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Post by Edie Blye on Feb 23, 2010 0:32:16 GMT -5
When things fell apart, they crashed and burned. Edie was used to it by now. She had it good for a while, but it didn't last. It never lasted.
Just a few months ago, Edie had moved into the apartment of her boyfriend Ramon. He was exotic, Spanish, and passionate. Oh, so passionate. She still shivered at the thought of it. She was sure that Ramon was a keeper, and that they were going to be together for a long time. But, as always happened, the fighting started, and once it started, the decline was painfully predictable. Now, after a vicious argument that involved some broken China, Edie was out on her rear. Again.
Gathering everything she owned, including her chihuaua, Pinky, Edie took the Knight Bus to London and made her way to the Twilight apartments.
And so it was that at 3 am, Edie was banging on the door to her daughter's apartment, messy, tired, and wet from the ever-present London rain, while carring a bulging trunk and a very ornery chihuahua. "Baby? Are you up? Honey, it's me... it's mommy. Can you let me in?"
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Post by Jessica Blye on Feb 25, 2010 12:16:54 GMT -5
Jessica didn't get home from the resturant until about 11:30 that evening and she headed straight to her bed, exhausted from that day, not even bothering to change out of her work clothes or brush her hair or even shower; she’d do it in the morning.
A loud banging noise shook Jess awake and she looked at her clock. 3:00 in the moring. What the bloody…
Then her mother’s voice flowed into the room. “You have GOT to be KIDDING me!” she said. She should have been expecting it, it has been a while since her mother came knocking on her door. With a groan, Jess rolled out of bed and dragged herself to her front door, swinging it open to reveal her mother, dripping wet from the rain and carrying her little dog that Jess truely wished would stop barking at 3 AM.
"Hello Edie," Jessica said tiredly.
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Post by Edie Blye on Feb 25, 2010 23:55:29 GMT -5
Edie smiled at her daughter. Seeing her still in her work clothes, she automatically assumed that she was still "up." Pulling her into a wet hug, dog included, she let out a heavy sigh, then let loose with a torrent of words.
"I'm so glad you're up, baby. I'm sorry to come over like this, unannounced and all, but I had no choice. I... Ramon kicked me out. Well, actually, he didn't kick me out so much as gave me no choice but to leave. It was such an awful fight... I lost that commemorative plate we got at the fair we went to, remember that? Anyway, Ramon threw it at me, I swear that man has the temper of an Italian opera singer. And he hit me. Look. This is going to bruise. But you know I always said I would never stay if a man hit me, and so here I am, you don't mind if Pinky and I stay for a while, right?"
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Post by Jessica Blye on Feb 26, 2010 15:30:51 GMT -5
As a matter of fact, yes, Jessica DID mind that her mother was, yet again, banging on her door asking for a place to crash. She wished Edie would just grow up, settle down, and marry a guy that wasn't a complete tool.
But one look at her mother and Jess couldn't help but feel sorry for her as well. She stepped aside and opened the door more. "Come on in Mum," Jessica said. "And your little dog too," she grinned at the quote from her favorite movie. She followed her mother inside and closed the door.
"Did he cut you?" Jess asked at the story her mother gave quickly permeated her sleepy brain. "When he threw the plate at you?" she added. She went to the kitchen and under the sink, grabbed some towels and handed them to her mother. Then she went back to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee. It was probably going to be a long night.
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Post by Edie Blye on Feb 27, 2010 12:37:51 GMT -5
Edie followed Jessica into her apartment, setting the trunk down by the door. She did not release the dog, which was, of course, still yapping. "Thanks, baby," she said, sighing heavily. "No, he didn't hit me with the plate, just his hand. He slaps like a girl, too," she added petulantly, rubbing her face.
Unlike Jessica, Edie was slowly starting to give up on the idea of a happily ever after. For her, anyway. Maybe some people were meant to find that perfect someone that would stay around forever and never leave, but Edie... she just wasn't one of those people. She was chaotic, she was messy, she was clingy. Her father was right; she would never amount to much of anything.
