Leyla-tehrani - Almost Here.

"Girl Code," she explained, showing the older woman her book, "it's a book for female entrepreneurs. Building confidence, women supporting women, that sort of thing." Probably not the fiction most read on the beach, but she was always striving to be better in business, still feeling a bit like she was playing catch up. "Daymond John's The Power of Broke is in my bag if I finish this today. I'm hopelessly boring unfortunately. What did you bring?"

for @leyla-tehrani

"So what is it you're reading?" Aleja asked curiously, looking over at the woman a short distance from her on the beach. She'd brought her own large bag of books and things, but could never bring herself to focus while sitting in the sand and sun.

Some people were more health-conscious than others, neither necessarily better than the other. It had taken Leyla some time to get there, to not over-think everything, but she did want most of her drinks to be on the healthy side to open that up to those who wanted it. Behind the booth was safe, but she didn't come here to be safe. She knew she had to push herself forward or she'd go backwards, even when everything still screamed within her to push people away. "I may have to hide the jam, I have three roommates and one is definitely a snacker," she joked, not actually thinking Darrius would come for her jam but who knew. She laughed about his comment on the grape juices. "Is the pumpkin patch worth adding to my list?" Speaking of things she could see Darrius or Aisha doing, she might need a pumpkin for roomie carving night or whatever they'd call it. "I bet it's fun for the kids. Do you have any?"

"That's very true!" Josh agreed with Leyla on the health ingredients, knowing that he always felt better about being hooked on a soup or salad, or a new smoothie than he did on something fried or full of sugars, not that he was ever someone to try to judge another person's food interests. Josh was very 'eat what makes you happy,' about life. Or more accurately, 'do what makes you happy' in terms of pretty much anything and everything. "Got it… alright," he nodded, taking a sip of the apple cider first, and then reaching for the next one while listening to her talk about her own experience at Creek Fest. He knew from many, many festivals and events spent working with the center that sometimes it was tough to get away, and was glad to hear that she had gotten some time for herself. "Oh, the jam is always so good! And I did see those crochet pumpkins, they're adorable," he beamed. "Just keep them away from any grape juices if you buy them and head that way," he teased, smile on his face. "I think I'll try to do some pumpkin picking after this. Got my fuel, now."

Creek Fest Sept. 16-23

Mawk Tales welcomes you to come by and try our newest Fall flavors during this year's Creek Fest! Our Creek Fest mocktail flight special is $5 and includes our Apple Cider Mule, Autumn Spice, Pumpkin Pie Martini, and Ginger Pear. All proceeds from the sales of these specials will go to Merrock's local therapeutic riding program, Harmony Healers! Then feel free to grab a full size version to go while you explore the rest of the event!

Squeezing some into her hand, Leyla tried to warm it just a little in his hands before massaging it into the other woman's back. She was sort of getting this small town hospitality, but she was a little worried about how it would affect her plans to let no one under the surface again ever. "Yes, I feel like I always make a mess of one hand and not the other," she agreed. Smiling, she replied, "that's the best kind of weekend. Mine has been largely relaxing as well. Leyla, pleasure's all mine. Are you going to participate in all the activities or are you going to see how long people will let you sit here?"

A sense of relief rushed through Libby as the other agreed to help her. "Thank you!" she spoke, handing her the bottle before turning around so the other could access the area she needed to cover. Kindness from others, especially strangers, was one of the reasons why Libby preferred living in a small town. In Libby's experience, people were generally more generous when it came to small town life. She could remember countless times that she would be flipped off or cursed out back in Boston for so much as looking at someone the wrong way. "Right?! It's kind of like when you're trying to paint your nails. It's better to have some help or an extra pair of hands." Libby replied, before nodding her head. "I am! It's been fairly relaxing. How about you? I'm Libby, by the way. It's nice to meet you."

theboldtypetv everything the light touches is our kingdom. happy 20th anniversary @thelionking broadway. 🦁 #lionking20

"Yeah, there's usually some good in every experience," Leyla regurgitated some therapist's advice, though she was still working on that as a consistent mindset. "I met some really great people while I was there," she admitted. Nodding, she said, "if I spend too much time with my parents, I do." She was actually enjoying having this conversation with someone who also had the experience of not being born in America. It was so different sometimes. "Do you ever miss it?" Then again, with the business he owned, he could probably go home whenever he wanted. A quick and easy jump on a plane. Smiling, she agreed, "go us. Does it ever start feeling real? Or do you still sometimes wake up thinking 'there's no way this business is mine'?"

