Jem…Chapter 176

*Before…

We get in our vehicles and we head to the mall to Wall Mart store since it’s 24/7 and we get a few things and Rayne and I are getting Epsom salts and Advil and some of that muscle and ache gel stuff and we’re actually stocking up on some of the other things that we need and so are the other girls getting groceries and stuff for the house as well as things that they just sort of want and then we’re off to home.

We’re at the lights just getting out of the mall area when we’re passed by police, RCMP and the Sheriff and even some OPP cruisers all headed one way followed by the fire department’s rescue van and an ambulance. They just flashed their lights to clear the road to get past the red lights then the stopped flashing. But they all went by pretty fast and in a decent sized group of them and I see Mike ducking in his car to look up and holy cheese there’s a chopper going overhead.

Something is definitely going down.

*And Now…

I know we were all likely tempted to go and follow and see what was going on but better sense prevailed and we just went home.

We all unloaded and I saw Dad and Uncle Mitch off after we were done and I headed back inside.

Molly was online doing things and there’s a FB group called Harper’s Point Crime Chasers that was talking about some of it.

I’m…well to me there’s just something not great about there being folks that go around being super busy bodies but at the same time we’re all pretty interested.

There’s stuff about all of the stuff that went down tonight but it’s mostly about the cops at the house and things and not about us being there or involved. But there’s some stuff about the ambulances being there and that there was town clowns and OPP there plus the RCMP.

And then there was some about this motel and then Facebook kills the page.

Boom just like that.

Actually not surprising, crooks read Facebook too and the less they know what the cops are doing the better.

I sigh and look at Rayne. “I’m done, I think a bath and stuff is definitely in order.”

She nods and stretch winces and we head off upstairs to the bathroom and get things ready. I hug everyone before going upstairs and leave Mike on the couch cuddling with Brooklyn and Molly’s on her spot on the floor with Carmen and their leaning on each other and Kim gave me a kiss and hug back but she was texting on her phone with Max.

I’m smiling at that because there was a whole lot of cutesy emoji’s on there and stickers and she looks happier.

Seriously with the rest of us all paired up it’s got to be hard on her being the odd girl out here and while Max is still new to all of us she knows him better and they do seem to talk a lot and it does make her happy.

And like outside of Rayne and me and us in our relationship Kim’s my best friend. I want good things for her.

I head upstairs following after Rayne and get some of our things and meet her at the bathroom and she’s running us a bath. I can smell the scented bath salts and she has a scented candle lit that smells good.

Actually that it smells good makes me smile some because it’s something I notice now just being me, being Angel and it wasn’t really a thing that even registered before.

I mean it was kind of sort of there but not? Like it was so outside of the guy experience that it was one of those guy shrug it a girl deal.

Still though it’s nice.

We undress and that’s slow and intimate but it’s revealing too since we’ve both had time to have our various bruises and scrapes mature to looking a lot worse and I was going to leave my first set of panties on because I don’t want to expose Rayne to stuff and she shakes her head.

“No…it’s okay Angel, I love you and I don’t mind…I want to see all of you.”

“I….” I’m not sure though. “I’m not sure if I’m comfortable with this Rayne. It’s not like I’m really happy with my physical arrangement.”

She kisses me. “I’m not in love with your physical arrangement Angel. I love you.”

We step into the bath and I eventually and blushing a whole lot I take off my panties and she doesn’t look and I turn around and settle in the bath in front of her and hiss a little at the heat and at the stuff in the water.

Rayne kisses my neck. “Tilt your head back and I’ll wet your hair.”

Now I don’t know what this stuff will do to hair and I’m not all that scared of it either and besides I like having my hair wet while I’m in the tub, I can always just wash it later to fit it or whatever.

I lean back and Rayne scoops water with her hands over my head and uses her fingers to sort of comb my hair back and then pull me back until I’m leaning against her and cradled against her breasts.

They feel amazing and I hear her sigh. I lean my head back some more. “Thank you, this does feel really good now and I feel less…uhm...”

“Restricted?”

I nod blushing.

I hear her chuckle. “I don’t think it matters what bits sometimes I think things need to be loose sometimes at least and breathe.”

“Well this isn’t really breathing.”

“You know what I mean though right?”

