Can I curl up now?

Gah. Been awake all of an hour and already one minor heart attack, a mad scramble and some well-deserved raised voice at the kiddo. Do I get coffee?

Interview today. See, I bumped the Friday one to today because I was feeling sick, sick, sick. Without artificial assistance Queenie's body likes to FUCK WITH HER during bleeding. I am Jane's high school torment.

So I called them and made other arrangements. For 930 this morning. As in two hours from now. I have no carseat.

That's correct. I asked Wolf to remind me when we got home and we were talking mushy and by the time we got home I forgot it. So he drove off to work with it. Which means Skipper has no safe means of transporting the kiddo to this interview and he can't get here early enough for me to take the bus. Did I mention he's online but AWOL and I can't reach him? Yeah.

So now Queenie has to go to Wal of the Mart and get a booster seat. No biggie, really. Kiddo was almost outgrown of his current personal safety device.

Store doesn't open until 9 am.

Yeah. I"m gonna be late. Do I _really_ want this interview? After all the trouble I've given these people, do they even want ME?

I guess I'll just not worry about being late, give them a heads up call warning them of this and if they call me back and reschedule, fine. Otherwise I'll cross this one off the list.

On a positive note, I have ten scenes noted out for NaNo. Rock on.

Teatime (what, you thought I forgot? Hah!)

The next evening after work, I caught the bus over to the coffeeshop. Spring was there, humming along with the jazz music playing and cleaning a table.

“Hello, Spring.”

“Hey! Kenji-san! Where’s your girlfriend?” I felt myself blush and swallowed hard.

“She is not my girlfriend. We’re friends.”

“Uh huh. Sure.”

“Why is everyone so eager to fix me up?” I complained to the ceiling, spreading my hands out. Spring laughed and headed for the counter. I followed, shoving my hands into my jacket pockets.

“Simple, Kenji-san,” Spring called over the noise of the espresso machine. Another barrista, Alice, rang me up. “You’re bishi, single and have a tragic past. That makes you a target.” I blushed dark red, giving Alice reason to laugh her head off. I growled.

“I wasn’t aware my personal life was so entertaining to you,” Spring handed me my mug, a serious look in her eyes.

“Look, Kenji-san. I know you’re only here for the summer, but you’re a regular until then. You’re the one who told me about Hitomi, so you have no one to blame but yourself. I certainly didn’t expect to see a woman on your arm this summer, especially not a pretty blonde with Final Fantasy ringers who cries all over you,” Spring cocked her head, gray eyes gleaming. “You DO realize girls don’t cry on a guy’s shoulder unless they trust them, right?”

“Uh…”

“What’s her name?”

“Candy. Candy Carson.”

“American?”

“We’re going to the same school back in New England.”

“Well, from what I can see, you have good taste. She’s not trashy, dresses well and trusts you enough to see her vulnerable. Any girl that loves Final Fantasy enough to DL ringtones gets extra points in my book,” I cringed. Spring is an avid RPG gamer, as evidenced by her standard work uniform of graphic tshirts with various characters emblazoned on the front and back. I’ve been here eight times now and haven’t seen a repeat. Today it’s Everquest.

“Domo, I think,” I said, drinking my coffee. Alice and Spring share a ‘girl look’ and smirk. I fled to my preferred couch as other customers arrived. Glancing up, I spotted Michael standing in line and groaned. Spring saw him and her eyes lit up. I seriously considered putting my glass down and running away, but Michael had insisted on picking me up. Sure enough, he and Spring got into a whispered conversation with many sly glances sent my way. I ignored them, keeping my attention focused on the window behind me.

Imagine my surprise when Michael came over, asked about work and said nothing about Candy for the rest of the evening. Even Brandon kept his mouth shut on the topic after we got home. I went to bed with a strong feeling of foreboding.

*

Thursday afternoon, Michael and Brandon collected me from my desk and hustled me home. Michael spent thirty minutes reviewing my wardrobe, finally settling on my gray suit with a cream shirt and honey tie. As my flatmates were wearing similar outfits with brighter shirts, I didn’t argue. We piled into the Jeep and drove over to McCormick-san’s. I took the lead and knocked. Susan-sama answered.

“Oh, hello, Kenji-san. Please come in,” She said cheerfully. I made the introductions as we sat in the living room. Laefin-san came downstairs first.

“The ladies will be making an appropriate entrance in a few minutes. Cherie had a last minute…concern,” He said, a knowing smirk on his face. I grinned back, pleased at how Laefin-san blinked at me. Another round of introductions occurred.

“Cherie? What a lovely pet name,” Brandon gushed. I fought back laughter. Laefin-san simply shook his head.

“No, that’s her name. Any French jokes will result in bodily injury.”

“He’s not kidding.” I confirmed. Brandon shrank back in horror. Michael was nodding over Laefin-san’s charcoal sports coat and light gray sweater vest over a white shirt and black slacks. Laefin-san sat next to me.

“If she doesn’t kill them, I might. I hate suits as much as she hates skirts,” He muttered, just for my ears. I glanced at him.

“What about your wedding?” I asked in kind.

“I’m seriously considering eloping.”