Dropping By

[Bee Rosdew]

"I never meant to stay away so long--LA was more chance than anything, and work there usually leads to more of the same. I'm glad for the change, if anything, and it's promising that I found work with the Beeb, let alone in Penchurch itself," she continued. Bee's reaction to tension, which she was old enough now to sense if not quite to pinpoint, was always to fill the silence. Finding words had never been her problem.

In truth she'd brought all the things she couldn't do without and stored the rest for easy shipping, as if the decision was already made. "But that's the future! Or the far future, anyhow, and the near one is so much more exciting." She shifted as if to stand, setting her empty cup back on the tray.

[Rosanna Roscoe]

Rosanna felt instinctively that they'd come to a point in the conversation where, if they went much further, it was going to wander back towards subjects too vaguely intimate for comfort. Already there'd been too much necessary dwelling on...well, everything. The past, the future, and even a little of the present, whatever difference that made. She reminded herself that Bee had just come by for a piece of business, and duty had been dispensed with for the time being.

"Well of course you'll do brilliantly, whatever happens down the road," she said pleasantly, setting aside her own cup and rising from the couch, picking up the slim folder Bee had brought, fearing she would offer Bee a firm handshake without thinking unless she stopped herself. "Thank you again for the schedule--I'll call my father this evening to go over it, and I'm sure he'll let me know if there's any conflicts."

[Bee Rosdew]

Bee knew her cue, had even perhaps prompted it herself, and stood with a smile. She was about to make some pleasantry before she suddenly began digging in the bag at her hip. "Here, I'll give you my personal number. No need to go through the production office or the PAs if you need me."

She managed to find a pen and tore up some vaguely-important-looking piece of paper to begin writing her UK number on it, pausing to think for the barest of moments. "And of course the house number hasn't changed in years," she murmured as she wrote, then looked up. "Please don't hesitate. I'd be... glad to see you around. Glad to see you more." With a sweet smile she offered the paper to Rosanna.

[Rosanna Roscoe]

Rosanna's mouth fell open a little with wordless surprise for half a moment as Bee held out the scribbled scrap to her, but the shock passed in a moment and she took the slip with a little smile, folding it between her fingers and nodding as she slipped it into the pocket of her jeans.

"...thanks...I'll..."

The sunshine had caught Bee's hair as she'd stood up--the whole of her head seemed to be aglow--and Rosanna found herself biting back a mystifying giggle. Thanking whatever powers that be that her excruciatingly well-bred conversational skills meant she was rarely at a loss for words, pushing aside whatever tongue-tied-ness that wanted to grab a hold of her, she only smiled a little wider.

"...yeah, it's been good to see you, again," she said quietly.

[Bee Rosdew]

"I know my way out." With one last grin, she leaned in to fold Rosanna in her arms for just a moment, suffused with a warmth she couldn't explain. "And thank Mrs. A for me, please," she said before turning to go, incongruously happy for a business meeting that had gone so awkward at the very end.

[Rosanna Roscoe]

"--oh!"

If Rosanna was surprised by the hug, she only stiffened a little at the sudden embrace, which was fleeting enough that Bee ended it before Rosanna could think to relax and let it happen. And if Rosanna's face grew hot, well, that could be for any number of reasons and not simply because whatever shampoo Bee was using was something all at once unfamiliar and delicious.

"...I will," she promised. "I'm sure she was happy to see you again, too."

Rosanna stayed standing in place as Bee disappeared through the door, and her footsteps retreated down the long hallway towards the stairs, a tremulous smile fixed on her face, though something in her dark eyes remained somehow uncertain.