Saturday- Niagara Falls
Jul. 23rd, 2022 11:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fates_jayeThe stupid animals were singing tonight, and Jaye had had enough. So it was off to the Barrel… right in time for Eric to shuffle the last of the night's patrons out the door.
"Thank god," Jaye breathed, both glad you see him and glad tosee everyone else leave.
"What is it that bartenders say?" Eric asked, calling after them, "You don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here." He smiled at Jaye. "I’m working on my timing."
"Are you going to say it to me, too? Please don’t. If you kick me out I’ll have to wander the streets until morning," she pleased.
"We are kind of closed," Eric said slowly, and immediately caved. "But I’ll see what I can do."
He let her in, and Jaye followed him gratefully. "I can imbibe quickly if you need to get home," she told him.
Eric headed behind the bar to get them each a bottle of beer. "Funny thing about that…"
He lived in the bar. Apparently when you showed up as a sad sack newlywed with a cheating wife and a desire not to return to New Jersey in need of a job, the owner might let you make a bedroom out of the dry storage closet in the back.
Jaye had to go over and test the cot with her hand, then sat on it. It wasn't exactly unromantic, even with the bags of dried beans underfoot. "So this is where you live."
"Technically, it’s where I sleep. I’m not sure where I live. Although, I’m pretty sure I don’t live in New Jersey anymore," Eric said.
"Weren’t you staying in some Honeymoon Suite somewhere?"
"Once they figured I wasn’t going to sue they stopped comping my room."
"You should absolutely go litigious on their asses. One of their employees ruined your marriage and arguably your life," she said.
"Yeah. But if Heidi’d stuck with the hospitality basket- or a more traditional definition of the term “room service”- we’d both be back in New Jersey right now, starting our married life together." He sighed, taking a seat next to her. "One bad day and everything changes."
"One bad ‘sode and not only does everything start changing, everything starts talking to you," Jaye nodded.
"Ha," Eric said, and then frowned. "I don’t get it."
"I’m not sure I do either." She'd learned to roll with it, anyway. "So I like your new place. Has a certain hobo charm."
"I don’t know about charm. But it does have rats," he said. "The old expression about mice and quiet as? Doesn’t apply to rats."
"Just be grateful they don’t keep you up with incessant chatter-"
They both startled at the loud thud.
"They heard us talking about them," Eric said.
"Eww," she said. "That was a rat? I can't believe I eat the food here." .
That thud was followed by muffled banging, and it didn't appear that Eric was used to that sound, since he got up to investigate. Jaye of course got up to go with him, partly our of curiosity and partly because staying there in his room was awkward. He flicked a light on, and Jaye pointed toward the giant wooden novelty barrel in the middle of the bar, which seemed to be where all the noise was coming from.
Eric nodded and moved quietly towards the barrel, Jaye following. He pulled the top of the barrel off… and then startled.
So of course Jaye had to see what was in there, and peeked inside.
There was a blonde woman in her thirties or so curled up in the barrel surrounded by snacks and wrappers, suddenly looking up at Jaye and Eric in terror. The woman scrambled out of the barrel, knocking it over and sending wrappers across the floor, and then she took off for the door before the barrel could stop rolling.
"Big, big rat," Jaye noted.
Eric checked outside but couldn't see where she had gone, so Jaye did the next logical thing: check out all the woman's stuff. There was clothing, postcards, a map, a little wound-up penguin toy that Jaye eyed warily, and just a lot of randomness. She'd set everything out on one of the tabes by the time Eric came back to right the barrel.
"I remember seeing her in here a few nights back," he said. "She had the turkey club, extra well done fries and a side of cheese."
Jaye blinked. "She had a side of cheese?"
"Didn’t even eat it. Just looked at it. Then skipped out on her tab."
"Didn’t skip too far. I wonder how long she’s been holed up in that barrel. Maybe it’s her crack barrel. Do you think she’s in there free-basing?" Jaye mused, shaking out a jacket that had been left behind. Maybe she sniffed it to make sure it didn't smell like crack. "Either way, she’s pretty resourceful for a homeless person. Clean, too." Don't mind her if she tried on the coat, either.
