2021-12-06 - A Path to Peace of Mind

A small group was filtering out of the side studio in Dance Evolution as a yoga class recently let out. Fern has just finished up a conversation with a student and was taking a breather before she packed up. It had been a rough several months for the yoga instructor but she was getting through it and the yoga - both practicing it and teaching it - was helping keep her sane. Her hair is pulled up in a bun that has loosened and has a few flyaway strands. Her pale blue eyes have a naturally widened 'deer-in-the-headlights' expression and she's wearing a pair of bright pink yoga pants with a sky blue tank top and well worn sneakers.

Loitering outside a yoga class is... probably not a great look, as a rule, but that's what Garrett is doing. Very pointedly not looking anywhere near the door, doing his best to make it clear no, he's not just hanging around gawking! Then people are beginning to filter out, and Garrett slides the phone into his pocket, waiting for people to finish filing out the door. Once there's been a decent pause in the student exodus, Garrett slips inside to go talk to... nobody yet. One last student chatting with the instructor. Once that one is making their departure, Garrett gives Fern a few moments to breathe before approaching slowly, putting on hopefully his best, most harmless smile. He is clearly not dressed for yoga, with the cargo pants and boots and a slightly puffy jacket to ward off the chill from outside.

"Uh, hi," he greets, offering a little wave, hints of London in his accent. "You're the instructor?" he guesses.

Fern looks over as Garrett approaches, offering him a friendly smile. "Hello there! Yep, that's me." She sets her water bottle down and offers him a hand. "My name's Fern. How can I help you?" Winter isn't necessarily the time new people start taking up yoga. Usually that happens after the new year rings in. She tilts her head slightly, giving him a quick once over. "I don't think I've seen you around town before! How long have you been in Gray Harbor?"

Garrett gives the offered hand a quick shake and a polite nod. "Garrett," he offers up his name in reply before taking a moment to consider the questions. "It's complicated? I, uh, just came back to town; I... left about a year and a half ago," he explains best he can before moving on to the much easier question. "You wouldn't be taking new students, would you? I've been looking for something... a bit less overtly intense than running and hiking." Depending how perceptive one is, it may or may not be clear he's hedging just a bit.

Fern eyed him for a beat, but if she notices, she doesn't push but she does offer, "A lot of us have been having a complicated year. So I promise you aren't alone." She smiles gently. "I'm always taking on new students. First lesson's free and then after that we can work out a payment plan that works for you. Typically I let people pay in advance for a number of sessions, or they can pay me a monthly fee and come to however many they want. It all depends on what you're looking for." Fern looked around a moment and then motioned for Garrett to follow her over to the bench that was in the room. "Let's sit a minute."

Once she was seated she would continue on, "Have you ever done yoga before?"

"So I hear," Garrett says dryly, nodding at the complicated year. He brightens a bit when he finds out that new students are, in fact, welcome; one never knows. The suggestion to have a seat is given a small nod and Garrett follows Fern to the bench, settling down. Not /quite/ relaxed, but almost. So that's something. The question of past yoga experience gets a shake of his head. "Can't say I have, no. To be honest, don't know much of anything about yoga beyond it being more than just stretching," he admits.

"Well, you're pretty much on point. At it's core - for me - it's an advanced form of stretching. It helps build core strength and improve balance. On the other hand, it's also meditative. Personally it helps keep my anxieties at bay. Helps reduce my restlessness." Fern studied him for a beat. "If I'm not prying too much, may I ask what's got you thinking that running and hiking aren't doing the trick anymore? Or, why you feel you need something less physically intensive?"

Garrett nods along with it boiling down to AP Stretching, but perks a bit at the word 'meditative'. And more at reducing restlessness, leaning in just a touch and nodding more enthusiatically. "Well, I guess... so when I'm running and hiking I can't turn my brain off. Especially not in the woods, you know? Way too much to pay attention to. Don't want to fall on my face or run into someone if I'm running, either, so while if I go hard enough at night, it'll still help me /fall/ asleep because of sheer physical exhaustion... I'm still awake all night. If I can do something that maybe helps me clear my head a bit better...." He shrugs. "I don't know. Might be I'll need to concentrate just as much with yoga and still won't clear my head and it won't help at all, but it probably won't hurt?"

