The Stepford Syndrome (Egoiste! & Madis)

[Egoiste!]

The young journalist glanced over at the two members of her crew. Her photographer, James and his assistant Chris seemed eager to set up and get some photos of the gathering. She’d been told the fair was being held to celebrate the opening of a new library. Amid the groups of people and rows of stalls on a neat reserve of park-land perhaps one hundred people were sat on folding chairs set up in rows facing a small dais. Three people had already taken their turn to speak. Two of them: James Wright and Stephen Marsh headed two of the three families who claimed descent from the town’s founders. Her research had made it fairly plain that this small town with no real industry or exports and an apparent desire to avoid attracting tourists could only seem as prosperous and independent as it did by way of frequent, generous donations from these three founding families. They were the towns de facto owners.

Now it was the turn of Joseph Wilkinson. He was the very picture of an older yet still vital gentleman, and dressed in a superbly tailored suit he appeared a robust and athletic forty-something although he was in fact approaching his fiftieth year, and the only clue was the odd grey in his close cropped, dark hair. He gave a congenial smile as he looked over the small crowd. After tapping the microphone once he spoke earnestly about the superior community values, and spirit of fellowship that existed in Point Pleasant and pontificated, at length, on their ongoing ability to dodge the pervasive corruption of post-modern apathy with its culture of degeneracy. This saw the crowd react with insufferable smugness or, at least, the men did. That was the thing about Point Pleasant. The men, or rather the women, or - in fact - both of them. Particularly when seen side-by-side. Joseph for example occasionally received adoring waves from a tiny thing clutching a couture purse who could not have been more than twenty five and nothing about the way she looked at him suggested he was her father, unless they had an unwholesomely close family.

Though she was more fashionable in her accoutrements she was no less made up, dolled up one might go so far as to say, than the other young women in the assembly. Many of whom stood next to much older men. They kept their mouths and listened, or tended to the children, and speaking of the children, there were a lot of them. Point Pleasant seemed very big on families. The young journalist thought of the photographs she had brought with her. Each had been sent by the family or friends of a young woman who had seemingly disappeared while staying at or passing through the town. She couldn’t be certain, but several of the young women she’d seen so far had reminded her of those photographs.

Joseph’s speech contained further oddities for anyone who was listening, and the young journalist was definitely listening. For example after remarking on the excellence of its reference facilities, the breadth of subjects covered on its shelves and the rich collection of literature he added that their new library boasted an entire section intended for the women of the town. The subjects it focused on or at least those he listed were quaint in the most chauvinistic fashion but the women did not seem to mind. In fact a number of them seemed impressed, some almost giddy in their excitement over having simply been mentioned.

What was wrong with them?

Finishing his speech the genial town patriarch alighted from the podium and was greeted by an athletic young man not far from the dais. The familial resemblance suggested it was his son, one who had not wanted to listen to the speeches. The two traded a few words which she wasn‘t able to overhear, and Joseph followed his son’s gaze as the young man pointed towards her photographer. The two regarded him even as the dispersing crowd gave rise to a confused colloquy which overtook the area as each individual aired their views now they could speak freely, although the chorus of raised voices had a depth and timber which was almost wholly masculine. At least until some of the town's women broke from the crowd to converge in groups of their own.

As one such chattering group of young women obscured her view the journalist did not realize that Joseph was approaching her until he stood almost in front of her.

‘Good afternoon miss Lightner, I trust you’ve been welcomed suitably. If not, welcome to Point Pleasant-’ there was a charmingly personable quality to the way he offered his hand and smiled, ‘I hear you’ve spoken to our deputy councilman, Jack’s a decent enough fellow but, well, between you and me - no verve, and not quite enough backbone. I can’t stake the reputation of our wonderful community on his say-so. As one of our esteemed patrons, a member of one of our founding families, I’m prepared to answer any questions you might have. First, though, let me introduce you to my son-’ Joseph turned then, ‘Jared?’

The dark haired youth took a step forward, bereft of his fathers energy in presenting himself to this lovely young woman - a fact neither had missed or were shy about acknowledging by way of their glance - although there was absolutely nothing in his posture or expression which spoke of reticence. He was appraising in his nature, his manner invested with a careful patience. His eyes dark to the twinkling shade of blue of his father’s, but otherwise the two were much alike, save for their age and the fact that Jared was a hair taller, his posture a straighter, and his arms and shoulders noticeably bulkier. He wore a simple pair of trousers and a long-sleeved, button down shirt although the warmth had seen him fold the cuffs back, and he held a sports coat in one hand.

’ his father went on. ‘Mara, my son Jared, and my wife Christine,’ he directed to the young woman who had just swept over to stand by his side.

‘Pleased to meet you,’ the journalist remarked with feigned interest before fixing her gaze on Joseph, ‘Do you mind if I ask you a few questions about your town?’

‘I’m really not in the mood for questions,’ Jared interjected brusquely, speaking to both of them, before Joseph could respond.

He looked the journalist over a final time with that, raising an arm to sling his coat over one shoulder, the cotton of his freshly pressed shirt flattening against his chest as it was drawn out between the pinions of his backward-thrust shoulders to mark the rigid contours of his athletic sinews. A studious, dark eyed gaze took in the curve of her hips, her waist, and with one slightly raised eyebrow he seemed to take some pleasure in tracing the arc of her bare neck, his lip curling into a slight smile.

‘But I might see you later,’ he remarked, and with that he left her and Joseph alone.

‘I‘m afraid my son doesn’t appreciate small-talk,’ Joseph stated with a shrug, making no apology for the young man. ’or it may be he’s simply tired of hearing me talk about the wonderful community we have, oh!’ his voice became louder as though there was some revelatory point he had forgotten, ’before we go on, in case I should forget again, as we are so seldom lucky enough to receive any media attention you are of course welcome to stay for as long as you wish, and your entire group as well. Unfortunately we have so few hotels now, so you’ll need to see Jack again. I’ve arranged matters and he’ll direct you to an apartment. Your crew as well, though you may be in different buildings, or more likely different floors. If you have any problems just let Jack know as we’re eager to keep any members of the press, and hopeful that if they do stay they’ll, naturally, be willing to tell the world about how wonderful our community is.’

The attractive young journalist wondered at this. Confessing a certain surprise that he professed to relish media scrutiny. Of course she hadn’t told them her real reasons for being here and had explained to Jack earlier that she was covering Point Pleasant for a series on small communities. She’d kept from enquiring directly about any of the town’s more sinister qualities as a result. Still her research up to this point had made her certain the town would not relish such attention.

‘However, with that out of the way, I believe you had some questions-?’ Joseph showed a look of disappointment, ‘Only I‘m afraid I won‘t be able to spare the time to answer them just now,’ his regret appeared sincere, ‘but I‘m sure Jack can tell you almost anything you need to know about our town, and you can schedule an appointment with me through him if you find he can’t.’

She felt a stab of disappointment with this. Of course she’d already questioned Jack extensively and although he’d earnestly volunteered a great deal of information about the town in general he hadn‘t been able to give her anything truly useful. On the other hand it she did not get the impression that he was trying to avoid an interview.

‘When do you think you might be available?’ she asked.

‘I‘d say-’ his brow creased with thought, ‘not for a few days I’m afraid,’

The young journalist sighed inwardly at this, but it looked as though she’d be staying at Point Pleasant for a few days at the very least.

The short walk to their accommodations - after getting the details off Jack, and trying once more to see if he could provide any useful information - turned out to be rather interesting. Together with her crew they found it only a short distance from the newly opened library and their route took them through the centre of town. The streets were clean and far from crowded, and the stores they passed all had an up-market feel. She noticed one or two boutiques she would not have expected to find in a place as small as Point Pleasant, but all in all it seemed fairly normal. The air was fresh, and a cool breeze blew off the nearby water however it was the people who drew their attention.

‘I’m not complaining,’ one of her crew, James, spoke up as they passed a gaggle of young women, ’but I don’t think I’ve seen a woman who looks over twenty-five yet,’

‘Or who wasn’t in a dress,’ his colleague added.

This wasn’t hyperbole. In fact even as the two spoke they found themselves swerving around a sundress-clad, twenty-something blonde manoeuvring a stroller out of a clothing store. She was followed by an amiable looking fellow who looked to be in his mid thirties carrying her bags who regarded the small group with a polite nod as they passed.

The street descended along a gentle slope down to the coast where several high-rises - probably the largest buildings they had seen in town so far - redolent of apartments were currently obscuring their view of the water. Two of the largest turned out to be where they were staying.

