“Amy. This is a Passion Fruit store.” Ryan was ogling the display window excitedly. “Who are we meeting?”
“My sister,” Jeriah replied. He leaned against the glass. “She wants to meet Amery.”
“Yes, but why are are meeting in front of a Passion Fruit store?”
“She means why not inside,” Amy explained nervously.
Jeriah shrugged. “We can go inside.”
Ryan bounced towards the door before the sentence was finished, nearly colliding with a whirlwind of color.
“Sorry!”
“No no, I’m so sorry, I was in too much of a rush! Welcome to Passion Fruit! Please enjoy your visit!” The girl welcomed Ryan in with a bright smile.
“Is this…?”
“Lynna,” Jeriah confirmed.
“Jer!” Lynna had bright pink hair and an infectious smile. She was stunning—not in a sophisticated or powerful way that everyone else in her family seemed to be trying to convey, but in an energetic, honest, and almost silly aura that captivated Amy. She hugged her younger brother affectionately. He tried to act cool, but even Amy could tell he was happy for the affection.
Jeriah’s expression had melted into a relaxed smile. “Lynna, this is Amery Dahla, my fiancé, and her friend, Ms. Ryan Norton. Amery, Ryan, my sister—“
The pink-haired girl hugged Amy immediately, beaming. As she pulled away, she squealed a little. “Amery, right? I’m Lynna. Nice to meet you, little sister!”
“A-A-pleasure to—nice to meet you,” she stumbled over her words and flushed before straightening again. She had been expecting another stiff meeting with potentially snide comments.
“And Ryan, right?”
“Yes. I’m Amy’s best friend.”
“Do you prefer Amy or Amery?” Lynna turned to Amy immediately.
“Either is fine.”
“Amy, Ryan, wonderful. Thank you for meeting me out here today.” She turned to Jeriah and threw the checkerboard scarf with cute Passion Fruit logo embroidered in the corner over her brother’s neck. “Ok then, go on, little brother. We’ll catch up later.”
Jeriah nodded. “Don’t creep them out, Lynna. Amery, I’ll see you at home.” He seemed to hesitate a little, then waved to them. “Have a good time.”
He left, leaving the three girls grinning at each other.
“You guys seem close.”
“Are you girls hungry?”
“Do you work for Passion Fruit?” They all asked at the same time. They stared at each other for a pause, then burst out laughing.
“Let’s get something to eat first then,” Amy offered, still a little mind-blown by Lynna’s presence.
“Sure. I know a cute cafe nearby.” Lynna led them down the street. “And I do work at Passion Fruit! Well, rather I own it. Passion Fruit is my precious brainchild.”
“Y-You design all the pieces?!”
“Yep! This is from our latest stock!” Lynna twirled her bright yellow jacket with a red hood and red feathery hems, revealing hidden green and blue panels along the side. “Well, rather I should say that it’s from the line I’m designing now.”
“Is it…perhaps based off a parrot’s color scheme?” Amy asked shyly.
“It IS! Do you…perhaps like birds?”
They leaped into a flurry of discussion of birds and clothes and bird-based clothing. When Amy found herself discussing whether the look of a common yellowthroat warbler would be best portrayed in cotton or silk, she had to laugh at how much fun she was having.
They talked about Passion Fruit for a long time, but along the way detoured into talks about their college experiences. Lynna was a few years older than they were, but she was eager to reminisce with them and offer them guidance as they headed out of the school-sheltered world and into the industry—or more school. When Ryan and Amy mentioned they had attended Ashnim University, famous for its virtual-reality gaming, Lynna revealed that she still played Battle Blitz some weekends.
“I was young when it was still a computer game! I even got my grandmother to play with me once. I totally thought I was going to stomp her but then she creamed me! I was so embarrassed and so scared she was going to make me pay for being cocky.”
“Your grandmother? As in the Head of Krovstoff Group?” Amy wasn’t sure she could picture the concise, direct little businesswoman sitting down for a game of casual computer gaming.
“Yeah! But all she said was to go outside and run a lap around the house before coming back for a rematch!”
Their conversation was casual, meandering between subjects and making frequent detours to their own memories and experiences. Fun, like Lynna was. Their afternoon took them around the shopping plazas, where Lynna insisted that they try things on. They dressed each other up with stores around the city and Lynna surprised them at them by buying their favorite combinations.
“I-I don’t think I can afford anything like this,” Ryan protested meekly.
“Come by Passion Fruit sometime and help me out with a photoshoot,” Lynna replied, slipping her card into a bag. “I liked your ideas, and if you’re good with data systems I could definitely use the help reorganizing the catalog.”
Ryan replied that she would be honored. The three of them swapped numbers, and Ryan took her bags and left them at her train stop. Lynna walked with Amy back to Jeriah’s apartment. Amy told her about the luncheon she had attended and Lynna told her about the various back-woods walking trails surrounding the Krovstoff Estate. They exchanged a hug outside and Lynna touched Amy’s hair affectionately.
“Jer’s a good kid,” she said, bringing her little brother up for the first time that day. “He’s a little hard to be around sometimes, but I hope you take care of him.” Her smile was affectionate. “I’m glad he has you now.”
Notes:
This is kind of like an interlude. I basically just wanted a scene to introduce Lynna and to let them have fun. In the original notes Amy isn’t supposed to have anyone at all, so this is a very big detour from that.
It’s also a blatant excuse for me to add bird stuff into the story :x
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