#i went code shopping after and got some great codes for the bottles and truck and stuff :)

[quenepacrossing]

testing out builds in hhp | the factory

didn’t have any codes yet, but i wanted to make a factory for apple juice/cider and i think it turned out so cute! still need to decide who will be running it in tulip hill, but i did design their home interior, will post that soon.

[please-buckme]

A Broken Heart.

Lee Bodecker x fem!reader

Chapter 2

Chapter warnings: 18+ mentions of death, mentions of sex, cursing, Lee being an ass, angst, meninist behaviors

Chapter summary: You move back home after three years to find your heart still in shambles.

Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Chapter 1 // Chapter 3

3 Years Later

After moving a whole county away, Highland Ohio to be exact, you stayed for quite some time. Your aunt was amazing and the sweetest woman you’d ever known, and living with her was a breeze. She’d even gotten you a job at the auto shop her recently deceased husband left to her, which you loved. Life was good, for a while. You never had a reason to come home until your momma got sick.

For the past year you watched as your momma slowly faded away until the last week of April when she finally passed in her sleep. You were devastated, of course, but not only because of her death. She didn’t have much to her name besides a couple thousand in the bank and the house you’d left so long ago, which she left all to you.

The house was old. White paneling a faint tint of brown, grey shutters that were almost all off their hinges and rust anywhere you looked. It was a fixer upper and there’s no way you could sell it in its current condition. So, you decided to move back to Knockemstiff, just for the time being.

In all honesty, you’d grown to hate that town. Nothing but bad memories and any good memories you’d had were tarnished completely. So, once the house was decent enough to sell, you were out of there and back to the life you’d created in Highland.

Your aunt and you drove together in her pick up truck back to the house after your momma passed. She helped you unload your stuff and take things to the necessary rooms.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to stay? I can make my famous pancakes. I know you love’em.” She grinned.

“As tempting as that sounds, I’m fine. Please, I insist you go now before it gets dark.” You pull your aunt into a hug, a tight hug.

“I’m gonna miss havin’ you around, kiddo.” She sighed, her breath fanning over your neck.

“It’s only for a few months. I’ll be back to annoying you in no time, oldie.”

“Hey, I’m not old.” She laughed and pointed her finger at you sternly but still in a lighthearted way.

“And I’m not a kid.”

She laughed a little more then sighed, “Well, I guess I’ll head out. Call me if you need anything and don’t forget to go down to Billy’s tomorrow. He’s excited to bring you in.”

You smiled, “How could I forget? I need some sort of income to fix this craphole up.”

You walked your aunt to her car and waved her goodbye as she drove way. Your eyes welled up but you made sure not to cry in front of her or she’d never leave.

Once you went back in, you immediately got to work. Starting in the kitchen, you didn’t have much but a few coffee cups. The house was still occupied with your momma’s things and you were already dreading having to go through it all.

Things started to come together room by room as you worked most of the day away. You cleaned and rearranged things to your liking now that it was your house. It felt almost empowering to do what you want. You’d never lived alone so, in a way, this was an adventure as well.

You took your old room instead of the master, since that’s where your momma passed. It gave you goosebumps just thinking about and you knew you’d never get any sleep if you stayed in there. Your room wasn’t big but it was good enough for now and much better than sleeping in your momma’s death bed, hard pass.

You’d taken a seat on the couch with some tea you’d brewed up earlier that morning. This was the first time you sat down since arriving, and of course there’s a knock at the door.

“Whatever you’re selling, I promise you, I ain’t interested.” You shout, too exhausted to even attempt getting up.

The knocking continued, “Oh, for fucks sake.” You groaned under your breath and stood on your aching feet to tell them to fuck off in person. You opened the door, “did you not hear me the first time. I said-“

“Hi, Y/n” Lee greeted as he removed his hat.

You scoffed, “Can I help you with somethin’, Sheriff?”

Lee stood there, fiddling with the bill of his hat. His belly had gotten a little bigger and his cheeks had gotten a little chubbier, but you couldn’t help the hitch in your throat when his wedding ring caught your eye. Just a basic silver band, nothing special. But it still left a hollow pit in your stomach.

“I-“ he cleared his suddenly dry throat. “I heard you was back in town. Thought I’d come see for ma self if the rumors were true.”

“Welp, here I am. You can go now.”

“Y/n, I-“

“No, Lee, please. I’ve had a long day and I honestly don’t feel like talking to you right now. No, I take that back. I don’t feel like talking to you at all.”

“That’s a bit harsh, don’t you think, doll.” He grins.

“Goodbye, Sheriff.” You shut the door only to hear him holler at you from the other side.

“Still can’t say my name, huh, Doll? Boy, I really did a number on you, didn’t I?” Your heart sank at his words. It seemed your pain was a joke to him this whole time. You’d always pictured him crying alone like you were but clearly that was never the case. Y’all’s relationship didn’t seem one sided until you were the only one hurt by the fall out.

“Welcome home, Y/n.” He said before you heard his boots click against the porch as he left.

You took a deep breath as you backed away from the door. Tears rimmed your eyes and you scoffed aloud to yourself. After three years you still weren’t over him and you knew that. You didn’t know, however, that he’d still have such a hold on you. And by the way he reacted to how sensitive you were towards the situation still didn’t help the ever growing void that ran through your entire loveless body. The only man you ever loved looked at you as if you were a quick fuck and a punchline.

A tear burned against your cheek and you were quick to wipe it away. You swore to yourself that you’d never cry over that man again and you won’t, instead you decided it was time for a much needed bath.

The bath was scolding hot, just how you liked it, and you opened up a bottle of wine as a sort of reward for the work you’d done today. Once the water got cold and the wine ran out, you brushed your hand and teeth and went to bed.

//

The sun beamed down against your skin as you walked to the local auto shop where your aunt had set you up with another job. You were always good with numbers and they desperately needed someone on the books. Your job would be to look at their spending over the last few months and figure out some sort of budget. You did that for your aunt at her shop, so this didn’t worry you at all.

“Hi, you must be Billy.” You greet the owner, “I’m

y/n, Peggy’s niece.”

“Oh, yes. I’m glad you finally made it down.” He beamed, shaking your hand, “How long will you be here for?”

“I’m not sure, actually. Just until I get my house fixed up enough to sell.” You say, retracting your hand from his sweaty one.

“Ah, well as luck would have it, our secretary just quit on us last week, so there’s a position you’ll adjust to right fine.”

You scoffed, “Wait a minute. Did you say secretary?”

“Yeah. You need to get your hearing checked, Honey?” He grinned. What is it with the men in this town?!

“No, I heard you just fine. My problem is that I was supposed to be your Budget Holder, not a damn secretary.” Your face was turning a touch of pink as you became increasingly annoyed.

“That’s a man's job, sweetie. We don’t you blown a fuse tryin’ ta add up all them numbers, now do we?”

“You can’t be serious.” You say flatly.

“Look, it’s the only position we got. Take it or leave it.”

Everything in you wanted to March out of that shop and never go back again. A secretary's position is nothing to frown upon, but to only be offered it because you’re a woman was despicable. Sadly, you needed this job and it would only be for a few months. So, when you told him you’d take the job you swallowed every ounce of respect you had for yourself. Knockemstiff was truly the worst town in America.

“Sounds great. We’ll see you tomorrow for training. There’s no dress code but there are a few things you’ll need to know before starting. I’ll fill you in once we start your training tomorrow.” He shook your hand again, completely ignoring the furious grimace on your face.

“Great. See you tomorrow.” You mumbled, walking away so you didn’t ‘accidentally’ hit your new boss.

//

Before heading home you decided to stop and grab some things for the house. Being sick, your momma didn’t eat much besides soup, and there was an over abundance of vanilla flavored Ovaltine cans littering the kitchen counters, which you hated.

The second the doors opened, all eyes were on you. You even heard a faint gasp coming from the woman at the register. A smirk crept upon your face. These people's lives were so boring that they still aren’t over your breakup that happened so long ago. Rolling your eyes, you grabbed a cart and headed down the produce aisle.

Once you grabbed the vegetables you’d need for a stew, you headed towards the baking aisle. You need the ingredients for an upside down pineapple cake your momma used to make for you as a kid. Your aunt was coming into town on Saturday to lend a hand and celebrate her birthday. You told her to go have fun, but she insisted on spending her special day with you.

As you searched for the baking soda, you heard your name.

“Did you see Y/n’s back in town?” A lady with a high pitched voice whispered.

“I did. I just saw her. Poor thing. She’s probably still caught up on the sheriff. Prolly wish it was her that was on his arm instead of Laura-Jean.”

You rolled your eyes.

“I know it. Wouldn’t you, though? He’s so handsome.” The lady with the high patched voice giggled.

“Oh, hush! Don’t say things like that.” The other lady joined the high pitched one in whispered giggles. “Oh my goodness, here he comes.” She cleared her throat, “Afternoon, Sheriff.”

“Evenin’,Ladies. Y’all behavin’ yourselves?” You could hear the smirk in his voice.

They both giggled and in unison said, “Yes, Sheriff.”

“Oh give me a break.” You grimaced to yourself.

“Heard Y/n’s back in town.” The high pitched one spoke up. Your face burned. Why would they bring you up to him so bluntly like that? Everyone in this town was so unbelievably nosy.

