gracecolliers

[gracecolliers]

gabriel;

Reaching immediately for the placed coffee, Gabriel muttered another quick thanks. A momentary distraction though it was, for each time she spoke he found himself more certain that he knew her, somehow… he was grateful for the brief respite. He had not really gathered his thoughts, but swallowed a mouthful of coffee regardless and set the mug down. “Uh,” a pause, Gabriel averted his gaze to the menu before him once again. “Some buttered toast would be great, too.” Swallowing thickly, he leant back in his seat and dared to ask the question on his mind. “I think that’s it, thank you… uh, what’s your name, sorry?” Perhaps that knowledge would help.

Grace tried to not look as creepy as she felt as she looked at him and tried to place his face. He looked slightly familiar, but she’d seen hundreds of faces, so it was easy for that to happen. She nodded and wrote down the other part of his order and was just about to head off to the kitchen to put it in when he spoke again. Smiling, she replied– she did have a badge, but she always forgot to wear it. “It’s Grace,” she hummed. “Grace Collier. Did you have a question about the business?”

[gracecolliers]

gabriel;

He accepted the offered menu with a rejuvenated smile and resigned himself to silent confusion over just why she seemed familiar – irrefutably in a way deeper than simply having seen her around before. It was the first time Gabriel had stepped foot into Sally’s and in truth he could quite confidently say that it was her voice, rather than her face that rang a bell. “Thank you, that’s perfect.” Promptly taking a nearby empty seat and silently grateful for the temporary pain relief sitting granted, Gabriel half-concentrated on the menu before him until the mystery woman reappeared again, and he came to the conclusion that he’d not decided what to eat. In a panic, he said the first thing that came to mind. “Could I just have bacon and eggs? Please.” Not what he had had in mind, but it would do have to do.

As Grace made his coffee, she tried to think back to where she could have heard or even seen the man around before, but nothing was coming to mind. It was more than seeing him around the streets randomly, she knew that. Sighing, she figured she’d probably have to either ask him or consult someone else– maybe there were others in Redwater that knew something she didn’t. After sitting his coffee down on the table, Grace nodded at his order. “Bacon and eggs, absolutely,” she replied. It was a simple enough meal. “Anything else I can get you to go alongside that?”

[gracecolliers]

gabriel;

“Mornin’,” he greeted warmly, surprised he even managed to muster up such a tone given the relatively early hour. It was the first time in a long time Gabriel had not slept through most of the morning; eleven being his usual wake up hour – but he took it as a good sign and plastered a smile across his face as he shut the coffee shop door behind him. “I’ll start with a coffee, please. And browse the menu for food if that’s alright with you?” He met her gaze, vague recognition ringing in the back of his mind, but he was certain it came from having seen her around Redwater, rather than anything deeper. It wasn’t as if the town was so large that recognising an inhabitant one hadn’t actually met was out of the question.

At first, the sound of another voice hadn’t been any different than other voices she’d heard around the coffee shop. Working with the people of Redwater, it was common to recognize voices and know who she was talking to before she was even really seeing them. But as the man continued speaking, she couldn’t help but feel like she’d met him before– his voice was familiar, but she surely hadn’t seen him before. She’d remember his face if she had. Nodding through her slight confusion, she picked up a menu. “Of course. I’ll get to making your coffee and I’ll come over to you to get your order in a few minutes,” she smile, pushing back the need in the back of her mind to figure out why he sounded so familiar.

[gracecolliers]

dot;

Dot pouted, in spite of herself. Or rather, in spite of her father’s training. She was never to show any emotion at all, if he had his way, but she’d been openly passionate since birth and he couldn’t stop her. Nobody ever really could rein her in. “Well that’s lovely, you are a much better cook than I am. So far. If given a chance, though, I’m good at anything,” she smirked. “In any case, call me if your oven breaks or something. I’m better with machines than food.” Or people, she thought.

“Considering the fact that I grew up cooking things with my mother, I think it makes sense that I’m a good cook,” she chuckled. “I’ll definitely write down your name, though, for fixing our oven if we ever need you to. I don’t doubt that you’ll be able to help.”

[gracecolliers]

lily;

Lily smiled gratefully, tugging at her skirts in mild nervousness. “I just want to do well. I’ve never been that great at cooking and I want to surprise my husband with something… nice.” 

Grace smiled at the thought. “I’m sure he’ll appreciate it either way, won’t he?” She asked. “I imagine the thought that you wanted to surprise him will be enough even if your second attempt doesn’t go to plan, which I do hope it will.”

