Martha Bloom toddles up fascinated by a bird flying off like a small child full of wonder.
Zilpha Ainsworth comes around to the Aqua Shack and sees Martha coming around the corner. She comes up and smiles. "Hello, Martha. Are yo here for brunch, too?"
Martha Bloom looks taken aback "Brunch....oh..." She looks at the restaurant like that's not why she came here at all but then smiles "Yes....let's. I was following the bird..." She drifts towards the door now to go in.
Zilpha Ainsworth opens the door for her ad they are met by a young, tall and handsome waiter in a simple shirt, jeans and long black apron ties around his waist. He smiles and heads them to a table. "Can I get you ladies some coffee or orange juice?" Zilpha smiles and nods. "Yes, dear. Both." she sits and leads Martha to as well,looking at her and then reaching fora piece of lint on Martha's sweater.
Martha Bloom bats her eyelashes at the handsome man and then sits, not noticing the lint removal "Well it's teeming with lovely lads at least. I like orange juice too." She turns to Zilpha now "How are you dear?"
Zilpha Ainsworth watches the brunch crowd. "I'm doing well. Thought I would try and let a new clerk do a little work. The kids, you know. And take myself out of my own kitchen and let someone cook for me." she removes another piece of lint. "What about you, dear. I haven't seen the fire truck at your place. Did you and that young fireman have a fight?"
Martha Bloom smiles and then thinks about it "Which fireman do you mean?" Now she looks at her sweater as the lint goes "I do like that Hank....but he's taken a fancy to my niece. Gareth is much too young unfortunately.....but Judith is....well maybe they've been dating for years. What year is it Zilpha? Is it the Y2K? They do keep on about that don't they?"
Zilpha Ainsworth nods. "Yes, that Hank." her eyes go wide. "Has he been with your niece? Oh that is sweet. He is such a nice neat young man. And that Gareth.. oh to be ten years younger .. well... 40 maybe." she giggles and looks kindly at Martha. "It's 2017 now, dear." she glances at the menu. "Oh ... crab quiche! That sounds nice." she brushes imaginary dust off of the table as the waiter returns with their drinks. Zilpha examines her glass very closely before sipping the sweet juice.
Martha Bloom perks up "Oh I'll have that too. I do love quiche. My Judith makes a good one....asparagus, sausage, peppers and mushrooms. Oh yes the new year.....that Millie took a swim. I wanted to go too but they said I'd catch cold. Rotters..." She sees the brushing and the checking and asks "Are you looking for the spiders? There are two you know...."
Zilpha Ainsworth smiles. "Oh that sounds delicious too." she hands the menus back and the waiter arches his brows at him before he bows and departs. "Oh not, just .. very dusty." her eyes widen. "Spiders? Oh good lord! I haven't seen any. Don't know if my poor heart could stand it."
Martha Bloom runs her finger along the table and comes up with no dust on her fingers "This side seems fine....maybe it's crumbs. Dusting is such a boring chore." She beams at the waiter as he bows "Adorable." She turns back to Zilpha "They seem very tame. Big ones though, hairy bodies....you don't like them Zilpha? Just call Hank. He'll know what to do....."
Zilpha Ainsworth sighs. "I just like it clean. You've seen my bakery. Cleanest kitchen in British Columbia." she proclaims. "Yes, they do find some dears." she agrees and her eyes widen. "Big hairy spiders. Oh ... they'll shed all over town. No I don't like spiders .. or animals that shed. I'll SCREAM for Hank. Or maybe Adum Brate. Oh! Did you read the notice on the board? Chief Brate is going to become MAYOR Brate and that cute Frank Sewid is retiring. I never thought I'd live to see THAT day."
Martha Bloom smiles "I do like your pastries. I'm not sure if a spider would shed.....not like a cat....we should look it up on a computer. Do you have a computer? Kid's have all these screens now.....they baffle me, the small ones. Oh yes I did know about Fred. And he's still alive. I checked. Adum's a nice boy.....he'll help the spiders I'm sure."
Zilpha Ainsworth beams. "Thank you, my dear Martha." she nods. "I have a laptop computer in my desk. I can store recipes on it better than in a cabinet. But I always come back to the old favorites. Those small screens are beyond me, though." she nods. "More than THAT ... he has a GIRLFRIEND. It's all horribly romantic. Someone to watch him after all these years he's watched over us."
Millie.Cross comes in after a brisk Sunday morning walk around the island "Hi girls sorry about the time I got distracted when I passed by the gym this morning."
Martha Bloom replies to Ziplha as she smiles at Millie, seeing her come in "Fred? Has a girlfriend? Well good for him, and her. ah love...." She giggles at Millie "The gym you say? Lovely place." She looks out the window "I followed a bird, a magpie....we're having quiche now. Will you join us?"