Eric began looking over the items. "You think she's a tourist?"
"Came to Niagara to see the Falls and ended up taking a fall," Jaye said, finding a reflection to see how the coat fit. It really was cute on her.
"All it takes is one bad day," Eric said, echoing the earlier sentiment. "Should I call the police?"
"Nah. Just toss her crap in the lost and found," Jaye said, and added quickly, "Except the coat. We should probably just-"
And that was when the damn penguin animated. "Bring her back."
"Bring her back?" Jaye repeated, surprised.
"Bring her back?" Eric repeated.
"Bring her back," the penguin repeated.
"No," Jaye said. "I mean, why?"
"I dunno. It’s your idea," Eric said.
"It's not my idea," Jaye returned.
"It wasn't you?"
"It wasn't a suggestion?"
"It wasn't?"
"Nuh uh." .
Eric looked thoughtful. "I suppose we could try to find her, I guess. But she still owes for that turkey club and the owner’s only letting me stay here because I work here, and... oh, I get it."
Jaye frowned. "You do?"
"Even though I only have a cot and large sacks of dried beans, I still have more than this woman does."
Huh. "Did I say that?" Jaye checked.
"That poor woman might be in some kind of trouble, and now she’s out there without her coat. Okay, now you’ve made me feel guilty."
Dammit. Jaye slipped the coat off. "Right. Guilt."
"So you’re saying we should track her down? Get ‘er her stuff back."
"Right. No. Wait. What’re we doing?"
He looked at her, like he was seeing something really special right now, and it was one of those looks that made her heart skip a little. "You know, a lot of people wouldn’t have thought of that. They’d just make sure the door was locked behind her. You’re like a saint."
Oh. "Well…" she said.
"So what do we do?"
"Uh…" This night was not going how she thought and now he expected her to think?
"We know she’s been to the train station. We could start there," Eric said, holding up a train ticket that Jaye had laid out before.
Ugh. Fine. Guess she had to go be a saint. "We could do that…"
[Look at me, committing to finishing this. NFB, NFI.]
"Thank god," Jaye breathed, both glad you see him and glad tosee everyone else leave.
"What is it that bartenders say?" Eric asked, calling after them, "You don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here." He smiled at Jaye. "I’m working on my timing."
"Are you going to say it to me, too? Please don’t. If you kick me out I’ll have to wander the streets until morning," she pleased.
"We are kind of closed," Eric said slowly, and immediately caved. "But I’ll see what I can do."
He let her in, and Jaye followed him gratefully. "I can imbibe quickly if you need to get home," she told him.
Eric headed behind the bar to get them each a bottle of beer. "Funny thing about that…"
He lived in the bar. Apparently when you showed up as a sad sack newlywed with a cheating wife and a desire not to return to New Jersey in need of a job, the owner might let you make a bedroom out of the dry storage closet in the back.
Jaye had to go over and test the cot with her hand, then sat on it. It wasn't exactly unromantic, even with the bags of dried beans underfoot. "So this is where you live."
"Technically, it’s where I sleep. I’m not sure where I live. Although, I’m pretty sure I don’t live in New Jersey anymore," Eric said.
"Weren’t you staying in some Honeymoon Suite somewhere?"
"Once they figured I wasn’t going to sue they stopped comping my room."
"You should absolutely go litigious on their asses. One of their employees ruined your marriage and arguably your life," she said.
"Yeah. But if Heidi’d stuck with the hospitality basket- or a more traditional definition of the term “room service”- we’d both be back in New Jersey right now, starting our married life together." He sighed, taking a seat next to her. "One bad day and everything changes."
"One bad ‘sode and not only does everything start changing, everything starts talking to you," Jaye nodded.
"Ha," Eric said, and then frowned. "I don’t get it."
"I’m not sure I do either." She'd learned to roll with it, anyway. "So I like your new place. Has a certain hobo charm."
"I don’t know about charm. But it does have rats," he said. "The old expression about mice and quiet as? Doesn’t apply to rats."
