A Lonely Affair Indeed

[Kensi Lawliet]

Kensi plunked herself down at the wooden picnic table, finding the worn wood to be far more comfortable than she'd expected. Staring at her food, she couldn't bring herself to take a bite and instead just picked at it with her fork. Sighing, she looked down at the white ball of fluff and chaos laying at her feet. "If it weren't for you, Jack, I think lunch would be quite the lonely affair."

She paused and patted the bench next to her until the dog jumped up and seated himself at her side. Passing him a piece of the meat she'd been avoiding eating, Kensi continued her ramble. "I haven't managed to talk to hardly anyone since I've been here, yknow. And you're wonderful company, don't get me wrong, but it would be nice to have a response with actual words." Jack snorted as if he was offended and Kensi offered another slice of meat to appease him. 

She rubbed his snow white ears absentmindedly, "Perhaps if we went for a walk, or visited one of the dog friendly sections of Blue Ridge, then we'd meet someone?" Answered by a wuffle she smiled and nodded at her companion, "You're right, of course. We need to finish eating before we do anything."  

Kensi eyed her food that was rapidly disappearing-and not into her own stomach, "Or should I say, YOU need to finish eating before we do anything..."

[Roderick Faulkner]

Lately, Gail was spending more and more time out at the barn. She had Rabbit to keep in top form, she was training that new filly, Syrah, and she was helping another staff member work with a racehorse. Rod didn't blame her, but sometimes the quiet apartment felt a bit lonely. He always had early morning swim practice, so it wasn't like they saw each other in the mornings. He sort of expected Gail to go back to prioritizing horses, but it didn't mean he didn't still feel left out.

Like a true Minnesotan, he thought the weather was positively warm. No snow and temperatures that didn't freeze eyelashes. Seriously, did these southerners have any idea how annoying it is to have snot frozen in your nose? He carried a backpack with his lunch and some math homework to grade out to the picnic tables. They were usually pretty quiet this time of year, and it was easier for him to get in and out of them than the tables inside. The only downside to the cooler weather was that the pain in his limbs was more determined than ever to be noticeable. He was limping more than usualy and figured he was leaning on his cane more than was really ideal.

Rod was surprised to notice someone else sitting outside, and her white dog stood out. In Minnesota, the canine could have been a ghost, but not here. He limped over and smiled in an effort to hide the shooting pain up his leg.

"Nice dog. Do you mind I sit down? Rod Faulkner, I teach geometry and swimming here."

He sat down near the edge of the bench and used his left hand to draw his right leg into a more proper sitting position. Gail never really thought twice about the extra effort he needed to get through daily activities and didn't think about how peculiar is must seem to other people. Even something as simple as pulling a chair closer to the table was more difficult. He pulled out his lunch, a white sheet of paper with several open faced sandwiches piled inside, a water bottle, and a tub of jam.

"Do you have a horse here?"

[Kensi Lawliet]

Kensi looked up, surprise fixed on her features. She hadn't really expected anyone to join her out here, figuring it was a bit chilly for the Southerners. A smile formed when he complimented her dog; there wasn't a faster way to make a good impression with Kensi Lawliet than to admire her animals. "Thank you, this is Jack. Please, join us." She rubbed the dog affectionately and kept an eye on him as he sniffed the man opposite her- in case jack decided to attempt a jump into his lap.


"Kensi Lawliet, I'm the new Herbal Medicines instructor. Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Faulkner" Kensi wasn't the biggest on formalities but her mother had drilled manners into her head from an early age and it showed when she met someone for the first time. She extended her hand for him to shake.


She noticed him adjusting his leg, her curiosity piqued. "I hope it isn't too forward of me to ask, but are you all right?" The man was not behaving as though he was experiencing a recent injury, more an old ache that he'd lived with for a long time. Kensi couldn't help asking anyhow, she was too curious and too eager to help anyone she could.

[Roderick Faulkner]

Rod carefully unwrapped his lunch, his right arm hanging at his side. It was bad enough that his leg was giving him problems, he didn't need his entire right side erupting in breakthrough pain. He pulled a small tube with pills inside out from his bag and unscrewed the lid with his teeth before dumping them out onto the white paper. Maybe it was a bit unusual for someone young like him to need to take pills like a senile man, but they worked for the most part.

"Rod is fine. We're both faculty. And likewise, Kensi."

He quickly swallowed the pills well accustomed to the taste and chased it down with water. Admittedly, he was stalling for time about answering her question. The scars were easy enough to hide, but the breakthrough pain was never easy to live with. And it wasn't like he could be popping Oxycontin every time his leg hurt. Maybe in the spring or summer he would take up Gail's offer for riding lessons. Reluctantly, he offered up a brief version of his injury.

"I'm okay. There's nerve damage in my right leg and arm. I...I was involved in a bad accident a few years ago."

Unless she actually saw the distinctive parallel scars on his arms, he really didn't want to talk about the boating incident. Then again, she probably knew some strange herbal concoction for the pain even if the best of modern medicine couldn't return full feeling to his body. And he really was doing a thousand times better than when he was on the operating table or laid up with pneumonia that could have killed him.

[Kensi Lawliet]

Kensi recognized the pills he'd tossed back, Oxy and her had not agreed. She'd been on pills before; still carries Vicodin with her just in case, but she prefers her oils or just toughing it out. Dulling the pain dulls everything else as well. It frustrates Kensi often, that her knee was permanently damaged solely because the doctors who had cleaned her wounds hadn't bothered to check for deep tissue damage. The wound were deep but not deep enough to expose anything that shouldn't be exposed to open air, so the doctors had shrugged and sent her on her way. Ten years later and she still walks around with the pain.

