| Details for The Trouble With Men |
| Summary: | Eddie and Rue discuss what's wrong with men, and Dorothy joins them for coffee. |
| Date: | 09-18-1937 |
| Location: | — |
| Related: | The Princess And The Pauper |
| Characters |
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While Eddie was fairly certain she wasn't that drunk last night, her body and head are killing her for it today. Or perhaps it's just the fact she didn't much sleep last night. Either way, the stunning blonde isn't so stunning this morning. Or maybe she is stunning in the other way — like a train wreck. You just can't look away. For whatever reason, she's too embarrassed to go to Mungo's and pick up her normal hangover cure, so she's leaning across a mug of steaming coffee, her face half hidden behind her smushed and fuzzy platinum waves. She's in a suit for work, this one a deep blue, but she's got the buttons in the wrong holes and her stockings have a rip in them she's not bothered to wave her wand yet and repair. Possibly she's not realized it's there. One might wonder if she's asleep sitting in her seat, but then one hand will come down, mechanically scoop up her coffee, take a deep sip, wrinkle her nose in nausea, and put the coffee back down. "…fecking… muggle… gin…" She growls.
It seems avoidance is the order of the day, for Veruca is also giving a certain establishment which is frequented by a certain inspector a very wide berth these days. So it is that she comes in to get a morning coffee, and cannot help but see the platinum beauty nursing her hangover. She is fully prepared to ignore this blond witness to her brief humiliation the other evening, but before she leaves with her coffee, Veruca pauses. She's never one to slink out like a beaten dog, and she certainly will not start now. So, after a moment of fishing in her purse she saunters by the table where Eddie sits, pauses, and deliberately puts a small bottle on the table. A hangover potion. Don't leave home without it.
The sound of the bottle on the table almost makes Eddie wince, her initial instinct being to snap at whomever disturbed her peace. But then she sees what is in front of her, and before the words leave her mouth she swallows them straight back up, "You're a goddess among women." Eddie groans out, scooping up the potion and dumping the whole thing into her coffee. She doesn't down it like a shot, because she's not certain her stomach would keep it there. "Gin he called it. Muggle gin." She bitches to no one in particular. Then Veruca is actually looked over and given a half smile before Eddie nods at the chair across from her. "…Sit, dollface. You're the girl the idiot walked away from the other night, aren't you? He's an idiot."
Veruca slips into the chair across from Eddie, a smile twitching her lips at the assessment of Inspector Lovegood. "Yes, I would be that girl," she says, agreeably enough, despite the flare of anger all over again at Lovegood's actions that night. Her coffee is set down, purse set to rest in her lap as she crosses her legs easily. "Gin, hm? Nasty business, that. Vodka is much more kind the morning after," she remarks. "Veruca Max, by the way."
Edwarlinda doesn't respond quite off, forcing herself to bring the coffee to her lips and down a good sip of the stuff, potion included. Her already sickly pale face goes a bit more blanched and for a moment it might seem she could puke everything up on poor Rue's shoes, but she manages to swallow it all down. "Fecking gin." She grumbles out again, "…I don't think it was really gin. He… he took me a place that said it was called gin because no one would drink it otherwise." Though, even as she says that, she cannot help but smile a little bit. Fond memories. She takes another sip then sets the mug down so she can offer her hand. "Edwarlinda Malfoy… but just… Eddie. Please. 'sgood to meet you, Miss Max. Sorry for that night. Men turn into idiots around me, it's true."
The offered hand is taken, "Veruca." Then the hand is waved dismissively, "Don't give it a thought. He's merely a friend, and something of a tenuous one at that." There is no hint of deception in her words. Any inkling of 'feelings' she had toward the inspector were summarily killed on that very night. She regards the striking blond thoughtfully. "So, gin that wouldn't be called gin anywhere else. Sounds like something made in a muggle's bathtub."
A brief pump, firm and business like despite the clamminess of Eddie's hungover skin, is given to Veruca's fingertips. Her hand then draws back to her coffee, and she takes another nursing sip of it. The potion isn't perfect, but it's helping somewhat at least. It's a start. "Veruca, then. And… yes… though I do not understand why one would put gin like that in a bath tub. It would probably boil off your skin." Eddie rasps, dragging her now free hand across her eyes in attempt to wake up a bit more. "But yes. All men are stupid. We shall leave it at that. Bloody men." Eddie nods firmly after those words. that's her proclimation for the day.
