|
Post by Joelle on Jul 18, 2019 14:52:08 GMT -8
July 17, 2019
It's after returning from a doctor's appointment, and Tarah is taking a nap. The twins have prepared dinner, and Naamah has invited Callie over. She is straightening her room at the moment, remembering that this is the first time they have hung out at her house rather than Callie's, but other than a few deep breaths, there's not much more that she can do to prepare herself. Is Callie this nervous, too?
|
|
|
Post by starletinwaiting on Jul 18, 2019 15:41:37 GMT -8
As the GPS guides them down the streets to Naamah's house, Callie sinks with each house they pass. "Dad... What if- what her brother doesn't like me? What if he says no to is dating? What if he decides that he doesn't want to send her on a trip to New York City with me? There's so many things that could go wrong! Maybe we should turn back..."
Amos pulls into the driveway and parks. "Too late, Cal. We're here. You'll be find. She likes you. I'm sure he'll be fine with you too. Take a deep breath. You'll be okay."
Callie takes a deep breath as her father directs her, opening her car door. "Love You, Callie!" her dad calls after her, watching her mount the stairs. Callie turns and waves back to him before she knocks on the door.
|
|
|
Post by Joelle on Jul 18, 2019 16:12:38 GMT -8
Naamah answers the door, followed by Kochava, who has changed into regular clothing rather than wearing a leotard.
"Jesse's working on his cars at the moment." Chava rolls her eyes. "Dudes and their cars. Shall we give you the grand tour for now?"
Naamah sees how nervous Callie looks and smiles reassuringly.
|
|
|
Post by starletinwaiting on Jul 18, 2019 16:29:22 GMT -8
Seeing Naamah's smile, Callie feels herself begin to loosen up. "A tour would be great," she says, resisting the urge to take Naamah's hand. After all, she is only here officially as Naamah's friend.
|
|
|
Post by Joelle on Jul 18, 2019 16:53:52 GMT -8
After showing Callie all the rooms in the house including the bathrooms and kitchen, Naamah saves her room for last. Chava has wandered away this time, ready to call the others for dinner. But before that happens and Callie has to face a pregnant Tarah, Naamah wants to show off her room, and leads Callie there. "What do you think? You can see I've been cleaning, I hope?"
|
|
|
Post by starletinwaiting on Jul 18, 2019 17:06:52 GMT -8
"It's really nice," Callie says, smiling at Naamah. She perches on the edge of the bed. "It's way cleaner than my room. There was really no need to clean up. Not after you've seen mind at keast."
|
|
|
Post by Joelle on Jul 18, 2019 17:27:34 GMT -8
"I wanted to. Though I suppose if we're going to be 'friends'," Naamah says, putting air quotes around the word with her fingers and winking at Callie, "We have to see the worst of each other sometime, so that we're not afraid of it later. Isn't love 'for better or for worse?'"
|
|
|
Post by starletinwaiting on Jul 18, 2019 21:36:33 GMT -8
"Exactly!" On a whim and a sudden burst of courage, she leans over and quickly pecks Naamah on thd lips. "And I mean... We are heading to New York like... a month after we met so... I think we've got a jump on things. Might as well jump all in now, right?"
|
|
|
Post by Joelle on Jul 19, 2019 12:51:17 GMT -8
"Right!" Naamah kisses Callie back. "Now c'mon, let's go have dinner." Dimly, Naamah hears Chava yelling at Jesse to change his shirt and shakes her head. "Like she said, dudes and their cars. Besides, Tarah is really sensitive to that oil smell."
Jesse comes to the table wearing a shirt that says NEW YORK FLAMES with an almost adorably sleepy Tarah on his arm. As he kisses Tarah's cheek and tucks her hair behind her ear, Naamah shakes her head. She has to admit, they are pretty adorable.
And she hopes she and Callie are just like them someday. Well...with a few adjustments on viewpoints.
