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 Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2016 9:28 pm
Who: Oliver, Anna Sage, Phoenix, and Zoe
Where: A lake near Oliver's house/Oliver's home
When: Early afternoon
Weather: Bright, sunny, and humid with a mild breeze. --- The first really hot week of summer had begun and Oliver was pleased to say that he was prepared. He'd gotten all of the lawn equipment out, assembled the grill, and installed the air conditioner without any trouble. It was pitching to be a very easy summer. Hopefully his luck would continue!
Of course, hot weather meant that he and his family would want to cool down, and the lake behind his house happened to be the place everyone gathered. Usually his siblings would arrive unannounced in the morning when he was asleep and he'd join them after a while. However, today was a little different. Rose Marie was going to some massage convention and was dropping Anna Sage off directly from gymnastics class. He knew that his niece would arrive in her full leotard, something that was not suited for weather like this, and held out a pitcher of water as his sister's car came speeding along the drive.
"Anna, have some water before you go sprinting inside!" He called, shaking his head as Rose Marie honked the horn. "I swear, your mother needs to slow down..."Anna Sage made a mad dash for the porch as soon as her mother had slowed down enough for her to scramble out of the car and grabbed the pitcher like she hadn't seen water in years. She gave her uncle a glance or two between gulps and lowered it down to her chest only when she had to breathe.
"Mama's late, like always." She laughed, before taking another quick gulp, setting the pitcher down, and wiping her lips. "Okay, I'm ready to go swimming! Where's my suit?""Hanging up in the bathroom, still drying from last week." Oliver replied, rolling his eyes when she sprinted inside. "Slow down, what's the rush? The lake isn't going anywhere!""I know, but my friend will be here any minute!" Anna Sage exclaimed, slamming the bathroom door. "I have to be ready to go as soon as she gets here or I'll look like a big dummy!""Oh, I see." Oliver muttered, leaning back.
Then, it hit him.
"Wait, what friend?" He gasped, his hands waving. "Your mother let you invite someone for a swim while you were driving over here again, didn't she?""Uh-huh! She said you'd be okay with it!" Anna Sage replied, before opening the door after getting the back straps on her suit to work properly. "Where's my snorkel mask? I gotta show her where all the best fish are!"Of course Rose Marie thought it was okay. The blond sighed.
"Alright, but I want you two to be careful." He said, pointing toward the door. "The mask is on the porch, just like your inner tubes and sandals.""We will, I promise!" Anna Sage cheered, racing to shove her sandals on her feet. "Oh! And her daddy's coming too! Maybe we could have a barbecue?""I... I'm not sure what we have, but I suppose!" Oliver chattered, rubbing his hand across his forehead. "Wait here on the porch for them, I need to go get ready.""Got'cha!" Anna Sage replied.
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Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2016 8:53 pm
Zoe had, initially, declined. Even with all of her desire for this year to be different, for her to finally make friends, she was less than willing to put forth any effort on her part. The small child had yet to understand completely that friendship was a two way street. Anna Sage had done her part by reaching out to Zoe in the first place. Now the ball was in her court, and she couldn't just walk away from the game if she wanted things to be different.
It was Phoenix's desperate pleading that changed her mind. When she originally said no and ended the call quickly after, Zoe's dad reminded her of her words on the boat when they'd been on vacation. If she really wanted this year to be better for her, she was going to have to put forth some effort too. So she'd called back the other girl and begrudgingly agreed to join them at the lake.
When they pulled up to Oliver's house, Zoe sat in the back seat in her booster with a cranky look on her face. How could her dad make her do this? Well, he hadn't made her, but how could she have let him talk her into it? How could he be sitting up front with that goofy smile on his face, like everything was just going to be okay? Kids her age were loud and obnoxious, and they were mean so much of the time. At the very least they had no filter when it came to telling Zoe she was weird. What if Anna Sage was the same way? She didn't even really know the girl!
It took Zoe sitting there for a couple of minutes, not making any move to unbuckle herself and get out of the car, before Phoenix finally turned to her and waggled his eyebrows. "Am I gonna have to drag you out kicking and screaming?" He asked light heartedly, giving his daughter a warm smile.
Zoe gave him a withering look. "No, I'll go," she said sourly. Phoenix felt a pang of sadness that her trust in other kids was already so shot at such an early age. But she kept to her word, unbuckling herself and grabbing a small pink bag that was sitting on the seat next to her booster that contained her swimming clothes. She opened the car door and slid out, glancing around at the area around Oliver's house.
