Morningstar Manor

Bea was sipping coffee at a table by the window, wearing a necklace she thought was just gaudy enough to be awesome on a Monday afternoon and a red dress, giggling at the newest Sassy Gay Friend video she'd called up on her iPhone. There was work to be done and puppies to walk, but Bea was feeling particularly lazy and figured she wouldn't be much good to anyone without caffeine.

*

Niles was sprawled out on the couch in his usual position, blatantly taking up the whole thing as he flipped through a stack of magazines that had come in the mail that morning. There were copies of Esquire, Tattoo magazine, Maxim, and Time, but he was currently flipping holding the Spring 2011 Ikea catalog. What? He needed a new lamp.

*

Granger had taken the day off, which left him feeling a little out of sorts, but that was okay. He sat in a corner table by himself with a cup of plain black coffee and a donut he'd picked up at the Krispy Kreme on his way home from the grocery store, looking around at the people in the Mocha in between bites. He needed to spend time somewhere besides the bureau and the station, he decided somewhat distractedly.

*

Rhiannon sat at a table ignoring the cup of still-steaming coffee in front of her in favor of the little bundle of Sophie in her arms. She wasn't crying or anything and in fact was alert and awake and even attempting to smile, but that could've just been gas. Likely gas, actually, but it was still cute.

They'd gone out tonight to dinner, figuring the ability to take advantage of Eli's job wasn't very often, so they should have a night out and some recognition. Even with Bea's stalker potentially lurking about, it was a random momentary notice type thing, and there were a ton of people in the restaurant.

Eli had managed to talk to some people at the bar while they were waiting for a table and at the end of the night found their tab entirely paid off. Which made him think he was seeing things wrong. Or maybe it'd been the drinks he'd ordered that caused that. He remembered leaving the restaurant in a cab, remembered getting out of the cab and the elevator ride up the the apartment, but not a whole hell of a lot else.

"Baby? How'd my stuff get left here?" He asked after stumbling through the door and nearly kicking an olive drab colored canvas bag that looked about the same size as Pippa. His camouflage sat on top of that, folded neatly, with his cap finishing it off.

Inside was a gift basket with a stuffed zebra, a baby blanket, a few onesies, a stack of blankies, a picture frame, and an alphabet box.

Attached was a note:

Congratulations!!!!!

We should all be so lucky as to have an Andy for our mommy.

xoxoxo

Love always,

Bea (and Eli!)

Nia was in day care so Deacon was hanging out in the Mocha and Charlie had the afternoon off now that Glen Morgan had arrived at the gallery so had joined him for a bite of lunch. Getting a call via Skype from their good friend Andy was just the cherry on the danish.

"I could murder a Mocha danish," now she said. "I could eat a whole sheep. Erik's gone into Monmouth for groceries because I've eaten everything in the village shop. It would be scary if it wasn't such fun."

She grinned at them, her face rounded as her belly, showing nice and clearly on the webcam with the familiar fixtures of the Norton Wood farm kitychen in the background.

"You're looking well," Charlie sid. "Isn't she Deacon? Isn't she looking well."

"...his name is Travis and you have to be nice," Bea said with a grin to Eli, even though she knew Eli was rarely ever anything but nice. "I figure we can go out to dinner and bowling. I called Macy and she said it was cool." 

They stepped into the lobby, bea wearing a pair of skinny jeans, her zombie shoes, and a black tube top, and she pointed out Travis. "And we have to remember to keep conversation going in case they don't hit it off," Bea said with a wave to Travis.

Bea and Eli had taken the dogs out for a nice long walk to Riverwalk park tonight after dinner. Eli had suggested it so Pax could socalize with other doggies. Plus it was a nice night outside.

He let Pax off his leash, patted his head and said firmly "Sit" as he showed him a ball. Pax's attention focused as he sat then waited for Eli to throw the ball.

There was plenty of shops in the City that would sell you a wedding gown. Some of them even sold fairly nice ones but finding that one perfect frock for someone as tall as Bea was always going to be a tall - hahahaha - order.

"If you don't like here," Charlie said, "there's this place over on Arliss Avenue." He held Bea's arm, feeling short because he was wearing converse, and peered in the shop window. "Well that's - spectacular," he murmured, and may, or may not, have been talking about the clothes in the window.

Someone is getting married.

That someone is meeeeee! <333

Bea and Eli had parted ways in the lobby and she'd waited until he'd got back on the elevator to sneak back out of the Manor and drive across town to Professor Wentworth's studio down by the campus. She'd confided in Mrs. Wentworth a year or so ago about a few of the problems at home, not nearly all of them but some, and after convincing Anastasia she didn't want to tell anyone else, Anastasia had told her that she was welcome to stay in her studio when things got really bad, and showed her where they key was. Bea would never steal anything, but the couch had been a very safe and comfortable haven.

