Morningstar Manor

Olivia had gone to the hospital with her brother who had gotten severely hurt - that much Robbie knew. He hadn't heard anything from her, but he doubted that she was soundly at sleep even though it was almost 4AM. He at least couldn't sleep before making sure she was alright, or if she needed something, anything.

After hesitating for a good while, Robbie finally picked up the phone when he had convinced himself he would not be imposing himself. He dialed Olivia's number and hoped for the best.

It was good being Irish on St Patrick's Day, but really bad the day after.

Robbie was looking pale and nauseated, his dark hair all ruffled up and a stubble covering his jaw, when he finally in late afternoon made it out of his apartment. He supported himself against the counter of the Mocha, and had to look away from all the doughnuts and cookies because just seeing the sweets made him feel worse. All he wanted was coffee. And after that, maybe pizza. If he could stomach it.

Emily went to the Mocha for a cup of coffee before leaving to work. While she sat there, it occurred to her to send a text message to Anastasia.

Hey! When are we going shopping?

After pressing Send, she put the phone back to her bag and continued flipping through a magazine.

*

Laura walked into the lobby from outside in her tall black boots and just finished a phone call with her mother. Easter was coming up and plans were in the making, but Laura did not yet know what she was going to do.

*

Robert sat down on a bar stool in the Slaughtered Lamb with a heavy sigh. Finally the weekend and a few days off. First things first, though - a pint of Guinness.

Robbie was fairly sure Olivia would have come home from the radio station by the time he got out of his apartment and walked down a few doors along the corridor until he faced hers.

This was going to be a Move. One of those Moves that said, 'hello, I am interested in you and I'm actually doing something about it'. It was a big thing for Robbie, but he felt it was time. He didn't know if he was going to get hurt again, but he did feel like having a good time before it happened.

So he knocked on Olivia's door, and prepared himself to make the Move in his mind.

Robbie stepped out of the Slaughtered Lamb and lit a cigarette as he headed towards the Manor. Once again he had played a game of pool and had only a couple of beers with someone he barely knew, and once again he was heading to his apartment that was too big for him, and there was no one waiting for him at home.

He was getting tired of being lonely, but he didn't really know how not to be lonely anymore.

*

Emily sat in the Mocha with a big coffee mug in her hands, and was flipping through some clothes magazines looking for dresses. The wedding magazines she had hidden in her apartment away from Vincenzo's eyes, but this time she was looking for a dress to the rumored Valentine's Day ball.

*

Thomas also stopped by in the Mocha in the evening after work. He carefully chose a blend of tea that he approved of and sat down by the window to watch people.

It wasn't even very late yet, but Robbie was already well on the way to getting really drunk. As an experienced man with beer, he did not look or act drunk - other than his reactions and movement being a little slower and his face being red - when he walked in the front doors of the Manor.

Damnit. He had really thought for a while that he would have gotten rid of this boozing. He hated being one of those miserable pathetic guys who resorted to drinking after a divorce. And damnit, it had already been almost two years since he found out the truth about his wife! But there he was, slowly approaching the elevator, steadily intoxicaticated again. Just like yesterday alone at home, just like last weekend, just like every single day he did not have to go to work the following morning. It was Christmas, he decided. Christmas had ruined everything. Damn Christmas and its social pressure on everyone being with their families and loved ones.

Robbie stopped in front of the elevator and stood there looking grim and a little disoriented for half a minute before actually pressing the call button.

Having brought his laundry back to his apartment, Robbie decided to grab his wallet and leather jacket and head back downstairs to the pub. He didn't know which way to be or what to do with Olivia, and he felt that a Guinness always provided good guidance. After exhanging friendly words with the familiar bartender over and exchange of a beer and a few bucks, he settled down on a stool and waited for the black brew to settle in the pint.

Olivia walked into the laundry room carrying a large basket and wearing a dark blue sweater that bared one shoulder, a pair of dark skinny jeans, and comfortable black knee high boots.
She paused momentarily when she saw the other large, dark form that filled space in the laundry room. Robbie.
Part of her wanted to turn around and walk straight out, but what good would that be? It was his loss, she reminded herself.
Acting like she hadn't noticed him, she walked over to a washing machine and began to sort out her basket.

In the morning Lucas was having a smoke in the gardens before heading to work. To bide his time he was juggling his cell phone, wallet and a pack of cigarettes. It didn't matter if they fell - the yellowed grass was soft enough even for the phone. He tried some new moves he had seen a while ago - throwing one item behind his back and so on, and occasionally he succeeded in it.