Phoenix was likewise doing the same, a low whistle escaping him while he climbed out and shut the door. "Makes you wish we didn't live in an apartment, huh?" As nice of a place that they had to themselves, sometimes Phoenix did wish that they lived somewhere more open. But they made up for it by not keeping cooped up all the time, at the very least.
The little girl was silent in response, closing the door behind her. Giving her dad one last look that clearly stated "if this goes bad, I blame you", she lead the way up to the porch, where she saw Anna Sage waiting for them. There was a moment of pitiful silence from the girl before she finally uttered a quiet, "Hi. Thanks for inviting me."
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Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2016 2:31 pm
Anna started wiggling the moment that Phoenix's car pulled up and eagerly hopped up to greet them. It had only been a few days since school had let out, but to her, she felt like it had been ages. She missed all her classmates and friends, even the ones she didn't know very well. It was hard being the youngest in the family during the summer. All she had were her uncles and, if he wasn't busy with his friends, her cousin Devin. Sure, she had friends to call, but most of them had gone to some sort of camp this summer. She'd wanted to go to one too, but with the jobs her parents had, it would've been too difficult to manage. And at her age, a sleep away camp just wasn't on the table.
However, before she could get herself too twisted about that, she remembered Zoe. They'd never really talked before, and to be honest, she felt bad about that. She understood that Zoe was a little different, but that didn't bother her. In fact, it made her more determined to get to know Zoe, and she liked to think that fact showed in her smile.
"Zoe, you made it!" She exclaimed, practically bouncing toward them. "I'm really glad to see you! Are you enjoying summer so far?""Anna, are they here yet?" Oliver called, leaning out from the front door.
He'd managed to find a pair of swimming trunks and a dry t-shirt fresh from the laundry pile in the short time he'd been given, but was in the middle of combing his hair when he saw Zoe and Phoenix. He paused, tossed the comb inside, and put on his best smile.
"Hello, it's lovely to meet you!" He greeted, quickly moving down the steps to stand beside Anna Sage. "I'm Oliver Kipling, Anna's uncle. I suppose you spoke to my sister, Rose Marie, on the phone?"Annarchye X (The bridal shower too a lot of energy out of me. @ W@ I hope this is okay!)
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Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2016 10:44 am
Zoe was as confused by Anna's enthusiasm at her arrival as she had been by the phone call. It wasn't like Zoe to have nothing to say, but she stood there in awkward silence for a few short moments before she found it in her to speak. "Yes. We just got home from vacation."
The last two weeks had been both exhausting and fun. Zoe wondered if the other girl would even believe such a tall tale as what they had been through during their family trip to Greece.
"May I please use the bathroom to change?" Zoe noticed that Anna was already dressed and ready to go, while she was still wearing her usual style of lacy dress and Mary Janes.
Phoenix immediately thrust out a hand to Oliver in greeting. "Hey! Likewise, man. I'm Phoenix Argyris, and this is Zoe." He nodded down to his daughter, smiling widely.
"I did, yeah. I get the impression this wasn't your idea." He laughed. "I hope this isn't an inconvenience." In hindsight he wondered if he should have asked if he could call Oliver himself to double check that it was alright for them to come by. But they were here now, and the man didn't seem put off by their arrival.
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Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2016 6:57 pm
His idea? No, of course not. Oliver had thrown out the notion that he could have his own ideas about his social life long ago when his sister was barely in middle school. Everything he'd ever done on his own was simply allowed, not a given.
Okay, perhaps he was being a little over-dramatic about this.
"Pleasure to meet you, Phoenix and Zoe!" He exclaimed, shaking Phoenix's hand firmly. "And don't worry, it's not an inconvenience at all! ... I just might need to take a moment to access what's in my fridge. Anna suggested a barbecue, but I haven't really been out shopping as of late, ha-ha!""A vacation? Wow!" Anna Sage replied, clasping her hands together. "Where did you go?"
She couldn't remember the last time her family had gone on a vacation together. Her dad did take her and her mother on business trips sometimes, but he was usually too busy to do anything fun with them. She didn't really mind that, though, because her mom usually made up for it with ice cream or shopping.
"Oh yeah! Follow me!" She cheered, taking a quick look up to her uncle before rushing toward the steps. "The closest one is right inside, and if you need to borrow anything I have plenty of cute stuff!"
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Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2016 8:35 pm
Phoenix's face lit up at the mention of food. If there was one weakness of his it was food, and the prospect of cooking. And since the communication had been scarce and they'd shown up quite out of the blue... "Can I offer you a hand?" His grin was ear to ear.
He gave Zoe an encouraging gesture to go ahead, hoping she'd loosen up a bit and feel comfortable with Anna quickly enough. If all went well today, maybe she'd go home feeling a little better about the upcoming school year, and finally have a real friend for once.