Fern listens closely and attentively, clearly interested in his answer to help formulate a better idea in her mind. "That makes sense." She agrees. "Well, it's different for everyone so I won't make you any promises, but I can say that it helps me and most of my students agree that it helps calm them, helps them focus." She explained. "At the moment I'm holding three classes a week. I can grab you a copy of the studio schedule. You're welcome to come to any one of them. Or if you feel more comfortable we could even do the first lesson one on one. I do offer private sessions too if people want to have assistance with the yoga but are hesitant to participate in a group setting."

Garrett looks slightly relieved that he is not totally off base in how yoga might help his somewhat restless nights. "A schedule would be great," he says brightly, giving only the briefest consideration to the follow-up suggestions. "...the first lesson one on one might not be bad either. If it's not too much trouble!" he adds quickly. "But... you know. Limiting looking like an ass to only one person to start seems ideal," he says with a half-smile, then glances around and suddenly looks vaguely concerned. "I'm not cutting into your next class time or you getting out of here or anything, am I?" he asks in a slight rush.

"Oh no, not at all. I only do one class a day on the days I do them. Have to leave room for other stuff after all." Fern grins. "I've got no where else to be any time soon so we're fine." She assures, standing to grab one of the schedules out of one of the nearby clear wall hangers and brought it back over to him. "We can totally do one on one. A lot of people feel more comfortable with that to be honest. It's only natural that we don't want to embarrass ourselves immediately in front of a bunch of strangers." Fern chuckles as she sits down again. "So, again, you don't have to answer - I'm just curious. What kind of stuff keeps you up at night? Like, what can't your brain turn off?"

"Good. Good." Garrett gives a few relieved nods. "I do like to limit my embarrassment to only one or two strangers at a time, as a rule," he agrees, tone light, playful almost, along with his smile. He takes the proffered schedule, giving it only a brief glance before carefully folding it into thirds and tucking it inside his coat. The lightness fades a bit quickly at the question though, and he opens his mouth in a few false starts before finally managing words. "My time out of town wasn't particularly pleasant," he answers. "And so... yeah. Nightmares, mostly. Waking up thinking I'm still out of town," he answer softly, giving a small shrug.

Fern placed a hand lightly on the back of his shoulder when he mentioned the nightmares. "Nightmares are wholly unpleasant. You know that's one of the reasons I started taking yoga too." She moved her hand back to her lap. "I suffered a severe injury that made me retire early from my career and even today - aside the shit this town seems to have - I still have nightmares about the fall. Or even nightmares about still being able to do my work." Because, you know, dreaming of doing something you love and waking up remembering you can't isn't ever a good feeling. Fern cleared her throat and gave a touch of a smile again. "But I'm confident that while the yoga won't cure everything? I think it will improve your sleep and hopefully let you sleep more peacefully."

She paused before adding, "And, you know, if you ever need someone to talk to about your experience out of town, I'm a pretty good listener too." She could tell that he had some shine to him and he'd be able to see she shined fairly brightly herself if he tried to look for it. "Sometimes keeping things bottled up is half the issue for some too."