I take a big deep breath of the hot steam. “I do, it’s just something that I wish was done and over with.”

“Bad?”

“Yes…no…It’s more like I know who I am now and I’m really impatient to actually live my life. I just want to be able to not have to do all of these things just to pass at being me. I just want to be where I never have to think about doing stuff like tucking or inserts I want to walk around if I want in just whatever in the house without freaking everyone out.”

I feel her sit up some and lean on my back pressing into me but slipping her arms around me. “I’m sorry chere, I am, and I want you to be comfortable being you though.”

I nod. “Well not likely possible with things going the way that they are.”

“How so?”

“Well Carmen for one, she might end up having to turn me in if she found me out and then there’s Molly whose experience with men has been supremely effed up. I really don’t know what will happen if she finds out or what she’ll end up doing if she finds out.”

She sighs and she leans on me. “C’est Vrai and I don’t know what we can do about it. My heart wants to trust them though, both of them.”

I lean back on her. “Qui, moi aussi.”

She nuzzles into my neck and shoulder; I can feel her smile against my collarbone. “Was that francais?”

“A little, it’s been awhile since French class though.”

“Still you try.”

“I will always try Rayne.”

She kisses my bare shoulder and then she pulls me back so we’re lounging in the water and I sigh and she’s running her finger tips over the skin on my stomach and up between my breasts.

I smile.

“At least my boobs are coming along that makes me feel better; it’ll be nice to be done with the inserts even if I end up going smaller.”

She runs her fingertips over each one making me shiver in a good way and plays with my nipples which react and crinkle and harden really fast and I can feel them so much, it’s really a completely different thing than what was not going on before.

Then she cups me really gently. “They are nice; they’re getting some really sexy definition and some heft to them.”

I blush. “That’s because I’m feeding them. I swear I never ate this much before I went on my hormones."

She says. “That’s because you were stuck not processing things right with the guy stuff and now you’re body’s going wait…what…finally. You’re actually going through puberty in a way Angele; you’re hitting your grown spurt and everything.”

I nod. “Actually I don’t mind. I went years with smelling and seeing things that looked good but actually having real appetite it was just kind of meh a lot of the time. I think that’s why I like cooking because of the smells and everything else only now I actually want to eat things that I make.”

“Plus you just like feeding us.”

I laugh. “I do, my mom was like that too and it makes me remember her doing things like that and I like remembering her now, it feels different.”

“It is different you’re her daughter.”

“Yeah I am.”

And that felt like a really big admission.

Like I just stepped up and claimed something.

We lounge in there for a good long while just soaking and even pruning up some getting all water wrinkled and that’s when we drain the tub and take a shower to get all the stuff off and while we’re at it a good deal of other stuff as we both do a co-pampering with a really good exfoliating scrub and shampoo and scalp massages and a de-fuzzing and trimming of things down below.

Which came with serious blushing on my part.

And then it’s the sports gel rub stuff that’s for all the bruises and the aches and pains we both have and that’s a whole other care on care intimate moment.

And lots of soft touches, rubbing things into each other’s hurts with caring touches…soft kisses and deep intimate looks.

You cross a relationship point when you’re physically caring for someone.

Then it’s clean stuff up and get our hair towel wrapped up and we actually do the mud mask facial thing and get dressed up enough to head to our room where we listen to music and literally do manicures and pedicures.

Totally girly and yet it’s more than just girling out it’s spending time together and it’s talking about things.

Like the house and things that we might want to do now that we have permission from the landlord.

And what we’re going to do about the garage and ideas for the office and maybe getting an older used mini-home and using that as our space instead of the living room.

Though we really do like the living room still.

There’s a kind of history there.

So maybe the trailer as an office building for Starlight Entertainment & Music.

Maybe in time a legit mixing studio in there?

And then there’s little things that I’ve been thinking about like paying out for our snow removal ahead of time for this winter. Then there’s getting our TMA (Toronto Music Association) fees in and seeing what that’ll do for us which is a big investment really.

And then there’s stuff for Fall Fair that we want to do and Halloween that we want to do as well with the shows but for the house as well.

We talk about all of these things that we’d like to do and that would be cool to do or that we can do.

We talk way past when we should have in bed together just being us and before we both know it it’s four thirty in the morning.

