Finding Friday

Participants:

jevaun_icon.gif marlowe_icon.gif tania_icon.gif

Scene Title Finding Friday
Synopsis Tania and Marlowe get a bite on their lost dog poster.
Date April 26, 2018

Sheepshead Bay

Sheepshead Bay is what remains of a once-thriving residential and industrial neighborhood. Rows of abandoned warehouses and factories spill out from the coast where derelict docks have been repurposed into shipping and immigration sites for the Safe Zone. The residential buildings of Sheepshead Bay are still in staggering decay, with collapsed apartments and long-dormant structures awaiting re-habitation once it can finally be confirmed they aren't safety hazards. In time, Sheepshead Bay could become a thriving port, but the process of growth and reclamation in the Safe Zone is a slow one. In the shadows of these once-proud buildings, smugglers and thieves alike lurk in the empty shells of abandoned buildings alongside packs of wild dogs.


The message from a stranger to both Tania and Marlowe’s cells that I have your dog might have been welcome; the address given to them by what seemed to be a kindhearted person is a bit less welcoming. The southern edge of Sheepshead Bay, like the rest of the neighborhood, is one that feels both forgotten and foreboding. So many empty buildings were once full of life with all of its celebrations, crises, and chaos. Where there are people, they aren’t always friendly, eyeing newcomers with suspicion, fear, or worse.

On the bright side, Jevaun sent a picture of the dog — one that will prove Tania’s theory to be correct: the dog Marlowe had seen in her visions in Yamagato Park of the brindle pup were in fact the same dog the redhead had met weeks before at the Memorial Wall. The dog in the picture seemed to be in good health — alive — and chewing on a bone.

The address given to the women brings them to what would have been once a nice brick townhouse; now the brick’s been covered with graffiti and one one side, plywood and cardboard cover up what must be a hole, most likely caused during the war.

Tania doesn't really like these places and tends to avoid them if she can. But sometimes it can't be helped. So she's here, with her new friend and partner in— well, the opposite of crime. She's dressed down, so as to look less… muggable. She's still young, female, and thin, so it only goes so far, but at least she doesn't look wealthy on top of everything else.

Checking her phone, she matches the address given with the building they're standing in front of. "If this is a prank, I am going to be so unhappy," she notes, only half joking. Maybe less than half. There's a glance to Marlowe, some reluctance in that expression, but she steps forward to come knock on the door.

If she were being honest, Marlowe did not expect to get a response so quickly from Tania’s sketches and posters. So getting an actual lead, once confirmed with the pictures of the fluffiest dog to ever dog in the aftermath of things, is a chance that she absolutely jumps at. Sheepshead Bay, though? It’s a questionable neighborhood in a sense, but given the opportunity to get out of Yamagato Park to do a little investigation, a little side questing, has really taken the woman by storm.

Tania may be dressed down, but Marlowe, in a way, has dressed up in the sense that her wardrobe might be black, but the long flowing coat with 3/4 crop sleeves offsetting the rhinestone sparkled dark shirt beneath and black-charcoal grey pants are apparently what she deems appropriate wear for such ventures. At least she’s got sensible boots on, good for walking around town in. “You’d think they would know better than to mess with us,” she claims confidently, reaching up to give her full, wavy long hair a quick tousle. To get it out of her face more than to look good. But also, to look appropriately put together for whoever’s about to open the door.

There’s a soft whoof inside at the knock on the door and then a few minutes before the sound of footfalls can be heard approaching. There’s a moment or two of silence, probably when the person on the other side peers through the peephole — despite the current state of the neighborhood (gone to shit) it’s a higher quality type where the visitor can’t see as clearly in as the person looking out.

Eventually comes the sound of metal turning against metal, and the door swings open with a creak. “Shh, back,” the elderly man standing there says to the dog trying to push its way out.

It’s definitely Friday.

The man looks up from his efforts to keep the dog inside, and a bright, gap-toothed smile blooms on his face when he sees the two women. Gray dreadlocks hang past his shoulders; his face is lined with wrinkles from what was probably a hard life, but crows feet crinkled in the corners of his eyes lend a kindness to the rough features.

“Waa gwaan? I didn’t expect you to be such nice young girls,” says the man in a Jamaican accent. “You probably don’t want to come inside a creepy old house with a creepy old guy, so I’ll step out here with this gyal, den.” He reaches down to hook a frayed leash, the name ‘Georgie’ written on it in sharpie, to a matching collar that Friday didn’t have the last time Tania saw the dog.

Jevaun lets the dog push through the door where she rushes up to Tania and Marlowe, tail wagging excitedly to meet new people — or catch up with friends from weeks past, in Tania’s case. She’s been given a bath, it seems, and is in the process of shedding her winter fur, little tufts of it sticking up on her back and haunch.

The comment from Marlowe has Tania smiling, although it comes with a small shake of her head. Perhaps that confidence will keep predators at bay.

Her attention turns back to the door when she hears the dog and she seems a little impatient during the wait for the door to open. When she sees the dog there, she lets out a heavy, relieved sigh. Because this is not a prank. Although, the next moment has her looking at Jevaun, because he is not Arlo. Quite obviously.
But still, when the pair of them come outside, she crouches down to dog-level. "My Girl Friday," she says with a smile as she holds a hand out toward the dog, "it's so good to see you again." That's genuine, even if she is worried about her owner. She looks up at the man, her head tilting some. "Thank you for taking care of her."

For all the world like she has every right to be claiming this dog.

A smile jumps to Marlowe’s lips at the sound of the whoof inside the door. How exciting is it to finally meet the dog that she’s pretty much dreamt of. When the door opens to reveal Jevaun, she looks a little surprised. Not that she was expecting anything, and the man’s original message was friendly enough to say the least of the neighborhood he lives in. While Tania tends to Friday, she extends a hand to shake Jevaun’s. She also takes that moment to actually look at the man’s hand, should they shake it, because… she needs to compare it to what she remembers.

