Closed More leather than silk

[Alyce Brown]

There was the unmistakable rumble of a motorbike along the street. a sound that Alyce was hearing less and less as of late. since moving back permanently to new Zealand and living just along the street to the hogs head she was finding she was needing her bike less and less which was a shame. occasionally she would use it to get to the rugby games she played on a Saturday but other times she apperated and pretended she drove a car. to be honest, Alyce didn't know why anyone would want to use a car when they could ride a bike. the speed and the air on her skin was exhilarating.
The engine cut out as she reached the destination. a small bar slightly, well quite a lot, fancier than the hogs head and she wondered if she had misjudged the date, maybe she should have dressed fancier. not that she wasn't dressed nice. but her style was more leather than silk. She took a step inside and realised that she was the first one here she found a table and had a look at the menu as she waited for Adelia to arrive.

 

[Adelia Kolter]

Adelia would be lying if she said she hadn't had second thoughts about today. Not in a personal way - she had found Alyce charming when they met at the magical bar, and she was looking forward to spending more time with the woman. But the magical of it all - that was the problem. Though she could never regret her marriage to Matt or the beautiful daughter who had come from that marriage, the magical world had perturbed her for years. She had lived twenty years of her life on the fringes of something she could never touch, something she would never understand. No matter how involved she was in the magical world, it would never be hers, and splitting her time between her magical family and her normal working life was exhausting. The sensible thing to do would absolutely not be to spend more time with Alyce, if she wanted to keep that balance where it was.

But Adelia had been the one to organise this date. After decades of being sensible, here she was doing something entirely the opposite. And it was what it was. She couldn't feel bad about the decision as she stepped out of her car, adjusting her suit's lapels before she stepped into the bar. It was hard to know what to wear when meeting a witch for a drink, but the closer she was to her comfort zone the better, Adelia had figured. It didn't take her long to spot Alyce at a table, beaming as she approached. "I see the punk look isn't just something you wear for work." She said with an amused smile as she slid into a seat opposite the other woman. "It suits you."

 

[Alyce Brown]

Alyce smiled when she saw the door to the bar open and Adelia came in looking smart in a tailored black suit. it looked sophisticated and smart and sexy and she knew she had made the right choice organising a date with this woman than her usual light-hearted fling. she had been in enough bars as a patron and staff, flirted with enough patrons and gone home with more than she could recall but something about this lady had stuck with her more than most. a muggle unsure of the wizarding world but brave enough to step into it, and then to organise a date with a witch, that took guts and Alyce respected the guts, and the body encasing the guts, that helped too. Here she was glad to be seeing her again. at the woman comment, she smiled back a flirty challenge of a smile. well you know what they say, if it's not fixed don't break it" she said, which she realised was the opposite of many punk fashions and backwards to what the saying was meant to be. "now that suit, that looks stunning on you" she said. "can I get you a drink? i am thinking of starting with a shiraz" she said while not her usual drink of choice. she usually wasn't drinking on a date night wanting to savour the time and ride her bike home on one piece.

 

[Adelia Kolter]

Adelia chuckled softly at Alyce's comment, though she didn't quite grasp the woman's meaning. "I suppose that's very true." She said with a light smile, determined to just fight back her nerves and enjoy the date. And definitely not waste any time stressing about whether she was missing context for a common magical phrase. If she was, then that was that and there was nothing to be done for it. She was relieved when the subject changed, laughing softly at Alyce's compliment and smoothing her lapel slightly. "I just dressed up what I'd usually wear for work, so I suppose we're of the same mind." She said with a small smile, and nodded when the other woman mentioned drinks. "Oh, a shiraz sounds lovely." She said warmly, wondering if Alyce had read her mind, or if knowing the perfect drink for a situation was just a skill one picked up over years of bartending.

