Paradise Apartments

After about a week in the apartments, dealing with the endless ringing of her phone, trying to learn how to take care of herself, of which she was failing miserably, but thanks to her new friends, she was managing, but she realized she needed something to do. Both of her friends had jobs and school, and Lia was so used to working that she had been reduced to literal tears of boredom in the middle of the day when they were both gone. It was these moments that she almost left the apartments to return to her old life.

And then she would think of the comments, the fake friendships, the rumours. She missed parts of it, of course, her parents, her agent, who she had finally talked too, and was going out of his mind with worry, but couldn’t convince the young star to come back and shine. And most of all, she missed the work. She missed the sets, the lines, bringing characters to life. She missed having somewhere to be all the time.

Despite all of that, she knew she would be utterly miserable if she went back, so that was how she wound up at Suzy Q’s, the little diner not far from the apartments. She had zero experience, and zero talents, but it seemed they were desperate, because somehow, she managed to get the job. The manager was kind of jerk about it, but like everyone else so far, looked at her like he was trying to figure her out. The first few days were training, and Lia tried so hard to keep up, even if she screwed up a lot. Then one day, she was thrown on the floor, and she was terrified, but hopeful.

She came into work, and started the day hopeful as she started the coffee. It was going to take a lot of adjusting to go from giving the orders to taking them, and so far, the manager hadn’t been all that nice. But Lia was determined to try, even if she had to look at it like a movie set, and greeted the other employees. She did a little start up that she had been shown, making sure it was as perfect as she knew how to make it, and then waited for any customer that would arrive.

At the start of a new day, Marissa woke up, feeling both achy and groggy. Stretching her arms and her legs, she slowly got out of bed to go get ready for her day. However, being thirty-two weeks pregnant with twins didn't exactly make it all that easy. On the bright side, work was very close to home and the only time she needed to drive was when she needed to go grocery shopping, which she had normally done on the weekends. As she looked at her calendar, looks like her next prenatal appointment was coming up soon. After a quick shower and straightening out her hair, Marissa picked out her dress for the shift. With how big she has gotten, Marissa couldn't exactly wear the usual uniform, so she's been wearing dresses, mainly so her legs and her midsection aren't too constricted.

After applying her make-up, she got her slippers on, grabbed her purse and left her apartment. Locking the door and looking at the number briefly, she smiled. Slowly, she made her way down the stairs to start waddling to work. As she looked at Apartment Number Eight, she frowned. Marissa did worry about her Older Sister, who was also pregnant. The only difference is Sindy was having one more baby then her. Luck had it where both the Tamura Sisters were expecting multiples. While Marissa herself was expecting twins, Sindy was expecting triplets. Hopefully Sindy planned to go on Maternity Leave soon. Because those night shifts were really hard on her, especially with such a high risk pregnancy. Marissa proceeded to tuck that into the back of her mind for now as she began waddling to Suzy Q's.

Thankfully, it didn't take her long to arrive and clock in. After putting away her purse in her locker, Marissa put her apron on and straightened it out. Putting gloves on, she proceeded to check the bakery items and sweets, seeing if she needed to make more. Although it took a minute to get that figured out, she did spare a moment to check on the new girl, Lia. "Hey Lia, how are you doing today?" She asked, hoping to break the ice a little bit.

Lia had heard another employee arrive, and called out a friendly, “Hey there!” But she didn’t quite have a minute yet to actually go and speak with the person, as she was still figuring things out. Like the register. Then she had a customer, but luckily, it was only a cup of coffee, and a bagel. She handled that order okay, and sighed in relief that she hadn’t screwed that one up.

Her skin felt like it was on pins and needles as she waited in anticipation. Could she really do this? She felt her heart racing the longer she stood there, facing the nearly empty restaurant. For a moment, what felt like anxiety started to crawl into her system, and because of her fast-flying emotions, that doubt settled itself into her mind.

Luckily, before she sunk too deeply into it, her thoughts were broken by the presence of the heavily pregnant employee, Marissa. She had seen her during her first few days, but smiled brightly at her now. “Hey, Marissa. I’m okay so far. Just…waiting for more people, really. How are you feeling?” Lia asked her softly, hazel eyes looking down at her swollen belly for just a moment before sweeping back up to her eyes.