Veruca raises her coffee cup in a silent toast to the words. She's never heard it put better. "I don't suppose a bite of something to eat would help you right now, but I would suggest perhaps trying some bread when you feel up to it. It has the benefit of soaking up a multitude of sins." There's a bit of a smile on Veruca's lips as she says this. Her dark eyes drift around the establishment, noting faces, before they come to rest levelly on Eddie once more. "Is it helping any?"
Dorothy enters the cafe quietly, before noting the presence of Edwarlinda. "Ah, good morning," she says to her and the other woman, before approaching them. "How is everything?" She smiles a bit to Eddie, since they'd gotten along well last time they saw each other.
Eddie looks like the Knight Bus hit her, in truth. Her blonde hair a muss, skin a bit sallow, eyes bloodshot. She is either sick, or hungover and the good bet with Eddie is always the latter. She gives Dorothy a wan smile and nods towards one of the other chairs. "Veruca, Dorothy… Dorothy, Veruca. Things are shite and we're toasting over the fact that men are stupid. Most men, at least. Not your man, Dotty…he's a big muscly hero off to fight war, but… Most other men." She winks to them, showing that she is feeling a bit better. "And…it'll pass, Veruca. 's a bit better. And I asked for it, literally, so I guess I'm getting my due."
Veruca doesn't exactly offer a warm smile to the new arrival, but it is a polite smile. Warm smiles are rare with her. "A pleasure, Dorothy." Her eyes are assessing as she looks over the woman, and apparently nothing seems amiss because her attention turns back to her coffee. "All other men," she adds easily enough, conceding the point to Dorothy's husband.
"The pleasure is mine, Veruca," Dorothy answers, taking a seat with the others. "I certainly have met some stupid men in the past," she adds. "But a good amount of my writing happens to be about smart men. …Of course, that's fiction," she says with a laugh.
The fiction comment from Dorothy gets a slightly-too-loud laugh from Edwarlinda, showing that yes, some of her normal peacock self is returned. She chokes a chuckle and a small snort — don't tell anyone — into her mug of coffee before knocking back a good gulp of it. "Fiction indeed. Still. Damned… men… confusing… frustrating creatures. Perhaps you might give us some advice, Dotty? Neither the lovely Veruca nor my stunning self can manage to get any of these idiot men to wake up for five minutes and realize what a catch we are. How did you do it?" Then Eddie turns bloodshot eyes to Veruca. "Not that the inspector might be much a catch himself. You'd always come second to any case, you know? He's an idiot, like that, as we said."
Veruca waves her hand, dismssing the notion of men entirely. "When I need a man, it's for only one thing, and that is easy enough to find out on the streets of London." She sits back, shaking her head lightly, "Inspector Lovegood is hardly a catch. He's…. intriguing." Ok, she will admit that much. She does have something of a soft spot for the unusual among the community, if a slightly damp brick of her hardened heart could qualify as a 'soft spot'. But still, she looks to Dorothy, interested in what the woman might offer as advice.
Dorothy shrugs. "A lot of it is just luck," she says. "And it's partly because I looked in about the same place as my mother found my father." She leans a bit closer to the table. "They're the best examples of men I've found so far."
Another deep drink of her coffee, and Eddie might actually be able to go into office in the next hour or so. It's progress. The blonde takes a deep breath and sprawls back in her seat, not lady like in the least but she doesn't seem to care. She looks over both the women with whom she sits and sighs with a shake of her head. "The interesting ones are always an inappropriate mess, and the boring ones are… Well… Boring. And then the good ones run off to war. What in hells are we supposed to do?" She asks both of them with one of her normal too-long sighs. Though her frustration is clear. There is one man in particular of whom Eddie is thinking, clearly. And it's not just the inspector.
A soft laugh actually comes from Veruca, "Well, Dorothy, sadly you are no help to me there. My father was apparently found under a rock, and I've no intent on finding anything even remotely like that. I'd rather spend my time as I wish, with whom I wish for a moment, and die a happy spinster." Although she's hardly the sympathetic girl-talk type, Veruca can't help but ask out of curiosity, "Eddie, who on earth have you let get under your skin so?" It's an assumption, but it's not really a difficult conclusion to jump to.
