"Oh Good Because I Do," Leyla Admitted, Not In A Rude Way--well, Maybe Sometimes In A Rude Way. Just

Leyla had settled down in a beach chair with her book and tumbler, looking up on occasion at all the excitement around her. She wasn't sure she wanted to be in it all, watching was fine for her. As somone sat nearby, she looked over and smiled as the woman complimented her cup. Her ASL was pretty basic, but it had always been something she wanted to learn. She was mostly fluent in three languages, so it was something she always wanted to add to. "Thank you," she replied, for the words she didn't know the sign for, she would spell it out. Speaking it aloud as she went in case she could also read her lips, "I am going to start selling them at the bar soon. Are you going to play in the game?"

Who: Lara Marie Caruso & @leyla-tehrani

What: Beach Bash

Lara was enjoying being on the beach. Her daughter had run off with her friends to enjoy the last bits of summer freedom they had. It gave her a little freedom herself. She had a snack in her hand, and decided to take a seat somewhere she could watch the rest of the action. Turning her head, she saw someone close by and gave them a wave. “I like your cup,” she gestured, pointing to the Mawk Tales tumbler she spotted.

"Great," she said excitedly, looking forward to the opportunity this would provide her business. "I can do that, and then once you give it a listen, we can set up a more formal meeting to work out all the details," she offered, before with a small smile, adding, "so you can enjoy the rest of your visit sans business." She beamed, rather proud of her drinks despite not being much of a non-alcoholic mixologist before deciding on the business idea. She was largely self-taught, and she liked to see good feedback to her products.

"I can make that work.." he thought over options in his mind, "maybe but together a playlist, send it over, I can put something together." Sure, they would have to discuss details, contracts and the like but overall, he was in. As Leyla set the fight of drinks down in front of him, Alec took a moment to inspect each of the drink as he debated which to try first. He picked up the watermelon lime to start, taking a sip to taste, then another. "Mmm.. not bad," he nodded.

"And you wonder how he ever got that idea? Because absolutely no one could ever have told him that," Leyla joked, before her smile softened at the compliment, "there's enough negativity in the world, I wanted a place where that...wasn't."

"I can see it," she said, "you look like the kind of girl I'd imagine doing that sort of thing." She meant that in the best way. The girl just radiated sunshine and love for animals, like the people who were popular in high school but you couldn't possibly hate them for it because they were so genuinely kind. She laughed, "no one's favorite smell, but it comes with the territory. I find all the smells comforting in a weird way, good and bad, it's just...like a core memory or something."

"Oh God, yeah!" she scoffed, shaking her head, "and it's always one of those men who thinks that he's god's gift to women, and he just cannot understand why you don't want anything to do with him," she rolled her eyes, "kind of sad. But having a safe space, a happy space, that's great. So kudos to you for creatig it!"

"Always," she smiled, gesturing around the barn, "I grew up riding here. I did dressage and jumping for most of my childhood." A real, proper equestrian, with her blonde hair braided neatly down her neck, boots polished and shined. As a kid and teenager, Livvy had just always been known as a horse girl. "Every now and then, you see someone wandering around who thought they wanted a farm experience… until they smelled the manure," she laughed.

"Thanks," Leyla murmured, so maybe she didn't give him enough credit on the customer service front. As soon as the question left her mouth, though, she was sure it was a stupid question. Maybe she was more talking herself into it. There was a time in her life when she could barely keep herself alive, so the idea of caring for a living animal all on her own was daunting. However, she supposed she wasn't alone. Like with Darrius's dogs, they all cared for them. "I imagine it's hard to be here every day and not at least take one home with you. What's your cat's name?"

Ever since Chandler's trip to Mock Tales, he noticed whenever the owner came into his cafe. This was only due to the fact he'd been watching her to make sure she didn't realize he was drinking at a sober bar, but she didn't need to know that detail. Honestly, he couldn't remember her name but he did remember her drink order and before she even approached him, he was already working the espresso machine. He nodded to her in greeting, but didn't say anything until she ordered. "I'm on it." He confirmed, then turned his attention more to her when she said she had a stupid question. There's no such thing as a stupid question was the customer service response, but he was too busy wondering just how idiotic her question would be. Pretty dumb, he decided. They did have the name of the shelter shown in a few places around the cafe, but when it came to someone being interested in adopting one of these kittens he wasn't going to be mean and possibly discourage them. "Yeah, all of them. We work with a local shelter to find homes for them. I adopted my cat from here, actually."

Despite not being good at letting people in, Leyla didn't actually mind talking to them, especially in beautiful languages like this one. She smiled as the other woman said she was just watching, nodding. "Me too," she agreed, "I have a roommate on each team, so I'm hoping for a good game. That's all. Then I hope to escape before Aisha has me camping." At the part, she did laugh.

Lara smiled and nodded. "You're welcome," she said, glad that the other could understand her a bit. She always had her phone as well, just in case she'd need it. Typically she could get by with reading lips, but sometimes things would just get a bit complicated. That was the last thing she needed. But she managed to get through the day, both sides unscathed and maybe learning a little bit. "Oh, no, no," she shook her head. "Just watching," she signed. "Cheering on both teams. And you?"

"Boss with a painful tendency to micromanage and not leave work back at the booth where it belongs," she joked, "all these beautiful pumpkins and I'm thinking about whether I need to grab more cinnamon sticks on my way back." Work was still her main--and sometimes only--priority, but she really was trying to enjoy Creek Fest fully. This guy had actually probably done her a favor by bumping into her. "Good," she said with a light laugh, "and yes, I am offering. What do you need such a big pumpkin for anyway? Or is it some 'go big or go home' thing?"

Vince picked up the phone and handed it to her with a smile. He was glad that they narrowly avoided making the situation more awkward. Chuckling softly, he nodded. “Boring work call, I presume?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. Vince laughed softly again, dropping his head. “Thankfully the children won’t be scarred by me being a clumsy fool,” he smiled. “But I could use some help if you’re offering too,”

"Quality control," she quipped back. This was the sort of thing she had wanted in the bar, a place could relax and be themselves. A place for good conversation and memories. "Oh, what sort of things do you write?"

"Well, part of the fun of running a business is getting to sample the goods, right?" Che teased, good naturedly. He appreciated the ambiance of the bar that Leyla had set up and could see himself doing work there now and then. "I work for a bank, but I'm also a writer. I'm trying to get more into doing the writing thing as an actual way to make money and such."

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

Sure, if you do my interviews when I'm ready to hire again. I hate those! I don't know how I ever manage to do anything else, it seems endless sometimes, right? One bonus to a non-alcoholic bar, I got to skip that, which I've heard is a bitch. I would love that, actually, thanks.

Will you do my math then? It’s always like there is something I need to do, or something I am missing. Like I’m never done with the paperwork. The liquor license was what took the longest, but thankfully I don’t need to worry about that part for a while. It takes a little off of your workload, which I am grateful for. I can give you some numbers if you’d like.