A/N: Not much to say, only that this is not your average April fic. Enjoy :)
April Rhodes hated the rain. She couldn't help but curl into a defenseless ball whenever it began to pour. She leaned her head against the large window in the sitting room. The cold sent a shock through her system, yet she refused to budge. The condensation from the window met her tears and they both flowed seamlessly down her cheeks. Her life, as it was, was not worth living. She had no connection to her family, and no real job. To the world, she was invisible. She took a sip of her red wine and sighed.
Tonight was not special. Buddy had fallen asleep at seven, a result of his new medication, so April was alone. Sometimes she enjoyed being with Buddy, it was nice to have someone to talk to. It was even better that he never seemed to answer back. She saw him at the other end of the room in his recliner, his mouth slightly agape. She took a quilt from the back of his leather couch, and quietly put it on him. It was too hard to move him into his bedroom, and all of the aides had left for the night. They knew that he didn't like to be watched when April was over. They merely turned a blind eye to the affair.
April figured that Buddy was around the same age that her father would be. She wasn't sure what his name was exactly, or even if he was still alive, but she hoped that for a moment, he had thought about her.
A gulp of red wine sent all thoughts of her father, flying out of her head. She didn't want a buzz kill, especially one that was father induced. She began roaming around Buddy's mini mansion. She felt like she should be walking by oil lamp or by candle, but she merely had the soft glow of a cellphone. Knowing that her casual sex partner wouldn't wake up even if a tornado ripped through the home, she felt safe in turning a few lights.
The least used of all the rooms was the game room. Buddy had it converted in hopes that someday his teenaged niece and nephew would come visit, but they were always too busy. A pool table sat in the middle and collected dust, along with a dartboard and an old PacMan game.
There were very few framed pictures around the house, and none were in the game room. It could be mistaken for a room in anyone's house, or in any catalogue. The deep red walls didn't make it warmer, instead she felt increasingly alone. She felt as if she had walked into an empty floor model at Pottery Barn.
She picked up a cue and racked as many balls as she could find. It had been some time since she had last played pool, but she did still have some talent. Her only problem was when she got into impossible angles where her arms simply couldn't reach. The feeling was familiar, and she was at ease.
She had been playing for around twenty minutes, when she heard a soft, yet startling, knock on the door frame. She looked up to find Maya Libowitz, in all of her glory. Her caramel brown hair was swirled into a tight chignon that seemed to pull her face back with it. She had just come from a business dinner, April deduced by her pant suit and silver clutch. As she looked closer, she noticed the grey hairs above her ears, and the wrinkles on her forehead. She figured that Maya could be the same age as her mother.
"I just.." April put her cue back on the rack, and began digging the balls out of the table pockets. "I'm not an intruder or anything.."
"Stop." Her tone was forceful. April dropped her head and her blonde hair formed a curtain over her red face. "I know who you are."
"You do?" April wasn't sure how to feel. She had a pretty sweet gig on weekends like this. it sure as hell beat staying at the Super 8. Maya slinked into the room and looked April up and down.
"You sure are a pretty little thing. No wonder he likes you so much."
"What?"
Maya got closer, but still kept a breathable distance. She looked as if she was going to reach out and touch April, but she kept her hands to herself.
"Tell me dear, what do you do for a living."
"Not much really." April picked at her nails and looked at the floor. "Buddy, let's me work at Rinky Dinks."
Maya let out a loud laugh. "How much business does that place even bring in. Buddy refuses to tell me."
April stayed quiet, and Maya got her answer.
"You know, Buddy opened that place when we were dating. He proposed to me on that very center stage." She was lost in thought, and April smiled. She hadn't known Buddy long, and she didn't really know anything about his past. She had never thought about his relationship with his wife, or how they had met. Relationship had become a dirty word in April's vocabulary. She figured that she could never love anyone else, since she could not find a way to love herself.
"God, he was a romantic. And a wonderful skater too." Maya leaned on the pool table. She ran her index finger on the edge and tisked at the amount of dirt it picked up. "I feel like we're living in Grey Gardens. But at least they had each other."
April wanted to leave, but she felt like she had so much to learn from this woman.
"I don't want to tell you how to live your life sweetheart, but this?" She shook her head at the lonely room. She leaned close into April and whispered into her ear. "You deserve better."
April's heart sank. She felt like she had let this woman down, and she barely knew her.
"Now, do you have somewhere to sleep tonight?" April shook her head. "Well, I'll pay for a hotel room for you, or you could sleep in one of the guest rooms." Thunder boomed overhead.
"I think that I'd be more comfortable at a hotel." Maya nodded and reached into her clutch.
"You really don't have too…" Maya looked at April. She wasn't angry at her for sleeping with her husband. Their marriage had fallen apart years ago, and she simply wanted him to be happy. And if April did that? She was fine in her book.
"Yes" She placed two one hundred dollar bills in April's small hand. "Just take it." April smiled and mouthed a 'Thank You.' She passed Maya and maneuvered her way into the sitting room, in the dark, to find her duffel. Buddy was still sleeping, but April whispered a quick goodbye into his ear, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She wasn't in love with Buddy, she didn't even find him remotely attractive, but she loved the fact that her looked out for her. Some people would label him a Sugar Daddy, but April just felt that he was a guy who helped her, when she needed it the most. Once April reached the double french doors at the front of the house, she called a local taxi service that she had programmed into her phone. It was the first time she she had ever called it sober.
Within fifteen minutes, she was standing outside the Lima Super 8, and it was still raining. The man at the front desk knew April by name, and knew that she preferred to stay in room 189. It was a suite style, and had a small balcony that overlooked a pond. She fantasized circling the pond in a small boat, and then her dream grew into floating down a canal in Italy with a sweet man who loved her to death. She did have quite the imagination. But then she remembered, she had to call Will.
"Hello?" Answered a groggy voice at the other end of the line. April glanced at the clock, it was only 10:45.
"Will? It's April. I didn't wake you up, did I?"
"No, not at all." April heard sheets ruffling. She knew that he was in bed. "Is everything okay? Are you at Buddy's?"
"Uh no, i'm not. He.. uh.. Had a doctor's appointment and needed to go out of town." She couldn't admit to Will that her lover's wife had found her playing pool alone and gave her two hundred dollars to get out of the house.
"Okay, so why are you calling me." April's brain froze. Why was she calling Will? Oh right.
"I have a problem with the kids set."
"The glee kids?"
"Come on Will.."
"Okay, okay. What's wrong with it?"
"You have too many ballads. There's only a certain amount of belting an audience can hear before they go nuts."
Will was silent for a moment.
"Well what do you suggest?"
And in that moment, April knew that she once again had her foot in the door of the New Directions.
