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Post by MarieEliz (Mayor) on May 26, 2019 11:53:02 GMT -8
Tucker nods. "Time heals some wounds, but there is always the 'what if'."
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Post by starletinwaiting on May 26, 2019 12:02:15 GMT -8
"Ain't that the truth," Brenda sighs, taking another sip of her coffee.
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Post by MarieEliz (Mayor) on May 27, 2019 8:52:45 GMT -8
Tucker pauses before he shares his story. "My wife left. One day she was just gone. I haven't heard from her in eight years." He had never told anyone that, other than those who were around when it happened.
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Post by starletinwaiting on May 27, 2019 9:08:36 GMT -8
"Really? Just... Disappeared?" Brenda asks. She doesn't understand how a mother could do that, just leave her children. "No explanation?"
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Post by MarieEliz (Mayor) on May 27, 2019 10:43:17 GMT -8
Tucker shrugs. "Her family told me she went to Juneau, but then they moved, too. I haven't heard from anybody since. I never would have expected that." He looks at his hands. He would not have married her if he had known she could do something like that. "Maybe we were too young," he mumbles.
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Post by starletinwaiting on May 27, 2019 12:00:35 GMT -8
"That... sucks," Brenda sighs, shaking her head. Human nature sucks, she adds in her head. "I'm sorry about that."
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Post by MarieEliz (Mayor) on May 28, 2019 8:35:40 GMT -8
"Do you follow sports?" Tucker asks.
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Post by starletinwaiting on May 28, 2019 9:50:16 GMT -8
"Personally? No. But I have a dad and plenty of brothers who do," Brenda replies with a little chuckle. "Why?"
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Post by MarieEliz (Mayor) on May 28, 2019 12:02:12 GMT -8
Tucker shrugs. "Making conversation. Do you watch television?"
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Post by starletinwaiting on May 28, 2019 12:36:05 GMT -8
"Yeah, a little bit," Brenda replies, wincing interiorly. Of course he's just trying to carry on a conversation. "Seems like I either end up watching whatever the girls at the salon are or Jiana's shows."
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Post by MarieEliz (Mayor) on May 28, 2019 14:35:57 GMT -8
Tucker nods and busies himself in taking a drink. He is failing at this conversation stuff. He hasn't entertained a woman casually like this in years. He is clearly bad at it.
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Post by starletinwaiting on May 28, 2019 15:48:42 GMT -8
Brenda seizes the opportunity to take a sip of her own coffee. "So you know that I work at a salon. Did you ever tell me what it is you do?" Feeling a little flustered, she almost adds a self-deprecating 'or did I just forget?' but decides against it.
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Post by MarieEliz (Mayor) on May 29, 2019 9:17:03 GMT -8
Tucker perks up. Finally something he can handle. Of course, he thought he had told her, or somehow she knew, but that didn't matter. "I manage these apartments. That's why I have the best one!" He laughs. "Free rent and flexible hours. Can't beat that! I try to keep general office hours, but things are quiet here. Of course, the buildings are 12 years old now (!!!) so things break down from time to time. I can thank my dad for the ability to handle that!"
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Post by starletinwaiting on May 29, 2019 9:29:06 GMT -8
"I... think you may have mentioned that," Brenda replies with a sheepish chuckle. "Sounds like it has a lot of perks. Must be nice."
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Post by MarieEliz (Mayor) on Jun 1, 2019 19:50:27 GMT -8
"How did you end up in BG?"
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Post by starletinwaiting on Jun 1, 2019 21:51:27 GMT -8
"My dad needed a change of pace after my stepmom passed away a couple years ago and my older brother found a job here so, since we're all pretty tight we... basically all decided to relocate so we could continue to be close to each other," Brenda replies with a shrug.
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Post by MarieEliz (Mayor) on Jun 3, 2019 17:40:38 GMT -8
"Are you living with your family? Because I have lots of open apartments!" He laughs. "How do you spend your free time?"
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Post by starletinwaiting on Jun 3, 2019 21:12:17 GMT -8
"Yeah, I am actually with my family right now. After my divorce, I moved in with my oldest brother who also had my dad and youngest siblings living with him. Guess it just kinda stuck when we moved here," Brenda replies with a sheepish chuckle and a glance towards the window. Briefly, she wonders how Jiana is doing. "Might be time for us to get out on kur own though, me and Jia."
