It had only been a couple days since Lee called her to ask for her assistance at her boutique. Apparently, Lee had also became a manager at a bar since their last meeting (which surprised Gwen, who had not exactly pictured Lee as a bar person to begin with.) Gwen, like any American, loved a good entrepreneurial spirit, though. Hard work always paid off! 

She had taken the bus, despite having recently earned her driver's license. Charlie had taught her to drive all by herself and she even had state approval through this... Driver's license. But, Gwen found it intimidating, scary even. It was such a small space and she literally held her and whomever else was in the car lives. That terrified Gwen. At least in a bus, although crowded, would drive slowly, not be pressured from other cars, and most importantly, if the bus driver wrecked and killed them all at least it wouldn't be her fault. 

The only problem now? She wasn't entirely sure where her boutique was. She read the addresses, she thought correctly, and began moving towards the boutique. Luckily, she did find it. She tried to send a text to Lee letting her know that she was here, but with her difficulties with technology, it became more like 'Near there.' Gwen sighed and decided to call her and let her know she was here instead. Calling was easier, anyways. 

(@leesmith)

Lee had started being trained by Matt at the bar to manage it for when he went on vacation, and while it really wasn't that hard to manage to fit both Rachel's boutique and the bar into her day, and even spending some quality time with Kevin, Lee had noticed one major problem: she didn't exact have a time that she could sleep.

Now, that didn't mean that she literally didn't have the time, Lee had hours after leaving the bar before she had to start getting Kevin ready for school. The problem was that after spending that much time at the bar, she literally couldn't sleep because she had too much energy. And Lee really didn't want to start creasing and passing out every 6 days because she hadn't slept. It always scared her when that happened, and if it happened again now, she didn't have someone who'd know to make sure she woke up.

So Lee had called Gwendolyn, asking if she was still interested in a job. Luckily for Lee, she was, and they arranged for her to come in a couple days later.

Unfortunately, that meant a couple more days with no sleep. But finally, the morning was there, and Lee got an oddly worded text, followed by a phone call from Gwendolyn. Clicking to answer the phone, Lee put it to her ear. ”Hi Gwendolyn, I'm on my way to unlock the door,” Lee said. And sure enough, a moment later Lee was unlocking the door and pushing it open.

”Good morning,” Lee said with a smile. ”And thanks again.”

She bit her lip and crossed her arms as she waited for Lee to open the door for her. She wasn't sure how long it might take, but at least she knew she was at the right place. At least, presumably so. 

She smiled when Lee opened the door. She nodded, "It is quite my pleasure, Lee." She walked into the boutique, unsure of the next steps honestly. "So... Um, what exactly do you need me to do?" She was a hard worker, but the way things were done in 1860 was significantly different in this world. She glanced around the store and nodded, "It looks so nice, Lee! It is turning out so well." 

She perked a brow, though, "How in the God's sweet earth have you managed to keep this place up and be a manager at a pub?" 

Gwendolyn seemed to be just as happy to help as Lee was glad to get it, and Lee had to smile at that. But then she asked what it was she would be doing. A very valid question since Gwendolyn hadn't been in this century very long.

“Basically a salesperson,” Lee explained. ”Help customers, ring through the sales on the cash register, but I'll teach you how to use all of that and especially for the first little while either myself or my sister Rachel will be here with you, so you won't have to worry about that.

“And thanks. It's been a lot of long hours and coffee getting this place ready. I'm already pretty critical of myself, so it's nice to know it did turn out looking good.”

But then Gwendolyn asked how she was possibly managing to work both here and at the bar. Lee couldn't stop the little laugh from escaping. ”Honestly, by not sleeping. Right now I'm going on…” Lee paused and did the math in her head quickly. ”Three days straight, I believe.”

Gwen nodded as she listened to her job duties. She could do that! She loved talking to people. She helped her father sell all sorts of deals and such in their home shop. 

Although, using the cashier thing might be an issue. Gwendolyn wasn't tech savvy. She could count money, though, so that should be helpful in this situation. But... Didn't they have like a way to do it now? Simply counting seemed so out dated with the whole calculator, automation stuff going on. Anyways, Gwen nodded as she listened. She'd figure it out - and at least she'd have Rachel or Lee with her. Was Rachel here now, though?

"It's no problem. You should not be - you and your sister have made it look amazing." She gave a curt nod confirmation. "Three days?!" Gwen's eyes widened and a gasp escaped. "You need to be in bed!"