“I- I heard. Actually just went to see her yesterday.” He said, clearing his throat.

“Uh-oh, the misses didn’t like that, I’m sure.” They giggled.

“Oh, no. She didn’t mind. I was just droppin’ by to give her my condolences about her momma dyin’. Then, she slammed the door in my face. I guess she’s still pretty upset with me.” He was pouting, trying to get some sort of sympathy. If you rolled your eyes any harder you thought they’d pop out of your head.

“Oh, you poor thing. Is there anything we can-“

Suddenly the baking soda slipped from your hand and scattered all other the floor in a puff of dust. “Shit, shit, shit.” You whispered to yourself.

“What was that?” One of the ladies asked.

“Excuse me, ladies.” Lee said. You could hear his boots clacking against the floor on there way over to you.

Shit.

You desperately wanted to run away but leaving this mess for someone to clean up wasn’t right, not even with the predicament you found yourself in. “Well, well, well,” Lee mocked as he rounded the corner. “Only here for less than a day and you’re already causin’ trouble.”

“Stay out of this, Bodecker.” You huff, trying to scoop the baking soda back into the card box it spilled from.

“Was you eavesdroppin’, girl?” He asked, kicking the soul of your shoe.

You scoffed, “Oh, please. I could give two shits what you say about me, Bodecker.”

He leaned in close, hovering over your left side. You heard him chuckle which startled you. He was so close. You could feel the familiar heat radiating from his body and smell that familiar cologne. His lips came down close to your ear. He licked them and then whispered, “If ya weren’t eavesdroppin’, how’d ya know I was talkin’ bout you, hm?”

Your eyes shuttered closed as he spoke, feeling his hot breath against your cheek. His deep southern drawl always made you weak. It took you back to those times in the back of the cruiser. He whispered such dirty praises in your ear when you would ride his cock. Those dirty words that could make you cum in seconds.

“You still with me, doll?” You felt him tuck a strand of your hair behind your ear.

You flitched and stood up, “I- don’t touch me and stop calling me doll, alright? I really don’t have time for your games today, sheriff, and I’m not even really sure what you’re playin’ at in the first place.”

He smirked, running a thumb across his lip, “Darlin, I think the only thing I ever played was you..”

“I-“ your breath hitched in the back of your throat, “I have to go.” You turned to walk away, leaving the mess you’d made and your cart behind. Your eyes welled up with tears again. You didn’t know the man that stood in front of you. Lee was nothing but good to you when you dated and now he’s the most hateful man you’d ever met. The man you loved had disappeared and there’s nothing you could do to bring him back, no matter how bad you wanted to. A tear stained your cheek as you sped through the aisle. You could hear Lee hollering for you to stop but you wouldn’t this time.

All the heartbreak and sorrow that you’d left behind was creeping its way back in. The sooner you sold the house and got the hell out of there, the better.

Dividers by: @firefly-in-darkness

Taglist: @haydens-moles , @c00lkidvibes , @tcc-gizmachine , @buckysm3talarm , @gogolucky13 , @cryptidcasanova , @heavenlyseb , @writersbuck , @teddy-bearbaby , @bbmommy0902 , @sweetllamaparadise , @thereblogcrusader , @aleemendoza2425-blog , @frostbytebaby , @jessyballet , @emotionallyandphysicallydone , @sarge-barnes-sir , @generalbagelcookieslime , @lady-loki-ren , @dime-piece-xo , @greeneyedblondie44

(Dm me to be added to taglist)

[haltandcatchfiretothemax]

FEMSLASH FEBRUARY 2019 #18: In which Cameron and Donna enjoy a Sunday evening off

PREVIOUSLY: #8, #15

[CN: alcohol mention, food/cooking/eating]

After she finished her breakfast, Cameron spent that entire morning and much of that afternoon trying to decide when she should drive up to Donna’s house; she’d gotten in the habit of showing up fairly early in the afternoon, catching up with Haley, working with Donna before and after dinner, and hanging out with Donna long after they’d quit for the night, sometimes until after 10pm. Was that too much? It had never felt like too much, they’d always seemed happy to see her. She’d wondered all day, should she back off? 

She’d practically promised Bos that she wouldn’t back off, though. Don’t make a big deal outta something silly! She decided that she should go, finally, went outside to pick some wildflowers, and then spent over an hour trying to decide between three different button down shirts. She eventually picked the one that was nice, but not as formal looking as her nicest button-down shirt. As soon as she was finished getting dressed she got in her truck, and an hour and a half later, after a stop, she was standing on Donna’s doorstep. 

Donna answered the door, and without a hello or any other greeting, she smiled at Cameron, who blushed. “Uh, here,” Cameron offered her the flowers, and a bottle of red wine that was atypically expensive, for her. Donna accepted them with her characteristic grace, and a, “Oh, you didn’t have to do this…come in though….”

Cameron followed Donna inside, up to the kitchen, and mumbled, “Well, I’m always showing up here empty-handed, so.” When Donna gave her a curious look, Cameron looked away, and tried to remember that she was supposed to be ‘playing it cool,’ or at least, ‘not weird!’ “Uh, so, how are you?” she asked. “Do anything fun last night?”

Donna put the bottle of wine on the kitchen counter, and took the flowers over to the sink. Grabbing a vase, she said, “I did! I met Risa for an early drink, and then I had an impromptu phone date with Dr. Katie Herman.“

“Oh wow,” Cameron said, leaning against the island. Finally forgetting her nerves, she asked, “How is Katie doing?” And then, “Should I call her?”

“I think she might like that,” Donna said, as she turned on the faucet. She let the vase fill, and said, “I don’t think she’s doing terribly. She’s….well…..”

And together, Cameron and Donna said, “…hanging in the there!” 

Cameron sighed, and said, “Okay, I’ll call her. And maybe I’ll call Risa too, I haven’t seen her since the holidays.”

“You should,” Donna said, “she’s doing fine, but we’re all nerds who could stand to get out more, I think.” Now fluffing up the flowers in the vase, Donna said, “What about Bos? How was dinner with him last night?”

“It was dinner with Bos,” Cameron grinned. “You know how he is. Lots of food, lots of tall tales, lots of his Texas Tough accent. It was great. We went to a new hibachi place, and overate. Too much salmon.”

“Sounds good,” Donna grinned. Then she said, “Hey, are you hungry now, though? I was about to start dinner. Haven’t cooked in a while, I figured I’d make something for all of us.” She put an apron on, and said, “You know, I was thinking, maybe we could have another night off work tonight? Just hang out?”

Cameron sat down at the island, and said, “And talk, maybe? I mean, we could do that…we do work a lot.” 

“Perfect,” Donna grinned. “I’m making chicken pot pie.” 

“Oh,” Cameron said, sounding very young, “that’s my favorite.”

With her back to Cameron, Donna preheated the oven, and said, “Is it?” With just enough sarcasm to let Cameron know that she was teasing her, she said, “I hadn’t even thought of that.” Smiling tentatively, Cameron felt a little spark of warmth in her chest, that caught and glowed and quietly and steadily spread through her.

Cameron watched Donna get out pots and pans and stock and measuring cups and spoons, and a tote bag full of vegetables from the cabinets and refrigerator and then asked, “Hey, do you want me to help?” 

“Well,” Donna said, “if you insist….” She put the cutting board and peeler she’d just gotten out in front of Cameron, and said, “You’re welcome to carrot and potato duty, if you’re up to it.” 

Unhurried, they spent the next hour rinsing, poaching, peeling, chopping, stirring and sautéing. It went quickly, the two of them chatting, less apprehensively than they had all week, their conversation punctuated here and there with comfortable silences. Happily occupied with a task, Cameron started to relax, and talked about her trailer, her neighbors, her plants, her stray ideas for possible applications and coding experiments. Donna listened, and talked about life at the Symphonic offices, Joanie’s most recent phone call, Haley’s latest community college course, and a travel show she’d watched one night when she couldn’t sleep, and how it had made her want to visit Mt. Rainier one day. 

Donna moved around the kitchen, from one task to the next, and Cameron kept stopping what she was doing to look up at her. She was more dressed up than usual, Donna usually spent Sundays in leggings or pajama pants, hair in a ponytail, face bare. That morning she and Haley had gone to a large book store for a walk and window shopping, and then gone food shopping, for which Donna had worn her favorite pair of (surprisingly flattering) mom jeans, a powder blue sweater, and little gold hoop earrings that kept catching the light. She was wearing a sort of muted light brick red lipstick, mascara, and a little light pink blush, and her eyebrows were penciled in. Cameron had long been in the habit of rolling her eyes whenever anyone called a woman ‘radiant,’ but she didn’t think she’d react that way if someone described Donna as such. Donna might have been the definition of radiance, and Cameron was glad to be sitting in her kitchen. 

They were on their second slices, Haley having taken hers up to her room so she could finish eating while chatting about a science project with a classmate, when Donna finally popped the question: “So. The realtor. What made you think of her?”

Cameron swallowed a bite that was mostly carrot and then evasively replied, “What do you mean, what made me think of her?” She shoveled another forkful of food into her mouth, this time getting more chicken, piecrust, and potato. 

