Rex figuratively hemmed and hawed for a moment, screwing up his nose for a moment before finally nodding. “I guess you could say that,” he said. He did spend most of his life helping other people, when he wasn’t hurting them through his own actions, that is. “I’ve been working with a lot of local outreach groups while on sabbatical, some through my church. Working with underprivileged people and helping out in some of the bad areas.” It was a place where Rex was constantly reminded there were people who had far less than he.

Melissa seemed a little peppier though. Well, at least he wasn’t boring her. Rex had found that people liked talking about themselves, even if they had nothing to say or nothing worth talking about. It made them feel good. Rex didn’t understand it himself - he hated talking about himself - but it worked. It also helped him out when he didn’t know what to say, because a person talking about themself could easily carry an entire conversation. He just had to say the right filler words at the appropriate moments.

“Cheers to that,” Rex said, lifting his glass of water. His ring glinted momentarily. “I imagine there’s got to be a lot of work to go into something like that.” He didn’t have the faintest clue, really. He had rarely ever consumed liquor before his spiral and even during it, he hadn’t exactly made a study of it or the culture surrounding it. He’d only focused on that next burning, numbing feeling. “What kind of liquor?”

She had never been much for church but their certainly was something to be said for helping the underprivileged. The city certainly had it's share of bad areas as well, she knew well as she had planted her old bar in the center of one. Slightly closer to the Sanctuary she had drawn a rather violent crowd at times. Sje nodded as he mentioned it. "I know a few areas that would meet that description in the city, It's good to know someone cares for them" she replied wondering where the limits of the aide his church provided were. Some were anti mutant but others quietly tolerated them. She knew of many more of the first however. "Not enough of that these days" she said.

"A lot of paperwork, makes the rest seem easy. It's a line of whiskey of various kinds. We have swimming pools of product" she said jokingly though it was true. Much of it was made that way, her swimming or laying in pools of water, often with a current to make it easier. It was a lot and the machines in the brewery would soon be able to remake what she had making through touch.

A wave of humility swept over Rex and his cheeks flushed a bit. “No, no, I’m not the only person taking care of them,” he said with a wave of his hand. “A lot of other people help out in all sorts of ways. I just happen to have more time than most.” He didn’t look Melissa in the eye and just stared at his cup. It was a consequence of not actively working - you had so much time to think about things. Rex didn’t have the option to throw himself into his work so he threw himself into his volunteer work.

It wasn’t comfortable talking about that either. He forced a smile and tried to invoke some interest when Melissa talked about her own liquor brand. Anything to try to redirect a conversation. “That’s great, I guess,” Rex said. “I confess, I’m clueless about what goes into making and distributing alcohol. All I know about it is the effect it has on me.”

"I know your not the only one, but you are the one sitting in front of me now. Lot easier to see the humanity in such things when you can see their eyes. Makes a difference for people otherwise it seems and feels like some big corporations just eating most of it" she said with a shrug. She had never been one for charity that did not start and end with herself and her employees in that order. She had never a mind for church but she still admired why he was doing it or why she thought he was. It all takes many ahnds to keep it running right" she said letting him change the subject and flowing along.

She sighed and shook her head. "Would be a lot easier if not for all the red tape. The FDA has to know every step of the process. Plus the FDA never liked me to much anyway, use to have a cook whose mutation made him a racoon man. Best cook i ever had to, the fda was not impressed." she said recalling it with a bit of a laugh. She had not seen the racoon man in months and she made a note to check on him, his mutation and profession were very much at odds. "Theirs also state laws to consider once we begin distributing beyond New york. new types of liquor to research and craft. What types of liquer do you like the most? We might have something you like" she said figuring that it was never toi early to try and get more customers and to know what they wanted. It did feel a bit off advertising at another bar but she would give them a few cases on the house another time.

Rex kept staring at his cup. The attention was getting uncomfortable. The sheer length of the small talk was already far more than he liked or was even used to doing. Singling him out for just doing what little he could to help other people just felt weird. Embarrassing.

Fortunately Melissa did not stick to it and she moved on to talking about her liquor creation. Rex breathed a small sigh of relief and relaxed very slightly. Although hearing about other people wasn’t always fun either, it was preferable to talking about himself and having to carry the conversation.

“Sounds complicated,” he said.

He tapped his glass of water as the conversation aimed back at him. “I don’t drink,” he said slowly. “Sober for nine months now.” There was no pride in his voice and he still wasn’t meeting her eye, just staring at the glass.

Ah the sober type, well that rarely made much money for her directly, the sober ones were often easier to talk to and kept her out of trouble with serving laws in the state. That saved her money or had when she ran a bar anyway. Congrats on sobriety, must be tough" She replied knowing she would never fully kick the stuff her mutation all but assured that. She had work around but nothing was fool proof.

She noticed how rex never met her eyes and the tone of his voice but was not sure it was something she should push to far. "Not sure i could go entirely sober" she said glancing at the randon news on the tv talking about the strange blizzard. She glanned out the window to try and see if it had let up at all but it was hard to tell from the bar though it did seem to be snowing less then it had been.

"It is rather complicated but i have help for some of that, a lawyer" she said which was true Though Haven helped and had helped her with the lawyer as well. it really was a dream coming true. It was also quite complicated even with the lawyer but she wnated to seem strong and like she knew what she was doing.

Rex brought his eyes to meet Melissa’s ever so briefly. ”Thanks,” he said, hoping that it was the end of that. It rarely was, though, and this time was no different. Still, he detected no patronizing or pity from her, so he took it in the spirit he believed it was intended.

”It…is very hard,” he admitted. He didn’t usually open up to strangers, except sometimes at AA meetings. ”Finding things to fill that void when everything,” he waved a hand at the blizzard outside, ”just pushes you toward it is…hard.”

He wasn’t very eloquent. He wasn’t sure she’d understand. Not everyone turned to drink for the reasons he had. Not everyone sought to drown themselves in a bottle and steep in the darkness of their souls.

He pulled his thoughts away from that pit. ”Oh, that’s good,” he said in regards to her having a lawyer. ”Got a…marketing rep too?”