And absolutely no point in actually going to sleep at this point.

Not with her having work today and we laze for a bit talking over getting up and then we do.

And slip out and downstairs and Kimmie’s up and she’s actually quietly cooking and listening to her headphones and she’s making a bento box?

That’s like a Japanese lunch box like the ones that you see in anime shows only she’s made little bite sized chunks of sausage all nicely fried off and even browned on the ends and then she’s has big chunk hashbrowns cooking in the sausage pan with some onion and rosemary.

And she’s has some Eggo minis out as well and canned whip cream and Hershey’s syrup out and a banana.

We get a big blushing grin from her as she sees us coming in. “Max is coming by before he has to go to work.”

I nod. “So you’re suddenly a Japanese school girl?”

Kimmie grins and points the spatula at me. “Hey if anyone has a right to make a bento it’s me.”

“True enough, want some help?”

She looks at me and her stuff. “Maybe some help with the omelet? I’m still kind of playing that whole idea by ear or well you tube tutorial.”

She gestures to her laptop plugged into the counter.

“Sure let me watch the video first.”

Rayne gets all three of us coffee and we watch it while Kimmie is making sure that the hashbrowns are all crispy and perfect and the recipe is simple enough actually pretty basic with the water and beaten egg but cooked in butter very gently and then the tricky part is the fold which is we get after the third try and we eat the other two with toast.

The rest is pretty much Kimmie cutting and arranging things and making it look really cool even and she bought things while we stopped and shopped like sauces and things like Japanese mayo and oyster sauce and all that stuff for us all to use plus the rest of the girls apparently bought some replacement groceries as well which is really good.

Rayne and I actually get started on making breakfast for the others as well scrambled eggs and more toast and some more sausages since we have the pan that Kimmie used already. It’s not long after that Kimmie is nearly done and more coffee on the go as well and Kimmie finishes it up with the Eggo Minis last making sure they’re fresh and hot and mixed with slices of banana and the whipped cream and the chocolate syrup before we see lights and Max pulling in.

She heads outside with his breakfast bento and two coffee’s and I peek out the window for a second and see them kissing and he takes down the tailgate and he lights some candles inside of some mason jars because it’s still dark out and I move away from the window and let them have their space.

I make some more bread dough because we’re always going through it and then I make a quick mixture for doughnuts.

And Rayne gets some notepads and we’re actually getting some of the stuff we thought and talked about on paper as I’m baking.

I’m making a lot of doughnuts because I’m going to treat a few people and some will be gifts and I’m making some for the shelter too just because I can.

And because I’m not just going to be there and then gone like they’re all an afterthought either.

And there’s nothing like the smell of fresh frying doughnuts.

Self-rising flour and some yeast to raise them which I use some of the bloom I have from making the bread and then a pinch of salt and then the usual suspects…sugar and a little honey for taste then cinnamon a little nutmeg and some veg oil and Rayne actually gets the pot of lard on and melting and to the right temperature. I use a trick I seen online and use 3 egg whites that are beaten separately and another tablespoon of baking powder. See the idea is that the beaten eggs folded into the dough have extra air and the baking powder doesn’t react that much to the ingredients in the dough until you put them to heat which makes them react. I also put the cinnamon and nutmeg in a little water when I got started and microwaved that for like thirty seconds making the spices bloom.

They start coming out really good and I have my coating mix still made for them and I do some plain and some with the sugar and spices and then there’s some I do with a face down half dip in the cream cheese icing I make for the cinnamon rolls and dust them with the doughnut sugar.

And the last thing I do is I drain a can of crushed pineapple and add it to a pan with brown sugar and butter to make a caramel like pineapple sauce really fast and I half dip those making them like pineapple upside down cake doughnuts.

The smells bring the rest of the dwellers out from their sleep and coming to the kitchen sniffing the air.

I’m not even mad when they eat their breakfast in between hot fresh doughnuts. Heck that was a thing home when mom made them and even I would eat them so quickly out of the fast that I risked burning my mouth on them.

I knew she loved that and I kind of feel the same.

This is one of those home making, family building moments.

Though I go through most of the boxes that we have making boxes for the folks that I want to treat.

