I do not own Steven Universe. The show and its characters are property of Rebecca Sugar and Cartoon Network.
"Hey Steven, pass the sponge! I missed a spot on the hubcap," Greg Universe called to his young son, the ever plucky Steven Universe.
"Here it comes!" shouted Steven as he threw the soaking wet sponge to his father. However the sponge was thrown too high and hit Greg square in the face!
"Oops! Sorry about that dad!" Steven apologized loudly. However, rather than get angry, Greg simply gave a hearty chuckle, signaling no offense was taken. "It's alright Steven! Like I always say; if every pork chop were perfect…" "We wouldn't have hotdogs!" finished Steven jubilantly. The father and son laughed as they finished washing Mayor Dewey's electoral van.
Mayor Dewey's re-election was coming up soon and the politician wanted to make sure that his "victory vehicle" was prepped up for the big day. As such, he asked Greg to do a final scrub down in exchange for "political favors". And of course, Steven wanted to help his old man out in any way he could. And so the two spent the entire afternoon together, joking around and washing Mayor Dewey's van.
"Well, I believe our job here is done Steve-O," proclaimed Greg proudly as he inspected their handiwork one last time. "It looks beautiful! Kind of like a diamond after you've cleaned it up!" Steven said, admiring the van in his own "Steven-y" way.
As Greg put the sponges away, Steven suddenly gasped, "Oh no! I can't believe I forgot!" Greg, taking note of his son's distressed state, asked "What is it Steven? What did you forget?" Steven began searching for his cheeseburger backpack and said hurriedly, "I forgot that I was supposed to meet Connie at the arcade half an hour ago! We should've been playing Lakewood Plaza Turbo by now! Oh, I hope she's still there!" After a few panicked minutes, Steven found his trusty cheeseburger backpack. "Well don't keep her waiting! Go on to the arcade, I've got everything covered here," Greg assured.
"Thanks dad! See you tomorrow!" and with that, Steven bolted from the carwash towards the Funland Arcade. "Later gator!" Greg shouted after Steven. Greg smiled as he thought about Steven running to Connie in time for their date. 'Kids really do grow up fast,' Greg thought to himself wistfully. Greg went back putting the sponges with a frown growing on his face. "If only we were all so lucky," Greg sighed.
Greg had to face the cold hard truth about his life; he was lonely. Ever since Rose Quartz, his wife and mother to his child, gave up her physical form to bring Steven into the world, Greg was nothing more than a widow. He had no close friends to speak of and his romantic life was as dead as disco. His only relative was Steven and even then, as inheritor of Rose's gem, Steven had to spend a good deal of time training with the Crystal Gems, Beach City's resident mystical guardians that were once led by Rose before her passing. Often, Greg was able to push these thoughts of loneliness to the back of his head and get through his day with a smile. Other times, however, he would lie awake in his van at the dead of night, wondering if he would end up dying alone and afraid. These thoughts would often frighten Greg to the point of tears. Thankfully, those thoughts were not very frequent, at least not anymore.
After Greg finished putting the sponges away, he was about wrap up the hose, when he saw a car drive up into the carwash. But this was no ordinary car. When Greg first saw the vehicle, he thought it was some sort of muck monster with glowing, round eyes! The fact that real monsters are constantly running around in Beach City did not help matters for Greg. Thankfully, the "eyes" shut off and a woman emerged from a side door, revealing that the monster was nothing more than an automobile, albeit one covered in some serious gunk.
"Hey, are you still open?" called the woman from her filthy car. The woman was a foot shorter than Greg and on the plump side, though not in any exaggerated way. She wore small, rectangular horn-rimmed glasses on her chubby face and had her curly strawberry blonde done up in a red bandana, although it still flowed a little bit past her freckled shoulders. She was clad in a vermillion sundress and tan sandals and appeared to be around the same age as Greg. "Yup," Greg replied, "And from the looks of it, you're in serious need of a wash!"
The woman gave a light laugh, "Yeah, funny story. One minute I'm driving along the road, just minding my own business. Then, out of nowhere, my car got covered in several inches of mud! I'm still trying figure out this happened."
"You must be new around here," Greg said, directed the woman to the power washer. She complied, driving her vehicle into the power washer. After she exited her car, Greg pushed some buttons and her car began its wash.
Greg continued with his idle chat with the newcomer, "As I was saying, this town may look like a sleepy little tourist trap, but trust me when I say that we've got a few tricks up our sleeve."
The woman crossed her arms with a smile and said, "I'll say. I just came from San Francisco a couple of days ago. I was getting familiar with the town when my car got caked with sludge. Nice to know this place isn't some boring beach town."
