EP: Kate Barlow | Main Bar

[ikissdhimbck]

The door opens to a golden sky, so thick with dust it looks like orange meringue.

The soft chnk of spurs precedes the cowgirl, collar turned up and hat low over her eyes. Once the door closes, she tips her hat back and takes a look around. And smiles.

As soon as she settles at the Bar, she's presented with gift after gift after gift after gift, along with a plate of Solstice sweets and a few gingerbread ... robots? She eyes everything with delight, surprised when she realizes how much time has passed. She wasn't expecting she'd be gone so long. She best start on the thank-you notes straight away.

But first, she does happen to have a few gifts of her own. She unshoulders her bag and leaves the tardy presents with Miss Bar.

Dr. Lecter receives a fine buffalo pelt, along with a small parcel of meat, and a handwritten note.

The Sandhu's receive an ornate chess set along with a fine oak board, and five parcels of candy suitable for each family member.

Mr. Tommy Gavin receives a bar of lye soap and a suggestive note on what to do with it, along with a very attractive silk teck tie wrapped in tissue.

Mr. John Marston receives a fine gentleman's hat: it's a high top Derby, and it's bulletproof. The accompanying note says: Keep your head on straight –Kate

Mr. The Kid receives a pair of chocolate brown dancing shoes and a framed picture, along with a handwritten note.

Master Elrond receives a book of poems by Lord Byron, and a jar of Kate's spiced peaches, along with a handwritten note.

Ms. Remy receives a lidded trinket box in the shape of a white cat with big blue eyes, filled with her favorite sweets. The accompanying note is signed: –Blue Eyes

Ms. Ellen receives a set of very practical gifts: a nice length of good rope, tooled leather boots, a fine set of spurs, and a pair of lambskin gloves, along with a handwritten note.

Ms. Dixie receives a set of dime novels and a pair of lambskin gloves in pink, along with a box of chocolate bonbons and a handwritten note.

Ms. Clementine receives a box of saltwater taffy, and while Kate is setting it aside she asks Miss Bar to add a pint of Peach Cobbler ice cream to the parcel.

Enzo & Dani receive a traditional engagement gift: silver spoons, along with a set of silver civil war cannon trinkets, and a gold locket. A formal note of congratulations accompanies the gifts.

Ms. Pyrrha receives a paint box set with several fine colors, and a few horsehair brushes. While Kate is at the Bar, she asks that a bushel of ripe avocados be added to the parcel.

Teja receives a pommel sword and sheath with a gold eagle head hilt and gold inlay along the blade, as well as a handwritten note.

Ratonhnhaké:ton receives a fresh set of writing tools, along with a toy stagecoach and a small parcel of sweets.

William Evans receives a new collection of books, mostly American authors as it's what she could find in Galveston, and a dime novel slipped in. They're accompanied by a small tin of caramels, and a handwritten note.

To everyone else go a jar of spiced peaches and a small parcel of sweets, nuts, and dried fruit.

That done, she settles down to write her thank-yous, occasionally admiring the clay cat and pondering a name change to 'Queen of the Bandits'. No doubt she'll soon break into the sweets, though there's far too much to eat in one sitting. It's a good turn of luck that she feels inspired to share.


[ooc: I've missed all of the fun! Feel free to catch me up and link me to anything you'd like to have tagged, I'm happy to bounce around and see all of the shenanigans. ^__^ This is open throughout the weekend and perhaps longer. Hello again.]

Comments

[gavin62truck]

Tommy is not getting sick. No, he is not. If you will yourself immune to whatever's going around, that's enough, right?

In any case, he is getting bored and a little mopey, so when that starts to happen, he knows it's time to go back home. He finishes up his cigarette on the back porch, and heads inside to get some food from the bar to take with him.

Instead he gets a-- bar of soap. And a tie.

What.

(At least it's not a thing like from the Waco Kid.)