Garrett listens close, nodding slowly, face full of sympathy. "Mind if I ask what you did before...?" He asks tentatively. "Sorry if I'm prying," he adds quickly, glancing at Fern, very clearly trying to decide what she did pre-yoga. Dance? Gymnastics? Those seems yoga-adjacent, right? It's during that look over the shine becomes a bit more evident, though, and he blinks a few times. A small smile is offered when Fern mentions being a good listener. "Maybe eventually," he assures. "Do you always offer therapy to your prospective students?" he inquires, a little smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Oh not at all, I've asked plenty of prying questions of you already." Fern mused. "I was an aerialist. An acrobat." She looks whistful for a moment. "I traveled with a performing circus all over. It was intensive but, I love it. It was my dream. But something happened and I missed a cue I've never missed before. Crash landed. It's a miracle I'm not paralyzed to be honest. So I'm just thankful I can still teach what I can." She sits up a little and shakes her head, "Not all of them. Only to the ones who I think might need a listening ear. " She seems to think of something and rises again, going over to her bag and rummaging around before pulling out a business card. "Here! I nearly forgot." She comes back over, handing him the card. "This has my number on it. You can call me to set up your first lesson. Or if you just want someone to talk to."

"Like, with the silk and the Cirque de Soleil type of thing? Or like trapeze artist?" Garrett inquires, clearly intrigued. That one wasn't on his list of guesses! But then he clears his throat. "Sorry again. Like you said, feel free not to answer at any point," he mumbles. Then she's rummaging through a bag and coming back with a card, and Garrett accepts it with another bright smile. "Thanks," he says, tone sincere. Then pulls out his phone and makes a point of entering the number before he manages to lose the card, a quick text sent to the number listed with his name. "Do you have any plans for the evening?" he asks with polite curiosity, phone vanishing into his pocket once more.

"Bit of both actually! Mostly like Cirque de Soleil though." Fern agreed. "It's okay, I mean. I miss it dearly, but I don't mind talking about it." She assured him. "It's been...over 7 years, maybe almost 8 since it happened. I had my period of self destructive behaviors and now I'm in my 'Recovering Phase' if you wanna call it that." She doesn't sit down this time, watching him input the number into his phone. "Mmm, probably just get Thai and binge watch some christmas movies at home. Nothing too terribly exciting." She laughed. "How about you?"

"So hanging from silks and all that, hm?" Garrett is clearly impressed, giving a faint nod at the explanation of how she already has her moping and self destructive behavior stage out of the way. "Besides this? Not a lot. Get food," he echoes. It is about that time of night. "You wouldn't want to go get a bite together?" he inquires, then pauses and clears his throat, cheeks darkening just a touch. "Just as, like, acquaintances. I'm not, like, trying to ask you out. I barely know you. I'm just trying to, you know, get out and socialize more instead of hiding at home all the time," he says in a huge rush that ends with him needing to take a deep breath. "...or not."

There's a sparkle of amusement that flickers in Fern's eyes as he stumbles through his words, but she smiles. "I would love the company. You know, it might come as a major shock, but I'm something of a hermit myself." She doesn't even seem to be joking, though it's said good naturedly. "Besides, it'll give us a chance to get to know each other better, no? Then you can embarrass yourself during your first yoga lesson in front of a friend rather than a stranger. "She winked. "I'm just going to go get changed and I'll meet you out front, yeah?"

Garrett's own smile begins to reappear as the awkward invitation is accepted, and is fully re-emerged by the end, leaving him nodding and returned to a normal color. "Zero is the ideal number of strangers to embarrass one's self in front of," he agrees, finally standing and giving another tiny nod. "Sounds good, I'll meet you out front," he agrees, and does. Or at least just inside the main door to the building. Waiting in the cold seems silly. "So, Thai, then?" he asks once she reappears, holding the door open.

When Fern re-emerges she is more dressed for the weather in a pair of fur-lined boots, jeans, and a sweater covered by a thick jacket. "Thai! Unless you have a hankering for something else?" Fern quirked a brow. "I don't have too much of a preference, it's just right here in the strip mall." She motioned to the right as they stepped outside. "Just a few doors down so it's convenient, but the pizza place is here too! I'm flexible." She snickered to herself at her terrible joke.

"Thai is fine. Had pizza the other night," Garrett says. The joke get a small snicker from him as well, along with a small eyeroll he makes sure to turn his head enough to be impossible to miss. "So. What do you like to do when you're not teaching people how to limber up and find their chi?" he asks as they make the short stroll to the awaiting Thai food.