It had been a long day in the stacks of the library and then he had a shift at The Doghouse. Needless to say, Rowdy was tired. When he left the club, he had gone home for a few minutes. He opened the door to his oddly empty apartment. It was almost eerie. He had gotten so used to Lia and Sadie being there that he didn’t know what to do there alone. He went and took a quick shower to get off the sweat from the club. He dressed himself in basketball shorts and a white t-shirt and then wandered out of his bedroom. He looked around the empty living room and sighed. He flopped on the couch and pulled out one of the books he had been reading earlier. But after he read the same line for the fourth time, he set the book and down looked around. It was just too quiet. He packed his book back into his satchel, pulled on some shoes, and left his apartment.

A few minutes later, Rowdy took a seat in a booth close to the counter of the Suzy Qs Diner. He unpacked his books, notepads, and his laptop. He organized everything so he could get some work done. He spotted Lia talking with another lady. A look of concern touched his face as he noticed just how pregnant Lia’s coworker was. Should she be on her feet? he wondered. But ultimately, it wasn’t his business.

He picked up the book he had been trying to read in his too quiet apartment and started jotting down notes on his notebook as he read. The laptop that was opened in front of him wasn’t used for note taking. It had the outline of his thesis and then a Word document that had separate paragraphs written on it. If one of the servers were to approach him, he would look up from his book and notebook scribblings and offer a friendly smile.

Rolling over in her warm, comfortable bed, Sadie started awaking from her deep slumber. She peeked with one eye followed by fully opening the other and started to stretch as her stomach growled, No wonder I was waking up from such a restful sleep. She mused to herself and crawled off the end of her bed because it was the width of the room. She went to use the restroom followed by a hot shower. As she got towel dried, Sadie went to her closet and rummaged for something to wear. She didn't have class that day, nor was she supposed to pick up a shift at the bar that night so she wasn't in a hurry to go anywhere but wanted to be dressed for the day. She picked a cute light purple sundress and a pair of white strappy sandals to complete the look.

As Sadie was giving her hair a slight curl and putting on a touch of makeup when her stomach growled, reminding her that she needed sustenance. She finished up quickly and headed towards her kitchen to make herself something to eat and possibly start a pot off coffee. When she looked through the refrigerator and pantry, she found that they were both bare of anything. It had been a few days of back to back shifts at Shirley's plus having classes in between, that she forgot to get groceries for her apartment. Sadie soon got the idea to go grab something from Suzy Q's and thought maybe to see if her friends wanted to join her. She soon grabbed her keys, phone, and handbag as she walked out the front door, locking it from the inside. She went to knock on Rowdy's door to see if he was home because chances were Lia would be there as well. No one had answered, so she chanced Lia's apartment and, again, no answer. They may be working or studying. I can catch up with them in a while. Sadie thought to herself as she walked down the steps and out of the complex. The diner wasn't far from the apartments, so she just walked the distance, taking in the warm day and getting some fresh air.

She was soon at Suzy Q's and pulled open the door, entering the establishment. She looked around and saw Lia talking to a coworker, "Man, there must be something in the water within this neighborhood." She mumbled to herself and chuckled as she sighted another very pregnant lady. Sadie looked around for an empty booth when she saw Rowdy. He looked to be concentrating on something and deeply at that, so she would just let him be for now. If he raised his head, she would send him a friendly wave and smile, but she wouldn't interrupt his concentration. She saw a booth in front of him and took a seat there, facing him. Sadie smiled as she grabbed the 'guilty pleasure' book from her handbag that she kept in there, while she waited for a server to bring her a menu.

Marissa held her back as she spoke with Lia. She hasn't been here all too long, so no doubt the new girl was anxious. But Marissa was the same way when she first moved to Palm Hills several months ago after her Mother kicked her and Sindy out for getting pregnant. She did smile a little too when Lia mentioned waiting for more people, then asked how she was feeling. "I'm feeling huge, but otherwise alright. Hopefully the twins won't be too active today. I barely got any sleep last night because they were having a bit of a dance party and kept me up until 3AM." She said while holding her back.