And yes I know, I really don’t have to do this and for so many people but I want to. I want to do these little things that well…they’re me.

And it’s all so worth it when I see looks like Molly’s face with homemade fresh doughnuts and pineapple upside down doughnuts with fresh coffee and all of us all together and even Kimmie who came in after she had her breakfast date with Max with her make-up seriously messed up and her literally glowing and looking like…did they?

Kimmie’s grin gets bigger and she actually blushes. “What? We’ve been leading up to this for a while now and het had the time and I wanted to and it’s not like anyone could see us or was watching at this hour of the morning.”

Mike’s blushing and looks all man embarrassed as we’re getting details and Kimmie’s saying stuff like. “It was so freaking good, he’s like not a kid even though he’s like our ages and stuff and he doesn’t act like it. And I love the fact he’s so big.”

That’s what got Mike all flustered, glustered? Guy-flustered?

Some of us are sort of nodding…Carmen, Brooklyn, Myself….and I looked at Mike and then Brooklyn looked at Mike and he left to go to the living room to do… “There’s some stuff that I gotta do.”

Which had us all laughing and giggling.

Molly wasn’t far behind Mike saying. “Nope, nope, nope I’m sure he’s a great dude Kim but all the Het’s definitely not for me.”

Rayne sticks around for the original three solidarity thing.

I can get the big thing…girls say that size doesn’t matter and that’s sort of right but Kimmie was actually talking about All of Max and not just his unit. Mike being the size he was, the build he had and that it was so much different and so very, very manly was a thing that part of me seriously liked.

And I’m pretty sure that small girls and large guys is like a legit girl turn on thing.

Although she does go into that too.

Apparently he’s pretty well endowed from her finger pose a solid seven inches.

That’s actually pretty big.

And there’s some talk about the thrill of semi-public sex and the thrill of cold air on your breasts and the feeling of freedom that comes with that actually.

Which I can get, bare breasted is taboo for girls and women especially in public or even like outside. I never seen it in real life just on like movies and stuff and having and getting my own I can get that too.

Or I’m going to get why that’s a sort of a thing.

It’s actually kind of embarrassing but still pretty cool about how she talks about it though.

“I mean it was like the best time I’d ever done it. Max was like kinda shocked when it all started but he totes fell for the power of the sexy bra and the enhanced powers of the sexy bra removal. Well like who am I kidding It was a totes spur of the moment thing and we’ve been kid of sexting and sweet texting for a while so once I started things it just sort of happened.”

She smiles and sighs. “I mean I’m on top after a bit and I’m naked and it’s still dark and it’s cold like really cold and Max’s body heat was keeping me warm and then it’s like so totally surreal that I was getting so into it I was doing the fingers through my hair thing when the sun cracks over the horizon and I swear to Harry Potter right then and there I had a photogasm.”

Okay I crack at that and the others look confused and I’m too busy laughing to explain it right away but give her a thumbs up.

Molly cackle-snorts from the living room then says. “Plus twenty points Hufflepuff!”

Rayne looks confused. “Hufflepuff? I thought she mentioned Harry he’s a Gryffindor?”

Kimmie looks sort of drawn up and kind of dignified meets well laid. “Moogles are default Hufflepuffs.”

I supply. “And Kirby’s.”

Kimmie nods sagely. “And Kirby’s.”

She promptly takes one of the pineapple upside down doughnuts and heads upstairs to shower with that walk like she’s on top of the world.

Rayne still looks at me as I’m setting in more doughnuts to start frying. “Photogasm?”

I say. “It’s from Farscape.”

She shakes her head. No clue honey that’s just too geek for me.”

Molly comes in for more coffee. “Well I think it’s awesome that Angel knows like all these geekette references. I’ve never really live in a house or had housemates that actually speak my language.”

I grin and we hug and she takes another doughnut and heads to the living room again to get started on some work.

She’s like maybe there for like five minutes when she’s hollering. “Hey…hey…everyone…holy shit like you gotta see this!”

Rayne and I head to the living room as does Brooklyn and Carmen and Molly and Mike have like three different feeds going on and they’re showing Marshall road blocked off by OPP cars and they’re not letting traffic through at all and people are talking about how the RCMP and the cops have been there since really early in the morning and that they’re only letting emergency and law enforcement vehicles through and we can see lights because it’s still sort of dim enough and they’re flashing and it all sort of looks like things are just getting started there.