"Then that's all that matters, is that you found something enjoyable out of the whole experience," he knew not to push past that, understanding that family could be a tricky subject, especially when discussing with a stranger at a beach party. But discovering more about where you came from and your history was never a bad thing, either, that was for sure. "Do you ever find yourself thinking in one language over another?" he aksed curiously. "It took me a long time to realize I had started thinking in English, since I grew up speaking Italian and then Spanish," and then moved to the States and everything changed. "It's beautiful," he smied, a wistful expression. Rafael got to visit 'home' every now and then, but it was still a dream when the opportunity arose and he loved every moment of it. "I have," he nodded thoughtfully. "And now you have, too. Go us, right?"

"A lot of competitive spirit," she laughed. She hadn't been here very long, but that was clear. "Me too, my sport was running," she said, before glancing over at where some kids were before looking back, "which one's yours?"

Lara gave her a smile. “Yes! Hope that everyone just has a lot of fun. I know this town has a lot of team spirit,” she said, trying to give extra context to what she meant. “I played in school… for gym class. My daughter is more athletic,” she added.

When Leyla saw there would be horseback rides at Creek Fest, she knew there would be no needing to convince her to step away from her booth to do that. She had been volunteering at Harmony Healers for just a little while, but she hadn't gotten near enough time to ride herself. At the sound of a voice, she looked over to see the question was directed to her. "Who could resist, right?" She replied, "look at these beauties. I'm almost surprised people are doing anything else when this is an option."

Elise could never resist the siren's call of the chance to ride a horse. She'd been going on trail rides with Livvy over the past few months when she could, but she didn't have as much time for it as she'd liked. Now, though, all but ousted from her stand for a few hours, she found herself with the time to do just that. She was captivated for a few moments by the chestnut she'd chosen before she even noticed anyone else near by. "Oh, hello! Are you going for a ride as well?"

@leyla-tehrani

Flights were always one of her favorite options, especially at new places. It gave a good sampling for customers to come back and order more of the ones they liked the best. "I'll get that going," Leyla stated, giving a few moments of thought to what to include. When she started to shake one up, she asked, "you're in a band, right?"

At the suggestion of the flight, Alec paused for a moment. "Let's do that then. You can pick the other two, just no smoothies," her shook his head at the last part. Nothing better than recommendations straight from the owner, right?

Leyla paused for a moment, trying to figure out how best to describe the trip which had been a rollercoaster. "Um, it's family," she decided to go more vague, "but I did enjoy connecting more to parts of myself and my family's history." She didn't completely regret going, but she did try to reflect too much. "I enjoyed learning them and then practicing them. I wanted to be connected to all parts of myself, language included, besides I loved learning, always have." The work had always made sense before the people. "I hope so," she remarked. She did want to leave an impact on the town with her business, a good one. "I'll add it to my list," she said, all the more wanting to go based on his recommendation. "We're alike in that, sometimes new beginnings are important. Clear the slate and build something you're proud of, which you clearly have."

"Oh!" he nodded his head with understanding when she mentioned that her parents were Iranian, that it had been a trip to visit relatives. "Did you enjoy it, getting to visit family?" Sometimes it was a pleasure visit, sometimes you wanted to pull your hair out. Rafael had family in both Italy and Mexico, loved to visit both, but knew that by the end of it, sometimes he was happy to get back home and not be social. For a little while, anyway. "That's very handy, being able to speak both languages. I know from experience that it's always respected and appreciated when you visit a place and speak to the people in their own language, rather than expecting them to understand yours." Maybe not something entirely possible for everyone, but still worth a shot. "It does, absolutely. You're doing a good thing for the town," he assured her with a sincere smile. "I grew up on the Amalfi Coast, so I'm biased… but highly recommend it," it was, after all, a gorgeous town. Whether living there, or visiting. "A change. I just needed to get out of the city and start over."