She took the towels from Jessica and sat down on the couch as she began to towel-dry the dog. "Shhh, Pinky. It's gonna be OK now. Yeah, baby, it's OK. We're home now."
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Post by Jessica Blye on Mar 3, 2010 14:07:55 GMT -5
"The..." The towels weren't for the darn dog, was what Jessica WAS going to say. But she dismissed it and went back to the kitchen, grabbing more towels. Then she went back to the couch and placed one of the towels on her mother's head, drying her hair herself.
"What set off Ramon?" Jessica asked curiously. While she dried her hair, Jess wondered how long, this time, her mother would be staying at her apartment.
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Post by Edie Blye on Mar 4, 2010 14:19:06 GMT -5
Pinky had stopped yapping at last, and Edie wrapped a towel around the dog, then closed her eyes as Jessica rubbed a towel through her hair. “Oh, you know. Same old story. He was going out, and when I asked him where he was going, he went off about how I’m clingy and demanding. I mean, really, is it unreasonable to ask where a guy is going when he sneaks out at midnight? I think he was having an affair… and I’m not entirely sure it was with a woman, to tell you the truth. He was so defensive, you know? A man doesn’t act like that unless he’s got something to hide. And then he turned it around on me and said that the dog’s barking was driving him crazy and he needed to get some air… Last time he said he ‘needed air’ he didn’t come back until 2:00 in the afternoon.”
Edie sighed heavily and began to rub her head. “We’d been fighting on and off for a few weeks now, though. Usually about stupid things. I guess I knew this was coming… it always does.”
Her eyes welled up then and she blinked back a few tears before they began rolling down her cheeks. “Oh, Jessie… what’s wrong with me? Why does this always happen?”
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Post by Jessica Blye on Mar 25, 2010 16:44:45 GMT -5
"Mom..." Jess sighed and put the towel aside. She moved around the couch and sat beside her mother, wrapping her arms around her and pulling her close wet clothes and all. "It's okay Mommy," Jessica said. "There's nothing wrong with you."
All her life, its just been her and Edie. Of course, there was the random string of men that Edie would be with, but in the end, Jessica had her mother and her mother had her. And that was all that they needed.
She wanted to tell her mother that. That she didn't need a man to make her happy. She had Jessica, why couldn't that be enough? She grew up knowing that all men, including her father, were scum and couldn't be trusted with her heart. Friends? sure, but not more than that.
Jess wanted to lecture her mother on this, but she knew that that was a convorsation for another time. For now she would just comfort her mother...and her wretched dog too.
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Post by Edie Blye on Mar 27, 2010 18:08:03 GMT -5
Perhaps the saddest thing about Edie was that, despite all that she had been through, she did not believe that all men were scum. She still believed in love and that it was out there somewhere. There had to be good men out there. They just couldn't all be bad. Many women found love, got married and stayed that way for their whole lives. Edie just wasn't one of the lucky ones. And thanks to the horrible words her father had once said to her all those years ago, Edie believed she didn't deserve to be loved. It hadn't stopped her from looking, but she didn't realize that she was looking in the wrong places.
At least she had Jess. Her beautiful, precious daughter was the one good thing in her life. Somehow, Jess had ended up being so smart and strong and beautiful after everything that Edie had put her through, and it never ceased to amaze her.
She just cried for a while in her daughter's arms, while the dog began to wiggle his way out of her arms. Finally the tears began to abate and she released Pinky, who jumped down and promptly began to shake off the rest of the water in his fur.
"Oh, Jess," Edie said, ignoring the dog. "I don't know what I would do without you, baby. Probably end up living in the streets, for one thing...."
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Post by Jessica Blye on May 12, 2010 0:51:09 GMT -5
Jess hated to see her mother cry. Maybe it was because it broke her hard exterior she was trying to keep with her, or maybe it was because it confirmed the heartbreak she knew her mother was feeling. Either way, it wasn't fair for a girl to have to see her mother in tears.
