ᴠᴇɴᴏᴍ (parasitics) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2019-07-24 16:17:00 |
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If MJ was honest, she didn’t actually mind waitressing. Sure, it was tedious and it seemed like everyone in California was an actor, but Orange County was far enough away that it felt a bit quieter, a bit more freeing. For one thing, it felt safe enough to walk from the diner to the place she was renting a room.
It was only a 20 minute walk, and at this time of the day, with dusk settling in softly, everything looked nice. Cleaner than New York could be, at least. And the colours...there was a vibrancy that she didn’t remember from the East Coast.
With a light step to her walk, she hummed the overture from Carmen and stopped for a moment to appreciate a man taking pictures of ...well, she didn’t know. After living with Peter for so long though, she knew a photographer’s pose when she saw it. This person wasn’t just aiming his camera at nothing.
Wait.
This person wasn’t a random either.
“Eddie?”
Getting life back together in Orange County was, in some regards, a little bit of old hat. San Francisco felt a little harder, he had very little money and a reputation that was shit, not to mention he was fresh out of a rough break up. Leaving San Francisco he’d been able to secure a few jobs, put down a deposit on an apartment and sort of scrape by.
He’d gotten a little bit better at dealing with his life, although falling into the same pitfalls probably didn’t speak much of actually growing as a person. He knew he was trash and he really needed to get a grip on that, but there were some things he just couldn’t escape.
As much as he knew he needed to just work for things, the first few assignments he was using to make some money weren’t exactly engaging, but he was focused on capturing some slightly out of view images of random beach goes just leaving some debris behind them, hopefully obscuring their identity enough to not get shit for it.
At least he’d focused until he heard his name. Although he wasn’t sure anyone was actually talking to him, since he barely knew anyone in Orange County, at least until he spotted the redhead, “MJ?” Call it weird timing, “What’s a broadway starlet doing in Orange County?” But Eddie couldn’t help but grin at the woman.
“Eddie.” This time, she said his name with a fondness. She couldn’t help the hug she gave him. “I meant to call you, but hey -- I guess this is life’s way of telling me not to forget about you.”
Although, really, she did text him frequently. Nothing important -- the two of them had a very light and fluffy relationship where they didn’t actually speak about anything serious. It was more random articles, or memes or things that one of them found funny or interesting. She couldn’t remember the last time she actually talked to him about anything.
“Weren’t you in San Fran though? What is with everyone moving to the OC?” It was said jokingly, but really -- what was up with that?
For the most part, a lot of Eddie’s relationships were long distance or electronic, and it wasn’t that big a deal, he could deal with it, even if he was a more social person in general. So when a few months or so went by between talking to people, it wasn’t the biggest deal for Eddie. “I was, yeah.”
He hadn’t really been all that vocal about things going way down hill, stuck to just funny memes and the occasional joke. “Um, rough break up, she got the apartment, so I figured something new would work.” It was better to do this rather than wait until he fucked it all up like in New York.
“How about you, taking a break from New York?”
MJ stared at him and blinked.
"Have you talked to Peter lately?," she asked slowly, "because you guys are living the same life. I got the apartment too...."
She took a deep breath and tried to smile. Tried. "We divorced. This January. And I needed something different too." Ugh why did she have so many memories in California? This was nuts.
"Just trying to back on my feet. Waitressing right now until I hear back from some auditions. It's a glamorous life for me. Humbling.," she added. Maybe if she said it enough, she'd believe it. "Do you live around here?"
“It’s been a few months actually.” Although, like with MJ, it’d been a few months with just the odd little thing -he’d mostly just send a link to Peter about something he’d read that he thought Peter could appreciate, journalist humour and things like that. Of course, he’d heard about MJ and Peter’s split, he’d hoped they were just going through a patch, but divorce kinda made it more final.
He hadn’t said anything, because what did you say when two people you thought were perfect together split up? Least of all when you had no intention of picking a side because screw that? So Eddie did what he did best and just ignored it and moved past it, never bringing it up. “Sorry to hear, yeah.” Because it sucked, but she probably knew that.
“You’ll get something soon, for sure. They’d be stupid not to cast you.” He’d seen MJ a few times on the stage, not something he could do all the time, but he did it where he’d been able to. “I’ve got a place a couple blocks over, yeah. Kinda like that I can hear the ocean still, y’know?” Since he’d been close to the bay in San Fran, it was still a comfort to have that in Orange County.