Now it was the middle of the afternoon and she was sneaking back into the apartment, hoping Ray was gone. It seemed as though he was, if the eerie silence in the apartment was anything to go by.

( Read more... )

Bea had told her mother on one of her breaks that she had a date tonight, and her mom had let her borrow a silver sweater set that was still pretty but would still cover her arms. She paired it with another pair of jeans, these ones newer and with fewer holes, and put on a pair of black flip flops. She felt silly. Her hair was curling all over the place, but there wasn't much she should do.

When she left the bedroom to grab her purse, Ray was in the living room, the tang of cigar smoke thick in the air. She froze. He wasn't supposed to be here. They'd filed for a restraining order at least four times, but her mother always let him back in. Fuck.

"Where are you going dressed like that?" he asked, eyes dark.

"Out with a friend," she replied tightly as she walked over to pick up her purse. She listened for her mother, but the bedroom door was shut. She had to be in there. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

"I can see your tits," he said plainly. "And look at me when I talk to you. You know what happens when you walk around dressed like that."

She did know because he'd shown her. Off and on for years. Her hands started to shake, but she grabbed her keys and headed for the door. She was worried about her mother too, but the security here was stellar. He wouldn't have gotten in unless she allowed it. What had she been thinking?

Ray snagged her arm just as she reached the door and brought her back close to him. Her stomach rolled and she turned her face away. "You've forgotten your manners," he hissed, the cigar hovering dangerously close to the exposed skin of her collarbones. "I should remind you. But maybe later." He breathed against her neck, pressing into her side. "Later, when I can give you a proper demonstration." 

Bea jerked her arm away and walked out of the apartment, her arms crossed tightly under her chest. She wouldn't go home. It was as simple as that. She'd have her bit of fun and then she'd go stay with someone else. Professor Wentworth, maybe...

Musing to herself and still shaken up, she went to the lobby and waited for Eli.

Most people stayed as far away as possible from their jobs on their day off, but not Bea. She loved the Mocha. It smelled better, looked better, was much cooler and offered better people-watching than her little apartment on the fifth floor with her mother did. 

So there she sat at a little table for two with the opposite chair empty, reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

Man, zombies were kind of gross.

Today is the day.

It was the same mantra every morning. Today was the day she would leave. Today was the day her life would change. Someone would sweep her off her feet. She'd win the lottery. She'd make a new friend. She'd create a piece of art that would really get her noticed and make it seem like all the money in scholarships she'd won to Rutherford was worth it.

Except she never did.

She pinned back the bangs of her long, dark hair with a clip and looked at her face in the mirror, not lingering too long before moving to pull on a pale blue cardigan over her white tank top and jeans and slid her feet into black ballerina flats - never heels. She was tall enough without them and she didn't like to stand out more than she already did. It was also too warm for a sweater, but when she didn't cover her arms there were too many questions about the scars covering her arms. Some self-inflicted, some done out of malice by a man she'd rather forget. Plus as she was a barista in the Mocha, that usually meant that she waited on some very prestigious people every now and again. It wouldn't do to advertise what a wreck she was.

She left her bedroom and paused in the living room where she pulled a thin blanket up over her mother, passed out on the couch still in her Manor maid uniform, and headed out of the small staff apartment.When she arrived at the Mocha she smiled at Joy before moving to take her place at the counter. It was a decent job. The pay was alright for the amount of work she was required to do, and it gave her a little extra money.  Who couldn't use that?

She gave her first customer an honestly genuine smile.  Just another day.

Andy stood close to the barrier at the railway station, jiggling her car keys in her hand. She had no fears about not spotting Bea. Andy in her flats was one of the taller women present and Bea did tend to the heels.

She lifted her chin to look over the crowd then grinned and raised a hand to her mouth to whistle and waved her keys over her head.

The Lamb was never exactly quiet but Wednesday was one of its slightly less busy nights and there were a few free tables and the dartboard was free.

Charlie came in and looked around, waved to Molly and headed for the bar. "Hello sweetheart," he said. "Happy thhhhhhinko da mayo. Guiness please. Ah - and one for my friend here. What're you having?"

Even at night, Eli was sweating his balls off in this place. Had he thought Iraq was bad, Africa had nothing on it. What sucked more was this place happened to be a Marine base and they didn't have many internet accessible places. Nor the privacy he'd want to have when talking to Bea over it.

Knowing that Eli had been writing letters like a madman and anxious he couldn't hear from Bea, the Chaplain snuck him a cell phone and said for him to use it wisely.

Of course, he headed to the back side of the latrines and called Bea. The three rings it took for her to answer twisted his gut as he considered she just might not answer.

Anastasia stood in line in a white, paint-splattered tank dress and blue flip flops, staring at nothing in particular. She hadn't lost time in a few days and that was good. Stll, something wasn't setting right. Frowning, she studied the menu. Best not to think too hard without caffeine.

