"Ray, you alright?" Mags asked through the door.
"Fine," Rachael stopped when her voice was little more than a whisper. Taking a breath she tried again. "Fine, I'll be out in a second."
"Okay." Rachael waited while her footsteps moved away from the door and turned the water on again.
Walking out of the bathroom Rachael saw Mags, Cerulean and a little boy seated at the dining table.
"Come on Ray." Mags called.
"Ochre this is Aunt Mags's friend Rachael, Rachael this is my son Ochre," Cerulean said as she approached the table.
The boy turned around in his seat to look at her as she walked over.
"Hello Ochre," Rachael said as she took a seat.
The boy smiled a little and ducked his head but didn't say anything.
Rachael looked at Cerulean and Mags. Cerulean was looking at his son, but Mags was looking at her and shook her head.
"This looks delicious Cerulean," Rachael said picking up her fork.
"Thanks. So what is it exactly that you do for a living. Mags has said you work at a publishing house, but doing what?"
"Right now I'm a Writer's Assistant. What that means is that I get coffee, run errands and other such tasks for six of the House's top writers. A glorified secretary really."
"She also writes some, too. Did that short story you sent me get published?" Mags asked.
"It got a small print release, and one of the writer's I assist is acting as my mentor. She's encouraging me to write more and try again."
"That's great Ray, watch you're going to be a world wide best seller before you know it."
"That's only if I get more time on the computer at home," Rachael laughed, "but with five of us living there the only time it's available is the middle of the night. Either the girls or Rhidian are using it for homework or Patrick's playing his video games."
"It's that busy all the time?" Mags asked.
"Yeah. Rhidian is taking culinary classes at the local trade school, he's training to be a chef so he can open his own catering business. Rebecca is in the eighth grade and has school papers to write and River has actually skipped grades. She's doing second grade work and taking study classes online."
Cerulean stood up and began clearing the empty plates. "Ochre go get ready for bed, I'll tuck you in."
Rachael stood up and picked up her plate. "Stay seated, I got it," Cerulean said taking it from her hand.
"I'll make coffee," Mags said standing up.
"Is there really nothing I can do?" Rachael asked sitting back down.
"Of course not, you're our guest," Cerulean said washing the dishes.
"Guess I've just gotten used to working all the time. I don't really get a moment to sit down at home," Rachael said.
"Well then you deserve a rest at our place," Mags said bringing over the coffee mugs. "How's your stepdad and Rhonan? You haven't mentioned them yet."
"Patrick is doing okay. He's got a garden in our yard and making some money from it. It helps a lot with the bills when they come in."
"And what about Rhonan?"
Rachael sighed, "what about Rhonan. He and Patrick got into a fight shortly after our move to Willow Creek. He just couldn't forget how Patrick fell apart when mom died. Couldn't trust he wouldn't check out on us again if things got tough. Rhonan moved in with our uncles about that time. He doesn't come by the house much but I have lunch with him every couple of weeks. He's doing open mic nights at the lounge trying to get discovered as a comedian."
"He any good?" Mags asked.
"He's got a steady following on the internet, so I guess he's doing okay," she said. "What about you Mags? What are you doing?"
"Viridian, Lean and I work for the family business, The Palette Agency. I do computer work, Viridian works in the shipping branch, he's out on a run, and right now Lean is on a leave of absence."
They turned to look as Cerulean stepped out of the bedroom and closed the door.
"Ochre go to sleep easy?" Mags asked.
"Pretty easy. Only took three stories and his lullaby to get him down."
"Is he okay?" Rachael asked.
"We had a scare a couple months ago." Cerulean said. "Someone took him from the yard of our house, he was found two towns away when the kidnapper stopped at a store leaving him in the car. Someone walking by saw him and called the police about an abandoned child. When they got there they couldn't find the owner of the car but they rescued him. Ochre hasn't spoken a word since it happened and he has trouble getting to sleep."
"I'm so sorry that happened to you," Rachael said, reaching across the table to cover his hand with hers.
"That's why we moved. We didn't want whoever it was to try again, so we left," Mags said.
"We chose Oasis Springs because I knew you lived close by and wanted to be closer so we could meet."
Rachael leaned back in her chair looking at the clock on the wall. "Jeez, is it that late already? I need to get home."
"Let me walk you out," Cerulean offered.
Rachael stopped at the door and looked at the jacket he offered her.
"It's cold out," he said.
"Thanks," she said pulling it on. "You know," she began, "I take my sisters to the park in Willow Creek every weekend. You could bring Ochre sometime and they could play together. If you want."
"Thanks. I'll give you a call. I'm sure he would like that," Cerulean smiled.
Rachael smiled back, "well, goodnight then." Rachael waved as she walked out the door.
Zipping up the jacket against the night chill Rachael walked to the stop to catch the bus home.
Random Ramblings
Another chapter down. It seems kind of slow to me right now, maybe because I have all these ideas for the story piling up in my head but I'm getting through it. BTW pretty much everything I write will be a work of fiction. (if anyone cares).
Super intense. I truly love that you have back stories for each of your characters. It shines through when you write about them. I like Lean a lot. And Ochre, even though he's quiet. So sad that he was kidnapped! Yikes.
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