Greg feigned offense and replied, "Why madam, I'll have you that this 'boring beach town' has one of the best boardwalks around!"
"Hmm, I've heard about the boardwalk. Tell me Mr. Beach City, what makes this boardwalk of yours so great?" asked Beach City's newest resident, more out of curiosity than any smugness.
"Well, if you must know, the Beach City boardwalk has Funland, the greatest amusement park hands down. I dare you to find someplace better!"
"Well I'm sold!" the woman replied happily. "I've always been a sucker for amusement parks!"
"Good to hear! It's always nice to meet a fellow amusement park enthusiast," the man beamed earnestly. "By the way, I'm not 'Mr. Beach City'. The name's Greg Universe," Greg said, extending his hand as a warm welcome to Beach City's newcomer.
"I'm Odette," the woman said, taking Greg's hand and shaking it good-heartedly.
"Nice name. So what's a San Francisco native doing in Beach City?"
"Well, I just got kind of tired of the hustle and bustle of the big city life. I figured a smaller town might do me some good. Apparently, there are surprises around every corner, even in small towns."
"Amen to the surprises part. Although without some of the weirder stuff going, Beach City is a pretty peaceful place to settle down. You've got the beach of course, the boardwalk if you're feeling adventurous, and then there's the food."
Odette interest piqued when Greg mentioned food. "What kind of food?"
"Well, it's mainly beach must-haves, like French fries and hotdogs. But our doughnuts are to die for!"
"Just what I wanted to hear," Odette said. "When it comes to sweet stuff, I can't be beat!"
Greg began finding more middle ground with the newcomer. "Oh, you've got a sweet tooth, do you?"
Odette nodded, "Although, when it comes to sweets, nothing beats watermelon. I can't get enough of that melon!"
"I love watermelon!" Greg replied genuinely. "Nothing beats a cold slice of melon on a hot summer day. Problem is, they're not in season here that often, so it really is a rare treat."
"Lucky for you, I just so happen to be planning on planting a watermelon patch. Prepare for year-round watermelon available for the summer Mr. Universe."
"Nice. And speaking of summer, guess what time of the year Beach City comes alive?"
"How fitting. Let me guess, there's picnics and fireworks galore?" asked Odette.
"It is the most beautiful season in Beach City. You can't afford to miss it," Greg said, smiling at the prospect of summertime in Beach City. And Greg knew Odette felt the same way, judging from the small grin on her face.
Just then, a loud buzz rang throughout the carwash, signaling that Odette's car was done being washed. "Oh hey, my car's ready!" Odette said, somewhat surprised at how little time she actually spent.
"Right. Hang on a sec," Greg said as he reluctantly pushed the conveyor button. It had been awhile since had an adult conversation with another person, so it was understandable that he hated seeing Odette go.
Out of the power washer came Odette's car, a sky blue Volkswagen Beetle. "Nice job cleaning it up. Now, how much is this going to cost me?" asked Odette.
"Oh, there's no charge. This wash is on me," Greg replied, raising his hand up to assure her there was no cost to the wash.
"What? No, please Greg, it's the least I could do for taking up your time. Are we talking fifty bucks, fifty five?" insisted Odette.
"No, no. None of my time was wasted at all," reassured Greg, "To tell the truth, it was…nice talking with you." Greg chuckled nervously and blushed a little upon saying that. "Just consider this as a welcoming gift from me to you."
"Well…if it's alright with you. Still, I feel bad about leaving you empty handed," Odette said. She thought for a moment and got an idea. "Can wait here a sec?" she asked. "Um, sure," Greg replied.
With that, Odette bolted to her car and rummaged around a bit. A few seconds later, she came back with a small piece of white paper in her hand.
"I present, your compensation," Odette said as she handed Greg the piece of paper. On paper was a phone number written in blue ink.
"Is this…your number?" asked Greg bashfully, his blush reddening.
"What else would it be? I was thinking maybe we could go for coffee tomorrow and then you could show me around town. Sound good to you?" she asked, offering Greg a warm smile.
"Um…yeah, sure! How's one o'clock for you?" Greg blurted out.
"It's alright for me. So, I'll be seeing you there then," Odette bid as she walked to her Beetle.
"Alright, see you there! Oh, and welcome to Beach City!" Greg practically yelled. Odette gave a wave of goodbye and took off, leaving Greg alone, but deliriously happy.
Once Odette left the carwash, Greg ran into his van and started to prepare for tomorrow. He put aside some decent looking clothes, set his alarm clock for an early time, and took a shower using the water hose. Once he was bathed, Greg double checked that was in order for tomorrow and once he was satisfied with everything, promptly went to bed. Greg final thought before falling completely asleep, was how lucky he was to be alive.