“I don’t know,” Donna shrugged. It was a long time ago, and I just figured something must have happened to make you think of that, and I was curious. That’s all.”

Cameron chewed slowly, thoughtfully. It would have been easy to say, ‘oh, nothing,’ or ‘I don’t remember’ or even ‘I don’t know,’ it should have been easy, but she didn’t feel as though she could. Donna waited patiently, looking at her warmly, and finally, Cameron swallowed, and looking down at her plate, she asked, “What if I don’t really want to say because I’m not ready?”

Mild surprise, and maybe the barest hint of relief, seemed to flicker across Donna’s face. Quietly, Donna said, “That’s okay.”

Donna didn’t seem worried or upset, but Cameron still asked, “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure,” Donna nodded. “We can always talk about it some other time, when you are ready. I’m not in any rush.” 

Cameron put down her fork, and sounding very young again, asked, “What if I’m never ready to talk about it?” 

Warmly, Donna said, “That’s alright, too.” She sat back in her chair, and still looking at Cameron, she said, “I know I already said this, but, all that really matters to me is that we’re friends. We don’t have to talk about anything you don’t wanna talk about, or do anything you don’t want to do.”

Cameron felt both reassured and, suddenly, utterly vexed. She was momentarily tempted to shout at Donna, “What are we talking about?! Are we sure we’re talking about the same thing? Is that why we keep dancing around it?” She really wasn’t ready for them to be so direct about it, so instead, Cameron blurted out, “So like, what’s your deal right now? Are you seeing anyone, or like…?”

It was so awkward, so abrupt, that Donna laughed directly at Cameron, and then laughed even harder when Cameron said, “What? Why are you laughing at me? Why is that funny?”

After she finally managed to calm down, Donna said, “I don’t really think I have a deal? I don’t know, I’m not really thinking about dating, or anything like that. I’m not really looking. You?”

“I’m not really looking, either,” Cameron said. “I’m sorry if that was a weird thing to ask.”

Struggling to suppress another laugh, Donna said, “It was a weird way to ask, maybe. That’s okay though. I like that you’re weird, I always have.”

Cameron realized that for as anxious and embarrassed as she felt at that moment, she also felt very warm and content. There was no one she would rather be having this cozy if bizarrely ambiguous evening with, and there was no other place she’d rather be. Quietly, she said, “I’m glad we decided to just hang out tonight.”

Donna smiled, and her entire face seemed to light up with joy. “Yeah, so am I,” she said. 

[squidsy24]

The Or is it

Yes it's a ddadds post no I don't care that much if you hate it but I've tried writing the is like 3 times and bits always to long so personalise it for your dad Sona I'll give a summary of what happens with mine when this shit happens

so there's a not secret ending I found when I played ddadds the 3rd time I was going for the okest dad achievement and bits was like oh let's try to ace the wall Mary home scene (I didn't) and in the okest dad thing you have to sleep with Robert (love that but he is a shit head after) so you get ditched by both your kid and Joe and you have to clean up the party it's sad as shit dadsona keeps whispering to him self that it will all be ok and its sad I nearly cried with him so I'll do the first part of what happens 8months after and the rest fill in with things from your dad's on (I'll Sumerize mine)

SHOWTIME 🖤

"Keep the change" The driver accepts the money and drives off you put in i two earbuds play a soundtrack called sad shit Amanda made it back in high school ok Neil you got your shift covered at the hospital and have the next day off you can be sad now o thought while swinging my legs over the wooden railing so my feet were closer to the edge of the cliff time passes by I didn't even notice my playlist was almost done I just sat there music on blast knowing I could cry I'm alone but no tears formed I noticed some rocks in front of my feet I grab them and through after each phrase "I'm sorry Amanda! I'M SORRY I DIDN'T RAISE YOU RIGHT! I'M SORRY ALEX I MESSED UP OUR KID! I'M SORRY... I'm so sorry everyone sorry I wasn't strong sorry I'm weak sorry I'm SORRY! " I slowly stood up with each rock but after the last one I crumbled to the ground way am oi such a failure I mess up everything I put my head in my hands and cried softly when all of a sudden a hand was on my back I was too scared to look up but big pulled out one of the earbuds after the song finished I spoke trying to not break "if your here to kill me just do it quickly " I look up slowly but didn't look at who was next to me "well actually Neil I'm here to tell you I'm pregnant and your the father... I haven't been with a man since " Confused I looked up pulling out the other ear buds it was Robert I chuckled" Well Io messed up my last kid so I don't think I'll be the best father to the fetus in you guys but I will pay child support" He chuckled " Now tell me what has gotten my baby daddy so sad " I looked out to the skyline "you don't care about it your just making small talk I'd you wanna be alone I can leave" He looked away from me and toward the city" I hate small talk kid and although it is pleasnt to be alone I don't think you should be " "My stress won't be good on the baby and plus I got a friend" I lift up my bottle of Jack Daniels "me and jack here were gonna have fun" I take a swing Robert looks to be willing? "Listen kid in not one for sappy shit and this kid is already messed up from my stress so lay it on me and after I would love to hangout with you and jack" I look down at his project it looks like a lion? "Well if you must know I'll tell the tale mostly cause I just need to talk. My husband died 11 years ago leaving me a single dad with Amanda things were good I thought when we moved to the culdasac I thought it would be good to have a change of scene to be honest when I saw you in the coffee shop I thought you seemed cool and well honestly hot but before what ever happened with us happened I met Joseph ya know wanting what's wrong what's bad it's kinda a part of my self destruction and ya know what ever happened with us happened which I don't really regret it I do however regret falling for the pink sweater head ya know thinking we had something thinking he will leave Mary but nope got my heart broken little by little from you Amanda and Joseph I've just been working trying to distract myself from every thing. Also what ever happened with you and Joe" He stops widdling "what do you you mean there" I look at him in the eyes "I saw the photo the sweater everything hey I fell to joes just ugh " I offer him some of jack he nearly gulps it down he then spoke" I don't regret bit either ya know" I know in look puzzled but then I remember he means the night " Well you drank it all I'll have to kill you for that " He laughs whil pocketed his carveing and knife "ok fistfight right hear right now " I stand up " Ok " We both go it attack mode he almost hits me before he says "ya know I don't really wanna harm you come on I'll get you the refill" I agree that fall down would hurt I jokingly hit him in the shoulder "ok but you drive " " I can and will still fight you so don't touch me" We part off to his red truck the drive to the bar was silent but it was a comfortable silence.

Now here's what happened in short woth y dadsona but you can fill in how you want it to go

We both got drunk (me far more then Robert) I don't remember much I remember sneaking into the movies and falling asleep with his jacket on top of me when I woke up we drink more and I fell on a rock and split my head I was to nervous to go to my hospital and said I was fine although Robbie incested that he clean it or else I would die and he can't have another body on his hands going to his house made me remember the night we had it hasn't changed his dog bestsy snuggled me and I was inclined by dog code not to move Robert ordered a pizza with pineapple and black olives it was delicious (I accurate that last night 101/0) I wound up pucking it up on my shirt and I blacked out I woke up in a red shirt and Rick and Morty boxers with best on my side I walked down stairs to see Robert in my eorye onsie he was making eggs for me? He finished them and said my cloths were drying he then said to tell me before he left and went outside to smoke I accidentally stole his shirt and boxers but he kept my onsie so... He asked me out on another adventure when we weren't both being depressed it was great spending time with him and having someone to talk to we wonder up continuing our gun times we even went cryptic hunting he taught me how to widdle and it was wonder full we both opened up a part of ourselves and talked to our kids

Boom mic drop

Fill in what you don't like I just hattttttee the ending I got with Joseph and the okest dad I wanted things to change so nice did 🖤 love you Robbie🖤

[meenasmoon]

Singing in the Moonlight Ch 2: Talking to the Moon

The next day Johnny rolled out of bed around eight and shuffled into his bathroom to get ready for the day. He sleepily stared himself down in the mirror as he lazily brushed his teeth. His eyes were kinda red and he was starting to get bags under his eyes but it wasn’t anything too noticeable. Once he had freshened up and was dressed in his signature jeans, t-shirt, and leather jacket he wandered down the stairs to the makeshift kitchen in the back of the shop. He opened the fridge and let out a loud groan. The bare shelves were scattered with old takeout and ROAR! energy drinks, neither of which sounded too appealing to him. At that moment his body chose to remind him that he was surviving on a grand total of 4 hours of sleep by forcing out a huge yawn. 

Johnny shrugged, grabbed an energy drink out of the fridge and opened it. He chugged half of the can as he walked over to where his old black truck was parked. He pulled up the garage door and then got in. With a turn of the key the great engine roared to life and the truck shook slightly with the force of the engine before Johnny shifted it into gear and drove it just outside the garage. The radio was already on at half volume as soon as he turned on the car and the DJ was babbling about some events going on in the music world. Johnny put his truck in park and let it idle as he jumped up and grabbed the handle on the garage door and pulled it down. When the heavy door hit the ground he pulled a padlock out from his jacket and quickly secured it so that no one could get into the garage while he was gone. Johnny pocketed the key and jogged back to the truck, checking his watch to make sure that he had enough time to get to the theatre. 

