Participants:
| Scene Title | That Happy Thing |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Melissa brings breakfast to Odessa to sweeten her up before asking a favour. The two discuss life. |
| Date | April 9, 2010 |
Old Lucy's - Upstairs
Though one might remember when a certain fiery woman lived here… Now the living area above Old Lucy's has changed hands. The open living room and kitchen are homey, a commingling of two people's tastes. The leather couch sits kitty corner to a one of red suede and a bit smaller. A large bird cage for it's budgie inhabitant takes up it's own corner beside dark paneled walls. Bookshelves with literary pieces of a variety both academic and not take up another small section.
The kitchen is large, with a rolling wood and black marble island to give more counter space to work on. Pots and pans hang from the roof and track lighting keeps it not gloomy. A proper oak dining table has been set up with matching chairs instead of the 70's castoff that the residents have been known to own and a bowl of fresh fruit sits in the center.
Down a hall lay's multiple doors. A master bedroom occupied by the oldest resident and occasionally have a pervading smell of whiskey and smoke coming from it when the door is open. A second door with a cross above it, a third with no marking that is occupied by the third resident of the premises. Two other doors lead to a linen closet and bathroom - Decorated in a very strong pirate theme - respectively. A black cat with a red velvet collar and a little swarovski charm dangling from it can be found meandering at will.
It's early afternoon when Melissa arrives at Old Lucy's. Bundled up to within an inch of her life and bearing an offering of fresh donuts she sneaks into the back, then to the door of the apartment, rapping on the door. "Odessssssssssssa! Lemme in! It's Mel! And you better not still be in bed, you lazy ass!" she calls.
"Hang on! Just a minute! Jeez, you are so demanding!" It's a full minute later before Odessa's opening the door to let Melissa in. She's dressed in a fluffy pale yellow robe (Thanks, Abby!) and turquoise mules with marabou feathers making powder puffs over the toes. "Ooh. Are those donuts?" She smiles and gestures for the other woman to step inside, locking up behind her. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Melissa grins and nods, offering out the box of still warm pastries. "Mmhmm. And wow. You're all…fluffy. And colorful! I think I look drab next to you," she teases as she steps into the apartment. "And it'd been a while since I'd talked to you, I needed a little downtime, and got something to talk to you about. So a tiny bit of business with a lot of platonic type pleasure."
Odessa laughs and looks down at her robe. "Well, it matches my usual pajamas. Abby apparently doesn't think that a cami and boyshorts count as pajamas, so she insisted I wear a robe when there are people around." She shrugs and sets the donuts on the table before opening the box. "Teo and Francois never seemed to mind." Whether that's because they both liked the show of skin, or weren't interested in the show of skin is up for debate.
Plucking a chocolate iced ring from the box, tucked carefully into a napkin, Odessa takes a small bite. "Mmm." She sets the donut down on the counter so she can take a glass down from the cupboard. The fingers of one hand are still taped up, the broken bones still healing. It means she has to do things one at a time. Every process is just a little slower. She fills her glass with orange juice, which may have been spiked with something else during a lapse of time that Melissa wasn't privy to, thanks to Odessa's ability, and takes a long drink before setting her napkin'd donut on the rim, balancing it there and taking it back to the table to sit. "What's on your mind, Mel?"
Melissa frowns a little at the taped fingers. "What'd you do to your hand?" she asks, flopping down into a chair. "And I told ya what was on my mind. Hanging out, catching up…and later, once I've gotten you laughing and happy with me, asking a teensy favor for a kid."
Odessa quirks a brow, "Afraid asking the favour first will spoil the chances for fun? Must be some favour." She finds herself sceptical of what Melissa might be wanting to ask of her, simply by instinct alone. "I heard about Roosevelt Island. I take it you evaded the government sweep?"
Melissa grimaces and nods. "Yeah, but it wasn't fun. Gonna go house hunting with Abby later to try to find someplace not on Roosevelt to live. Which actually sorta goes along with the favor in a weird sorta way," she admits, leaning her head back. "But whatcha been up to? And hey, you didn't answer me about the hand. You punch a wall or something?"
Odessa had been hoping to avoid explaining what happened. She sighs quietly and holds her hand up for exemplary purposes, "I knew this guy once in a previous life - both his and my previous lives. I apparently pissed him off, and the obvious response to that is to break fingers." That's sort of true, even. Odessa rolls her eyes, trying to make light of it. "That place does things to people. You know how it is." The look she exchanges with Melissa makes it obvious where she's referring to even when she won't say the name.
Moab changes people.
Melissa's eyes narrow slightly. Oh yes, she knows that place. "Gotcha. You had Abby look at it? Gotta be handy having a paramedic for a roomie." She points to the donut. "Eat up. Those donuts are allllll for you. I already had breakfast," she says, stretching her legs out. "Seriously though, whatcha been up to? Anything fun? Met any cute guys?"