At least the apron wasn't too constricting, otherwise she'd be even more uncomfortable. It wasn't long until they had company though. Two customers showed up within moments of each other. One man came in with quite a bit of stuff. As he got a booth, he brought out books, notepads and a laptop. Made her wonder what he was up to. "Well, let's not leave them unattended for too long, I'll go take care of one, you can go take care of the other and then we'll see what else we need to get squared away as the day progresses."

Marissa gave Lia a smile before going to tend to the gentleman at the booth. She waddled out from behind the counter with her own notepad so that she can take his order once he is ready. Along the way, she grabbed a menu for him too, and then a woman entered before sitting in another booth nearby. As she continued to her destination, Marissa did smile and gave a cordial wave to the woman who just entered and took her seat. Once she arrived to his booth though, she wasn't sure of where to set the menu because he had everything out on the table, so she ended up doing so on the pile of books. "Good morning, sir. What can I get started for you today?" She asked, a smile on her face.

However, she did have to stand back a foot or two so that her belly wouldn't be all in his face. That'd be embarrassing...

Rowdy looked up from his book and offered the pregnant woman a soft smile. When she said ‘good morning’ it shocked him a little. Was it morning already? He guessed it was. His schedule was killing him. She set the menu down on the stack of books he hadn’t gotten to yet. He put down the book he was reading and picked up the menu. “Good morning, he said distractedly, as he opened the menu. “May I start with a cup of Joe, please? His eyes ran over the menu, taking in multiple options that made his stomach growl. “And I might need a minute with the menu, if that’s okay?” He offered her a grin before he buried his head back into the menu.

Before he was consumed by the breakfast choices, he spotted Sadie and cocked his head. “And why are you sitting over there?” He motioned to the open half of the table. He moved his stacks of books closer to himself to make sure there was room for Sadie and her smutty book. He would never understand why she read romance novels. They were usually poorly written, with the plot being rushed, and usually so fabricated it was painful. “Why do you read crap like that?” He would ask her when she sat down. “If you need some spice in your life, call one of your boyfriends. Or, just go get laid by a stranger if that’s your kink.” He reached across the table and tried to steal the trashy novel she was reading. “But put that in the garbage and have some real fun.”

Rowdy couldn’t help it. He was a literary snob. And he didn’t understand why people used horribly written books to get their jollies when there was a world of people to interact with. Which was probably the most hypocritical thought he could have. Rowdy didn’t let anyone get too close to him. He had so many walls up, being his friend was sometimes a challenge. He was a guarded man who had gone through some fucked up stuff in his past and he wasn’t completely ready to work through it. Letting Sadie and Lia crash in his apartment was the closest he had let anyone to him in decades. They were his friends.

Sadie had been reading when she heard Rowdy speak. She looked up at her friend from across their booths and chuckled at what he said. "Well, Sir! I didn't want to interrupt your literary genius at play. Seemed intense." She jokingly said as she grabbed her handbag and book while scooting out of her booth and walked to his. She soon sat down and waited for the server to bring her a menu.

Just as she sat down, she heard Rowdy ask about her crap choice in reading material, followed by a comment about her boyfriends and kinks. She snorted laughing and bantered back, "We all have our guilty pleasures and kinks. Though my guys keep me more than satisfied." She said with a suggestive wink and continued. "I mean, isn't poetry your kink that gets you going? One minute you're reading it out loud and the next we can hear slapping noises because of the paper thin walls." She soon licked her right palm and flicked her fingers fast enough to imitate someone self pleasuring themselves. Sadie started laughing and got the hand sanitizer wipes from her bag to clean off her hands. "But really, I just read them as a guilty pleasure, nothing more. I love a good dumpster fire." She said to Rowdy as she put her book back in her bag. She turned to him and said, "Let's have some fun, my friend. You have been busy between work and school." She smiled mischievously at Rowdy as she felt someone walking towards them.