[gracecolliers]

graham;

graham smiles at the relief that seemed to come to her, the woman relaxing in the booth slightly. during the time he had known her, she had always been a bit of a worrier. all the more reason this would do her some good, he thought. he nods at the question, wanting to reassure her just as she was reassuring herself. “that’s great, really,” he says, leaning forward on his elbows, “i would just–write it all down. anything and everything, whether you think it’s important or not. then, you can really sit down and start writing.” graham nods a bit, “obviously, you don’t plan on publishing this, but if you should still edit and all of that. just so you get more time, thinking it back over, getting it out of your system.”

“I’ve been trying to do that as much as possible, in any spare time I get,” she explained, nodding at his words. “In the coffee shop, when we quiet down a little and I get a second to jot something down as it comes to mind.” She’d taken to carrying writing tools around with her, just so she was always ready if the right words came to mind. “That’s actually a good idea, though. I don’t think I’d really feel comfortable having others read it, but it might help, too, when it’s done, for me to edit it and go over it too– having all those thoughts out there on paper and then hearing my words back again.”

[gracecolliers]

ginny;

“thank you.” ginny nodded slightly, glancing over the menu. grace was right - there was a lot of good things available that it took ginny a few moments to settle on what to get for breakfast. but, when grace returned with her orange juice, ginny had decided on “the scrambled eggs and rye toast, please. can could get some fresh fruits with that?” 

After setting the orange juice down on the table, Grace pulled her notepad out of her apron and set to writing down what the order was, including the fresh fruits. “So, that’s the scrambled eggs and rye toast with fresh fruit?” She asked for clarification. “Anything else I can get you? Coffee, tea?”

[gracecolliers]

andy;

Andy wasn’t expecting the knock, but she was glad to see grace. she was one of the few people she could stand for longer than a few moments. She was a good woman and surprisingly good company. Andy held a small smile, “Well, considering that it’s my day off and I was about to phone you to see if you wanted to do something today, I’d say not inappropriate at all.”

“It looks like you’re in luck then, love,” she smiled happily at Andy. Her company was always one that Grace enjoyed and, on days when she felt like she needed to do something or her mind would go haywire, she almost always knew she could count on Andy. “Do you need me to give you a moment?”

[gracecolliers]

rory;

Rory sometimes liked going out for breakfast more than dinner. There was less of a rush, and it was something that motivated him to get out of bed. So, to Sally’s it was. When he got there, he gave Grace a little smile. “Oh, I think I’ve been here a few times.”

Grace nodded. “I think I’ve seen you around here before,” she agreed. She had a good memory for faces, most of the time, anyway– at least before she did. “What can I get you, though?”

[gracecolliers]

eli;

@gracecolliers

dancing was fun, it didn’t hold the same allure that it had, but it was still fun nonetheless. plus, having grace with him was a bonus. she was one of the only people that put up with him through out high school and genuinely liked talking to him. he didn’t know why, but she was a comforting presence. he found himself having to remind himself to have fun and be in the moment. he wasn’t going to let his memories ruin tonight. 

they were having fun dancing, and for a moment, eli turned away to see some anomaly in the crowd, but it was gone before he could even get a look at it, so he shrugged it off. he turned back to grace and saw something change over her face. he didn’t know what it was, but something in the back of his mind was telling him that he did know. he knew all too well. he was still confused but he was able to herd her out of the dance floor and slip through one of the side exits to get outside to the fresh air. 

“hey, grace,” he spoke softly, not sure what to say, “are you… are you okay?” he knew the answer though. the real one at least.

Grace had thought that the flashbacks were getting better. The nightmares had been coming less frequently nowadays, and the flashbacks had been getting less and less too. And she was more than happy to go out with Eli and spend the night not thinking about the things that had been horrors in her past and partly in her present. But then one had hit her, right in the moment she wished it hadn’t – visions of her patients, losing them, and her hands, shaking, covered in– the fresh air hit her suddenly and she let out a breath, barely having realized that she’d been shuffled outside. It was gone. Her hands were shaking ever so slightly and she clenched them together in an attempt to stop it as she looked up at Eli. “I, uh...” she paused. He’d understand, wouldn’t he? If she were to tell him about them. He’d understand. And if he didn’t then... then she’d find a way to deal with it. She cleared her throat. “I get– these flashbacks sometimes. Of everything that– that happened.” 

[gracecolliers]

lily;

“… back again, I see, Ms.” 

Lily looked up from her coin purse and smiled as the cashier regarded her with a curious head tilt. He eyed the mountain of groceries on the counter and chuckled in quiet disbelief. 

“My first pie didn’t go according to plan.” Lily explained with a small shrug. “Apparently, it is not wise to double the oven’s temperature, for it does not bake the pie faster.” It was a lesson well learned at the expense of the now very charred blackberry pie behind her house. Lily turned to the person next in line and twisted her gloves nervously. 