Zoe followed after Anna, not bothering to mask that she was openly looking at all of her surroundings as she did so. "We went to Greece," she said quietly as she glanced about the house on their way to the bathroom. "That's where my grandparents came from."
She clutched her bag to her chest as they approached the bathroom. "Um, I'll be right out, okay?"
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Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2016 12:07 pm
Oliver, knowing full well that he had nothing prepared, was relieved when Phoenix offered to help. However, he was a bit nervous about finding out what he had left in the fridge. He hoped to God that nothing was moldy.
"If you don't mind, I would appreciate it!" He replied, echoing Phoenix's grin. "Just, uh, follow me inside and we can see what I've got that's worth cooking."
He turned toward the porch and reached for the door, before looking back to Phoenix.
"Ah, I forgot! Would you or Zoe like something to drink? There should be some lemonade left somewhere." He said.Greece? Anna's eyes grew wide. She'd heard about Greece from her father, but didn't know much about it aside from it being very rich in history and being popular for travel. Maybe Zoe wouldn't mind answering questions once she was settled?
"Oh, I've never been there!" She exclaimed, beaming. "But I'd really like to hear more about your trip! I'll wait for you out here, okay?"
She motioned to the staircase and wiggled over, and seemed very willing to wait as long as Zoe needed.
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 9:20 pm
Glad that Oliver accepted his offer for help, Phoenix hurried inside after him. He was certain that whatever the man had he could make something of it, and that would give the two of them some time to talk while the girls had their fun.
"Ah! Actually, that reminds me. Excuse me for just a moment, yeah?" Phoenix retreated back through the front door, running out to the car. After a minute he returned, carrying a bottle of zinfandel in one hand. He raised it in offering. "Don't know if you're a wine kind of guy, but I thought I'd bring something by just in case." It was a common practice of his when visiting someone, especially someone new.
Zoe quickly disappeared into the bathroom with a nod, where she changed out of her dress and into a pale pink bathing suit with bits of ruffles around the neckline and armholes. She had pink flip flops to match the suit. She neatly folded her clothes and put them inside her bag, which she left on the bathroom counter so that she could change later when they'd finished playing.
She came back out with a shy smile. It wasn't like Zoe to be shy, but she was feeling a little peculiar about the situation. Usually other kids weren't so nice to her. Anna's demeanor had her off guard, and she wasn't sure how to react. "I'm ready."
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Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2016 2:43 pm
Oliver's face lit up at the sight of the wine, equally out of thankfulness and relief. He didn't have a good bottle of wine up from the basement and probably didn't have one stored up here, either. Phoenix's offer was very welcomed.
"Ah, thank you! I'll get us a couple of glasses." He said, leading Phoenix into the kitchen. "Do you prefer a larger glass or something more on the small side? I've got both here, somewhere."
He moved toward the counter and scanned the cabinets. Most of his good wine glasses were buried behind rows of mugs for tea, which really showed just how much they were used. He rubbed the back of his head as he searched.Anna Sage hopped up from her seat on the stairs as the bathroom door opened and gasped when she saw Zoe's suit.
"Oh my gosh! That's the cutest suit I've ever seen!" She exclaimed, grinning. "Where did you get it? I love the ruffles!"
She wouldn't admit that she didn't like the shade of pink it was, being someone who liked super bright and vibrant things, but the ruffles made it look so cute! Maybe it came in other colors? Oh, and if her mom bought her one like it, she and Zoe could be like twins! She kept that exciting idea to herself, too, so it could be a surprise for next time!
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Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2016 9:45 pm
Phoenix sat the bottle down on the counter and made his way to the fridge to see what he could scrounge up for a good meal. He had a feeling he would need to take the matter of dinner almost entirely into his own hands, something he had no problem doing provided his host allowed him full use of the kitchen. "Whatever you have is fine," he said politely, opening the fridge and bending down to look inside. "I'll only have a bit either way." He would have to drive home in a few hours after all.
Zoe flushed a bit at the compliment. It was far from the insults that were usually hurled at her. Too girly. What's with all the lace? She dresses like she's a toy doll! "I'm not sure," she answered after thinking a moment. "Dad takes me to Nordstrom a lot, maybe there?" Zoe didn't pay much mind to where her things came from. So long as she liked it it didn't matter to her.
Shifting around a bit, she looked down towards the front door. "Should we go outside?" she suggested.