Zilpha Ainsworth giggles as Millie comes in. "Which means you stopped in, eh?" she shakes her head. "well they DO have fine carrot juice." she grins and looks at Martha. "Yes .. and she can't POSSIBLY hurt his disposition. He's one of those who wears a bad temper like armor. Not like .. some people." she thinks of her husband rarely, but he invades now. "Yes join us for quiche, Millie. How are you and your yoga classes? Have you gotten your foot stuck in your ear yet?"
Millie.Cross laughs " No not yet on the foot in the ear although I almost got it stuck in the instructor's rear a few times when she went on with that sappy new age junk, and oh yes I would Love some quiche right about now my proteins are depleted."
Martha Bloom nods slowly "Yoga....I did that a few times....Judith likes it. There's been talk of a senior's class at the community center. I like the dance classes though and Stevie Wonder....whatever happened to Stevie Wonder? Is he alive?"
Zilpha Ainsworth laughs. "What the hell IS this New Age? The only dinosaurs around here are us."she snorts and thinks. "You know something, I think Stevie Wonder is indeed still alive. I haven't heard about him in I don't now how long."
Millie.Cross " Yes Lil Stevie's still Kicking although I do Miss Ray Charles and the Rayettes They always put on a great show ., sad all the good ones are starting to go now but They wont take me without a fight."
Martha Bloom looks relieved "Oh I'm so glad about Stevie...." She looks out the window again "Soon...we'll get the daffodils back and nicer weather for the spiders and cats. I wonder if they'll have babies. I could have sworn they were mating......"
Zilpha Ainsworth sighs. "I adore the spring." she confesses. "Oh Martha ... spiders and cats can't reproduce together, you silly goose." she reaches for another ball of lint only she can see on Millie's sweater.
Millie.Cross chuckles " That would be a sight to see," she states shaking her head " Cats and spiders don't bother me much but dogs on the other hand..." she makes a dramatic pause " Dog's can get annoying."
Martha Bloom giggles "Not the cats and spiders together...the spiders together. I don't mind
Zilpha Ainsworth smiles. "Oh DOGS are another thing .. the short haired ones. There is one who jumps on me and tries to lick my face!" she exclaims as the quiche comes out delivered by tall dark and handsome. "As if I weren't clean enough." she sniffs. "Well if the spiders reproduced here'd be MORE of them, wouldn't there." she sighs at the mention of piddling in purse sand picks up her fork.
Millie.Cross smiles and the quiche gets served she looks at the young waiter like a cougar ready to pounce but thinks the better of it and decides that he most likely has been claimed by the other two already . "Mmm that smells divine."
Martha Bloom looks delighted by the quiche and gives the waiter a twinkly eyed smile "Thank you dear." She thinks about dogs and drifts to another era of her life "We had a lab back on the farm in Saskatchewan, used to chase the trains. Rufus......dumb as toast but a friendly fellow. Oh the trains...i miss the trains, rattling through the whole house, shaking mother's china......and the wind blew through the house on cool prairie nights..." She drifts like this but her descriptions and her almost spontaneous poetry are a hint at what she would have been like when her mind was sharp and she was an English teacher.
Zilpha Ainsworth smiles softly. "Oh that sounds wonderful." she adores Martha in this mode. "Except the dishes. Goodness, I would have been afraid they would break." she confesses, cutting her food with the fork. "Here .. no trains, but the ferry whistle has been around forever. But now it goes off more often than when I was a girl here."
Millie.Cross Never been around trains much, , But the ferry horns a bit much these days , I do miss the old buoy bells and Fog horns , i wish they would dump all that new fangled electric ones and go back to the horns it was so romantic to hear them at night."
Martha Bloom eats her quiche with gusto after her back in time tangent and then comes back to the present, forgetting she said a word of it "What did you say about trains dears? That ferry whistle is very loud..."
Zilpha Ainsworth smiles and eats. "If the whistle wasn't loud ... we wouldn't hear it, would we." she grins and savors the meal, but quickly. "Girls .. I have to eat and run but ... new help at my place ... I'm .. a little nervous." she reaches for her purse ad sets out the cash.
Millie.Cross looks at the time and finishes her quiche ravenously " I gotta run as well there's a New guy at the gym spotting the bench presses i need to examine ." as she reaches into one of her numerous pants pockets and pulls out her magic card with that little chip. that takes care of the tab. " oh and Take a good tip young man " she says smiling at the waiter.
Martha Bloom sits quietly and counts out her money as she waves at the two ladies leaving "Beware the spiders girls...and good day."
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