Miles and Lorna have a sekrit plan.
Mar. 29th, 2004 12:19 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsWhere: The dessert bar mentioned here
When: Sometime during the trip to Chicago
Summary: Miles and Lorna made a deal about the dessert bar. They pull a fast one on Alison then head off for arts and crafts. No plot, just cute.
The dessert bar was all it was advertised to be—bright, fun, lively and stuffed full of some supremely decadent creations that Lorna yearned to get recipes for. She had scrutinized every dessert that the rest of the group had ordered and demanded detailed descriptions of every flavour. She had stuck quite virtuously to her own mug of black coffee, refusing to so much as taste any of the others’ food. Alex had nearly broken her with his woeful puppy eyes but she’d held strong. On her lap, Miles bounced cheerfully chattering away at her brightly. She gave him a one-armed hug. “Your ice cream is melting.”
"Miles not hungry right now," he replied firmly - which was the truth. He'd asked Alison for a sandwich before they left, simply nodding in understanding that he'd not be hungry afterwards when they got to the cafe. He had something a lot more important to do than eat just now. "Miles ate before coming over." He grinned cheerfully at Lorna, sneaking a look at her mug to see how much there was left, and leaned over to whisper only for her. "Miles also very happy about getting Alison a present!"
Lorna laughed, noting his glance and tilted her mug to show him it was nearly empty. She whispered back at him, “We can sneak out of here in just a minute. Remember the plan. Tell Ali you want to go back to the hotel and I’ll volunteer to take you. That’ll give us a good hour for shopping.”
Miles beamed at her brightly, keeping one arm tucked around her neck, glad he hadn't hit the growth spurt the doctors kept promising him would happen soon. Lorna still seemed so frail... so he kept the bouncing to a minimum and settled for patting her cheek lightly before turning an innocent look on their companions, all pre-occupied with demolishing assorted desserts and types of coffee.
Lorna sipped at the remains of her coffee, attempting to mimic Miles’ straight faced innocence. She wasn’t entirely successful but she didn’t think that anyone would notice or chalk the amusement up to anything other than the company and conversation.
The time passed with agonizing slowness as far as Miles was concerned, but he kept quiet nonetheless, right up until the time Lorna took that final sip of coffee. He wriggled down to the floor and trotted over to Alison's chair nearby, tugging at her hand then making her lean down to whisper in her ear.
"Are you sure, sweetie?" she asked, blinking once at his firm nod but then simply looking up at Lorna in confirmation. "Well, if Lorna doesn't mind."
“Lorna doesn’t,” she replied instantly. She gave Alison a vaguely pleading look, conveying with her eyes exactly how much she would rather not be around all this food. “I’ll take Miles back and we’ll read some more of our Narnia books. You can just swing by the room when you get back and pick him up. Actually,” Lorna said thoughtfully as if it had just occurred to her, “call me first that way if he conks out I can get him ready.”
"Sounds good to me," Alison chuckled, even as Miles bit down firmly on protests about not being tired, thank you very much.
It took little time for them to say their goodbyes, Lorna giving a kiss and a wink to her fully briefed boyfriend, and soon Lorna and Miles were exiting the cafe, the boy trotting beside her with a gleeful smile.
“So Miles-my-boy,” Lorna said once they were away, “Where to?” She pulled her brown hair back in a hair tie then gestured around them. “We’ve got a whole city to find that perfect thing.”
"Does Lorna have any idea?" he inquired, a serious look on his face. "Miles thought maybe a teddy bear, but Alison has said Lorna is a 'goddess of the shoppingness' and that sounds very important." He nodded wisely, reaching up to take her hand before they headed off in whatever direction Lorna chose.
Lorna gripped Miles’ hand firmly, like one who has often walked with a child. “A teddy bear might be good. What is your favourite thing about Ali? That’s a good place to start.” She headed him off towards a nearby indoor mall.
Miles hand tightened almost spasmodically on hers at the question, and he leaned in closer, almost but not quite tripping her as they walked. "No nightmares," he whispered, before looking up and repeating himself. "No nightmares." He smiled a bit at her, eyes nonetheless a bit too wide as he tried to keep smiling.
Lorna blinked and then nodded firmly. “Like a dreamcatcher.” She waited to see if Miles recognized the term, willing to explain if he didn’t. Her stride had adjusted to his closeness and she was in no danger of tripping over him.
"What is a dreamcatcher?" he asked right away, having no clue at all what Lorna meant - but the notion intrigued him, and associating that with the removal of nightmares seemed like an entirely good concept.
“It’s a Native American thing. It’s,” Lorna sketched a circle in the air with her free hand, “a net woven into a ring. You put it above your bed and it catches the bad dreams before they get to you. But there is a small hole in the middle with a bead to let the good dreams get through.”
Miles stared up at her in awe, eyes fairly glowing with delight. "Miles wants to get that for Alison!" he exclaimed - it only made sense. She chased away his nightmares after all. And what if that left her too tired to chase away her own?
Lorna checked her watch. They still had quite a bit of time but...a dreamcatcher in the mid-west? If they’d been in California, she’d have found one in under twenty minutes. Here that might not be so easy. Still... “I’ll go you one better, Miles. Dreamcatchers work best when they’re woven for a particular person. Let’s hit the craft stores.”
"Yes!" and with that Miles skipped up happily, thrilled with the notion of making Alison's gift, far more so than even just buying one. "Will Lorna help with making the dreamcatcher, please?" he then asked, already certain of the answer - but it was polite to ask, and polite was important.
“You betcha, little man.” Lorna nodded, already mentally putting together a list of supplies. She stopped at the directory and grinned when she saw the name of a craft chain on the second level. “To the escalators!” She pointed dramatically in the proper direction.