"It's okay Mommy," Jess said, holding her mother close. "Ramon was a loser, you could do soooo much better than him." She wasn't entirely sire if that was true or not, based on her mother's track record with guys, but she liked to believe so.
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Post by Edie Blye on May 18, 2010 23:35:07 GMT -5
If only Edie believed it. She had the unfortunate tendency to be attracted to losers, and it was something she couldn't seem to break. There were good guys out there; she was sure of it, but either she never saw them, or they just weren't interested in her. And so she ended up with losers like Ramon... and even now, she was wondering to herself whether she could convince him to take her back.
"Oh, baby," she said, hugging her daughter. "Maybe I should just give up on men entirely. I'm just tired of getting my heart broken..."
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Post by Jessica Blye on Jun 7, 2010 2:15:28 GMT -5
That was probably a good idea. Lord knows Jess had no faith in men after she'd seen the horrible relationships her mother had been in. They were just low lifes and scoundrels and horribl to women. And though, secretly, Jess hoped there was someone out there for her, and for her mother, she doubted he'd ever come her way.
"Well let's not make any rash decisions tonight," Jess said as she finished with her mother's hair. She flicked her wand at the towels and they carried themselves to the hamper. "Do you want tea or something?" Jessica offered. It was going to be a long night, and Jess doubted she'd get a lot of shut-eye before work the next afternoon.
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Post by Edie Blye on Jun 7, 2010 23:03:20 GMT -5
Edie had tried just about everything. She had tried counseling, medication, holistic healing, hypnotherapy, and psychics, in her attempts to put her life together, to the point where she could have a healthy relationship. But it was no use. Even if she knew that the reason she was attracted to losers was because she was trying to find acceptance from her father; or if she learned that she couldn't have a healthy relationship because she was atoning for something she did in a past life.... it still didn't help. She kept going for the losers and she kept trashing the relationships beyond the point of now return.
"That sounds fair," she said to Jessica. After all, she had vowed several times that she was giving up men, and it never lasted. Even when she went on that spiritual retreat in the mountains, where she was supposed to "let go" of all of her burdens--including men--she still had found a way to meet a guy. She had also learned why you should never date a guy you meet in anger management sessions.
"Tea would be wonderful, dear," Edie said. "\
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Post by Jessica Blye on Aug 24, 2010 1:09:45 GMT -5
She had decided that maybe she'd skip her prep work at the resturant and grab some shut eye in the freezer...
Jess entered her own well organized and well stocked kitchen and grabbed the tea kettle, turning the burner on and adding water. Jess never used magic to cook, it just didn't feel natural. As the water got warmer and the tea leaves were found and placed in mugs, Jess's mind drifted.
Mother's were supposed to be role model's. And in a strange, twisted way, Edie was jess's role model. She was to person to show Jess that all men were scum, and though her mother hadn't learned that lesson, Jess had at a very young age. She had once slipped and liked a boy in her 5th year, a seventh year boy in her house. She had spent a long time that year trying to get him to notice her, and her heart was broken when she found him snogging another girl in the common room one night when she came back from studying.
Her mother had tried everything to get over men, and Jessica wondered vaugely what the next plan of action would be. Her thoughts though were interrupted by the whistle of the tea pot, and she quickly fixed everything together before bringing the mugs out to her living room.
"Here Mum," Jess said, sitting on the couch next to Edie.
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Post by Edie Blye on Aug 27, 2010 17:29:16 GMT -5
It would have been easier for Edie if she had been able to just write it off that all men were scum. But she didn't think that they were. Even she acknowledged, however, that she had made some pretty bad choices with men. But she was convinced that there were good men out there somewhere. She just didn't seem to be able to find them. And maybe it was her own fault; there was something wrong with her. That was what her father had told her, over and over again. After hearing those words so many times, there was a part of her that couldn't help but believe they must be true.