“I’m sorry, this might take a while…”  

Grace couldn’t help but overhear the woman in front of her and chuckled a little at her words– she’d done something very similar when she used to bake for fun, so she couldn’t blame her. She greeted her with a warm smile when she turned towards her. “Please, don’t worry about it. It’s more than okay. You’ve got to get that pie made, so I can’t blame you.”

[gracecolliers]

graham;

at the request, graham quickly puts down the newspaper he had been reading, giving his full attention to the woman. it wasn’t often a conversation was preceded by that, even if he was speaking with grace. they often spoke of the serious things in life, he felt like he knew more about grace than he did anyone else in life. he took pride in being her go-to, and was happy to drop anything else whenever she needed his help. scratching against beard, there’s a serious look on his face as he listened. as this seemed like something important, he didn’t rush into an answer, sitting in silence for a moment as he thought if over. “yeah,” he says, finally, focusing back to grace, “i think that’s a great idea, actually. better than keeping it all to yourself.” things always got easier, the more you talked about them. not that, as quiet as a person as he was, graham ever took that advice, but he knew it to be true. 

Honestly, Grace was a little worried about what his reaction was going to be– there were plenty of options. Perhaps he’d dismiss the idea and tell her it was silly, or maybe he’d try and convince her to sell the book once it was written. But when he actually spoke, Grace let out a sigh of relief. “You think so?” She knew he meant his words, though. It was really only a way of convincing herself. “I’ve started writing down some notes in my spare time. Thoughts and things that pop up that might be helpful to write down. I don’t believe it’s really helping just yet, but I think with time it might.”

[gracecolliers]

beth;

beth nodded her head, a polite smile on her face. “i do enjoy a bit of toast and jam in the mornin’. not much, but just enough.” she looked around the shop with curious eyes. “it’s a lovely place. it’s very invitin’. i see why you enjoy it so much.” 

“I’m more of a porridge girl myself, but I can appreciate some good toast and jam,” she admitted. Porridge was simple and quick and it meant she could get along with things quicker. “Yes, of course. I don’t think I’d be able to work here if I didn’t find so much comfort in the place itself. That’s how it should be for everything, I think.”

[gracecolliers]

“Is it totally inappropriate for me to show up at your door right now in an attempt to drag you off for a hike?” Grace asked, raising an eyebrow at her friend. “I need to let off a little steam. Are you in?” [@ircnlace]

[gracecolliers]

“I have a very serious question for you,” Grace hummed, sliding into the booth opposite him. Graham had been her confidant for a little while now, and she knew that she could trust him with anything, which is exactly why she’d come to him for this. She hadn’t told anyone about it yet, simply because she was a little afraid of everyone else’s reactions to it, but she knew that Graham would never judge or think badly of her– at least she hoped he wouldn’t. “I think I’m going to write a book. About everything that happened when I was a nurse. I think it could help with getting my thoughts out... but it’d just be a book for myself. It wouldn’t go anywhere, nobody else would read it.” She paused and looked at him for a moment. “What do you think?” [@strcnghold]

[gracecolliers]

dot;

It was always the eyes that gave away when Dot had done it again. She was always running her mouth, thinking she was being kind or helpful when she was just offending everyone. She blushed and pursed her lips, as though physically trying to keep her words to herself. “Come now, Gracie, we both know I can handle it. I’ll even make my own breakfast and I won’t get in anybody’s way. Promise.”

Grace honestly considered it– she did trust the girl, after all, but on a day like this, where they were undoubtedly only going to get busier and she was understaffed, she knew it wasn’t a good idea. With a sad smile, she replied. “Any other day, love, and I totally would. But I’d need to keep an eye on you to make sure you’re getting the hang of things, like I do with all the new staff. So I’ll compromise– in that I’ll do your breakfast, and we can talk about this another day if you still want to.”

[gracecolliers]

ariel;

ariel smiled in that lazy way he always did, eyes tracking the barista as she tried to stop the flow of coffee. “wouldn’t say that, usually stick to considerin’ myself a life taker,” his smile grew as he spoke, half teasing and half being a little too honest, drawl heavy from lack of sleep. “but ya’ could always repay me with another cup, if ya’ want. wouldn’t say no or nothin’.”

“Well, if you won’t take the title then I’ll take it myself, especially considering that I have saved literal lives,” she turned to him. “But don’t be so morbid, love. It’s not going to help you in the long run.” She wasn’t often good at offering advice, though she figured it couldn’t hurt, especially in this situation, and she thought he might as well just ignore the comment either– so why not? “Another cup, you say? I’ll consider it. Wouldn’t want to be too lax about it now, would I?”