 

[Alyce Brown]

Alyce smiled as Adelia said that she was waiting what she would wear to work."If that is the case I need to get a job at your place? would even dress up and wear a yellow blouse" she said gesturing to the top she wore under her jacket. a yellow faux halterneck that she would never usually wear for work as it would bet messed up easily
Alyce went over the bar and returned a few minutes later with a bottle of shiraz and two glasses. she set them on the table and poured them each a drink passing the first one to Adelia "cheers" she said raising her glass and taking a sip. it was just what this evening called for. "so Adelia. tell me about this amazing woman sitting across the table from me, because all i know about her is that she is brave and beautiful has a killer fashion sense and a fine taste in drinks" she said smiling. of course she also knew that she was a muggle, and had a witch daughter and had one of the best butts rhat she had seen in a long time. but none of those were things that one would usually open with asking about.

 

[Adelia Kolter]

Adelia chuckled lightly at Alyce's comment, amused by the mental picture. "I don't know if I can picture you in a blouse." She teased gently. "I think this suits you much better." She accepted the glass of wine when it was offered, smiling as she cheersed with Alyce before taking a sip. She chuckled softly at the other woman's question, flushing at the praise. "Well, I don't know about all that." Adelia said in amusement. "But I'm COO of an international shipping company, that's... ah, I don't... know if there's a magical equivalent? I suppose you just... use owls and things? But I oversee operations for a company that delivers things around the world." She said with an awkward laugh. "My daughter April is 23, she went to Hogwarts and now she's a dance teacher, and my ex-husband teaches History at Hogwarts. We've been divorced for about twenty years." She added firmly, not wanting to confuse things with mention of Matt. At this point, the thought that they had ever been romantic with one another was a surreal one, when he was so cemented as one of her best friends. "Your turn now." She added, smiling and taking a sip of wine. "What's the story behind a beautiful witch such as yourself?"

 

[Alyce Brown]

Alyce smiled "I could rock a blouse if I wanted to. it just isn't something I often feel like" she said
she listened as Adelia spoke about herself. "COO for a shipping company. that is impressive" she said it was endearing the effort she was trying to explain what a shipping company was in magical terms. she heard about her daughter and er husband. it was nice to hear someone who was divorced talk kindly about their ex. her parents certainly never did.
when asked what her story was she smiled. she didn't get called beautiful often. "I grew up in the UK. then moved to Germany when I was 16. and have pretty much spent my life working bars around the world spending a couple of years here a few there." she said. the longest she had ever stayed in one city was new york. though somehow here was coming a close second. as she grew older she was starting to take on more senior managerial roles and stay in places longer.

 

[Adelia Kolter]

Adelia chuckled lightly at Alyce's comment. "Oh I have no doubt you would look amazing in a blouse, but I do think comfort suits you." She said warmly. "The rebel look, it's very fitting." She smiled in relief when the other woman had no followup questions about her job, though she still wasn't sure if she had explained it right. "Thanks.... it's not exactly glamourous, but I like logistics." She listened with interest as Alyce discussed her past, nodding as she listened. "That sounds amazing. You must have all kinds of stories from your adventures." Though she had travelled a lot for work, Adelia had never had anything she would qualify as an adventure. Alyce's whole life, on the other hand, sounded like one long adventure.

 

[Alyce Brown]

alyce chuckled as adelia said that a blouse would look good on her but the rebel look suited her better. "It's not a look, it's a way of life" she said. she loved hee way of life. yet she knew it was not as stable as others may like. she had always enjoyed the idea that she could pick up and move somewhere new whenever she wanted to.
alyce nodded as adelia said she had an eye for logistics. "that makes one of us. trying to organise work rosters is a nightmare and we aren't even a big pub, and the only good thing about ordering stock is having to sample the wines first" s she said thinking about the staff at the bar. working out who could do days, who nights, who wanted time off and everything took her far longer than it should do.
at the talk of adventures she smiled. "yeah, I've had a few. not as many as you would think. but a few and a lady such as yourself must have a few good stories to tell. " she said.

 

[Adelia Kolter]

Adelia chuckled lightly at Alyce's comment, nodding in agreement. "That it is." She said with a fond smile, thinking of her daughter. Though April had never had a punk phase, her slightly hippieish artsy way of life was certainly not what Adelia had expected for her, though she was so full of pride for her daughter she felt as though she would burst sometimes. Adelia sometimes thought that if she hadn't learned to appreciate lifestyles different from her own she would have lost everything a long time ago.