While Jess was in the kitchen making tea, Edie got up and rooted through her trunk for a change of clothes. She found a pair of sweat pants that she'd stolen from Ramon, and an old t-shirt that she'd stolen from one of her other boyfriends... JT, maybe? It didn't matter. The clothes were soft and comfortable, and she went into the bathroom to change into them quickly, leaving the wet clothes in a soggy pile on the bathroom floor.
When she came out, Pinky was gnawing contentedly on a table leg. Edie half-heartedly shooed him away from the spot, but he returned almost immediately. Edie curled up into a ball on the couch, allowing the tears to begin flowing anew. She wasn't even really grieving over her break up with Ramon anymore, but for her whole sorry life.
"Hello, darling," she said tiredly as Jessica came back into the room. "You're an angel, you know? You really are, for putting up with me when no one else will..." She sniffled loudly and took a sip of tea.
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Post by Jessica Blye on Feb 22, 2011 4:28:31 GMT -5
Tell me about it. Jess thought to herself as her mother sipped the tea she made her. “Pinky, no,” she said forcefully as the dog gnawed on her furniture. “Of course Mum, I wouldn’t leave you out in the cold.” The neighbors would call her out on it.
“I’ll get you some sheets to put onto the sofa,” Jess said. “Some warm blankets and a good night’s rest and we’ll be able to talk more tomorrow.” Of course, there was a chef’s meeting at the restaurant at 8, so she wasn’t going to be able to get too much more sleep anyway, but maybe her mother would stop wallowing enough that she’d be better in the morning.
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Post by Edie Blye on Jan 13, 2012 0:06:38 GMT -5
Edie closed her eyes and let the hot steam from the tea warm her face. A part of her hated the fact that she had to turn to her daughter for help whenever things fell apart. And things always fell apart. It seemed like Edie had been spending her life waiting for it to start.
Maybe Jessica didn't believe in fairy tales, but Edie always had. She was like Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty, waiting for her prince to come along and save her from this life. But now Edie was starting to realize that it was never going to happen. She would have to make her own happy endings... if only she knew how.
"Thank you, baby," she said tearfully. "You're such a good girl. You know you're the only good thing I've ever done in my life."
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Post by Jessica Blye on Jan 26, 2012 18:14:17 GMT -5
"Thats for sure," Jessica mumbled to herself. "Everything will be alright Mom," Jess said to her, rubbing her back soothingly as she sat on the arm of the couch. How many times would she have to do this? How much longer could Jessica actually handle her erratic mother's lifestyle? It was beginning to take it's toll.
Well that actually wasn't true, It had been taking its toll for a very long time now, NOW it was just on it's last strings.
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Post by Edie Blye on Mar 26, 2012 0:03:46 GMT -5
Edie curled up on the sofa, trying to close her eyes. But it was no use. Her eyes felt swollen and sore and she could still smell Ramon's cologne on her clothes. How could it not hurt, knowing that she'd given him her heart and soul, and once again, she got burned? Would anyone love her?
Unlike Jessica, she believed that she couldn't make a relationship work because there was something wrong with her. She was no good, she was unlovable, she was useless. She couldn't see that the problem was that she was attracted to losers, but that didn't necessarily mean that she was a loser.
"You should go to bed, Jess," she said softly. "I think I'm just going to sit up and cry for a while."
(I would like to point out that "Ramon" is not the same person as Ramon Salvatore. I named this ex-boyfriend of Edie's long before I created that character...)
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Post by Jessica Blye on May 3, 2012 0:32:45 GMT -5
Jessica sighed. She may not be her favorite person, but Jess had a heart and she knew she wouldn't be able to sit up through the night with her mother crying in the other room. "I'll sit with you Mommy," Jess said. "Until you fall asleep anyway..." She was going to hate herself for this in the morning.
She sat on the sofa and lifted her mother's head so it was in her lap. Jess ran her fingers through Edie's hair to keep her calm. Weren't mother's supposed to do this for their children? Why was their life so backwards?
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