"Yeah. It is nice not having to do my own work," Odessa says in regards to Abby's help. She munches on the brought-over breakfast as Melissa attempts to engage in some gossip. "Have you looked outside lately?" she chuckles. "It's hard to get around for me. My bike just isn't cutting it anymore." There's a small shrug. She clearly isn't bothered by her hermit lifestyle. "Abby and the boys have moved out. It's been pretty quiet around here. I've started teaching myself Japanese, though!" There's a vague gesture toward the living room, where an instructional book is laying discarded for the moment on the couch. It also seems to be a prime kitty-sleeping-location, as Schroedinger the Calico Persian has stretched her front paws out across its cover and is snoozing happily.
Melissa nods. "Yeah, I know. I've been to Abby's new place a couple times. She said you were still staying here though, hence my visit," she says with a grin. "And Japanese? Why Japanese? I sorta wanna learn like…French or Italian or something. One of those sexy sounding languages."
"I already speak French, and some Russian." Odessa's shoulders come up again in a shrug. "Japanese just seems like a good language to learn right now." Especially since Hiro Nakamura seemed puzzled when she didn't know it, when last they met. "Besides, I've started looking at different fashion trends, and a lot of the good websites are in Japanese."
Melissa laughs. "You wanna learn Japanese for fashion? Okay, I can get behind that reason," she says, sounding like she's starting to unwind a little. "So…I've got a kid…sorta. Kid got kicked out by his parents after they found out he was evolved, so I'm taking him in, after I get a place no on Roosevelt. Sad thing is, because of his parents, he's not really pro-evolved. Especially not with his ability. We were talking, and…he said he'd like to meet someone who can play with time." Aha. There's the favor!
Now that's interesting. Odessa sits back in her seat a bit, setting down her donut and taking a long drink of her orange juice as she listens. "How old is this kid? And not that I'm not a big proponent of how awesome my own ability is, but why does he want to meet someone who can do what I can do?"
"He's sixteen. Newly manifested. And I dunno why he's a fan of time manipulation, but he is. My ability…not so impressive. Sure he likes it when I nix his pain, but it's not cool," Melissa says with a wry smile. "But I'd like to show him that having an ability isn't a bad thing. He hates being evolved right now, and I just…it tears me up to see anyone hate something that's a part of them."
"He should be proud of it," Odessa agrees with a solemn nod of her head. "Sure, if you think he'll keep it quiet, I'll meet with him." She's fairly certain it isn't like her to do something like this, something nice for someone else without any immediately forseeable personal gain, but chalk it up to trying something new.
Melissa smiles. "He'll keep it quiet. Told you, he's mine now. Not sure exactly how it happened, but he's mine. Hell, my dog has been curling up on his feet lately instead of mine."
"Whoa. That's pretty serious," Odessa says with a smirk. "Soooo… You're a mom now, huh?" She's teasing poor Melissa now. "Aren't you supposed to hand out cigars or something?"
Melissa looks pained and shakes her head. "Don't do that. He does that. He actually asked if I'd be his new mom. Using those words. And he's only ten years younger than me, Odessa. I'm going to suck as a…guardian." There, that's a safer, more comfortable word than 'mom' or 'parent'.
Odessa holds up both hands. "Hey, don't look at me. I don't even know what a family is meant to be like. The closest thing I ever had to a sister? She set my bed on fire, and I stole her shoes. Not in the fun 'I'm just borrowing these' way, either." Ah, the good old days.
"Hey, I have no idea either. I had absentee parents who barely even paid attention to me when I did something to embarrass them with their country club friends," Melissa says with a shrug. "No sisters or brothers either. So Jerry's been the closest thing to a family for me."
"Maybe pretend he's like a cousin or something?" The temporal manipulator makes a bit of a face to accompany her helpless gesture. "I have no clue how you're supposed to handle this. I've had enemies, and patients. I'm not even sure how this friend thing works yet. But I seem to be doing all right with you… I think?" Better than she is with Abby, that's for sure.
Melissa looks amused. "A cousin? I guess it can't hurt to try. And yeah, you're doing alright. Oh! And me and Abby were talking last night…When things calm down a little, we're all gonna hook up, eat fattening foods, drink booze, and watch movies until we all pass out. I'll bring the sharpies."
Odessa laughs, but looks a little confused. "Sharpies? You mean like the marker?" She obviously hasn't had the experience to figure out why one would bring Sharpies to a party where people are going to pass out.
Melissa gapes for a moment. "Yes, the marker. People pass out, you draw on their face! It's a time honored tradition amongst drunken partiers!"
Odessa seems somewhat dubious about this ritual. She squints faintly across the table at Melissa. "Can we just team up to draw rainbows on Abby's face?"
Melissa laughs and nods. "Sure. Or color in that tattoo on her back with funky colors. Either way. It should be fun regardless."
"I like this plan," Odessa says with a smirk. "Can there be cherry cobbler? Ooh. I should put that on my want-list." Which is essentially a list of meals Odessa requests Abby to send her leftovers of, since her ability to cook is dubious at best.
"I don't see why not. I took her brownies last night. And she mentioned…baloney cake. I'm not even sure what that is, or that I want to know what it is," Melissa says with a little shudder.