There’s people there doing the newschasers thing and there’s a few reporters that we’re seeing from the feeds that we’re seeing.

I’ll admit I’m waiting with baited breath about the whole thing.

And we wait, and we wait and Rayne goes upstairs coming down dressed for work. “I’m going in, there’s nothing going on and besides the Marshall’s are rich so we might not see anything anyways.”

I look at her and she looks at me and we all share looks…yeah it’s there; the fact that because they’re rich they might just skate.

Brooklyn nods and she heads upstairs. “C’mon Kim we might as well do the school thing.”

Mike nods and gets up. “I think I’m going to head in too, I have only two classes this afternoon but I can use the library to study and things plus maybe catch some of the gossip and see who’s doing what.”

And with that we’re separating and heading off to do our things and I head back into the kitchen to get back to the doughnuts stopping to kiss Rayne a long and sweet good morning and good luck at work kiss.

I end up bagging the plain ones and the sugar-spice doughnuts as I don’t have the boxes that I need and I do take some of the boxes from some of the things we’ve had shipped in and groceries and I line them with waxed paper for the dipped doughnuts and make up all that I can from the batches of dough that I have.

The doughnut holes and the trimmings I cook up too and toss then in the spiced sugar as well and send them off with Brooklyn and Kimmie to share out with their friends at school.

And once they’re all off I put the bread to bake and on impulse I take some of the dough and pan it into the cupcake and muffin tins we have and make bread rolls.

The bread’s the last thing done and with that I slip in to where Molly and Carmen are at and I see what’s going on.

Molly’s doing her computer stuff on one laptop and our video stuff on another and has tabs for our social media stuff on the third.

Carmen’s watching the circus at Marshall Road on the tablet.

She’s really into it.

“Everything okay?”

She’s nodding and still watching. “Still nothing, I really don’t like nothing happening.”

I sit on the edge of the couch. “I know but there’s likely a lot of moving parts to this.”

She looks at me. “I know but why aren’t they doing anything?”

Molly looks up from one of the computers. “One of my friends says they haven’t been able to serve the warrant.”

I look at her. “Can’t they just go in with a warrant?”

Molly shakes her head. “Nope there’s different kinds of warrants and with something like this they don’t want to do something that’ll give them any excuses to weasel their way out of things.”

I’m like. “Can’t they destroy evidence though?”

Molly nods. “They can try; it actually takes a lot to destroy evidence though as it usually leaves behind its own evidence.”

I shake my head. “It still means that they might get away with it all right?”

Molly’s looking at the screen after shifting tabs. “I dunno they were there really early and that might mean that they have something already, heck they might even be there to execute an arrest warrant.”

I’m nodding and watch things through the span of another coffee then make a decision. “Well there’s some things that I want to do today so I’m going to get ready and go and do that did you two want to come with me?”

Molly shakes her head. “I’m going to stay, I have some more website stuff to polish up for us and then I’m going to work on a few more things and then talk to Mr. Stevenson and see what’s up there with doing things and the Brewers.”

I look at Carmen and she shakes her head. “Laundry and costumes plus I don’t want to be out in all of that stuff if I can help it today.”

I nod. “Okay, that’s cool. Keep me in the loop if something seriously happens.”

I go and I get changed and it’s getting cooler so it’s a pair of black leggings over my underpants and then a brown fall dyed denim skirt over all of that and I pull on a pair of those thigh socks that I bought with Kimmie last night at Wall-mart and I like the look of them as they’re a sort of hockey like look but way bigger and I add that to a nice bra with my inserts and a band tee shirt and over the band tee I’m wearing one of Rayne’s red and black girls flannels and I leave it untucked and it hangs on me just right in this past my waist to my butt way that I make look cute and together by adding a belt over that.

Some simple make-up and keep my hair loose and simple with that sort of semi fluff like the real Jem from the cartoons…a sort of Stevie Nicks look from when she was younger.

I toss on my denim jacket over that and I call Jimmy.

“Hello, hello Angel what can I do for you?”

“Hi Jimmy are you busy?”

“Not too busy not at the moment what can I help with?”

