Post by Alex Vipond on Jul 25, 2015 0:50:40 GMT -8
Alex Vipond: Alex didn't tell her where they were going, only that it was a surprise, he didn't blindfold her however so it would be pretty obvious what he had in mind as he pulled into the lot. Parking the Jag, he smiled at her and slid out, rounding the nose of the car to pull open her door and offer his hand to help her up and out.
Wrinkled Black: For a moment Adrienne's brows furrowed as they pulled into the lot, wondering what in the world..? Then it dawned on her and her jaw dropped a little in recognition. "Ice skating?" She sounded a bit more concerned than excited, watching the building as she gnawed on her bottom lip. "Good thing you're strong, my grip on you's going to be like a vice."
Alex Vipond: "I have no issue whatsoever with you holding onto me." He smiled, his arm slipping around her as he led her inward. "And if you don't like it, we'll go find something else to do." He'd find a mini golf course, bowling, something. He'd find them something to amuse themselves with.
Wrinkled Black: She chuckled, leaning in to him a little. "It's not that I don't like it, it's just been...an extremely long time. It's come a long way from frozen ponds in the woods." Thank God.
Alex Vipond: "Yes, it has." He nodded, paid their admission and then it was off to rent skates. Alex leaned against the counter and asked for a pair of size twelves, and then he looked at Adrienne.
Wrinkled Black: Don't mind Adrienne's little smirk. "Size eight, please." She then looked back to Alex with a grin. "You and your big feet..." She made sure to get the eyebrow waggle in before the guy returned with their skates.
Alex Vipond: Alex chuckled. "Gotta have something to hold me down in a strong breeze." He smirked, and then took up the skates, moving to a bench to put them on. "I can remember when we would wait for the ice to be frozen enough to skate." He swapped his boots out, and slipped into his skates, lacing them up.
Wrinkled Black: She opened her mouth to comment further but thought better of it. Family environment and all. Her smile faded a little as she listened, sinking onto the bench and kicking her Toms off--now understanding why there was a pair of socks in her jacket pocket! "And if you didn't wait long enough, you fell through and caught pneumonia." A sarcastic smirk was given as she laced up her shoes. "Good times."
Alex Vipond: "Well, it wasn't much different than anything else we could get into. The issue would be getting trapped under the ice." He paused, and then shook his head, shoving that thought away. "Things are so very much safer now."
Wrinkled Black: "Mmhm." Yes, shoving those thoughts away was a very good idea. For a moment she hesitated getting up, and when she did she was gripping his shoulder tightly, since she wobbled a little on the skates. At least she laughed! "More or less!"
Alex Vipond: Laughing, he nodded. "Suck in your cheeks and take tiny steps." Alex carefully led her out onto the ice, hands on her forearms, as he stepped moved backward. "Got it?"
Wrinkled Black: "Suck in the cheeks, got it.." Did she? The fishface she was giving him made it questionable, but no, she actually did get it. She did squeak a little as he led her onto the ice, her hands on his arms as well but likely much tighter. Vice like, remember? "Do not let me go..." Not like she really expected him to, but she put it out there for good measure.
Alex Vipond: "I will never, ever let you go." he smiled, and once assured somewhat of her footing, he pushed off, gliding backward as he drew her along with him. He couldn't stop the grin at the fish face though. It was just too damned cute.
Wrinkled Black: "Hey, I know that song..." Her grin at him was cheeky before she was looking back down at her feet, then his, then hers again. Trying to do as he did. She wobbled a little, but wasn't as horrible as she expected herself to be. "When's the last time you did this?"
Alex Vipond: "Don't look down. Trust your body to keep your balance. Walk before you run and all that." When she asked when he'd last skated, he thought back. "Probably about....two years." It had been a while.
Wrinkled Black: "No wonder you're showing off!" Okay, he wasn't, really, but he was doing a hell of a lot better than she was! Not hard to be... "Try eighty!" The last was whispered.
Alex Vipond: He chuckled. "Just relax. The more tense you are, the harder it is to keep your balance." Alex moved beside her, her hand in his as he moved along with her. "And watch your toe pick. Keep your skate flat on the ice."
Wrinkled Black: "Right, right..." Grinning, she held his hand tight as she started to glide on the ice, gaining a little more confidence as she looked ahead. "Makes me think of 'The Cutting Edge'.." She did the Moira Kelly sing-song "Toooe piiiick!"
Alex Vipond: Alex cracked up as she broke out with that. "I'm not falling on my face for comic relief..." Alex moved beside her and as she gained more confidence, they gained more speed, going from snail to turtle.
Wrinkled Black: "You better not, I don't want you pulling me down with you!" And she would never, EVER, let him live it down. She squeaked again when they started moving faster, but it turned into a laugh, holding her head up more as they moved around the rink.