Fern grins at his eyeroll, mulling over the question as they walked. "Mmm, I volunteer at the HOPE Community Center, read, watch movies, low key stuff I guess." She gives a light shrug, barely perceptible under her coat. "How about you? Besides hiking and running." She spared a glance towards him as they drew closer to the restaurant and she would reach out to grab the door - letting him enter first before following in behind him.

Garrett listens and smiles. "Nothing wrong with low-key," he says, nodding as he steps through the door. "Thanks." He waits for Fern to come through the door before continuing. "Oh, a bit of this, a bit of that. Listen to and/or make music. Help my roommate figure out what's going on with her new, ah.... investment. She bought the old Bauer Building downtown and..." He trails off and lets out a low whistle. "There's a lot going on there."

"Yeah, low-key is about all I can handle these days." Fern chuckled. "Ohh a musician? That sounds fun, what sort of music do you play?" She grabbed them a nearby two-seater table, lifting one of the menus already placed on the table to peer over it. "Bauer Building?" Fern rifled through her mental file but then nodded. "I've heard of that place I think. What's going on there?" Looking mildly intrigued.

"Oh, bit of this, bit of that. Lot of more relaxed stuff when it's just me. Folksy, bluesy, just-this-side of being country," Garrett answers if his musical tastes. "But it's usually rock or rock-adjacent when I'm with other people. Had a band for a while here in town, but that sort of fizzled out." He frowns, sighs, then looks back up and across the table. "As for the building..." He takes a moment to consider before beginning. "Well, it's pretty run down, to start. A lot of the place is.... not particularly fit for habitation. And then there's, I guess, all kinds of local Weird about the place. Not that I've had much first hand experience with that."

"I love bluesy music. Jazz too. I mean, I can't discount classic rock or rock n' roll, but I'm definitely drawn to more laid back and soulful stuff too." Fern laid her menu down, sliding it over to him after she decided what she wanted. "I'd love to hear you play some time. That is a shame about the band though." She agreed. Listening about the building, her eyes widened a touch again. "That does sound like a perfect recipe for the local Weird." She agreed. "I was born and raised here so, I'm plenty familiar with it." Fern's nose wrinkled. "I hope she's able to turn it in to something though. It's nice seeing abandoned buildings start coming back up."

"You don't say." Garrett gives a small, unsurprised smile across the table at Fern's preference for more relaxed music. He peruses the menu idly, but focuses more on his dinner company than what he's actually going to have for dinner. "It is a shame," he agrees. "You might have heard me play with them before; Lowered Expectations? Three piece, we played a local festival thing a couple summers back?" He does not look like he actually expects that to spark a memory, but it can't hurt to try! "But either way, I'm sure something can be arranged," he assures. The Weird of the building gets a snort. "Doesn't it, though? There was one office that I guess was totally pristine, despite the inside looking like it was straight out of Mad Men or something." Pause. "Someone is renting it as a personal office now. Whatever is lingering there I hear is okay with it as long as he doesn't rearrange or replace any of the furniture or something like that." He shakes his head. "Most of the Weird, I think, is limited to the basement. So that's a good thing, I guess?"

Fern has to think on it for a moment but then a light of recognition appears on her face. "I have heard them! Well, you I guess. All of you? There was a festival a while back that you guys played or something - wasn't there?" Fern asked, relaxing back in her seat. "It wasn't too bad at all from what I recall. Now I'm wholly looking forward to my concert." She chuckled. "That person is brave." She mused, referring to whomever was renting the space. "Though I am a little curious to see it. " There's a nod about the Weird being in the basement. "That definitely sounds preferable, so long as you don't intend to ever use the basement for something important. I imagine it wouldn't work out very well if you needed to go down to the basement frequently. Basements are already creepy to begin with. Add the Weird to that mix? No siree, I don't think so."