The apartment itself, one of the upper floor penthouses, proved to be very impressive. The almost panoramic view, thirteen floors up, was breathtaking, and from here it was plain to see that the building was sited at the very tip of the narrow peninsula the town occupied, giving it views of the water on three sides thanks to a substantial strip window that encompassed most of the common areas. A large, split-level, four bedroom residence; it must have taken up a substantial amount of the buildings two uppermost floors. The lower floor was largely contiguous and composed of several large, open-plan living spaces that were pleasantly furnished and decorated. There was a card by the telephone with the number for the front desk and the concierge which suggested to her that the apartment had been used by visiting notables in the past. The upper floor was given over to three bedrooms, and a small sitting room or parlour of sorts with a staircase leading up to the roof. The master bedroom was particularly large, and fitted with a walk-in robe and on-suite bathroom, while a sliding glass door led one out onto a substantial, sheltered balcony fitted with a Jacuzzi, and a spiral staircase that led to the roof. The roof itself being given over to a substantial entertainment area partially shaded and partially open that boasted an outdoor dining suite, verdant gardens and several sitting areas in addition to a dazzling pool built into one corner whose dual infinity edges were rather disconcerting. A large, opaque glass fence marked the boundary on the other side. Presumably bisecting the roof between this, and the complexes other penthouse which doubtless has a comparable space to itself.

There was an abundance of good natured joking amongst the crew and herself as they looked around, and examined the amenities. James and Mark were especially keen to point out that they were staying on a much lower floor in the next building over - sure to be a dungeon by comparison - but before they left they sat down to make plans for the next day. James volunteered to take Chris and spend the day photographing some of the town’s more notable features and locations. They parted ways for the evening with that.

They had hardly left when a package arrived for her. The enclosed note - which included a few generic lines welcoming her to the town - indicating that a number of local businesses and manufacturers had contributed its contents. These were a little peculiar - though of course any local girl wouldn’t have thought it strange - and it all had an almost comically feminine tone. There was a great deal of literature from business cards to pamphlets providing all manner of information about the various contributors, and then the contents themselves. Several outfitters had included items or gift cards along with a number of cosmetics and a substantial selection of fragrance samples from a local boutique, plus a few examples of local produce, all slightly boring save for some hand-made chocolates, along with a ’welcoming,’ gift from the town patrons - an ‘84 vintage bottle of Verve - and if she had even the slightest idea why it had all been given to her she would probably - should, definitely - have incinerated it all. Immediately.

That was all a part of Point Pleasant’s ‘magic,’ though, the additives found in so many of its consumables, including the drinking water. Some worked slowly, effecting a more permanent change, others more quickly and sensationally. All had different effects, but generally speaking they tended to heighten certain impulses, and dull others. Their designers were incredibly proud of them. Especially the effect they had on women. It was almost a civic service. After all the women in Point Pleasant were some of the happiest in the world. Also the most compliant. The most pliable. The most suggestible. The horniest. The least troubled by such terrible afflictions as critical thinking, personal aspirations, and the ability to grapple with anything more intellectually challenging than buying clothes and giving blowjobs. Still it took time before things got this bad. She still had a chance.

Jared and his father had traded a great many words since the initial meeting with the young reporter. Others had been involved as well. There was something about the outsider, a number of locals had noticed, and as with any attractive young woman entering town there were a number of interested parties. That she might not wish to stay seemed immaterial as those present understood their town had a way of keeping attractive young women who stumbled within it's borders. Much more importantly though was the question of whether she represented a threat to their interests. In the end it was decided that the Wilkinsons would take care of any problems that arose, as well as any opportunities although Stephen Marsh had objected to this quite vociferously. Particularly when he discovered the task would be left to Jared and that the reporter had been put up in apartment adjacent to his own. All the better keep tabs on her investigation in case it should yield any fruit. As Stephen had not been shy about pointing out it would be the first time Jared was to be entrusted with such a task. All the more galling to the Marsh patriarch in that he was not a true Point Pleasant native, and had grown up in New York living with his mother, Joseph's first wife. That much was true of course, and Jared had spent his late teens and early twenties travelling thanks to some rather generous gifts from his absent father who seemed to feel it was some sort of family tradition. The young man had briefly tried college, but found it boring and had moved on to dabble in photography and makeup, but found he was better at, and preferred working with hair which had led to an apprenticeship with a flamboyant Manhattan hairdresser. It was enjoyable work, and a fantastic way to meet women as well. Throughout he'd maintained a rather distant, on-again-off-again relationship with Joseph, but when he mentioned that he was thinking of opening his own salon (hoping it might incite another act of paternal generosity) his father suggested he open a salon in Point Pleasant, offering a blank cheque with respect to funding. Jared couldn't say no. Though Joseph was true to his word, and the salon now occupied their town's main street it seemed he felt his son was too important to actually work in such a place, and always managed to find things for him to do when it came to managing town affairs that kept him away from his own business. The truth about their little town had dawned on him quickly enough and Jared had found it rather shocking at first, but as he'd been living there for several months he couldn't really argue that people did, indeed, seem happy. On the other hand Jared had quickly grown to find it all rather dull. There were only so many times that having giddy women throwing themselves into one's bedroom remained exciting, and it hadn't taken many before Jared started throwing them back out again. On the other hand he had enjoyed some memorable liaisons with the Stephen Marsh's lovely daughter. He suspected half the fun for her, like himself, was the fact that it left their parents incensed and only piqued their already trenchant habit of bickering and feuding.

The whole thing had been cooling off for some time though, and truth be told in the weeks before the young reporter's arrival Jared had been thinking about moving back to New York. Her arrival sank those plans however, and not at all in a bad way. Mara was quite the exhibit, and the mere fact that she was unlikely to be throwing herself at him anytime soon made her all the more interesting. And as Jared walked across the short hall-way connecting the doors to their two apartment's he couldn't help smiling when he realised he was actually nervous. Nervous. About talking to a woman. He'd almost forgotten how it felt. Much of the previous day had been spent obtaining the contents of her gift basket under orders from his father who felt they should keep up the pretence that she was an honoured guest whom the community, and especially the local businesses, were glad to accommodate in any way. However Jared had deliberately left a few business cards and one particular gift out to give himself an excuse to drop by, and after smoothing down his shirt he paused in front of her door, silently hoping the town hadn't worked too much of its ‘magic,’ in a single night as that would only spoil the fun. She must have eaten or drunk at least something though, even if only a glass of water and though it was rare for any noticeable change to come so soon, and after so little it did happen on occasion. It seemed it was all a matter of the individuals personal leanings and attitude. She seemed a sharp and confident sort though, reminding him of some of the attractive young East Coast career women he'd met back in his cutting days. Not the sort to be easily deterred in their ambitions.

Knocking several times in a row Jared waited by the door, his posture relaxed and easy going, while his expression exuded a lazy confidence despite the touch of nerves as he awaited the reporter He wore a more casual button down shirt along with a pair of dark trousers, and was clean-shaven, his hair styled neatly. In one hand he held a number of business cards, and a list of persons and addresses which were intended to 'assist' her coverage of the town.

 

[Madis]

Mara smiled slightly at the gift basket that had been delivered, she had been a bit irritated at the runaround she seemed to be getting. Sure the people in Point Pleasant were friendly and seemed to be welcoming her. However it was not just the runaround answers she had been given that had made the young reporter suspicious, there was also the fact she was sure some of the women around town where women she knew had been missing, not to mention she felt like she had stepped back into some kind of era before women really had a voice.

Picking up the bottle of wine she shook her head as she found a bottle opener and started to open it. “Yes Mara there some kind of time travel thing going on here, take that back to the boss and you will be on fluff pieces till you retire” With the bottle open she took a sip and finding it had a pleasant enough taste she found a glass and filled it about halfway. Placing it next to the bed she slipped out her clothes and slipped on her favorite northwestern t – shirt before settling in to enjoy her wine and some light reading before she went to bed.

That night as she slept Mara dreamt about Point Pleasant, It was a bright and sunny day, and she felt so free almost as if she had not a care in the world. She had everything she needed and wanted, but something was off this was not right, she did not belong here there was something she had to do, something important. The town there was something off about it but she couldn’t put her finger. No that did not matter all that matter was her making her husband happy. But wait….

The clock started to beep and Mara reached over and hit the snooze button before looking at it. Groaning she sat up and began to rub her head, what was that dream. Husband, she wasn’t even dating or even remotely interested in settling down, why she had a dream like that she had no clue. But that was not what was bothering her, it was the overbearing and pounding headache that was making her wish she hadn’t. Wait she did only have half a glass right? Sitting on the edge of the bed she pushed herself up and stretched. Well regardless she had a story to track down and she would get some answers today. Maybe not all of them but she would sniff something out.

Having just climbed out of the shower Mara was in the middle of drying off her hair when she herd the knocking on her. Throwing on a solid black t-shirt to cover her up at least her chest along with a pair of plain black bikkini cut panties, Mara made her way to the door speaking as she went. “James, Chris, I thought…” Pausing midsentence and seeing it was neither of them but Jared. Wide eye the journalist slammed the door in his face. “Ummm Hi Jared just give me a moment.” Putting on a pair of tight kaki colored pants she went back and opened the door.

“So sorry about that, did you need something, or perhaps I can get you side of things on what goes on around here. I mean you’re the son of one of the founder’s I bet you know plenty about what really goes on here.“ Not even a hello form him and allready her inner journlist was all over him but she soon paused and as she waited for his answer she looked him over from his dark brown hair, to his brown eyes and then over the rest of his body and caught her self-thinking that she hadn’t seen it yesterday but he was kind of cute,

 

[Egoiste!]