“Thank you for calling to let us know. We’ve been looking for her.” Her teeth worry at her lower lip as she thinks, then asks, “How long ago did you find her?”

If Jevaun has any other agenda, he isn’t showing it. He leans against the closed door, watching with a smile as Tania greets the fluffy behemoth of a dog. “Not a problem, not a problem, miss. That dog’s a good one, she is. She took care of me as much as I took care of her,” he says, smile broad and easy going.

When Marlowe asks the man how long ago he found her, he thinks. “I don’t keep track of the days as good as I used to. No TV shows to help me sort Monday from Tuesday, you know? But we been through a pretty big bag of dog food. Maybe two, three weeks.” He glances to the door. “I should get you the food so you don’t have to buy more.”

Jevaun looks back to the dog whose tail is wagging a mile a minute. “I thought I seen that dog before but maybe it’s not the same dog.” He turns to Tania. “Is your father tall and bald?” He looks at Marlowe and grins, touching his dreads. “Not every man as lucky as me.”

Tania wastes no time in showering Friday with affection, especially with ear scritches. She keeps track of the conversation, even if she seems okay with Marlowe taking lead on that part. "Yes, you're a good girl, aren't you?" she says to the dog at Jevaun's prompting. But then she looks up at the man, to throw her own question into the mix. "Do you remember where you were when you found her?"

She stands up, but a hand stays on Friday, ruffling the fur at her neck. "Yes, he is," she says to his question, "he likes to take her out while I'm at work." And if he's met Arlo, he might figure that the daughter is the one keeping food on the table. Hippies. But that's all the information on the situation she's willing to give up, apparently. "Let me give you something for the food. And for looking after her," she offers, since he did do a lot of work. Bathing her and everything.

Friday doesn’t go too long without more pets, because Marlowe is then reaching down to scratch the top of the fluffy giant’s furry head. “I’m glad she was well behaved for you,” she says, smiling at Jevaun and his eased manner around them. That’s reassuring in its way. Her brow lifts when Tania’s asked about her father, and she opens her mouth to say something, stopping herself just shy of making a noise. To cover up the near-blunder, Marlowe dips more to pet Friday’s scruff vigorously while Tania offers to compensate the man. After a pause, her question notes, “Is it just you here, Jevaun?” She sends a second glance to Tania, trying to catch the woman’s eye in silent communication. What’re they going to do with the dog?

“Oh, no. It’s bought and paid for, it’s fine,” Jevaun says, with an earnest shake of his head that sends those dreads bouncing. “I could not take money from pretty young gyals like you, no. My parents would roll in their graves, miss.” He grins and lifts a finger for them to wait, before disappearing back into the house. It’s not a long wait — it’s not a big house, no doubt, inside. The door opens again and he holds out a half-full bag of dog food and a chew toy shaped like an alligator.

“I did not know her name was Friday. I was calling her Miss Rosie. She like this alligator, Miss Rosie.” The dog turns away to grab the alligator, lying down to grip it between to paws and chew on it happily. “I found her,” he says, squinting and looking to the south. “A couple blocks that way. I have seen her before, but the man who had her, he doesn’t live near here, except to come and go, I think.” He smiles at Tania. “Your father, yeah? He’s a good man. Kind. He is all right?”

"Well, thank you," Tania says, although she seems to be having a difficult time with all this niceness. When he disappears and reappears, the toy alligator gets a warm smile. "Miss Rosie is a good name for her," she concedes, a hand brushing over the dog's fur. "I'm sure she didn't mind." She takes the food, letting Friday take the toy.

She tilts her head when he explains where he found the dog, looking southward, too. But she looks back to Jevaun, concern coming back to her face, "He likes to wander. I… actually haven't seen him for a while. He'll come back home soon, I expect." There is that worry, though, like he's been gone a little too long. "He's probably looking for Friday, too." She looks over at Marlowe, noting the question with a nod. "At least now, when he comes home, she'll be there waiting for him."

She is taking the dog. For now.

In the interim when Jevaun disappears inside the house to retrieve the food and the alligator, Marlowe stands again to give the dog a brief breather from all the stimulus. “I kind of feel bad,” she whispers to Tania despite the man likely not being in earshot, “but maybe we can do like, a care package or something? He’s rocking those dreadlocks.” Her expression shifts back to a smile when Jevaun returns, brightening to an amused glimmer in her eyes for the stuffed alligator and the way Friday reaches for the toy.

She also looks down the street, nodding in thanks for his direction and info. “Thank you,” she says again and takes a step back from the man’s doorstep to initiate the farewells. “We’ll be in touch Mister Jevaun! And in case you want to come see Friday again, let us know.” She waits on Tania to pick up the leash, the claiming of ownership to be thus transferred.

“That be true,” Jevaun says, of the man who owns the dog coming home to man’s best friend. “You’re a good daughter. Tell your father hello for me when you see him. He’s a good man.”

He gestures to the dog. “You mind if I say goodbye?” Of course, he doesn’t wait for their permission before he crouches down into a squat, taking the dog by the cheeks to look deeply into her kind brown eyes with his own.

“You be a good girl, Miss Rosie, and don’t you wander off no more, yah? People worry for you when you do that.” He scritches her ears and then kisses her forehead, before he stands again, bones creaking with the effort. “You two, you be good girls too,” he says to Marlowe and Tania, a grin at addressing them with the same endearment as the dog. “Look out for each other. This isn’t a nice neighborhood.” He opens his door to slip back inside, though he doesn’t close it until he sees them safely back in their car.


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