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Post by MarieEliz (Mayor) on Jun 5, 2019 17:32:15 GMT -8
"I"ll get you a good deal," Tucker teases, his eyes sparkling. "I have connections."
He gazes out the window just in time to see Jia following Ever up the slide. It appears his foot slips and she tumbles over the side, falling about five feet and landing on her back. Startled, Tucker rises just as Morgan raises his whistle to his lips.
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Post by starletinwaiting on Jun 5, 2019 18:08:22 GMT -8
Brenda looks up at the sound of the whistle as her daughter's cries join the racket. Eyes widening, she jumps towards the door and flings it open, racing down the stairs to the playground.
Jiana whimpers as she pushes herself to a seated position. Brenda races towards her, not even stopping as she kneels beside her daughter. "Oh, baby, Jiana, are you okay?"
With another whimper, Jiana sniffles.
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Post by MarieEliz (Mayor) on Jun 5, 2019 21:10:58 GMT -8
Tucker proceeds calmly, arriving steps behind Brenda. "She's moving, that's good. Are you hurt?" He methodically observes each body part.
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Post by starletinwaiting on Jun 6, 2019 5:04:05 GMT -8
"Mama, it hurts," Jiana whimpers, burying her face against her mother
"Where, baby girl?" Brenda asks softly. She presses a kiss to Jiana's head, scares but relieved that she seems mostly okay.
Jiana sniffles again. If a sniffle could ever sound embarrassed, hers did. She leans up and whispers something in Brenda's ear.
Brenda tries not to laugh as she repeats, "Your bottom?" Jiana nods, frantically burying her face against hermother again. "How about your back, baby? Or your arm? Anything else?"
Jiana shrugs. She replies, the sound muffled, "I guess it all does a little."
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Post by MarieEliz (Mayor) on Jun 6, 2019 12:26:51 GMT -8
"I think she got the wind knocked out of her," Tucker observes. "Can you get up?"
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Post by starletinwaiting on Jun 6, 2019 14:24:55 GMT -8
"Come on, baby," Brenda says, urging her daughter to try to stand. When the girl does, the mother follows suit. Brenda starts to brush off her daughter's backside. "Sweetie, what happened?"
Jiana shrugs, glancing at her feet. "It was an accident, mom," she mumbles, her arms wrapped around herself selfconsciously.
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Post by MarieEliz (Mayor) on Jun 7, 2019 19:09:33 GMT -8
"She slipped," Morgan offers.
Tucker meets his daughter's eyes. He gives her a look that she knows means 'I told you not to climb up the slide'. He does not say anything out loud to avoid embarrassing her, but Ever looks sheepish.
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Post by starletinwaiting on Jun 7, 2019 20:11:29 GMT -8
Brenda gently pulls Jiana's arms from her body, searching them for any cuts or scrapes. Only a handful seem to exist. "Sweetie, how does your head feel?" she asks as she brushes her daughter's hair out of her face.
Jiana shrugs. "I dunno. I guess... it kinda hurts?"
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Post by MarieEliz (Mayor) on Jun 8, 2019 10:38:31 GMT -8
Tucker keeps his distance and internally groans. If he's honest, he was hoping to build a friendship with Brenda. She seems very protective of her daughter. It might already be concerning for her that Ever is a full year older than Jiana, let alone Ever's... spunk. Cuts, scrapes and broken bones are nearly par for the course in this branch of the Noble family tree. Certainly God gave him Ever to teach him something.
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Post by starletinwaiting on Jun 8, 2019 11:09:21 GMT -8
"Why don't we go back inside and get you washed up a little, sweetie?" Brenda says, glancing back at Tucker. "Would that be okay with you?"
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Post by MarieEliz (Mayor) on Jun 10, 2019 22:33:31 GMT -8
"Of course. Are you bleeding, Jiana? We have a vast bandaid collection. "
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Post by starletinwaiting on Jun 11, 2019 15:42:35 GMT -8
Jiana looks at her arms and legs. "Only a little bit," she whimpers. She lifts her dress, pointing to her knee, a rather large gash bleeding down her leg. "I think I hit it on the way down."
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