She nodded with interest when Alyce mentioned organising things at work. "Well, if you ever need help feel free to ask. I've developed plenty of systems for rostering and ordering over the years." She said warmly, wondering how different ordering would be for a bar to an office. She chuckled lightly when Alyce asked about stories, shrugging slightly. "I've got a fair few, but my days tend to involve more paperwork than adventure. Marrying a wizard was probably the most exciting thing that ever happened to me, and that's not exactly going to be news to you..."

 

[Alyce Brown]

Alyce smiled wryly at Adelia's offer to help, she did have an idea. hmm. well, next month I am meant to be meeting with my supplier to organise getting some new wines. It will be dreadfully dreary, business over food, and of course, I can't commit to stock without testing it, and I am always able to bring someone else if you would like to come" she said emphasising the dreadfully dreary in a way that emphasised it would be anything but. while these 'meetings' did involve a business component. it was more a wine tasting event. a work dinner may be a weird option for a date. but she would appreciate Adelias tastes and there was defiantly a business boss aura around her that she was fairly sure went well with her more chaotic atmosphere.
she took a sip od wine s adelia said that she had many stories of adventure but most of her work was paperwork. and smiled as she said that the most exciting thing that happened to her was that she married a wizard. "well there is one adventure you have had that I haven't" she said. it wasn't that she had never been with a wizard she had, plenty. she loved the power trip of it. But she had never seen herself with a guy long term. In fact it had only been in recent years that she had started feeling even remotely ready to settle down to any form of commitment work personal or other. even this, just civilised sitting in a winebar drinking and walking, as early in a relationship as it was was somewhat of a new concept for her.

 

[Adelia Kolter]

Adelia raised an eyebrow at Alyce's offer, unable to push down the sly smile that had crept onto her face. It was the most unusual offer of a second date she had ever had, but she didn't need to think for a second before answering. "I'd be happy to help you out with such a tedious undertaking." She said with a small smirk, taking another sip of her wine. This was all so easy, chatting and flirting with the beautiful woman in front of her. She didn't remember the last time romance had felt so natural. Of course it was with another magical person. But as difficult as Adelia knew that made things, she couldn't quite bring herself to mind. "Being a mother?" She asked when Alyce mentioned adventures. "Adventure is... one way to describe it. I feel a bit like I had a toddler, and then I blinked and there was a young woman inviting me out for a drink with her and her boyfriend. Things change so much faster than they feel like they should..."

 

[Alyce Brown]

Alyce chuckled at Amelia’s response. it will be such an effort trying all those wines she said.
I was thinking marrying a wizard. But yes also being a mother. That is another adventire I am yet to have she thought for a moment about time. It really did seem to slip by so fast and so slowly. I bet she is a beautiful young woman, if her mother is anything to go by she said not missing the perfect opportunity to flirt and flatter her date. I suppose you are only as old as you feel I think i am still hmm about 27. But watching someone else grow up reminds you you too are getting older. What are the words again. Time makes you bolder children get older and I’m getting older too. She said. She didn’t have any children or any nephews or nieces to remind her of Time. sometimes he had to remind herself that she was no longer in her twenties and was in fact well and truly in her fourties’

 

[Adelia Kolter]

Adelia chuckled at Alyce's comment about the wine, and again when she explained what she had meant about the adventures. She smiled slightly when Alyce mentioned April, nodding. "She is. She's a dance instructor now, and old enough that I don't like to think about it..." She said with a small, sad laugh. She regretted not being a more involved mother when she was younger, but her daughter was a young woman now and she had missed so much of her life over the years. She chuckled when Alyce mentioned feeling young, nodding. "I completely agree. I still feel like I'm in my 20s, but then I see April and I realise how old I really am. She's older than I was when she was born now, I can't believe it. She's still so young, I was... barely more than a child when I had her and I didn't know it..." At 20 Adelia had felt so mature, ready for adulthood, but looking back she had just been confused, all the time, and she was glad to be finished with that part of her life.