Jesse flashes Callie a grin. "So you're Callie, right? I'm Jesse. It's nice to meet you."
|
|
|
Post by starletinwaiting on Jul 19, 2019 14:12:12 GMT -8
"Nice to meet you too!" Callie smiles back, shyly offering him her hand. Hyperaware of their situation, she places herself near Naamah with enough space to suggest the simple friendship they're trying to portray.
|
|
|
Post by Joelle on Jul 19, 2019 15:33:54 GMT -8
Jesse shakes her hand. "So where did you and Naamah neet, and what would you like to see while you're in NYC? Besides a few musicals, of course." he asks as the food is being passed around.
|
|
|
Post by starletinwaiting on Jul 19, 2019 15:45:54 GMT -8
"We're in the same dance class at Maury's," Callie replies, helping herself to a reasonable portion as the food passes by her. "Your sister's really good!" She grins in Naamah's general direction.
"As for New York..." Callie changes the subject, pausing to sip from her water, "Callie and me have been talking about it. I'm not sure if I can narrow it down! I just kinda wanna see it all!"
|
|
|
Post by Joelle on Jul 19, 2019 15:56:32 GMT -8
"If I can make a couple of definite must-see suggestions, Times Square at night is most definitely one of them. Also, if you know at least a bit of your ancestry, the computers on Ellis Island have tons of stuff. And let's not forget the Brooklyn Bridge!"
|
|
|
Post by starletinwaiting on Jul 19, 2019 16:49:15 GMT -8
"Ooh! Yes! I definitely wanna go to Times Square! That has to be on the list for sure!" Callie says, turning to Naamah. "How did we forget Times Square?"
|
|
|
Post by Joelle on Jul 19, 2019 19:29:31 GMT -8
"I don't think I did, but Jesse is right. It's way better at night. It's like all the lights in the city come on!" says Naamah. Tarah chimes in. "Don't forget Radio City Music Hall! Even the elevators are pretty there!" (OOC: The one I was in on my senior trip had a Greek scene. I should scan those pics sometime and put them here.)
"Maybe the Rockettes will give us a dance lesson!" Naamah exclaims.
|
|
|
Post by starletinwaiting on Jul 19, 2019 22:38:07 GMT -8
Callie squeals at the mere th ought. "This all sounds so freaking amazing! I can't wait to go! I'm dad's excited too. Just a little disappointed that he's not gonna be able to go for the whole trip. But Anise Will be there! And she's way more protective of me than my dad. She'll make sure we're safe and taken care of!" Callie giggles.
|
|
|
Post by Joelle on Jul 20, 2019 11:18:44 GMT -8
"Oh and we have to go back to Rockefeller Center to watch them light the Christmas tree, unless that's close to Hanukkah," Naamah adds. "For sure it should happen at some point!"
Jesse smiles at Callie's excitement. "Hey, relax a little. I don't think I would let you guys go if I knew you wouldn't be in good hands."
|
|
|
Post by starletinwaiting on Jul 20, 2019 11:46:11 GMT -8
"I'm honestly really surprised that you're okay with letting us go as is," Callie giggles sheepishly. "I mean... Not very many people would."
|
|
|
Post by Joelle on Jul 20, 2019 16:30:02 GMT -8
"True, probably. But we've had to make some...unusual decisions in the past months. In November, it'll be a year since the kids came to live with us," Jesse says. "Maybe it's that we're not used to being guardians yet- though we will be," he says with a grin at Tarah's belly. He turns back to Callie. "Naamah hasn't been this happy in months- if not years- and I hope the others will adjust soon, too. "
|
|
|
Post by starletinwaiting on Jul 20, 2019 18:04:38 GMT -8
"Maybe they just need to make some friends," Callie says, smiling knowingly at Naamah. "People they can talk to about just about anything. I know that's always helped me a lot!"
|
|
|
Post by Joelle on Jul 20, 2019 18:26:41 GMT -8
"By others, he probably means me," says Sheva, giving Jesse a knowing look. "I don't need to tell you that going to school with burn scars is not easy, much less the fact that I still have high school next year and Chava doesn't. But it hasn't been all bad."
Jesse has the good grace to look sheepish. "People in New York." he explains. "The paparazzi."
