Participants:
| Scene Title | Getting to Know You |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Joy steps across the hall to get to know her neighbour and Delilah learns a bit more about the woman she's keeping an eye out for. |
| Date | October 25, 2009 |
The Verb - Delilah's Apartment
Just entering the apartment, it gives of a feeling of comfortable homeliness; light colors, pastel shades, floral designs, clean and sweet smells, and only accents of dark where it most fits. The front room leads to a den further on, with a large sofa in a coffee cream color sitting opposite a similar chair, and a wooden table in between. There is only an almost retro-looking television off on the other side, but the things hooked up to it show that it is not as old as it seems. Nothing is, really.
To the far end is the kitchen, which always seems to smell like something recently cooked there; the appliances and counters are squeaky clean, but obviously used on a regular basis, and the leftover anything in the fridge can attest to that, as can a perpetual dish of cookies on the table. The bathroom is also squeaky clean, and it seems as if anyone coming out smells significantly nicer than when they had gone in; there is a closet within where the washer and dryer stay. There are two bedrooms, but one is emptied and instead made into a big rainbow-colored sewing and storage room, complete with fabric bolts and racks on wheels centered around a masterfully ordered sewing machine and table.
The actual bedroom is based in those mainly soft colors, yet the lower walls have at least two long, cluttered tackboards home to pictures, clippings, seemingly random crafts, and generally quirky things. A desk in a similar state sits in the far corner by the closet, opposite a low, wide, fluffy-looking bed swamped in pillows and comforters. At least half a dozen stuffed animals peek out from various points.
It's a little after what most would classify as dinnertime when there's a knock on the door to Delilah's apartment. Visible through the peep hole in the door is at first the back of a head of blonde hair, but the visitor is revealed to be Odessa Knutson - or Joy Saint-Jacques, as she's calling herself these days. She glances around the hallway almost curiously, bouncing up and down slightly in an anxious manner.
Normally, Samson would probably get up and Bark Bark Bark- but seeing as it is after dinnertime- there is a lazy growling from inside, and the whumfwhumf of feet on carpet as the dog on the other side gets up to inspect the bottom of the door. Delilah comes a moment later, the sound of the two nudging each other out of the way being background noise. The door opens a couple of heads wide, and Dee is still wearing an expression of interest.
"Oh- Joy- Hello!" Samson's head sticks out of the bottom- well, the middle- to see what is going on. "What's up?"
"Hi. Uhm, sorry to bother you, but… Well, I've been sitting alone in the apartment all day and I've run out of books and…" Joy smiles sheepishly, tucking a strand of blonde behind one ear. "Kurt says I need to try and get to know more people, so… Would you like to hang out?" She holds up a six pack of beer, "I'll share. I mean, if you want." There's a conspiratorial air to the offer. She knows she's not supposed to, but Joy's using the hook-up as a way to break the ice.
On one hand, there is all the stuff she's been told- but on the other, there is the 'I've been alone all day' on her doorstep. Delilah uses one knee to tilt Samson out of the doorway, opening it the rest of the way. "You don't really need to offer me beer- but it's fine if you want to- ah- share it. Come on in. I could have made you some dinner too, if you'd come just a bit earlier- Samson ate the leftovers, that's why he's looking so lazy." And he does! Well, if anyone could tell that his belly was full. But for the most part, he is eyeballing things around him with an air of grogginess, still smelling like spaghetti.
Joy smiles brightly and slips into the apartment quickly before Samson can decide he'd maybe like to slip out. "Thanks a lot. I've been quickly running out of things to do at home and I just don't think I can justify another nap, you know?" She sets the beer on the table in the living room and tugs absently at the hem of her yellow sweater.
Samson follows Joy as she comes inside, sniffing carefully at her knees and feet. "I know the feeling." Delilah grins as she closes the door and turns to see Samson expressing his usual interest in people that come to the apartment. There are quite a few toys lying around from another part of the day, most of them having at least a few puncture wounds or torn bits. Only one rope toy with a ball on it seems to have stood the test of time. "So you don't know many people yet? Don't go out much, or is it because you're just a bit shy?" One of Dee's hands goes to pluck a big tennis ball off of the couch before she motions to the seat. "You can sit if you like, just excuse the mess. When he gets into the closet he empties out the toy basket."
