ArchivedLogs:Untroubling

Untroubling
Dramatis Personae Blink, Matt
In Absentia	2016-05-05 "You're magic."
Location <NYC> Greenwich Village
A rather bohemian neighborhood and the East Coast birthplace of the Beat movement, Greenwich is the residential counterpart to its more punk east sibling. The Village has been a historical center for the important political movements-- landmarks such as the Stonewall Inn on Christopher street were here during the GLBT rights movement, and the Weather Underground had safehouses here during the radical anti-war movement as well. Historically a place for artists and hippies to flock, gentrification has driven up prices in the locale, causing Greenwich to now trend less bohemian and more yuppie, though the stereotype remains. It's been raining on and off in desultory fashion, but late in the afternoon the cloudy sky suddenly opens up in a fierce, chilly shower that sends pedestrians scrambling for shelter. Matt has just emerged from the subway and hardly made it half a block, but does not seem much fazed by the downpour. He does not even lift his attache case to shield his head, but simply steps sideways under the black-and-white striped awning of a cafe trying really hard for Parisian flair. Only a few drops of rain dampen his gray tweed jacket, unbuttoned over a matching vest, light blue oxford shirt, navy trousers, and black oxford shoes. He clasps his attache case in both hands and gazes out into the rain with a faint smile on his face. The door to the cafe opens and Blink sweeps outside, her black handkerchief hem cloak blowing in the wind and her heavy black boots tromping /kind of/ loudly. She comes up short at the wall of water coming down outside the awning, and even half in the shadow of her hood the twist of her mouth looks pretty annoyed. But then her shoulders ease and she leans back against the glass, pushing her hood off of her messily braided magenta-and-black hair. "Such a pretty storm," she says, eyes darting aside to Matt. "Can hardly see to the other side of the street." Matt glances at Blink when she comes outside, then glances at her /again/. He makes no attempt to disguise the double-take, though he does offer her a nod and a smile before turning back to watch the rain with her. The torrent outside shows no sign of abating, and small streams have begun to run across the sidewalks and down the street. "Rain like this always feels so cleansing--exhilarating, even," he says, raising his voice just a touch so as to be clearly heard above the roaring white noise of the rainfall. "I don't expect it'll be a long wait for it to ease off, though." Blink ducks her head slightly when man does his double take, but it doesn't seem to bother her all that much. She smiles, nodding along to what he says. "It's probably like the other showers today, there and gone. I'm not waiting out the rain, though. Just supposed to meet someone here." Her strange green eyes dart back toward the door of the cafe, and her smile twists into a smirk. "If her phone weren't dead I'd tell her forget about this place and go somewhere else." "Is this venue not to your liking?" Matt tips his head back toward the cafe, raising his eyebrows. "It only opened maybe three months ago--there was a different shop here before, which closed during the quarantine and never recovered--and I've never been. Would just as soon run home, but I'm wearing capital N nice clothes, and should probably avoid getting them soaked." Blink shrugs. "They have good pastries, decent tea and coffee, and prices aren't bad for this neighborhood. And, up until today, they haven't kicked me out! You know. For /this./" She waves in the general direction of her head, blushing just a little. "I know with most places it's just down to the employee or manager you happen to be dealing with, but once I've been asked to leave I rarely want to go back and try my luck another day. But it doesn't bother me that much. Just, on to the next cafe." She looks at Matt. Looks out at the rain. "If I weren't waiting on someone, I'd offer you a reasonably dry lift home." Matt's lips press into a thin line, his eyebrows tugging slightly downward. "That's...unfortunate, and it's certainly perfectly reasonable not to want to risk that kind of treatment again. Alas, that there are not more cafes where you could be certain of /consistently/ friendly reception." His frown grows deeper, more preoccupied, but only for a moment. "Oh, that's very kind of you to even consider, for a stranger on the street. But I do not live far, and the storm will not last." Indeed, even as he speaks the volume of the rain is easing, dropping off almost as precipitously as it started. "I might have been tempted before to step inside for tea and a scone, but now, I think not." "Oh, I'm sure I'll find a cafe I like that likes me back. Eventually!" Blink stands up a little straighter. "You know you don't have to boycott a place just because they were rude to /me/...but I appreciate it anyway." She flashes a shy smile at Matt. "It would've been no trouble at all, but it looks like it wasn't necessary, after all." Her hand sweeps out at the sudden easing of the rainstorm. "You're magic."