Unexpected Guest

Layla stands in the doorway, her normally smiling face looking uncertain. She’s wearing a dark blue dress, one that hangs loose on her body, concealing her curves far more than usual. Among other things. In her hand she has a bottle, which Ethan at first mistakes for wine, only to instead see it’s whisky.

“Ethan,” she sighs, faintly smiling before it breaks apart on her lips. “We… need to talk. May I?” She gestures towards the entryway.

“Of course.” Ethan doesn't even consider turning her away. He’d spent most of the afternoon suppressing his curiosity, now it was time to indulge it.

Stepping in, Layla leans against the wall slightly, reaching down and taking off her shoes. Ethan notes that they were flats rather than heels, which typically was her shoe of choice. Between that and the dress, Ethan suspects Layla is trying her best to minimize her usual image. Padding across the floor, Layla moves to the living room, slowly sitting down on the couch, placing the bottle on the coffee table.

Moving to the couch as well, Ethan notes the bottle is already open, half the contents gone. “You drink that yourself?”

“Hm? Oh, no.” She tilts her head, examining the bottle. “No, I just… I’ve had the bottle for a year or so. I only drink it when I need courage for a hard conversation.” On queue, she leans forward, picking up the bottle and unscrewing the cap.

“Ah,” Ethan takes a seat, watching Layla knock back a mouthful straight from the bottle. “Do you have a lot of those? Hard conversations I mean.”

Layla considers the question, then shakes her head no, before offering the bottle to Ethan.

Ethan takes it, partly to take it away from her, but also he feels he might need it. He takes a small sip, just enough to get a taste, but not enough to really affect him, then sets the bottle down on the table outside of Layla’s reach. “So…”

The older woman lets out a deep breath, collecting herself. “I’m not sure where to start…”

Ethan’s tempted to say ‘in the beginning’, but he decides to let Layla take her time uninterrupted.

“The town… Green Valley, has a complicated history.”

Not expecting the conversation to start this way, Ethan raises his brow. What would the town's history have to do with Layla having a dick?

“It started a couple hundred years ago…”