He got in just as a soft piano melody accompanied by guitar came through the speakers of his truck and a man began to sing:

“At night when the stars light up my room

I sit by myself…”

 Johnny blinked in surprise at how accurate the lyrics were to his experience last night, and he quickly turned up the volume until it consumed every inch of space in the cab of the truck. Dazedly he put the truck in drive and began driving to the theatre, his attention only half on the road and the other half on the lyrics that struck him like an arrow.

“Talking to the moon

Trying to get to you

In hopes you’re on the other side talking to me too

Or am I a fool, who sits alone, talking to the moon?”

 With that last word, the song moved to a piano break. Just before the singer came back Johnny’s arm shot out and pressed the button that shut off the radio. The colorful display went dark immediately but the ghost of the melody still danced around in his brain, taunting him. He rolled down all of the windows in order to banish it with the onslaught of the noises of the city. The honking and the hum of the other cars around him did nothing to banish that annoying little melody that made his heart hurt.

He pulled up to the theatre frustrated and drained. All he could think about was another night alone. As soon as he went home there would be no one there. And nightfall was inevitable. The garage was always waiting when he got back…empty and unchanged. Johnny chugged down the rest of the energy drink and jumped out of the truck. He locked the doors and trudged into the theatre, his head down and his hands shoved in his pockets. When Moon greeted him cheerily just like usual, Johnny mustered up a smile and made his way up the stairs to Moon’s office.

He shook his head in rueful amusement when he saw the mess of papers that were waiting for him on the desk. He pulled a stool over to the desk and began sorting through the absolute mess that lay before him.

It was around 10:30 when he finally stood up and walked out of the office. He couldn’t stare at those numbers for another second or he might lose it. He walked down the stairs to the practice rooms where the others were immersed in their rehearsals.

Ash was sitting on the floor of her practice room, writing furiously on a sheet of lyrics, trying to perfect her latest song. She looked so deep in her work that Johnny didn’t dare disturb her for fear of her wrath. She knew exactly how to use her quills to inflict pain when she wanted to. He had learned that from experience. He flinched away in reflex as he remembered the fury on her face and high tailed it towards where Rosita and Gunther were practicing their new dance. 

They looked flawless as always but knowing Rosita she would accept nothing except for protection, and Gunther was always game to dance around. Johnny gave them both a small wave when they saw him. Rosita’s gaze narrowed in on him and she took a step towards the door.

Sensing a motherly concern moment coming on Johnny jogged away towards the concessions stand where he found solace in the drink vending machine. He struggled with smoothing out his extremely crumpled dollar for a few minutes before he deemed it flat enough to be accepted by the overly finicky machine. He slid the dollar in through the slot and the machine accepted it for a second before spitting it back out again. Johnny groaned in disappointment and once again went about straightening his slightly crumpled dollar.

After about five more tries the machine finally took his money and he was faced with a harrowing choice. He could go with the water bottle that made his parched mouth water or he could choose from the assortment of ROAR! flavors that the machine carried. He began yawning uncontrollably and decided that being conscious for his lesson with Meena was more important than his thirst. Besides he could get a drink of water later. Satisfied that his reasoning was sound, he punched in the code for Screamin’ Strawberry ROAR!. He was just taking his first sip when someone cleared their throat behind him.

He spun around to find Rosita watching him with a disapproving frown on her face. She crossed her arms and tapped her foot as she stared him down. He stood frozen with the drink pressed to his lips, eyes wide and petrified. He had never seen a mom look quite this powerful before and to be honest he was terrified of the pig who was about a third of his size. 

“What do you think you’re doing young man?” she asked in a serious tone and Johnny, who was feeling a little bold in that moment, took a sip of the energy drink. He swore that he saw Rosita’s eyes light on fire her fury was so tangible. 

“Johnathan!” She yelled and held out her hand for the drink. Reluctantly, he handed it to her and mournfully watched as she stomped over to a trashcan and threw it away angrily.

“Aw Rosita tha’ cost me a dollar.” he mumbled but didn’t dare look her in the eye when she approached him.

“Well then you wasted your money Johnny. Those things are terrible for you!” she scolded him and he looked down at the ground in shame. She led him over to a nearby bench and sat him down next to her.

“What’s going on Johnny? You seem down today. And you look a little thin.” She started fussing with his shirt and he let her in an attempt to avoid answering the questions. She wasn’t fooled and instead pinned him with a piercing mom look. He sighed and caved a little bit while desperately searching his exhausted brain for a solution.

“It’s nuffin’ Rosita we just ain’t been uh, shoppin’ in a lil’ while.” he mumbled and checked his watch. It was only 11:00 but maybe he could go to the bakery a little early.

“Well why don’t I take you and your father shopping later? I can give you some great meal ideas.” she began gushing about her recipe ideas and Johnny immediately tensed up. He hadn’t had the courage to tell anyone that his father was the infamous gang leader Big Daddy. Johnny didn’t want or need their pity and he definitely didn’t want them to look at him differently because he was the son of a criminal. He wanted to be judged for his voice, not his father’s actions. He was his own gorilla.

“Oh tha’ sounds super fun Rosita but uh, I’m gonna tutor Meena tonight and I’m late. Gotta go!” Johnny said quickly as he leapt up from his seat and sped out the doors of his theatre to his truck. He got into his car just as Rosita burst out the doors of the theatre in hot pursuit. Before she could even take a step towards him he was speeding off down the street. He tried hard not to look back but he couldn’t help but glance back in his mirror. He only caught a glance of Rosita’s worried face as she stood in front of the theatre.

Johnny forced himself to turn his attention back to the road as he sped through the streets with no particular destination in mind. His mind ambled along just like his route and he found himself driving on autopilot. The radio began to play the song that had been stalking him once again and Johnny found himself too tired to change the song or turn of the radio.

He easily got sucked into the easy melody and the striking lyrics. Near the end of the song he even found himself singing along to the chorus. He let the song guide his hand and his mind automatically began directing him to an unknown destination. As the last notes of the song faded out and DJ came back on the radio, he came to a stop in front of a small shop.

The shop was obviously family-owned and an old wooden sign above the door was painted with swirling red and orange letters that spelled out ‘Sunrise Bakery’. Johnny got out of the truck and slowly walked up to the front of the shop. The windows were stuffed with a variety of tasty treats that made his poor empty stomach growl.

Johnny winced as his body chose that moment to realize that he hadn’t eaten in a day or so. His passive stomach had transformed into a growling, aching beast that was nearly impossible to ignore. It was even worse when he opened the door to the shop and was immediately assaulted by the sweet smell of fresh baked goods. The smell only made his stomach growl louder. He covered up his stomach as if that would conceal the noises that it was making but the elderly capybara at the counter let out a chuckle.

Johnny blushed and ducked his head in embarrassment when she called out to him in her shaky voice. “Come here young man. Let’s get you some goodies.” Johnny hurried over to the counter as the older woman disappeared into the back for a few minutes. He sat down on one of the cushy stools nearby the counter and took the time to look around the old-fashioned bakery. There were exquisite looking goodies everywhere he looked and he began to wonder where the old capybara had disappeared to. He heard hushed voices coming from the back where the kitchen was but since he couldn’t make them out he resumed his examination. In the display case in front if him was an assortment of muffins and cupcakes, all lined up perfectly and obviously decorated by hand. He was eying up a yellow cupcake with very light blue frosting when he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He spun around to greet the old capybara woman but instead came face to face with Meena.

 As soon as she looked up from the tray that she was carrying her cheeks turned bright red and she pulled her ears in close to her face. “Johnny!” she squeaked out in surprise and subsequently lost her grip on the tray. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see her hard work hit the ground, and definitely not wanting to see Johnny’s reaction to her clumsiness. When she didn’t hear the clatter of the metal pan on the tile floor she peeked open one eye. Johnny had dove across the counter and caught the falling tray just in time. He smiled up at her and handed her back the tray with a sweet, lopsided grin on his face.

“Careful Meena, you’re carryin’ precious cargo.” He joked and she felt her tense muscles relax a little at his words.

“Th-thanks Johnny. I uh… you’re early.” she stumbled a little over her own tongue but Johnny didn’t seem to notice or care. He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck and looked away at the cupcake case.

“Oh! Uh yeah… I just needed ter get away from the bloomin’ theatre. Rosita was bein’ a lil’… suffocatin’.” Meena immediately empathized with the gorilla. There had been many a time when Rosita’s mom instincts had come out a little too strongly when she was trying to encourage Meena to step out into the spotlight. Even after a year Meena was still painfully shy in any and all social interactions. She sang well enough on stage when she was able to lose herself in the performance and ignore the crowd but beforehand she still had to be coaxed a little. While everyone else handled their newfound fame quite gracefully, Meena avoided reporters like the plague and only gave interviews when they weren’t live.

“Believe me I understand.” she grumbled as she set the tray down on the counter and began putting away the red velvet cupcakes that adorned it. Johnny’s laugh broke her from her reverie and she blinked as the wonderful sound filled the shop.

“I betcha do.” He chuckled and Meena’s chest was suddenly filled with a weird fluttering feeling. She realized that she was staring at Johnny and quickly resumed her task of restocking the cupcake case.

“So uh wot is good ‘ere? I’m kinda starved.” his stomach growled loudly and Meena let out a little giggle when he turned red and covered his stomach with his hands.

