imogenarnold

[imogenarnold]

NORMAL PEOPLE (2020) | 1.12

[imogenarnold]

Pearl very much did not have this.

Having intently been awaiting her move, Imogen is quirk to whirl around when the blueberry goes rogue and the man they'd been using for target practice sat up, hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter.

"...what's the NBA? Don't tell me there's some sort of blueberry pelting champions league or something." She reached across to help herself to some of the other fruit in Pearl's fruit cup--for eating, not for throwing.

location: all-nighter diner for: @imogenarnold

"Shut up, I've got this," Pearl says, aiming a blueberry at the open mouth of a man who'd fallen asleep in his booth across from them. She even almost makes it, but instead it hits his eye and he wakes up suddenly, looking around like he's just a little more confused than he is suspicious. "Fuck. Fine, I have shit aim, happy? My NBA dreams are so fucking crushed."

[imogenarnold]

"That is precisely what I'm looking for." Imogen laughed, leaned back in her seat with a victorious grin. "We might just make a romantic of you yet, Christina. We've got the beach, and we've got the coffee shop. One more, and you're done. Where are we closing this ideal romantic night, hm?"

Christina furrows her brows. She wishes she could really dig into the fat that no one had ever been able to compare to Dallas. It was kind of pathetic to even think along those lines but no one had really screamed... hey, meet my son and see if we have a future.

Unless she really let herself think about Calvin but that was a can of worms she wasn't willing to touch simply because her son attached the man as young as three months and there was no way she could take that away from him but the guilt of allowing Calvin to be apart of his life and not Dallas.

God, what was wrong with her?

She lifts her eyes up towards the the woman across from her, pressing her lips together. "The coffee shop," she shrugs her shoulders as if the answer was kind of ridiculous in itself. "There's something about interior of that place that makes you feel like you're sitting in your own living room with a good romantic book in your hand and warm cup of tea."

"Is that what you're looking for?"

[imogenarnold]

While glad that he didn't take offense to her inappropriate reaction, Imogen was still rather mortified, evident in the tint of her cheeks.

"Adaptability is a lovely trait, but this is your ideal date, so a partner who is into what you have planned is part of the fantasy. Obviously I cannot speak for her...but it truly is a lovely night that you planned out." She smiled.

"It's...going." Well? That might have been a stretch. "I haven't been here very long, and with the storm, it's...not been ideal. But things are looking up."

There was something about the fact she found his situation humorous that reminded Gavin that he didn’t need to take it all so serious. He was getting a divorce and in the middle of a custody battle. It wasn’t the end of the world. Just the end of the world he was used to. He still had wonderful things going on in his life despite that fact. “ I swear I’m not offended or anything. I know we all have different reactions to things.”

His expression softened at her next comment. He thought once upon a time he was incredibly romantic but he fell into routine on his marriage and he wondered if that contributed to the big secret reveal. “ it is what I would have done but I also know to switch things around if the date isn’t into the idea. “

His curiosity was piqued at the reason why she was in town and he had to admit it was a great idea. “ that’s honestly pretty cool. No one ever wants to feel like a tourist too. Is it going well so far?”

@imogenarnold

[imogenarnold]

we were something, don't you think so? / rosé flowing with your chosen family / and it would've been sweet / if it could've been me / in my defense, i have none / for digging up the grave another time / but it would've been fun / if you would've been the one

[imogenarnold]

Jodie Comer for Theatrely Tony Award Nominees

[imogenarnold]

It might have been the best day that Aurora Bay had given her.

Not that this was a hard title to come by. Between freak weather that'd turned the picturesque town upside down just weeks after her arrival, to discovering that she was, in fact, occupying the same place that'd not only had raised the man she loved, but that he too had fled to post their breakup...it was safe to say that Imogen's first taste of America hadn't been all that she'd hoped it would be.