When: Sometime during the trip to Chicago
Summary: Miles and Lorna made a deal about the dessert bar. They pull a fast one on Alison then head off for arts and crafts. No plot, just cute.
The dessert bar was all it was advertised to be—bright, fun, lively and stuffed full of some supremely decadent creations that Lorna yearned to get recipes for. She had scrutinized every dessert that the rest of the group had ordered and demanded detailed descriptions of every flavour. She had stuck quite virtuously to her own mug of black coffee, refusing to so much as taste any of the others’ food. Alex had nearly broken her with his woeful puppy eyes but she’d held strong. On her lap, Miles bounced cheerfully chattering away at her brightly. She gave him a one-armed hug. “Your ice cream is melting.”
"Miles not hungry right now," he replied firmly - which was the truth. He'd asked Alison for a sandwich before they left, simply nodding in understanding that he'd not be hungry afterwards when they got to the cafe. He had something a lot more important to do than eat just now. "Miles ate before coming over." He grinned cheerfully at Lorna, sneaking a look at her mug to see how much there was left, and leaned over to whisper only for her. "Miles also very happy about getting Alison a present!"
Lorna laughed, noting his glance and tilted her mug to show him it was nearly empty. She whispered back at him, “We can sneak out of here in just a minute. Remember the plan. Tell Ali you want to go back to the hotel and I’ll volunteer to take you. That’ll give us a good hour for shopping.”
Miles beamed at her brightly, keeping one arm tucked around her neck, glad he hadn't hit the growth spurt the doctors kept promising him would happen soon. Lorna still seemed so frail... so he kept the bouncing to a minimum and settled for patting her cheek lightly before turning an innocent look on their companions, all pre-occupied with demolishing assorted desserts and types of coffee.
Lorna sipped at the remains of her coffee, attempting to mimic Miles’ straight faced innocence. She wasn’t entirely successful but she didn’t think that anyone would notice or chalk the amusement up to anything other than the company and conversation.
The time passed with agonizing slowness as far as Miles was concerned, but he kept quiet nonetheless, right up until the time Lorna took that final sip of coffee. He wriggled down to the floor and trotted over to Alison's chair nearby, tugging at her hand then making her lean down to whisper in her ear.
"Are you sure, sweetie?" she asked, blinking once at his firm nod but then simply looking up at Lorna in confirmation. "Well, if Lorna doesn't mind."
“Lorna doesn’t,” she replied instantly. She gave Alison a vaguely pleading look, conveying with her eyes exactly how much she would rather not be around all this food. “I’ll take Miles back and we’ll read some more of our Narnia books. You can just swing by the room when you get back and pick him up. Actually,” Lorna said thoughtfully as if it had just occurred to her, “call me first that way if he conks out I can get him ready.”
"Sounds good to me," Alison chuckled, even as Miles bit down firmly on protests about not being tired, thank you very much.
It took little time for them to say their goodbyes, Lorna giving a kiss and a wink to her fully briefed boyfriend, and soon Lorna and Miles were exiting the cafe, the boy trotting beside her with a gleeful smile.
“So Miles-my-boy,” Lorna said once they were away, “Where to?” She pulled her brown hair back in a hair tie then gestured around them. “We’ve got a whole city to find that perfect thing.”
"Does Lorna have any idea?" he inquired, a serious look on his face. "Miles thought maybe a teddy bear, but Alison has said Lorna is a 'goddess of the shoppingness' and that sounds very important." He nodded wisely, reaching up to take her hand before they headed off in whatever direction Lorna chose.
Lorna gripped Miles’ hand firmly, like one who has often walked with a child. “A teddy bear might be good. What is your favourite thing about Ali? That’s a good place to start.” She headed him off towards a nearby indoor mall.
Miles hand tightened almost spasmodically on hers at the question, and he leaned in closer, almost but not quite tripping her as they walked. "No nightmares," he whispered, before looking up and repeating himself. "No nightmares." He smiled a bit at her, eyes nonetheless a bit too wide as he tried to keep smiling.
Lorna blinked and then nodded firmly. “Like a dreamcatcher.” She waited to see if Miles recognized the term, willing to explain if he didn’t. Her stride had adjusted to his closeness and she was in no danger of tripping over him.
"What is a dreamcatcher?" he asked right away, having no clue at all what Lorna meant - but the notion intrigued him, and associating that with the removal of nightmares seemed like an entirely good concept.
“It’s a Native American thing. It’s,” Lorna sketched a circle in the air with her free hand, “a net woven into a ring. You put it above your bed and it catches the bad dreams before they get to you. But there is a small hole in the middle with a bead to let the good dreams get through.”
Miles stared up at her in awe, eyes fairly glowing with delight. "Miles wants to get that for Alison!" he exclaimed - it only made sense. She chased away his nightmares after all. And what if that left her too tired to chase away her own?
Lorna checked her watch. They still had quite a bit of time but...a dreamcatcher in the mid-west? If they’d been in California, she’d have found one in under twenty minutes. Here that might not be so easy. Still... “I’ll go you one better, Miles. Dreamcatchers work best when they’re woven for a particular person. Let’s hit the craft stores.”
"Yes!" and with that Miles skipped up happily, thrilled with the notion of making Alison's gift, far more so than even just buying one. "Will Lorna help with making the dreamcatcher, please?" he then asked, already certain of the answer - but it was polite to ask, and polite was important.
“You betcha, little man.” Lorna nodded, already mentally putting together a list of supplies. She stopped at the directory and grinned when she saw the name of a craft chain on the second level. “To the escalators!” She pointed dramatically in the proper direction.
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Date: 2004-03-29 10:59 am (UTC)Because he's damn good at those puppy dog eyes.
But yeah, so cute you guys! *huggles Miles*