Who: Candy and Judy. What: AA and chatting. When: Sunday afternoon. Where: AA meeting / diner. Rating: PG-13. Trigger Warnings: Brief discussion of child abuse, alcoholism. Status: Complete!
Three weeks and she’d have an entire year sober. It made Judy more determined, more dead set on never missing a meeting. No matter what weirdness the OC was putting out. So far she’d been lucky - no singing and no disappearing clothes - but who knew what might happen.
She got there right on time, waving to Candy, who was sitting across the room. Hopefully they could go for coffee or something afterward; it had been a while since they’d talked. There was a lot she could tell.
Candy grinned, hopping up to go sit by her friend. Her clothes were staying on long enough to make it to this, thank God. And even if they didn’t, she could go through a meeting naked. It’d give them something to talk about, right?
She knew that it was almost Judy’s one year. She was going on almost four months herself, and was feeling great because of it. “Hey, you,” she whispered.
Judy waved, smiling at the girl. “Coffee after?” she murmured, just as the leader started to get his papers ready.
“‘Course,” Candy grinned. She went quiet when the guy that led the meetings started up, but soon they were standing up and getting ready to leave. “Wanna get waffles too?”
“Yeah, sure.” Judy picked up her purse, going back toward the coat room. “Haven’t had those in a while. How’ve you been?” She liked this girl quite genuinely; she was honest and straightforward and just wanted to get along in life.
“Really good, actually. Remy won an award,” she giggled. That had been a fun day, and she didn’t think that Judy had seen the photos yet.
“Really? For ... doesn’t he work for a porn company?” Judy laughed, shaking her head. “What does he do again? Lighting?” He wasn’t an actor, she knew that. Candy wouldn’t have stood for that, she was fairly sure.
“Sound.” Candy couldn’t help but crack up. “I got the numbers of four different managers!”
That did make Judy laugh. She held the door for Candy as they headed out onto the street. “I’m guessing Remy would grumble.” Damn, her boyfriend was cute. A little young even for her, but really cute. “You two are good, though?”
“Oh, he pouted plenty.” Candy put her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket. “We’re great, thanks. How’re you and Ollie? Have the kids driven you crazy yet?”
Judy laughed. “No, we’re fine. At least I think we’re fine. Haven’t heard any complaints.” Her eyes were fond. “I may have taught Thea and Roy my good recipe for pot brownies. I thought Oliver was going to be pissed, but he just joined in.”
“Oh, Oliver’s ... liberal.” Candy wrinkled her nose in delighted laughter, her head falling back. She was the sort of person who laughed with her whole body. “I’m glad you two are still going out. You two make so much sense as a couple, it’s fantastic. Gives me hope.”
“He’s great to have around.” Judy smiled, looking down. “A couple nights ago he really was a help when I had something from my dreams show up in my fucking house.” She shook her head, hunching down into her coat almost involuntarily. “I told him right to his face that if he wasn’t there I’d be thinking about a Bloody Mary.”
“If that happens again and he’s not around, let me know. I’ll come over.” Candy’s face had grown serious. “I’m not kidding. I know how that goes. When I started glowing and got all ‘oh hey, look, I can make light solid’, I had to cling to Remy for a while.” It helped that her lover had his own set of powers, but she’d still been shaken up for a moment.
“Oh, I know. I’d have called you if Oliver wasn’t there.” Maybe even before Oliver. Oliver understood, but at the same time, he’d never been addicted to anything. There was some knowledge you just didn’t get any other way. Judy looked at the girl, though, when she explained clinging to Remy. “Are you getting your stuff under control for the most part?” She did worry.
“Good.” Candy worried about her friends, and Judy was definitely a friend. Once there wasn’t anyone looking, Candy pulled a hand out of her pocket, letting light trail from her fingertips. “Yeah, I’m good.”
“I’m glad.” Judy felt weird talking about hers, if only because it wasn’t real powers or anything. “Did I tell you what I’ve been dreaming lately? It started odd, but it’s gotten full out creepy.”
“Oh? Creepy how?” Candy rubbed Judy’s arm gently.
“Remember how I said I was a nun in my dreams?” Judy looked over down the block, spotting the restaurant. “Yeah, a few days ago Oliver and I were fooling around at my place and I found a full fucking habit in my closet.”
