Closed Coffee and Playdates

[Corentin Driscoll]

Corentin had been looking forward to this playdate. He hadn’t really mentioned it to his twin, not wanting to get ahead of himself with it. But he was eager. It would at minimum be his first friend since moving back to NZ and it helped that she was friendly with Amais. Amais didn’t quite understand what they were doing, but was toddling along excited in front of Corey with a little selection of flowers picked from the pavement. He was babbling along in Russian, and Corentin was answering him. They reached the destination and Corentin let Amais in first before following. He went to where the kids play was, where he could have a coffee and keep close to his son. He was sure that Dreya would be there soon. ​

 

[Dreya Monet]

Dreya hadn't had to do much convincing to steal little Brianna for a playdate, pushing the stroller happily as her niece babbled. Despite her initial reservations, Etienne had really chosen well. Sophie was a good woman, and she couldn't help but admit how sweet of a couple they were. She struggled a moment to get her and the stroller into the cafe, but she'd soon managed it. It didn't take long before she saw Corentin and Amais. She smiled, pushing the stroller over. "Hello," She greeted shyly. "I hope you haven't waited long," She parked the stroller, pulling out the young girl and motioning for Amais to come over. "Sweetie, this is Amais," She told her niece. "Boys, meet my niece Brianna."

 

[Corentin Driscoll]

Corentin spotted Dreya just before she walked in. He went to stand and help her, but she managed it before he could. But he was still on his feet and waved them over, as he did the same with Amais. He knelt down beside his son, putting a hand on his shoulder. ”Hi Brianna,” he said, getting his son to say it too. But Amais was already moving away as he spoke, to go back to playing. In quick russian he told Amais to invite Brianna to play and he did thankfully. In english too. Corentin glanced up at Dreya and gave a little smile. ”Hey,” he said. ”What can I get you?” he motioned to the café counter. ​

 

[Dreya Monet]

Dreya watched with a bit of relief as Brianna warmed to Amais quickly, rushing after the little boy to go play. She smiled, sitting back in her seat and tucking her hair behind her ear. She looked over to Corentin with a shy smile. "Oh, you don't have to do that," She reassured him gently. "We could split the bill?" She offered. She'd brought enough to cover them both, but she didn't think the man would let her do that.

 

[Corentin Driscoll]

Corentin glanced at Dreya and shook his head lightly. ”Oh it's okay, I invited you out, I can pay,” he offered. Since he had been the one to invite her, he thought it was only right. He wasn't struggling with money, he was a bit, with a small income and lots to buy for Amais, but he knew it would be fine to do this. ”So…what would you like?” he asked, motioning to it. Corentin's gaze was always vaguely on his son, even as he spoke with her.

 

[Dreya Monet]

Dreya smiled. She wasn't going to argue with him, and instead just conceded. She kept an eye on the kids, considering a moment before giving him her order. Once they had their drinks, she turned to look back at him again, a shy smile on her face. "So... how are you?" She settled on, tucking her hair back behind her ear.

 

[Corentin Driscoll]

Corentin ordered the drinks and then when they were ready brought it over to the table. He had gotten Amais some of the frothy milk that he liked. It would likely no longer be frothy by the time he remembered to drink it, but Corentin didn't think there was anything wrong with it. He glanced back at Dreya and gave a smile. ”Okay, yeah. Getting used to New Zealand again and all its quirks,” he replied with a somewhat dry laugh. It had been a while since he'd lived in the country, and Russia was very different from all of this. ”You?” he asked in return. ​

 

[Dreya Monet]

Dreya smiled softly. "Oh, I'm doing okay. I'm glad you're adjusting well." She told him. "I know how rough it can be after a big move," She told him sympathetically, cradling her drink in her hands. "I remember how long it took me to adjust when I moved from France." She sipped her coffee, keeping a vague eye on the children. "What brought you back to New Zealand?" She asked him, trying to keep the conversation going.