*

Around noon Emily could be found sitting in the Mocha with her laptop and some notes she had scribbled down. She was writing a new Me2Me2 blog entry - it had come to her habit to write a public foodie post twice a week - and this time she was sharing ideas and recipes on stir-frys.

*

In the evening Laura left her apartment to go down to the Mocha. Not that she really wanted anything special, but she felt like moving about in case she would bump into Smith since she had a strange feeling about him. She joined the queue in the Mocha, however, without having seen a glimpse of him, and eyed the apple pie wondering if it had any nuts in it or not.

*

Robert peeked his head out of his apartment and since the corridor was empty, he left and walked to the elevator. He had been avoiding Olivia all week and felt terrible about it. So terrible in fact that he felt like having a pint or five, and so he was going to the Slaughtered Lamb.

*

Dressed in a charcoal suit with a dark violet shirt with no tie, Thomas entered Sanctuary after work. It had been an unusually long while since he had been out the last time - two weeks! - so he was happy to feel a familiar buzz when he was surrounded by loud music, women with long legs and short skirts and other people as concerned with appearances as he was.

Dressed in black trousers and a black button up, the dark broad and tall figure that was Robert left his apartment on the fourth floor carrying a bottle of white wine. He walked down the corridor to the door numbered 464 and, after checking the time once more from his watch, he knocked. Right on time.

It was actually his birthday, but Robbie had decided not to mention it. He had a week ago on the first date with Olivia when she had asked, but he felt too old to be having dinner with such a beautiful lady anyway that he tried not to think about the fact that he was now 39 years old.

She had exactly five minutes before Robbie was supposed to be at her door and she still felt like a wreck. She'd tried on at least ten outfits, not knowing why she was making such a big deal out of this, but just knowing she had to.
She twisted in front of the mirror in her final outfit, a cream-colored sweaterdress  that while modest in length, clung to her figure but didn't make her look too 'Woo hoo! Fuck me!" and a pair of brown boots.  She ran a hand through her hair which she'd styled in loose curls and checked her make up, deciding that she'd just wear this and call it a night. She didn't have time to change again anyway.

Oliva sat on top of a washing machine wearing a blue off the sholder top and a pair of jeans, her hair loose and wavy and her feet swinging bare with her blue flip flops on the floor as she sorted through her delicates while her load of jeans spun out in the washer.  On top of the laundry that still had to be sorted there was a notebook and pen that had a few ideas that she was kicking around for her show. She sighed, feeling more than a little bored.

Olivia had to wonder if this coffee shop was always this busy or if it was the hag behind the counter's fault as she stood way at the back of the line in the Mocha, watching as customer after customer walked away from the counter looking pissed off. She was dressed casually in a tan vest top, jeans, and a pair of brown boots, her long hair artfully tousled, and actually sort of looking forward to meeting the woman at the counter. Batshit crazy, bitchy  people always made for fun stories.
Sighing, she shifted from one foot to the other, feeling awkward in this new environment and trying to get herself over the fact that she didn't know anyone.

Robert hurried to the Slaughtered Lamb from the sudden rain shower outside. He was a regular in the pub already and had gotten to like the place, so once again he appeared for his usual pint of Guinness in the evening. He brushed his black now damp hair back as he came in and shrugged off his leather jacket holding it so that it wouldn't sprinkle water on anyone else. Robert made his way through to the counter and sat down on a vacant stool to wait for the bartender.

*

"I see Charlie didn't manage to break your nose," Joy said looking up at Thomas who gave a frustrated sigh - his face looked normal again without a trace of last Saturday's events. "Maybe you need another one right on it, would serve you right."

"You know what?" Thomas snarled back. "Forget about the bloody espresso and go shove your head to the bin instead. I bet that's where you sleep at nights anyway."

He turned away from the Mocha counter before Joy could say anything back. He walked to the door leading to the Gardens and took a few steps out. He remained under the canopy watching the rain fall into the gardens, and searched his pockets for the cigarettes and the lighter.

*

Lucas was in the games room playing a lonely game of pool against himself while he waited for his laundry washing next door. He was on a good mood - his new job at the Flamingo felt great even though he had to wear a suit, and he had gotten Emma's phone number last weekend and even made her agree to go out with him. As a big plus his uncle had been quieter than usual since the wedding which made his life a lot easier. So the happy punk was whistling and humming to himself feeling very pleased with how things were at the moment.