Jared felt the appropriate meme jump to the forefront of his consciousness when Mara opened the door. Although he did not say it out-loud: a surprise. To be sure. But a welcome one. Although in truth part of him was disappointed as well. She certainly hadn't struck him as the type to answer the door in such a state of dress, and he hoped it wasn't the town's 'magic,' taking hold. Thus when Mara froze, realising he wasn't who she'd been expecting, and slammed the door Jared almost felt a sense of relief. Almost. After all he felt quite certain the image she'd left him with was not going to be an easy one to get out of his head, and he wouldn't have complained if she'd given him more time to enjoy it.

As she spoke through the door, asking him to give her a moment he assumed she was casting about for some clothes.

'Take your time,' he said, 'Sorry if I caught you by surprise. I'm under orders to ensure you get a few cards that were apparently left out of your gift-basket,'

When she opened the door again Jared got a better look at the young woman. Her, 'just rolled out of bed chic,' was nothing to sneeze at. No makeup, hair still slightly damp and clearly not styled. Rather casual, and unexciting attire, but damn if she didn't make it look good.

'Why on earth are you apologising?' he responded in a good-humoured tone, the corners of his mouth curling into a slight grin, 'Is it because you just put more clothes on? I'll admit, it's a minor tragedy, but I'll get over it, and it's hardly the sort of thing you really need to apologise for-' his grin became more obvious, making it quite clear he was teasing the attractive reporter, and enjoying it thoroughly to boot. 'I can tell you anything you'd like to know, of course, assuming I know it. I'm not a Point Pleasant, 'native,' myself after all, something Stephen Marsh never tires of pointing out. As I said though I actually came here to give you something-' he held up two envelopes and several business cards with that. 'You may find these useful, or not. Also if you care for one I've been ordered to give you a tour of our wonderful town-’ he smiled, gesturing vaguely in the direction of the town-centre itself, ‘and I hope you enjoyed the care package. You might be surprised to learn how much of it is local produce. Our founding families have always tried to ensure we can rely on our own industries, and while it might seem like a little place like this couldn’t support an entire factory’s output with respect to certain products, well, that’s because we can’t, and we don’t. We aim for craft and cottage industries where we can, and where we can’t we simply export what we don’t use, and-’ he stopped, laughing suddenly, and clearly at himself as he lowered his gaze and shook his head, ‘I’m sorry… they made me promise to give you this whole, 'perfect town,' speech, but it’s just too damn corny and I can't do it,’ he finished with a wry expression.

The attractive young man's dark eyes met hers once more as he appeared to relax, shaking off any sense of ambassadorial pretension, his athletic shoulders dropping slightly, while his tone became more casual, and sincere.

‘Hopefully you like the room, anyway, and of course the offer stands if you’d like a tour. My number is one one of these cards, and the envelopes contain gift-vouchers for local boutiques. Apparently some of the townswomen felt you might be more comfortable in a dress or something-' he offered a wry smile with this, 'It's a local hang-up. I just hope they won't try to have you dragged off to one of our day-spas for a full makeover, not that I'd put it past them to try. On that note if you see a group of them tailing you, you may want to run-' he grinned, 'shouldn't be too hard to escape as they're always tottering about in heels. Also I'm sure you've worked out that they’re not being nice to you because they like you. I’m not a native, so I see it too, the Archie Comic vibe this place has? I'm sure I don't need me to tell you that for all that, they’re still eminently capable of graft and cynicism, and right now, in their eyes, you're the a potential Golden Goose, someone who could spread the word to the rest of the country about how perfect their town is,’

 

[Madis]

She stood their arms across her chest as he seemed to tease her about her apologizing; as he did she gave him the kind of look a girl gives when warning him he is on thin ice. And to be honest given what he said next to answer her questions, well to her it sounded like he was dodging so he was on even more thin ice. However at the mention of him not being a native she seemed to perk up a bit, now that was interesting, from what she had gathered no one left the town it was such a wonderful and perfect place, even more strange all the women seemed so happy, and content, why would one leave, well besides the fact that it was like some kind of 50’s white picket fence horror show.

Filing away the interesting tidbit, Mara continued to listen to his speech about the town, though as he reached a certain point he gave up chuckling as he looked down, and admitted to how corny it was but what was more interesting to her was his expression. I was a wry one it was almost as if he did know something, and it was something that he did not well at the very least something that could help her story.

Pretty soon though the young man was looking back up his dark eyes meeting hers, he seemed to have relaxed, his shoulder drooping and she could heard a much more causal sincere tone. This caught Mara off guard a bit as she listened to his next little spout. She had initially pegged the young man as no better than a rich college frat brother, but this tone this demeanor; it was almost kind of sweet. Checking if she liked the room, giving her his number. When he mentioned the women thinking shed be more comfortable in a dress she had to bite her tongue and cover her mouth from laughing. She of course was also amused by the rest of his speech as well. Giving him a sly smile she looked him up and down once more “Well I will certainly think on maybe letting them get me in a dress could be fun to send a picture to my mom she might faint her baby girl finally in a dress” She then smirked as she tapped the envelopes she had received on her bottom lip as if thinking.

“As for your tour well since you weren’t who I thought you were that means they have left already, so I might take you up on that offer. That is if you don’t mind coming in and waiting for me to finish getting ready? I promise I don’t bite. Though you’re wrong I am hardly here to spread good news about anything I am investigative journalist…. well this is a trial run.” Pausing she grabbed a nice professional looking blouse and some nice r looking black pants and headed for the bathroom. Leaving it open just a crack so she could continue talking.

“You see my boss has had numerous people call in about this place, random disappearances, oddness of the people, of course he doesn’t think there is anything here so he set me the new girl on the story. I’ve talked to some of the people who sent in information and well I can smell something here” She then came out and tossing her other clothes in her suit case se t about brushing out her hair which had pretty much dried bye this point. “So anyway you say you’re not native to the town which tell me your mother is not in the town so I have to wonder why every other woman in town seem so dead seat and happy to be here with no desire to leave.” Finishing up her hair she turned to face the young man but remained sitting on the bench like seat in front of the vanity set. “So my question to you Jared is why do you think she left? And are there other women that might have left? Or maybe your dad sent her off for some reason which again seems odd at least to me”

 

[Egoiste!]

Jared had to admit he'd grown to miss that look, and he had nothing against the occasional foray onto such proverbially thin ice. So long as it didn’t end up breaking beneath him of course. Not that it had never happened. Although the way she picked up when she realised he wasn't a local confirmed his suspicions that the young reporter was not the sort who would easily be given the run-around. All in all though he was happy to see her loosening up somewhat. Though the young man canted his head to one side suddenly as if in a state of disbelief when Mara suggested her mother had never seen her in a dress before.

‘You mean she’s never seen you in a dress? Not once?’ Jared appeared slightly taken back by the prospect, ‘No school proms, home-coming dances? Never been a bridesmaid at a fiend’s wedding? I hope this doesn’t mean I’m going native, but that does seem a shame, somehow. You know I believe Christine is throwing some sort of black-tie event this week, and I’m sure I can get you invited if you‘d like, for your mother’s sake.’

He smiled when she accepted his offer of a tour, and suggested he come in and wait while she get changed before silently gesturing for the young reporter to lead the way.

‘Not at all?’ he mused, speaking more to himself when she mentioned that she didn’t bite, his expression and tone suggesting he found this slightly disappointing, ‘I mean I wouldn‘t bite either in this context,’

As Mara grabbed some clothes, and made her way into the bathroom Jared took a seat and rather deliberately glanced out the window in the opposite direction. Doing his best not to let his imagination distract him, and to focus on the view instead, although he turned, and stood up again when she she-appeared, still brushing her dark hair. He felt the urge to offer advice, to ask if she had a hair-dryer, old habits were hard to shake and had to centre himself for a moment so as not to change the subject. She was doing it all wrong though and it was hard to just sit back and watch as years of almost reflexively honed professional experience drying hair to shape made the situation not unlike a chef having to sit back and watch someone ruin fine ingredients.

