It Was Important To Leyla To Be Here, To Give Back. She Had Never Been Good At Receiving, But Giving

Leyla knew there had been a concert about a month ago, but she hadn't gone. The idea of really being part of the town, opening herself up to people again, it sort of scared her. It was much easier to do it all in the context of work. Still, she had seen the posters and thought she remembered seeing his face in one somewhere. "Do you mind if we talk a little business then?" She asked, "because I want to put on some events in the bar, and I thought live music would be a great option. I know you're more of a...louder band, but do you ever perform any acoustic sets?"

"Thanks!" he offered up a warm smile as she began working on his drinks. At the question of being in a band, he confirmed with a nod. He wasn't entirely sure which band she was referring to, but he could probably safely assume she wasn't a devoted fan of any sort and just had heard around town. "I am, yeah."

Leyla wasn't sure kids would be in her future, not now, not after everything, but she loved watching others experience that joy. Especially mothers and daughters, there was a special bond with them--or there was supposed to be. "Beautiful," she complimented, "she looks like you. Are you two very close?"

Lara nodded in agreement. She was pretty proud of how adventurous Lily had become. And moreso in the past few years. She liked to see her daughter take on different interests. "She's..." Lara looked around. "Ah... there she is," she nodded towards a lanky girl with curly hair in a ponytail in shorts and a tank top talking to other kids who looked like young teens.

Leyla laughed as they both moved for her phone, navigating around each other to not go full comedy of errors. Stopping, she let him get it, just holding her hand out for it. "Thank you. I invest in solid cases, not the first time my phone has hit the ground," she said with a warm smile as she brushed some grass and dirt off it, "but our conversation was done anyway, my employees probably wish you'd bumped into me earlier." She laughed again before teasing, "so you think you can manage to get that where you're going without taking out small children along the way or do you need some help?"

“Oh!” Vince said quickly as he realized she had dropped her phone. He tried to strategically move down to grab it, swerving his body quickly enough so that they wouldn’t bump into each other again, making a bigger mess of things. He laughed and grinned. “Hope the phone’s not too damaged, though. You can say there was a big doofus who doesn’t look where he’s going which is why the call got interrupted,” he chuckled.

CINNAMON ROLL DAY! -- @aishathevar @emelineviolette @leyla-tehrani

Because you guys are the best adopted dog parents that Walter and Gale could ask for, and also because you deal with me being a man... and that makes you cinnamon rolls in my eyes.

xx Dare

That was the beauty of a small town, this was invaluable advertising because the whole town had to be walking around this week. If they hadn't made it to the coast yet, they would know her shop's name now and the delicious drinks they could find there. "Yes, as long as the feedback's good, but barring people spitting it back out at me, we'll have these for the season. And maybe a couple others. They are seasonal, though, so still for a limited time. Just not one week limited." For a young business, it might not be the best idea to donate all this money to a charity, but that's what she was going to do. She believed in the cause, and the mission of her place was to make the world better, safer, kinder. That's what Harmony Healers was doing. As she set the flight in front of him, she added, "and all of these are available full-size this week that you can take with you, if there's one you really like and want to take it as you explore the rest of the booths."

"You know what?" Josh nodded his head decisively when Leyla talked about the flight, the special that she had crafted up for the week, offering her a bright smile. "Let's go with that. Might as well try a little bit of everything, and then get hooked -- are you also selling these over at the coast, in case I need to stop by and get my fix?" After all, there was nothing worse than falling in love with the taste of something, only to never have it again. It happened all too often at fairs and festivals, he had come to find. But he trusted Leyla to find a way to make it happen. "Besides, always want to help with a good cause," and he did love the work that Harmony Healers was doing, after all.

It was a bit surprising how popular the place already seemed to be getting--though not a bad surprise at all. "Sorry for the wait," Leyla apologized quickly, then needing about half a second for her brain to completely reboot. Women this beautiful did not exist in real life and they certainly weren't in random small towns in Maine asking for a smoothie...and yet... "Good choice," she replied, "it may not be as sweet as some of our other smoothies, but it's still delicious and has a ton of health benefits--and in my opinion, is a great coffee alternative. What's ahead of you in the day that calls for an energy boost?"

For once, Valentina was being patient. Her forearms laying on the counter, she waited for the woman to come and take her order. When she approached, Val welcomed her with a grin, leaning a tiny bit. "I'm going to trust you," she answered. "So let's try the smoothie. I could need that kind of energy boost." Which was not an usual thing from Valentina, who tended to be an human dynamo.

"Good, I don't have to worry," she joked, but shrugging, "uh, maybe, if you're watching me." Her intent was fully to get something small and super plain, but she wouldn't tell the other woman that. She seemed like the female Willy Wonka by the sounds of her so far. "I don't know that I've had a cupcake in...a very long time. I don't think I can even remember what those taste like." Trying new things sounded equally bad to her. Aside from a business perspective, Leyla didn't really like to venture out from her safety net of the known much. "There's cotton candy, that might also give you a sugar high for a solid week. Add chocolate chips and you're all set," she said, probably proving her point about not being a sweets person.

"Vanilla's a classic for a reason, so no judgment here," She nodded. "I at least hope you'll get sprinkles or something, makes it more fun." she laughed, then raised an eyebrow at her comment. She realized other people may not have shared the same love for sweets she did, but hearing it out loud made her question her company for a moment. "Everyone has their own preferences, mine just happens to be every and any type of dessert. I would've made cupcakes, but this was just on a whim," and what kind of reward would it be if she had to make it herself? "Yeah, it is a bit overwhelming. That's why I stuck to my one favorite flavor, but I suppose life should be about trying new things." she commented, even as she stared longingly at the empty spot where the cookie dough should've been.

A laugh bubbled from her as her latest customer popped up, almost literally. It was like the sunshine coming in through the window was right in front of her. Besides, Leyla liked when people treated this the same as any bar, made her feel more like she was Sam Malone in Cheers. "You seem a girl who likes a seasonal specialty," she replied, a touch playfully, "so I would say our Pumpkin Pie Martini mocktail or my personal favorite at the moment, which is the Autumn Spice. But I'm a sucker for a cinnamon flavor, paired with the cloves and nutmeg, it's the season in a glass."

WHO: Nari & @leyla-tehrani

WHERE: Mawk Tales

WHEN: September, 2023

"Alright, hit me," Nari swung onto one of the bar stools, tucking her legs underneath herself, feet finding perch on the run as she looked up at the menu behind the bar. There were far too many good drinks to choose from, something that she had learned a long time ago, but that was why it paid to have a bartender to help you out -- at least Leyla would know what to suggest. Hopefully. Or maybe she would just flounder her way through trying whatever looked good on the menu. "What's the best option for a girl like me?"

When Leyla saw there would be horseback rides at Creek Fest, she knew there would be no needing to convince her to step away from her booth to do that. She had been volunteering at Harmony Healers for just a little while, but she hadn't gotten near enough time to ride herself. At the sound of a voice, she looked over to see the question was directed to her. "Who could resist, right?" She replied, "look at these beauties. I'm almost surprised people are doing anything else when this is an option."

Elise could never resist the siren's call of the chance to ride a horse. She'd been going on trail rides with Livvy over the past few months when she could, but she didn't have as much time for it as she'd liked. Now, though, all but ousted from her stand for a few hours, she found herself with the time to do just that. She was captivated for a few moments by the chestnut she'd chosen before she even noticed anyone else near by. "Oh, hello! Are you going for a ride as well?"

@leyla-tehrani