Candy couldn’t help it. She burst into peals of laughter. “Did you get a picture of his face? I hope you did.”
“I was kind of freaked out, honestly. Though he did go ‘Holy SHIT’ really loud.” Judy had to chuckle. “Is this the place? Up here?”
“Yup,” Candy grinned, pushing the door to the cafe open and holding it for her friend. “Oh, man, you should totally propose spanking him with a ruler, just to see how he reacts.”
“Oh, I’d just do it.” Judy smiled innocently.
“Atta girl,” Candy laughed. She plopped into a booth, shrugging off her jacket and smiling.
“I do kind of want to do something nice for him, though. He’s been really ... great. Actually.” Judy sat down across from Candy. “He’s been really patient, and he also hasn’t ordered alcohol in my presence like, since our second date, I think.” She was grateful. Not everyone would have been so understanding.
“Well, he cares about you. Obviously.” Candy smiled, curling her legs under herself. “You could get him something?”
“Yeah, but what do you get the guy who’s got everything. I joke about getting him cooking lessons, but that’s a joke.” It wouldn’t be sincere. Though it might save Thea some cleaning.
“Naked housecleaning?” Candy shrugged, looking at the menu and trying not to giggle.
“Thea lives there.” Judy laughed. “I don’t know, I’ll think of something. His watch band is falling apart. Maybe a new watch? Like, for every day.” She was fairly sure he had a Rolex or something, but those weren’t necessarily for every day. Especially with what Oliver got into. “I am kind of starving; it was smart to come here.”
“So get her out of the house. Or a watch is good. Wait, he’s a hippie, right? Get him a sustainable goat farm or something.” Candy grinned when the waitress came back and ordered two eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, hashbrowns, and pancakes. She was starving.
“A goat farm?” Judy cackled. “You might be right, he’d love that, but then I don’t think we’d ever see him again.” She ordered waffles and bacon, and coffee. Beautiful coffee.
“Oh, you’d see him. You’re hotter than a goat. Maybe not cuter, but hotter.” Candy was stoked for her own coffee. Since she couldn’t have booze anymore, she’d become a coffee snob.
“I would Goddamn well hope so.” Judy grinned. The waitress brought their coffee right over, and she inhaled half the cup right away. “Thank God. The coffee at meetings is brutal. I’ve started to mainline it. Though Oliver refuses to let me go near a Starbucks.” He’d probably turn up his nose at this coffee too, but who cared.
“The coffee at those meetings is tar, I think.” Candy sipped hers, sighing contentedly. “Eh, let him turn his nose up. At least this has liquid properties.”
“Yeah, I should tell him just how bad it is at meetings.” Judy made a face. “Shitty and not fair trade.” She grinned. “I’m kind of glad, though, that he’s never been through any of that.” She looked down for a second. Oliver, for all his issues, was a genuinely good person. She didn’t want any of that to taint him. “Your Remy hasn’t either, right?”
“Nope. I mean, he’s from New Orleans, so he’s had a few mean hangovers, but he could be worse. He only drinks two beers around me. And ... I don’t know. The more I deal with my other shit, the less I want to drink myself into oblivion anyway.” She bit her lower lip. Candy hadn’t really gone into detail about what her father had done at meetings, just that she had issues.
Judy didn’t ask; Candy would tell her if she wanted to. “As long as you can deal with your other shit in a good way.” She looked across the table. “And you know you can talk to me just as much as you say I can talk to you.”
Candy smiled at her hands. “Did your dad ever hit you?”
“Once or twice.” When she’d been very small. “He left before I got old enough to remember much. Ma would swat me on the ass or something, but never like, gave me a whupping.”
“My father hates me.” Candy didn’t say it to exaggerate, and her tone was even. “He thinks I’m not his, and it showed.” Candy turned around in the booth, lifting up the back of her shirt enough so Judy could see. At that late hour, they were the only people in the diner.
Judy didn’t react too much except to set her jaw. “Not like you need my validation, but I get it.” She’d have fucking drunk a lot too. It also raised her estimation of Candy’s boyfriend. “Your man really must be extraordinary.” Not that Candy was such a burden, just she’d met a lot of guys who would have figured Candy was too damaged or something. Remy, from what she saw, was good to her. And a lot of girls in Candy’s situation would have shrunk from men.