Lia happily chatted with Marissa as she got things “straightened” and “cleaned”. She understood the use of soaps and cloths now, but mostly just kind of wiped a spot or two with it before moving on. She would learn, of course, but it was slow going, and difficult for someone who had never learned to even take care of herself. When Marissa told her that she had been kept up until 3 A.M, Lia tried to imagine that, but considering she and her friends were up that late, usually on purpose, she really couldn’t. “I hope rest comes easier soon.” It was truly meant to be comforting, but she didn’t totally know if it was.

Still, the former actress was focused, and she would try her hardest. She didn’t need the money, not by any means, but Lia had no life skills, and was, as she called it, “domestically challenged.” She was still chatting with Marissa when the chimes on the door sounded, and Lia’s head turned towards the sound. She grinned when she saw Rowdy entering, and then Sadie a few seconds later, and turned back to Marissa. “Yeah, definitely don’t wanna leave them waiting.”

Initially, as she had been told, she poured two glasses of water, and grabbed a menu for Sadie, since Marissa had grabbed one for Rowdy. She was careful on her way over, but stopped when she got to the table, in the middle of Sadie slapping her palms and making….an oddly familiar sound. Curiously, and much more innocently than intended, she looked directly at him and asked: “Is that what that noise is in the morning?! I just thought you were aggressively cleaning yourself.”

At this point, she attempted to put the glasses down to try and take the order, but as per Lia’s luck, disaster struck. She didn’t exactly know what happened, if it was a movement from her or from them, but when she went to step up the table, she tripped, probably over her own two feet, and water flew from the cups and all over both of her friends. It was too late to stop the water, but Lia squeaked a little before she furiously started apologizing as she tried to clean it up, but probably made it worse. “Jesus, I am so sorry, you guys. I am so so sorry!”

It was all fun and games, the bantering between Sadie and Rowdy. And embarrassing as it was, Sadie wasn’t wrong about his preferences. He hadn’t had a girlfriend since he was fifteen years old, and he wasn’t into the self-stimulating crap one could find on the internet. When he was young, he found his comfort and pleasure in literature. So, yeah, poetry did it for him. But when Lia walked up and so innocently, not only confirmed they both heard him often, but that she just realized what they had been hearing; Rowdy was now completely mortified. The blood rushed to his face, and he blushed as red as if he were sunburned.

He didn’t have that much time to be embarrassed before, suddenly, he was smacked in the face with some water. Shock stalled his mind, and his body literally paused, his mouth gaped open to reveal his level of surprise. It took a few seconds for him to be able to start blinking the water out of his eyes. And a few more seconds beyond that to realize his books, notepads, and laptop had been had a thoroughly splashed with water. Rowdy floundered for a moment as his mind was working faster than his body could react. “Towel.” he said as he picked up the notebook from the table so it wouldn’t absorb any more of the water that was pooling on the table. “Towel, Lia. Get some towels. His instincts told him to remove his shirt and use it as a towel. But he was in public and in a restaurant. They usually frown on shirtless guys in food establishments. He couldn’t do much until Lia came back with the towels.

Sadie was enjoying bantering with Rowdy, and after hearing Lia's innocent question, she started giggling like a mad woman. She soon noticed Rowdy started blushing, which only proved she was right. "It's kinda..." She had just been about to tease him when something cool and wet splashed across her chest, shocking her. She looked down and saw water all over her upper half and said, "Damn Lia, if you wanted to see me wet that bad you could have taken me to dinner this evening first!" She jokingly said to Lia as she looked at Rowdy, who had water in his face. She looked around and saw all of Rowdy's things out in the open with water on them. Thinking quickly, she grabbed some of Rowdy's books so the water wouldn't ruin them and looked towards Lia, who looked stunned while apologizing profusely. "Hey, Lia. We need something to soak up the water." She then heard Rowdy asking for towels from Lia, hoping she would get them quickly.

She looked to Rowdy and said, "I will help you get these things dry." While starting to pick up a few books and shaking the residual water off some of them, almost forgetting her dress was also wet. Making sure her dress wasn't see through, she looked down and didn't see any type of slip up but felt the dampness of the cool water on her skin."Maybe they could move us to another booth so they can get this one cleaned up." She suggested to Rowdy as they both waited for Lia to get some towels.

