"Good, I Don't Have To Worry," She Joked, But Shrugging, "uh, Maybe, If You're Watching Me." Her Intent

Leyla had settled down in a beach chair with her book and tumbler, looking up on occasion at all the excitement around her. She wasn't sure she wanted to be in it all, watching was fine for her. As somone sat nearby, she looked over and smiled as the woman complimented her cup. Her ASL was pretty basic, but it had always been something she wanted to learn. She was mostly fluent in three languages, so it was something she always wanted to add to. "Thank you," she replied, for the words she didn't know the sign for, she would spell it out. Speaking it aloud as she went in case she could also read her lips, "I am going to start selling them at the bar soon. Are you going to play in the game?"

Who: Lara Marie Caruso & @leyla-tehrani

What: Beach Bash

Lara was enjoying being on the beach. Her daughter had run off with her friends to enjoy the last bits of summer freedom they had. It gave her a little freedom herself. She had a snack in her hand, and decided to take a seat somewhere she could watch the rest of the action. Turning her head, she saw someone close by and gave them a wave. “I like your cup,” she gestured, pointing to the Mawk Tales tumbler she spotted.

Leyla only thought she was going to leave her employees in charge of the booth for a little while to take a quick break, but here she was still on the phone as she browsed through various pumpkins to maybe add something with a design to the booth. As she hung up, her phone was knocked from her hand. "That's what I get for not putting work away," she joked, waving her hand to assure him he didn't need to apologize as she bent down to pick her phone up. "I've lived in New York, I've been whacked with stranger things." Well, maybe not, but still... "And maybe I walked into your pumpkin."

Who: Vince & open!! @merrock

What: Creek Fest

Capping at 6 (0/6)

Vince was walking through the lines of pumpkins. Every year they seemed to just be getting bigger and bigger, strange as that was. He picked up a rather large one and held the thing in his arms, and before realizing there was someone next to him, he turned his body. "Oh my god, I'm sorry!" he gasped. "I can't believe I just whacked you with a pumpkin!"

Luckily Leyla liked being busy, especially when that meant her business was doing well. If it kept up though, she might have to start a hiring process. "Then I think you'll really like this," she promised, "and if you don't, I'll make you something else." She did want her drinks to be a little healthier than your average bar, and most drinks were, like this one. "I think I've walked past it before, but I haven't yet made it in there. I don't eat much candy, but maybe I'll stop in sometime just to have a look around. I bet you're the kids' favorite person around here?"

"Oh, no worries," she brushed the apologies away, offering a smile to the woman. Valentina had worked behind a bar in the many different jobs she had taken over the years. She knew how demanding it could be when there was a lot of people all at once. "Honestly, I spend so much time around sweet things", or sweet people she almost added, "that something different sounds perfect to me." Plus she was not going to complain if the drink had some health benefits, too. "I work at Cassidy's Candies. That's nearby. And kids are still on holidays, which means that my days are-- busy. Ice cream and candy and a looot of people on sugar high."

Leyla wanted her place to be as good as any other bar, and you could always send those drinks back too. Even if she was very confident in the quality of her menu, everyone had different tastes. "The option is always available," she promised. Since it was her recommendation, Leyla did hope she'd like it. "That's what I thought," she replied with a laugh. "Okay, I'll do it then. Maybe I'll take your recommendation on your favorite flavors." Her brow briefly furrowed as the other woman laughed before she explained. "Good thing I sent the last one into early retirement, so there's a vacancy," she teased, "but I think that's perspective, it could make you an angel."

Valentina nodded. She didn't want the brunette to go out of her way just for her drink but she appreciated the gesture. "I'm sure it'll be just fine." After all, she seemed to know what she was doing with all the mocktails and smoothies. "I'm the only adult who allows them to eat candies, of course I'm their favorite person," she joked. "But yes please, come and have a look. I'll make you an ice cream, if you're not into candy." All of a sudden, she let out a short laugh as she realized something, "You're making me a healthy drink and I'm offering you candy in return, I feel like a little devil on your shoulder."

"I've heard that about pregnancy," Leyla said, "but I can't say I blame you on the French Toast. I don't have the biggest sweet tooth, but I will cave for some of that, especially with a raspberry compote on top."

It was important to her that everyone have a place where they can feel safe. Though it seemed like the small town provided a lot of that already, she still wanted to be adding to that, not taking away. "Exactly, depending on what I'm looking for in a day, and I'm always trying to create new flavors and ideas. After seeing how much the town loves a bonfire, I'm hoping to create something that tastes like s'more."