“Sounds like it.” she grabbed a small plate from the rack behind her and placed one of the yellow and blue cupcakes that he had been eying earlier on it. “I uh, made these an hour ago. They’re my favorite.” She put the plate down in front of him and bit her lip nervously as he excitedly inspected the cupcake before picking it up and taking a huge bite out of it.

Johnny immediately groaned in appreciation and Meena’s nervous look turned into an overjoyed smile. Johnny looked up at her in amazement and Meena flushed once more but this time her ears stayed open and away from her face. She was flattered.

“This is amazin’! Ya made this?” he asked incredulously and Meena nodded her confirmation.

“I didn’t kna that ya could bake.” he gushed and took another bite of cupcake. This time a small bit of blue frosting smeared across the top of his lip and Meena couldn’t help but laugh at how cute he looked. She handed the sheepish gorilla a napkin and leaned against the counter so that she was closer to him.

“My mom taught me when I was a little girl and I’ve been baking away ever since.” she absentmindedly wiped at an imaginary spot of the counter with a washcloth. She didn’t want to look like she wasn’t working but she didn’t want to stop talking with Johnny. It was easy to talk to Johnny. She liked talking to him because he made her feel safe. She could do just about anything and he would be there with a smile just for her.

“Tha’s awesome. I’ve never made anythin’ loike this��before. Well, besides microwaved meals and cereal.” They both laughed and Johnny leaned in too so that the two of them were face to face. “Wots the flavor this cupcake anyway?”

“Oh! That’s our lemon blueberry cupcake with lemon cream cheese frosting.” she watched as he gobbled the rest of the cupcake down eagerly.

“Fantastic!” he praised it once again and then they launched into a conversation about her cooking history, favorite recipes, etc. Before they knew it time had passed and the clock on the wall struck eleven with a loud ringing noise that startled both of them. Meena jerked back and collided with the counter with Johnny jumped clear out of his seat and slipped off of the stool. When Meena recovered from the shock of the noise she disappeared into the back to find her boss to make sure that she was all set to leave.

As soon as Mrs. Peterson saw her she swatted her away from the dishes and gently pushed her back towards the doorway. “You’re all set to go Meena dear. Now you go and have fun with that handsome young man of yours.” she said with a wink and Meena’s entire face turned bright red. She sputtered out an indiscernible reply and made a hasty retreat out of the kitchen. The old capybara just shook her head with a chuckle and resumed the dishes.

When Meena came back to where she had left Johnny he was dusting himself off from his fall. Mean felt her face burn even hotter as she remembered her boss’s words as the echoed through her mind, taunting her and making her blush uncontrollably. 

Johnny looked up from his clothes when he heard Meena come back in. She took off the white apron that she was wearing, hung it up on a hook, and then grabbed her bag before coming around from behind the counter and joining him in the store. For the first time, Johnny realized that for the first time, besides performances, he was seeing Meena in something other than her jeans and old blue sweatshirt. She was wearing khaki pants and an orange, yellow and red tie-dyed t-shirt. She looked cute.

Johnny held the door open for her as they left the bakery and then made sure to open the truck door for her like the gentleman that he was. She blushed when he did so and timidly sat down in the spacious cab of the truck. Johnny then rushed around to his side and hopped into his truck. He started up the vehicle and pulled away from the curb. Meena occasionally gave him directions until they had left the city center behind and were driving through the surrounding suburbs. 

When they finally arrived, Johnny parked in front of the small yellow house and hurried out of the truck so that he could hold Meena’s door for her again. As the two walked up to the house he stared at it in awe. It wasn’t much but it was like nothing he had ever had before. Ever since he could remember he had been living in a cramped apartment above the garage. Meena pulled out a small key chain and unlocked the front door. When he walked in after her, Johnny decided that he like the inside of the house even more. There were family photos everywhere he looked and everything was gently worn and well loved. The house even smelled like a home should. There was a wonderful smell coming from the kitchen that made Johnny’s mouth water. Meena went into the kitchen to say hello to her family and Johnny stayed behind to look at the photos of his friend and her family. There were so many but Johnny savored each one. There were tons of Meena at every stage of her life. Infancy, adolescence, her graduation from high school, and finally the opening day picture of them all in front of the Moon Theatre.

Johnny closely examined each photo and when he looked at all of them he turned around to find Meena. He jumped and let out a loud yell when he found himself face to face with an older male elephant. He was glaring coldly at Johnny and seemed to be looking him over from behind his glasses.

“Who are you boy?” the old man asked gruffly and Johnny stood at attention, ramrod straight with wide eyes.

“Mah name is Johnny sir.” he said nervously and gulped desperately, his throat suddenly dry in the face of that intimidating glare.

“Hmmm.” The elephant suddenly leaned in close enough that Johnny could feel his steely gaze drilling holes straight through him.

“So you want to date my Meena huh?” he asked and Johnny choked on his words for a second before he began to protest.

“No! Uh I mean it ain’t loike that. I’m just uh, teachin’ her piano.” he felt a bead of sweat roll down his forehead and for a second he glanced back at the front door and he considered making a speedy escape before he was mauled by his friend’s grandfather.

“Grandpa!” Meena’s admonishing shout saved him from having to make that decision as she reentered the room with her mother close behind.

“Oh leave the poor boy alone.” Meena’s grandmother glared at her husband. Meena’s grandfather just huffed and hobbled out of the room towards the living room where the TV was waiting for him. Johnny let out a sigh of relief and his body relaxed for a second before he was swept into a tight hug.

Meena’s grandmother gave him a squeeze that nearly cut off his air supply but just when he felt like he was going to suffocate she released him and clapped excitedly.

“Oh honey I’m so happy to meet you! Meena’s always talking about you and her other little friends down at the theatre.” she winked at him and Johnny smiled nervously.

“Grandma.” Meena gritted out, obviously embarrassed, but her grandmother waved her off with a laugh and started backing up towards the kitchen.

“I’ll let you two crazy kids get to it.” with that she disappeared and Meena took Johnny’s arm and all but dragged the startled gorilla to her room. She shut the door and rested her forehead against it for a few seconds in shame. Meena sucked in a breath and bravely turned around to face whatever Johnny had to say about her crazy family, but to her surprise he was admiring her record collection as if nothing weird had happened at all.

“Um… the piano is right here.” she got his attention and gestured to the old piano that was up against the wall in her room. Johnny sat down on one end of the bench and patted the space next to him for her. Meena nervously sat next to him as he launched straight into the lesson.

“Let’s get started shall we? The first fin’ that I’m gonna go over ‘re basic scales and notes.” Meena watched avidly as his long fingers danced over the keys and the piano immediately responded with the corresponding notes. He did it quickly a couple times so that she could get the hang of how it was supposed to sound before he broke it down individually and taught her each part. After about 45 minutes Meena seemed confident enough to go about the scales on her own so Johnny got up from the bench and sat on her bed so that she could do the scales all by herself. He relaxed against her pillows as he listened to her timid scales. With each round she got more and more confident and Johnny found himself doing slightly against her pillows. He adjusted to get more comfortable and desperately tried to keep his eyes open but he was fighting a losing battle. He was so warm and comfortable and his surroundings were a salve to his lonely soul. Everything in Meena’s house was so full of warmth and life and for the first time in a long time he felt safe enough to let his guard down.

His last sight before his eyes closed and he was sucked into the darkness was Meena’s form as she sat at the piano, determinedly playing the piano. He could just make out her face from the side, her concentrated look, and the sparkle in her blue eyes.

And then suddenly he was falling, falling, falling.

Next

Previous

[ecofinisher]

Abominable 2.0 - Chap 17

Chapter 17

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22006036/chapters/54246052

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13463708/17/Abominable-2-The-Fanfic-Sequel

https://www.wattpad.com/838435096-abominable-2-0-chapter-17

Dave managed to organize for him and Peng a one-stop flight with the destination Sichuan and their goal location Kathmandu, which is in Nepal, where they’re then closer to the Himalayas.

Dave sat with Peng together in the terminal waiting for the boarding call of the receptionist of their gate.

“I barely have had any sleep last night” Peng complained as he yawned out of tiredness while Dave sat next to the boy staring holes in the air and drinking a cup of hot coffee.

“I know how you feel” Dave agreed taking a sip from the drink. “But this flight at 6:15 was the shortest one we could get. And it wasn’t cheap”

“Well, I’ll be hopefully sleeping the whole flight,”

“If you don’t, there are still movies or series airing during the flight to entertain you”

“Finally, the train rides were so boring. If I knew it would have been that boring I would have brought my portable console, my board games, card games, everything just to make the trip pass quicker”

“Just pray for good entertainment in the plane” Dave commented. “Otherwise stretch your legs and walk a few lines back and forth in the plane to keep your legs well”

“One thing I’ve got to admit Dave. I’ve never been so sick of sitting the whole time, than these last few days” Peng ranted earning a nod from the raven-haired man.

