Poem: "Something We Create"
Sep. 30th, 2022 11:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThis poem came out of the November 2, 2021 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from dialecticdreamer and mama_kestrel. It also fills the "making a deal" square in my 11-1-21 card for the NCIS Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with ng_moonmoth. It belongs to the Solace thread of the Polychrome Heroics series, after "A Heart Is Not a Box" and "Inevitable Like the Seasons"
"Something We Create"
[Fall 2015]
It had taken them a few months
to get their house renovated and
their yard cleaned up enough to see.
They had found the patio, the pond,
and even a firepit. They added
some pieces of outdoor furniture.
They repainted most of the rooms,
decorating the first floor in green
and the second floor in purple.
The twins took on the basement,
stocking a few essentials to create
a rec room, a computer cave, and
the beginning of an exercise room.
Most of the thrifted furniture was
mismatched, but that was okay.
They had a home that they loved.
In the fall, they went looking for
a storefront to hold the Ace Place.
Once again, Ellis hunted around
until she found a place worthy
of their mutual consideration.
This building was red brick
with elegant gray trim around
two walls of tall windows, and
the corner had been cropped off
to make a flat space for the door.
"What's that for?" Corey said,
pointing to a line of metal fence
that enclosed part of the sidewalk.
"This used to be a restaurant, until
they had a kitchen fire," said Ellis.
"That was their al fresco strip."
"So what do we do with it,
use it for bike parking or
something?" said Sidney.
"We could just rip it out,"
said Dennis. "We don't
need it, and it's in the way."
"Oh, please don't rip it out!"
The new voice belonged to
a woman with lavender hair,
tattoos, and a labrys T-shirt.
"I'm Laverne Allandale, but
everyone calls me Lav. I run
the Lavender Lane Lesbian Café."
"Could you use the al fresco strip?"
Ellis asked, clearly sensing opportunity.
"Yeah, yeah," said Lav. "I've been
watching to see who looks at this place.
I hoped that if it wasn't a new restaurant,
they might let us rent the sidewalk strip.
So what do you have in mind here?"
"I'm Ellis Ainsley," she said, and then
introduced the others. "We're starting
a store called the Ace Place. It will
sell primarily clothes, but also art
and literature featuring asexual,
aromantic, and other queer motifs."
"That sounds fantastic," Lav said
with a grin. "We get aces in the Lane
sometimes, women-identified women."
"Maybe we could work together and
attract more customers for both of
our businesses," said Desta.
"I would love that," said Lav.
"Here, take my contact info,
so you can reach me even
when the Lane's not open."
She and Ellis exchanged
details, and then Lav had
to get back to her café.
"Well, that's a good sign,"
Ellis said. "Let's look inside."
That was a bit disappointing,
because the interior was
mostly a large open space.
"I can see some potential here,"
Sidney said as ey spun around.
"Divide it up into sections and
sort the clothes by color like
the 4x4 stores do. Maybe use
bookcases or something else
to define spaces for other stuff."
Corey looked at it with that
in mind. "Yeah, that'll work."
"What about the rest of it?"
Dennis said. "You mentioned
a kitchen fire. Do we really want
a building that burned down?"
"It didn't burn down and there's
no structural damage. The fire
just ruined the kitchen equipment
and the paint job, so they had
to tear out that stuff," said Ellis.
"Everything else should be fine.
The kitchen is back this way."
She opened a door in the rear,
which led to a hallway there.
There was a small dottie,
still intact as promised.
Farther in, they could see
smoke stains on the walls,
but that looked superficial.
"This is bigger than I expected,"
Corey said. "What would we
do with this space? It's not
really part of the storefront."
"Put in a breakroom first,"
said Ellis. "See what's left,
then turn it into office space.
We could probably make
two offices, maybe even
three if they're small."
"You, me, and Sidney,"
said Corey. "We might
add extra desks in case
anyone else needs them."
"Can you source that kind
of office furniture without
spending too much money?"
Ellis asked as they headed
back to the main part of
the store. "You really did
a great job with the house,
but offices are different."
"Sure, no problem at all,"
said Corey. "People dump
old office stuff all the time,
and it's cheap because
almost nobody wants it."
"Bookcases," said Sidney.
"Wall racks and floor stands
for clothes. Tables and chairs?"
Ellis took a speculative look at
the huge room. "I wonder where
Lavender Lane butts up against
the walls here," she said. "This is
more space than we really need,
especially at first, but it's just such
a bargain. Maybe we could rent
them some indoor space too."
"What, open a door between
them and us?" Corey said.
"Yeah, that might work.
Can we afford all this?"
"It's actually cheaper than
it looks," said Ellis. "I found
some great perks for reviving
a damaged building and for
starting a diverse business.
I'll have no trouble making
a deal that falls in our favor."
"Then I'm for it," said Corey,
and Desta said, "Me too."
"I like it," said Sidney.
"I can do a lot with this."
"It's in a good location,"
said Dennis. "I think
this will work for us."
"Then that's settled,"
said Ellis. "I will start
the process. There don't
seem to be other folks showing
interest in taking over this building."
"I feel so excited, but I hardly know
what to expect in the future," said Corey.
"The future is not something to predict,
but something we create," said Ellis.
"I like that idea better," said Corey.