 

[Corentin Driscoll]

Corentin nodded lightly, smiling at her. Glad that he could speak to someone who understood, though of course it was a little different from Corentin, who had spent his early childhood in this country. At her question he gave a dry noise, ”My wife died,” he looked at her with a slightly shy expression, knowing exactly what admitting this did to the conversation. ”Before you say anything, it's okay. Her family just didn't approve of me ever, even when we were married and without her, I didn't have anything. But I have a brother, here in New Zealand,” Corentin replied. ​

 

[Dreya Monet]

Dreya smiled softly, reaching out and placing her hand lightly over his. "Brothers can be wonderful things, can't they?" She offered, thinking that perhaps that was enough for him. "My brother brought me here, as well. We were looking for something new, and he visited here. He fell in love with a lovely pregnant woman he met, and despite my reservations, he moved here immediately and gave her everything." She looked to the children, smiling softly. "Bri is not his biological daughter, but she is his daughter all the same."

 

[Corentin Driscoll]

Corentin gave a little smile at the sentiment. His brother was a dear person who he had not always treated with respect, even when he hadn't treated him all that well. "That's good of you and your brother," the man replied. He looked at the little girl who was interacting with his son and then glanced back at Dreya. "My brother has been really kind to us. We lost touch over the years and I wasn't the best brother, but he just welcomed me back," he smiled at her. He raised his coffee, "Here's to good brothers," he said with a little smile. ​

 

[Dreya Monet]

Dreya giggled softly, raising her coffee cup in turn. "And here's to passionate brothers with poor impulse control." She teased her brother just a bit. She sipped her coffee, smiling at the kids. "I have to admit, I had doubted him. He moved countries to be with a woman he'd met once or twice, swearing he loves her. I'll admit, though, Sophie is a sweetheart." She smiled softly. "Etienne is a piano teacher. What does your brother do?" She asked, feeling safe with this topic. She didn't mind talking about Etienne.

 

[Corentin Driscoll]

Corentin gave a little smile as they toasted to brothers, and was glad they had been able to move quickly beyond him and his widow status. He considered what the woman said, and had to admit, for his wife, he would've likely done the same. But it didn't matter, she was dead. ”He has a shop, selling flowers,” he replied. ”I've been helping out a bit until I find a job for myself,” he replied, since he didn't currently have a job, and he didn't want to think that he just didn't work at all. ”What do you do?” he asked. ​

 

[Dreya Monet]

Dreya sipped her coffee. "Oh, that sounds lovely." She offered. She'd never considered working in a flower shop. When he returned the question, she smiled shyly. "I work as a secretary. I want to work at a bakery, but I haven't found the right one." She offered, lowering her eyes. "This might sound silly, but I'm looking for one with the right Owner. If you get the wrong shop, the owners are stressed and terrible or they don't care. I want a shop I can really dedicate myself to, and someone I can really stand behind." She admitted, letting out a nervous laugh. "Have you thought about the sort of job you'd want?"

 

[Corentin Driscoll]

Corentin thought it was very practical of her, to have a job where she got money, holding on to her dream. Finding the right place with the vibe that matched your own, that was hard. Having a dream and waiting it out was quite something. ”That's really smart,” he said. He didn't ask why she hadn't considered running on herself, but not everyone needed to run a whole store as a dream. He thought it was pretty cool. ”Not really,” he said with a shrug. ”I worked for a company in Russia who dealt with magical accounting, it was a lot of hours and my boss was my then father-in-law who didn't like me, so, I think I want something I don't lose myself in. With flexible hours, since I've got Amais to consider,” he said. He didn't think he would work in his brother's place forever, but he didn't quite know what he wanted. ​

 

[Dreya Monet]

Dreya listened to him talk, sipping her coffee. "Have you thought of being a personal accountant?" She asked. "You could work from home, set your hours, choose your clients. I'm pretty sure its something you could do while still helping out your brother, while you get on your feet," She suggested gently, reminded of similar conversations she'd held with Etienne. She'd always been the practical one. Even if it wasn't always the best thing to do.