“Before we’re called for boarding, why don’t we go take a look at the plane, we’re going to board in soon?” The adult questioned the boy, which looked at the door of the gate and on both side tall windows were. On the right side, the gate corridor blocked the sight to the plane and on the other side, there was a free space, where they had a great view of the field of the airport. Peng got up from the seat, then walked at the large window and looked out at the airfield to see a few small jets parked far in front of the ground of the airfield. Peng leaned his face against the window to look at the plane, that stood on his side. He could see a part of the gate attached to the front door of the airplane and from behind the gate on the plane up to the tail it had a long horizontal red line, which got wider and the tail of it was fully red and had the symbol of the company of their first destination. Over the line, the airline name was tagged on it, including its Chinese variant. Another boy near Peng’s age approached the window to stare in awe at the sight of the plane he saw.

“Dad, dad, is that our plane?” The boy asked jumping up and down, then the father, which resembled an older version of the boy appeared and gazed at the airbus on the outside.

“Yeah, that’s our plane,” The father answered placing his hand on the boy’s shoulder. Peng smiled and walked back at Dave, which had just finished his coffee and squashed the cup.

“Our airplane is really big” Peng mentioned earning a nod from Dave.

“Hmm must be your impression. For the people, that are standing here to board I don’t think we’ll need a big one”

“Well I thought it was a big one” “Well from the outside most of them look the same, if you want me to be honest. If you want, I can show you which magazine, that you find in all seats have a list of airplanes of this company and we can from there figure out how tall ours is”

“Awesome”

“Ladies and Gentleman, Flight SA146 with the destination Chengdu is now open for boarding. Please hold your boarding cards and passports or ID’s ready. Thank you”

“So keep your ID ready, I’ll be taking out your boarding card,” Dave said taking from the pocket of the back of his trousers two folded boarding cards, then handed the boy out one of the cards, which was tagged with Peng’s name.

“You just have to pass the code over the scanner and hand your ID and the boarding pass to one of the staff members, which will control like the securities before your identity”

“Okay” The child responded walking together with the man to a line, that started to queue behind the gate, that had been opened and the two staff men, that stood behind the gate started to let the first passengers pass through the turnstile with the help of their boarding cards codes.

Jin and Yi were on the other side of the city together in a gas station passing by the shelf with various snack bags on it and other types of food, that can be stored dry.

“Hey what about these butter cookies with chocolate chips?” Jin asked looking at the package. “They sure sound delicious,” Jin said looking to Yi, which had took out from the shelf a small bag with a variety of nuts in it.

“Hmm take two” Yi mentioned earning a nod from Jin, which took a second pack down and passed beside Yi to look on her side.

“I know this sounds a little weird, but I kind of enjoyed sleeping on your belly last night” Jin mentioned looking at Yi. “I thought that….you should know it. You did offer it to me after all,”

“It’s alright Jin, it was my pleasure” Yi answered a little abashed from the boy’s attention on her. “It also was very kind of you to sleep on the floor too, so that I wouldn’t be there alone and you on the bed”

“I did so because I would feel a bit bad if I had to,” Jin said passing his hand behind his neck. “I know you told me it didn’t matter for you, but….I just couldn’t”

“It’s alright” Yi answered with a smile, which Jin copied but a little lovelier. Yi passed beside Jin walking to the drinking section, where various sizes and types of drinks were sorted in the refrigerators. Jin sank his head down a little disappointed at Yi having moved further, then Jin crossed the corridor back passing by the car utensils and looked at the scent trees for the cars and saw a light blue one entitled with Aftershave.

“There really is one for aftershave?” Jin questioned himself while chuckling. “I’ve seen it all”

Jin walked up to the pastry corner to a coffee machine, then picked out a middle-sized paper cup and placed it in on a dark red circle, which is the point, where he has to place his cup for the machine to be able to fill correctly. He pressed on the green button on the display and pressed on the milk coffee option to start the process.

Yi had picked up two large water bottles and placed them into the shopping basket and walked further to see Jin watch the cup being filled. Jin turned around while having his arms crossed, then he smiled at Yi, which smiled back at him, afterward, Jin turned around to take his cup away as it was finished.

Yi held her hand in front of her forehead sighing low.

“How is this possible after all this time?” Yi mumbled to herself, then a man with gray trousers and a similar shirt to Jin’s passed by the girl walking to the coffee machine taking a large coffee cup and let the machine fill his cup too with coffee.

“Nice shirt” Jin complimented earning a smile from the man, then the boy walked towards Yi, then he gazed into the basket with the nutriments they had chosen to buy. “Do you want to let out a coffee or tea?” Jin offered Yi, who shook her head.

“I’m fine, thank you” Yi answered watching along with Jin the man taking the coffee out, then the receptionist of the gas station passed by the man and gave the man with the shirt a handshake.

“Hey Wang, I haven’t seen you since last month, where have you been?” The staff asked the man.

“Vacation, but now I’m back in business and need to deliver a few cars down to Hotan” The man with the plaid shirt explained. “It will be only seven hours If I go before midday,”

“Great did you already have your lunch or do you want to buy here anything?”

“One salad would be not bad” The man answered. “I’ve managed to get the mini-fridge fixed in my truck”

“That’s great, I’ll show you some salads, that are new in our store,” The man said walking to the refrigerators along with the trucker.

Yi went to the cashier, then waited for the man to get back. Jin appeared with a pack with baby wet tissues and put it into the basket, Yi was carrying and the girl furrowed her eyebrows confused about it.

“For what do you need them?” Yi asked.

“In case we get dirty and we don’t have water to wash our hands” Jin answered.

“Oh, nice thinking Jin” Yi agreed placing the basket on a sill in front of then took the wet tissues pack out along with the cookies, followed by Jin placing his coffee on it, followed by the mixed nuts and the water bottles. “Oh thank you”

“No problem” Jin said watching Yi store the basket on the ground on top of a cart, that is specified to collect the shopping baskets. Jin looked around and spotted on the side three rows with different cloth bags with a zip on it and Jin picked the middle one and placed it on the desk in front of Yi.

“My mom uses them at shopping, when she walks from the store instead,”

“Yes for the water bottles they’re better…..and hey maybe we could take a third water bottle….you know, just in case” Yi mentioned earning a nod from the raven-haired boy.

“I can get it, if you want to?” The boy offered the girl earning a nod from the girl, then he ran off to the refrigerator.

The trucker appeared standing behind the girl with only a large red water bottle and two small packs with pasta salad followed by the staff walk to the other side of the cash register. Yi noticed the man only had two articles and shoved hers to the side.

“Sir you can go first, I have to wait for my friend to bring something” Yi offered watching the man nod.

“Thanks, that was not necessary” The man thanked handing his bottle out to the man and the salad. “Oh, and I used gas pump 4” The man mentioned earning a nod from the man.

“That will be 1393,33 Yuan” The man asked and he handed out his bank card and introduced it into the card reader to pay. “You think one water bottle will be enough until you’re in Hotan?”

“I’ve got another one, don’t worry” The trucker commented, then Yi looked up at the TV screen above the cash register local and saw on the third corner of the surveillance camera a large flat nose truck standing with a car on top of the vehicle’s roof. Yi watched over the window of the gas station to see the large trailer carrying a few cars, which gave Yi an idea.

“Have a nice trip” The staff wished, then started to scan the articles of Yi, while Yi collected them into the bag Jin handed her out moments before. Jin appeared with two water bottles and placed them on the counter and ran back again, leaving Yi questioningly back.

“Where are you going Jin?” Yi barked then saw Jin come back with three rolled-up blankets two red and the third one in yellow and he added them to Yi’s list and added a second bag on it. “Why are you taking them?”

“I can take one of them free if I pay for the first two” Jin explained. “They’re so fluffy”

“Alright, help me pack. I found us a ride to catch” Yi mentioned watching Jin help her.

“That will be 374,33 Yuan” The cashier announced, then Yi took out from her wallet, she had on the back of her pants and took out a few green bills and a red one and handed it out to the man, which afterward gave her a bill and a couple of coins as the exchange. “25.67 you get back, Have a lovely day”

“Thanks," Yi said letting everything fall into the pocket for the cash, then she placed it back taking the bags, then she ran off, followed by Jin.

“Hey wait!” Jin exclaimed, then got thrown on his arms one of the bags. “Where are you going?”

“You see that trailer with the many cars on it?” Yi asked looking along with Jin at the two-leveled trailer with various vehicles fastened on it. “That’s our ride to Hotan”

“What?!? Are you crazy?” Jin hissed at Yi’s idea unpleased about the idea.

“We take the ladder there behind the entrance to the cabin” Yi pointed to the end of the trailer, that was attached to the truck, making Jin gulp. Yi reached along with the boy the ladder, then the put the bag over her shoulder and climbed the ladder up to the top, while Jin looked around for any witnesses, afterward he saw Yi on the top leaning with her back against the car moving to the back of it and hide in front of it. “Get up Jin” Yi ordered the boy, which swallowed hard and climbed up at Yi, then he threw the bag at Yi and Yi reached her hand to the boy to help him up and to hide behind the onyx-colored sedan.

“See, it wasn’t that bad” Yi commented earning a nod from Jin, then she stepped on an open gap from the trailer nearly falling off the truck, but Jin pulled her back at him, which bumped into his chest. “Whoa!” Yi cried, but then sighed in relief as Jin helped her. “Thanks Jin” Yi thanked embracing him for short.