"Oh, it's no problem." Joy takes a seat on the couch after plucking up a bottle of beer and twisting off the cap. "And yeah, I just… It's not so much that I'm shy. I'm fine with people, I guess. I'm just bad at introductions, I suppose. I never know where to go to meet people either. I'm not much for the bar scene, and I'm not working right now…" The blonde shrugs and smiles. "Tell me about yourself, Delilah. You from around here, or did you move here?"
"I don't sound local, do I? Hah. I'm from the U.K. Moved here to live with my aunt a few years ago, and then boom- the city blew up." Delilah takes a seat in the nearby recliner before reaching out for one of the six pack to first glance at the label. No other reason than to devise a short term plan. "Quid pro quo. What about you? Where are you from?"
Samson is still over by the sofa sniffing at Joy's feet; he lifts his head when he hears the cap snap off, his sniffing going off towards the bottle and his big face suddenly taking up a chunk of her personal bubble. Hi, I've smelled you before- you're on my couch, did you know?
"Well not local, but you know what I mean. Was this your stomping ground, or did you move here when you were of age is what I meant." Joy blushes faintly with embarrassment at her silly question. She reaches out almost timidly to begin to pet the dog that's sort of made it his mission to get close to her. Hi to you, too. "I'm from Texas originally, but I've lived here since shortly after the bomb went off." She shrugs and takes a sip of her beer. "I've never really gotten to know anyone around here. I used to keep busy with work, but… Haven't had much of that lately."
Samson is almost as straightforward as Delilah sometimes; Joy reaches to pet him, which results in the dog tilting his head and shoulders nearly into her lap. "It seems like everyone came to the city just as it went to shit. I wonder why that is." Destiny! as little Hiro might have said, once upon a time. "Were you one of those career girls until recently? You don't seem like it. Samson, stop that. I don't think she wants her legs to fall asleep." He just lifts his brows at Joy, looking up with pleading eyes. It's not true, say it's not true!
Joy allows the heavy dog to lean in her for now, patting his head gently. "He's fine. I'll shove him off if I need to." She shifts in her seat a little and smiles across to Delilah. "I don't know if I'd call myself a career girl. I used to… freelance, I guess you could say. But I've kind of gotten out of that. Just wasn't worth the aggravation that comes with working for individuals that are only out to help themselves."
"I've only ever worked waiting tables or cleaning- I think I understand the idea, though." Delilah is sheepish in exuding her youth, apparently by proxy when she goes over past jobs in her head. "Are you going to look for something new then? Or maybe school again? Or is right now sort of in-between?" For a moment, Dee also loses track of the fact that anything here is half-truths. Maybe that is best.
"I honestly don't know," Joy confesses. "I don't know what to do anymore. I met Kurt after my boyfriend kicked me out. I…" She looks down for a moment, though she doesn't neglect her absent affections to Delilah's dog. "Meeting Kurt was the best thing to happen to me in a long time," she says with all sincerity as she lifts her head again.
"I've done a lot of stupid things," the woman admits, her eyes wandering the room slowly. "I think meeting Kurt was my chance to start over. Maybe you're too young to understand, or maybe you're just the right age, but I feel like I want to reinvent myself, you know?" Blue eyes pan back over to red-headed Delilah. "I want to be a better person. Someone new. Does that make any sense?" Joy's head tilts to one side with a faint, hopeful smile on her lips.
Delilah listens as intently as she can while thinking about several things. It is well into the statement before she begins taking it more seriously, and then she is trying to recall it word by word. "That makes perfect sense. I know a lot of people that thought like you at some point. It worked out okay for them- as okay as it could be." The redhead smiles back. "Maybe meeting him was the start of it? Or at the least, a new road you can take. It's something I can try to understand, even if I can't quite say that I've been in your shoes. For what it's worth, I hope that you figure out how to do what you want to do." That may be one of the most sincere things from Lilah so far.
"Sorry. I'm talking about such heavy things and I barely know you." Joy shakes her head. "I really do need to get out more, huh?" She opts for silence, taking the chance to drink her beer.