(She had always imagined it would be with him, hadn't she? A trip back to this place together, hand in hand, to see where he'd grown up, to meet the people he'd done so alongside, to better understand just how she'd gotten so fortunate that they had all led him there to her, the man that he was?)

But today was good, even if in all actuality, it was horrific. She half expected the May Queen herself to make an appearance at any time, holding a lavender cookie and an alarmingly blue lemonade as she paraded on through the crowd.

Imogen hadn't expected the turnout, but there was no denying the serenity that'd seemed to fall over the town and its festival goers, the sweet scent of fresh bloomed flowers drifting by across the breeze, the sun at its peak and its rays warm.

Almost too warm. The collar of her dress was beginning to feel too tight, fingers curled beneath the fabric almost subconsciously as she awaited in the line for Driftwood (she had to know if that horrifying shade of blue had any discernible flavor).

Despite the heat, it was nice to be out of her room, where she'd been holed up since that fateful liquor store run in. The words had barely been able to be contained until she could reach her laptop that night, pouring out of her as if something in her mind had just been cracked open.

Or perhaps it hadn't been something in her mind at all, but something in her chest, beating wildly beneath her ribs.

And beating wilder still when, from her peripheral, she senses the man behind her leaned just a bit too close, turning around to see if she'd somehow missed him speaking to her, only for him to start speaking at the same time.

Oh. As if she could possibly miss that voice anywhere.

"...to be fair, it did sound something more out of a children's film." She paused, "or a horror."

She had thought him a liar, exaggerating his distaste for the festivities due to a general discontentedness he'd felt at home in general, a feeling Imogen had known well...but he'd sworn to her, hand on a book as good as the Bible (and certainly a better read), that his word was as good as God's. Promised her he'd show her for herself, even.

In some ways, hadn't he still?

"...hi."

@luckylewis

closed for: @imogenarnold

where: by the food trucks

So far, it's been a good day.

That's how it felt at least. He thinks he's getting better at taking the bad with the good and not focusing so hard on just the bad. Making his daughter laugh made him feel like if he could see his passed his chest and get a birds eye view of his own heart, he would see some sort of glow emanating around the muscle from the sound alone, and that was enough to make her aunt's barbs feel less like a body blow.

Good. Bad. It balanced itself out.

The flask with vodka sloshing around inside it that was sitting in the front pocket of his jeans hadn't been touched yet, even as he joined the queue to procur whatever flower themed beverage was being peddled as a must-try. He was fourth in line, but the first and second patrons were of little interest to him. It was the one directly in front of him that gave him pause.

He doesn't need to see her face to know who it was stood before him, the definitiveness about it inexplicable even to him. It was just a feeling. He'd know her at any hokey festival, in any town, in any corner of the world.

Her presence in a place that had been once so exclusively his didn't leave him as shellshocked the second time, in it's stead was more of a duller ache, the kind that comes with missing someone you were always meant to lose.

With his hands clasped loosely behind his back, he leans forward so when he spoke he could get her attention, that in itself a roll of the dice given everything.

"And to think, you thought I was making this town tradition up."

Reminiscing had become a whole thing itself on a dreary day staring out the window of their London flat when he had mentioned it in passing, to her rightful disbelief. It had culminated in his flat palm pressed to a well loved Carolyn Brown novel swearing up and down he wasn't exaggerating about the flowers or the lights or how both could galvanize his hometown in a shock of camaraderie.

Though he didn't care much for the author's works itself, Imogen did and was as good as Bible to him.

"Hey."

[imogenarnold]

━━  🍁┊BOYHOOD – THE JAPANESE HOUSE.

i used to be somebody else / and i'm still out looking for me / i go out and try to chase myself / find someone that might restore me / i could have been somebody new / and i'm talking to myself again / but i don't know who i'm talking to / i think it's you / i hope you know / i could have been somebody who / you wanted to have around to hold / i should have jumped when you told me to / i wanna change but it's nothing new / and if i grow, i'm gonna get so old / will you hold me like you always do?