Bea was sitting alone at a table, flipping through a magazine and fighting the urge to stare at the guy a few tables down that was flipping through the issue of Smashing with her on the cover. She'd had a bad weekend and didn't think she was up to a bad review just yet.

Rhiannon sat at a table with Harvey and Lee, giggling at the two boys. Lee had let Harvey draw a mustache on him with his eyeliner and now Lee was swaggering in-chair and doing a John Wayne impression. Rhi was pretty sure John Wayne hadn't had a mustache, but Harvey was laughing his head off and so was she.

Bea  was in the gym wearing a pair of yellow shorts and a black tank top, pounding the hell out of a punching bag. She moved steadily, using both her fists and her feet to send the bag arching out and spinning wildly. To say that she was simply in a bad mood would be to describe the Pacific Ocean as a bit damp. Bea was, quite uncharacteristically, inconsolably pissed off. Maybe for irrational reasons, but she was.

It wasn't the fact that it was her birthday and she was celebrating alone. She was used to that. It was the letter she'd gotten this morning from Eli. He'd been put in danger and there had ben a close call. It was something that was no doubt standard for him, and his letter had brought things into blaring perspective. He faced death every day. He could be hurt or maimed or even killed at any second, and she wouldn't even be the  first to know because by law she had no claim on him. So, he could be dead and she could be writing him letter after letter for a week, not even knowing he was already gone as she'd been doing this week. She'd sent him a copy of Smashing with her on the cover and her new comic, both of which were coming out next week, and now he likely wouldn't even get them because he wasn't at that camp anymore. To beat all, she couldn't even call him as they'd planned to do on her birthday because she didn't know where he was or how to reach him. Even emailing would do no good right now.

She had no way to immediately find out if he was okay. And instead of crying as she'd wanted to do, as she'd done now for nearly three months when she felt absolutely bereft without him and completely powerless in the situation, she'd decided to go ahead and get good and pissed off.

He didn't want to write this letter at all, but he had to. He had to let her know what was going on and why he wouldn't be able to be online for a while.

( letter #67 )

Drew stood in line in the Mocha, fresh from work but not in his operating scrubs. Instead he wore jeans and a comfortable white t-shirt, and he was fairly certain he looked as tired as he felt. His day off started right now, but he knew he wouldn't be able to get to sleep right away.

Anastasia moved through the lobby of the Manor fresh from her studio, her hands and dress covered in paint, her stride slower and just entirely different than usual. Later, she wouldn't remember this. She wouldn't remember the people that she talked to or the things she did, because in that moment, Anastasia was someone else entirely. She turned to smile at someone, all teeth, her eyes cold, and the man she smiled at looked away. She laughed and it wasn't her laugh at all. How lovely.

Declan sat just outside of the Mocha on a bench in the garden, smoking and looking up at the sky.  One hand rested in his lap and was clenched in anger, but he was attempting to work through it. One of his partners had quit today to go work for Playboy because "it was a good, honest magazine that didn't pander to queers." Good riddance if he felt like that. Declan was just pissed that he hadn't had the chance to fire him first.

Bea had decided to take Pippa for a walk in the park since it was such a lovely day, and right in that moment she was sitting on a bench watching as Pippa tried to coerce a gaggle of geese into playing with her. Ther was a series of loud squawks and Pippa came running back to Bea with her head down and her ears flat. "No such luck, huh girl?" Bea said with a laugh as she leaned down to pet her dog. She felt almost weird, like she was being watched, but that was likely just leftover nerves from the creep at the signing. Right?

Kate was walking home from the labs, enjoying the sunshine despite the fact that it was a long walk. Her car was in the shop and it was such a nice day that she hadn't bothered with a cab. Across the street there were a group of boys on skateboards and one shouted at her, then made an obscene gesture involving his crotch. Her brow furrowed. That didn't seem like the way to attract a woman to her, but men, especially young ones, were such curious creatures.

Rhiannon stood in the window of NOIR as she outfitted a mannequin in leopard-print lingerie that she'd just gotten in this morning. She was taking a stab at a line of lingerie, and she needed to pimp it out big time if she wanted it to do good. 
"I'm telling you, girl," Lee said from the cash register at the front. "Let me model that shit. I can stand in the window and look good all day."

"Hard to find a pair of panties that would do an ass like yours proper justice, Lee," she replied absently, but with an amused smile. Best way to get Lee off of a silly idea was to stroke his already pulsating ego.

Lee, quite predictably, preened. "You know, you might be right."

Bea had arranged to pick Sean up at the Gallery, and she arrived right on time wearing a pair of dark skinny jeans, a white tank top with a black matte under the bust corset, and  a pair of super awesome monster heels. This signing was a casual affair, unlike some of the conventions she would be going to, and she was grateful for that.

"Hellooo," she called pleasantly as she walked in, all smiles. It should be a fun day.