Gwendolyn asked if Rachel was there, and Lee paused for a moment, thinking and listening. Lee had been busy organising paperwork and banking, and honestly could not remember if her sister had left the shop or not. But after a moment of listening, Lee heard the sewing machine running in the back. ”It sounds like she's working on something in the back” Lee said, tilting her head toward the back of the shop. ”Probably working on adding more sizes to sell of her designs.”

And then Gwendolyn was reading to her comment that she hadn't slept in the days. Lee simply shrugged. This sort of thing was normal for her. Well, it hadn't been normal in a number of years, but it was expected considering the number of people she was around.

But Gwendolyn's reaction reminded Lee that it really wasn’t normal at all to have too much energy to sleep for the straight days. ”Well, in not at the bar tonight, so I'll be able to wind down enough to sleep.”

Lee shrugged again as she looked over at Gwendolyn. ”If I could stay up indefinitely, I'd just keep going on like this. But i crash hard after six days. And to be honest, it terrifies me to think that I'd have to depend on a 6 year old to wake me up.”

She nodded as she listened to Lee explain that her sister was in the back, probably working on sizes to her designs. That sounded quite interesting, truly. She nodded, "Well, I can not wait to meet her! She will be amazing if she is anything like you." She walked a little further into the store, taking in more of the area. It was a great shop, impressive really. Although, Gwen couldn't imagine how she managed to keep up a bar, a boutique, a child, and all other things that life sends out.

She nodded, "Good, you most definitely need it." She nearly gasped after Lee said she could spend a whole 6 days awake. Gwen wasn't sure how Lee could even get herself awake if she was awake that long. "My goodness, that is amazing. How do you do that?" Personally, Gwen loved her sleep. She wasn't about to do it. But, if Lee could, more power to her. 

Lee smiled slightly when Gwendolyn said that she'd love Rachel if she was anything like her. ”In a lot of ways, she's a bouncier, preppy version of myself. Who somehow, without seeing to try, seems able to get me to do things I never thought I would.” Like come back to to New York, Lee silently added.

But then she asked how it was possible that Lee could stay awake for 6 days. Of course, it wasn't normal so how was it possible. ”I siphon energy from people,” Lee said. ”When I have too much energy, like after an evening spent at the bar, I can't sleep. If I do it enough, or take too much energy at one time, I guess my brain just had enough and I pass out even when I have too much energy to actually fall asleep.”

She chuckled. Isn’t that how sisters were. It was adorable to hear Lee tell about her sister, Rachel. She sighed, remembering her siblings. She missed them but… It wasn’t her place to be with them, after all.

She perked a brow at Lee’s explanation. Oh, so she was a mutant? She siphoned energy from people and it would keep her awake – unless she overloaded. Huh, wow, remarkable. “Wow, that is remarkable. Although, sounds like it is pretty hard for you to sleep. That would drive me crazy. I guess you actually don't really need as much sleep as the average person would, though?” 

Lee shrugged when Gwendolyn asked about how she slept, or rather, how she hadn't been sleeping so much recently. ”Right now, it's hard,” Lee replied. ”By the time my energy stored enough that I could sleep, I need to get Kevin ready for school. Then I'm out around people and have stuff to do.

“I know I could go five days, but I don't know how I'd do with that long term. Though, as long as I can get around people, I don't really need much sleep, it's not like I feel rested when I wake up.”

She nodded slowly as she listened to Lee speak. Poor girl, it had to be hard doing so many things and raising a child. It gave Gwen an admiration for working, single mothers. In her time, they would have been in poverty no matter what. In this time, though, they worked hard, society accepted them, and they could make something of themselves. That was a great thing.

She nodded slowly, "Oh... True, I imagine you don't get very restful sleep in general, especially since you're stealing everyone else energy all day." She sighed. Sleeping was one of the few moments of freedom for Gwen - she enjoyed the dreams, the far off worlds that arose in her subconscious. 

Lee nodded. ”At least I have stuff to keep me busy now when I’m awake,” Lee said with a slight smile. ”Because late night television, I do not miss that at all.”

Gwendolyn commented then about her not getting restful sleep, and Lee shook her head. ”Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I woke up feeling rested and ready for the day. I was still a kid.”

”Hey Lee! Who are you talking to?” Rachel called as she walked into the front of the shop.

”Oh, Rach, this is Gwendolyn,” Lee said in introduction as she turned to look at her younger sister. ”She’s the one I was telling you that I hired to help in the shop. Gwendolyn, this is my sister Rachel.”