[imogenarnold]

PAUL MESCAL & JODIE COMER

the olivier awards 2023 (2 april, 2023)

[imogenarnold]

"How long have you been back?"

Some would consider Imogen nosy...and they would be right. It didn't come from a malicious place, nor did she get any personal gain from the information, but she simply considered herself curious. She liked to know what made people tick.

"You two never got the chance?" Her smile was soft, knowing well what a missed opportunity it was. "Well, whenever you do get to try it out, I hope it's just as magical as you made it sound."

As Ramsey had felt confident in her choice her drink arrived and the model took a sip from it. A small smile emerged as she placed the glass down, grateful for how it seemed like the right kid of refreshing in that moment. It was a something she thought about all the time as the big first date for a number of reasons and while she didn’t want to ramble on too much, she did feel like explaining where it all had come from.

“ It’s what I would want. I haven’t been home in a long time and I thought about things I missed the most from Aurora Bay. It’s also what my ex had said was the dream date he wish he could have done when we met. It was a good idea, and exactly what I would have wanted. I haven’t tried it out yet though “

[imogenarnold]

Imogen wasn't so sure that Pearl was joking, though she didn't attempt to test the truthfulness of it. She wasn't a prude, per say, but her preferred getting high while watching a movie method started and just about ended with smoking weed.

She wasn't quite sure where Pearl's own list of recreational activities started or ended, and she wasn't going to ask.

Not that she'd even had a chance, lips beginning to part, only for the other woman's name to be called from across the way. Imogen barely managed a glance over her shoulder before Pearl was taking her by the hand and dragging her in the direction of the parking lot.

"Bye, Neil!" She called back behind her, free hand waving in his general direction, before turning back to Pearl, "...who is Neil?"

You down? As if she'd be able to say no.

Imogen grinned, "definitely down. Oasis?"

@pearlwestbrook

"True," Pearl conceded. "You know what, honestly, I bet we could pirate it by now, we should just watch it at one of our places. Then we can do coke and watch Cocaine Bear." A pause, and she added, "Joking, joking."

If only because she knew perfectly well Imogen wasn't about to do coke with her, although the idea held a stupid kind of appeal.

From just behind them came the sound of her name suddenly and Pearl didn't need to look to know it was Neil, her geeky 30-something coworker who never fucking left her alone, and whom her boss point-blank refused to stop scheduling for the same shift as her at least once a week.

"Oh, Jesus, come on," Pearl muttered, tossing her cigarette and grabbing Imogen's hand to drag her along. "Bye, Neil!" she called, and in a lower voice again, "Let's go get drinks for now, you down?"

[imogenarnold]

"Are you?"

She'd practically seen Chase's apprehension all the way from the parking lot. He'd said he was game for anything, and Imogen hardly considered ice skating to be pushing the envelope of normal.

"We can go do something else, you know. If you're," she looked to the side one way, then the other, as if checking to make sure the coast was clear, before leaning in close to whisper, "scared."

She pulled back with a laugh, brushing past him with a playful shoulder check, heading towards the building's entrance. "Come on, tough guy. Maybe we can get you one of those walkers they give to children."

@chascwilliams

outside cooldown ice rink w/ @imogenarnold

Chase looks down at his phone to check the time before glancing towards the front door of the ice rink. He inhales deeply as he shoves his phone into the back pocket of his jeans, wondering what the hell he was thinking agreeing to come here.

It was ridiculous. He was good at football, good on his feet but you put him in a pair of skates?

Fucking. Embarrassing.

That's what it was. He brushes his tongue along his lower lip as his eyes find Imogen heading in his direction. He chuckles, gesturing to the building. "You sure this is what you want to do?"

[imogenarnold]

She supposed Camille had a point, though it wasn't exactly working in Imogen's favor, right then.