“Yeah. He didn’t even bat an eye. Not even at the ones in the front.” She pulled her shirt back down and then flopped back into her seat. “He’s ... yeah, I love him so much.”
“You should probably marry him.” Judy smiled. She was glad this girl had someone to look out for her. She sat back, thinking. “To be honest, it makes you think about what’s worse, a shitty dad or no dad.” She’d always thought having no father was worse, but now she wasn’t sure. “I guess I shouldn’t compare.”
“I’d rather have had none. I kept praying Mom would leave him, but I guess pretending he wasn’t a drunk and a shithead was easier.” Candy sipped her coffee. “Well, Remy said he’s going to propose someday. I think he wasn’t kidding. I told him I’d say yes.”
“You better.” Judy grinned. She hoped Candy wouldn’t ask her the same question; it was way too damn early to think about that kind of thing.
“Oh, I’m not stupid.” Candy laughed brightly. “Mom might have been weak, but she raised me to know a good man when I see one.”
“Atta girl.” Judy smiled a little more warmly. At that point their food arrived, and she dug in with relish. “God, that’s so good.”
“Greasy spoons are proof that something up there loves us,” Candy agreed.
“I hear that.” Greasy spoons and Bloody Marys at sunset, but Jude wasn’t about to talk too much about those. She focused on the pancakes instead. “You did good to find this place.” She smiled a little. “Do I get a pancake dinner when I get the one year chip?” Because she would. She’d be damned if she wouldn’t.
“Of course. It’ll be our anniversary tradition.” Candy squeezed her friend’s hand.
“Sounds good to me. I’ll return the favor when you get your one year.” Judy smiled genuinely. “You got a good head on your shoulders, kiddo.”
“I try. Honestly, I had to. You learn quick when your dad’s an asshole.” Candy offered Judy a bite of her hashbrowns.
“You learn quick when you haven’t got one, too.” Judy took it, making a pleased noise. “God bless short order cooks. If they don’t have a patron saint, they should.”
“I’m sure they do, there’s a saint of the internet.” Candy grinned. “Lapsed Catholic.”
“I’m still a Catholic, and I don’t remember that.” Judy laughed after a bite of waffle. “There’s saints for everything, I’m sure.”
“Oh, I think that’s a new thing,” Candy laughed. “There really is. You just have to look ‘em up online.”
Judy just laughed. She learned interesting crap pretty much every time she talked to a young person. “Honestly, It’s maybe one of the things the church did right lately. People are interested in that kind of stuff. It should always be more about people than doctrine anyway, but you so don’t want to talk about religion.” She shook her head.
“Huh, maybe the habit makes a little more sense. See, most people I know have some sort of memory bleedthrough, some sort of influence on their real life from the memories. Or something in common. Even in my dreams, my dad was a prick. For example.”
“I’ve always been religious.” Judy shrugged. “Maybe a little less lately, but in the dreams it goes the other way. After the hit and run dream, I took vows. Though I don’t know why I wound up in charge of a Goddamned insane asylum.”
“I don’t know either, but hopefully they don’t get much weirder. The dreams, not the people in them.” People in an asylum would act out, crazy or no.
“Yeah.” Judy shook her head in between bites of waffles. “I don’t know. I’ll just settle for things that don’t make me want a freaking Bloody Mary.” Some of them she’d been able to manage. But one or two of them had made her wake up sweating and craving.
“I hope they get better,” Candy murmured. She was pretty sure they’d get worse before they got better, though.
“Yeah, me too. What about yours?” She hadn’t actually talked about her dreams themselves. “You look a little better than when I saw you last. Have they calmed down a little?”
“Not really, I think I’m just more used to them.” Candy chuckled to herself.
“Good and bad.” Judy shrugged. “Whatever can get you through the day, though. I mean, if getting used to them means no nightmares and freaking out, then so be it. You know?”
“Well, I think mine are a bit more fun.” Candy smiled. “I get to use magic and go to Wonderland, you know? That’s more fantastic and more fun.”
“Yeah, I’d say so.” Judy liked that smile. “Just, you know I worry about you, kiddo. It makes me happy to see you smiling.”
“I worry about you too, Judy.” Candy patted her hand. “We’re friends, that’s what we do.”