Post by maddy on Jan 20, 2007 8:04:40 GMT -5
Tapping her fingernails on the table, Madelyne took a sip of her coffee and thoroughly ignored the annoyed glare that the bald man at the next table was giving her. Though she was glad to be back in New York - much more glad than she let on, Washington had been so boring - she was having trouble getting back into her usual stride.
She had work to do, she was constantly being bothered by people asking about Guardian, and every now and again she was getting creepy mail and being asked if she was Jean Grey. The last person that had done that to her had ended up scuttling away with their metaphorical tail between their legs - she hadn't come across anyone that had an actual tail just yet, which was probably a good thing. Kurt had a tail, her mind prompted her most unhelpfully, but thankfully she hadn't run into any of them just yet, either.
But New York was good. She was set up in a very nice apartment, had her own space again, and was back on familiar ground. The city seemed to have changed since she'd left, in some way that she couldn't quite put her finger on, but maybe it was just all of the stuff about Kyle that was getting to her. She couldn't complain about what they were doing after hours, but when he was at work she found herself longing for action.
Even though she promised herself that she'd never go public about her powers.
"Excuse me, ma'am?"
The voice came from behind her and apparently belonged to a big, well-built young man with dishevelled blond hair and the look of a man to whom 'tidy' was clearly an urban myth.
As she turned around, his brow furrowed and then he smiled. "Pardon me, ma'am, it's just that y'all did remind me of someone. I didn't mean to disturb ya none. Ya just go about ya evenin' again."
The smile he gave her was dazzling.
Turning around, Maddie managed to keep her features smooth, even though she really did like it when people called her ma'am.
Especially people like this. She wondered how he'd gotten so messy. It gave her ideas, especially when he gave her that smile.
Though it was probably bloody Jean Grey again that had made him talk to her, in this case, Maddie was willing to be happy about the confusion.
"Oh, no, that's fine. You didn't disturb me." She returned his smile with one of her own, though hers was the kind that had just a hint of a smirk to it.
"And believe me, this has been the highlight of my evening so far. The coffee here is much worse than I remembered."
"Ya think so? I kinda like it. Beats the stuff outta jar we get back home in Kentucky." He flashed that smile again. "Well, I'm right sorry to have disturbed ya," he said, a little shyly. "Ya know how it is when ya been outta town for a bit, see someone ya think ya know.."
The man tailed off. "Can't say as I know so many people here any more. I done left New York, what, seven years since?"
"Honestly, it's no trouble." She couldn't decide whether his accent was endearing or annoying. Possibly a bit of both.
"This town does move on without us - I've only been gone... Oh, about a year? Already it's moved right on without me." On a whim, she stuck out her hand. "I'm Madelyne."
Smiling, she crossed her legs and shifted to be looking at him properly. "If you think this is good coffee, I should show you some of the really nice spots. Unless they've all changed for the worse, but hopefully my luck isn't that bad."
"Samuel Guthrie," he replied, shaking her hand back. "Sam." He really was amazingly out of place in this up market wine bar, and well he knew it. "I was - ah - told this was a good place to watch the baseball game," he said, a little bashfully. "I reckon as how my sister's deliberately winding me up."
Nodding, Maddie gave him a knowing smile. "I think she might have been. I can show you a couple of places, though - there's a sports bar not two streets from here." She was actually surprised that he'd been let in, dressed the way he was - he'd fit in much better down the street. And she'd stick out like a sore thumb, but Madelyne never minded getting attention.
Samuel Guthrie, eh? She'd never actually been to Kentucky, but he was living up to the politeness stereotype that she'd heard about, at any rate.
"So what brings you back to New York, after so long?"
"What brings me back? Well, a previous...employer asked if I fancied my ol' job back, and to be honest with ya, it was mighty tempting." There was something vaguely solid about Sam Guthrie; like he was very, very real, no fuzzy edges, no artifice.
What you see is what you get.
"Plus, ma li'l sister is based here in New York and it gives me some satisfaction knowin' I'm here to keep an eye on her, as well." He drained the Coca Cola he was drinking. "Thankin' ya kindly for tellin' me 'bout the sports bar, ma'am, I'm sorry to have interrupted ya evening."
Oooh, there he was calling her ma'am again.