"I don't know if it's really weird, but my sweet tooth has gotten much worse since," Alice giggled. "So I always want something like ice cream at random hours of the day. I don't know how much of that would be considered to be normal," she grinned. "Well, last week I really wanted some French Toast after dinner..."

Alice smiled. She knew that different people had different reasons for not drinking, and she could respect that. And when she was younger, she could have used that thinking as well. If there were more places like Mawk Tales, she'd probably still have had a lot of fun. She nodded, listening to Leyla list off her different favorite drinks. "Understandable. I get that completely. So you'd say that you'd probably have a different favorite everyday? Nothing wrong with some variety!"

She perked up a bit when he seemed interested in the idea she was proposing. "Just sort of chill, enjoy your drinks with friends or partners while listening to music. Something they don't have to shout over to have a conversation. What kind of music is popular around here?"

Leyla had Alec's interest, pitching him a gig opportunity at the bar. "Depending on what you're looking for.. I can do acoustic though, with the band or solo. Do you have a specific vibe in mind? You can turn most genres acoustic."

Leyla agreed, offering a smile, "that's the worst, right? When you just want to enjoy a night out and someone plastered decides that's a good time to bug you." It truly was a beautiful place, and she really couldn't imagine having her business anywhere else now.

"I do," she replied, keeping her answer short and truth close to the chest. As with most of her truths. But the idea of getting to work with kids and offer them positive experiences was very appealing to her. "Physical therapy? I can see how those sort of correlate in some cases. Have you always been an animal lover? I feel like you sort of have to be to volunteer at a place like this."

Livvy nodded her head with understanding as Leyla explained her reasoning for anting to open the business, knowing that it made complete sense. "Sometimes when I want to go out after work, I don't want to worry about being hit on by someone who's been drinking all night, or deciding who wants to be the designated driver," which was always a challenge, one that no one wanted to take on, most of the time. "Besides, you have some really gorgeous views, which makes it all the better." Getting to kick back and relax with friends, have a drink, admire the views? Perfect evening activity.

"Oh!" she brightened instantly at the mention of a similar program, "then you have a basic understanding of how everything works. And how great it can be, too," not that she needed to sell it to anyone; once they spent an afternoon around laughing, smiling kids, they normally caught on to how important it was to them. "I'm a physical therapist, so when the mother of a patient mentioned her daughter getting involved in the program, I asked if I could tag along. Things sort of went from there."

"A lot of competitive spirit," she laughed. She hadn't been here very long, but that was clear. "Me too, my sport was running," she said, before glancing over at where some kids were before looking back, "which one's yours?"

Lara gave her a smile. “Yes! Hope that everyone just has a lot of fun. I know this town has a lot of team spirit,” she said, trying to give extra context to what she meant. “I played in school… for gym class. My daughter is more athletic,” she added.

"Girl Code," she explained, showing the older woman her book, "it's a book for female entrepreneurs. Building confidence, women supporting women, that sort of thing." Probably not the fiction most read on the beach, but she was always striving to be better in business, still feeling a bit like she was playing catch up. "Daymond John's The Power of Broke is in my bag if I finish this today. I'm hopelessly boring unfortunately. What did you bring?"

for @leyla-tehrani

"So what is it you're reading?" Aleja asked curiously, looking over at the woman a short distance from her on the beach. She'd brought her own large bag of books and things, but could never bring herself to focus while sitting in the sand and sun.

The world felt very small in that moment, almost comfortingly so for once. Leyla wasn't the best at letting people in, or letting them stay in. It didn't make her the best lover or friend, but Cemile was one of the few that got in and stayed. The busyness of the start up had meant she hadn't been able to keep in touch as much as she would have liked, and this was exactly what she needed. Having a friend sent waves of relief through her. "I finally did it, started my own business. I couldn't do it in the city, too much noise, too many memories, so I did some research and found this place. Put a non-alcoholic bar right on the coast, and it's doing really well. I feel a bit like I'm in my Hallmark era...I mean, without the shirtless lumberjack rebuilding an old inn." Scrunching up her nose at the idea of romance in her movie, she was not looking for that right now. "Okay now your turn."

Cemile turned slightly at the sound of her name being called, giving a rare smile once she saw who it was. The paint was no longer her priority, her friend now being the center of her attention. "Leyla?" she asked, mostly out of disbelief than anything. She hadn't seen her in a while, but still tried her best to keep in touch. She probably missed a conversation or two since her big move, but was delighted to get the chance to catch up with her. She tried her best to fit in the small town, but it still was a bit daunting. So the familiar face was a welcome surprise. "What are you doing in Merrock?"