Letting go • •

[hunter gable oldbury]

Hunter couldn’t understand how anyone could spend all of their times indoors. He could never have a nine to five office job. His skin started getting itchy when he was in the New York Times office for a quick meeting with the editors and bosses of each section. They were only usually an hour or so long, but Hunter wasn’t the type who could sit in a chair for, well, any length of time at all. He had to be out there. He had to chase down his next big adventure, find that perfect shot. None of that could be done sitting at a desk, typing or browsing the internet for ideas that had already been done a million times on some Instagram account owned by a kid with the latest iPhone. Hunter didn’t want to sound older than he actually was, but he hated how the world was filled with screen junkies and those who just needed to put everything they did on social media.

Ever since he reluctantly took the assignment at the theatre it had bugged him. He understood the purpose of reviews and suggestions, but so many of them had been harping on about their blogs, the way they were “checking in” so their followers could see where they were. What happened to the element of surprise? And then there had been Georgie; a woman who, from the sounds of things, spent most of her time in the dusty old place running errands for some eccentric playwright. He couldn’t begin to fathom how anyone could enjoy that lifestyle. Hell, he hated listening to his own boss most of the time! Hunter was his own person and thankfully his job meant he had a lot of freedom to make his decisions independently without running them by someone higher up first. Most of the time they assigned him a task, told him where he was going and if he was going with anyone else, and then he was completely on his own to get the results. He liked it that way. It meant he could go and do some exploring of his own, follow his instincts without having to ask permission first.

It was bothering him so much, that while he had an inner city assignment, he wanted to surprise Georgie and show her that her theatre was just a blip in the larger world. He had his camera equipment over his shoulder, and his plan formed meticulously. The theatre wasn’t open to the public at this hour. They were probably between shows, doing cleaning or maintenance; Hunter didn’t have a clue, quite frankly. Since he couldn’t just waltz inside and lay down his demands, he chose to seek out the stage door. Once he had it located, he began to hammer down on it with his fist, refusing to let up until someone on the inside came to see what all the fuss was about. He could be very persistent when he wanted to be, and this was one of those times.

• • •

TAGGED! Georgie Alyson Parsons
WORDS! 505!
LYRICS! Life Eternal - - - Ghost
NOTES! <3 <3 <3

[Georgie Alyson Parsons]

Georgie understood that her job was a little odd and that most people would probably never understand. After all, how many people went from where she was to become the voice for a quirky playwright who barely left his apartment unless she or his brother forced him to. After the last time, he'd gotten his lawyers to draw up papers for Georgie to sign, basically giving up all the power to her just so he could sit in the dark and write on a typewriter older than she was. She didn't need to be in the apartment taking care of him because ready-made meals were delivered and stored in the fridge to be reheated whenever he felt his stomach demanding food, the pantry had his preferred alcohol but Georgie made sure it was stocked herself from the last fiasco when they'd delivered two cases of the wrong stuff. She hadn't been there to accept the delivery, the cleaner had done it but she had most definitely heard all about it when she returned from a particularly nasty meeting with a snarky director. She could see from that meeting alone why Dmitri hated the man; hell, she didn't want to deal with him after that. And so far, she had been able to keep their communications to emails which were preferred.

After that, she called up the delivery service and made sure they returned for the alcohol they'd brought in by mistake and had the right stuff with them to exchange it. It was worth a small fortune and what they'd initially brought had only been worth about half, cheap and tasty but her boss had finer tastes and expected what he asked for. Immediately after that, she'd booked a flight to the facility to set up a special delivery so there was no middle man. Two cases save a bottle a month was more than enough and whenever she knew she was going to be away for an extended trip, she called them up and had them add a case; just in case. It was the little things that seemed to keep Dmitri happy and left Georgie to take care of the rest of his business and her own. Now that she'd taken over his business dealings in a more permanent way, it was easier to book appointments because she didn't need to spend an hour trying to get Dmitri to agree to leave the apartment in the first place. She could read over the documents, make changes and sign them herself on his behalf. And what she didn't know, she held on to so she could "read through them more thoroughly", then she went right over to Dimitri's brother's office and had him talk her through what she didn't understand for the next time she needed to discuss the topic.