"Fine, I suppose you're right. In this hypothetical then, it is your dream person. Exactly who you'd want in a partner. Someone you wouldn't hesitate to share your life with."

It hadn't been hypothetical for Imogen. Didn't need to dream up some unknown figure, think about what traits she'd want in a life partner. She'd had him. The man she was sure she was to spend the rest of her life with.

But life wasn't a dream. It was life, and it went on.

"And how's that going for you?" Genuine curiosity, a smile on her lips as she awaited an answer. As far as places to start over went, she couldn't imagine a better home to make hers. "Other than a freak storm nearly taking out my accommodations? It's everything I imagined it to be."

There was no denying it. "Oh, I'm totally bias." She laughed. That didn't mean her suggestion was solely based on that. Smelling the flowers once in awhile was a good thing for people. She knew of people who hated flowers, but did they really? Allergies played their part in most cases. "See, that's why the who is important because you won't figure those out until you know this person."

It had been two years already, hadn't it? Camille grew to love Aurora Bay in that time-frame. It was starting to officially feel like home. “It was the first city that crossed my mind because my sister had already moved here.” The move was easy with Raleigh already here. She was thankful that her sister let her in in the first place. "I wanted to start a life outside of Oregon, you know? Thought it would be a cute place to start my life and find myself." Half truth, maybe, as Cami had never shared what and who she left behind in Oregon. "How's your experience so far?"

[imogenarnold]

She was glad that he seemed to be taking her rudeness in stride. It didn't help the embarrassment that flooded her, her throat tight with it--or maybe that was the chip still lodged there.

"It's not." She's quick to assure, but his smile does nothing to dissuade her own, and it's only a moment later that she's amending, "okay, it was a little funny. But mostly not."

But still was. Just a little.

Her head shakes, reaching for another sip of her margarita. "No, no. Of course not. It was incredibly romantic. I can tell that you put a lot of thought into it. I appreciate that." And she was sure whoever came into his life next would, too.

"The latter...but I'm actually here on business." Kind of. "I'm doing some research for a book I'm writing, and I don't want it to be rooted in a tourists interpretation, you know? I want it to feel genuine." Wanted it to be genuine, and what better way to gain that insight than by talking to the people who made this town what it was?

@gavin-carrigan

Gavin smiled softly at her comment. His divorce wasn’t a secret by any means. He had been a famous singer before moving back to Aurora Bay to raise a family and so people loved to latch onto one families drama for headlines. It was annoying, but it gave him thick skin when someone would have such a candid reaction to his comment. He honestly thought nothing of it and wished he could laugh about it all instead of be frustrated about the entire situation.

“ it’s a little funny. I really don’t mind “ he noted with another small smile; letting her know he wasn’t offended at all by what had happened. “ I’ve had the free time in my dating life to come up with what I would do. Was it overboard?” He asked before nodding but also feeling like he was lying a bit at her question.

“ Mostly. I came here when I was ten. Then I left for a bit in my twenties for work and I’ve been back for eight years. So it’s been off and on. We’re you asking for ideas cause your from here? Or because you’re a newer resident?”

[imogenarnold]

The expletive is simply met with a grin around Imogen's straw.

She's pleased with his sense of humor, despite the unfamiliarity between them--though considering he'd taken what she'd thought to be an appropriate public place conversation and immediately made it into a how to avoid public indecency charges at the drive in PSA, she couldn't be too surprised at his ability to make himself familiar with whoever it was he found himself in the company of.

It was an admirable trait...sort of.

Taking a page from his book, Imogen started to ask what it was that'd driven him away in the first place, but it seemed she wasn't the only one with follow up questions.

"As...interesting as I find you," a pointed look, though a hint of mirth in her gaze, "I'm actually doing some research on the area for a book I'm writing." Not that she'd done much writing of it, but she'd blame that on the hurricane it seemed her arrival had brought forth. "I don't intend to include any cinematic blowjobs in it...but never say never, I suppose."

