Logs:Ba-ba-boats

Ba-ba-boats
Dramatis Personae Chloe, Deanna, Noah, Wiggleworm
In Absentia	2020-08-11 "She's very friendly."
Location <NYC> Riverside Park - Harlem
Here along the banks of the Hudson River, Riverside Park is quiet, at the moment. With a cloudless sky overhead, it's due to be a hot one later. but it's early enough that most people currently out are out with a purpose, getting a morning jog or dog walk in before the heat of the day really takes hold. With an enormous stocky Rottweiler sitting at her side, Chloe could easily be in the latter group -- though at the moment she's taken a break from walking. Casually dressed in a bold-patterned black and red and yellow sundress and strappy heels, bounty of curls spilling down over her bare shoulders, she has instead perched on a rock overlooking the river, picking her way through a bacon-egg-and-cheese croissant and a large coffee. The intermittent thump of Saeta's tail suggests she has designs on the food, but she's behaving well enough. Only slowly inching closer. Resting her chin on Chloe's knee. Whuffling a sigh of exaggerated despair. Chloe relents. Picks a scrap of bacon out of the sandwich to drop it toward Saeta, who snatches it up and swallows it down so eagerly it's a mystery if she really tasted it at all. The dog looks thoroughly unconvinced by Chloe's assurances that "-- That is it, no more for you." Deanna looks unconvinced, as well. A small hike of eyebrows. Small twitch of lips. She's made quick work of her own sandwich, just striding back over from a short trip to dump the crumpled wrapper in the nearest trash can. Still has plenty of coffee, though. She looks much less summery than her partner. Heavy boots, black jeans, a deep red sleeveless top, her thick neat locs bound back into a ponytail. "S'your problem." She steps onto the rocks, plops herself down beside Chloe. "No follow through." Approaching the group with far less confidence, Noah stops a couple of yards away with a glance at the rottweiler. Dressed in faded jeans, dust-covered workboots, and a heather gray t-shirt, he carries a colorful pastel diaper bag over one shoulder. There is even a sleepy dark-haired baby to go with it, facing outward and dozing in a carrier strapped around his torso. “Y’all mind if we set up here?” he asks after an uncertain moment, gestures to the rocky, somewhat flat ground at his feet. “She likes to watch the boats.” Even as Deannna is ribbing her, Chloe is plucking another shred of bacon to drop to the dog. Wide-eyed. Innocuous. "She's starving," comes her prompt justification. "Look at her -- oh! Look at her!" That second, brighter, cooing, heralds Noah's approach. She swivels, a wide smile lighting her expression. "Absolutely -- what a precious. Who's the little one?" Deanna's eyes flick towards Noah on his approach, quick and sharp and lingering. Unlike Chloe, she doesn't smile. She takes a sip of her coffee, studying the baby first, then Noah. Once Chloe's gushing has ended she turns out a hand, indicating the free space on the rocks around them. "How old?" Relaxing some at the semi-warm welcome, Noah lowers himself to the ground and crosses his legs in front of him. Shifts a bit to find a slightly less rocky spot before setting the diaper bag between them. “Her name is Alex. She hit four months last week. Appreciate it, lettin’ us butt in,” he thanks them, voice gruff and quiet. “Looks like a good dog y’all got there.” Alerted by the combination of talking and her name, the aforementioned Alex squirms, lifts her head, sleepily blinks wide brown eyes. She perks up considerably on sighting the river, wiggles in excitement with kicking feet and flapping arms. “Ba!” she exclaims. “Ba, ba!” A small but proud smile breaks across Noah’s face. “Yeah. That’s where boats go. Good job, wiggleworm.” "Hardly butting in. More like adding a little sparkle to our morning, ain't that right, sugar?" There's a little bounce in Chloe's posture at Alex's wiggling. Saeta leaves off her begging, padding closer until Chloe sets a sandaled foot down on her leash and curtails a proper approach. "Do you mind the dog? She's very friendly. Not sure if she'll be too much for the little dumpling." Her smile has softened, now. "That's a good age. Just watching 'em soak in the whole world like a sponge." Deanna rests her cup on her knee. Rests her other hand on Chloe's, squeezing lightly. She watches Alex's excitable wriggling, slowly turns her eyes away from the infant toward the boats instead. "Huh." Just quiet, an appreciative hum. She tracks one sailboat as it slips off into the distance. "Never paid 'em much mind before." Noah shakes his head, extending the back of his hand for Saeta to sniff. “Naw, she’s fine. Hey, girl,” this said to the dog, softer, before his voice returns to normal. “Far as I can tell, Alex likes dogs. Probably a good learning experience for her to have one-on-one time with ‘em. Like you said--she's a sponge right now.” Gingerly, he grabs Alex’s wrist to hold her hand out to Saeta as well. “Dog,” he enunciates, voice soft again. “Da-da-dog.” Alex’s answering squeal at the wet nose sniffing at her fingers is not exactly the word dog. It at least