Near the water sounded amazing. Of course, she couldn't afford something like that right now but like Eddie, she was sure she'd have roles soon enough.
"I haven't made it to the beach yet," she confessed. "I've only been in town a week. I found my place online, and the landlords are friends with my boss, it's how I managed to get a job so fast."
She glanced at his camera. "What are you working on now? Are you working with Peter? He's here too, and knowing him, doing the same damn thing he did back home." That was said with more of a loving tone than an annoyed one
Peter really was a creature of habit.
The beach was one of the best things along the coast, obviously, and Eddie enjoyed the lull the water offered. Far more than he had gotten in New York, he’d adjusted to the laid back lifestyle in San Francisco, enjoying a more easy going city than the hustle and bustle of home. “Oh, you should definitely head down on a day off sometime,” even if MJ was a workaholic. “It’s a good place to sit and thing.” And there was more sand here, a lot of San Fran was pebbles, helping to offset some of the erosion from the tides.
“Oh, I’m just doing a piece of beach pollution for an online site, they need a few hundred words on the climate change initiatives around the water and how the city are working on pollution and plastic waste.” It was a puff piece, which Eddie was aware of, but it was something he didn’t mind putting the time into. At least it wasn’t something on Miley Cyrus and how she and her hubby were definitely on the rocks based on their body language.
“But um, not with Peter, no.” It was awkward, a little, given he’d met MJ through Peter. “I’m going for things a little lowkey just now, y’know. Pressure and me tend to not end well.” Given how his life blew up thanks to his drive and dedication. And ego.
Way to go and make things awkward, MJ. Eddie had been one of the few to know of the problems. Peter and she had made an unspoken agreement that their business was their business and they wouldn't ever make their friends choose.
After 12 years of marriage, 14 years together, almost all their friends were the same anyways.
"Low pressure sounds good right about now," she said softly. "Don't discount the puff pieces. Vicarious trauma is a real thing. It's important to get a fresh look sometimes, realize the world isn't crappy...although beach pollution..." her diner had no straws. It was weird.
"If you ever get on the theater beat, I have some connections here. Feel free to pull a favour."
He was happy for the route of the conversation, even standing around just outside, “Hey, I won’t knock work.” Least of all since he went a while where his name was mud and he couldn’t get work, so this was better than nothing. He was writing and that was important. “Any way to save the turtles, right?” Eddie wasn’t a huge environmentalist, but he was aware enough of the cause of man made pollution and how it needed to be reversed, so researching the effects and what was being done wasn’t that hard, and it was interesting.
“Yeah? You mean when I’m writing about the amazing Broadway starlet and her big opening in California?” Eddie just gave MJ a winning smile, more or less relaxing into the exchange, “Hey, I’m gonna play on being friends to get the gig for sure.”
MJ couldn't help the beaming smile that crossed her face.
"You always were one of my biggest fans." It was nice to know she still had it...even if she was worried that she'd already been forgotten by the business.
As long as she didn't start to party...or drink. She could get up there again.
"I'll make sure you get the exclusive," she said confidently. "And remember...this is my best side." She turned to the left and tapped her cheek, dimple peeking through. With a little laugh, she dropped her hand put it in her jean pocket. "It's good to see you, Eddie. It really is. I have a new number, but I copied my contacts. Expect an article on the Illuminati when I get home."
In all honesty, Eddie didn’t know a lot about acting or performing, not beyond school stuff way back when. But he’d always enjoyed watching MJ perform the times he got to, and she had so much passion for it. Clearly she was great because she was a headline act so often. So Eddie had no problem with saying she was clearly amazing.
“MJ, I don’t think you have a bad side, but don’t worry, I’ll remember.” If that was her comfort side, then that was how she preferred it. “I don’t doubt you’ll be headlining and selling out shows before you know it.”
It was pretty nice to see her too, he had to admit. San Fran had been a disconnect, no one knew him, fresh start away from it all. But it was nice to talk to someone who knew him. “You too, it’s been too long.” And with everything that happened, it was good to see she was still on her feet. “I’m gonna be waiting on that, with bated breath.” It was a light joke, but MJ knew how much he enjoyed them. “I’ll send you my article once it’s up too.”