Alex Vipond: Alex couldn't help the grin that came as she laughed, and he leaned a bit, gliding around the corner. "Do you like sports? And if so, which ones?" Yes, this were the getting to know you things. Wouldn't do to surprise her with hockey or football tickets if she didn't like those things.
Wrinkled Black: "Ooo, now we're getting to the nitty gritty." A conversation that maybe should've been had before she got knocked up? Ah well. She was grinning for it, though. "I love going to baseball games. The whole ambiance, y'know? Watching it on TV's kinda boring, though. But hockey? Any which way." She couldn't help a smirk. "I inadvertently became a Vikings fan when I lived in Minnesota."
Alex Vipond: "There's talk of an expansion team coming to Seattle. I think it would be cool. I would love to be able to go to games. We've not had professional hockey here since the Metropolitans and the PCHA folded in ..." he thought about it a moment. "Like, '25. There's the Thunderbirds of the junior league, but no NHL. Yet."
Wrinkled Black: "Oh, man, that'd be cool.." Okay, so she was looking down as they rounded another corner. Just in case! But otherwise, she was doing pretty well. "Course, we could always head down for a King's game at some point." Not like they didn't have a place to stay.
Alex Vipond: "This is true." He nodded. "And it is kind of home town..." Technically, legally, LA was his home town. "We could do a lot worse but there's such a strong hockey presence here now, that it really makes sense to bring in the NHL. They'd have the fan base, due to the junior league, with the Silvertips Everett and the Thunderbirds playing Kent, and if we toss Portland into the mix too, that would double the fan base. It makes sense. And Seattle is the third largest city in the US without an NHL team."
Wrinkled Black: "So it's high time we get a team here!" Grinning, she let go of his hand but just briefly, instead looping her arm with his at the elbow. "It's just such a fun spectator sport. I suppose football is, too, but I just can't get into it." Her nose scrunched for that. Yeah, no football tickets. "I've tried, but...meh."
Alex Vipond: "Oh, raving Seahawks fan here," he chuckled, “but hockey.... I don't know; it's like nonstop excitement. Baseball is okay as long as you're there to watch. It's more of a laid back thing, but hockey gets the blood pumping."
Wrinkled Black: "Okay, so we'll be on different levels of the house come game days, got it." Liptwitch. Thank God for three story homes! She nodded in agreement for the baseball thing. "And not complete without a beer and a hotdog. Times.. like...three." Don't judge her.
Alex Vipond: "Oh man... We so have to go to a game." He grinned as he regarded her, and then he looked around. "They're going to be kicking us out here in a few minutes. You want to go grab a bite to eat?"
Wrinkled Black: "Oh hell yeah, name the date." She looked up and around the rink, noticing how empty it was getting. "Yeah, I could go for some food." Suddenly her eyes lit up. "And milkshakes! Can we get milkshakes?!" 113 going on 12, this one.
Alex Vipond: "Milkshakes it is." He smiled, and then leaned in to kiss her as they glided toward the edge of the ice. When he lifted his head, he smiled. "How about Sunday?"
Wrinkled Black: For a split second there she thought he meant no milkshakes until Sunday and she almost panicked. Game! Right. Laughing, she nodded, reaching for the wall and taking a tight hold of it once it was within range. "I could do a Sunday game." Like she really needed her arm twisted?
Alex Vipond: "Cool." He grinned at her. "it's a date." Yes he was dating his live in girlfriend/baby momma. And liking it. "Diner?" For the shakes, not the game. Stepping off the ice, he moved to the bench and sat down, leaning over to start unlacing his skates.
Wrinkled Black: They were in for a long, difficult haul if they couldn't liven things up with dates from time to time. "Ooo, yeah, theirs are really good." Not that Adrienne was overly picky, but there was something about diner shakes vs drive thru shakes. Once off the ice she gripped his arm tightly, since she was feeling wobbly again, but made it to the bench without incident. "You kept me upright, well done, you!"
Alex Vipond: Alex chuckled and leaned over to kiss her. "I will always do my utmost to keep you on your feet when the situation requires it." he wagged his brows at her. "Otherwise, all bets are off."
Wrinkled Black: Adrienne grinned as she returned the kiss, then bent to untie her laces. "I dunno, that can be fun on the feet as well. Just sayin'." Now it was her turn to wag her brows at him.
Alex Vipond: Alex cracked up and nodded. "We'll experiment." He pulled his boots back on and laced them up, and then he was rising, skates in one hand, the other offered out to Adrienne.
Wrinkled Black: "Yeah baby!" Adrienne a la Austin Powers. She sounded ridiculous, though, which had her laughing as she took his hand and stood. A kiss was pressed to his lips, lingering for a moment. "Thank you for this."
Alex Vipond: Cracking up, he leaned in and kissed her in return, a nod given. "Thank you for being my date." He gave her hand a gentle squeeze and then he was taking their skates back up to the counter. "Chocolate shake?" He paused, "Oh, we should so have them do a chocolate/strawberry/banana shake." He nodded.
