Luckily Leyla Liked Being Busy, Especially When That Meant Her Business Was Doing Well. If It Kept Up

I don't think I'm meant for this world It wants me straight, but I huddle up and curl But I don't want to give up the fight It's black or white, it's wrong or right, and I am just a girl

Is it too late? For me? How will I be remembered when I leave?

WHO: Leyla & @chvndlr WHERE: Pause for Paws WHEN: September 29, at some point in the day

Leyla was starting to wonder if the guy who worked here was going to think she was aiming for his job for the amount of time she spent in here. She had seen him in her shop with his blonde friend, so they were sort of even. In a not at all way. He had a few more visits needed to catch up on work place visits. Her laptop bag slung over her shoulder, she gave him a little smile as she approached, offering a "me again." She also wondered if she said the usual if he'd even remember what that was or if he didn't pay that much attention to what guests ordered. He didn't exactly scream 'customer service is what I live for'. "Cinnamon latte," she said, looking around before asking, "hey, this is probably a stupid question, but are the cats here adoptable?"

"Yeah, simple switch for that one," she said. Being self-taught in the most of the ways of mixology in the last couple of years when she decided on her business idea, she was happy to share the knowledge. "I'd be happy to teach you," she offered, "which is probably terrible as a business model, but if you're wanting the alcohol version, it's not direct competition." The flight option was one of her personal favorites, but she liked the ability to sample a menu. "There's no alcohol, not a drop in the whole place," she assured, "we are fully non-alcoholic, so no back up plans needed, no hangovers the next day, just a great time."

"Oh, that's easy enough to remember." Ryn nodded, listening at the comment of replacing the syrup with the liquor. She wasn't the most knowledgeable when it came to alcohol or mixing things together, but the other seemed to be much more knowledgeable and Ryn was thankful she'd gotten to listen to her. "I'll have to see if I can find the stuff and make my own at home." she spoke. "Though, I'm thinking you'd just be much better at it then I would, so, maybe I just need to come out there anytime I want something fancy." she laughed. At the mention of the flight option, Ryn inhaled in excitement. "Ooh, yeah. Definitely have to come out and try that. Though, I need to ask, do you do flights of mixed non-alcoholic and alcoholic there? Because if not, I may need to be sure I have a backup plan." she laughed. "I haven't drank anything alcohol related in awhile, so, I can't promise I won't be a lightweight."

WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING (2022) dir. Olivia Newman

Leyla has happy to see more and more people discover Mawk Tales and start to come in when they were in the mood for a mocktail, but she still had to keep working. The momentum of the new(er) wouldn't last forever. It was up to her to make it into something. "Also delicious," she said, pausing as she noticed him continue to look over the menu. "We have a flight option too if you want to try a few. It comes with any four you want."

Alec was on his way back home from work when he decided to drop in by Mawk Tales for a bit. While Anchors Away was his usual hang out, mocktails were probably the better option at the moment. "Uhh.. let me do the sparkling blackberry lemonade," his eyes stayed glued to the menu as he spoke, double checking the options to make sure that was what he wanted. His attention finally turned back to Leyla once he was sure. "I'll try the strawberry basil one too."

For all her lack of festiveness, Leyla really did love the view here. If you could drown out all the other noise, the sound of the ocean waves was nice. Looking up from her book as she had company, she smiled warmly, "not at all. Make yourself comfortable. You guys really do make a big thing of the end of summer around here, huh?"

WHO: Rafael & @leyla-tehrani

WHERE: The Beach

WHEN: End of Summer Beach Bash

Rafael did love the beach. Normally, he preferred the quiet afternoons through the week, when there wasn't quite as much noise and fuss, when people could pitch a canopy, lay out a towel, not worry about the world around them. But he couldn't deny that the beach party was still a good time, even with the laughing, screaming kids hanging about. As he took stock of the people nearby, he saw a woman sitting with a book in hand, and figured it was a safe spot, stopping nearby and offering a polite smile. "Mind if I take up a little space next to you?"

"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.

Giving him a little nod that he had it right, Leyla offered a little smile with the finished result. It was already making their home feel cozier, which wasn't something she was used to...but she was getting there. She'd never experienced home in this way before, and it was foreign but warm. The ice around her seemed to melt in this space, as strange as that sounded. Placing the sheet of seeds into the oven as instructed, she listened as he talked a bit about his childhood. It sounded a bit like a movie or 60's TV show. She could just imagine a tinier Dare running around with his siblings and a warm-hearted mother figure gathering them up for holiday festivities. "It felt very much like you," she mused, "what are some other traditions from your mom?"

Seeing her gesture, Darrius stepped the tiniest bit to the side, glancing back up to see if he had it right, and then carefully securied it where it needed to be, stepping back to admire his handy work. Sure, it was a simple garland. Yes, it was probably laughable to most people who went all out for Halloween. But to Darrius, who liked the pumpkins and leaves and corn stalks and watching Casper and Hocus Pocus and The Great Pumpkin… it made him feel good. Turning back to the kitchen, he looked at the seeds that she spread out, and nodded his head, "looks great! I already set the oven, so we should just be able to pop 'em in and let them do their thing," and then they would have a tasty snack when their other housemates arrived home. "I do! My mom taught me how, she'd always make me and my siblings save our pumpkin guts just so we could make these."

"It's one of my mocktails," Leyla explained giddily. Talking about her business and the drinks she made always brightened her day, "it's sort of space-themed. I call it our Galaxy Mocktail. It's got a blue curaçao syrup, grenadine, lemonade, and an orange & sweet lime simple syrup. You make it in two layers, so the purple and blue can sort of swirl together like a galaxy, hence the name. We serve it at Mawk Tales if you ever want to stop by and enjoy one while you read a book or something. What did you bring to read?"

"I'm not sure what you're drinking but it looks absolutely delicious!" She'd been eyeballing the drink in the other person's hand for the majority of the time they'd been sitting next to each other. "Did you make it? And if you didn't do you know what's in it because I wouldn't mind remaking a batch of that. It's almost too pretty to drink." @leyla-tehrani

Leyla had lived alone before this in a New York apartment and saw very little reason to decorate for her eyes only. It just felt silly and not at all worth the effort. However, she wasn't alone this year. Decorating with Darrius gave her something to do that wasn't work, therapy, or...work. Despite herself, she actually found herself having fun. "They're...coming," she murmured as she checked back on her phone for reference before looking up and giving a little motion to move the side he was holding up a little. "Almost." She was a bit of a perfectionist, most probably wouldn't notice but it was uneven enough to bother her the entire season if she didn't say something. "Do you usually make these for this time of year?" She asked as she spread the pumpkin seeds a little more.

WHO: Darrius & @leyla-tehrani

WHERE: home on the coast

WHEN: September, 2023

The house was going to look good; it was Darrius's first major holiday living in a house where there was enough room to decorate, where he didn't have to worry about the dogs running into a tree in this corner or something taking up too much walking space. No, this year he had a house, a home, and most importantly, he had friends to decorate it with. Looking over at Leyla as he stretched up to attach one of the garland ends to the doorway, he nodded his head towards the tray of pumpkin seeds. "How are those coming? I've almost got this hung, I think, if it looks okay to you?"