Everything comes back to you -J.MARIANO

[1.36]

𝓐s planned and prepared the night before, Taryn walked into Tas' back garden through  the gate that he had left open for her. Whilst it took her a second to actually leave her bed, making her twenty minutes late, she found herself able to leave with the incentive that Tas had promised her that they would do something fun. The fact that she could even leave the house in the first place was a great improvement that her parents were very proud of. Luckily the walk to Tas' had absolutely no chance of even laying eyes on the diner, a place she definitely was not ready to brave just yet. There were too many memories in there, too many signs of him and she was not ready to see Luke's apologetic look quite yet.

Upon entering the shed, Tas looked up from his book and smiled at her. He did not look even the slightest bit annoyed at her lateness and had even prepared for it beforehand. "Okay so," she began as she sunk herself down into her comfy chair opposite his.

"Uh oh you've got the focused look," Tas chuckled to himself as he placed his mug of near finished coffee back down onto the table.

"Shut up Tas," she joked whilst tucking her feet up underneath herself, sitting cross legged atop her chair as she had suddenly been hit with a wave of discomfort.

He laughed softly, "Right right continue."

She inhaled deeply before explaining, "So I enrolled in a class for advanced level design mixed with advanced level stitching. I've sold all my old dresses and pieces that are good but not good enough, giving me enough money to take a month's trip to New York. I'll try and get an internship or some experience to look good on my application for next year... Or if not I'll just go and see all the designer stores that I want to see at least once in my life."

He frowned, brow furrowed deeply, "You're going alone?"

She nodded, though reluctant to do so. The person she had wanted to go with was no longer in the picture and she refused to dwell too long on that particular subject. "Well you'll be in Har-"

"Don't jinx it!" he suddenly exclaimed, sitting forward and almost entirely jumping out of his chair with enthusiasm.

She smiled softly at this sudden outburst. He, upon noticing that, rolled his eyes and sat back in his chair whilst waiting for her to continue. She sighed softly and continued to tell him the game plan she had created late last night after being unable to sleep. "Then for the rest of the year I will practice and practise and practice, maybe pick up another class or two. I'll have the money from Patty and Lorelai's ordered some curtains for the inn."

"Curtains?"

"It's all experience,"she responded quickly. Though she disliked the idea of making the curtains, it wasn't exactly a difficult task that tested her ability. "If I know how to make a wide range of things then I have a better chance."

"You sound like you're going to work yourself to the bone," Tas replied with a slight laugh even though she could easily hear the distinct concern within his voice.

She laughed softly yet it still sounded foreign to her, "That's the American dream, Tas."

"Well depending on how," he coughed and she instantly knew what it meant. The cover up gave Tas some form of peace of mind, even though she had no doubt he would get accepted and instantly enrolled. "I can donate you the shed to become your workspace."

She smiled, "Thanks."

"I mean it pretty much is anyway," he almost laughed whilst gesturing towards the now empty dress rails that spanned the length of one of the walls of the shed. "You could also do the dress business out of here, for prom at the end of next year. Which is even more money..."

She nodded and made a mental note to write down that idea in her journal when she got home. "That's actually a good idea."

"Maybe you'll be able to buy a mannequin with that check."

"No, I'd reinvest it into fabrics, classes and magazines."

"Taryn. Every dressmaker needs a dress maker's doll, it's just the norm," he sighed softly. Tas not so secretly hated the fact that she wouldn't let him buy her one of the mannequins. He hated to see her struggle to make the clothing with correct options without using someone else as a helper.

"Tas you know how I feel about that.." she trailed off, not bothering to explain much further as it was already the millionth time that they had had that conversation. Instead she sighed softly and looked around the shed, already envisioning the space she could create for herself within the walls. "What's the plan for today then?"

"Mom's doing a barbeque later, pretty sure your Dads are invited."

"Yeah they were talking about that this morning."

"Want to go shopping in Hartford?"

Taryn  glanced at the clock within the shed as her watch was still broken. She hesitated, for thought and a brief mental calculation, before she turned back to Tas. "There's a bus in five minutes,"

They shared a second look and hesitation before they both scrambled out of their chairs and towards their separate houses. Somehow, and neither knew how, but they both managed to collect the things they would need for the day and make it to the bus stop just in time for it to pull up in front of them. Whilst it wasn't how she had originally been expecting to spend the day (she and Jess had made a plan weeks ago), she was glad for the distraction and still enjoyed herself greatly.