"It is." agreed Janie "But at the same, it's not very much time. Do you think Vito would mind if I broke up with him?" she asked, without pausing "I don't want to, however. He's very nice, and is a good cook. And I like his hair. He's also got a good book collection and nice eyes."
Nica stared at Janie as though she'd turned into a grasshopper and started nibbling on the park bench. "Would he mind? What, are you crazy? You're, like, the first person he's dated in pretty much forever. Why would you want to do that?"
"I don't know if I'm the right person to ask that," Nica said. "I still vaguely remember him having acne and braces a really deep fascination with Star Wars. But yeah, he's a hell of a guy, you'd be crazy to leave him."
Nica raised her eyebrows at that. Being a little thin and mousy, herself, she wasn't sure if she should feel insulted by that, or glad that her cousin's girlfriend didn't have the hots for her.
"Well, then ... just be sure that any secrets you have, he hears from you before he hears from somebody else. Because that would probably hurt."
"I doubt he will," Nica said. "He's pretty forgiving, I think. Like, this one time, when I was like five, I took a Sharpie to some book he bought at an antique store in Florence and he kind of turned red and glared a lot, but he never mentioned it to me again."
"Okay, when I met you, you were wearing stripper-heels," Nica said, "and you have some kind of deep, dark secret that you think Vito will break up with you for. Not getting the 'boring' vibe from you."
"They do?" Janie thought about her previous job, and it made sense to her. Everything made a lot more sense to her now that she was more clear headed and knew what the shoes signified. "...It was just something I had to take, to get proper paperwork and an apartment. I told Vito about it and he said he wouldn't go after them."
She looked at her hands for a moment. "Both of you have helped me a lot. I don't know what would have happened if you didn't, especially the night of the storm."
Nica considered that Vito had said he wouldn't go after a group that sounded as though it had trafficked Janie, and her blood ran cold. She suspected that what he meant was, he wouldn't go after them himself. There were other ways to get things done, in this city.
"Well, what's past is past," Nica said. "Best thing you can do is never go back there. And hey, it was little wet, no big whoop." Nica smirked and gave Janie's hand a squeeze. "You're practically family, now."
"That's doing well!" Janie grinned, even though the store was very, very slow. "And Lynn is doing alright, but I do not have her in school yet. It starts on Tuesday, correct? I don't know what grade they're sending her to."
"Yeah, I know we start back on Tuesday," Nica said. "Kinda lookign forward to it, kinda not," she admitted. "It's nice bein' able to just hang out and stuff and not worry about writing papers and reading textbooks."
Janie had to think over her answer carefully. She was supposed to be 26, with a nearly 13 year old child. That would make her a high school dropout, instead of someone who only attended a senior year.
"It was hard, with Lynn, and we were new here... I would like to perhaps teach one day."
"That would be cool," Nica said, and sipped her drink. "I need to start getting ready for college, so I need to actually pay attention to my grades and stuff, this year."
"Eh ... they're here and there," Nica said. "A's in Art, B's and C's in language stuff, and I try to avoid math and science. Hopefully I'll get in someplace where that part really doesn't matter."
(no subject)
Date: 2011-09-04 04:48 am (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2011-09-04 05:51 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-09-04 05:54 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-09-04 06:15 am (UTC)"Vito deserves better than me. I'm not a good girlfriend."
(no subject)
Date: 2011-09-04 06:24 am (UTC)"You could ... umm ... I don't know. Try to figure out what part of being a girlfriend you're horrible at, and try to get better?"
(no subject)
Date: 2011-09-04 06:26 am (UTC)"I don't think I can. That's the problem, and he's a good guy, so he's not going to be okay with it."
(no subject)
Date: 2011-09-04 06:28 am (UTC)Nica just shook her head and let that hang in the air for a second.
"Well, maybe what you consider awful, he's okay with, because he seems pretty happy, to me."
(no subject)
Date: 2011-09-04 06:30 am (UTC)She thought about it a little more, and didn't change her opinion.
"He doesn't know. There's a lot about myself that I haven't told him, or he may have the wrong idea."
(no subject)
Date: 2011-09-04 06:39 am (UTC)"Well, then ... just be sure that any secrets you have, he hears from you before he hears from somebody else. Because that would probably hurt."
(no subject)
Date: 2011-09-04 06:41 am (UTC)"Did I say the wrong thing? I will let him know, however. I hope he doesn't hate me afterward."
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Date: 2011-09-04 11:22 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-09-04 11:28 pm (UTC)On the secret, she bit her lip. "Secrets."
(no subject)
Date: 2011-09-04 11:50 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-09-05 12:05 am (UTC)She looked at her hands for a moment. "Both of you have helped me a lot. I don't know what would have happened if you didn't, especially the night of the storm."
(no subject)
Date: 2011-09-05 02:05 am (UTC)"Well, what's past is past," Nica said. "Best thing you can do is never go back there. And hey, it was little wet, no big whoop." Nica smirked and gave Janie's hand a squeeze. "You're practically family, now."
(no subject)
Date: 2011-09-05 02:25 am (UTC)Janie would have taken the hand squeeze, but she was in a hug mood.
"You have a wonderful family." She took Vito at his word, and figured nothing else would come of the situation.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-09-05 02:52 am (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2011-09-05 04:59 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-09-05 05:08 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-09-05 05:12 am (UTC)"It was hard, with Lynn, and we were new here... I would like to perhaps teach one day."
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