‘My mother never left, I believe she met my father when he was travelling.’ he said, and she would have noticed his reflection in the mirror as Jared crouched somewhat, his knee resting on the opposite side of the bench she had occupied, ‘Can I help with that-’ he flinched slightly, it had proven impossible to not at least make the offer and now he clearly regretted it, ’… sorry, it’s just, hair is kind of my job, and it’s a reflex-thing. Ignore me, please, I'm not trying to change the subject, I promise. As for other people who have left, it’s not something I keep tabs on personally. You could talk to Felicity though, she runs one of the local boutiques. Arcade. I know she keeps tabs on ex-pats, and is another non-native. Her family mostly live upstate. I only really know her as a customer though. If there's anything you'd like to know about her hair, I'm your man, but I'm afraid you'll have to ask her if you'd care to know anything else. She isn't the most out-going person though. As for people staying here, yes,' he pulled himself away from the bench with that, taking a few steps away and looking out one of the room's large windows with it's expansive view of the town centre and coast, 'Point Pleasant does have a way of… holding on to people… I can’t say I really understand it, but everyone seems happy. Don’t they? Aside from the odd malcontent. Like myself and Michelle Marsh-' his expression changed slightly as if he regretted bringing her up, but there was no stopping now, 'Perhaps malcontent is a strong word, though I know she was scouted by someone from Elite while on holiday and still hasn't forgiven her father for shooting down the offer,'

 

[Madis]

A look of brief disappointment flashed across her face, well the mother might be a dead end then, but she was curious about the father traveling, it could mean nothing, but with the way the people of the Point Pleasant pumped up their town she thought that they would not want to travel, then again there could always bee reasons for business trips. It was another fact that she filed away for later research as she turned around and went back to her hair. As he did Jared approached the bench offering to help with her hair. She smiled at this, and turned to him, “It’s bugging you isn’t it, watching me get ready. And your surprise at me never having worn a dress is something I am use to. If want to know why I was never really what you would call a girly girl… well that’s not true as a kid maybe, and I might have worn dresses then you know but..”

She passed as she went back to brushing out her hair. “Let’s just say that losing a parent can rough, and after I lost my father I stopped caring about the whole looking pretty, Yea it killed my mom, but I made good grades, and stayed out of trouble so she was still proud of me, of course she kind of hates my career path, which I understand. But ultimately I am her daughter and she just wants me to be safe and happy. “Putting the brush down, she began to apply some light makeup finishing up by trying out one of the fragrance sample she had received. IT was a strong but pleasant scent, not something she would normally go for but hey when in Rome. Getting up she smiled at Jared once more seeing him in a different light then before her thoughts clouding slightly. Shaking her head she put a hand to her forehead.

“Anyway I suppose I could gussy up for a formal event, my mentor told me once, Mara sometimes to really get the scope you have to do things you don’t like, for a girl like you if that mean dressing up and putting on the dress, you put on the dress, Though now that I think about it he was drunk and I think a bit disappointed I turned him down to be his plus one at some event he was going to for a story of his own.” She then shrugged. “So back to some of my question’s and if I am herring you right, there have been people that have been broken away from the town, and the person to talk to is like you not from here, which means she is someone I probably do need to talk to, and then there is this Michelle Marsh who you consider to be like you a malcontent. I do know the family name like yours one of the founding families. Though I will have to say bye your face, there is something there that perhaps is not to pleasant. “Letting her words sink in she too the gift cards from the basket and put them in her bag before speaking again.

“You know Jared if I did not know any better I might say that perhaps your issue is a bit more then malcontent, You seem almost, disa…no not that bored maybe, We can always talk about it while you give me this tour, If you want to of course I may be a journalist but I find hounding to much can backfire, I prefer research but I will say this, the run around is becoming tiresome, this story is not just something I am doing to put this town on the map or anything like that. There are…. Well lets just say some of girls I have seen them before, ore likeness and that does raise more questions for me.” She then gave him a sweet smile. “Anyway where should we start?”

 

[Egoiste!]

'Well, maybe, just a tiny bit,' he admitted when it came to watching her get ready, 'Honestly you have lovely hair, and skin, probably because you're not always covering it in chemicals, or blasting it with heat, and I certainly don't think of you in those terms, but then there's a world of options in hairstyling beyond the girly-girl look, not that I think you couldn't carry it off if you ever wanted to,'

Jared's amicable expression became more sympathetic when she mentioned losing her father.

'I'm sorry to hear that,' he said. 'It gives us at least one thing in common though. My mother, and the old man for that matter were never particularly thrilled about my career choices either-' Jared moved back to sit down on the other side of the bench, perched toward the edge in order to leave some space between them though he was facing the opposite direction, and leaned back against his toned forearm which rested atop the edge of the dresser with his torso angled towards her. '-I imagine safety and happiness is what we all want for those we care about. Still it's always been my observation that fathers tend to be less judgemental of daughters than of sons, and vice-versa for mothers. I'm sure if I ever had a daughter I don't think I'd care in the least if she didn't turn out to be a 'girly-girl,' as long as she was doing what she wanted to do.'

He inhaled gently when she tried one of the perfume samples. It was familiar but he couldn't recall the scent's name. Either way it was certainly pleasant. Then as Mara stood up he rose at the same time.

'I'm not suggesting you should,' he said of her attending the formal event, 'Consider it an open invitation. Mind you, I wouldn't begrudge having someone interesting to talk to there if you do decide to go. Attendance is slightly less than optional for me,'

He'd been hoping she might not have picked up on his regret over bringing up Michelle, but couldn't help smiling at the young woman's perceptiveness. Before wondering at himself for not realising sooner that she would have. No doubt reading people was an essential skill for someone in her line of work, and his own angst with respect to the subject of Ms. Marsh was probably as transparent to her as a bottled-blonde would have been to him. He made a mental note of this, and resolved to be less careless in future when it came to choosing his words.

'Well, one of your gift vouchers is for her boutique, and it's not a long walk from here. I can show you the way if you'd like,' Jared said of Felicity before glancing back out the window as he wondered how he should address the subject of Michelle, 'I wouldn't call it unpleasant, though I'm sure our parents would. The fact is, we used to be an item, and I'll be honest she was a large part of why I stayed as long as I did. It's sort of cooled off though. I mean, she's still young and I think we have different priorities, and we're more close friends now than partners, but well-' he smiled wryly again, 'I won't bore you with the details. Save to say that it's, well, a little complicated. No doubt you'll have a chance to meet her and find out. We'll be attending that party I mentioned for example,'

He nodded when she agreed to his offer of a tour and gestured towards the door.

'You're right, incidentally,' he said as they made their way down the hall, and he took a swift step forward to hold the door for her, 'Boredom more or less covers it. I just hope you don't feel like I'm giving you the run-around, I mean I'd be happy to help you track the girls you've mentioned down if you know their names-' Jared pressed the button to call the elevator that would take the two back down to the ground floor, 'Though I can't promise they won't give you the run-around. As for where we start, that depends on you. There's really only the main strip, a few shopping arcades, and the White Beach boardwalk, which is the closest thing we have to a night-spot and where most of the town's cafes and restaurants can be found. Then there's the new library and the town museum in the old council building. Of course there are some gorgeous trails and nature-spots further afield, one in particular heading up to the old Lighthouse at White Point, a sort of picnic spot where the Manuxet River runs out to sea, there's a kind of lagoon there, and the water is fairly calm off-shore as there's a reef centred on Rodd island although that's all a bit too far afield to cover in one day, and I'm sure you have more important things to do than admire the scenery. All the same if you get the change I would recommend spending some time there. The swim to Rodd island is quite something and there's a little penguin colony on the island itself. Cutest damn things. There's maps and trail guides in the council building and library, of course, if you do want to check any of those places out.'

As the elevator opened Jared stood to one side, holding the doors.

'Ladies first-' he grinned slightly, 'girly-girl or not, you certainly qualify,'

 

[Madis]

Giving him a small smile she shook her head, “that kind of you to say, but he passed when I was little, though he is the reason I became a journalist. It’s why my mom has never been thrilled with my job, the cops ruled it as accidental death. But my mom still believes it was tied to a story he was working on. My mother has never been judgmental per –say. Though she did have a bit of a fit a couple of years… but I won’t bore you with that.”

As they made their way to the elevator and then waited for it to reach their floor she listened to everything he said about the town. She had to admit It did seem that, for a smaller town, there was quite a bit to see and do. Though she was starting to think that maybe it had been a good thing her boss had set her on the story. Then as the doors opened he stood to the side allowing her to go first. Once again her head felt a bit foggy and she smiled a bit. Such a gentlemanly thing to do maybe, stepping on to the elevator she once more put a hand to her forehead shaking her head thinking to herself. What was in that wine?

Once inside she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Well to tell you the truth, my boss didn’t just set me to the assignment to get my feet wet. I have pretty much been living at work since I started, so he told me to also take some time and relax while I was here, so I might do just that.” She then lightly bumped him with her hip “And I think I will take you up on the offer to go that event, who knows maybe I will enjoy being all gussied up for a night.”

Once they reached the lobby area they made their way to the front doors and stepped out. Once outside she looked around, as she did she thought about how it just seemed to be to picturesque, the women in their dresses, some walking with their husbands other gossiping with other women. And their dresses, it really was like stepping back in time. She almost felt bad for them. But if they were happy, that’s when she felt it as once more her mind fogged up and she had a small urge to want to be like them so carefree, nothing to worry about. Shaking her head once more she let out a slightly aggravated sigh as she turned to Jared. “You know, I don’t k now what was in the wine but I swear, I had half glass and It feels like I drank about the whole thing. Whatever it is in there it was good but theses after affects are pretty out there, anyway Mr. Tour guide I believe I will let you take lead here and show me this lovely town of yours. “

 

[Egoiste!]