“I knew it was dangerous” The boy joked, then Yi placed her hand in front of his chest shoving him back shrieking the boy. “No, no, no, no, no!” Jin cried, then Yi grabbed him on the lapels of his shirt watching him in fright with his eyes closed, then he opened his left eye and groaned at Yi’s deed. “Yi...”

“You didn’t think I would do that, didn’t you?”

“Sorry I panicked” Jin wailed watching the girl shake her head playfully.

“Okay, we’ve got here a good space to sit, the bad part is just this gap here”

“A metal board or a wood board to cover it would be helpful, but we don’t have one” Jin mentioned sitting on the side of it while Yi sat vice versa to the friend. “My hair is starting to look like that time I ran all over the forest to look for you and Peng,” Jin mentioned trying to adjust his hairstyle by looking at his reflection on the car bumper.

“Why don’t you let your hair like it is and avoid using hair gel?” Yi asked the boy.

“I don’t know, after joining school I had to keep my hair up and I started to use the gel again” Jin explained. “Why are you asking?” “I had just remembered it” Yi answered. “You still look great in both ways thought” Yi commented making the boy smile.

“Out of the two styles, which do you like to see more on me? With gelled hair or natural?”

“Well it’s funny to admit, but for me you turn out really handsome if you keep your hair like that”

“You mean without the gel?” Asked the Chinese boy earning a nod from the girl. “Thanks”

“Mostly I adore it, when your hair strands look over your eyebrow like this” Yi explained helping Jin with his hair putting it slightly over his eyebrow and Jin looked at the reflection again, then smiled angelically. Yi crossed her arms over her shoulders gazing at her childhood friend, then she felt the trailer shake a little as the trucker had turned on the engine of the truck.

“We’re going to be what…..seven hours on this?” Jin asked watching Yi shrug her shoulders.

“That’s what I heard before” Yi answered watching Jin take out one of the blankets and remove the band from it.

“I think it was a good idea from me to buy these. I think the ride is going to be a little windy for us” Jin said giving the girl the red-colored blanket, therefore he took one out for him and repeated the same task he did on the previous blanket.

“I hope I won’t get sick from the ride. We don’t really have the nicest view” Mentioned the Chinese girl, making Jin chuckle.

“Well I’ve got a nice view here at a pretty girl” Jin jested with a wink, making Yi smile bashfully and look away from the boy. Jin leaned back on the cooler of the car behind him to observe the truck leave carefully the gas station entering the road heading to the national highway.

[theliterateape]

Hope Idiotic | Part 34

By David Himmel

Hope Idiotic is a serialized novel. Catch each new part every week on Monday and Thursday.

SADNESS DOESN’T COME IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE SUDDEN DEATH OF A LOVED ONE. Shock comes first. You feel nothing. Your mind and body switch to autopilot. If you’re one of the first to hear the news, you get busy making phone calls to other loved ones of the departed. You involuntarily go through all of the other motions that come with surviving someone. You try to maintain the status quo. You eat breakfast. You feed your kid. If you’re Lou, you go couch shopping.

Sadness makes a brief appearance at the funeral or the memorial service. That’s when the reality of the death hits. As you watch the crowd of bereaved friends and family huddle and hug and share condolences, you realize the final truth that someone you cared about isn’t showing up. That person will never show up again. All you’re left with is whatever they gave you before the day they died. And as people tell their stories about the dead, and you hold a service program in your hand with a nice portrait of the dead on the cover, you cry. That’s the sadness. But there’s more. There’s a deeper, unwavering sadness. This sadness comes only after the news has gone cold and the body has been put away. It’s when things go back to normal and you find yourself reaching for that person, expecting to hear them, see them, and you get nothing in return but silence and emptiness. Going about the day-to-day even long after that person is gone is when true sadness shows. The enormity of the loss doesn’t come until later.

So the next morning, Lou didn’t feel much of anything beyond the shock. He called Lexi.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“Me, too.”

“You okay?”

“As okay as I can be, I suppose.”

Asking people if they are okay after a loved one dies is a stupid question. Has the answer ever been anything but exactly what’s expected? It’s a formality we exercise because we are uncertain of what else to say or do. Because for some reason, doing nothing and just being quiet is unacceptable behavior, but it’s probably what we need to do.

“What happened? How’d you find him?”

“He didn’t show up at work, and no one could reach him. Lorraine called me a little before the end of the day at work, so I tried calling and texting.”

“When was the last time you heard from him?”

“Thursday night after work. He was on his way to an alumni event at the university. He said he had a bad day at work and that we’d talk about it later.”

“Did he sound okay?”

“Just tired. Melvin was all over his ass.”

“Nothing out of the ordinary.”

“No. After work, I went by the house. I used the garage code and… I walked right past him in the car. Didn’t even see him. I went in the house, called for him, walked upstairs and checked the bedroom because I figured he was sleeping, but he wasn’t there. It was strange. So I walked back downstairs, and when I walked out of the kitchen into the garage… I saw him. In the car.”

“What did he look like? Shit, that’s weird. I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. He looked like he was sleeping. But before I even got to the car, I knew.”

“Jesus Christ.”

“The doors were locked and the windows were up. I grabbed a broom and smashed the passenger window in with the handle. I don’t know why, but I tried to wake him up. Then I called Lorraine. Then I called 9-1-1. Then I tired waking him up again.”

“You don’t think he did it on purpose, do you?”

“Hell no!”

“Okay. I don’t either. I had to ask. Maybe you knew something I didn’t. He wouldn’t do that to us. It would kill him knowing we were having to deal with this shit.”

Lexi laughed. “Only you can get away with making me laugh right now.”

“So what’s the plan for a funeral?”

✶

MICHELLE SAID THAT SHE REALLY WANTED TO FLY TO LAS VEGAS WITH LOU FOR THE MEMORIAL SERVICE, but work was just too busy for her to get away. The memorial service was spearheaded by the Employee Events Department at Tigris. It was Melvin’s idea. They had contacted the church he and Lexi briefly attended, and the church agreed to host it.

The room was packed—three hundred people or so. A gentle, masculine-looking woman led the service. She looked like a young Bea Arthur. It was nicely done, and the sentiment was there, but overall, the whole thing felt like a farce. The program listed speakers as me, Neal Harding—friend, Louis Bergman—friend, Melvin Wilson—friend and co-worker, and Cal Keller—father. When I spoke, people laughed and cried. I managed to say what I had to say about my friend without cracking too badly. When Lou spoke, people laughed and cried some more. He didn’t fare so well and broke up twice. A hint of sadness. Melvin prattled on about how dedicated Chuck was to his job and how he always had an interesting approach to getting the work done. The bullshit was thick, and even those who didn’t know the true Melvin and Chuck relationship would have had to know everything he was saying was bullshit. Cal, came without Barbara or Darryl, but instead with a childhood friend of Chuck’s named R.J. When it was Cal’s turn to speak, R.J. stood uncomfortably on the stage with him.

“Thank you, all of you, for coming here to this service today,” Cal said. “Thank you Melvin for putting it together. This is all very sad. Chuck being dead is very sad.”

He began to cry, and R.J., who was wearing an oversized Indianapolis Colts jersey, put his arm around his old friend’s father and walked him back to their seats.

The young Bea Arthur minister returned to the microphone. “Chuck being dead is very sad,” she confirmed. “Let’s remember him in happier times with this slideshow.”

The lights dimmed, the two large screens on either side of the stage came to life with a photo of Chuck taken for his Tigris ID card. He looked like a corporate stiff. It was a terrible representation of him. His name and the years 1980–2009 faded in on the photo. Then the strum of Noel Gallagher’s guitar began. The slideshow was set to “Wonderwall.”

Funeral slideshows and videos are insulting. The intentions are well meaning, as are most things people do when in the grips of grief, but the truth is that those same intentions are just sediment filler in a deep, expansive bleak hole. These videos, which are an easy up-sell for the funeral director, are a collage of photos from the deceased’s life set to music, preferably the person’s favorite song. If the person didn’t have a favorite song, then something sappy and stock goes in its place. Something like “Amazing Grace” or inappropriately, Green Day’s “Good Riddance (The Time of Your Life),” which is about a breakup. What’s worse is that the photos chosen in the video are meant to represent that person’s life. No matter how great the photos are, no matter how representative they are of the different stages of that person’s life, the attempt to summarize a lifetime in a three to fifteen-minute slideshow is futile. A life, no matter how short or uneventful, cannot fit inside of a funeral video. And certainly not Chuck Keller’s life.

After the service, a large group of people—many friends from college Lou hadn’t seen in years—went to the Fish for a few drinks and to try to one-up each other with Keller stories. Lou and I got hammered, and Natalie drove us home to pass out together on separate ends of the couch.

✶

THE NEXT DAY, THE SORTING AND PACKING UP OF CHUCK’S LIFE WAS WELL ON ITS WAY. Lou arrived at his house to find Cal and R.J. loading up boxes into a U-Haul truck. But they weren’t Chuck’s. They were Lou’s boxes with all of his junk that he’d left behind and stored in the garage.

“None of these boxes are his?” R.J. asked.

“Nothing on the left side of the garage, no. This is all my stuff.”

“So we gotta unload everything we already loaded into the truck?”

“Unless you want to drop that stuff off in Chicago, yes.”