* * *
Notes:
This poem's notes are long, so the character, setting, and content notes appear separately.
dialecticdreamer and mama_kestrel. It also fills the "making a deal" square in my 11-1-21 card for the NCIS Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with ng_moonmoth. It belongs to the Solace thread of the Polychrome Heroics series, after "A Heart Is Not a Box" and "Inevitable Like the Seasons""Something We Create"
[Fall 2015]
It had taken them a few months
to get their house renovated and
their yard cleaned up enough to see.
They had found the patio, the pond,
and even a firepit. They added
some pieces of outdoor furniture.
They repainted most of the rooms,
decorating the first floor in green
and the second floor in purple.
The twins took on the basement,
stocking a few essentials to create
a rec room, a computer cave, and
the beginning of an exercise room.
Most of the thrifted furniture was
mismatched, but that was okay.
They had a home that they loved.
In the fall, they went looking for
a storefront to hold the Ace Place.
Once again, Ellis hunted around
until she found a place worthy
of their mutual consideration.
This building was red brick
with elegant gray trim around
two walls of tall windows, and
the corner had been cropped off
to make a flat space for the door.
"What's that for?" Corey said,
pointing to a line of metal fence
that enclosed part of the sidewalk.
"This used to be a restaurant, until
they had a kitchen fire," said Ellis.
"That was their al fresco strip."
"So what do we do with it,
use it for bike parking or
something?" said Sidney.
"We could just rip it out,"
said Dennis. "We don't
need it, and it's in the way."
"Oh, please don't rip it out!"
The new voice belonged to
a woman with lavender hair,
tattoos, and a labrys T-shirt.
"I'm Laverne Allandale, but
everyone calls me Lav. I run
the Lavender Lane Lesbian Café."
"Could you use the al fresco strip?"
Ellis asked, clearly sensing opportunity.
"Yeah, yeah," said Lav. "I've been
watching to see who looks at this place.
I hoped that if it wasn't a new restaurant,
they might let us rent the sidewalk strip.
So what do you have in mind here?"
"I'm Ellis Ainsley," she said, and then
introduced the others. "We're starting
a store called the Ace Place. It will
sell primarily clothes, but also art
and literature featuring asexual,
aromantic, and other queer motifs."
"That sounds fantastic," Lav said
with a grin. "We get aces in the Lane
sometimes, women-identified women."
"Maybe we could work together and
attract more customers for both of
our businesses," said Desta.
"I would love that," said Lav.
"Here, take my contact info,
so you can reach me even
when the Lane's not open."
She and Ellis exchanged
details, and then Lav had
to get back to her café.
"Well, that's a good sign,"
Ellis said. "Let's look inside."
That was a bit disappointing,
because the interior was
mostly a large open space.
"I can see some potential here,"
Sidney said as ey spun around.
"Divide it up into sections and
sort the clothes by color like
the 4x4 stores do. Maybe use
bookcases or something else
to define spaces for other stuff."
Corey looked at it with that
in mind. "Yeah, that'll work."
"What about the rest of it?"
Dennis said. "You mentioned
a kitchen fire. Do we really want
a building that burned down?"
"It didn't burn down and there's
no structural damage. The fire
just ruined the kitchen equipment
and the paint job, so they had
to tear out that stuff," said Ellis.
"Everything else should be fine.
The kitchen is back this way."
She opened a door in the rear,
which led to a hallway there.
There was a small dottie,
still intact as promised.
Farther in, they could see
smoke stains on the walls,
but that looked superficial.
"This is bigger than I expected,"
Corey said. "What would we
do with this space? It's not
really part of the storefront."
"Put in a breakroom first,"
said Ellis. "See what's left,
then turn it into office space.
We could probably make
two offices, maybe even
three if they're small."
"You, me, and Sidney,"
said Corey. "We might
add extra desks in case
anyone else needs them."
"Can you source that kind
of office furniture without
spending too much money?"
Ellis asked as they headed
back to the main part of
the store. "You really did
a great job with the house,
but offices are different."
"Sure, no problem at all,"
said Corey. "People dump
old office stuff all the time,
and it's cheap because
almost nobody wants it."
"Bookcases," said Sidney.
"Wall racks and floor stands
for clothes. Tables and chairs?"
Ellis took a speculative look at
the huge room. "I wonder where
Lavender Lane butts up against
the walls here," she said. "This is
more space than we really need,
especially at first, but it's just such
a bargain. Maybe we could rent
them some indoor space too."
"What, open a door between
them and us?" Corey said.
"Yeah, that might work.
Can we afford all this?"
"It's actually cheaper than
it looks," said Ellis. "I found
some great perks for reviving
a damaged building and for
starting a diverse business.
I'll have no trouble making
a deal that falls in our favor."
"Then I'm for it," said Corey,
and Desta said, "Me too."
"I like it," said Sidney.
"I can do a lot with this."
"It's in a good location,"
said Dennis. "I think
this will work for us."
"Then that's settled,"
said Ellis. "I will start
the process. There don't
seem to be other folks showing
interest in taking over this building."
"I feel so excited, but I hardly know
what to expect in the future," said Corey.
"The future is not something to predict,
but something we create," said Ellis.
"I like that idea better," said Corey.
* * *
Notes:
This poem's notes are long, so the character, setting, and content notes appear separately.
(no subject)
Date: 2022-10-15 03:30 pm (UTC)You're welcome!
Date: 2022-10-15 08:23 pm (UTC)