"You're not the first person." Delilah gives her a smiling shrug. "Sometimes I find it as easy to listen as it is to talk- so maybe people pick up those vibes, right?" Samson, content in being touched on his head for the span of conversation, now sits up again to turn around and find the nearest thing that squeaks- it happens to be a very battered yellow duck, the squeaker inside of it sounding a bit beaten as well. Squeak-eak. "And if you're going to be my neighbor for a while, maybe it's okay."
"For a little while, maybe. We need a bigger place, Kurt and I." Joy sounds faintly apologetic at that. "We need a bedroom for starters. Maybe we'll find another place in the building. It's up to him, I guess."
"This place is good for what it includes. I have a two bedroom-" Dee jabs a thumb up at the doors along the other wall. "But the one I use for my projects, and storage, those sorts of things. There is a futon in there somewhere if I have people over, but that's not often either. I've been thinking about downsizing, but seeing as I got so damned lucky the first time, maybe I shouldn't push my luck." The redhead chuckles, reaching out to take the toy from Samson when he starts putting it on her knee. Immediately he perks up, head bobbing when she shakes it, squeaks it, and gives it a bouncing toss across the room. He bounds after it with just one of his own, pouncing on it with a heavy thud. Squeak, squeak, squeak-eak-eak, and so forth.
"Your place is nice," Joy compliments. "And with that boy of yours," she gestures toward the happy dog on the floor, "I don't know you could afford to downsize." She chuckles quietly.
Boy, yes. Samson is not rolling around on the floor, forepaws grabbing at the duck as he chews on it. "I don't think he'd notice that much." Delilah finally responds, watching the molosser flailing about in his upside down doggie world. "They do have more doubles in this building, though, if you guys like it around here. I think it's an alright neighborhood these days. There can be some things that mess that up, but not as much as others."
"You might notice things getting more cramped," Joy points out, "even if he doesn't." She smiles as she watches the dog play. "It's all up to Kurt in the end. Though… I kind of hope we stay here. It's nice to have a neighbour who leaves cookies at my door."
"And that's exactly why I do it, you see." Dee's turn to point something out. "Because it is just unheard of, am I right? Cookies and pies from the neighbor is something that people seem to have abandoned after June Cleaver." She rubs the back of her neck. "But it wasn't that bad of an idea. It brightens days."
Joy rewards Delilah with a bright smile. "It really has. I know I get excited when I find you've left something. Thank you for that. You're right - nobody does that. It's… really nice."
"It's like getting mail. I get all excited when someone sends me something." Delilah knows how it is. "So- speaking of that- Is there anything you guys are allergic to? I've tired to give peanut butter cookies to someone that was allergic and that was a sad day. I try to not do it too often." Small talk at this point- She doesn't seem to sure where to be going in present company. Samson comes back with the duck, now wet and covered in a layer of his mouth slime. He puts it on the couch beside Joy's leg.
"Oooh. I love peanut butter. It's my favourite." Joy beams at the prospect of receiving peanut butter cookies. "I'm not real fond of anything with nuts, but if they're soft like walnuts, that'd be okay. I'm… not sure if Kurt is allergic to anything or not. I'll ask him for you, though." Rather than pick up the duck deposited at her feet, she instead nudges one shoe up under it and lightly punts it toward the other side of the room for the dog to pursue.
No matter how far she manages to punt it, Samson bounces after it again, paws scraping at the air. Delilah keeps her smile. "Alright. I was planning peanut butter cookies for this week, because everyone seems to love peanut butter this time of year." Trick or treat! Goodness. "After Halloween, it is time for pumpkin pies." She has a plan for these sorts of things! Plans that must be followed.
"Ooh. I look forward to it." Joy glances to the watch fastened around her wrist with a red leather band and sits up quickly. "Oh, shoot! Kurt's going to be home soon. I said I would try to have dinner ready for him." She stands up and pats the top of the remaining four bottles in the six pack of beer. "Keep it. It'll give me an excuse to drag Kurt back here later." Joy grins and waves. "Thanks for the company. I'll drop by again soon!" And before the younger girl can say much other than goodbye, the dubious neighbour is out the door.