Garrett takes a small mock bow to the best of his ability while sitting. "We did. It went pretty decent," he says with a nod. "It was more alt-rock type stuff than what I typically play alone, but that's how I usually lean when I'm playing bass anyways, so it works." A small grin. "We'll arrange your private show sooner rather than later," he assures, flashing a smile. Then it's back to the Weird. "Brave or stupid," he deadpansas if they're not two sides of the same coin. "I think the only current interest in the basement is recovering a bunch of antique furniture down there." He pauses. "That hopefully doesn't raise the same issues as that office." Shrug. "Some of her friends wanna poke poke around some tunnels down there, which is something I'm not particularly looking forward to getting roped into."

"Sounds like it could be interesting, but also negatively impact the nerves depending on what happens. Exploring can be fun though, I'll admit I've done my fair share over the years." Fern mused. "Ifff you get roped in and they want extra hands or something, I'm happy to help out." She offered. "Even though I always tell myself 'never again' this town doesn't always give you a choice. So, sometimes it's better to just go with the flow. You know?"

"Interesting," Garrett repeats the word, making a face. "Well, you're not wrong. Hopefully not the bad kind of interesting," he grumbles. "But, I'm pretty sure I have more hands on experience with the local Weird than I ever wanted, so it's not like I can just tell them they're in their own, so..." A sigh and a shrug. Then a raised eyebrow at Fern volunteering herself up. "You sure? Sounds like you know exactly how foolish it can be to mess with these sorts of things."

"Of course I'm sure. You said it yourself - you have experience and can't just tell your friends they're on their own." Fern flashed a smile. "I can't have my newest client and his friends getting all tangled up in trouble where I might have been able to lend a hand. Besides. It would be foolish to just avoid the Weird all the time. It's a part of this town. If you live here - unless you're one of the lucky oblivious ones," Which neither of them were, "Then you might as well face it head on now and then." Fern shrugged. "Though, I also hope that it isn't the bad sort of interesting either."

Garrett shakes his head, but doesn't make any further effort to dissuade Fern. "That's a lot of effort to keep a new client," he says, but there's a noticeable bit of appreciation (alongside a little teasing) in his voice as he says it. "I've got your number, so I guess I'll keep you up to date for when they're feeling extra foolish." A small smile. He raises a non-existent drink in her direction. "To the not-bad kind of interesting," he mock-toasts.

"To the not kind of bad interesting." Fern laughed, lifting a fake glass as well. Around this time one of the servers comes by to take their orders. Fern puts in for a Coke and some kind of spicy noodles before relaxing into her seat. After Garrett put in his order and they were alone again Fern spoke up. "So what brought you to Gray Harbor anyway? Like, before. When you first came to town?" Because he clearly wasn't a local with that hint of London accent.

A Sprite, but otherwise the same is ordered for Garrett, and then he's back to chatting with Fern. "Work. Had a job up at Olympic," he says, waving vaguely northward. "And Gray Harbor seemed like a good choice; close enough to commute, reasonable rent, all that. It was Minneapolis before here," he adds. He's probably used to this line of questioning, what with the accent ND being about as far from London as one can get. "Mom took a position as a professor of engineering there," he says to explain the move. "What about you? What brought you back? You said you've been back for... five years, was it?" he asks.

"Makes sense." Fern inclined her head in a nod. "Engineering's a pretty intensive field! Are you in something similar? Or is music more your mainstay?" She wondered, then gave another shrug of her shoulders, finally slipping out of her coat and hanging it over the back of her chair. "Well, after getting out of physical therapy for my injuries I didn't really have anywhere to go. My parents still had their house here even though they'd moved to Florida. So they let me move in. Rent free - just gotta keep up with the utilities and keep it looking nice." She gives a touch of a smile. "Though I did spend the first couple years in a depressive, drunken spiral. BUT! I'm better now." Mostly. Not counting the apparent bender she went on at some point during her lost time that she hasn't tried to figure out further.