“I’ve some running around to do and I’d be really grateful if you can fit me in.”

“I can I’ll be there in a jiffy.”

By the time I have all of my baked goods all set up Jimmy’s there and he’s headed up the walk and I’m carrying things out and he takes them from me with a big sniff of the contents.

“Oh they smell good Angel you sure did baked up a storm.”

“Well friend mostly, but I wanted some for one set of friends and from there it was just I should make some for this one and that one and well then the fam ate a load or two.”

He laughs. “Well I could as well.”

I kiss his cheek as he loads things into the back hatch of the van and I pluck out a bag covered box. “Well that’s good because these are for you.”

I love that look on his face. It’s that old guy look like one of the type that tries to keep upbeat and friendly that actually has something that happens that creates a pure pleasure smile.

He looks at me and takes off his cap and rests it on his chest as he gives me a peck on the cheek. “Angel you really are an Angel, to keep thinking of an old feller like me.”

“Jimmy the world needs more old fellers like you.”

He smiles and he blushes and we’re on our way.

Our first stop is down at Rick’s or at the Home Hardware store and I get the box for them and I head inside and I wasn’t expected to be greeted with “Angel!” From Rick and his Dad and his girlfriend.

I mean they cried it out and it drew stares.

I blush but I hold up the box. “I baked!”

Rick’s Dad says really fast. “Ohgodblessyou!”

I laugh. “It’s just doughnuts.”

He stares at me. “You made doughnuts.”

Rick’s girlfriend says. “You made homemade doughnuts?”

I nod and set them on the counter. “Two dozen since I knew the guys will eat lots and you all have staff too.”

She’s opening the bag and takes one out first and shoves it in her mouth making a moaning sound. “Mmmmmm…..so…good.”

“Well I’m not Tim’s.”

Rick’s Dad takes one. “Better, I like the coffee fine and all but some of the baked goods taste like they came out of a bucket of batter.”

Rick eats one with a face that makes me blush some more. He says around a mouthful. “You know that you don’t have to bring things every time that you come in here?”

“I know it’s just with the help for the shelter and for helping fix our place after it got tagged I wanted to do something special for you all.”

Rick’s Dad says. “And we love it, it’s been a long time since we’ve had that old spirit of stuff here Angel, people used to do stuff for others and be good neighbors and all that.”

I smile. “Well it’s tradition by now and Rick started it by being pretty cool for us starting off.”

Rick blushes some. “So you have Jimmy waiting out there, so just a stop in?”

“No I actually need some things and I’m here to place an order for materials and things for our booth area at Fall Fair.”

I do actually have a list and a pretty decent estimate of how much lumber I think we’ll need for the small stage we’re going to use and the booth for the make-overs and the swag table that we’re going to have plus all of the paint and things as well.

Rick looks at the list. “That’s a lot of stuff?”

I nod. “Fall fair but we’ll be able to use some of these things later too.”

“You’re going to build?”

I nod again. “Remy’s idea actually.”

“Count me in too.”

“Rick you don’t have to do free labor for us.”

“I’m going to be there with the Lion’s club and our booth is mostly built and just needs to be set up.”

“Well if you’re going to be there and are insisting then I’ll take the help.”

“Good, I’ll have you bill ready for this if you can come back this afternoon.”

“Actually here’s our web address for Starlight Entertainment & Music you can send me the invoice there and I can pay you online?”

Rick actually looks at his girlfriend who nods. “Absolutely, we can handle that.”

He grins and nods then has this look on his face. “Wait, what that actually sounded like a company name.”

I’m grinning. “It is we’ve had that going on for a while.”

He’s shaking his head. “You girls are amazing you know that?”

I shrug. “Maybe but there’s a lot of things that can be done but folks just don’t try them.”

Rick’s Dad looks at me. “You sell yourself too short Angel, there’s a lot of difference between things being out there and actually doing it and even more with people like you doing the things that you do for others.”

I’m blushing a lot. I’m not used to the praise and part of me is kind of uncomfortable with it.

“I’m just trying, I don’t want to sell myself short but I’ve seen all kinds of horror stories about people getting way too big headed.”

They’re all nodding.

