Confused is more like it.

"Yeah, Ah'm... uh..." Wriggling her body, Jess tried to push herself up, but couldn't find enough purchase to make it. "Ah'm stuck, it seems. Would y'all help a girl out?"

"Sure..." With Charlie's help, Jess made it back on the path, although it was rather embarrassing, her face feeling hot as she stared down at herself, pulling leaves and small branches off of her uniform. "What the heck was that?"

"Ah... well, Ah don't know... Ah suddenly felt Ah had to catch that li'l critter there..." The Texas twang was tinged with embarrassment as Jess fidgeted. "The poor thing must have been terrified."

"You can say that again, it jumped three feet into the air when you pounced at it," Charlie grinned, pulling her friend into a half-hug with one arm. "Listen, I won't pry what that was about just now, but if you need to talk, I'm here. Or, well, more likely at the hospital working, but you can text me anytime. Promise?"

"Promise." This was part of why Jess had stayed in touch with Charlie even if they hadn't seen each other for months - the nurse knew when not to be nosy while still being understanding and supportive. "Now, breakfast?"

"Sure! Lead the way."

Of course, even if Charlie didn't pester her for details what that had been about, Jess couldn't keep from being weirded out by her own behavior. Even though the friends talked about everything and nothing on the way to the café - the newest show they'd binged, recipes Charlie had tried, gossip Jess had snatched up at the beach -, the Texan's thoughts kept circling back to yesterday and wondering if she was behaving strangely because of that.

It couldn't be... could it? Sheltered as she was, she'd never heard of something like that happening. Maybe she was just a little stressed out, God knew she had reason to, thanks to the guy in the tracksuit. But Jess didn't feel stressed - weirded out, yes, strangely alert to the noises of the park around her yes, but stressed? She hadn't felt this relaxed in weeks, actually--

"Whoa, Miss Head-in-the-clouds, no walking onto the street, please!" Feeling Charlie's hand grab her arm, Jess stopped in her tracks, one foot already on the pavement, cars driving past at a deceptively leisurely pace that still would have broken a few bones, had Jess kept walking. At least the one that would have hit her was only now speeding up again after hitting the breaks. The driver still indicated that according to him, the southern belle had a few screws loose. "Damn, you're out of it today. You're sure everything is fine?"

"Ah... don't know. Ah feel fine, better'n fine even." Jess stepped back onto the sidewalk and shook her head. "Just... distracted, Ah guess. It's, uhm, Ah had an... yesterday, somethin' happened at work, and... it wasn't nice, so Ah keep rememberin'... But that was yesterday! Today is already better, 'cause Ah met mah best friend again, the sun is shinin', and Ah'm not letting anythin' get me down!"

"Attagirl!" There was still a hint of doubt in Charlie's voice - she knew there was more than Jess let on, but she also knew that forcing the issue likely wouldn't do anyone any good. "Off to get breakfast then."

Crossing the street with a little more caution this time, Jess and Charlie followed the boardwalk to the beachfront café. Jess held her face into the soft ocean breeze, marveling at how much brighter everything seemed today, the scent of freshly baked bread rolls, jam and coffee mixing with the salty sea air, smelling more intense than usual... It made the events of yesterday feel like the bad dream Jess had thought they were when she'd woken up.

"Oh, hey!" Cathy greeted them with a bright smile - the breakfast rush was over, or rather, sitting around the tables, and Jess' friend was busying herself with cleaning up. "You look like you're feeling much better! I didn't expect you so soon - although I could have used a hand earlier."

"Oh no! Y'all should have called me if y'--" Jess interrupted herself as she saw Cathy's playful wink. "Aww, Cathy, don't tease me!"

"But it's so much fun!" Throwing her cleaning cloth into the sink, Cathy leaned on the counter and grinned. "Don't worry, the boss was in and helped out. No getting overrun when she's around."

That was a truth if Jess had ever heard one. For a woman that barely broke 5 feet in heels, May Sinclair was an incredible barista. She was sort of a secret weapon against breakfast, lunch and dinner rushes, seemingly being everywhere at once and taking care of everything from preparing food, bussing tables and ringing people up. Sadly, she was busy with the organization side of things more often than not.

"Phew, that does make me feel better," Jess sighed before turning to Charlie. "Now, what can I getcha, sugar?"

"Oh no, Texas. Your shift hasn't started yet." Turning towards Cathy, the nurse pointedly ordered from her instead. "Cathy, would you mind getting me a number 9 with coffee strong enough to keep the spoon upright? The coffee in a to go cup, please. The head nurse dropped a hint that things are gonna be bad today..."

"Just a latte for li'l ol' me, Cathy," Jess answered the look from her friend and colleague. "Ah've already eaten. Let me find us a table, sugar..."

Finding one luckily didn't take too long, and it was even out on the patio! Sitting down, Jess couldn't keep from smiling as she felt the warmth of the sun once more, heating up her scalp gently. Crossing her legs, she looked out onto the surf and rested her chin on one hand as her eyes closed partway. The gentle tingling on her head felt so nice...

"Here you go, I brought your latte. Cathy put it on your tab." Sitting down with a tray full of bacon, eggs and bread rolls, Charlie pushed the drink over to Jess, who thankfully took it. "By the way, did you do something with your hair? That red tinge really suits you."