take back my life song 
prove i'm alright song

Outfit @kristina

It was a good day, well it was going to be one. Delphi was determined to make it a good day, she had a lot that she wanted to accomplish and she had a lot of cleaning to do. Easter break would soon be upon them and she had yet to decorate Christine's room; she had the girls wants and needs for her room and she just needed to do it. She needed to feel like she belonged there and that was what Delphi wanted for the girl, more than anything. She wanted her daughter, for that was what she was, to know that she was loved and didn't need to worry about anything, needing anything.

This was the life that she needed her daughter to have, this was the life that she wanted Grayson to have. She wanted her children to have the life that she didn't, but that was every parents wish, was it not? She couldn't help but smile to herself as she thought about it. Her life was going to get better, things would be better. She just had to be patient. Her mother kept reminding her of this, and as she had dropped her son off before going to do her adulting her mother had asked her to stop by the family business and drop off the paychecks for the week. Her hair (which was still blonde to her preference) bounced as she walked through the alley and towards the shop. Pulling the door open she walked into the back and unlocked the office, placing the envelope on the desk for the manager to give out at their preference and then shut the door, locking it and walking back out to the front of the shop.

"Good Morning Kristina. How are you?" She asked as she pulled out the log book to sign that she had dropped things off, her light eyes beaming at the pretty woman.

i'm a dandelion, you're a four leaf clover
but let me call you when i'm sober

OUTFIT 

It had been a long night for Kristina. She had stumbled into her flat in the early morning hours, singing merrily the closing song from the bar, strumming her air guitar and hiccuping softly as she drifted off to sleep from the safety of her sofa. She hadn't got much sleep, having had to wake early enough to get to work (nearly) on time. It was amusing to her that her body had given up, and finally given in, to her whims. No hangover this morning, but it was possible she was still a wee bit drunk.


Kristina had always been a casual drinker, but in light of recent events, her casual became much MUCH more than that. Her body had protested at first, cursing her with nausea, vomiting at times, headaches, anything it could possibly throw at her. It wanted her to know that her behavior would NOT be tolerated, yet she persisted. It was a necessary evil, to keep the anxiety (the swarm, as she called it) at bay. And it would seem that her body was finally taking the hint, she wasn't giving up. It could keep fighting her, or it could strap on, suit up, and hang on for the ride.

Still, without the sting of a hangover, her grogginess from lack of sleep made her morning difficult. A great deal of her morning was spent turning over every cushion in the living room looking for her wand, which she swore had fallen from her pocket during her drunken sleep, but she ultimately found it in the bathroom. Kristina needed it to cast a concealing spell to cover the dark circles under her eyes, but the whole ordeal had made her late (as usual). Barely, but still late.

She was thankful when she arrived at the shop that she had beaten Delphi, just barely having a chance to open shop minutes before her arrival. She heard the woman enter the back of the store and working her way into the office for her drop. In the mean time Kristina hurriedly counted in the register, finishing just as she heard the woman make her way to the front of store. Kristina leaned against the counter, folding her arms and smiling, in an attempt to look casual. 

"Mornin' deary!" The small brunette smiled brightly as the woman took the log book. "Lookin very bonny today, lass! Busy day ahead of ye?"

She liked to pretend that she was okay, she put up a strong face and she could handle it for the most part, she could deal with the fact that she was alone now, that she would be raising her son on her own. She could handle the raising of a child on her own, but what really hurt Delphi deep down was waking to being in her bed alone. She had loved Randy, for more reasons than just because he was her baby’s father. They had fallen in love, or she thought that they had. She had fallen in love with him, and he had said it when he had gotten hurt, but that was something you did, right? You said that to those that you care about when you think the end is coming. It wasn’t something that she really wanted to see in others, that desperation that came in the end when the edges of everything started to get blurry.

She hadn’t wanted that to be her, she hadn’t wanted her life to come to this, but it had. He had loved his wife more than he would ever love her, but he had gone back to her. He had chosen her over his children. He had chosen it, and she had let him go. She had allowed him to talk away, because holding him there would be worse than the hurt that she was going through. What she had not expected though was for him to die, and for Christine’s mother to take her own life. She hadn’t expected to have full custody of a child she knew almost nothing about. She had gotten custody just before Christmas, and they had bought the house for her, but it had been in his name, and it was gone now.

Delphi had not married Randy and it made some things harder, but she was almost certain that it was better this way. She looked Kristina and laughed before nodding. ”Yes, a day full of being an adult. Oh, the joy. Can you not see the beaming? I am just that excited.” The sarcasm almost dripped from her every word.

