fandomtownies | Fandom Post Office, Tuesday, 7/3

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Fandom Post Office, Tuesday, 7/3

Last night was hell. After Turtle left, Annette called Aziraphale and she ~~handwavily~~ dashed out and went to see him where she got many hugs and the guest room in the attic for the night. There was not much talking done but by that time she had worn herself out. She was up early because she hadn't slept and she left a ~~handwavy~~ note for him telling him thank you, and that she had gone to work if he'd like to come see her.

So now, here she was, behind the counter and looking like all kinds of hell. No make-up, her hair messy, her nose and eyes puffy. And she was trying to sort paperclips from largest to smallest and color coding them as well. Hey, she had to occupy her time between customers.

The Post Office is open.

(ooc: ~~wait for~~ ocd is up - Aziraphale and his residence modded with permission.)

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If you want to.

Naturally, Aziraphale had known the moment Annette had slipped out that morning. He'd hoped she might stay long enough for some breakfast and a chat, but after finding the note he decided to stop at the post office to check in on her.

Leaving his own note for Wilson, who had spent the night at a certain flat above a certain nightclub, Aziraphale walked over to the post office. Giving Annette a reassuring smile, he stepped up and set a paper sack and a thermos on the counter.

"You left without your breakfast, my dear."

[ooc: Paper sack contains scones, thermos contains tea, of course!]

She couldn't quite meet his eyes. Now that she's had time to reflect on a few things, it was not very nice of her to call him so late at night and push herself on him in such a way. However, she had been eternally grateful for his hug and the peace that surrounds him. It was what she needed last night.

"Thank you," she said softly and reached for the thermos, unscrewing the top..."Oh. Tea. Thank you so much." And why did she feel like crying again?

A teacup appeared on the counter, and Aziraphale gently took the thermos away and poured Annette a cup of tea.

"Now, my dear, do you have someplace where we can sit and talk for a bit? It's better than just bottling it up inside, you know," he said softly.

(totally stealing mom's comp for a minute! must hurry! hee!)

She nodded and came from around the counter, teacup in hand, and led him to a sectioned off area where two chairs sat for people needing to fill out paperwork or other related post office needs.

After sitting, Annette looked over at Mr. Phale and her eyes filled with tears, "I think Dick might be breaking up with me." Totally her interpretation. Yes.

Aziraphale didn't know a lot about the nuances of relationships. After all, the only person who'd ever broken up with him had been, well, very up front about it. And also, evil.

But he nodded, taking things as Annette put them forth for the moment. "What makes you think that? Has he said as much, or did the two of you have a fight?"

"He said 'screw it' and how else am I to take that?" She said, wiping her nose on a kleenex. "He went home for his dad's wedding last week and since has come back acting really...I don't know...cocky? Like he doesn't really want a girlfriend but is afraid or something, to tell me. I-I-don't know what to do..."

Aziraphale frowned, and sat silently for a minute as he tried to imagine the different things Dick might have meant.

"Is is possible that...something happened while he was away, to put him into an unexpected frame of mind? Perhaps he is uncertain -- you're both still quite young, you know. But that doesn't mean that he wants to break things off. It could mean that the two of you need to have a talk, perhaps about how you both feel."

He reached out and gently touched Annette's arm. "I don't have a lot of experience with this, Miss Hargrove. But I can tell you that if I've learned anything at all, it's that you need to talk about what's troubling you. You both need to talk."

"I don't think he wants to talk to me," she said sadly and looked down at her teacup. "And if something happened while he was away I'm sure I'll never learn about it. He said things to me about being with other girls -" she had to stop for a moment and gather her emotions before she let go and started crying again.

"We've been dating for over five months now..."

Pursing his lips, Aziraphale took Annette's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "My dear, how old are you? I know it seems as though you've lived an eternity already, but there's time yet to be serious and settled down and know exactly what you want. Maybe Mr Casablancas needs to take some time to figure things out, and yes, maybe that means he needs to spend time with other people. That doesn't mean the two of you can't talk, can't still be friends. And it also doesn't mean that you won't eventually work things out between you, and decide to be a couple again."

He tapped a finger on the teacup, to make sure the tea wasn't getting too cold. "Tell me truthfully. Had you believed before yesterday that you would be with him forever?"

"I'm seventeen," she said softly and squeezed his hand back. "And I know everything you are saying is right, it's true. Dick might want to date other people. Maybe he doesn't know how to tell me. But it hurts so much that we had such an argument. Nothing is resolved. I hate that. And I don't know what to say to him without him thinking I'm grilling him. He said that to me too...It just all hurts."

She watched him tap her teacup and she took a drink, enjoying the warmth it brought her.

Annette met his eyes, "Truthfully? I never thought that far ahead. I was just enjoying him and the way he made me feel. He makes me...laugh. I-I-love him..."

Glad to see that Annette was calming down a bit and beginning to think rationally about things, Aziraphale smiled.

"Sometimes, things work out in the unlikeliest ways, my dear. Take me for an example. I spent millennia not really thinking much at all about relationships. And then I found myself in one that I thought was exactly what I wanted, only it turned out terribly. But because of that, I found myself someone whom I love dearly, and who loves me in return. And now that James and I have Lucifer in our lives as well -- and I can promise you that was rather unexpected -- I find myself glad that I was willing to accept the changes that came my way. Even if at first they frightened me."

