for Charlie J

[tooktheblack]

More and more, Jon found that his days were idle upon the island and he didn't care for it. There were Robb and Reynald to consider, of course, and he did aid Del from time to time with her shop but other than that, there were hours every day that he just couldn't seem to fill. No amount of tracking with Ghost or swimming in the sea seemed to fill that ache, either, and it was with that purpose in mind that he thought he might seek employment.

There were places on the island that, since there was no coin he didn't know if you could call it a business, but they needed helping hands from time to time. He passed by one of them, a tavern, and noticed a small hand-lettered sign asking for help. That was promising.

Jon knew how to mix wine, certainly, and he was strong and could haul casks of ale and cider around. What he didn't know how to do were the fancier drinks that the island's barkeeps liked to prepare and he didn't know if that would be an issue in offering his aid. No matter, though, as it seemed there was a woman inside. He'd ask what she needed and, if it was something he could provide now or learn easily, he'd offer it.

"I've come to see about offering help here," Jon said, blunt and to the point. No sense in dancing around it.

Comments

[1000_cranes]

Charlie was in the middle of cleaning and straightening things up ready to open. Standing at the bar, she was slicing limes and lemons, her hair swept up into a top-knot on top of her head. When he walked in, she looked up, eyebrows arched. There was a moment when she wished she'd put on a clean t-shirt this morning.

"Oh, you are, are you?"

[tooktheblack]

Jon smiled a little, slightly awkward. Perhaps that had been too forceful and formal an approach and he should be something softer. He wasn't terribly good at being soft, though, and never had been. His life hadn't afforded him that luxury.

"If you still needed someone, yes. I don't know the fancy drinks but I can pour wine and ale and I'm strong enough to haul casks for you. I can learn the rest in time."

[1000_cranes]

"I still need someone," says Charlie. "Me and Ish can't do this on our own; if I'm honest with you, I don't know how my husband did it, before."

She sniffs.

"Hadn't you better introduce yourself, first, honey?"

[tooktheblack]

There was the smile that had been threatening and Jon nodded. "Sorry. I'm Jon Snow. I'm used to people recognizing my face because apparently I was here on this island before, long ago, and for a long while. It's been a long time since I've had to actually introduce myself to someone. What can I call you, then?"

[1000_cranes]

The smile brightens him a little and Charlie relaxes through the shoulders.

"Well, if you're going to be workin' for me, maybe you'd better call me 'Ma'am'," says Charlie, but there's a teasing spark in dark brown eyes. "Though, usually, 'Charlie' will do just fine. Not Charlene, though. That just reminds me of bein' in school."

[tooktheblack]

"Charlie, then." It was a strange name for a woman but Jon had found that the island's naming conventions weren't all that similar to Westeros. The names he found familiar seemed foreign to them and what he found foreign was normal.

"I'll be happy to help as much as I can. I've been too idle for too long."

[1000_cranes]

"I probably ought to interview you, but, honestly, I'm just too damn weary." She flashes him a little smile that doesn't touch brown eyes.

"My husband did all this. I'm kinda learning on my feet."

[tooktheblack]

Jon assumed that, since she was weary, the husband must have disappeared. It was something that happened often on the island and he didn't mention it, didn't want to poke at something that might be uncomfortable with someone he didn't really know at all.

"Sometimes the best way to learn is just to get in and do it, I guess. If there is anything I can do to ease your weariness as it relates to this place, I'm happy to learn."

[1000_cranes]

"I do need the beer barrels changing," she says, pushing a strand of her red hair back from her face. "If you wouldn't mind. There are fresh ones stacked in the back. I can just about manage but it's a lot to lift."

[tooktheblack]

"I would be honored," Jon promised. "And maybe, as time goes on, we can find more things to keep my hands busy and my mind from straying and thinking about what I left behind back home. I think that's the worst thing about being here, all the idle time."

It made it hard not to think about Lionel, about Sansa, about all those who were not on the island.

[1000_cranes]

"Well, if you want to start tonight, you can hang out and keep me company and learn the ropes," she says, her smile a little truer for a moment. "We can keep each other busy. Got a lot of thinking of my own I don't want to do."

[tooktheblack]

"I've found hard work has a way of tiring out both the body and the mind," Jon agreed. "And if I can distract you, that's always a good thing. I'll start tonight, then, and be here as often as you need or want me to be here."

It felt good to have a purpose again, even such a small one as this.

[1000_cranes]

"Thank you, Jon Snow," she says, and this time, the smile definitely touches her eyes. She finishes slicing the lemon in front of her and scoops it onto the board.

"I promise that I don't always look like this, by the way - sometimes, I even remember to wash my face."

[tooktheblack]

"A little dirt never hurt anyone," Jon said.

"In fact, it's usually a sign that someone works hard and I much prefer that over some fat lordling in a castle who knows nothing about how his people actually live. Which is a long-winded way of saying dirt couldn't possibly offend me."

[1000_cranes]

"Well, aren't you just the sweetest," says Charlie, shaking her head. It almost reminded her of something that Ianto might have said.

"Lordlings? When are you from, honey?"
Not where, but when. Being on the island long enough changed how you looked at everything.

[tooktheblack]

"From Westeros," Jon explained. "Which is nothing like the island, from what I've learned so far. I lived in the far North, where winter never stops touching the land. This place is far too hot for my tastes."

He'd grown used to it, though, because he was made of sterner stuff than some Southron lord's son.

[1000_cranes]

"And I'm from Midland, Texas where it bakes pretty much all year around," says Charlie. Her freckled nose is proof of that. "I kinda like how often it rains here, even if it never really cools off."

[tooktheblack]

"The rain is different," Jon agreed.

"It's usually sleet or snow in the North and I haven't ever felt rain that didn't feel like ice seeping through my bones. It is one of the things I prefer, anyway. I'm also fond of the pineapples. They don't have those in Westeros."

[1000_cranes]

That's just so cute that, for a moment, Charlie can't do anything but stare at him for a moment.

"Before I ended up here, I hadn't even barely left Midland. I went to Kansas, once," she says. "I know none of that means anythin' to you, but what it means is...this is the only chance I ever had to get far."

[tooktheblack]

"From Winterfell to the Wall. It was a long distance, yes, but nothing like going from the North to the South, or anything like that, and certainly not like coming to this island. I have never known a place like this."

It had been good, though, for reconnecting with his family and getting to make new friends even for all it was strange.

[1000_cranes]

"I don't think any of us have ever known a place like this, honey," says Charlie, bending down to start restocking the bar. "We're all shiny brand new here."

[tooktheblack]

"Always a new experience," Jon agreed. "I'll start with the barrels now, if you want? Might as well get it out of the way while I'm still here."

[1000_cranes]

"Bless your heart," says Charlie, lifting her head to glance up at him from behind the door. "Fresh ones are behind the door at the back. Empties go in their place until someone drags them down to the caves."