Sometimes it could be rather hard to concentrate on the matter at hand when Maddie found something much more interesting that she'd like to have in her hands.
"Honestly, it's not a problem, I welcome the change of pace." She found herself smiling again, both for his politeness and his manner of addressing her. "New York can be an interesting town, as I'm sure you well know, but sometimes it is nice to just be able to relax with someone... real... Not have to worry about keeping up apprearances."
Sam certainly seemed real enough. But then Madelyne Pryor should have known better than anyone that what you saw was not always what you got.
"Well, then," he said, with another flash of that smile, "I'll be headin' up there if y'all want to come with me. And p'rhaps y'all let me buy ya a drink as a thank you?"
Why it was that Sam considered himself a failure with women was beyond most people. He was sweet, kind, charming and honest. Even Brenda, his estranged wife had fallen for his simple innocence.
"I think you can tempt me into that." Her smile grew. He could tempt her into a bit more than just a drink if he tried. But then, it wasn't as though Madelyne was hard to tempt.
Leaving her coffee where it was, she reached into her purse to throw down a note and stood, smoothing her skirt. It was a habitual motion, something that she did even when her skirt was just fine. A part of her public face - Maddie didn't exactly need to smooth down her clothing when she was in private. Not with her hands. Not to mention that the clothing she wore didn't usually crinkle.
"How old is your sister?"
"She's nineteen," said Sam, noting how tidy she looked and almost immediately feeling scruffy in comparison. He'd come out that night looking quite neat, with the approval of Paige. Maybe it was the miner in him, but he couldn't stay tidy for more than two hours before he started...unravelling. "My closest sister. I got others."
He held the door of the bar open for her (was this guy for real??) and waited patiently for her to start walking in whichever was the right direction.
Sam Guthrie was obviously not like the kind of man that Madelyne usually encountered, and it was obvious in the way her eyebrows shot up as he opened the door. Her face settled into a pleased expression, a genuine smile that most people didn't get to see at all, let alone so quickly after meeting her, and she tried to keep her features smooth.
"I only have one brother, but he's only a little younger than me." She didn't get specific about ages, but she was usually pretty vague. She didn't think she'd even told Kyle about her family yet, and she'd been working for him for quite a while, by her standards.
"It's down this way." With a smile, she started walking, wondering if he'd take her arm or throw his coat over a puddle or something like that next. It was only a short walk to get to the sports bar, which was obviously the kind of place that he'd been more comfortable in. Big screens, loud commentaries, and lots of sports fans crowded around having a good time.
"Oh, there's some eight years 'tween Paige an' me," said Sam as they walked. "Momma and Daddy never did say as why that was, but it sure did put me in the big brother role well and proper. I got eleven brothers an' sisters in all. The li'l ones think of me more as a Daddy than their own. Last four are only half siblings, but their Daddy died couple years back."
He fell quiet, shy that he'd said so much.
"I'm sorry to hear that."
Eleven siblings? Eleven? Dear god, she'd heard tell of large families, but that was... Eleven??!?
A vague thought that he'd be great for someone who wanted to have a football team of children of their own passed through Maddie's mind. She wasn't particularly good with kids, just like she wasn't particularly good with keeping up a household. It was a good thing that she wasn't particularly interested in settling down with anyone. In fact, she had yet to meet someone that had ever made her seriously consider marriage. Knowing her, she'd fall for someone hard and fast and move out to her father's cabin in Alaska, spending the rest of her days there - Maddie tended to follow a path all the way once she'd made up her mind.
"Have you ever thought about having a brood of your own, then, or did you get a big enough dose growing up?"
He shrugged his shoulders lightly. "Guess I'd like to have given Momma a grandchild or two, but my - ah - ex-wife wasn't so keen ta have a family." He smiled, but it was forced.
"I got enough chilluns to be keepin' me occupied, though," he added, cheerfully enough.
"Family life isn't for everyone." Shrugging fairly non-commitally, she decided not to ask about the ex-wife. There was probably a good reason that she was an ex rather than a wife, and she certainly wasn't interested in speaking about all of her past relationships with complete strangers.
Not that she would call many of them relationships, though.
"This is the place." She pointed to the red sign, the only indication that the bar was actually there. Though the street was reasonably busy - it was New York, after all - the bar she'd brought him to was one of those things that people tried to keep a home town secret, since it was great and not particularly obvious. Full of people, though - the locals that knew about it always came when there was a game on.