"Similar. Environmental engineering and natural resource management." Motivated Garrett was motivated in his college days! "I would've been a music major, truth be told, but mom agreed to foot the bill if I chose something more, ah... employable, I think was her exact word," he says wryly. "So I went with the thing that gave me an excuse to spend my days in the woods, instead. Still a win," he says a bit more brightly. Fern's explanation of what brought her back to town gets a nod; makes perfect sense. "Not a bad arrangement," he says.

"Nothing like that great outdoors now and then. Except in winter. Unless there's a big fire and smores." Fern grinned. "That was smart though, pick something your mom would fit the bill for but that you'd also enjoy doing." She leaned against the table lightly, taking a sip of her soda once their drinks had arrived. "I didn't do the college thing, though sometimes I wish I had. But I was so focused on becoming an acrobat...all I did was eat and breathe my training. I consider myself lucky that eventually it all paid off." Even if it ended sooner than she'd wanted it to. "But I don't mind being back. If you can get past the Weird, then it's a decent town with nice people. Plus - I couldn't say no to free rent." She gave a wry smile at that." A beat of pause before asking, "What street are you and your roomie on anyway?"

"Mmm, I've got my moments," Garrett says modestly at the clearness of his plan, grinning, then giving a small shrug at Fern's college regrets. "It's a little overrated, truth be told. Honestly, if I hadn't had a free ride ahead of me, I wouldn't have gone," he admits, shrugging. "Seems like you made the right choice. Not like you could have foreseen your accident, right?" Pause, then a grin. "And free rent isn't a bad deal. And like you said, Weird aside it's a good town. I like it here. Mostly good folks. Only the occasional near-death experience." The last is said with pursed lips and a 'what are you gonna do?' sort of shrug. "Oh, there was a penthouse apartment at the top of Bauer that's liveable, so we're there."

"Oh! A Penthouse sounds pretty cool! Is the view a good one?" Fern isn't actually sure how tall the building is or anything. There's a chuckle at his expression and mention of near death experiences. "Exactly. All good things come with some kind of cost. Ours just happens to be different than most." She took another sip of her soda and straightened, thanking the sever as their noodles were brought. "Mmm this smells great." She murmured, picking up her fork - unashamed to be chopstick-inept. "Do you have a favorite food in particular?"

"I'm using the term penthouse very generously. The building is only five.... six? Stories. But the view isn't bad," Garrett admits with a small smile. "It's not a bad arrangement. Perdita has been way beyond generous so far," he says fondly. A small snort of laughter at the 'cost' I'd living in an otherwise great town, but Garrett doesn't dispute the point. "My palate as just remarkably unrefined these days and I like anything that's cooked properly," he answers. "But my knowledge on Thai was always all but non-existent. I'll be honest, I ordered this because you did." And with that, he also wields a fork and gives it a small bite. Pause. Assess. Consider. Nod. "Good choice," he decides.

"I'm glad you like it!" Fern took a bite herself, sighing contentedly. "Nothing wrong with not having a favorite. I don't have a specific favorite either. In general I'm partial to soups like this and noodles and things. Especially this time of year. Oh and Italian ice! Though that doesn't come around until warmer weather hits I guess." She mused. Her brain finally seems to catch up with him mentioning Perdita. "Perdita! I...think I've met her briefly." She wasn't totally convinced that weird Robin Hood experience was a Dream or a dream. She hadn't worked up to reaching out to any of the people she recalled from it yet. She should do that. "She seemed nice, so I'm glad that seems to be accurate!"

"Having a favorite is overrated. Predictable, even," Garrett says with a grin. He tilts his head slightly at Fern's already-existent familiarity, at least partially, with Perdita, and he nods at the assessment given. "She is. Basically a saint, as far as I'm concerned." There's a pause, then Garrett shakes his head, smiling mostly to himself. "Sorry. I'm sure she'd think it's hilarious to be called a saint," he explains, still grinning.

"A saint huh?" Fern chuckled. "I'll have to try and meet her again sometime soon. Make it properly official and all." She took another bite of noodles. "You know, if you're ever looking for something else to stay occupied with too, you could come by the HOPE Center some time. We can always use extra hands, even if it's just for a day or a couple hours."