Just a touch, Lia wanted to cry. But at least this happened with her friends, who knew she sucked when it came to anything domestic. When she heard the word, Towels, she nodded. She heard Sadie too, and gave a small chuckle, and said; “Next time, I’ll ask properly.” Ultimately, she turned her body to run and grab the towels as quickly as she could. Not thinking, and not knowing exactly where the clean ones were, Lia grabbed one large towel that was already wet from something else, and two smaller ones that were already dirty.

She rushed back to the table, and laid the larger one to start soaking up the water on the table, and the two smaller ones to try and keep the water from dripping on the floor, or further on them. When that proved it wasn’t working as well as she had hoped, she picked up a couple of the books to try and keep them out of the water as well, while using one hand to try and continue to wipe it up.

Turning, she looked around the restaurant, and behind her was another booth that was cleaned. “I am gonna move you guys behind me to that booth over there, and then I’m not gonna touch the water again. I promise.” She carefully picked up the books, but didn’t understand why the already wet towel wasn’t soaking up the water. “Let’s get you guys moved first, then I’ll finish cleaning this up. Somehow.” The last bit was said in almost defeat to herself as she started to help move her friends.

Thankful that Sadie was quick to grab some of his books in an attempt to save them from the water, he tucked his notebook under his arm and grabbed the laptop. He used the hem of his shirt to start drying it off. He was mainly worried about the water getting to the power source and then into the keys. As Sadie did her best to shake the water off his books and he used the bottom of his shirt, Lia returned with towels in hand. Unfortunately, the towels she managed to grab only made the situation worse. Rowdy leaned over the table as a small wave of water hilted over the edge of the table and splashed into his lap. He stopped his lean and looked down at his wet pants. He sighed and then continued to reach for the container of napkins. He took the entire container with him as he scooted out of the booth and stood up. Paper napkins were not ideal. They would make as big of a mess as they help clean, but it was something. He pulled out a few and handed them to Sadie, “Blot. Don’t wipe. These cheap things will just tear and make a bigger mess.” He grabbed a few napkins in his hand and went to work on his laptop. There didn’t appear to be any damage to his stuff.

Lia then told them she was going to move them to another table. Rowdy grabbed his satchel and offered to take some of the books both Sadie and Lia had in their arms. He carried everything over to the new booth and laid it out, still dabbing here and there with the napkins. He didn’t know where the other server went so he thought he would ask Lia, “Once you get everything squared away, can I get a cup of Jo…” He stopped his order. No way Lia would have any idea what he would be ordering so he tried to make it easier. “Coffee, please. With some cream and two sugars?” He went back to work on drying off this books and notepad without smearing anything too terribly bad.

Sadie heard Lia coming back, so she looked up towards her and smiled, trying to give her encouragement. She soon saw Lia trying to clean up the water with an already wet towel, so it made the situation a little more out of hand. Then Rowdy grabbed some napkins from the dispenser and handed her some, followed by telling her how to get the water off. "Alrighty, I can do that." She said as she got to work blotting the water down with the cheap napkins.

Soon, she heard Lia say she was going to move them to another booth. They were soon swapping booths, as she helped Rowdy gather up his things and grabbed her handbag. They soon sat down, and Sadie placed her drink order with Lia. "Hey, Lia. I would like a glass of orange juice and a small glass of whole milk, please." She smiled at her friend again and turned to Rowdy. "I will continue to help dry your things off so nothing will get ruined." She smiled warmly at him and continued to dry anything that was wet as she waited for Lia to return with their beverages and possibly her a menu.

Marissa proceeded to write down the coffee order, she smiled cordially when the gentleman asked for some more time with the menu. "Sure thing, I can go ahead and get that started for you. I'll be right back with your coffee." She said before putting the notepad into the apron's pocket and leaving the man to his own devices.

As she began waddling back behind the counter so that she can get the coffee, Lia had stepped out from behind the counter to go assist the other customer that just walked in. And soon there was a bit of banter between them. Like they knew each other, but Marissa was hyperfixated on the coffee and getting it ready. What she didn't notice was that Lia had two cups of water in her hand. Then there was suddenly a loud crash. This prompted Marissa to look back as it was rather abrupt and made her heart skip a beat...and one of her babies kicked hard enough for her to notice as her apron shifted slightly.