“Nah, we don’t want to do that. Just want to get all Chuck’s stuff back to where it belongs.”

“In Cayuga.”

“That’s right.”

R.J. started unloading the boxes. Cal came out from inside the house. “What the hell’re you doin’ R.J.?”

“These ain’t Chuck’s. They’re Lou’s.”

“So we gotta unload everything we already loaded into the truck?”

“You want to drop it off in Chicago?” R.J. asked.

“No.”

“Then yes.”

“What time did you guys get here this morning?” Lou asked Cal.

“We stayed here.”

“What, overnight?”

“Yeah. Didn’t see any sense in renting a hotel room when we got a house to stay at. You don’t mind, do you?”

“No, of course not. Just would have been nice to know. How’d you get in?”

“Chuck’s keys.”

“Right.”

“Hey!” R.J. yelled as he walked down the ramp of the truck with a box in his arms. “How ’bout a little help with all this?”

Cal and Lou started unloading boxes and stacking them back in the garage next to Chuck’s car, which hadn’t been moved. The empty bottle of wine was still on top of the cup holder, resting against the passenger seat. There were shards of glass on the driver’s seat, the floor of the car and the floor of the garage. The plastic broom Lexi used to break the window lay next to the car. Lou noticed a crowbar leaning against the wall by the door into the house.

So this was it, Lou thought. That piece of shit car is where Chuck took his last breath. This wasn’t the scene of blazing glory Lou figured would have been his friend’s undoing. Lou imagined Chuck making it until his 70s before his liver gave up on him and forced him into a hospice bed, or he’d have a heart attack on a road trip and drive his car off the side of California into the Pacific Ocean. Or maybe he’d go off the grid and spend his days drinking and writing in some Costa Rican resort bar until one afternoon he just didn’t wake up.

The idea of death is always romantic. The reality is far less so. We’ll never know exactly how Chuck died. We know he drove home. We know he never got out of the car. Everything in between is romantic filler. His favorite song playing to the very end is just how I like to imagine it. The romance helps me all this time later in the quieter moments. I like to think he died having a good time at the moment.

That’s how he died. As Lou stood in his garage, he was thinking more about the why. All evidence for Lou pointed to Chuck’s luck running out. A guy can only drive home drunk and pass out behind the wheel so many times before it catches up with him. And that’s what happened. Chuck had exhausted all of his chances to get out of jail free. Chuck had had a bad day and placed a bet with the gods. But the gods determined that he needed to go. They were done covering his ass.

“Hey, Cal,” Lou said, still staring at the car. “Where is Chuck now?”

“At the crematorium.”

“Oh.”

“It was a whole lot cheaper to have him cremated than buried. Plus, there’d be all these extra charges to have the coroner ship his body home. His boss said that Tigris would pay for it, but I told him no. Just pay for the cremation.”

“What are you going to do with the ashes?”

“I’ll probably take some for a keepsake,” R.J. said.

“Have you thought about spreading them out in Zion? Any of the other national parks? Probably what he’d want done with them,” Lou said.

“I’ll have him buried with me when I go. Think we’ll keep him at the house until then.”

The first bit of proof of how terrible Chuck’s dying was had revealed itself. All that was left of Chuck Keller was doomed to spend eternity in a place that caused him the least amount of peace. It wasn’t right.

Lou excused himself, telling the guys that he’d get to work packing up the stuff inside the house. Upstairs, he saw that the guestroom and second bathroom looked lived in. He ran back downstairs to Cal and R.J.

“Where are you guys sleeping?”

“I’m in the master bedroom, and R.J.’s sleeping down here on the couch.”

“So, whose stuff is in the guest bedroom?”

“Probably that magazine publisher. He’d been living here. Told me he’d be by tonight to pick the stuff up along with that computer in the office.”

Lou was floored. The publisher was living in his house? Why? For how long? Why didn’t Chuck say anything? He called Lexi, and she agreed to meet him for coffee later that afternoon.

“I thought you knew,” she sai

“I had no idea. Was he paying rent?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Jesus Christ. The guy has money. He should have been paying the full amount. Why would Chuck keep this from me? And why was the publisher not living at home with his family?”

“His wife kicked him out,” Lexi said. “It was supposed to be only a week or so until they worked it out or whatever.”

“But how long had it been?”

“A month, maybe. Now I have a question for you? Who’s Gina?”

Lou lifted his head out of his hands and starred at Lexi. “Who’s who?”

“Who is Gina?”

“I’m not… What do you mean?”

“Lou, I know about her. Gina. Well, I don’t know a lot about her, but I know she exists and for some reason has a key to your house because Cal called her last night to let him in after he couldn’t reach me.”

“She still has a fucking key? Cal told me that he used Chuck’s key to get in. What the hell is going on here?”

“Who is she?”

Lou had warned Chuck about the dangers of dating two women at once; about giving them both full access to the house, and he told Chuck that he wasn’t going to help him clean up the mess when the whole thing finally caved in on him. And now it had caved. And that motherfucker wasn’t there to deal with it at all. It was now entirely up to Lou to handle it.

“She’s a girl from Tigris.”

“Did they date?”

“Yeah, briefly. While you guys were broken up,” Lou lied. Then he lied some more. “It wasn’t anything serious.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” That motherfucking fucker.

✶

ON THE WAY BACK TO THE HOUSE, LOU CALLED ME.

“Did you know about the publisher?”

“I had no idea. That’s pretty goddamn funny, though. And that you had to deal with the Gina/Lexi thing. That guy left more shit behind than Tupac.”

At the house, Lou was further surprised and mildly pissed that Gina was there. She was in the office with Cal and R.J. futzing around with Chuck’s computer.

“What’s going on here?” Lou asked. The three of them looked at Lou like they had been caught doing something illicit.

“Just getting Chuck’s files off this computer before the publisher takes it away,” Cal said. “I don’t know how these things work, so I called Gina.”

“I’m really not comfortable with this,” said Lou.

“Why, Lou? What’s your problem?” Gina inquired.

“It’s not that I have a problem, Gina. It’s that this computer isn’t yours to fool around with. It’s property of the magazine.”

“We’re not fooling around with it. I’m just helping Cal retrieve his son’s private files.”

“They’re not private. Not if they’re on a computer that doesn’t belong to him. You need to talk to the publisher about this.”

“Well, I don’t have time to help him later, so I have to do it now. What’s the big deal?”

“The big deal is that I’m not comfortable with this. You can’t come into my house and start taking things that don’t belong to you.”

“They’re not for me! They’re for Cal!”

“All the same.”

“It’s not all the same. Cal should have a right to his son’s stuff.”

“I don’t disagree with that. But that’s between Cal and the publisher and me.”

“Why you?”

“Because it’s my house, Gina.”

“Hold on a second, Gina,” Cal said. He walked to the office doorway where Lou was standing. “This is my fault. I don’t want to cause any problems. If you say we should talk to the publisher, then that’s what we’ll do.”

“I think that’s best, Cal, thanks. You say he’ll be by later tonight? I’ll call him and make sure he does come by. Let him know what’s going on.”

Gina began transferring files faster.

“Gina, please stop what you’re doing.”

“Why are you being such a fucking asshole about this?”

“Okay. You need to leave.”

“I’m not leaving.”

“I was trying to be reasonable about this, but you clearly don’t want that, so please, leave.”

“I’m here because Cal wanted my help.”

“I don’t care. I can help Cal. And this isn’t Cal’s house to invite people into. It’s my house. And I didn’t invite you. And since you’re being rude, I’d like you to leave.”

“Fuck you, Lou!”

“Look, I get that you’re upset and that you want to do the right thing. But you’re a little late for that. You should have tried being more supportive before he died. Now give me my house key and get out.”

She stood up and took the key off of her key ring and threw it at Lou, just barely missing his head. It chipped the paint and made a small dent in the drywall.

“You’re a fucking asshole, Lou Bergman!”

“And you’re trespassing on my property.” He took out his phone. “You have until I count to 10 to get out of my house, into your car and drive away, or I’m calling the cops to have you arrested.”

“Maybe you should go,” Cal said. “I’ll give you a call later.”

She stormed out of the office and screamed, “Fuck you!” right in Lou’s face as she passed. The three men watched her get into her car from the office window and peel off down the street.

“I’m sorry about that,” Cal said.

“It’s fine,” said Lou. He was impressed with himself that he didn’t scream back. Perhaps one of the benefits of being emotionally numb.

✶

THE FOLLOWING MORNING, Cal and R.J. had the U-Haul loaded, and all of Chuck’s things were out of the house. Cal replaced the dead battery in Chuck’s car and poured a little gas into the tank from a container he picked up at the gas station. He was going to drive the car his son died in all the way back to Indiana. Lou thought the idea morbidly pathetic.

“You plan on fixing the broken window?” Lou asked Cal before he took off.

“Oh, yeah. I suppose I ought to have that looked at before we get too far.”

“I imagine you’ll sell the thing once you get home, huh?”

“Nah. I’ll hang onto it. Help me remember my son.”

Sadness makes people do the strangest things.

Part I Part II Part III Part IV Part V Part VI Part VII Part VIII Part IX Part X Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 Part 24 Part 25 Part 26 Part 27 Part 28 Part 29 Part 30 Part 31 Part 32 Part 33