"I'll talk to her, see if she wants to maybe come to some classes with me. Make introductions /and/ add one more friend instead of stranger to look silly in front of," Garrett offers, grinning. The volunteering suggestion gets a few moments of consideration before he nods. "That does not sound like a half bad idea," he decides. "I have to confess, I'm not entirely positive what they do there, though....?"

"Definitely! The more the merrier I say." Fern grinned at the suggestion of bringing Perdita to yoga class. When he asks about HOPE, "A little bit of everything. It's primarily Community Outreach. We offer support groups for different things, help out people in need." There's a beat of pause before adding, "We also do have a focus on the Weird - as far as ways to combat it. Try and figure out if we can't make our town a little less Weird even." She nodded. "But primarily the formerly mentioned stuff."

"I'll ask her," Garrett repeats, nodding. Another bite of food is taken as Fern explains what, exactly, the HOPE Center does, nodding as he chews, brow furrowing slightly at the bit of Weird they involve themselves in. He swlows his food and offers a wide smile. "Sounds like all kinds of good work getting done. I'd be happy to help," he says. "Any specific days you notice you're particularly short-handed? I can try popping in then."

"Perfect. I look forward to it." Fern took a couple more bites of her own food in between explanations about HOPE. "Mmm..." A thoughtful noise as she rolls over in her mind when the least populated days might be. "Probably Sundays and Thursdays." She said. "We're still working on getting the place in it's best shape. So there's still plenty of handy-work type things to be done as well. But it's getting there! Slowly but surely."

"I can probably manage to be not totally useless with that," Garrett says, nodding chewing thoughtfully as he considers how true this is. "...worst case scenario I pick up a broom or something and clean up behind people doing the real work," he concludes with a shrug." I'll try to come by Thursday. Maybe with a Perdita," he adds.

"Sounds like a plan! I'll make sure I'm there." Fern flashed a smile and then laughed softly. "I'm sure you'll be fine, but I'll make sure to keep the broom handy just in case." There's a playful wink before she tucked back into her food for a moment or two. "I'm glad you suggested this." Fern added in regards to them eating together. "It's been longer than I'd like to admit since I've had a decent dinner companion and conversation. It's been a refreshing change of pace."

"Good plan," Garrett says, wrinkling his nose at the playful teasing. A sip of Sprite, another few bites of food and suddenly Garrett realizes he's eaten it all already. He blinks at the empty plate, looks briefly abashed, then fixes his attention across the table again. "It has been nice," he agrees with a soft smile. "And yeah. I know the feeling. Not a lot by way of pleasant company while I was out of town," he says with a dry laugh.

Fern is nearly done herself, it's good food! She gives a briefly sympathetic smile at the out of town comment and nodded. "I'm sure that was rather difficult too. But at least you're back now and the company over all in this town is far more pleasant." A touch of amusement creeping in and she took the final few bites of her food and lightly pushed the bowl aside. "It's on me." She adds, taking her wallet out of her jacket and pulling a couple bills out and giving him a grin. "You can get it next time."

Garrett can't argue with that, nodding at the city's comparatively improved company compared to where he was. He opens his mouth to object to her buying, but closes it when she makes it clear he'll be paying next time, and his expression shifts to an eyebrow raised in amusement. "Presumptuous," he teases as he rises to his feet. "I'll hold you to it," he adds as he gets his coat straightened out.

Fern laughed again, rising to her feet as well and slipping her jacket back on, pocketing her wallet. "I figure one of these days you're bound to be hungry after yoga." She glaces outside and then decides to zip the jacket up, looking back to Garrett with a final smile. "Feel free to call or text me any time. I'll see you soon."

"Safe bet," Garrett agrees with a laugh, heading towards the door, smiling. "See you Thursday, at the latest, then," he calls to her as he heads off towards his vehicle, giving her a little wave over his shoulder and flashing one past smile her direction.