Before Mary got back to the front desk, there were three separate women who came to ask Janet who the mysterious new woman was. Of the three, two of them insisted she'd be the perfect volunteer; the last one was still at a stage where she didn't offer up her own opinions, and in fact could count even asking about something as a large step in the right direction.
There was just something about Mary that was... magnetising. You couldn't help but notice her. You couldn't help but be curious. Janet was still trying to work out what happened to the Israeli woman in what was undoubtedly a very colourful life. Usually, you could tell what a scared woman's story basically was. But that was just it; Mary wasn't scared, exactly. Uncertain, cautious, and deferring, but not scared. She was a woman who could clearly handle herself. It wasn't hard to see a man falling head over heels for her, and then securing passage to Ireland.
So Janet had already made up her mind by the time she saw Mary and Kelly again. Watching the two of them interact only further solidified the decision - Mary was gently grateful, delightfully optimistic, and the perfect role model for anyone who came to the center for help.
She smiled as Mary came over. "So, if we haven't scared you away yet, would you like to start tomorrow?"
~~
"It is called," Fletcher explained with the sort of exasperated air common in people fairly sure they were the only intelligent ones in the group, "a brain-freeze."
In point of fact, he really was the most intelligent one in the group right now. Skulduggery's face was scrunched up with his eyes squeezed shut, and Valkyrie was digging into her pocket for her phone so she could take a picture. While laughing, loudly enough to draw stares, and Fletcher actually sort of minded those stares right now. He was still shaken up from when Skulduggery nearly crashed the car while driving it a few metres around a street corner.
Skulduggery visibly swallowed, hard, and put the spoon down. "I finally understand why."
"You're not supposed to eat half the ice cream at once."
"Valkyrie has."
Valkyrie gave up the struggle to free her phone with a disappointed look. "I've eaten ice cream all my life, Skulduggery. I know how to handle brain freezes. You're like a naive child."
"A naive child?" Skulduggery had mostly recovered by then, and was raising an eyebrow.
"A naive and ignorant child. A child who loses control of himself at the sight of a pretty girl."
"I didn't lose control of myself."
"Control of your Bentley, then. Remind me, have you ever crashed her because of something stupid you did?"
"I was not about to crash her."
"You had to slam on the brakes."
"That wasn't my fault."
"Right," Valkyrie agreed, drawing the word out with a heavy dose of sarcasm. "It wasn't your fault you got completely distracted by the Archangel in your rearview mirror. Want some more ice cream there, Skulduggery?"
"How long until you stop bringing that up at every conceivable opportunity?"
"Oh, at least a year."
Fletcher rolled his eyes and stood up to throw away the empty styrofoam cup. "Never thought I'd be the only adult in the room," he muttered, without making any effort to keep it quiet.
no subject
There was just something about Mary that was... magnetising. You couldn't help but notice her. You couldn't help but be curious. Janet was still trying to work out what happened to the Israeli woman in what was undoubtedly a very colourful life. Usually, you could tell what a scared woman's story basically was. But that was just it; Mary wasn't scared, exactly. Uncertain, cautious, and deferring, but not scared. She was a woman who could clearly handle herself. It wasn't hard to see a man falling head over heels for her, and then securing passage to Ireland.
So Janet had already made up her mind by the time she saw Mary and Kelly again. Watching the two of them interact only further solidified the decision - Mary was gently grateful, delightfully optimistic, and the perfect role model for anyone who came to the center for help.
She smiled as Mary came over. "So, if we haven't scared you away yet, would you like to start tomorrow?"
~~
"It is called," Fletcher explained with the sort of exasperated air common in people fairly sure they were the only intelligent ones in the group, "a brain-freeze."
In point of fact, he really was the most intelligent one in the group right now. Skulduggery's face was scrunched up with his eyes squeezed shut, and Valkyrie was digging into her pocket for her phone so she could take a picture. While laughing, loudly enough to draw stares, and Fletcher actually sort of minded those stares right now. He was still shaken up from when Skulduggery nearly crashed the car while driving it a few metres around a street corner.
Skulduggery visibly swallowed, hard, and put the spoon down. "I finally understand why."
"You're not supposed to eat half the ice cream at once."
"Valkyrie has."
Valkyrie gave up the struggle to free her phone with a disappointed look. "I've eaten ice cream all my life, Skulduggery. I know how to handle brain freezes. You're like a naive child."
"A naive child?" Skulduggery had mostly recovered by then, and was raising an eyebrow.
"A naive and ignorant child. A child who loses control of himself at the sight of a pretty girl."
"I didn't lose control of myself."
"Control of your Bentley, then. Remind me, have you ever crashed her because of something stupid you did?"
"I was not about to crash her."
"You had to slam on the brakes."
"That wasn't my fault."
"Right," Valkyrie agreed, drawing the word out with a heavy dose of sarcasm. "It wasn't your fault you got completely distracted by the Archangel in your rearview mirror. Want some more ice cream there, Skulduggery?"
"How long until you stop bringing that up at every conceivable opportunity?"
"Oh, at least a year."
Fletcher rolled his eyes and stood up to throw away the empty styrofoam cup. "Never thought I'd be the only adult in the room," he muttered, without making any effort to keep it quiet.