Odessa slooowly looks toward the freezer as though a monster may be about to jump out of it. "There's one sitting in my freezer. I'm afraid to even take it out to throw it away."
"So you know what it is? She said that someone…Teo I think? just looks at it and moans about his waistline or something. But baloney cake sounds about as good as bacon brownies," Melissa says, wrinkling her nose.
Odessa makes a disgusted face. "Bacon is a breakfast food and does not belong in a dessert." That much should be obvious to anyone, she thinks. Shaking it off, she turns the conversation serious for a moment. "Say, uhm… I wanted you to know that if you ever get wind of trouble like what happened with the sweep on Roosevelt, you can always call me and I'll do whatever I can to help you, okay?"
"Exactly," Melissa says to the bacon comment. She smiles then and nods. "I know. And I appreciate it. I got news about the sweep not long before it happened. Not sure there would've been time for you to get there to help me out. And I wasn't alone anyway."
"I'm glad," Odessa murmurs. "That you weren't alone, I mean. And glad you're okay. But if they ever pinch you, you know who to make your one phone call to."
…
A pause and a squint. "Unless it's a trap. Then please don't call me."
Melissa looks amused. "Odessa, if it's a trap, I'm already screwed and won't want to take anyone down with me. Especially not my friends. So you don't have anything to worry about there."
"Glad to know we're on the same page," Odessa smirks, eyes twinkling with her own amusement. "Gosh, we're a sick lot, aren't we? Talking about getting picked up by the government like it's some sort of way of life for us." It sort of is, but, you know…
Melissa shrugs a little. "Well, it is. We were both in Moab. We've got friends who were in Moab. Hell, I'm sure the government would love to put me back in a cell or have me working on their side. I figure…we're just making the best of what we've got to work with."
Odessa sighs and picks up another chocolate covered donut, taking a big bite of it, and then talking around the half-chewed mouthful. "Kind'a sucks, don't it?"
"Mmhmm. Why do you think I try to do what I can to have a bit of normal in my life?" Melissa asks with a faint smile.
"Normal sucks, too," Odessa opines before actually finishing the last of her donut and washing it down with more juice. "I don't know how to live normal. I tried it and it just absolutely bored me to tears." Almost literally, even.
Melissa laughs. "I don't want an entirely normal life, don't get me wrong. But there are parts that I do. I mean, I have the dog. That's normal. I have the kid…sorta…and that's kinda normal. And I'm going after the guy, which is totally normal. I even have a day job!"
Odessa cringes a little bit with each normal thing that Melissa lists off, each time a little more than the one before. "Oh, spare me! I'm in agony!" Jokingly, she rests the back of her good hand against her forehead in a melodramatic pose. "It's so mundane!"
Melissa falls over onto the couch laughing. "Oh kiss my ass. You know you totally want a guy! And you have a cat! That's as normal as a dog!"
"I had the guy," Odessa admits. There's a bit of guilt there - actually, a lot of it - but she doesn't let on. This is meant to be funny, after all. "I kept the cat."
Melissa sits up, brows lifting. "You did? But you said that it didn't work out or something. Spill it, girl! Let me live vicariously through you!"
Odessa shrugs. "It's never worked out. I guess I came close to it working out the last time, but he was just… too normal." Now she can't quite hide the sadness in her smile. "He loved me well enough, and maybe he still does. I think I loved him, too. But… I wasn't me. I was trying to be someone else. Someone that did normal things like keep house, have dinner ready, and spend lazy Sundays in bed longer than we should. I'm just not that kind of person."
Melissa gives a sympathetic smile. "At least you had someone who loved you. Never had anyone say it to me. And I wouldn't have a problem with two of those things. I'm a neat freak. My house, I'm sure you've noticed, is spotless. And I'd love to just lay in bed late with my guy, being lazy."
Odessa shrugs again. Maybe it was a mistake to give it up, but something about normalcy and comfortable living makes her nervous. "I'm glad you can enjoy that," she says finally. "I just don't think I'm made for it." She wrinkles her nose and decides it's time for a subject change. "So, tell me more about this kid you're looking after. What did you say his name was again?"
Melissa nods. "Yeah, not everyone is. Nothing wrong with that. And I don't think I did. His name's Kendall though. Sweet boy. Does illusions with his drawing."
"Kendall," Odessa repeats absently. "Hm. That's an interesting-sounding ability. I think I would definitely like to see that in action."
"Me too. Right now though he's got the 510, so he can't demonstrate," Melissa says with a sad look. "He's getting better though, which is awesome."
Odessa's look is sympathetic when Melissa tells her that her ward has contracted the H5-N10 strain of flu. "Hopefully, he'll recover soon."
Melissa nods. "Me too. The fact that he's doing better makes me more hopeful. And he's got a doctor looking at him, so that's good."
"Good, good." Odessa nods her head slowly. With a soft sigh, she comments, "We're not very good at this happy thing, are we? I think it might be my fault."
Melissa laughs and shrugs. "We'll work at it and see how we're doing with it in a month. You know, once the fucking snow melts a little."
"That'll be nice," Odessa agrees with a smile. "I think I would like that a lot."