 

[Corentin Driscoll]

With the grief over his wife, he hadn't really thought that hard about the next steps. He had brought he and his son to New Zealand, had spent a little time getting them settled, and now he was beginning to think about it, but she made it so easy. ”I hadn't thought about it, but that is what I should do,” He told her. He sat up a little, realizing what a weight off his shoulder that was. He could speak to Corvin about working out of the shop for a little bit, while helping him out, and eventually when he had his own place, he could have an office. ”That's really smart, Dreya,” he complimented. ​

 

[Dreya Monet]

Dreya couldn't help but giggle softly, cradling her cup of coffee. "Thanks," She offered with an easy smile. "Practical is kind of what I do. It's how I at least got Etienne to be a piano teacher." She laughed lightly. "He offers private lessons to local kids- you'd be surprised how much parents are willing to pay for that sort of thing." She smiled gently. "And it's a very versatile business- there's always children wanting to learn- or parents wanting them to." She offered gently.

 

[Corentin Driscoll]

Corentin nodded along as she talked about her brother. It was true, given that he had even considered that when Amais was old enough he might be signed up for some type of music lesson. "I was thinking about signing Amais up for something like that," he replied with a little smile. He didn't know if his son would care for playing music but he knew it was important to have a whole treasure trove of idea for what they can do to be better. "Accounting isn't quite like teaching kids to play instruments, but the model of work could be easy." he replied. He wanted to try to help her, but didn't have any manner of doing so. ​

 

[Dreya Monet]

Dreya chuckled. "I'm sure I could get you a good deal with my brother." She promised, cradling her coffee. She smiled at his words. "You're just supposed to work with what you've got," She told him gently. "You seem like an intelligent man. I'm sure you can make something of anything you set your mind to." She offered. She doubted her reassurance would mean anything, but she'd always been a supportive person.

 

[Corentin Driscoll]

Corentin smiled softly at her words, with a little nod. He wasn't he'd take her up on that, Amais was perhaps just fractionally too young for it, but it was fun to suggest. The man agreed that you were supposed to work to what you know, and perhaps he had lost a little sight of that when he had gotten a little wound up in the emotions of losing his wife. ”Thanks, that means a lot,” he said. ”I have been a little aimless,” he didn't mention why he'd been aimless, she knew about his wife. ”And when I get clients, I'll be on the lookout for any bakeries,” he promised. ​

 

[Dreya Monet]

Dreya smiled, hesitating for a moment before reaching out and brushing her fingers over the back of his hand. "Sometimes we just need to stop and take a deep breath." She gave him a gentle smile. "It's okay to just take your time and get your bearings back again."

 

[Corentin Driscoll]

Corentin glanced down at her fingers as it brushed over his hand. He then glanced up at her and took a deep breath, very visibly doing so. "Can I take you out to dinner, Dreya?" he asked. "No kids, just, you and I," he asked with a smile. Hoping that she might say yes. He liked her, and was keen to just make and keep connections going. ​

 

[Dreya Monet]

Dreya blinked, surprised when he asked her to dinner. "Oh, dinner?" She questioned, surprised by the answer. Just them? That sounded like a date. "Oh, I... well, sure," She agreed gently. "As... friends?" She questioned, sure that was what he must mean, but wanting to go into it knowing what the intentions were. She hadn't been on a date in years, and honestly... thinking about it, she was a little unsure. He was a good man, handsome... but perhaps he was too soon a widow? But she didn't get the impression he would be looking for someone to replace his wife. She took a breath, calming herself and stilling her thoughts, not wanting to worry or jump to problems that she didn't have.

 

[Corentin Driscoll]

Corentin gave a little nod at the dinner, but then wondered. He wasn't sure if it was because he wanted to be friends or something more. He wasn't sure if he just liked her because she was the first person in a while he'd interacted to outside of his brother. But she was pretty and she was someone he wanted to get to know. "As friends," he settled, not wanting to overpromise now if he then realised he wasn't ready to date, but also a little fearful she would think him not interested in her. Maybe the dinner would help him settle whatever feelings he had.