I'M A DANDELION, YOU'RE A FOUR LEAF CLOVER

BUT LET ME CALL YOU WHEN I'M SOBER

Merlin, was she ready for a cup of tea! If she hadn't been so preoccupied with her missing wand she might have had a chance to grab a cup before heading in for the day. That was how she usually showed up: slightly hungover, or possibly still drunk, late and with a piping cuppa. It had never been a problem, her tardiness issue. The shop was busy during the day, but no one camped out front awaiting it's opening. Even when school was nearing in the late summer months there was not a line of people waiting. So she could be late if she wanted. She could fudge the times on her card, if she wanted. She never had though. In her three years she had done her fair share of staying late and coming in early. Never with complaint, and also never on time. Still, they couldn't be too upset when she did as much as she could for the place.

Kristina did a lot for the shop, more than she needed to. She took care of the gardening, filled in up front and worked tirelessly to keep the store stocked and organized. She loved the place, really. And she wanted that to show. She wanted to care for it as if it were her own, because it would be. Once her business started to take off. It would be the home of it. A business within a business. And her little secret. As much as the Watson clan came in and out of the shop they never seemed to stay long. It was a godsend, in a way. Kristina worked best unsupervised and if the crew was around much more than they were now she'd likely have gone bonkers.

Delphi was the one she saw the most. Which was sort of funny, considering Jimson owned the place! Still, it was a family business. They all came and went in their own time, completed their own tasks. And they pretty much left Kristina to do her damn job. Who could ask for more? "Oh that sounds like a pure brilliant time," Kris said with a crinkle-nosed smile. Her sarcasm matched the blonde's, dripping with humor as well. "What sort of adulting must ye be doing today? Aside from the payroll, of course!" 

She missed him. It had been like losing a limb when he had left, but as time passed it was getting easier. It wasn’t like she wasn’t left with pieces of him around her, because she was. She had Gray and she had Christine. She had their memories, but it often made her wonder how much was real and how much was was fake when they had been together. Had she just been the mother of his son? Had he really even loved her? She questioned so many things but one, and it was how much she loved her children. Obviously there were times when she wished that she could go back and change things, but she wouldn’t have so many things that she had now. She wouldn’t have people in her life that meant so much to her now. So she tried to be positive. She tried to feel good, and think about the good things that she had in her life, and now how miserable she was at times. After all was said and done, she was just another single Mum.

A smile cracked her face and Delphi couldn’t help but to chuckle. And shake her head before closing the log and putting it away. It helped to make sure that they knew who was accountable for what, to make sure that important things were never missing and had clear lines of delivery. It was simple and effective. It made things regulated and manageable, which was how Jim liked things. The weirdo. Delphi lived in constant chaos but she liked it, or had grown to like it.

”Well, I need some new clothes, and need some things for my daughter’s room since she is coming home for break soon. Then the bills need to be paid and my favorite thing of all. Sobbing while I spend the rest of my money on groceries, because they’re going to eat me out of house and home.” She finished with a light laugh and a shrug of her shoulders.

I'M A DANDELION, YOU'RE A FOUR LEAF CLOVER

BUT LET ME CALL YOU WHEN I'M SOBER

Kristina wasn't the type of person to blow someone off or ignore them when they spoke. She was invested in every person she met. She was the type of lass who remembered a friends favorite color, or wedding anniversary. It brought her a great deal of joy to know these things, not that she was entirely sure why. Maybe it was because it was as though she held a piece of their happiness in herself. She liked bringing happiness to others and one of the simplest ways to do that was to be present when they spoke. People enjoyed someone who truly listened to them. Something about that brought her joy as well, but she knew that she was one of the rare ones. There were so many people who simply listened in wait of their turn to speak. Those types of people drove her mad, but they weren't as bad as the idle listeners. The people who looked at you, nodded along and offered a 'no way' or 'oh cool' every so often but never really heard a word said. Those people were the absolute worst.

If she had been a ruder person she might have walked away mid-sentence when she came across those folks, but she wasn't. It just made her more aware of how important listening could be. Kristina had been listening fully to Delphi as she spoke. The small woman angled herself more toward the woman as she spoke. "Aye, growing bairns are hungry ones. I'm sure the wee babe has got ye up to your eyes in all sorts of snack foods." Kristina chuckled. Many of her friends had toddlers and often joked about being a 'snack-bitch'. Every time she saw one they always seemed to be munching on something. "What sort of things are you getting for your daughter's room? Decorations and things?"

Kristina brushed a bit of dust from the register top as she spoke and made a mental note to do a good cleaning later if things were slow. She cocked her head as she looked back at Delphi. "How's her first year been? I know I was a wreck practically my entire first year," she chuckled, "surely she's a seasoned pro by now, 'tis nearly the end of the year! Merlin, it goes so fast doesn't it?"