"The paparazzi- most especially that camera guy who tried to hit on me as I came home from the hospital-" Sheva says, not as shy as some might be about it, "can buzz off!" Sheva would have used a far stronger choice of words if Tarah hadn't stopped using them herself once she found out she was pregnant.
"I like people here better," she adds.
"Me too!" Chava, Naamah and Menashe say together.
|
|
|
Post by starletinwaiting on Jul 20, 2019 22:26:21 GMT -8
Callie giggles at the in-sync response the siblings spouted. "I may not have had paparazzi to deal with or burn scars or any of that stuff, but I came from a foster home. Well... several foster times really. So I get it! It's a really nice change to be living here. We've actually been in Neighboring City since I was adopted by my dad, but his wife just recently moved out here -- I guess that makes her my mom! -- and so we moved here to BG proper like... a week ago. Even just the difference between those two places is, like, pretty big, you know? Not as big as going from big city to small town but... a big enough differemce to be noticeable."
|
|
|
Post by Joelle on Jul 21, 2019 9:44:35 GMT -8
"Yeah, the few people Menashe and I have told about stuff," says Naamah, knowing Callie will probably know just what 'stuff' but not wanting to directly mention it in front of Tarah. "Are really nice. We introduced you to Caleb, I know. Oh! And congratulations on the new mom and the move! I mean, I guess that means we'll be seeing more of each other around. What's the new address?"
"There's a place here where I can train for my gymnastics too, and Sheva is already working on her first jewelry party!" says Chava.
|
|
|
Post by starletinwaiting on Jul 21, 2019 9:54:32 GMT -8
"We're 1 Gully. It's gonna be a huge change because she comes with a lot of kids of her own and some she adopted with my dad and they have one little girl already and triplets on the way. You'll have to meet Romy and Gen, Naamah!" Callie gives Naamah a look, hoping she catches her drift.
Turning to Chava, Callie adds, "I think Naamah mentioned you do gymnastics, which js really cool, but she never said anything about Sheva's jewelry! Your sisters are awesome, Naamah!"
|
|
|
Post by Joelle on Jul 21, 2019 19:08:16 GMT -8
"They are, aren't they? Yeah, Sheva makes her own jewelry. She started as soon as she came home from the hospital after the accident. And her business is doing pretty well, actually. Both of my sisters are way closer to having their futures figured out than I am. I don't even know if I want to go pro with the dancing."
"Listen, all of you," says Jesse. "Menashe, Callie, Naamah, even Sheva and Chava- there's time for all that. Despite what American culture seems to dictate about college and whatnot, you don't have to have this stuff figured out at 18."
|
|
|
Post by starletinwaiting on Jul 21, 2019 22:05:59 GMT -8
"And thank God for that!" Callie giggles. "There's so many things that we have to try to figure out. It's really stressful. And then there's, like, people telling to choose one route or the other because certain reasons and it's just a lot."
|
|
|
Post by Joelle on Jul 22, 2019 6:41:59 GMT -8
"Yeah, be a teacher because your mom or dad was. My dad was a lawyer, I get it! It sucks!" says Menashe.
|
|
|
Post by starletinwaiting on Jul 22, 2019 6:47:04 GMT -8
"Yeah..." Callie smiles sadly at the mention of parents. "Sorry about losing your parents," she says softly. "I know that can be hard. We lost mine when I was really little, so I don't remember them much. It's been just me and my sister for a really long time." A joyous smile returns to her face at the thought of Anise. "She's the best! She's been there for me through everything."
|
|
|
Post by Joelle on Jul 22, 2019 6:58:21 GMT -8
"Yeah, I get that. I love my sisters, but Menashe and I are really tight, because he was born 3 months early. You kinda bond when your closest sibling in age needs protection."
|
|
|
Post by starletinwaiting on Jul 22, 2019 8:22:15 GMT -8
Callie feels her cheeks begin to grow warm. "Yeah... And I was never one to really stand up for myself, so Anise kinda just... swooped in to save the day." She adds as an explanation to the rest of the family, "I got bullied a lot at my past schools. For lots of things."
|
|