Wrinkled Black: "Eeeh.." Her nose scrunched up a little. "Gag reflexes aren't digging the bananas just now. But chocolate/strawberry sounds amazeballs."
Alex Vipond: "Chocolate strawberry it is." he nodded as he led her back out to the car. Alex opened up her door and held it for her, leaning to drop a kiss to her lips before she settled in, and then he moved around to slid in behind the wheel.
Wrinkled Black: Once the car was in motion and they were on the road, Adrienne slipped her hand into Alex's, holding it on her lap. She was quiet for a while before finally speaking. "Okay, it's been more like...seventy-seven years. There was this pond in the woods behind our house. Louisa loved to skate, it didn't matter how freezing it was. Had she been born in this century, I would've gotten her lessons, would've seen how far it got her."
Alex Vipond: Alex cast a glance toward her as mentioned that. "She didn't...." How does one ask if that's how your kid died? Alex really wasn't even certain if he wanted to know if that's how Louisa had passed. He didn't want to be the cause of bringing up painful memories.
Wrinkled Black: Oh, they were always there. Adrienne nodded slowly, looking down at their hands. "It was only December but the winter had already been dreadful. She was so anxious to get on the ice, she ran ahead of us." A deep breath was taken let out slowly, shaking her head. He didn't need to hear the details, and she was sure he didn't want to. "We couldn't get her warm fast enough."
Alex Vipond: "God, baby, I am so sorry." He couldn't imagine the kind of hell that had been. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze as they drove along, in silence for a few moments. "It's scary, just how swiftly things can happen."
Wrinkled Black: A small smile was offered for his apology, the squeeze to her hand returned. "I always wonder if we hadn't been with our neighbors, who were as vanillas as they could possibly be, had I been able to shift, would I have gotten her out sooner. But I can't let myself dwell on it." It was a wonder she hadn't gone insane in all these years.
Alex Vipond: It was a wonder any of those who lived as long as they did, weren't batshit fucking crazy. "Enjoy the time you had and move on." He nodded as he pulled into the lot of the diner, and parked the Jag.
Wrinkled Black: "Exactly. For a few years there up unitl the end, it was just the two of us." Her smile warmed there. "It's a time I'll always cherish, and I think it helped strengthen the bond between my mother and I."
Alex Vipond: "I don't remember much about my mother. She and my father died when I was young. It's more of a feeling I get than an actual memory, you know?" Killing the engine, he pulled the door open and stepped out, rounding the car to let Adrienne out.
Wrinkled Black: Frowning a little, Adrienne nodded. "I think so, yeah. After a while you begin to forget little nuances, until someday it's just that feeling that's left." She smiled at him when he opened the door, sliding out and giving him a kiss. Then she was looking down at her belly and giving it a gentle pat. "Not gonna happen to the Peanut. Sorry, kiddo, you're stuck with us forever." May not have been true, but it was possible!
Alex Vipond: Alex smiled, the kiss returned as he looked down at her belly, his hand moving over hers as she patted the Peanut. "Totally. And yes, we're going to do all those embarrassing things parents do to their kids. The bathtub shots that will be shown to your dates in high school, college.... to your kids...." Wow. He lifted his head to look at Adrienne. "That escalated fast."
Wrinkled Black: Adrienne laughed, looking up at him with wide eyes. "I don't care how old we are, I am not ready to think about being grandparents yet!"
Alex Vipond: "I'm still trying to get used to the fact that I'm gonna be a dad." He grinned at that as he led her inside. Once there, they were led to a table, seated with menus and a promise of water.
Wrinkled Black: "And you will be still once he's here." That thought just had her beaming at him. "You're going to be so great at it, I can't wait."
Alex Vipond: "I ... I'm excited." He grinned at her, chair pulled out for her and once she was seated, he settled as well. "I can't wait, but at the same time, I want to savor every step of the journey you know?"
Wrinkled Black: "Savor every step, huh?" Lips twitched. "We should find you one of those empathy belly vests so you can really savor it." That grin she wore was a clear indication she was just jerking his chain.
Alex Vipond: Laughing he shook his head. "Could you picture that?" He cracked up at the mental image, his fingers catching hers on the table. "Okay woman, what do you want other than a chocolate strawberry shake that sounds really, really good?"
Wrinkled Black: "Yes, and it's a hilarious visual to picture." He would look absolutely ridiculous. Note to self, Adrienne: Google where to find one. Ha! She only glanced at the menu, snickering at the 'woman'. "I think an appetizer sampler's going to hit the spot.
Alex Vipond: "Sounds like a plan." He smiled up at the waitress as she set their water down. "Two chocolate/strawberry shakes and sampler platter." He offered the menu out to the girl and then looked back at Adrienne.