"Any particular interest in the game, or did you just want to get out for a while?"
She had work to do, she was constantly being bothered by people asking about Guardian, and every now and again she was getting creepy mail and being asked if she was Jean Grey. The last person that had done that to her had ended up scuttling away with their metaphorical tail between their legs - she hadn't come across anyone that had an actual tail just yet, which was probably a good thing. Kurt had a tail, her mind prompted her most unhelpfully, but thankfully she hadn't run into any of them just yet, either.
But New York was good. She was set up in a very nice apartment, had her own space again, and was back on familiar ground. The city seemed to have changed since she'd left, in some way that she couldn't quite put her finger on, but maybe it was just all of the stuff about Kyle that was getting to her. She couldn't complain about what they were doing after hours, but when he was at work she found herself longing for action.
Even though she promised herself that she'd never go public about her powers.
"Excuse me, ma'am?"
The voice came from behind her and apparently belonged to a big, well-built young man with dishevelled blond hair and the look of a man to whom 'tidy' was clearly an urban myth.
As she turned around, his brow furrowed and then he smiled. "Pardon me, ma'am, it's just that y'all did remind me of someone. I didn't mean to disturb ya none. Ya just go about ya evenin' again."
The smile he gave her was dazzling.
Turning around, Maddie managed to keep her features smooth, even though she really did like it when people called her ma'am.
Especially people like this. She wondered how he'd gotten so messy. It gave her ideas, especially when he gave her that smile.
Though it was probably bloody Jean Grey again that had made him talk to her, in this case, Maddie was willing to be happy about the confusion.
"Oh, no, that's fine. You didn't disturb me." She returned his smile with one of her own, though hers was the kind that had just a hint of a smirk to it.
"And believe me, this has been the highlight of my evening so far. The coffee here is much worse than I remembered."
"Ya think so? I kinda like it. Beats the stuff outta jar we get back home in Kentucky." He flashed that smile again. "Well, I'm right sorry to have disturbed ya," he said, a little shyly. "Ya know how it is when ya been outta town for a bit, see someone ya think ya know.."
The man tailed off. "Can't say as I know so many people here any more. I done left New York, what, seven years since?"
"Honestly, it's no trouble." She couldn't decide whether his accent was endearing or annoying. Possibly a bit of both.
"This town does move on without us - I've only been gone... Oh, about a year? Already it's moved right on without me." On a whim, she stuck out her hand. "I'm Madelyne."
Smiling, she crossed her legs and shifted to be looking at him properly. "If you think this is good coffee, I should show you some of the really nice spots. Unless they've all changed for the worse, but hopefully my luck isn't that bad."
"Samuel Guthrie," he replied, shaking her hand back. "Sam." He really was amazingly out of place in this up market wine bar, and well he knew it. "I was - ah - told this was a good place to watch the baseball game," he said, a little bashfully. "I reckon as how my sister's deliberately winding me up."
Nodding, Maddie gave him a knowing smile. "I think she might have been. I can show you a couple of places, though - there's a sports bar not two streets from here." She was actually surprised that he'd been let in, dressed the way he was - he'd fit in much better down the street. And she'd stick out like a sore thumb, but Madelyne never minded getting attention.
Samuel Guthrie, eh? She'd never actually been to Kentucky, but he was living up to the politeness stereotype that she'd heard about, at any rate.
"So what brings you back to New York, after so long?"
"What brings me back? Well, a previous...employer asked if I fancied my ol' job back, and to be honest with ya, it was mighty tempting." There was something vaguely solid about Sam Guthrie; like he was very, very real, no fuzzy edges, no artifice.
What you see is what you get.
"Plus, ma li'l sister is based here in New York and it gives me some satisfaction knowin' I'm here to keep an eye on her, as well." He drained the Coca Cola he was drinking. "Thankin' ya kindly for tellin' me 'bout the sports bar, ma'am, I'm sorry to have interrupted ya evening."
Oooh, there he was calling her ma'am again.
Sometimes it could be rather hard to concentrate on the matter at hand when Maddie found something much more interesting that she'd like to have in her hands.