It also meant that she had so much more time to do her own thing. She kept up her fairly usual routine of hitting the gym but otherwise, her days were basically her own unless a new play had been written and she needed to hype it up a bit. While Georgie didn't need to have an office space, she still requested one in the only theatre in the city she actually enjoyed being in. It wasn't the only one with a contract to produce Dmitri's plays but it was the one with the contractual rights to have first dibs on previewing them. It was a complicated mess that Georgie still didn't quite understand but she was getting there. But despite all the confusion, there was something special about this particular theatre and Georgie loved it. She could have taken up office space anywhere but she chose to spend her time inside these beautiful, historical walls. She was leaning back in her chair, taking a second away from the contract on her desk when someone knocked. "Come in." She called without hesitation. She needed a break and this was the perfect timing.

♦ ♦ ♦

TAG; hunter gable oldbury
WORDS; 663
LYRICS; Wildlife --Cole Swindell
NOTES; <3

[hunter gable oldbury]

Hunter couldn’t see himself being tied down to anything. He knew people he worked with had families, commitments for the holidays and weekends, but he wasn’t like them. It wasn’t as though he was alone either. Hunter had his sister and nephew back in Florida and given the right chance and time he’d hop on the first plane to visit them, but he knew Grace would chase him away at the first twitch he gave. No one knew him like his sister, and she knew Hunter didn’t sit still very well for very long. He hated feeling stagnant. He hated being trapped. Hell, he hated his own apartment if he came home to it too many nights on the run. Hunter wasn’t the type to worry about what the future would bring – he couldn’t afford to when he had spent a good portion of his life on an operating table, being sliced open only to be put back together again – and he preferred living moment to moment.

Sometimes he just took off. At times he managed to fit an escape around a travel piece he was assigned to and other times he was simple able to make use of his vacation days. His boss wasn’t always thrilled to lose one of his photographers on such short notice, but Hunter wasn’t typically the type to care so much whenever he needed a break. Hunter didn’t pretend that he was rooted in the city. He was a reliable guy, but he wasn’t the type to overwork himself, or volunteer for extra jobs unless they were desperate, and the assignment was for a place Hunter had a fondness for. While New York was his home, it was not exactly a place he considered in his Top Ten. It was a little too grey, a little too loud, and a little too crowded to ever make that favourable list. Hunter preferred unknown spots that hadn’t been oversaturated with tourists who could rake in money. He favoured waterside views and hideaways that locals protected like sanctuaries, secrets yet to be claimed and bought out by greedy corporations hellbent on owning the globe.

Even the places Hunter disliked the most had their own secret beauty spots though. Take New York, for example. Almost everyone who lived there thought they knew about some hidden gem in the concrete jungle, but Hunter never bought into it. Even the place he was going to today wasn’t some heavenly oasis that only he knew of. However, he did believe it was saved by the lack of people who trafficked it, probably due to the fact that it wasn’t easy to reach. He needed a few photos for a piece, and he was bored of the same cityscapes that plastered every city piece, so he thought he’d grab some food, make an afternoon of it and get a few shots of the city everyone knew so well from a place people didn’t know so well. His editor would either love them or hate them and Hunter would rather he hate them than be a sell out for the same shot of the Empire State Building that was the first search result on Google. At the sound of the voice on the other side of the door, Hunter swung it open and didn’t give Georgie a chance to prepare herself for what was to follow. “I hope you’re wearing you’re walking shoes because we have got places to be and we’re running on a schedule – something I know you understand a little too well already, but the sun waits for literally nothing.” Hunter made a sweeping gesture back towards the path he had walked to get here and tapped the invisible watch on his wrist that was instead replaced with beaded and leather bracelets he had collected from the countries and places he had visited around the globe.

• • •

TAGGED! Georgie Alyson Parsons
WORDS! 648!
LYRICS! Life Eternal - - - Ghost
NOTES! <3 <3 <3

[Georgie Alyson Parsons]

More recently, Georgie felt like she could expand her lifestyle a bit more to include little adventures. She was only a live-in assistant because it made it easier to get answers from her boss. She wasn’t required to make food or clean the place. She had her own area that was off-limits, and she took the time to care for that area herself. At the end of the day, she enjoyed a good deep cleaning and set aside a few hours on Sunday afternoons to do so. Georgie had started to plan her weekdays a little better to have a free day here and there should she want one. She didn’t mind working into the night if it meant she could go to the other side of the city to check out a new restaurant that had the best brunch menu.

