Enjoying the Day (Casual) (Open)

[titania]

The warm spring sun had drawn Titania away from unpacking her new home; she just couldn’t help herself. Nice days like that always made her want to get out and enjoy nature, but the closest she had been able to find in the city was Central Park. That was fine with her; either way, it was a beautiful day, and she was going to enjoy it. Finding a quiet spot, she sat down with her back against an older looking tree. She smiled as a gentle breeze ruffled her curls; she had taken out the ponytail she had kept her hair in while working and let it fall where it wanted. She had learned long ago that on the average day it wasn’t worth fighting with her hair.

Unconsciously, she began humming a soft lullaby that she had learned as a child as she watched as a few children and adults enjoyed the day. She enjoyed the distraction watching them provided; she was still too new to the city to have gotten to know anyone, and it was a bit lonely to not know anyone. Still, it was better than dealing with the way things were back home. The thought made her release a sad sigh. A sound off to her right caught her attention. Turning her head she was surprised to see someone standing there.

“Hello?”

[kuku]

Cathy shuffled through the park, trying to shake off the morning. Of course she was going to be dutiful and smile as her father handled press and she would field questions directed towards her not so kosher activities. Since going AWOL for awhile there were definitely questions. None of which she really felt the need to answer, all of which she was expected to. It was a good thing that this was exactly what she had been trained to do since day one. But now she needed to think. Being in such control always left her with a lingering headache.

There were a lot of things Cathy wanted, and most of them conflicted withe the other things she wanted. There were many days she wondered how she wasn't suffering from a constant state of exhaustion. Now she was going to find coffee and find something insanely sparkly and tight to wear when she got her picture stuck in page six, again. It never hurt to send a message to whoever might be reading. A certain whoever who was sure to be at least feel a little pang. She wanted him back where she could see him.

After picking up her coffee, Cathy pulled her sunglasses over her face and slowed her pace until she was barely moving. She shouldn't be focusing on him. She should have been focusing on business. Recently there had been talk of her getting a job. Apparently she needed to start "saving face". As intelligent as she knew she was, Cathy wasn't about to give up her life. It was the only way she knew how to live.

Stopping briefly she thought about what exactly she was going to do with herself. Decisions needed to be made, and she knew exactly how she would choose. But it wasn't what she wanted. Cathy wanted it all. The more she thought about it the more frustrated she got. Eventually she tightened her grip too much, causing the cup in her hand to explode coffee. Quickly, Cathy hurled the cup away from herself, into the path of several tourists.

Cathy whipped around and tried to avoid getting recognized. This was exactly what shouldn't be happening to her right now. Once she readjusted herself, Cathy tried to survey the damage to her clothes, most of all her jacket, which was now sprayed with coffee. Lifting her head she noticed a woman looking at her, like she had been startled. Cathy froze until the woman spoke.

"Hello." She responded tensely.

[titania]

Titania offered a smile to the woman who had caught her attention, and from what appeared to be a newly stained jacket, the darker haired woman needed it. She remembered days like that, where nothing would go right. Back in merry old England, she had been alone in her misery, but perhaps, in a new city she could provide relief she never got. She relaxed her shoulders slightly, knowing that it made her look far more inviting and calm. It was a trick she had picked up while working at the theatre.

“Are you alright?” she kept her voice calm knowing that if that didn’t work she could quickly change tactics. She had learned early that people often responded better to motherly responses when things were going bad; she could easily do that. It was closer to her personality anyway, not that anyone she knew realized that. Slowly, she shifted over so there was room for the other woman to sit if she chose to. It wasn’t an obvious movement, but it was about as subtle as her greetings got.

[kuku]

Cathy stopped her fevered attempts to blot the coffee off her coat and stared somewhat blankly at the woman. Usually public greetings didn't go beyond the literal greeting. There wasn't a camera in sight, nor did she recognize the woman as someone who she should care about. Just a stranger. Sometimes Cathy found it very difficult to remember that not everybody was waiting to recognize her. Despite what she often thought, it was true that most days she was in fact just another New Yorker with privilege. Until she thrust herself into the spotlight, she was going to be fine, mostly. But er ego was a creature that was almost better left untamed for fear of what might happen if someone actually tried to settle her into reality.