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Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2016 11:48 am
Oliver had taken a good chunk of the mugs out of the cabinet before finally finding a wine glass that looked suitable and turned to set it next to the wine bottle. The next thing would be figuring out where the hell he'd placed his bottle opener in this mess, which he couldn't help but sigh about. However, as Phoenix opened the fridge, he figured that could wait for the moment.
"Uh... See anything we can work with in there?" He asked, chuckling awkwardly.Ah, Nordstrom! Anna would need to remember that store the next time she went shopping with her mom! She couldn't miss out on owning a cute swimsuit like that!
"Oh yeah, hold on!" She exclaimed, before turning to peer into the kitchen. It seemed that the adults were a bit busy looking in the fridge for something, but it was always important to tell people when you were going somewhere. That's what Oliver always said, at least.
"Uncle Oliver, Zoe and I are going swimming now!" She called, before leaning back to whisper to Zoe. "Usually my mom is here and we don't have to tell him we're going, but when she isn't, I have to tell him or he gets worried. He's funny like that, I guess."
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Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2016 11:14 am
Another individual might have felt a bit awkward shuffling around through someone else's fridge, especially someone they just met. But Phoenix was there to help at that moment, and nothing would get done if he didn't take the initiative and figure out what he could do.
He didn't immediately answer Oliver's question as he dug through the assorted food. He'd noted a few vegetables that were worth using in the fridge, and moved up to the freezer to look through what was there as well. He found a package of pork chops shoved in the back. Looking over his shoulder he called to Oliver, "Do you have a grill outside?"
Zoe followed Anna, looking alongside her into the kitchen while she announced that they were going outside. She gave a small wave to her dad, who smiled and waved back at her. This reassured her and she smiled in return.
"Have you ever swam in the ocean?" Zoe said then to Anna, leading the way to the front door with a new sense of confidence.
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Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2016 6:46 pm
Oliver was genuinely astounded by the appearance of the pork chops and wondered just how much he could have shoved back in that freezer of his. However, now was not the time to be pondering the boundless depths of his kitchen, they had a meal to prepare!
"I do, and we can actually wheel it to the lake if we wanted to watch the girls while we cook!" He cheered, grinning when he found the bottle opener in the silverware drawer. "And now that I've found the opener, what do you think we should bring out for the girls to drink? Does Zoe have any preferences?"Anna dutifully followed Zoe to the front door again and held it open for her, before pausing to consider her question.
"A few times, but only when we visit my uncle Sherwood in Gambino." She replied, stepping out onto the porch. "Have you ever been swimming at a lake?"
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2016 10:48 am
"Oh, I'm sure she'd love some of that lemonade you mentioned!" Phoenix nodded enthusiastically. He took the frozen meat to the sink, which he filled with just enough water to submerge the package and let it begin thawing.
The main part of the meal decided upon, the man started pulling assorted vegetables from the fridge. Some appeared quite wilted, but there was enough combined that they could chop and grill the assortment and have a perfectly acceptable meal! "You're very lucky to live here," Phoenix gushed as he glanced out the window. "I'd love to move us out someplace like this, if it weren't so far from work." He certainly had the means to move, but relocating so far from family and Ambrosia would complicate things. Not that he hadn't considered it regardless.
Zoe followed outside, looking around at her surroundings. "A few times," she parroted with a small smile. Swimming was one of the few things outdoors that she genuinely enjoyed doing. Running about climbing and exploring wasn't really her thing. She didn't care for getting dirty, and most outdoor activities just didn't appeal to her. Swimming, on the other hand, was extremely fun and relaxing. She was glad Anna had invited her swimming of all things.
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2016 8:01 pm
Ah, right, the lemonade! How could he forget? The blond laughed to himself and reached around Phoenix to get the bottle before returning to the cupboard and getting two plastic cups. However, he wouldn't pour them until they were outside and the girls were ready for a drink, or course.
"You think so?" He laughed, glancing out the window as Phoenix did. "It is a lovely area, but it does need a lot of upkeep. Aside from the location and weeding, mowing the lawn is a pain and you've got to worry about trees falling during storms. However, I don't think I'd trade any of this for the city if you paid me."
He paused a moment to look the vegetables over, yet again astounded that he had them, and looked to Phoenix again.
"Oh, where do you work?" He asked."Cool! Then you'll probably like this lake!" Anna replied, nodding. She let the door swing closed behind them and moved to where Oliver had left the swimming toys. There were an assortment of inner tubes, beach balls, and snorkel masks lined up along the deck, some obviously made for people much taller than they were, but the smaller of the pile is what she pointed toward.
"I've got lots of stuff we can bring to play with at the lake!" She announced, grinning. "You can have first pick of everything if you want, since you're the guest!"
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