Lucas didn't feel like hanging out in the apartment much since Thomas seemed to be on a foul mood once again. So he had decided to haul his laptop downstairs to the Mocha and was idly browsing Youtube to kill time. He half-accidentally found videos on flair bartending that caught his interest and he kept on clicking on more of the similar kind in the relative videos. He had headphones in his ears so he barely knew of anything that was happening around him.

*

On her way home from work Laura glanced at her delicate silver wrist watch concerned about the time. She walked through the lobby to gather her mail and wondered if she would make it in time for the tai chi class with Smith.

*

Emily joined the queue in the Mocha - she had her chocolate brown hair on a ponytail and flour and oil stains and other food items on her clothes, but she just wanted a coffee and a sandwich since her own kitchen was full of things for the wedding so she could not be bothered with trying to do anything else in there. After a morning of preparation work and stock boiling she decided it was time for a break, and so she scanned the coffeeshop for familiar faces to keep her company. Now she had her usual lively color on her cheeks and a friendly smile to spare for every one - unlike for example a week ago when she had looked horribly miserable.

*

Robert pulled his broad figure over the edge of the pool up on the roof and stood up right with water dripping from his black slightly over grown hair and his skin. He took a few steps to the lounger and grabbed his towel to dry his face and ruffle extra moisture from his hair, and glanced towards the sound of an opening door to see who was coming in.

*

Avery stood outside the main doors having a smoke, one hand in the pocket of his white dress pants, the other holding the cigarette, with a white polo shirt on and mirror-lensed aviator style Police sun glasses on his nose, and observed the people coming in and out in grumpy silence.

Mornings in the Mocha were always busy times and today was no exception. There were several familiar faces:

Demitri sat at a table, dressed to head to the studio, and sipped his coffee while he played himself in chess once again.

Erik sat drinking tea, or what passed for it in the Mocha, and browsing the newspaper.

Max and Micah - both dressed in smartly - occupied another table. Max was looking through the business section and Micah was simply watching the people come and go.

Gabe was seated at the couch, going through a list of things they needed to order for the spa in New York.

Zack was sprawled in an arm chair - literally. He leaned back against one arm and his legs dangled over the other as he sketched out what appeared to be the beginnings of an ad, feet kicking gently to the music coming from the earphones in his ears.

Eris stood in line for the counter, dressed in a short red sundress, and looking rather bored.

Laura was stretched out in a bridge-like yoga position where she held herself up with her feet and hands firmly on the ground and her body arched high. Her navel was showing from under the white tank top that had rode up on her midriff, and she was barefoot, with her platinum blond hair on a ponytail. She was doing her slow and long but rather impressive yoga excercice in a peaceful corner of the gardens up on the roof.

**

Robbie had his laptop with him in the Mocha. He was enjoying a large sandwich with a big mug of coffee and browing second hand car websites, looking for something crappy and cheap that had been something beautiful decades ago - something that he could fix back into its old glory in the garage that he had rented just yesterday.

**

Lucas was by the mailroom with a bunch of mail held under his arm, his hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans, and staring at the Manor's own notice board. What were the chances of finding a new job from there? Slim to none, he was sure, but he checked it out anyway.

Laura laid back on a lounger in her white bikini, large sun glasses over her eyes and every inch of her porcelain skin smothered with sun lotion. She knew she didn't have the skin for tanning but she wasn't going to let that stop her from enjoying the summer's warmth. She was reading a science magazine after having a swim in her pool - the tips of her platinum hair were still damp.

**

Robert stopped by in the mail room with his leather briefcase after work. He had smoked four cigarettes today. He was seriously itching for another one but he was trying hard to resist the urge, at least for a little while longer. Maybe he could reduce the amount down a bit again, but man, it was hard.

**

Lucas was sitting in the Mocha with his laptop. He was surfing all sorts of websites looking for jobs in the City and idly updating his CV. Job applications were horribly boring to make, but he didn't even know where to apply to yet. At least he was bound to get good recommendations from Emily Brandon, he trusted.

After having a pint in the pub like it was his habit, Robert stepped out and got a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. Damn things. He was down to about seven a day but he wanted to get properly rid of them again. Nevertheless he put one between his thin lips and lit it, standing by the doors of the Slaughtered Lamb and looking up at the sky admiring the colours of the sunset.