Here comes santa claus!

[callmeemily]

The holiday this year is so incredibly different than the last.

Last year? Raleigh was holed up in the boarding house, no one in 300 miles but her shitty boss knew her name, and she was so poor that she was eating rice, beans, and leftovers from the Seaside bakery.

This year, everything's changed. Orchard House is chugging along astoundingly well; Raleigh puts in long hours, but it's paying off. She's been able to hire somebody else to work the register, she's getting custom orders - the whole thing. She has friends. Honest to god friends, and she's got enough money that she's actually got presents for people. For a lot of people - it's a mix of cookies and things, but there's a little something for everybody piled on the table in the back corner, and one mass-text later she's humming through the bakery, music playing from the speakers, warm cider in a carafe, and everything's warm and cozy.

She looks at it, at this business that she's made with the help of this whole town, and she can't help but smile. Tonight? Spending tonight with friends and found-family? That's what this whole thing's about.

Gathering post! Raleigh will tag everyone who tags in, but feel free to tag one another, too. :) It's up to you if they have gotten a text, or just heard the music and seen the crowd. Everyone'll get something!

Comments

[goesdownsmooth]

It's the music that stops him.

He's on his way to meet Jemma and Joely for a coffee--Jackie's got a date with a guy who has nothing better to do on Christmas Eve, apparently, and she'd promised Jameson a dropkick to the head for that comment--but he's drawn in by the crowd at the bakery on the other side of the street. He hasn't been in there yet, there hasn't been much time because he's been busy trying to get more patients into his practice, but he has to appreciate a place that's openly catering to everyone on a night like tonight. For the people who feel like they don't have anywhere to go, Jameson's sure that a bright environment like this is very much appreciated.

He tells himself he'll peek inside for just a few minutes because if he takes any loner getting to the cafe, his sisters are sure to give him hell. Then again, maybe he'll just shoot them a text to get them to him here instead. So he steps inside, unwrapping his scarf from around his neck so it's draped only over his shoulders and looks around with a warm smile. Everyone seems happy here, it's a contagious mood, and as Jameson makes his way to the cider he spots across the room, he can't help but be grateful that he doesn't have to be at his parents' tonight. It makes a world of difference.

[remotecontrol]

Charlotte has just finished pouring herself a glass — or plastic cup, whatever — of wine and is taking a sip as she backs away, meaning she can't exactly look where she's going. Which is, of course, a recipe for disaster. Fortunately, when she inevitably crashes into someone, it doesn't compromise her grasp on the cup, and she doesn't end up with an impossible red stain on her sweater. Small mercies.

"Sorry!" She exclaims, turning around to face the person she just bumped. He's, like, twice her size and the chances that she hurt him in any real way are slim to none. She tries not to sigh her relief in too obvious a manner. "I didn't see you there," she adds, as if that weren't abundantly obvious already.

[goesdownsmooth]

Jameson lets out a surprised laughs as he reaches out to grip the girl's shoulders, momentarily steadying her before either of them are gifted with wine stains on their clothes tonight before offering a wide smile. "You don't say?" he retorts, a playful look apparent in his eyes as they crease at the corner. "Not a problem, if anything was on my wishlist this Christmas Eve, it was to get trampled by a stranger."

He's only teasing, and he hopes that's obvious as he releases her and takes a small step back to give her some space. Jameson thinks he's maybe seen her around before, but he's not sure where and definitely doesn't know her name, so he holds a hand out for her to take with his amused smile firmly intact. "I'm Jameson, by the way. In case you like to know the names of the guys you nearly demolish during the holiday season."

[remotecontrol]

If Charlotte is skilled at anything, it's recognizing sarcasm. She uses it herself on a daily basis, after all. Even if she didn't, though, the smile her would-be victim is wearing is enough to clue her in to the fact that he isn't actually that upset. Which is great, because the last thing she needs is to get a reputation for antagonizing men at Christmas parties.

"I do actually keep a list of all my victims, so that's very helpful of you, thank you." She extends her hand to shake. "I'm Charlotte."

[callmeemily]

"Oh, here," Raleigh says as she passes him a mug - it's still warm from the dishwasher, and she's got a tray of them that she moves to set down next to the cider so there's more. "I don't think we've met," she says with a smile as she re-stacks the next mugs by the steaming cider, "I'm Raleigh. It's nice to meet you."

She's actually really glad that there's people here she doesn't know. Raleigh definitely tries her best to be warm and inviting, and to have Orchard House be the same; the fact that it seems like it's mission accomplished? Makes her really glad.

