milliways_bar | EP: Kate Barlow

Entry tags:

EP: Kate Barlow | Main Bar

Kate comes inside trailing clouds of dust behind her. She's been working the stables, as usual. Today was a hot one, and it didn't seem fit working the stock so long as the sun was high, so she set about cleaning and organizing instead. She takes off her hat and sets it on the Bar, wincing apologetically as dirt puffs up and settles on the lacquered surface.

"Beggin' your pardon, Miss. I'll clean it up. Meantime, could I get somethin' cold?"

A pint of peach cobbler ice cream pops up as she settles herself on a stool. She eyeballs it dubiously. How can you put a respectable cobbler in a bucket of cold ice cream? She don't believe it can be done. Naturally, she won't dismiss it out of hand without giving it a fair shake. For science, and all.

She opens a ledger and starts going over notes, scooting the pint closer. Every now and again, her hand strays to her chest, absently playing with the necklace she's wearing. It's strangely soothing.

[ooc: Open indefinitely, inside the bar or outside.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It's all right. Kate's really only hearing one thing.

She shakes her head.

"No, that's the thing. We don't mean anythin' to each other."

"...Right. Because men buy nice things for and spend hours with women they don't like."

Clem knows the difference between paid-sex and affectionate sex too, and Kate and Tommy's combined reactions suggest it's the latter.

Her hand drifts to her chest.

"I dunno what he wants, Miss Clem, but it ain't t'make an honest woman outta me. It started off as jus' — jus' sex. We ain't courtin' or anythin', he doesn't want anythin' from me. Only calls me his 'friend'. That ain't the kinda thing y'tell people 'bout."

She withers a touch.

"They tend t'be cruel."

"Well...lemme give you a little bit of modern-school advice: not every guy's gonna marry you on the first date. But after awhile..with a little time?" She shrugs. "I started out slinging Sam booze and now we're basically living together."

She shakes her head, and finally looks up. A wry little twist has come to her lips.

"He's in love with someone else. An' so am I. We jus' had — an arrangement that got complicated."

"You're in love with a guy that's gone, and he's...wait, who's he in love with? I thought it was you." New information is completely new, and she's drizzling ice cream on the bar.

She lowers her head again, her smile turning somewhat more amused.

"His wife."

"...Oh." Clem's only deterred for a minute. "Well, marriage is a temporary kind of thing. If you play your cards right. Or wrong."

Her brow furrows.

What?

"Ah, he, um. They're separated, but he still — didn't you know?"

She's going to have a mobius strip imprinted in her palm at this rate.

"If y'wanna see what he's like with someone he's really in love with, watch 'im when he talks 'bout her. Or when anythin' threatens what they had. He's fightin' for her. I'm jus' a momentary distraction, an' the fact that we're talkin' right now shows that I ain't the only one. M'jus' one of many women he gets intimate with."

"Nope." She doesn't really care on her part, but Kate's the one who's Really In Love With Tommy. "But there's a reason he's with you, right? And you know what that is - and no, it's not just about playing slap and tickle."

S–slap and tickle?

Fortunately, the horror is waylaid by a more sobering thought. She goes quiet, obviously thinking seriously on something.

"No, t'tell you the truth. I don't know what it is, other'n because he's attracted t'me."

"Do you spend time together when you're out of bed? Do you hang out and do things together?" Clem's starting to wonder why she didn't open that beauty parlor she dreamed about as a kid, this would have been helpful in such a situation.

"Not very successfully as of late, but we used to, yes."

She shakes her head.

"But that's jus' 'cuz we're friends, an' he — well, never mind that."

"Then you're not just fluffing the mattress, sister." Clem gives her an expectant look. "If you're having sex and hanging out and he's buying you jewelry and he looks out for you and you look out for him, then you're in a relationship."

She absorbs that.

"S'not how he sees it, Miss Clementine. He ain't lookin' for that. Even if he were — no, he's not. We ain't ever gonna be pickin' out curtains. He's gonna get tired of me an' move on t'the next person."

That's just the way it is. It's the only way that makes sense.

"Tellin' people 'bout us jus' makes me look like a fool an' a whore."

She raises an eyebrow. "I haven't seen him running around with anyone else for months." Kate is very special indeed. "Bu then again - have you ever ASKED him how he sees it?"

She shakes her head.

"He's too scared'a makin' me angry t'speak his mind clearly. I have asked 'im, I've told 'im how confused he makes me, but all he does is hem an' haw an' reassure me. However, his actions say somethin' different."

She looks down. A line forms between her brows, one that betrays pain that she'll never admit to. It's gone in the blink of an eye, and she's shaking her head again.

"That ain't the point, though. I'm fine with the way things is. We have a deal."

"That's the price of living in two worlds at once - I'm juggling three, and it's not easy. But it's worth it." Her eyebrow rises. "What deal?"

How did she end up spilling her guts to Miss Clementine? She suddenly worries she's said too much, but there's no graceful way of getting out of answering the question.

"No promises. We're jus' usin' each other for a li'l intimacy for however long it lasts, 'cuz he can't give me a future, an' he can't promise what tomorrow will bring. So I don't hafta be so alone, an' he — he can come t'my bed whenever he feels like it. S'a mutually beneficial arrangement. I don't ask questions 'bout where he's been, an' he don't hafta talk 'bout it."

Because she's all that's available on such short notice, of course. "Soooo you really think he doesn't have any feelings for you? Really? Really really?"

She shakes her head.

"I dunno what he thinks. An' I dunno what he told you, but you tell me: did he wax on 'bout how much he loves me, or did he shrug everythin' off?"

"He protected your identity like you were part of Fort Knox." That much is true.

She crooks a smirk.

"I'll tell y'somethin', Miss Clementine. The only way we're gonna stay together is if we stay a secret."

"Well yeah, from his wife...but who's gonna tell her? The only other person he might tell'd be that Lou guy from his work who hangs out here." Maybe?

"No, not — not that."

She's a little sheepish. There's a knot of guilt in her gut she does her level best to ignore.

"An' Lou already knows. There's jus' other people who can't find out."

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject