle it" He chuckles, "I don't think I've even seen you since the 4th of July"

"I've been here! Just have to switch up my shifts, depending on the bar, but I survived Tourist season alone, and now with Easton back from his...vacation, things should settle down. Be completely normal with no more surprises and totally calm, right?" She sounds like she's trying to convince herself more of that fact than Lucas.

"Of course," He smiles softly, " You know if you ever need any extra muscle you can always pick up the phone, I know you have been a little short handed lately"

Bennie reaches over and gives his bicep a squeeze as if testing his muscle. "I do love the thought of a strapping young firefighter coming to my rescue, but soon we'll dwindle to Townies, and some of the waitresses will start coming back now that Easton is there to frown at them again. Frankly, I'm just glad I no longer have to do the books. I can get numbers to match, it doesn't mean I know what the heck fire they mean. Profit and loss, cash flow statements? Pfff." She gives a grin and goes to check her phone as the screen lights up, thankfully on mute now or he'd be treated to Donna Summers singing her text alert.

He looks about to answer when she gets her text, he lets her read it as he turns back to the chili pot.

"I gotta make a call, but I'll be back to test that chili!" Bennie chimes before she's snagging her shirt and wandering to the truck bay.