[D5 LA] Tiff's Tiff and other Miscellany

[Tiffani]

A little half-grin forms on her face. "Snow in New Orleans, huh?"

She has the kiosk clerk bag several different kinds of earrings, bracelets, necklaces, rings, and whatever bling she decided to like at that moment in time. Once everything had been paid for, she pulls out one of the earrings - a dangling string of five faux sapphires. She angles it in her hand and watches as the light sparkles off the jewel's many facets.

"I've always liked sapphires," she says in a wistful sort of way as if remembering something from her long-ago past. "Someday perhaps I'll get a real one."

She suddenly drops the earring back into the bag. "Anyway ..." she says as she begins walking away from the kiosk. "Ever think about going back to school? I mean, you have a good skill and such, the kind of skill to survive with. But knowledge - even arbitrary knowledge - that is one of the reasons to survive in the first place."

[Jack Doyle]

"I should." he agreed. "But, I don't really exist, not with the way things are today. Even children have some form of identification papers."

[Tiffani]

"Can't or won't the king of your court help?" Her pace toward the next store slowed considerably. "The King of Autumn is getting me into college next semester. I thought maybe your king could do the same for you? Can't hurt to ask, could it?"

"With your skills, I suppose you don't have to go back to school. But you're still pretty young physically - and you may not want to spend the next half-century making toys. Having an education simply gives you options - but - I'd understand and support whatever decision you made."

[Jack Doyle]

He nodded. "That's one of the reasons I've decided to stay here. I think I can get some assistance with stuff like that."

[Tiffani]

"I'll help you in whatever way I can but, to be honest, I can't imagine what help I could give since I'm more or less in the same boat as you are."

Tiffani heads into one of those stores that caters to decorating bedrooms, bathrooms, and kitchens and leisurely walks toward the linens and blankets.

"I know the present is pretty overwhelming as it is, but ... have you ever given much thought to the future? I'm not saying you should or that you have to. I'm just wondering if you have ... and what, if anything, that you concluded."

[Jack Doyle]

"I think about it all the time." he admitted. "But, until I better understand the present and find my place in it, I can't really plan for the future. You may be able to help me with that."

[Tiffani]

"I'll do what I can, but ... like I said, we're both in the 'figuring-out-the-present boat' so I don't know what kind of use I'd be."

Tiffani and Jack arrive at the bedding department where Tiffani begins carefully looking over various blankets and sheets.

"Also like I said - so many silly little things to buy. A bed won't do me much good if I just have a mattress." She chuckles as she lingers over a comforter with a typically feminine floral pattern on it.

"Maybe it's a bit too soon to ask, but ... do you have any idea how I might be of help to you?"

She pulls down the rather large and thick comforter complete with ruffles along its hems - the kind that comes in a plastic covering complete with a zipper. She whistles and shakes her head. "Fifty-nine dollars? Seriously? Back in the 80s, these things were, mhmm, maybe thirty dollars for the best ones. I can see inflation has been chugging along unimpeded since my involuntary vacation in Arcadia."

[Jack Doyle]

"Watching you adjust will help me adjust." he answered. "You at least have some familiarity with the modern world. So much of it is entirely new to me."

[Tiffani]

Tiffani smirks as she struggles to control the comforter and the package of sheets she had taken from the shelves.

"I'm glad I can be of some help then. Just don't watch me too closely and make the same mistakes. No doubt I will make quite a few of those."

After wrestling with her packages once too many times, she finds an abandoned cart in a neighboring aisle and drops everything into it.

"I suppose I have more familiarity than you do - but - this is like a different world to me. We didn't have internet or cell phones or DVDs or personal computers or tablets or so many things." She pauses for a moment, thinking. "Though I can say that I'm glad we didn't have some of these things. I can tell already the way social media has changed the way people relate to each other. It's dehumanizing in its own way."

She pushes the cart up to a register with the shortest queue.

"Anyhow, if there's something specific I can explain to you or teach you, don't hesitate to ask."

[Jack Doyle]

"I think you may be better equipped for the adjustment." he explained. "You at least seem to have a notion of what those things are, how they may have evolved from technology and ideas you're familiar with. For me, this is all like something Verne or Wells would have written or from a radio adventure. People have actually gone to outer space."