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Tea Cups and Knots

"Make yourself at home," Ivory said, tossing the keys on the side table in the tiny front hall.

They were strung together with the key to Ann's dressing room and the front door and back door keys to the theater uncle Jack and Ann both worked at.

"You tie knots well," Jimmy commented, as he looked at the piece of leather holding the keys together, "You sail?"

Ivory laughed, "I've never been on a boat in my life."

Jimmy looked earnestly taken aback, almost offended at that fact and the smile playing across Ivory's lips slowly faded.

"I'm from out west," she offered, trying to remedy the situation, "I learned knots from a couple of cowboys who were lodging at one of the farms I was livin' at for a while."

Jimmy nodded; seemingly appeased and remembering his manners he took his hat from his head awkwardly. Ivory guessed it was on his head more then it was off it.

She was hanging up her sky blue jacket, Ann had helped her pick it out once she moved to New York, never having lived anywhere cold before she didn't have much fitting clothing, especially not for the snow. She'd instantly loved it, that color blue reminded her of a cloudless day and the tiny gold stitching reminded her of the swirls of sand in the desert.

Ivory turned and offered to take Jimmy's things. He smiled crookedly and handed them over. She hung them up on the peg next to hers. They were definitely well worn, and smelled of the same salty tang.

"Your uncle mentioned something about that I think, you living on a farm I mean, not the part about knots and cowboys." Jimmy was sitting comfortably on the couch, facing the hall, in the main room.

He looked up to find a curious looking Ivory. "We write," he shrugged.

"Ah," Ivory nodded, "I'm guessing you know my name is Ivory then?" she stuck out her hand. Jimmy shook it firmly; his hand was calloused but still soft.

"Jimmy," he said, "but I guess I already told yah my name." he shrugged, averting his eyes once again.

Ivory smiled, "I'm gonna put the kettle on, would you like some tea? My uncle and Ann should be home soon, I thought for sure they'd beat me actually, but things but have been busy at the theater. Do you know Ann Darrow? She's a really great Broadway actress. She does a great deal of work in my uncle's plays actually."

Ivory had moved to the kitchen placed the kettle on the stove, after lighting the burner, and had come back in the main room all the while rambling. She usually rambled around strangers. Or she said nothing at all. But Jimmy seemed the type you could ramble to without annoying too much or getting slapped from.

The amount of rambling she did usually depended on the person's demeanor. Though you'd never find her rambling to a long time friend, not that she had any, but she reasoned if she did, she wouldn't ramble around them.

She found him watching her curiously and blushed lightly. She fought hard to keep her tongue in check.

"So how do you know uncle Jack?" she asked, rushing back into the kitchen as a faint whistle began to sound from the kettle.

Jimmy followed her in. She flicked off the gas; dropping a single bag of tea into the teapot she poured the steaming water in slowly.

"Second cabinet from the window," she instructed Jimmy, who had been searching for the cups.

"Ah-ha," he beamed triumphant and followed Ivory back out to the sitting room.

"Well?" Ivory prompted. She never was one for patience.

"I uh," Jimmy shifted, picking up his now full cup awkwardly. Ivory figured he didn't drink tea often. It was a staple in Ann's household Ivory had warmed to instantly. "Worked with him once."

"On a play?" she asked skeptically, Jimmy didn't look much like an actor.

"Movie actually," Jimmy took a sip. Ivory did too. As far as she knew uncle Jack had never worked on any movies.

She glanced sideways at the clock on the wall and caught herself internally wishing uncle Jack would walk through the door sooner rather then later. She watched Jimmy as he looked uneasily around the room, studying the plain wood furniture and simple scenery paintings that adorned the walls. Everything in the apartment was an earthy hue.

Ivory had asked uncle Jack about that once, he'd gotten very quiet and said it reminded Ann of the jungle. As far as Ivory knew Ann had never been to the jungle, but she'd settled on Ann just liking the idea of nature, their wasn't much of it here in New York. And Ivory definitely knew what it was like to miss nature.

Jimmy took another sip of tea. He cradled the cup in one hand like the gorillas at the zoo Ann had taken her to see so many times. He had a definite wild quality to him, Ivory decided, but he seemed harmless enough.

His eyes found hers and the next moment they both found themselves averting their eyes once again. Don't be such a child Ivory scolded herself internally.

"Ive?" the familiar feminine voice belonging to Ann flitted down the hall, "You home?" she asked.

Ivory heard the unmistakable grunt of her uncle Jack, who more likely then not was carrying a box of stuffed with too many books and papers.

"In here," Ivory hollered, noticing Jimmy sitting up straighter at Ann's voice; Ivory sat on the couch opposite his, facing the windows instead of the hall.

Ann stopped short, shocked, the moment she rounded the corner. Her elegant golden hair pinned neatly into ringlets framed her porcelain face and startled corn blue eyes. Jack rounded the corner just after her, his box of paper fell to the floor and an equally shocked expression seeped into every corner of his face. Ivory looked nervously between the boy she'd let in and her uncle and his girlfriend. Maybe she had made a mistake after all?

"Jimmy?" Jack asked, regaining some of his lost composure, "What are you doing here?"

Jimmy got to his feet. His hands balled up at his sides self-consciously.

"It's been a while, huh?" Jimmy took his eyes from the floor, "I hope you don't mind me droppin' by unannounced like this, but we're only docked to refuel and," he paused, looking at a watchful Ivory then back up to Jack and Ann and continued, "well, we have some news, Jack."

Ivory watched as a sudden look of understanding spread across her uncle's face, tinged with something very uncommon to him, sadness.

"Ivory, dear, help me with these?" Ann said, instantly beginning to pick up the fallen box.

"Sure," Ivory answered apprehensively. Looking from Jimmy to her uncle one last time before moving to help Ann.

Jack took Ivory's abandoned seat.

"It's nice to see you again Jimmy," Ann said, their was something in her voice, some sort of caring, but laced with warning, maybe even some fear. Ivory couldn't entirely tell.

Ann moved down the hall towards Jack's tiny office. Ivory offered a fleeting smile to the stranger, who returned it, though his seemed friendlier then hers probably was, brighter too. She moved down the hall after Ann.