Beautiful People #6: Spontáineach

Irish today.

I'm working on a story, quite a stubborn story. The story itself isn't so stubborn, it's more the words. Not that the story won't stop shifting and changing, but I'm getting it pinned down. The words, however, are stubbornly refusing. They come when I'm busy, and I write those down, but they are few, and when I sit down to write, I have no idea how to continue. In other words, I've written 348 words when I should have had about 30,000 by now (just kidding). (My goal is a measly 1000.)

I've been anxiously anticipating Cait and Sky's Beautiful People post for February since I posted mine for January. Finally, on the 5th (which was a delay I'd forgotten), she posted a Valentine's Day edition. A Valentine's Day edition. VALENTINE'S DAY.

I have no couples.

I could edit the questions to fit another relationship. But... Actually, how about this: I'm going to make up a random couple, on the fly, as I answer the questions.

This shall be interesting.

1. How long have they been a couple? Rwayn Joeli and Gary Paul have been together for 1.4 years.

2. How did they first meet? Accidentally. It was pouring rain and extremely windy. Umbrellas and briefcases and groceries and hair blocked their vision and stole their concentration.

Gary was walking to his car from the office. He was a law student working as an intern. His suit would be ruined in the downpour despite the small umbrella, but at least his briefcase and the important documents inside would be protected. He had rich scarlet hair but dyed it dark blond and brunette.

Rwayn was wrapped in her flowing yellow raincoat, barely keeping control of her umbrella, with a single bag of groceries on her arm. Her long dark hair whipped about her face and across her eyes. She was walking the couple blocks from her job at the small food mart to her home, where she lived with her mom. She was the youngest of three sisters and the only one still living at home. The law offices were on the block between the strip mall and her mom's.

Gary looked down for a moment to check his briefcase. Rwayn was blinded completely by her hair. Just as he looked down and before she could whip her hair from her eyes, the two collided. Gary dropped his briefcase. The bottom of Rwayn's plastic grocery bag broke open, the jar of pickles shattered on the pavement and the bread was instantly crushed and soggy. Both parties rushed to aid each other, and both promptly lost their umbrellas to the wind.

You get the idea.

They collected themselves, apologized profusely with nervous laughter, and went on their ways.

Afterwards, they recognized each other when their paths crossed after work. They probably had seen each other a zillion times before, but the accident in the storm had highlighted them as individuals rather than just another person in the world.

3. What were their first thoughts of each other? (Love at first sight or "you're freakishly annoying"?) As Gary would say now, looking back on that night, he saw a sweet girl who, had they met in other circumstances — at a mutual friend's, perhaps — he'd have wanted to get to know. As it was, he was more concerned about the contents of his briefcase and her ruined groceries and the rest of the chaos.

Rwayn saw a young lawyer in a rush to get home. He should have been watching where he was going, but he was kind enough to help her run down her umbrella and even offered to pay for the ruined food. Not that she let him. It was only a few dollars' worth, anyway. He was probably just as distracted, in his own way, with the storm as she was. She almost felt bad, watching him chase that ridiculously huge umbrella she'd lost to the wind.

4. What do they do that most annoys each other? Little or large? Let's go both. Ish.

Gary gets so focused on his work and school, buried in those law books of his and working on the tasks he's been given at the office. He's never not working or studying. She's a reader herself, but it'd be nice if he'd loosen up and take a look at living every once in a while. Life doesn't entirely consist of law books and phone calls. He also constantly clicks his pen, which might very well drive her insane someday.

Rwayn does anything anyone asks of her. While that isn't always a bad thing, he wishes she'd learn to say no every once in a while — even if he's the one receiving. She doesn't complain or act super stressed over it when she's accepted too many tasks, he just hates seeing her strung out between so many things. Despite the way she systematically multitasks her way through her mental list with that sweetness he loves, she needs to just cool it and relax every now and again. She also chews gum. He can't stand gum-chewing.

5. Are their personalities opposite or similar? They're equally on both sides of that, I think. One example can be seen if you were paying attention to the previous answer.

6. How would their lives be different without each other? He would be a hermit. She would be a [willing and unintentional] Cinderella.

Note: Giving her a mother and two sisters was unintentional. I only now realized how that resembled the Cinderella fairytale. (I also only just now decided on the Cinderella thing. As I said, I'm making this up as I go. And by "Cinderella thing," I only mean that she's constantly doing things for everyone.) I'm not sure what happened to/with her father, but her mother is biologically so, and her sisters are neither evil nor from other parent[s]. I believe one is in college (dark-haired, trim. Middle sibling. Kwinna, or Kwin (or Kwinnie to Rwayn). One/two years older than Rwayn. People have many times mistaken them for twins) and the other is married with two children (sandy blond, messy, shoulder-length hair. Gweneth Matthews, or Gwen. Three/four years older than Kwin. She has a four-year-old daughter and a two/three-year-old son. Her husband works, she works from home). The sisters are currently 21, 23, and 27.

7. Are they ever embarrassed of each other? Occasionally.

8. Does anyone disapprove of their relationship? Someone in Gary's family, I'm sure. I think he has an older brother. His father is rich. When his parents divorced, he stayed with his father and his brother with their mother. That wasn't entirely the brothers' choice. They didn't always get along, but they would have liked to stay together. In the end, at least they got to argue about who would go to which parent. Probably his mother is the one to disapprove. His brother likes the relationship, I think. (Not that he's met her? Just glad for his brother, and she's a sweet girl.)

9. Do they see their relationship as long-term / leading to marriage? They certainly don't see it as short-term. They haven't talked about marriage, or thought about it much (so busy), but they both see going there. For now, they're both happy taking it slow, at least until they're past the college years.

10. If they could plan the "perfect outing" together, where would they go? The water. A boat, in the water, with no one else in sight.

Another note: I think Gary is 24? And his brother... 26. Jared. His parents are James Paul and Mary Ginner (second married name). His father never remarried. He has an aunt, Sally Kurn (father's younger sister). Sally is blond, like a movie star in a red T-shirt and casual jeans. She's cool and artsy.

James and Sally