Carley really didn't want to talk about it, but unlike Erin or Lydia, she wasn't so good at being a lock box of secrets. Heading towards the sink she held her hand beneath the running water, getting mild relief for her physical pain at least. "I'm over a hundred years old. Did ya know that?" Her gaze lifted curiously to Ivy then. "I stopped counting around twenty or so years ago I guess, so I don't know the exact age. I stopped keepin' up with my birthday too, so I don't even know when that is."

"Really?" Ivy looked moderately surprised, though she never had huge emotional reactions. "You don't seem a day over sixteen to me. Though, things come differently to different people. I wish I still had your enjoyment of life. You seem to attach it with such gusto." Ivy smiled a little at her own comment and the thought of Carley's enjoyment of it.

"I do enjoy my life but..." Carley's cousin, Forcythia, often told her she over thought these things. Let it bother her too much. It didn't actively bother her as much as it had been usually, but recent events coupled with Heath's words; it was all starting to wear on her. "It's a long life Ivy." Using her proper name rather than 'Vee Vee'. "So many people think of that as a wonderful thing, but that's not always the case. Sure, I live for hundreds of years and I get to see a lot and experience a lot, but that also means I have to watch most of the people I care about die." She pulled her hand away from the water, glancing over the small red spot there. It'd need a little bandaging, but that could wait a while. "I met Eddie about twenty years ago. He's my best friend. I love him more than I could ever love anyone else." She didn't speak of Eddie as if he were a lover though, no. Love didn't always equate to man/woman/marriage or any of that other stuff. Eddie was just.. Eddie. The romantic essence of the feelings she had for him long died. "He looked as young as I look now, then. And now he's- he's older. And he'll die. And you'll die, and Glenny..." That's when she trailed off, forcing herself to take a break and compose. Eyes close as she shook her head, next words coming out barely more than a whisper. "I think yer bread's burnin'..."

"It is." She pursed her lips and shook her head and set to fixing the bread issue as she spoke. "Everyone dies, Carley. I guess that's why life is precious. My mother died when she was my age. You are lucky to have lived as long as you have..." She took the bread out and tried to fan away the smoke. "Every moment could be anyone's last, I guess."

She considered Ivy's words, her brows scrunching up a little in thought. She gave her burnt hand a little shake before moving to the stew pot and shut the burner off, then collapsed into a chair at the table. "I wish everyone I knew could live as long as I could. All my friends... I don't want to lose any of you. I get sad thinkin' about that a lot. Cythia says it's stupid but I can't help it. And Glenny, I thought maybe with him..." She trailed off, not wanting to give away his secret, since it wasn't hers to give. "I really like him... He's one of the best people I know, and he doesn't see me as a kid or- or any of the other bad things people see me as. He told me I was a good person." Her words grew quieter as she spoke them, blue eyes falling to the table in front of her.

"You are," Ivy replied firmly. "Carley... you are going to die. I know that. It could happen tomorrow, but you don't see me crying over it. If you linger on the bad. On the end. On fifty or one hundred years from now... well, you'll waste the interim. You only have whatever day God has given you. That's what my Pop always said. It's sad... you will live longer. But friends come and go, and you need to make the most of what you have. With Glenn. With me. With anyone. It's like buying the best ice cream you've ever tasted and then pouting as it melts becuase it's finite." She poked at the bread with a fork and shook her head. "Looks like we're having stew only."

Carley was a little surprised at Ivy's bluntness. Usually she was rather blunt herself, but people never returned the favor in kind. People just let her get away with things. Considering her words she folded her arms on the table, taking care with her hand, and rested her chin on them, mulling it all over. "We talked Saturday, about things I can't really say. I was really happy, and then-" She stopped herself then, hiding her face. "I haven't been able to bring myself to talk to him since then. I keep avoidin' him at the shop."

"That's childish." She said with a shake of the head. Ivy had too much practice with Erin to be subtle. That woman needed much more than bluntness... "If you want to be treated like an adult, act like one. Talk out your problems. Avoiding him will only deepen hurt feelings. Whatever it was he said that made you feel so strongly probably was just as hard for him. It's not fair to bottle things up and expect people to understand." She started spooning out two bowls of the stew, then.

Those words struck a chord in the little blonde elf. Recalling that it was, indeed, rather hard for Glenn. His stuttering, his crying, and yet- he seemed relieved, when she was okay with it all. And to avoid him now after he was so honest, well, gosh... she couldn't imagine what it was he could be going through now. The thought of it nearly made her want to cry, but she pushed all the negativity back as she sat up. "Ya think?" She reached up and pulled off her beret, settling it into her lap. "I don't want to make it all worse, especially for him. I really hope he's not mad at me for avoidin' him."

"I'm sure he's embarrassed, maybe?" Though she had no idea what about. She thought it was a relationship though. "And if you don't feel a certain way..." And she cut herself off, serving Carley, handing her a spoon, too. "Life is short for people, it's better to be as open and honest as possible. Most of the time." She sighed a bit. Ivy did wish Jake hadn't told Erin anything.

To get too detailed was risky, and may give away his secret. "I- I think I'll talk with him, or write him. It's easier to do that than face someone. Just somethin' to let him know we're okay, even if we're just friends. That's better than nothin'." She felt a little better, but full relief wouldn't come until she was face to face with Glenn again, until they were okay. If that was possible at this point... she tried not to think about that though. Taking the offered spoon with a grin, she pulled her bowl closer. "Thanks Vee Vee!" A pause to add on. "But later you'll have to let me show ya the right way to make yer bread."

"Of course!" It would be nice to teach someone who could turn on an oven one of her recipes. "And you're welcome at my table anytime Carley. Any time you like. Just... and I know this is not my place, but.. if you like him, sometimes it's worth the shot. I tell Erin that, and I believe it. Even after Cal..." The last thing said very softly.

Cal? Carley pondered that over a moment before it hit her. Calis. He was such a nice guy too, and it certainly hurt her feelings how things went down, so she couldn't even imagine what it did to Ivy... Could she still be hurting over that? She wanted to ask, talk to Ivy about it, and not dance around the issue, but she felt maybe it would be best to leave that alone, at least for now. So she nodded to Ivy's words with a smile, considering them. Stirring up her stew, she filled up her spoon and blew on it carefully before taking a hearty bite. Ears wriggled a little in delight. "That's good Vee Vee! It's good to know Mille and I aren't the only ones who know how to cook in this city!"

"Oh nono." Ivy shook her head. "I can cook. How do you think Erin doesn't implode?" She said with a laugh and a shake of her head. She stirred her stew before lifting some for a bite. "You would be surprised how much she needs to eat." With a shake of her head. "Are you feeling any better? Have I helped at all?"

"I've seen her and Fire at lunch time, and that's some scary stuff there." She nodded a little, taking another bite of her stew. "I'm afraid to go near them sometimes for fear I'll end up with a missing limb." A grin at the thought before she studied Ivy for a moment, giving her one of her rare, genuine smiles. "Yeah, ya did Vee Vee... thanks for talkin' to me. It helped."

"Don't mention it, Carley. That's what we're friends for. I'm glad we're friends. If Erin were my only friend, well.." And she just laughed a little at the thought, shaking her head and looking down at her stew. She blushed a bit, too, to say something almost mean sorta. "But anytime you need to talk..."

"The same goes here Vee Vee. If ya need to talk, I'm here. Yer a really good person ya know. Real patient, to put up with the three of us." A final grin was flashed to Ivy before she started digging into her chow a bit more actively, letting everything bounce around in her head for a while...