In truth I know I sort of sometimes come across wishy-washy but I literally spent a decade of going to school and getting tortured by Adam…I’m really not a fan of all the ego stuff and where it can go.

I could go on about this and I mean seriously like go on about this like one of those pacing the room rants but I’m, just kind of leaving it.

Rick looks at me and says. “Do you want me to drop this off at your house?”

“Yes, please. And do you sell hay bales?”

“No, but you might want to try Foggy’s.”

“Oh…right I forgot about Foggy’s.”

Foggy’s is an old farmers market kind of place and it’s sort of close to out of town but still by the highway’s westbound end and it’s named for their farm which is Foggy’s Farm and I guess it’s always been called that.

I give some hugs and head out and get into the van with Jimmy and we head out to the Church Street Shelter and I stop in and talk to the ladies there and they’re more than happy to get the doughnuts and bread I brought with me and we stay and talk and Jimmy is talking too with Sister Beth as we do take the time to stop for a cup of tea and I do a little on camera walk around with some of the girls as they show me and people that will be online about conditions at the shelter.

It was about an hour long stop really that I wasn’t expecting to do and yet still it was more than okay.

Sister Beth comes out and she gives me a hug. “Thank you so much for the food and the treats.”

I hug her back. “It’s no problem I was making for others as a gift so why not include you all?”

She smiles at me. “And thank you for the follow through. It’s worth more than money Angel, lots of people do show up here but few come back.”

I smile at her. “Honestly it’s a pleasure, I have always wanted to do something like this and this time I’m finally doing it. It feels nice to actually do it instead of talk about it.”

Sister Beth beams at me. “Careful you might have a calling.”

I laugh. “I do and it’s music but I still like giving back it makes me feel more balanced.”

She nods. “A lot of great things come from being balanced and we all find that in different ways.”

We hug again and she hugs Jimmy and he and I drive off to our next stop which is Foggy’s. It was going to be Dad’s but I was thinking that I might end up picking some things up there for them too.

It’s been years since I was here and we pull in and it’s actually pretty busy. It’s an old styled large gable barn with the old school red and everything but it’s still fairly modern too with metal siding and roofing and they have a shed styled patio deck with produce outside on wagon like carts and a big unpaved driveway and their only real advertising is a couple of painted wooden signs going each way on 4x4 posts.

The prices are good and I go inside after doing a look around and I’m going to be getting some things here at least. Like pumpkins are two dollars cheaper here each then in town for like the medium sized ones. Halloween is not that far away and other stuff is cheap too like potatoes and turnips and inside is even better too with a lot of home produced things with nice labels and dates on them mostly preserves but that covers a lot of things. I like their cooler section withal this stuff that I pretty much believe in.

I watch Food Network and stuff online sometimes and I really like the idea of farm to table and like the idea of nose to tail. I think smaller producers are great and that we need our smaller shops of all kinds to keep things afloat and so that people can do what they want and make a living wage while they’re doing it hopefully.

So the coolers and freezers have meat and they have like stuff made like frozen stock from the butchering of the meat and there’s things that I really like seeing even if I’ve never tried them like turnip greens and pumpkin leaves, there looks like there’s canned and frozen versions of everything here and the prices still aren’t that out of sight.

Farmer’s styled market…not one of those boutique food places.

And they bake here…the smell of all these breads in just wafting through the place and I make my way to the farm section.

It’s through a set of doors and its farm supplies and pet supplies and things.

Which makes sense because I think the old farming and country co-op chain style group owned places all folded up years ago.

I’m getting looks from folks in the place and this big, big guy I think that used to be a senior when I was just getting into junior high with when he was leaving I think he was one of the defensemen on the hockey team.

Y’know that familiar and not at the same time.

And like the junior high thing here is different than in the states and other places here school goes pre-school into grade five that’s Elementary school here and six through eight is middle school and grade nine through twelve is at the high school and junior high is considered pretty much grade nine only. It’s like prep for high school where you start choosing your classes in tenth grade.

So yeah we were like barely in the same building together.

And he’s eyeballing me like guys look at girls which is kind of freaky. I mean I’ve had this happen and all but this guy’s doing that really big long stare like he’s memorising me.

And I was kind of looking back sort of deer and headlights thing when he startles me by actually speaking.