In truth Jared couldn't help but be curious about her allusions to how her father had died, and the remarks about her mother. He had a feeling that it would not be boring at all to learn the full story, but they also seemed like rather personal topics and as much as it piqued Jared's curiosity he knew it wouldn't do to pry.

He hopped into the elevator after the attractive young reporter after holding the door, and glanced in Mara's direction when she took a deep breath. His lips curled upward ever so slightly when she admitted that her boss had sent her here to relax. He was surprised when she bumped her hip against him. Under normal circumstances it was the sort of gesture he'd have read as flirtatious, but regardless it suggested she was probably feeling more comfortable around him.

'Well, if you need someone to do your hair for the occasion I'd like to volunteer,' despite the playful banter he reserved some private misgivings about how Michelle might regard this attractive stranger.

Things might have cooled off between them, but Jared knew Ms. Marsh could still be quite possessive. He hoped he would get a chance to talk to her prior to the event. It could prove difficult though as their parents both did everything they could to keep the two apart.

'I'm not much of a drinker myself,' Jared admitted as the two of them stepped out into the street, 'so I'm not sure if that's normal or not.'

He felt a slight twinge of guilt about not being honest with Mara over the wine although he wasn't lying about his own drinking habits. Old concerns about whether or not he liked, or loathed the way things worked in Point Pleasant were suddenly swirling to the surface of his thoughts. Of course it was one thing when everyone involved had agreed ahead of time, but the town's method of dealing with strangers had always made him slightly uncomfortable. At least in Mara's case he was the one overseeing matters. It provided him with certain options. One was to simply do nothing. She could enjoy a nice, relaxing holiday, hopefully not discover anything incriminating that would cause problems for any of the people he cared about here, and then go home and return to her old life. Of course people would be furious with him for letting her go, but it hardly mattered when he was planning on leaving himself. The real issue was, if it came down to it, he knew it wouldn't be easy to say no. Jared shoved these thoughts aside and tried to focus on simply enjoying her company. That was easy enough.

They were standing on the town's main street. A few hundred yards from the coast in one direction, and few hundred yards from the town's largest park where the new library had been opened. There weren't many cars on the road - people in Point Pleasant usually walked or sometimes cycled to get around as the town itself was not especially large - however the streets were fairly busy considering the hour. Mostly couples, families, and the occasional group of youngsters. Some out shopping, or socialising in various small cafe's although much of the foot-traffic, such as it was, seemed to be moving toward the coast.

'Do you still want to interview Felicity?' Jared asked gesturing across the street, perhaps forty or fifty yards away, to where an old-fashioned arcade style shopping centre opened off the main street even as a gaggle of young women trailed out carrying the sort of small paper bags that were a common feature of certain high-end clothing stores. 'I'd be happy to introduce the two of you-' he gestured for Mara to follow, noticing a decent gap in the traffic that would save them having to back-track to the nearest intersection and cross-walk, 'C'mon,' he offered her his hand.

Jared did not need to pick up his pace beyond a brisk walk to get across the main street. Had she taken his hand while crossing he would have let go once they alighted on the opposite sidewalk.

'I believe the Marshes built this particular arcade,' he noted as they headed down the main street together. 'or it may have been a joint-venture with the Wrights. They seem to get along with everyone. I don't know what started the whole Wilkinson-Marsh feud myself, to be honest, I'm not even sure they know. I think disliking each other has become a kind of town tradition,' Jared shrugged with this remark, suggesting it did not matter much to him, before smiling slightly, and gesturing further down the street, 'You might be able to see my salon from here: Amour Amour, the name is a bit of an in-joke. A reference to Jean Patou's first fragrance, an ode to brunettes-' he glanced back at Mara with a slight grin, 'thankfully not something our blonde and red-headed customers have picked up on. Unfortunately I seldom get to work there. I suspect my father thinks it's beneath our families dignity or something. He's always managing to keep me occupied with town business,' despite his slightly carless tone something about Jared's posture, and the way he spoke suggested this was a sore point.

The arcade itself was a rather old-fashioned, two-storey affair with broad, shallow steps leading up to the large, open double-doors where one could have seen clear through to a second entrance opening onto the the next street over were it not for the escalator leading up to the second, terraced floor. Inside there were only four stores on the first floor. Another salon which seemed to cater more to nails, a jeweller, a homewares store and another which appeared to sell fragrances and cosmetics. Upstairs it was all clothing stores of one sort or another aside from a small tailor's shop; one selling shoes, another focused on more intimate apparel, a third whose displays suggested it traded in more formal attire, and the store Jared had mentioned earlier, 'Arcade,' which appeared to focus on a broader mixture of contemporary fashions.

 

[Madis]

As they stood there for a moment watching as people went about their business for the day she shook her head once more to clear away the rest of the fogginess. To be honest she had been quiet disappointed Jared could not help her. She had always prided herself on her sharp mind and astute observation skills. But whatever was going on, while it was not affecting her in a drastic way, she could feel a nagging feeling starting to grow. That was something to worry about alters though.

Coming back to what was going on she barely heard his question. “Umm, Felicity? Oh yes, that would actually be kind of nice. I could always pick up something while I am there as well at the very least give her some business if I am going to pester her with question’s” Mara then took his the offered hand, as they crossed the street the nagging feeling returned, his hand felt warm and familiar, almost like his was a perfect fit for her to hold. When they had finished crossing the street and he let go she almost wished he hadn’t but once more she pushed the thoughts away as she listened to speaking about things When he mentioned the feud Wilkinson-Marsh and how they probably didn’t really know what it was about she looked at him. It was no wonder he wanted out of this town .

His face lit up a bit though as he pointed out his Salon, she smiled at the name and shook her head as he mentioned his blond and red –headed customers hadn’t picked up on it. As he continued speaking she could tell by his posture that he rather be working at the saloon then what he was doing now. Then she smiled a bit “You know..” She lowered her voice a bit as she continued “I mean no offense to your women here I am sure most if not all are quite pleasant. But the fact that they have not caught on to your salon name is not surprising. I mean look at them. I have never seen more content women in my life, and I once did an interview for a special piece at an all-girls school. I actually know a more than a couple of guys that would love the women here including my…” Mara stopped herself there and blushed a bit “umm so this is the arcade” She looked at the building as they reached it and followed him inside.

Looking around she had to admit it was a nice little shopping area, it seemed much like a miniature mall an d she made a mental not to come bye on her own and maybe look around. For now she continued to follow Jared up to the second floor, as they reached it she looked around and was not surprised to find it was all different clothing stores. She was kind of a bit surprised to see the intimate store, she was not sure why but it almost seemed out of place in the ton. The one shop she was interested in though was “Arcade” and she followed Jared in and hoped to find at least a few answers.

 

[Egoiste!]

'None taken,' Jared responded, grinning slightly at Mara's assessment of the women in Point Pleasant.

Then she said something that clearly piqued his curiosity. Including my...? The comment evoked a rather piquant sense of interest from Jared who was barely able to conceal his disappointment when Mara quickly stopped and changed the subject. Was she talking about her crew, perhaps? A brother? The context made it very unlikely she was referring to a boyfriend. Perhaps an ex? Maybe it was a reference to the co-worker she'd mentioned earlier who had been urging her to attend a particular event as his plus one? Not knowing, and feeling it would not be politic to change the subject back made for a very frustrating experience. It wasn't a comment he was going to forget though, and certainly one he eventually wanted to get to the bottom of.

There were a trio of pretty, stylishly dressed and made-up girls - teenagers still for the most part - staffing the expansive boutique, all clad in some of the more conspicuously displayed fashions on sale. All but one of them turned toward the entrance when Jared and Mara appeared in the store. It was still early, and two of them appeared to be busy stocking shelves and organising displays, and though they perked up at this potential distraction from their current work the closest of the three was quick to dart over towards the newcomers leaving her work-mate to continue with the rather dull work of checking and re-stocking shelves. The third, and most distant from the entrance, appeared to be fetching something which she carried through the open arch which lead into the fitting rooms, suggesting she was already busy attending to another customer.

The girl who had leaped to attend to the newcomers had a rather striking head of almost cornsilk-blonde hair which contrasted with her deep tan, and as she hurried over to the pair.

'Good morning Mr. Wilkinson,' she chirped before her brow creased slightly as she looked Mara over, her expression redolent of a certain confusion as she glanced between the two, 'Welcome to Arcade, Ms-'

'-Kris, Mr. Wilkinson is my old man,' Jared put in suddenly, and his expression seemed to suggest they'd been through this more than once, 'Please, call me Jared, and this is Mara, she's doing a story on Point Pleasant, is Flick around?'

'Oh, yes,' the girl said. 'She's in her office,'

A moment passed in silence.

'Uh, should I go get her?' Kris asked.

'Yes, thank you I'd appreciate that,'

'Alright I'll be right back Miste-uhm... Jared,'

As the young blonde scampered off, and disappeared through a door behind the store's counter Jared looked at Mara.