@franciscc

" ha - ha , fuck you , no . " ALTHOUGH GIVEN THE MATTER AT HAND he can understand the accusation . it would have been a more recent memory had he not been attempting to keep a low profile . " eh , just moved back . " both a confirmation and clarification . his nearly ten year hiatus didn't make coming back as wistful as artists say it should be . " what's this for again ? you writing a signature piece on me or are you asking the bottom feeders of the bay area these questions too ? "

[imogenarnold]

"Oh, of course." Imogen's head bobs along to the explanation, as if it were something she herself had thought of, the logistics of hooking up at a drive in theater (which she had yet to actually experience, and now knew to avoid on Saturdays...and Sundays).

His clarification only adds to the unseriousness of it all. "Younger, right...so definitely not just last week?" Her eyebrow rose in faux accusation, before smoothing back out, reaching for another sip of her drink. "With that kind of disdain, I can only assume you've lived here all of your very long life?"

he takes a bite out of his food , reaching over to grab one of the chips while she's too busy stopping herself from choking . a chuckle tumbled outward , an admission of how ridiculously unhelpful and crude his words were , but he lacked shame .

" specifically saturdays . " he repeats with a nod , firm on his answer . " the drive in on sundays are usually infested with church-goers and families , can barely get a popcorn without running into a cousin's uncle's dog's best friend or something so there's no way you could get it up , anxiety and whatnot . " it was an all too well calculated hook up every other saturday , sometimes with a different girl , he even over-thought where he needed to park his car . " i was younger then, " he clarifies , as if he wouldn't take another ride to the drive-in solely for the nostalgia . " nothing else about this place makes me want to fall in love but if you find somewhere , let me know . "

[imogenarnold]

And Imogen thought she'd put on a show.

While she hadn't expected the onslaught of information from the other woman, she could certainly empathize. It hadn't been years since her own breakup, nor was she dealing with the horrible reality of Lucky also somehow occupying the same town as her, but that look on her face? That sadness? Imogen recognized it well.

"Please, you have nothing to apologize for." The bowl of chips, a peace offering, is set firmly in the middle between the two. "I could not even imagine what that must be like." It must've been pretty special, for years to have passed and for the pain to feel so fresh. She was hardly comforted by the thought.

Wondering if, years from now, these wounds would still bleed as if fresh. If the sharp ache she felt in her chest would ever dull. Had this woman thought as much, when her ex had left all those years ago? Only to find that the pain had never really subsided at all? That she'd just gotten used to it?

"That does not sound cheesy at all." Imogen's head shook as she reached to take a sip of her margarita. "I'd have been concerned if you hadn't mentioned the beach, truly." She offered her a kind smile. "Have you lived here all your life?"

Riley sat next to the woman, holding back her soft giggles from hearing the two argue over something like chips and salsa. She turned her head, amused from it still going on. Dinner and a show. Nice. She thought to herself, a goofy grin plastered on her face, putting the cup against her lips. Riley then took a sip of her margarita that she had recently ordered minutes before the argument even happened, eyes staying on the scene the whole time.

When the bickering stopped, Riley set the drink down, eyes going to the woman as she cocked a brow from her question before smiling. "Oh.. I'm not really sure." She snorted. "I haven't been in a relationship in years after my ex moved away so my brain doesn't think romantically anymore." She said, her expression softening. She missed being in a relationship.

Soon shaking her head, she smiled again. "B-but she's back now! But with someone else." She snorted, finding it rather funny to be honest. "God I'm sorry I didn't mean to ramble, especially about my relationship problems when you just asked me a simple question." She waved a hand around before grabbing her drink once more, taking a soft sip. "But.. to be honest, I'm in love with anything beach related- So I would pick the perfect time of day to go sit on the beach, where it's not too hot or cold, watching the sunset, eating together.. being in the water." She sighed "That sounds so cheesy.. but what can I say.. I'm into that."