When she’d taken on the job, she’d been worried about how her life would change and had jokingly said farewell to her brother, claiming she’d never see him again. At first, yes, it was a lot to figure out and a lot to manage but after the few months, and more than a dozen trips to a law office, she’d figured it out and turned a hundred plus hour workweek into a few days. Georgie was damn good at what she did and loved to take care of the little details. Now that she didn’t need to get Demetri out of the house every other day, it made planning that much easier. She could work her schedule however she wanted to, and include whatever she wanted because at the end of the day, she was getting her job done; even if she was doing it from a café or a cabin in the woods. If she didn’t need to be in an office or an in-person meeting, she could take calls from the bath if she chose! No one was ever the wiser as to what she was doing unless she felt the need to disclose.

As it was, she’d had the lawyer’s courier drop off the latest contracts for Demetri’s newest play so she could make sure there it was the same as it always was; which was the only reason she was even in the theatre that day. Having the office space made it easier when she was expecting a parcel or delivery instead of having it show up at the house. There was always the potential to set Demetri off and she’d needed her own office after she’d taken over from his brother. The first while, when she was going to his office to learn the more detailed parts of the job, having everything delivered there seemed like a smart move but when she needed his input less and less, it made just as much sense to keep sending things there. So, the office was created. She was just finishing up her day, and was considering what she’d would do with the rest of it when Hunter walked in. She didn’t know what he had planned but because she hadn’t intended on seeing anyone, she’d worn some workout gear with the intention of possibly going to the gym after she was done. Those plans looked like they were about to be tossed out the window but at least she was more prepared that he’d been expecting. “What did you have in mind?” She asked, grabbing the essentials of her phone, a couple cards and her keys. She could always return to her office when she was done to collect her bags and paperwork.

♦ ♦ ♦

TAG; hunter gable oldbury
WORDS; 597
LYRICS; Wildlife --Cole Swindell
NOTES; <3

[hunter gable oldbury]

Hunter supposed he technically did work a nine to five, but since he didn’t need to be in the office like some people it never really felt like one. Plus, a lot of the time he was travelling to get shots, and that didn’t give itself to a predictable routine. Hunter had been on flights at midnight or at six am, and often cursed both flights depending on where the destination was and what his itinerary was and how much flexibility he had with it. He enjoyed his job, he really did, but his editor didn’t always make plans on his behalf with anything more than a deadline in mind. Hunter could appreciate those certain kinds of pressures, but he wasn’t the type of guy who could do a job and then move instantly onto the next. He liked to take his time and enjoy the moments life gave him. Plus, so many of his published shots had been accidental ones – the photos he had managed to find after the intended ones when he was just strolling around, seeing what was off the beaten track and away from the popular tourist guides.

Hunter led the way, keeping a lively pace. “Well, I had to come here and see what you do and how this whole theatre thing works.” He waved his hand, gesturing back to the building he had vowed not to return to unless he suddenly found himself overcome with a desperate, dying urge to sit for two to three hours in a near dark venue not moving or talking. It was the same reason he didn’t particularly enjoy going to the movies either. If Hunter wanted to watch movies, he did it at home where he could be doing a dozen other things at the same time. He wasn’t exactly a “sit still” type of guy, after all. “So now you get to see a glimpse at what I do. But we gotta get moving.” He really didn’t want to miss the shot. He knew exactly what he wanted to snap, from the angle to the lighting and the weather was just right for it today. It would take just a few minutes and then he would be free again and the they could enjoy the rest of the sunset.

He had to keep up the brisk pace, glancing back every few strides to ensure Georgie was still able to keep up with him. This was the easy part of their adventure. He hadn’t given away too many details of where they were going for a reason. He paused only once on their journey and that was to collect a picnic basket from the doorway of a small bistro where he handed over a selection of crumpled notes in exchange for it, having a short conversation in Portuguese with the guy at the door. From there he led Georgie through a propped open service stairwell behind a restaurant that led up to an abandoned office highrise. The offices were locked off, but Hunter only wanted the stairs. It was a long way up to the roof, but damn, the view of the New York skyline was worth it when he kicked the door open up there. Breathless, he could afford to waste no time in grabbing his gear and setting up for the shot of the Brooklyn Bridge, the sun lighting it up perfectly against the orange sky. “And to think, twenty-three floors below people are too busy looking at their phones.” He grinned, lowering his camera to gauge Georgie’s reaction.

• • •

TAGGED! Georgie Alyson Parsons
WORDS! 599!
LYRICS! Life Eternal - - - Ghost
NOTES! <3 <3 <3