confirms that dogs, like boats, seem to be alright by her, especially when Saeta starts slurping at her hand. “I ain’t sure what it is about boats she latched onto,” Noah muses, glancing up at the water. “But maybe it means I’ll have a fishing buddy in a few years.” "She's a good training dog." Chloe lifts her foot, letting up on the leash for Saeta to go make her greetings. "Always real gentle with everyone. You oughtta see how our cats bully her." The large dog's furiously wagging tail is probably the most dangerous part of her, now, thwacking back against Deanna's side. "You got fishing buddies now? Not the most popular pasttime around here but some people appreciate the finer things in life." "Boats are neat," is all the insight Deanna has into Alex's interest. She half-turns, lifting a hand to let the dog's tail thwap against that instead of against her ribs. "Look at 'em. We can't float like that. How's she do with water? My little nephew loves splashing around." Now free to move about, Saeta eases up to Noah and proceeds to eagerly sniff Alex everywhere her nose can reach. Occasionally licking at a foot or chubby baby arm. Much to Alex’s delight, going by her rapid-fire burst of giggles. He has to quickly grab her hands, redirect them away from ears and lips to pat the furry top of Saeta’s head. “Gentle,” he tells her. “No pulling.” Noah doesn’t look up from the dog at Chloe’s question, though his expression reflects something. Complicated. “I don’t really have any buddies,” he admits. “Between gettin’ used to the city, gettin’ ready to have a kid, quarantine, things with my ex...” He trails off, letting all of that speak for itself. “Been trying to fix it, but. Kid keeps me busy.” Clearing his throat, he drops a kiss on top of Alex’s head, who barely seems to notice. “I’ve been trying to get time to bring her to the pool here. I don’t know how she does with swimming, but she loves bathtime. Gets half the kitchen soaked, and me with it.” "You sound far from home, too! That's --" Chloe's brows furrow, lips pursing sympathetically. "A lotta juggling on top of --" She looks to the tiny infant, then back up to Noah. "Just a rough time to turn single, huh?" Her dark eyes drop back to Alex before turning out to the river. "Well, I'm glad she got you, but take it from someone who been there, it's a lot easier with support around. You live far from here?" Deanna squeezes at Chloe's knee again. "Easier for her to find friends if you got folks." She gulps down the rest of her coffee and sets the cup beside her. "Guess New York's a lot to get used to? Big, anyway. Loud." One dark shoulder lifts. "Got some of the friendliest people round, though. Don't care what nobody else says." “Not too far from home. Only ‘bout 20 minutes if you cut through St. Nicholas Park.” Noah’s joke falls flat, but it’s an attempt. Despite Alex’s excited wriggling, he’s still able to pull her out of the carrier and rest her on his lap. She immediately reaches for Saeta, who lays down and inches within reach of the tiny grabby hands. “It’s been rough on a lotta fronts. She’s the best thing I got right now. I just wanna do right by her.” He looks over to Chloe. “Y’all got a kid?” "That's the most important first step. Finding a community, though, that's gonna be vital. I don't know nobody on earth who can be all things at all times that a kid's gonna need." The easy warmth in Chloe's face does not fade, but her smile tightens just slightly, and she presses just a little bit more into Deanna's touch. "Had a little girl." It's a bit quieter than before. "Light of my life. You treasure her good, yeah?" "Can be hard to navigate what help is out there for new parents, too. Think they make it a maze on purpose." Deanna snorts quietly, head shaking. Hand reaching to curl over Chloe's slimmer one, fingers lacing through the other woman's. "Don't want to presume what you know or don't know, but you need advice we're old hat at cutting through red tape." “Ah.” Noah looks out to the river, not fast enough to hide the discomfort and sympathy on his expression. “M’sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up...” The sentence does not go anywhere, trailing off with awkwardness. “You both sound like you know what you’re talkin’ about,” he says, trying for normalcy. His gaze falls again to Alex, who is currently having her face cleaned by Saeta. Slobbery, muffled giggles come through the assault. “Don’t suppose I could give y’all my number or somethin’? If I have any questions?” "It's fine," Chloe replies with a shake of her head, "rather than than pretend she was never here." She leans down to pull her phone out of her purse nearby, opening up her contacts and handing the phone over to Noah. "Go on and add yourself in there." She stands, gathering her things. Watches Saeta and the baby for a time with a fond smile before calling the dog back and picking up her leash. Once Noah has finished she takes the phone back, sending him a text straight away: 'Stay in touch -- Chloe'. "Best get our day started, but I hope we'll be seeing you both again." Her arm hooks through Deanna's, fingers curling in a friendly wave before she lets the big dog lead them home.