Dorothy nods at this. "Yes… I can see why that would be a problem," she adds. "I'm sure there are plenty of men who'd be interested in you, at least," she says to Veruca. "But the problem would be which one of them would be worth your time…"
Edwarlinda winces just a bit as she's asked about who has gotten under her skin. She shakes her head immediately, as if denying this is possible in the least. "No, no… no one under my skin. Just an old friend… known the idiot -" Since all men are idiots, "since I was a kid. He's not even pure of blood. My family would die. Not that I give a damn, but…" Hell, from the look in her eyes? The fact that he'd be a horrible scandal to her family is a GOOD thing. "…Sloan. The ministry's 'attack dog', as they call him. Yes, he's a brute, but… He's got a heart. Beneath all that muscle. …Lots… and lots… of muscle…" And there, for just a moment, Eddie is going to her happy place. She grins as she sips her coffee in a momentary dream. And then she shakes it off and smiles back to the women. "But, Dotty here is right… they should be worthy of women such as us. And THAT is a nigh unto impossible task!"
Veruca sips her coffee, muttering, "Heart is over-rated." She has personally squashed anyone who dared to suggest she herself possesses one. But she does understand family scandal, and the freedom of creating it. She offers up, "Eddie, just switch to muggles. They're grateful, easily trained, and at times even pleasurable." It's an almost fond look that goes to Dorothy, and Veruca says softly, "There is not one worth my time, muggle or wizard." And her eyes say 'but you're adorable for thinking there could be.'
"Worthy? I don't think I'd put it quite that way," Dorothy notes. She's not sure what to say about what Veruca says, and gives her a somewhat odd look. Even though she's not actually a Muggle, she feels a bit insulted by the tone of it. "…Trained?" she says finally, giving voice to what most concerned her about the words. "Muggles aren't pets… they're people, just like us. They just don't know about this world, that's all…"
Indeed, as much as Eddie would like to continue bitching about men, the muggle commentary furrows her brow a touch. She frowns to Veruca, "Muggles are… Dotty's right. They're just different. Really quite intriguing, sometimes, their world is so… Strange. Difficult. I might say sometimes they are stronger than us, in truth. And I can barely train the young Aurors, much less a man." She huffs and finishes off her coffee, finally feeling human again. And still somewhat pissed over last night! "And besides. Heart does count. It… it counts for the whole world, sometimes. Finding a good man… someone who'll make this world a better place. Fight for the right things." She admits with a half smile, catching Dotty's eyes as she says that.
Veruca shakes her head briefly. "I've nothing against muggles, but I do contend that muggle men are, by and large, ruled by one thing." She pauses to consider. "Well, wizards as well. But muggle men are far less complicated about it." She takes a last sip of her coffee, before going on, "Muggles can be keen at business, I've dealt with enough. And at times I think them quite fortunate they know nothing of what goes on behind the pale." Her chair scrapes lightly as she stands, smiling at the pair. "Eddie, if you find a 'good man', I will eat every one of my words. Mind, he must not be already taken by Dorothy," is added with a nod to their squib companion. "Now, I must get on my way to work. It's been lovely to see you both." As always, the words come easily to Veruca's tongue, but the sentiment is not reflected in her dark eyes.
"Goodbye," Dorothy says to Veruca with a solemn nod. "Have a good day." She wonders if Veruca would be any better if she was having a good day.
A laugh is choked out of Eddie as Veruca implies what muggle men are good for. She raises her nearly empty coffee mug in a silent toast to the woman, "Aye, dear Veruca, you have it there. And that may be the explanation for men's idiocy, is that they so very often think with the wrong head." She grins and winks, bowing her head to the other wizard. "Be well, Miss Max. Thank you for the potion. I must repay you some time." With that, her pale eyes fall back onto Dorothy and her smile tempers itself just a bit. "Well, Dotty, do you mind Dotty? Have you heard anything else from the man? I haven't much longer, as the office is soon to wonder if I'm dead, but I wanted to check in on you for a moment at least, luv."
A hasty wave brushes off any thought of repayment, and with a sharp turn, Veruca strides out the door and on her way.
"Nothing yet," Dorothy says. "These letters can take some time to get checked after all. But I'm sure everything's going well," she answers, smiling toward Eddie. "I can't let myself get too worked up since I'm still working on a book," she adds.
Edwarlinda gives the older woman a reassuring, surprisingly tender sort of smile. She reaches one hand over as she gets ready to stand up, giving her palm a small squeeze. "I'm sure he's fine after all. I… I do have to get to work, and you've got a book that needs attention. Perhaps we might get dinner later in the week. Owl me, yes?" With those happy words, Eddie stands up far more steadily than she came in. She plops some coin onto the table, enough to pay for everyone's drinks, and smoothly shrugs back into her Auror's robes. "Be well, Dotty." She'll linger for a proper farewell, but then turn on the ball of her foot and waltz out the door to work. She's late already.
"Of course… Goodbye Eddie," Dorothy answers with a wave, though she stays around afterwards.