"Honestly, it's not a problem, I welcome the change of pace." She found herself smiling again, both for his politeness and his manner of addressing her. "New York can be an interesting town, as I'm sure you well know, but sometimes it is nice to just be able to relax with someone... real... Not have to worry about keeping up apprearances."
Sam certainly seemed real enough. But then Madelyne Pryor should have known better than anyone that what you saw was not always what you got.
"Well, then," he said, with another flash of that smile, "I'll be headin' up there if y'all want to come with me. And p'rhaps y'all let me buy ya a drink as a thank you?"
Why it was that Sam considered himself a failure with women was beyond most people. He was sweet, kind, charming and honest. Even Brenda, his estranged wife had fallen for his simple innocence.
"I think you can tempt me into that." Her smile grew. He could tempt her into a bit more than just a drink if he tried. But then, it wasn't as though Madelyne was hard to tempt.
Leaving her coffee where it was, she reached into her purse to throw down a note and stood, smoothing her skirt. It was a habitual motion, something that she did even when her skirt was just fine. A part of her public face - Maddie didn't exactly need to smooth down her clothing when she was in private. Not with her hands. Not to mention that the clothing she wore didn't usually crinkle.
"How old is your sister?"
"She's nineteen," said Sam, noting how tidy she looked and almost immediately feeling scruffy in comparison. He'd come out that night looking quite neat, with the approval of Paige. Maybe it was the miner in him, but he couldn't stay tidy for more than two hours before he started...unravelling. "My closest sister. I got others."
He held the door of the bar open for her (was this guy for real??) and waited patiently for her to start walking in whichever was the right direction.
Sam Guthrie was obviously not like the kind of man that Madelyne usually encountered, and it was obvious in the way her eyebrows shot up as he opened the door. Her face settled into a pleased expression, a genuine smile that most people didn't get to see at all, let alone so quickly after meeting her, and she tried to keep her features smooth.
"I only have one brother, but he's only a little younger than me." She didn't get specific about ages, but she was usually pretty vague. She didn't think she'd even told Kyle about her family yet, and she'd been working for him for quite a while, by her standards.
"It's down this way." With a smile, she started walking, wondering if he'd take her arm or throw his coat over a puddle or something like that next. It was only a short walk to get to the sports bar, which was obviously the kind of place that he'd been more comfortable in. Big screens, loud commentaries, and lots of sports fans crowded around having a good time.
"Oh, there's some eight years 'tween Paige an' me," said Sam as they walked. "Momma and Daddy never did say as why that was, but it sure did put me in the big brother role well and proper. I got eleven brothers an' sisters in all. The li'l ones think of me more as a Daddy than their own. Last four are only half siblings, but their Daddy died couple years back."
He fell quiet, shy that he'd said so much.
"I'm sorry to hear that."
Eleven siblings? Eleven? Dear god, she'd heard tell of large families, but that was... Eleven??!?
A vague thought that he'd be great for someone who wanted to have a football team of children of their own passed through Maddie's mind. She wasn't particularly good with kids, just like she wasn't particularly good with keeping up a household. It was a good thing that she wasn't particularly interested in settling down with anyone. In fact, she had yet to meet someone that had ever made her seriously consider marriage. Knowing her, she'd fall for someone hard and fast and move out to her father's cabin in Alaska, spending the rest of her days there - Maddie tended to follow a path all the way once she'd made up her mind.
"Have you ever thought about having a brood of your own, then, or did you get a big enough dose growing up?"
He shrugged his shoulders lightly. "Guess I'd like to have given Momma a grandchild or two, but my - ah - ex-wife wasn't so keen ta have a family." He smiled, but it was forced.
"I got enough chilluns to be keepin' me occupied, though," he added, cheerfully enough.
"Family life isn't for everyone." Shrugging fairly non-commitally, she decided not to ask about the ex-wife. There was probably a good reason that she was an ex rather than a wife, and she certainly wasn't interested in speaking about all of her past relationships with complete strangers.
Not that she would call many of them relationships, though.
"This is the place." She pointed to the red sign, the only indication that the bar was actually there. Though the street was reasonably busy - it was New York, after all - the bar she'd brought him to was one of those things that people tried to keep a home town secret, since it was great and not particularly obvious. Full of people, though - the locals that knew about it always came when there was a game on.
"Any particular interest in the game, or did you just want to get out for a while?"