"And that is it, Mr. Phale. I'm scared of what might be about to happen? How do I work with that? Am I strong enough? I don't have your fortitude and strength of character. I'm not...I mean...I'm just so emotional right now that I just don't know what to think except the worse and the worse is nearly choking me to death right about now." Her words crackled and she looked down, allowing the silent tears to run down her cheeks. Bringing her teacup to her mouth, she took several small sips to help calm her more.

After a moment, she looked over at him with bright blue eyes glassy from crying, "I just want to feel better."

"Oh, my dear," Aziraphale said, holding out his arms in offer of another hug. "You will feel better. And you are strong enough. Just imagine, you were able to overcome being in a new place, making new friends, all of the strange experiences I'm certain you've had since coming here. I know it seems as though this is the worst thing that could happen, that it's something you can never recover from. I've felt that way myself. But I want you to think about this: would it be better for you to go through the years never having any troubles, but with your life never getting stronger and richer. Or to go through troubles like this one, and yes perhaps worse, but being able to grow and learn and be a better person. It sounds...trite, I suppose, but given a few days, you'll be able to think on the situation with more clarity, and you'll see that it can be worked out, if you want it to be."

She went into his arms gladly after setting her cup aside. Hugs from Mr. Phale, like his tea, was the best ever and Annette allowed herself to cry softly while he spoke to her, nodding once in awhile to let him know she was paying attention. She took everything he said to heart and knew that he was right. "But it will take a few days, won't it? For this hurt to subside? Dick might never talk to me again and I'm going to have to deal with that. Get stronger...I hope I can, Mr. Phale. I truly hope I can."

"It might take even longer than that, to stop hurting," Aziraphale said softly. "But I think that you'll be able at least to feel a bit more certain about how to proceed. It's all right to be upset, child. There's nothing at all wrong with that. So long as you don't let it overwhelm you."

He let Annette cry on him a bit, until she seemed to feel a little better. ABOVE knew that he wasn't sure his advice was any good at all, but it was what he believed, so he supposed that would have to do.

"And you know that you are welcome to come and see me any time you need. Even if it's just because you need a place to hide from your troubles for a bit. James and I have a lovely garden, and library, both of them excellent places for being away from the world when you need it."

She leaned back after a moment and with a soft, almost embarrassed smile, she sat back in her chair and regarded him warmly, "Thank you so much. Thank you for talking to me and telling me these things. No one else would have and you need to know how much that means to me. You are smart and kind, Mr. Phale and everything you've told me I have taken to heart and will think about it now and later and every bit in between. The garden sounds lovely and I might take you up on that offer sometime in the very near future. I imagine I will try to hide a lot here in the next few days."

Letting her go, Aziraphale smiled at Annette's words. "I do hope I've been able to help a little bit. I'm afraid my experiences in this arena are a little unusual, but I'm glad to at least help you feel a little better."

He patted her arm, and stood up from his chair. "I have to work tonight at the Devil's Nest, and Friday at Book Haven. But you can come by either place and get a key to garden gate, if you want it. And of course you're welcome any other time as well, but I'll usually be there to let you in."

"Your experience sounds like wonderful experience to me, Mr. Phale. And you've helped me...really. Oh, thank you so much. That is so nice of you to offer me that." Annette offered him a warm smile, wiping her hands over and back across her cheeks.

Aziraphale fished a handkerchief from his pocket (yes, it was robin's egg blue, some habits die hard) and held it out to Annette.

"It's my pleasure, my dear. I'm always here to talk with my friends, and what kind of a mentor would I be if I didn't at least try to give you a bit of advice. Now, you have your scones and your tea and you'll feel better for having some food in you. And if you need to talk more, you know exactly where to find me."

"Thank you," It was a lovely handkerchief and she used it and pressed it to her eyes, blotting up the remaining wetness there.

She nodded, grateful for everything. "Thank you, so much. For...all of it. You are the best mentor ever."

"I think you'd best reserve judgment on that until you've had a few more mentors in your life," he chuckled, but there was a light in Aziraphale's eyes at the compliment.

"I'll let you get back to your work, my dear. And you're welcome, as you know that you always are."

With another reassuring smile, he headed out the door.

"Hey, Annette! It's pie time!" John called as he entered the Post Office around lunch time. He took one look at her and immediately frowned, "What's wrong?"

She looked up and blinked slowly to keep from getting emotional. "Hi...John." It didn't work very well though because her eyes filled with tears.

"What happened?" He asked, unhappy to find his friend look all teary-eyed.

"Umm, I think Dick and I broke up." Her bottom lip trembled and she looked down, embarrassed that John had to witness her being upset.

"Wow. I'm sorry," he replied, thinking there would be no pie for him today. "That's really unexpected."

She nodded and just didn't know what to say. Life was sucking for her right now. But, she didn't want to drag him down into it. He didn't deserve to hear about her problems and her being all whiny and stuff. After all, she knew why he was here.

"Pie?"

"You still wanna get pie?" he asked. "I understand if you don't." Though, of course, to John there was no reason good enough to not get pie.

She nodded and tried to put on a front, "Yay, go pie!"

"Okay, then pie we shall eat," John smiled brightly, hoping pie would cheer his friend.

She did her best to return his smile and came from around the counter, "Lead the way, John."

"Let's go," John held the door open for Annette.

[JGOB! (http://community.livejournal.com/fandomtownies/1836633.html)]

For when Annette is otherwise busy.

For your use if you need them.

Hug? Anyone?

Ahh, crap! RL is poking me - I've got to go, won't be back till later this afternoon. Catch pings then.

*glomps*

*clings*

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Fandom Post Office, Tuesday, 7/3

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