'Nice girl,' he said, 'but a walking example of why Patou's ode to blonde's was named Que Sais Je-?' he grinned faintly, 'Would you like to take a look around? Your gift basket contained a voucher so it shouldn't cost you anything, assuming she isn't too busy it might be best if I talk to Felicity first. She's one of the few people in town I consider a friend and I don't want her to think I'm throwing her under a bus,'

 

[Madis]

Mara watched as the closest of the three girls darted towards them as they entered the boutique. She could see the look of disappointed on the other girl as she went back to the mundane task of checking and restocking. It was a look that she remembered always being on her face when she had worked with a friend of hers in their teenage years. Of course turned out…

Mara was brought back to the present when the girl that had rushed to them greeted them, as she did Mara could see the look of the confusion on her face. It was one she was used to getting around the town bye this point so she just smiled at the girl. When her exchange with Jared was done and the young man asked if she would like to look around Mara shook her head.

“No I think I may come here tomorrow though and have a look around.” She then gave the young man a playful shove "Also cut the girl some slack she is doing her job Mr. Wilkinson" Smiling at him she continued. “ Also so you know I worked in a small store like this when I was about their age. Well it was a s mall bookstore. Me and my best friend worked their every summer till are senior year of High school. My friend was like I believe you said Kris was here name, and the one over there doing the restocking that was me. Those were some fun times, but we grew apart, she went her way and I went mine. "

 

[Egoiste!]

Jared couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed when Mara said she might come back later to take a look at the store. Of course, it made sense. Shopping for clothes was not the sort of thing one would generally do in the company of a stranger, but one look at the attractive young reporter, and then at the store's contents and overall aesthetic suggested she probably wasn't used to such attire and Jared couldn't help being curious about whether anything in the store would pique her interest.

He was about to respond when she gave him a playful shove, and he lurched back, hopping twice as if to keep from stumbling, 'hey-!' he intoned, 'I was being nice. Wasn't I?' he raised a hand to scratch the back of his neck in an uncharacteristically self-conscious gesture before raising an eyebrow, clearly listening as she went on.

As first he seemed slightly shocked when Mara mentioned working in a store like Arcade. Although the expression faded quickly when she qualified that it had been a bookstore.

'That sounds fun,' he said. 'My main memory of high-school was of being bored and trying to impress girls. Looking back, I don't think they were all that impressed-' he canted his head slightly, a slight grin showing as he looked at Mara, 'I get the feeling you'd have found me annoying. Also you do realise these girls probably don't even know what a book store is? I mean it's just some weird boomer-thing to them, like record stores and renting movies,' he sighed, 'I mean I remember finding grown-ups confusing, and now we're the grown-ups, well you are at least. I guess I'm still playing with the hair on my sisters dolls, in a manner of speaking,' Jared's tone was facetious as he glanced at the two teenagers in the shop, although his expression suggested he was not entirely joking.

At the same moment Kris reappeared behind the counter, but Jared was too focused on Mara to notice her until she was standing a few feet away.

'Mr. Wilkinson-' she started.

He turned towards the young blonde with this, and was on the verge of interrupting her, but then he glanced back at the reporter, and fixed her with a pointed expression that seemed to say, 'see? I'm being nice.' when he stopped himself from interrupting the girl.

'-I'm sorry, but Ms. Davies said she's terribly busy, but she'll be free for lunch.' Kris finished.

'Ah, well, can't be helped. Thanks all the uh-' Jared was staring over the shorter young girls head at someone emerging from the changing rooms, '... same,'

A young woman who had just stepped out into the store was more striking than pretty, and very tall. Had she not been in flat-soled sandals she would likely have stood eye-to-eye with Jared. She looked younger than Mara by a few years and her height only made her exiguous frame seem more boyish. She was wearing the sort of thing that was meant to look thrown together; a very short pair of cut-offs, and a tight red tank top, the thin shoulder straps of which did not quite conceal the matching red straps of a bra without which the ever-so-slightly low cut top would have shown off naught. In fact a second glance would have made it clear her appearance had been laboured over somewhat. From the carefully colour-matched makeup to the way her asymmetrically styled blonde hair tended to fall over one side of her face. She waved away the shop-girl who had been waiting on her and strode directly over to Jared and Mara while brushing back her hair as her wide-set blue eyes glanced between the two.

'You missed my appointment yesterday,' the tall blonde said, poking Jared in the chest with a long, perfectly manicured finger, her brash confidence seeming quite at odds with the typical attitude shared by most women in Point Pleasant.

'I called, and texted,' he said.

'Look at my hair!' she said, while blowing at the errant curls which kept falling over one her eyes in an exasperated fashion.

'It's not my fault,' Jared gestured at Mara as if to explain.

'Yes,' she said acknowledging the reporter's existence, brushing back her hair, and holding it up as if it were a curtain obscuring the view as she looked the older woman over, smiling politely, 'nobody said anything about you being gorgeous,'

The tall blonde seemed to be thinking something over and Jared quickly cut in to introduce the two, 'Mara this is Michelle Marsh, Michelle, this is Mara Lightner-' he raised a hand with that as if he had something important to add, 'Also, I certainly did mention it. It's in my text message,'

'Really?' the blonde cut back incredulously as she shifted the small handbag hanging from one of her slender shoulders and whipped out her phone, tapping and swiping at the screen.

'She's doing a story on Point Pleasant, I'm supposed to be giving her a tour,' there was a pleading quality to Jared's tone as he went on, 'why don't you come in tonight at about six, and I'll fix your hair while the girls are closing up shop?' he seemed eager to leave.

'Wait.' Michelle had evidently found the correct message.

Jared took a step back. He looked like he was on the verge of bolting for the nearest exit.

'Hey, Michelle...' the blonde read out-loud, and though she trailed off her lips continued to move so that it was very clear what she was reading: they've got me doing boring townie stuff so I can't make your appointment, she nodded as if satisfied, I'm supposed to be looking after some journalist or something... sick of this crap... have to make up a gift-basket, any suggestions? OK, just met her, this may not be a bad thing... hair is a mess but she is totally gorgeous... let's catch up soon, 'Well,' she said, indifferent any embarrassment reading the message might have caused, 'Fine. Six O'clock then-' Michelle turned to Mara with that, 'lovely to meet you. I hope he didn't make a mess of the gift-basket,'

 

[Madis]

Watching him scratch the back of his neck Mara could not help but smile. She could not believe how much Jared reminded her of him. Well the part she had fallen for a t least, of course Jared was younger than her he had been older. A slight frown crossed her face, ok Mara now is not the time think happy thoughts.

Listening to him go on she could not help but smile again, he was not entirely wrong the girls working in the boutique probably had never seen a book store. But Mara was sure that was not so much a generation thing for them. There were still book chains around. This Town was so secluded though, though she did wonder what exactly they thought in the schools here. Something else to look into maybe, shaking her head a bit as finished she gave him a bit of a stern look. “First Jared don’t go knocking record stores, I probably spent more time there in my free time at a local one in the town I grew up in. I suppose you can say in some ways I can be a bit of an old fashioned girl, and also don’t sell yourself short Jared. Believe it or not I did date in HS and in college even… “Her voice trailed off though as Kris returned.

She watch and then fixed Jared with a look as he was about to interrupt the girl, his own look made her smile a bit and she shook her head. The teen then delivered her message And Jared began to thank her but seemed distracted. Turing her gaze Mara looked at where he was staring . A woman had stepped out of the dressing rooms, Mara could tell she was a few years younger than herself but she was tall, with an almost boyish frame. What caught Mara off guard though was the outfit. She was the first woman Mara had seen that didn’t dress like she was trying to model a 50’s house wife.

As she walked over to them Mara’s eyebrow’s started to furrow a bit, she was not sure why but something about her bugged the reporter. She listened to her opening exchange with Jared complaining about him missing their appointment. When the Marsh woman finally acknowledged her existence Mara realized what bugged her so much. Where Jared had reminded her of her ex She reminded her of ex best friend. Things continued to unfold and Mara they were making Jared more than a bit uncomfortable. Then as the blond pulled out her phone his voice took on a pleading quality as he spoke out what was in the text he had sent and offered to do her hair later. It was almost like he was in a rush to get away from the woman before she could fgind.

And then the blond found the message she had been searching for and began to read it. As Mara listened to the whole thing she kept her face perfectly normal. She was seething though, So she was just boring town work at first. She could understand thatafter talking to Jared but hey she was gorgeous so it was fine, and she had noticed Michelle saying the same. When she was done Michelle wished her a pleasant day however Mara said nothing until the woman had turned away. And she started to laugh.

“This…This I great… no this is absolutely fucking perfect. I get sent to investigate Pleasantville and who do I meet but two people that remind me of the two people that completely ruined my life. We have the man who I thought loved me and then the woman who I thought was my best friend who I caught in bed together the night before the wedding.” Then looking directly at Jared she jammed a finger in his chest. “You Mr. are going to keep showing me around and find some way to explain to me why it is I make people nervous. If you don’t want to tell me that is fine I can tell you don’t like whatever is going on and I’m sure I kind find some way to squeeze more information out of your father… if he ever acutely intends to speak to me.”