“Wow, high Miss Benton how can I help you today?”

Oh…oh well he knows me?

“Oh…uhm…you know me?”

“Kind of a fan actually.”

“Really?”

“Sure, what’s not to like? A band of beautiful girls playing good tunes and a lot of classic rock.”

“Okay cool, nice to meet a fan.” I step forward and offer a hand which he takes really carefully and shakes it and my hand gets swallowed by his.

“Nice to have some good music around and everything else.”

“Everything else?”

“Kind of a big fan of the charity stuff you’ve all been doing and well there’s just a lot of stuff that like got to me that you do like Oncology and Mommy’s song.”

He gives me this kind of heartfelt look at that and I nod. “We get that a lot actually and invisible too.”

“Love that one too, I’ve got it in my mixes with my other brooding and ow music.”

“Brooding and ow music?”

“Your stuff, Wish you were here, Fade to Black both versions, Unforgiven, Nothing else matters.”

“So mostly metal then right?”

He shrugs which was just…like sixty pounds of him moved when he did that. “Pretty much, that older classic rock.”

“So both versions of Fade to Black?”

He smiles. “Metallica of course and Dire Straits.”

“Ah…gotcha both actually great groups.”

He nods and gives me this really friendly smile and shakes my hand some more. “I’m Scott.”

“I’m Angel.” Then he lets go of my hand and asks. “So Angel what can I help you with?”

“Hay bales I heard that you sold them and I want some for our booth at Fall Fair.”

“We do they’re five dollars each or seven for twenty five.”

“That’s an odd number.”

“The Foggy’s are pretty odd.”

“That’s their last name like for real?”

Scott laughs. “No it’s just stuck over the years.”

I laugh some too and I make a few quick figures in my head. “Do you deliver?”

“Not usually but I will for you.”

I…uhm…is he flirting with me?

I look at Scott and he’s looking at me really intensely and it’s that sort of intense that just sort of has a feel to it.

Yeah he’s definitely sort of flirting with me.

So I…drop a hint. “Cool thanks Rayne wanted some for Our, Fair Space.”

Yeppers I sort of kinda emphasized the Our.

He does this sort of oh…oh yeah kinda blink and he turns away embarrassed and I see him turning a serious shade after that so like twice?

And he stepped behind the cash more so it’s covering more of him because.

And I don’t know how to think about that.

Scott actually says. “Uhm yeah, sorry I forgot…it’s just you’re here and you’re you and…and you’re really pretty Angel.”

Wow…And….voosh my turn to go really red in the face.

“I uhm…wow…thanks Scott.”

He gives me an odd look and I take a breath and say. “I’m totally honored and stuff, it’s not something that like was ever a thing for me for like most of my life. I was a lot plainer before the band stuff.”

“Really?”

“Really…practically a tomboy.”

He’s still sort of blushing and ringing me in. “Well you’re definitely not that now.”

I shrug one shouldered. “And I’m still not used to it I’m still in like Wow over Rayne and I being a thing even though it took a lot for us to get to where we’re at.”

He’s smiling and nodding now looking more relieved now that things aren’t doing what they were doing or I think that’s the case and I use the credit card to pay for the bales.

“Well you’re both lucky, seriously and I’m going to leave it at that because I don’t want to be one of the gross dudes. I’m still going to deliver them for you though is this afternoon good?”

“It should be I only have one more stop after this so I should be home by then.”

He nods and I sign my slip and we shake hands and Scott says. “I’ll be by then before supper.”

We shake hands again and I head back out to the market part and I buy some things that looked good that I seen on the way in and bought some pumpkins. Nothing for Halloween but five smallish ones for and a squash to go with them and once jimmy and I are loaded up with things he drives me to dads.

I bought us both a coffee there before we left and I’m sipping away at it as I’m mulling Scott and all that over in my head.

No, not really tempted but at the same time there’s part of my brain doing this whole girl thing with the reaction and the attention.

Figure’s with things with Adam looking up I’m going to have to face things that I’d mentally put on hold for a while now apparently.

We’re pulling in and I get a text from Carmen. [Adam wasn’t arrested, and he wants to talk to me at the show tonight.]

I don’t swear much it’s not ever one of my go to things but seeing that I just went…

“Fuck.”