"Just be grateful they don’t keep you up with incessant chatter-"
They both startled at the loud thud.
"They heard us talking about them," Eric said.
"Eww," she said. "That was a rat? I can't believe I eat the food here." .
That thud was followed by muffled banging, and it didn't appear that Eric was used to that sound, since he got up to investigate. Jaye of course got up to go with him, partly our of curiosity and partly because staying there in his room was awkward. He flicked a light on, and Jaye pointed toward the giant wooden novelty barrel in the middle of the bar, which seemed to be where all the noise was coming from.
Eric nodded and moved quietly towards the barrel, Jaye following. He pulled the top of the barrel off… and then startled.
So of course Jaye had to see what was in there, and peeked inside.
There was a blonde woman in her thirties or so curled up in the barrel surrounded by snacks and wrappers, suddenly looking up at Jaye and Eric in terror. The woman scrambled out of the barrel, knocking it over and sending wrappers across the floor, and then she took off for the door before the barrel could stop rolling.
"Big, big rat," Jaye noted.
Eric checked outside but couldn't see where she had gone, so Jaye did the next logical thing: check out all the woman's stuff. There was clothing, postcards, a map, a little wound-up penguin toy that Jaye eyed warily, and just a lot of randomness. She'd set everything out on one of the tabes by the time Eric came back to right the barrel.
"I remember seeing her in here a few nights back," he said. "She had the turkey club, extra well done fries and a side of cheese."
Jaye blinked. "She had a side of cheese?"
"Didn’t even eat it. Just looked at it. Then skipped out on her tab."
"Didn’t skip too far. I wonder how long she’s been holed up in that barrel. Maybe it’s her crack barrel. Do you think she’s in there free-basing?" Jaye mused, shaking out a jacket that had been left behind. Maybe she sniffed it to make sure it didn't smell like crack. "Either way, she’s pretty resourceful for a homeless person. Clean, too." Don't mind her if she tried on the coat, either.
Eric began looking over the items. "You think she's a tourist?"
"Came to Niagara to see the Falls and ended up taking a fall," Jaye said, finding a reflection to see how the coat fit. It really was cute on her.
"All it takes is one bad day," Eric said, echoing the earlier sentiment. "Should I call the police?"
"Nah. Just toss her crap in the lost and found," Jaye said, and added quickly, "Except the coat. We should probably just-"
And that was when the damn penguin animated. "Bring her back."
"Bring her back?" Jaye repeated, surprised.
"Bring her back?" Eric repeated.
"Bring her back," the penguin repeated.
"No," Jaye said. "I mean, why?"
"I dunno. It’s your idea," Eric said.
"It's not my idea," Jaye returned.
"It wasn't you?"
"It wasn't a suggestion?"
"It wasn't?"
"Nuh uh." .
Eric looked thoughtful. "I suppose we could try to find her, I guess. But she still owes for that turkey club and the owner’s only letting me stay here because I work here, and... oh, I get it."
Jaye frowned. "You do?"
"Even though I only have a cot and large sacks of dried beans, I still have more than this woman does."
Huh. "Did I say that?" Jaye checked.
"That poor woman might be in some kind of trouble, and now she’s out there without her coat. Okay, now you’ve made me feel guilty."
Dammit. Jaye slipped the coat off. "Right. Guilt."
"So you’re saying we should track her down? Get ‘er her stuff back."
"Right. No. Wait. What’re we doing?"
He looked at her, like he was seeing something really special right now, and it was one of those looks that made her heart skip a little. "You know, a lot of people wouldn’t have thought of that. They’d just make sure the door was locked behind her. You’re like a saint."
Oh. "Well…" she said.
"So what do we do?"
"Uh…" This night was not going how she thought and now he expected her to think?
"We know she’s been to the train station. We could start there," Eric said, holding up a train ticket that Jaye had laid out before.
Ugh. Fine. Guess she had to go be a saint. "We could do that…"
[Look at me, committing to finishing this. NFB, NFI.]