"They stop working after a while. The pills, I mean. You might consider supplementing them with natural remedies." Kensi figures that most people peg her as a nature loving hippie to begin with, so she might as well live up to the reputation.

She considered asking him another question, but acknowledging how much she hates when people pry into her business, she decided against questioning him further. She sat back and blinked, realizing she ignored his original question. "Sorry for jumping straight into your business. In answer to your question, not currently no, I don't have a horse here. My boy is on the older side, so I left him back with my Uncle until I get settled."

[Roderick Faulkner]

As the son of a doctor, Rod had great faith in modern medicine. She made sure he got the best treatment possible both in the hospital and out patient. And without the technology and science, Rod knew that his injuries would have been a death sentence. Leaving Gail as a widow before she was thirty would be far too cruel. He was skeptical of the so-called natural remedies since most of the time, they didn't seem to have the sort of concrete double-blind tests of other drugs. Not to mention that insurance covered most of the cost of his medications. She was the Herbal Remedies teacher, so it made perfect sense that she would advocate for them.

"The opiates do work, though. And well, I don't exactly have spare twenties to drop on half an ounce of oil."

He wasn't trying to criticize, but some of the herbal remedies he saw for sale at the grocery store just about made his jaw drop when it came to price. Besides, he had given up on the nerves ever regenerating to the point where he could actually use his right arm and leg. If even the best neurosurgeon in New York couldn't repair all the damage, then the best he could hope for was long term management. Gail still held out hope that some of the nerves would regenerate on their own, but he was not nearly so optimistic.

"Maybe it's not such a big deal here, but I still think anyone who can afford to own a horse is lucky. I can't ride, but my wife teaches the jumping classes here. What breed of horse?"

Rod wasn't sure how appropriate it would be to talk about Gail's latest project. He still didn't understand what made people so horse crazy, but he loved Gail more than anything. Some nights, he even wondered if she would be happier without dragging him around. If she still had Jack, then those two could have gone to the Olympics. He wasn't even sure if he was jealous that her gelding received more love than him.

[Kensi Lawliet]

Kensi was not unused to being turned down for a variety of reasons. Rather than be offended by it, she'd long since accepted that most people would rather trust modern medicine. Nor did she blame them for relying on them. Pills and shots work, Kensi knew from experience, and just because they had a poor effect on her immune system and body, doesn't mean they don't work perfectly fine for everyone else. Besides that, most people are far to skeptical and the mind is powerful, so if they don't want herbal remedies to work, then they definitely won't. However, Kensi was not easily deterred, so she did keep trying. 

She laughed at his comment, "I can understand that. The oils can be a lot, because ideally they are highly concentrated versions of the herbs or blend of herbs. To be fair though, a half ounce of oil can last months because only a small amount is needed at a time." Kensi waved her hands about "And besides that, using the straight herbs also can have an effect. I make many homemade teas from herbs, mixing them in whatever sort of blend I need at the time-and buying plants is a lot cheaper than oils and even cheaper if you grow them yourself!" Kensi was rattling on at this point, as she was prone to when she became excited. 

"I agree with you," Kensi nodded emphatically, "I grew up spending half my time on my Uncle's farm and I learned more about keeping up the cost and production than I ever wanted to. Any animal is expensive, but horses are something else. I was lucky that my parents were just thrilled I'd found a hobby to keep me out of their hair. Nowadays, most of my paychecks go straight into my animals-" Kensi blushed a bit, "They might be a tad spoiled though."

Kensi leaned forward, "Oh my boy is a Lipizzan, stubborn as a mule too." She rolled her eyes, thinking of the gelding and his antics.  "Jumping, huh? I'll have to go observe her class sometime. What's she like?"



OOC: Sorry I took so long!! 

[Roderick Faulkner]

Admittedly, he knew almost nothing about alternative medicines. His mother frequently criticized acupuncture as a legitimate form of healing or complained that chiropractors were false doctors. Some teas certainly could have an effect on people, like chamomile tea was often cited for relaxation. But, there were also plenty of medications that worked on sorting out chemical imbalances with the brain. Anti-depressants were tested and proven to relieve the symptoms and source of depression. For pain, there were tons of good pain killers that worked on everything from a mild headache to recovering from surgery. They could be trusted because anyone who was interested could know exactly what they were taking, and for prescription medications, the doctor was supposed to prescribe only what was necessary with full understanding of drug interactions.

"I never had horses growing up, actually. But, I remember most of Gail's winnings from shows tended to go back into covering the cost of her horse. Even with a few sponsors, owning one horse was expensive."

In a single night she could earn about a hundred thousand dollars from a single grand prix. However, there were the costs of transportation, show fees, feed, board, vet and farrier, tack, and whatever else came with owning a horse. She had to maintain the Suburban, and that thing could just eat through money no matter how much was thrown at it. But, she loved her sport, and it wasn't like they needed a lot to be happy.

"Gail is wonderful. She's a great rider and teacher. Her old horse, Jack, was going to take her to the FEI World Cup finals. Right now, I think she's working with a young horse belonging to her friend. I know she spends most of her time in the barns, so you'll probably run into her at some point. Yeah, Gail is the best wife in the world."