He reads the accompanying note and his eyes grow wide. Quickly folding it up again and tucking it into a pocket, he casts an eager glance around the room, searching--

And there she is, sitting some ways further down the bar. He's learned to replace his first instinct of sidling up to her and kissing her neck with casually ambling closer, within her peripheral vision, and stopping at least two bar stools away from her. It's an exercise in restraint. And after not seeing her for more than a month, that's a whole lot of restraint.

[ikissdhimbck]

If there is a God, someday Kate will see that gift The Waco Kid gave him, and with luck Tommy will be wearing it.

She catches sight of him from the corner of her eye. He makes for a familiar silhouette, big, all legs, that mop of sunny hair. She can't suppress a smile.

Signing the thank-you note she was just finishing, she scribbles a quick note and murmurs to Miss Bar. A moment later it's whisked away, and another moment after that it appears at Tommy's elbow.

Hello Handsome,
   Meet me in the kitchen in
five minutes? I missed you.

–Kate

She nonchalantly starts collecting her things.

[gavin62truck]

The few lines of text in her flowing handwriting makes him legitimately giddy. If he were a dog again, small cities would be leveled by the force of his wagging tail.

On a fresh piece of note paper, he chicken-scratches a reply:


Hey gorgeous,
See you there.
Missed you too.

-T


He can't resist throwing a quick glance her way.

[ikissdhimbck]

It's quiet and blink-and-you'll-miss-it, but he'll probably hear the chuckle his answer gives her. She grins broadly, and asks Miss Bar for a basket.

Loading up the perishables in the basket and everything else in her leather satchel, she sends the rest of her thank-yous off and slips from the bar stool. She doesn't give Tommy so much as a glance the whole time, quietly sauntering past him.

She took a guess that the kitchens would be empty, and aside from the occasional waitrat she was right. She puts her name on the basket and gets the perishables put away in the icebox before the ice cream melts, then waits for Tommy to make his way around.

[the_cupbearer]

The light of the golden sky hits Ganymede's face and makes him look up from the book he's writing, following Kate's progress to the bar and the unloading of all those gifts.

After the third one it's a little amusing, and he sets the pen down to watch without ending up with an ink blot on the page. "Your trip seems to have been profitable, at least," he says.

[ikissdhimbck]

She looks up, taking a moment to place the gentleman.

"Ah, Ganymede? How d'you do?"

She smiles crookedly, returning her attention to the items spread over the Bar. She does motion to nearby stool, however.

"I have more capital than I could possibly spend on myself, an' I was gone over Christmas. Seemed the thing t'do."

[the_cupbearer]

"I do very well of late," he says, getting up to join her.

"Might I inquire as to how you managed that?" Ganymede is clearly not lacking in wealth himself; he just doesn't much mention it, because he rarely makes use of the money he has. "Well, happy belated Christmas to you."

[ikissdhimbck]

"I'm pleased t'hear it."

Miss Bar spirits away the parcels as Kate finishes with them, and she turns to Ganymede with a mysterious smile.

"Luck, mostly. Merry belated Christmas."

She has a little candy and nuts to spare, wrapped in a nice cloth, which she hands to him.

[a1enzo]

Enzo ooohs at the gifts. He's a little perplexed by the spoons, but they are very nice spoons indeed. Probably it's some kind of tradition.

He's in luck! She's still here. "Kate!" He waves the spoons as he approaches. "Thanks for the gifts! It's great to see you."

Ping! declares the small flying creature following him.

[ikissdhimbck]

Kate has retired to a table with a dish of moonpie-flavored ice cream and a glass of cool water. She looks up when he calls her name, grinning widely.

"Howdy, Enzo. I'm glad you received them all right."

She stands to give him a hug, startled by the small apparition floating over his shoulder.

"This is new."

[a1enzo]

Enzo will take that hug anyway, once she has recovered.

"Yup! This is Minus."

Minus waves his tentacles at her, and produces a small, holographic text string: kismetBehest

[ikissdhimbck]

Kate places her hand over her heart.

"My!"

She's not accustomed to tentacles. Or holographic text. She isn't sure what the proper protocol is here.

"H–how d'you do, Minus? That's my — ah! That's my T-Minus name."