Before she could really think about it, Cathy felt the words "Probably not." fall from her mouth. It was almost the truth. Now was not the time or place to discuss most of the things on her mind, but Cathy couldn't resist the little bit of drama she could add to the situation. After all, answering with anything close to a yes would mean the end of this all and she would scamper away to fix herself up for the rest of her day. Right now a very possibly awkward conversation with a woman in the park sounded more appealing. Everything else could wait for now. Cathy had no idea what she was hoping to accomplish here, but she liked the idea of having this little interaction. In her mind it would become something quite interesting, a story for the dinner table at the very least, but you never knew. Cathy's mind, like her actions, had a tendency towards the dramatic and combative. She never could know just how something would happen, it could be a fight, this woman could know Heathcliff...she could tell him about the encounter, tell him just how desolate Cathy seemed without him. Or how wonderful everything was. In the end all her thoughts traced back to him.

Feeling slightly overwhelmed by the sheer possibility of everything Cathy took the seat next to the woman. She wasn't sure if she should say something else. Now her goal was to prolong this, but maybe she had come off a little strong.

"I'm sorry..." Cathy began trying to weigh how polite she should be with just how she wanted everything to play out, now that she had convinced herself that this interaction was going to affect her life in some meaningful way.

"You had just asked and I didn't really feel like lying." She finished with a small apologetic smile and sigh.

[titania]

Titania offered a comforting smile to the woman; she seemed to clearly have a lot on her mind. It was a nice day and she had nothing pressing to take care of. She had time to offer a friendly ear; after all, she would want the same if her day was going poorly. Though, it seemed that such a thing wasn’t so common, if her apology was anything to go by. Settling herself, so she was once again comfortable, she turned slightly to the woman.

“It’s alright. I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want the truth,” her mother had been like that. She would say things and not truly mean them. Titania had made sure that she would never turn into that sort. She thought quickly about how to approach the woman. She didn’t want to frighten her off, and she briefly wondered if that was all that difficult to do in the woman’s current state. Gentle was probably still the best option.

“What’s wrong? I doubt a little spilled coffee has you that upset,” subtly had never been one of her strongest attributes, and now was no different. Suddenly, she realized she had forgotten one thing that often helped others open up to complete strangers.

“I’m Titania, by the way. Titania Forester.”

[kuku]

Taking a deep breath Cathy tried to steady her mind. As committed as she was to her notions, Cathy was well aware that she would have to play her cards just the right way. Part of her felt a little bit bad about what she was trying to do. This woman was most likely just trying to enjoy a pleasant day, maybe get a little peace and quiet. But if she did somehow connect into it all then it wouldn't really matter would it?

Somewhere in her mind the reasonable part of Cathy reminded her that she was being stupid. Very, very stupid and that it was likely she was going to jeopardize herself. No real consequences were likely to come of this, in either case. If the woman was somehow who Cathy had hoped she would be then there were still a million things that went into getting anything useful out of it. If she was just some stranger then it really didn't mean anything at all. The only thing that would come of it then wold be wasted time on both parts. But at this point Cathy was grasping at straws. When it came to Heathcliff everything was impossible. She would always define herself in relation to him, but maybe it was time to start distancing herself from it. It was easy to doubt her sanity at times.

"The coffee is just one small annoyance in a very large series." Cathy tried to sound less like a whiny, lovesick girl than she was. She wasn't sure just where to begin, and now that she was into it, Cathy knew she needed to commit, in one way or another. She had a tendency to get herself into situations he had no way out of and now was no exception. Her best bet was just to go for it.

"It's just that everything is so damn...just not the way it should be. I know most of it's my own fault, but someone should have stopped me." Cathy would never say it was all her fault, and she didn't believe it wholeheartedly, but it did tend to garner sympathy. Something she needed very badly right now.

"Catherine Earnshaw...Cathy..." She was in it now and not about to turn back. Exactly how she had managed to put herself in this state with a casual encounter, Cathy had no idea, but there she was and she intended to stick it out for as long as she could manage.

[titania]

Titania barely repressed her sigh, as she reminded herself she had decided to take on the motherly role for this woman. It would not be the easiest thing she had ever done, but she would see it through. She briefly wondered how to run the conversation before deciding on a gentle rebuke and some well placed prying. That was motherly enough, and subtle too if she played her cards right. Then again she had never been a creature of subtlety.

I may not be my mother, but there really isn't anything better than a bit of gossip, she thought to herself. After all, news of what was going on spread quicker through gossip than the news, and if she had known that back home, she may have been able to save herself the trip to America. If she had been one to listen to gossip, she would have been able to handle her mother's media backlash better, because she would have been warned ahead of time what was going to happen.

"I don't know your situation," she began keeping her tone light and warm, "so I am, perhaps, off base, but it seems to me that there is rarely a situation where one could not stop themselves from making poor decisions."

She mentally congratulated herself; she had little experience with the motherly role, but Titania thought she was pulling it off rather well. On top of that, she had also managed to, in her opinion, imply that she wanted to know more about Cathy.