January 1st, 1895 - Padmore Park Reopening

Annie had stayed out a little too late last night celebrating the New Year, but today was the reopening of Padmore Park and she'd predicted a decent day for weather (hoping that was still the case as she thought there might be some snow on the horizon now that she was out in the sunny afternoon). She'd all but pushed the silly encounter with the woman and the booth offering Changes for the new year. Paying for a bonbon that wasn't even all that good was not going to make her more charming or approachable. She'd had too much mulled cider and lost money on something superfluous. What else was new? At least she'd been able to cajole Effie into doing it too, so she felt a little less silly.

Today was much nicer though, and Annie was keen to investigate the new botanical garden that had been set up in the park. It would be a lovely way to see the flowers during the wintertime. Not to mention a nice respite from the cold days every once in a while. She had to wonder if the misses Potts or perhaps Evergardens had a hand in it. Annie so loved the greenhouse in London whenever she was over there.

The warmth of the botanical garden brought a flush to her cheeks as she dragged her brother with her into the glass building. "Oh it's so lovely," she sighed aloud, looking around at all of the lush color and greenery. Of course her brother had seen someone he knew and gone off to chat. Instead Annie had managed to catch someone else's attention instead. "Brothers," she shrugged, blushing for an entirely different reason now. "Can't live with them, can't live without them."

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Open to anyone! Hurling perhaps?

  

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Not a hurling opportunity, but hope you don't mind!

Tor had been delighted when she heard that Padmore Park was reopening its gates again - and just in time for New Year’s too! Before the closure, it had been a place of refuge on her lunch breaks, a brief respite from being cooped up in the sterile halls of the hospital, and then it had closed for the much-needed sinkhole repairs. Which was fine, of course - there was nothing wrong with the lunch room or going home on occasion (one of the benefits of working so close to home!), though it didn't compare to the energizing effects of fresh air, sunshine, and greenery, depending on the weather. And now she could finally resume going again, which was a nice start to the new year.

Ah, the New Year, Tor thought wistfully as she walked alongside her brother and parents, warmed by their stroll through the greenhouse (her mother’s determination to spend one last day together as a family before everything resumed business as usual lead them to the park’s reopening affair, though a sidelong glance at her brother told her that he itched to join his friends on the ice skating rink, and she knew it was only a matter of time before he would slink away to join them), I can’t believe it’s finally here.

So much had happened over the last year - some of it good, some of it less than ideal, but it was a learning curve all the same. Her promotion to Junior Healer back in the summer was what came to mind. No longer being regarded as a lowly intern was a nice change, and the newfound trust of her more experienced co-workers was building everyday, but Tor would be lying if she said that it was a smooth-sailing experience! Though perhaps that’s something to work on in the new year - continuing the building blocks to becoming the best Healer she could be.

Her parents became occupied with a certain self-blooming flower plant, and Tor suppressed a laugh with a slight roll of her eyes as she saw her brother slip out of the greenhouse. She realized belatedly that someone was speaking to her, and her cheeks warmed at her inattentiveness - praying that the other woman didn’t think Tor was laughing at her! “Oh, don’t I know it,” Tor said with a good-natured smile, attempting to salvage the situation. “But we also can’t help but love them anyway.”

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   Annora McKelvey

Annie smiled kindly at the younger woman who responded. "That is true, though having four of them can be quite tiresome." Falling in the middle of the four of them was even more so sometimes. The older brothers treated her like a perpetual child and the younger ones were constantly annoying, even in adulthood.

"I think I would still prefer them to sisters." Annie had never been very good with drama or gossip, though she got plenty of it at the paper just by being in the office. Nobody was stealing her dresses or ribbons or anything else growing up; she hadn't had to share a room. She wasn't bold enough to say she could throw a mean punch, but she could probably defend herself if needed. Not to mention, she had Effie, who was all she needed in a sister anyway.

Looking around at the botanical gardens at large, still in awe of the warmth and color spilling into every corner, Annie sighed again. "This is a lovely memorial for what happened, don't you think?" She had the woman's attention now, she may as well enjoy having somebody to talk to, since her brother had found someone else.

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Four? Goodness, Tor thought, a little incredulous but also admiringly. She only had the one brother, and as much as she loved him, thought that was quite enough - the idea of there being three other Bens sounded like utter chaos!

“I can imagine,” Tor agreed, relieved that the woman didn’t appear to be offended by her near laughter, and chuckled in response to the statement about having sisters. She never really thought about having a sister, to be honest, though imagined that the experience would be quite different.

With her parents still occupied by the plants and her brother having slipped away, Tor supposed that she might as well keep making conversation with the woman - it wasn’t an unpleasant way to pass the time, and besides, it really was a very beautiful memorial. Tor could still remember when it happened - the sinkhole, that was. Neither she nor her parents were anywhere near the park, thankfully, but the hospital had been in a state of steady commotion over the days afterward, patients coming and going, Mediwitches and Healers alike offering their services at the scene. She was glad that there hadn’t been as many casualties, or at least the numbers were less than in previous summer disasters, but it was still devastating all the same.

“It really is,” she said with a small smile, taking in the lush and colorful greenery again. “In light of what happened, I’d say that this is a lovely tribute to those affected.” She had half a mind to ask if the woman had been near when the sinkhole happened, but wondered if perhaps that was too personal after a first meeting. Instead, she asked, “Do you have a personal favorite from among the plants here?” Tor always thought a person’s favorite plant or flower said something about who they were, so she was genuinely curious.

  

Annie nodded along with a sad sort of smile. Thankfully she hadn't been anywhere near involved, nor had lost anyone in the aftermath, but it was still sad. Hogsmeade seemed to encounter such tragedies. She hadn't been at the paper yet when the Fog had happened, but it had always fascinated her, despite it's darkness. The fact that it was caused by a cursed artifact was always disappointing to her, but it had sparked her deeper interest into the science of it.

At the question, Annie had to look around. Many of the flowers around her were unfamiliar to her, but she did have a favorite, even if they weren't visible. "There are so many varieties, it's hard to choose." Annie looked around again, and still didn't find any of her favorites. "I don't see any, but I've always loved tulips." They were simple, springy and came in such beautiful colors. Annie loved bright colors, though often dressed more neutrally as the fashions dictated. Maybe if she were to ever marry, she might be able to get some livelier hues into her wardrobe. "And yourself?"

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"Tulips are lovely," Tori remarked with a smile in the other woman's direction. A simple, yet pretty choice with surprising medicinal properties to heal insect bites, stings, and other skin irritations. Tori also once heard it said that people who favor tulips are romantic and creative souls at heart. She wondered if those traits could be applied to the woman next to her.

Tori didn’t need to do much thinking about her favorite plant, and answered plainly, “Dittany. I think I saw it when we first came in." She pointed in the direction of the greenhouse entrance. "I'm a healer, so it might be a predictable choice, but it’s very helpful in my line of work.” She explained with a small chuckle.