Soon, Lia sounded panicked and was profusely apologizing. As she looked though, both customers had been splashed with water. What the hell happened? Lia was flustered as she tried to clean up her mess. It was definitely going to be a long day and Marissa made a mental note to train the new girl, because whoever did train her early on did NOT do a very good job. After Lia rushed back to grab some towels to go clean up her mess. Soon, she was in the process of moving both customers to other booths so that she can clean up the mess she had made. Then she overheard the order from the Sadie. Glass of Orange Juice and a small glass of Whole Milk, she heard. Rowdy also wanted Cream and two sugars in his coffee, something that Marissa hadn't written down. But it was likely going to be a while until he ordered breakfast since Lia spilled water all over his belongings. Marissa quietly watched as it was all being moved and cleaned.

Once the Coffee was finished, Marissa proceeded to put in two cubes of sugar and cream before mixing it together. Setting it on a tray, she proceeded to pour a tall glass of orange juice and quickly followed up with the small glass of whole milk, which she did take a minute to grab because it was difficult for her to crouch to get into the mini-fridge because of her swollen belly. After getting all the drinks together, Marissa grabbed the tray slowly and began waddling to the dining area with the three drinks in tow. Sadie and Rowdy were still in the middle of cleaning Rowdy's belongings by the time she had made it over to them. "Here, just to get you guys started." She proceeded to set the drinks on an adjacent table as to keep them out of the way so that they can continue cleaning. "And I'll be right back to take your meal orders." She said before waddling away.

On the way to grab a menu for Sadie, Marissa grabbed three more towels for Lia from behind the counter. "It is gonna be a long day..." She whispered to her babies.

Finally, she began waddling back to set a menu by the drinks for Sadie. "I'm gonna go help her clean up before I take both your orders." She said before going to help Lia. "Here, let me help you. And after we're done, I'll go take care of our two customers, and then we need to talk." She said sternly as she handed the two fresh towels to Lia and began helping her clean the pools of water.

Unfortunately for both women, Marissa can feel her mood plummeting and her annoyance quietly transitioned to upset. But she kept this on the low and focused on helping Lia clean.

Lia felt horrible, but she wasn’t about to let one mistake stop her. After all, she hadn’t made an entire career by stopping after one set failure, or one forgotten line. She carefully gathered the books and gently shook the water out as she moved her friends behind her. They didn’t seem mad, and she was thankful for that, and she had mostly stopped apologizing as she focused on just fixing the mistake. Once they were moved, they both asked her for a drink, and she nodded. “You got it.” She smiled at them.

She had started to move to go back, and get their drinks, but when she turned around, she saw Marissa doing it already. Her eyebrows quirked for a second, but since she had a table to clean, and she could clearly see her co-worker with a tray in her hands, she grabbed the bottle of cleaner and another towel, and set to work. She listened to the exchange with Marissa and her friends, and glanced over to make sure Sadie had her menu.

Once assured she did, Lia turned to the table, and thought back over the week when things would get spilled in the apartment. She had never truly taken notice before, but she attempted to emulate the process she had seen as she used the clean towel to start. Eventually, Marissa waddled over to help her, but her tone was annoyed, especially when she said that she would take the customers. Lia felt it run through her entire body, and it almost dipped Lia’s mood too, but she pulled herself back as she wiped up more of the water. “I got it. It was an accident, but I’m good.” Besides, she would never learn if she didn’t try.

It wasn’t meant to be arrogance or defiance, but Lia also wasn’t a child, and didn’t totally appreciate the tone that a parent might use with a child. At least, that’s how it initially felt to Lia. However, not wanting to start off on the wrong foot, she did try her best to finish the table quickly as she thought of her friends doing dishes and cleaning up, and smiled at Marissa when they finished, Lia holding the wet towels away from her body. “See, all better.” She said brightly as she turned and carried the towels and the bottle back to behind the counter, and turned again to go check on her friends once more.