She then turned to Michelle walking towards her slowly. “And you, the whiney little prissy who thinks the world revolves around her. I was friends with a woman just like you once we were friends for years. Why I was I do not know maybe I was just glad one of the girls had taken the time to be nice of me when I started at that dam school full of rich snobs. But she showed her true colors and now she is divorced and struggling because she burned every bridge with everyone who even use to remotely care about her. So my advice to you is play nice, I may be miffed with Jared at the moment but in the very short time I’ve talked to him I’ve found he’s a pretty nice guy. So you have a nice day to Ms. Marsh, oh and the basket was quite nice thank you.” With her bit said she turned around slightly calmer and then the fogginess came like a crushing wave and she stumbled slightly as she caught herself on a display table. What had she just said why had she been so rude that’s not how a lady acts, she should apologize. No she thought her words needed to sink into the woman’s brain and pushing herself up and shaking her head she walked to Jared and took his hand. “Let’s go before I do something I will really regret”

 

[Egoiste!]

'Oh, I miss record stores as well,' Jared spoke up, and then he grinned slightly when Mara mentioned dating in high-school and college, 'I believe it, hell if we'd gone to school together you'd have been on the, 'must impress,' list-' the young man ran a hand through his short, dark hair suddenly as if something about this idea distracted him, 'but seriously, I wasn't very good at actually talking to girls.'

On that front Jared felt reasonably confident things had improved. Once upon a time he would have found it impossible not to make an ass of himself in the presence of someone like Mara, but now they seemed to be getting along fairly well. So naturally something had to go wrong, and someone else was going to make an ass of him. Jared had been hoping he would get a chance to call or talk to Michelle and explain the situation. He'd suspected any kind of impromptu meeting between her and Mara would be unlikely to go smoothly. Though they were no longer a couple Michelle was the closest thing to an actual princess in Point Pleasant, and she tended to be possessive of those things she thought of as being hers, and that amounted to quite a lot of things. The moment she removed her phone he knew what she was going to do, and he knew it was completely deliberate. Thankfully she hadn't read the entire message. If she had Jared would have been looking for a window to leap out of. So when she finished he responded with a strange mixture of embarrassment blended with a relieved sense of gratitude.

'I'll be there,' he said of the appointment.

Jared did not expect Mara to react well, but when she spoke he seemed more surprised than anything else. The laughter took him off guard and her next comments were the last thing he ever would have expected. Unfortunately before he could respond, while musing about the fact that his chest had been prodded far too many times for one day, the dark-haired reporter set off after Ms. Marsh. When the tall blonde realised Mara was behind her, and heard the words, 'whiney little prissy,' she whirled about on her heel and Jared immediately tensed up and rushed over raising a hand as he stood behind the reporter now she stood between the two taller figures, and glanced pointedly at Ms. Marsh over Mara's shoulder as if pleading with her not to escalate things.

'I'm sorry about what happened to you,' Michelle responded evenly, 'I don't know why you're throwing shade at me over something someone else did though-' the blonde raised her chin slightly and straightened up, '-Anyway, I have an appointment and I don't want to be late, I hope you enjoy your time here Ms. Lightner,'

Though the tall blonde swept by in a rather imperious manner while adjusting her handbag she did halt, and glance back when Mara stumbled and caught herself on one of the displays. For a moment it appeared she was going to return and offer to help but when Jared signalled that it would be alright she continued towards the exit.

'Are you alright?' he asked Mara, meeting her part-way to the display after seeing her falter. 'Honestly, I was kind of expecting that to turn out worse-' he glanced down, somewhat surprised that she had taken his hand, '-Michelle isn't a bad person,' he added, 'she's like the obnoxious little sister I never had. Do we really remind you of people who ruined your life?'

 

[Madis]

And there it was the same e kind of dismissive attitude. No Michelle had been right, she might have reminded her of her once closest friend but it had not been her that had stabbed her in the back.

As she stumbled Jared came to check on her. After grabbing his hand and telling them they should leave she started to move dragging him behind. When she was finally out of the building she took a deep breath and then rounded on Ja red and opened her mouth. Instead of talking though she took a breath and turned away again. After taking yet another deep breath she turned to face him, her eyes still looked like they were filled with anger but she spoke calmly. “If you much know yes you do, and what I am about to tell you… well I don’t talk about my past much so….”

She paused briefly before she continued. “After my father passed things where hard on my mom, she had been a house wife and here she was with a 5 year old girl and though she was smart she had not held a job since getting married. Well she found a pretty decent tone working as a secretary at a nearby private school. Bes part about it was between her working there and the potential I showed in academics they let me enroll. Most of the kids picked on me I was poor girl well in their eyes, only one person took up for me and that was Kathrine, As I said I think I was happy to have met her that even as teens I never really saw how much of actually and priss she really was. She was also the princess type” Here she paused and smiled nodding “Yes I know the type and I had you friend pegged the moment she started to speak” She took a breath and continued.

“Anyway are junior year this guy moved to are school hi name was Nathaniel and he was a senior, well I had been assigned to show him around and we hit off. He asked me out a dozen times before I relented and said yes. We dated for years, went to the same college I even moved in with him my senior year of college. Anyway He ended up proposing to me the night a graduated we were happy…. Well I thought we were. After college I was off red a well what they called a research assistant job at the paper I work for now. I was basically a paid intern.” Here her eyes started to look sad.

“The night before are wedding my Mentor had called me, he had hit rough patch and had been out boozing and the bartender had taken his keys, so I had gone to take him home. Well when I got back to apartment I could hear voices inside. I knew that it was Kathrine but we had all been close since High school so I thought maybe she had come over to see me she was the maid hon or…. When I saw them together I wanted to yell and scream but I didn’t I just left. Nathaniel caught up to me outside are building and boy I laid into him…. “

Turning away she sighed, “He told me that it was my fault, I was always working, he told me there was no need for it he had money, which was true his family was loaded and he was set to take over his father’s business. He didn’t want a partner though he wanted a piece of eyes candy when he went to his stupid parties and event’s.” She turned to Jared “ The worse part was he was a lot like you when we first dated, He enjoyed me for who I was, he also hated his father’s business and had dreams of doing something different, And as for your friend she the same kind of spoiled princess as Kathrine who always has to have her way and if she has had something then it is her period even if she has tossed it to the side. Though in the case of Nathaniel she had just been jealous that he had chosen me over her, it was that night I realized she had kept me around or tolerated me because she thought it made her look good being friends with someone like me, you know a smart girl who was not as attractive “

Taking a deep breath she fixed her eyes on his eyes a look of relief filtering across her face. “So maybe now you can see why the women of this town get to me, why it bugs me the way they act. And also why I do not like being brushed aside, I want answers Jared, The families of the missing girls that approached me deserve answers. I believe you when you say you don’t know everything, but I am not stupid, You now a bit more then you let on, just tell me I mean maybe I am wrong and this town’s charm appeals to some people and maybe I go back with a story that reads like an advertisement for a quaint vacation spot. “She then smiled at him and grabbed his hand again.

“Anyway you still have a tour to continue on with, and sorry for blowing up on Michelle, I now you two are not them… It’s just two years ago they got divorced, yea they got married they eloped not long after I caught them, that’s when my mother found out I had lied about why the weeding was called off. I didn’t want her to think badly of Nathaniel, I was angry for his reasons but I guess at some level I understood where he was coming from it was the world he was raised in. Anyway not long before I came here Kathrine reached out to me, she had taken the divorce pretty hard and because of the scandal of everything, turned out she had gotten pregnant bye another man. Well her family cut her off and most of her friends stopped talking to her. I guess I was not much better, I told her in my message that she was getting exactly what she deserved and maybe she should stop whoring around. I guess you can say I hearing about their divorce and then her call just really dragged things up for me. Anyway as I was saying where to next Mr. Tour guide, and I promise no explosions, I mean I think I scared those poor girls in there, they are probably going to think all outsiders are crazy after that.”

 

[Egoiste!]

For a moment Jared seemed worried after seeing Mara stumble. Of course he was no chemist, and did not know if it was likely or even possible, but part of him suspected her reaction must have had something to do with their town's, 'magic,' and he wondered if it was possible that she might be suffering some sort of negative reaction. He made a mental note to phone, and grill their local expert over the possibility of negative or allergic reactions, and any risks involved. Though he suspected getting an honest answer about the exact workings of such things might prove difficult he felt - as the eldest son of one of their founders - he could always lean on the guy a little to ensure a straight answer. After all Jared already had mixed feelings about what was happening to Mara, and if there was any chance it could prove dangerous he knew he'd have to call things off somehow, get her to leave somehow even if he did dislike the idea of her doing so.

'Then I won't breath a word of it to anyone else,' he promised, his tone sincere when the attractive young reporter said she rarely spoke about her past. As she went on it did not take long before the young man's dark eyes were disposed sympathetically towards her, 'I went to schools like that,' he noted, his voice softening, 'they're not good places to be an outsider,'

With that he went silent, saying nothing as Mara continued her story. When she finally finished he was glad to see that she seemed relieved to have gotten it off her chest, and did not object as the young reporter took his hand. Jared followed her out of the store.