The pieces are sliding together.

[just_a_chemical]

That's a lot of stuff.

This woman must be very good at packing. Also strong. Maybe she's a traveling saleswoman?

One teenager with her prim 1940s dress and a bottle of Hop-Up Cola, not stalking or anything. Just watching curiously.

[ikissdhimbck]

You would think, after four and a half years here, Kate would have invested in a magical bag by now. One of those bottomless ones you can fill to your heart's content. It is, however, a simple leather satchel, which makes Kate quite skilled at packing indeed.

She notices the girl, caught by clothes that remind her very much of Esfir and Carlotta, and smiles.

"Good evenin'."

[just_a_chemical]

"Hello there," she says with a smile. "I was just admiring your packing ability--every time, I'd think 'surely that bag must be empty,' but no. I just stuff things into bags, and they overflow."

Not that she's had to pack anything in a while, but that's what she did as a child, and she hasn't outgrown that tendency.

[ikissdhimbck]

Kate laughs, brimming with good-humor.

"I'm used t'packin' in a hurry. Most'a these things are small, anyhow."

She came in wearing the sword, to be fair. Hard to stick that in a bag.

"I'm Kate Barlow."

[filemyclaim]

After escorting a feverish Brisco upstairs and putting him to bed in her room in a millitimed thread yet to happen (which would normally be a joyful occasion but, in this case, is one of worry). She asks Bar for something to wash her hands with (thank you, modern medical information), and soon after she finishes Kate's gifts pop up. She grins and pockets the gloves before having bar hold the novels and opening the chocolates, then the note.

[ikissdhimbck]

Kate's been enjoying a little bowl of whoopie pie ice cream at a table near the Window, giving herself a clean view of the room at large. She's just finished penning the last thank-you note when she looks up and spies familiar golden ringlets.

"Dix!"

She's a ways away, so she waves her arm to be sure Dixie sees her.

(She can just imagine the proper ladies back in Galveston clutching their pearls at her boisterousness.)

[filemyclaim]

"Kate!" She automatically starts re-arranging her haul of packages, so that she can come around to visit Kate in-flesh.

(The Mennonites and sisters have long given up on Dixie's manners. LONG. The nuns all keep her in their prayers).

[guppy_sandhu]

"Kate, thank you!" Guppy says, sitting down next to her.

Fry is nearby, in awe of the chess set, looking at all the shiny pieces.

[ikissdhimbck]

Kate smiles, which turns into near beaming when she sees Alex's interest.

"Howdy, boys. You're quite welcome. I saw the game an' couldn't get Alex off'a my mind; I thought you two might enjoy playin' together."

[guppy_sandhu]

"It's a great idea; Fry started the chess club at his school." Guppy says, watching Fry, then lowering his voice. "Mind you, his chess partner's just been taken out of school, so prepare yourself for a bit of repetition..."

"Patrick's gone." Fry says mournfully, looking at the king. "I played chess with Patrick on Tuesdays."

[waco_jim]

Dr. Frankenstein has been feeling strange lately. The cough's let up some, at least, but his urge to void his throat seems to have been replaced by an equally irrepressible urge to drink as much whiskey as possible. Thoughts of a certain "Mel Brooks" have been arising unbidden. Jim has no idea who on Earth that could be.

Kate might notice a baffled-looking scientist, staring with eyebrow raised at a pair of gifts that aren't even addressed to him as he downs a glass of a brand of whiskey he has no recollection of even liking that much.

[[OOC: Jim's about to get Wonkified, but his true self is bleeding through the edges as he's transitioning.]]

[ikissdhimbck]

[ooc: Wonderful! ^__^]


At first, she pays the doctor no mind. She's occupied with other things, and she doesn't recognize him straight away. However, when she sees he's got Jim's gifts, she looks at him with furrowed brow.

And does a quick double-take.

"Oh, bless me."

[waco_jim]

"I'm afraid I'm a scientist, not a priest," Frederick says.

He takes a long drink of whiskey. Odd how well he seems to be able to hold it.

"Is something the matter?"