[goesdownsmooth]

He smiles in thanks when Raleigh passes him the mug, and he helps himself to the cider as he gives her a sidelong glance. "I'm Jameson," he answers, and he's pretty sure this girl's the owner of the bakery because he's seen her behind the counter before as he'd passed by, never quite making it inside but always wanting to because of the rich smells that would waft out to the sidewalk. He feels a little bit like he's intruding now, though he's not sure why because he has no way of knowing how many people in this room Raleigh actually knows. Then again, he could be the only stranger, and it's actually a refreshing thought considering how many people recognize him as Jay Kane's son.

"This is your place, right? I mean, you own it?" He takes a sip of his cider, eyes slipping shut for just a second as he savors the warmth and flavor of the drink before looking back at her with a sheepish smile. "I opened my psychiatric a couple months ago, a few blocks from here. I pass by all the time, just haven't had a chance to check things out yet. Looks great in here, though, compared to what it was before it got fixed up."

[callmeemily]

Raleigh actually blinks just a little at the question - just because she's realising that the answer to that is yes, and she just about lights up with how bright her smile is, although she ducks her head a little. "Yeah, yeah, I... I guess I do own it," she says with a laugh. "It's all new to me, if I'm super honest. I just opened at the end of October." She takes a sip of her own as she leans against the edge of the counter with one hip.

"You should stop in more! I always like meeting new people, especially if we're neighbors." There's a lot of people here that she doesn't know, and she's glad for it -- one of the things she really wanted to put together here was a business that wasn't just a place that her friends came, but to be a place that people really liked meeting with friends of all sorts.

"First pastry's on the house," she says with a wider smile. "So, you said you opened up a couple of months ago? So you're a psychiatrist?" Presumably, since otherwise opening an office might be a little strange, but she didn't realise that until after she'd asked.

[goesdownsmooth]

"I am, indeed, a psychiatrist," Jameson answers with a laugh that he tries to hold back because he's not laughing at her, she's just already very endearing. She's ridiculously petite, Jameson physically has to bend his neck to look down at her, but she has an infectious smile and such a positive vibe about her that he imagines it must be difficult to not just constantly be smiling back at her. He doesn't know her much at all yet, obviously, but Jameson has a habit of making attempts to figure people out in first impressions and while it doesn't always work--in fact, they're most often the most false impression he can get--it still at least gives him an idea of what he might expect for the next encounter.

He always prefers it when he meets someone new, when they seem him as just another face, because he's seen what it does to people when they figure out that his family's maybe worth a little more than the average Siren Cove resident. That's when he starts to get people who had been initially uninterested in spending a lot of time with him--and there are the first impressions again--suddenly being incredibly friendly to him the next time they see him walking down the street.

If there's one thing he hates about coming from a family that doesn't want for anything material, it's having to sift through the people who are genuine and those who just want something from him. He doesn't get that sense from Raleigh, she doesn't seem like that kind of person, and he's confident in that assessment because he's seen plenty of people who are.

"I'd offer a free consult but most of the time, people just assume I'm implying there's something wrong with them," he teases with the shrug of a shoulder. "I just think that sometimes, everyone needs a good, objective ear."

[callmeemily]

That's the one benefit of Raleigh both not being from here, and not really paying attention to the gossip around town. She's got no idea who Jameson's family is, and even if somebody outlined it for her, she really wouldn't care. As far as she views it, she's somehow ended up with a group of people where some of them are well-off enough that they're movie stars and have giant homes with thirty rooms, and the there's people like herself and Charlotte and Davin, who have normal jobs and live in apartments or have rooms somewhere and it's all very normal. It somehow seems to work itself out - Raleigh's gotten lucky at the secondhand store when it comes to going to fancy parties, and her friends who are more well off don't seem to judge her much-- so it ends up mostly evening the playing field.

But she really does like meeting new people, and that's why she smiles up at him, taking a sip from her mug, using it to warm her hands. "That's really nice," she says with a nod. "And you're not wrong - although I'd imagine you're right, that it's a little hard to get people just to talk when you've got the professional label tacked on." She knows that for her, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea for her to talk to someone like that - but she both doesn't really have the money or insurance for it, and she's got no real idea just how much anybody would believe - so she just... doesn't.

"Do you have one?" The question comes out of nowhere, and she tips her head to the side before she makes a face. "Sorry, I know we just met, I've just kind of always wondered in general about who takes care of the people who care, and... this is a weird conversation," she said as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Anyway, moving on."

She tried to think of a different topic, until-- "Do you have holiday plans?" That seemed like a safe question, at the very least.