Hesperange Ladies Lunch

"Well, you do know what I do for a livin', right?" Hettie winked. "I could scratch up a few ideas for ya, somethin' spiffy but more you, see? And if you like..." She gave a little shrug.

"Oh, I see..." Hettie was always so well put together, the idea had merit for certain, but she felt a little awkward for some reason she couldnt' quite put her finger on. "I wouldn't want to impose too much on your time though... I could compensate you for that, though.... would that be alright? I know you're so busy!" She looked to Lealia, desperately hoping she wouldn't be offended. "I'm just not sure I am up for that kind of fun..."

Lealia's smile faltered for a moment. She had been excited at the prospect of getting out of the house for a while on the weekend and spending time with Korisse. These days it seemed like the very occassional lunches she had with her friends were the only times that she wasn't either working, taking care of her house and husband, or bored beyond words.

She concentrated on putting on a genuine smile again. There was no reason to make Korisse feel bad about any of that.

"No, no, of course. I understand completely. I know my idea of fun might not be everyone's cup of tea. I probably shouldn't be shopping anyway. Gods know I would only spend money I probably don't have."

Korisse nodded, trying to swallow down the little ball of guilt she felt, searching for some kind of compromise they might both enjoy. "You should come by though - Marie would love to see you again, you're much more fun than I am." Last time she'd been by, Lealia had shown her the joy of makeup. Marie-Estelle had certainly enjoyed herself, but she wasn't sure exactly how her friend had found the experience of the energetic toddler. "Maybe you can help me figure out some other things to do with my hair. I don't really want to cut it, but there must be something..."

"I'd like that," Lealia said, warmly, "Maybe I could try curling it, just as an experiment. All the length, half the volume! And if you don't like it you can always let it relax again."

"And speaking of Marie, how is the little angel?" Lealia added, "It's been a while since I've seen her."

Korisse smiled more happily. "She's very energetic. She's trying to climb everything still, especially me. I'm always terrified she's going to fall and hurt herself, but she's utterly fearless. I'm not sure where she gets that - I suppose form her father."

Lelia smiled warmly.

"I don't know, I always thought you were pretty fearless in your own way."