'Yes, Michelle is an annoying brat with a huge princess-complex,' despite the admission there was a certain affection present in the way the young man spoke of Ms. Marsh, 'She's not like that though. I mean we didn't work out, but like I said she's like a little sister now, and she wants to come with me when I leave. See, she was scouted by an agency rep from Elite during a holiday recently, and she wants to take up the offer and see how far she can get in the industry, but her dad would never support her leaving for something like that and it'd be tough for her to support herself in such an expensive city, and I know she'd never leave if she had to do it by herself. That's what she's jealous of losing. I know, it doesn't make sense. Jealousy rarely does. As for me I've never cheated on anyone, well-' his attractive features were eclipsed by a slightly shame-faced expression, 'OK once I two-timed a girl in high-school, but we'd never done more than kiss, and it felt crappy enough that I've never wanted to do anything like it again. Also I've never had to ask someone out a dozen times before they said yes, well-' Jared scratched the back of his head self-consciously with that, 'by that, I mean, yeah I've been rejected plenty, but one no is plenty for me,'

He found himself looking into her eyes, meeting Mara's gaze steadily, and nodded when she spoke of why the women in town bothered her.

'They bother me too,' he pointed out, 'You may not have noticed, but whatever else you might think of Michelle she isn't typical of Point Pleasant. As for those girls like I said if you can tell me their names I can track them down for you, or maybe we can find data in the town-records about new arrivals and track them down that way. Incidentally that's the biggest reason why you make people nervous here. They like their town, they're proud of it, but they know it's... unorthodox, so they've always been wary of outsiders, but you're a reporter as well. So they're worried about what sort of story you mean to tell.'

Jared felt bad about not coming clean completely, but at the same time he knew it wasn't an option. He may not have liked Point Pleasant, but he had friends, like Felicity, who would be hurt if the town's secret ever got out. It wasn't the simplest issue to grapple with of course, but for that reason he simply put it out of his head, and took Mara's hand gratefully when she mentioned he had a tour to complete before his expression became more sympathetic as she related her former friend's fate.

'I don't blame you for responding like that,' he said, 'As for the tour, if being in town is bugging you, why don't we do something that's actually nice-?' one of Jared's dark brows twitched upward slightly, 'We've got a few hours until lunchtime, and I can always text Flick and ask her to make it a late lunch. I know a place where we can rent some bikes, and we could head over to the coast, swim out to Rodd island, I promise our penguins are just like normal penguins, not annoying or mysterious at all,'

 

[Madis]

She smiled at Jared; he might have reminded her of her ex, or the way her ex use to be. However after her time working as a journalist and the past two years as an investigative reporter, she could tell that the boy no young man in front of her was also different. She could tell that he was torn as well. She knew he was keeping things away from her. But she could tell he was doing it to protect people he cared about, and even if it was her job to press for the juicy stuff the most important lesson her Mentor had taught her was sometimes not pressing but being friendly could get you more than hounding and badgering.

“Look I am sure Michelle is a great young woman, and I understand what she is to you. I am sure she would not do something like my friend did, your right she does want more, I could see it in her eyes. “The same way I can see it in your eyes, maybe though “, she paused for a moment thinking of how to phrase her next words. “Maybe as much as you both want to leave maybe there is something bigger here you both need to see through, now before you call me some kind of religious nut, I do believe that people are put in our lives for a reason. I believe people are where they are needed in that moment, like my mentor he could have retired long before he did, but I think he was meant to be my guide. I don’t think anyone else would have been a good for me as he was. Of course I could be completely wrong but it is a nice though”

She then listened to his suggestion and smiled “Well its not being in town that bugs me it’s the women, does not help that I am pretty sure they are whispering about me when I pass buy them. It is like you said earlier that they may try to drag me off to the spa, Though I suppose a makeover wouldn’t be all that bad I could even have one of girls do my hair and stuff the day of your little even and surprise you.” She shook her head smiling “Anyway I do not know, I will say that your town as whole intrigues me more than just the story that sent me here, so let’s do it lets go to this island, I think I may call my editor tonight tell him there may be more here and that I plan staying for a bit longer use some of my vacation, My guys wouldn’t be too thrilled about it but I’m the boss as far as they are concerned. “

Her eyes then went wide as she put her hand to her forehead “Wait if we have to swim across to their I don’t even have a swimsuit in my suit case, wasn’t really expecting I would need one.” And then there is my bag where Am I supposed to put it, I mean I have some important files in this bag. Though you do have me curious I sand an d it sound like it could be a good place to relax for a bit gather m y thought s. She then smiled at Jared a slight twinkle in her eye. “Maybe even get to know a bit more about you, I’d love to hear ab out your mother who knows maybe in hearing about her I can unravel a new thread to things, I mean another thing my mentor taught me was sometimes it takes an outside prospective to really know what’s going on. “ She then cocked her head to the side. “First though what to do ab out a swim suit… though I guess going in undergarments wouldn’t be the worse. What do you say Jared”

 

[Egoiste!]

Jared's broad shoulders fell slightly, not in a defeated way, but in a manner that evoked a poignant sense of relief which showed on his face as well now that he had gotten certain things off his chest with respect to the young Ms. Marsh and the nature of their relationship, and seen that Mara appeared to be taking it in stride. All the same he could not help being himself, and her words saw him perk up and grin slightly.

'Girl,' came his immediate, clipped response to the reporter's observations about Michelle, 'You're a young woman, give her a few years, but I'm glad you understand, and you're not wrong about me. Fun as that world is I'm happy on the side-line-' he shrugged his broad shoulders, 'maybe it's all a bit sentimental, but I want to slow down a bit. Not the easiest thing in that city, and this industry,' Jared seemed to be leaving something unsaid here, but he already felt this admission was corny enough without openly speaking of settling down.

He shook his head at Mara's self-depreciating comment when she continued. Of course plenty of people entertained such ideas and although Jared wasn't sure he felt the same way with respect to people the notion of having a purpose that was bigger than one's self was something he could very much relate to, and it wasn't a concept he felt the religious had any special monopoly on.

'I'm glad to hear you have someone like that in your life,' he responded with a smile, 'mentors are so important. Hell, I don't know where I'd be now if I hadn't taken on an apprenticeship- he gestured somewhat confusedly then as if he wasn't sure how to phrase what he wanted to say, 'It feels good to sort of return the favour, y'know? I mean teach. You know we've got an apprentice at Amour Amour, and it's the biggest reason why I hate being kept out of the place, even if I do suspect that she was responsible for Michelle's current hair crisis-' he shrugged, 'though honestly, I think the Veronica Lake look suits her,'

Jared could not help but smile at the idea of Mara being given a Point Pleasant style makeover though he also felt quite certain any townswomen involved might regret the results if they did manage to swing such a transformation. Indeed he felt quite certain the young reporter would leave most of them for dead, and nobody liked being shown up at their own game, especially by a non-player. Though he wondered whether Mara was, in fact, a non-player. Perhaps she simply had her own methods. Though Jared suspected otherwise. Maybe he was being taken in, but she did not seem the type for social contrivance unless it was in aid of her work.

'Well, if you ever want to book a chair at Amour Amour you need only ask the owner-' Jared tapped his own chest with this, 'I don't doubt the old man will figure some way to keep me from getting involved of course,' his tone was tinged with a certain long-suffering irritation although he raised a dark eyebrow hopefully when he went on, 'though if our important out-of-town VIP made it a personal request we'd have to accommodate her-' his head canted slightly then as he looked at her, his dark eyes appraising in a long-practised, albeit largely professional context, 'but then again that might ruin the surprise. I do trust our staff to take good care of you,'

Perhaps it was odd. The thought of getting most of Mara's clothes off for a swim out to a deserted island should have been a very exciting one. Enough to eclipse any other consideration with respect to her. However Jared was clearly more taken, and noticeably excited by the prospect of getting her into his salon to consider the former in much detail. Which wasn't to say he was indifferent to the idea. More that, especially after she mentioned that she might stay longer which saw him perk up visibly, there was a little bit too much good news being delivered his way to consider it all in detail. At least for the time being.

'Oh, I wouldn't worry about that,' he said when she mentioned not having a swimsuit, 'there are a few surf-shops down at the coast where I'm sure you can find something to your taste-' his dark eyes flickered downward, and back up to her face and it appeared now Jared was beginning to appreciate the notion in more detail, 'I mean I'll need to pop into one of them as well. I know the owners, and they can look after anything we want to leave. Better than heading back home, after all if we want to make it back in time for lunch we'll have to hurry. It's a fairly long swim, although the water is calm, but if we move fast we should be able to spend a few hours on the sand. I'm sure you'd appreciate it, and I can tell you anything you want to know, once we're there,'

Jared took a few steps forward and turned to face her standing not far from the escalator that would take them back down to the ground floor. He offered the young reporter his hand, and at the same moment his gaze seemed be taking her in now the space between them allowed for a more complete view, and the smiling young man almost forgot about the idea of getting her into his salon.