Hey Guys! I'm back! This chapter is sort of a fluff chapter. Rhoda and Suzannah in Rhoda's apartment was a little hard to write. I moved them out quickly because I couldn't think of what else I could have happen to them in a tiny confined space. Hope this chapter isn't too dull for you! There will be much more action in the next chapter. I promise! Please read and review! Reviews are really important and they help me be a better writer! And now, with out further ado, Here is more of the story! Enjoy!
About a month went by. During that time,Rhoda got Suzannah enrolled in school. This year Suzannah and Bess would be at the same school. Or actually, it would be for Half a year, since Suzannah was having to start mid year. Bess would move on up to high School the next year. Rhoda was glad her niece would have Bess to help her make friends at least her first few months in the new school. Finally,the day arrived for Suzannah to start Junior High in Minneapolis. She was attempting to get herself ready for the day at the same time Rhoda was cooking breakfast. It wasn't working out too well for them.
"Suzi, Darling, could you please move your make up case? I need to put the eggs on that crate."
"Oh, yeah. Sorry Aunt Rho.", Suzannah replied as she scooted her case over a little bit. There still wasn't room to put the food down so Rhoda repeated as gently as possible,
"Suzi, I really need you to put that make up case away for now."
"But, I'm not finished putting on my make up.", Suzannah said. Rhoda turned and looked at her niece. Suzannah was a typical girl in her early teens. Unfortunately, that meant she had not yet been trained in the art of applying makeup. Rhoda tried not to laugh as she said as kindly as possible,
"Sweetheart, It's kinda crowded in here how about you put that away for now, and after we eat, I'll help you with your make up. If it's not applied just right, you'll look like a lady of the night. That turned out to be exactly the wrong thing to say. Suzannah shot a betrayed look at her aunt and stomped out the door. Rhoda sighed again, mad at herself for her lack of tact.
"Suzi, wait!" She turned off the hot plate and went out the door in pursuit of her very upset niece. She found her sitting on the steps right outside the apartment. Suzannah heard her aunt next to her and slid over to make room.
"Suzi, Honey, I didn't mean that the way it sounded.", Rhoda said, softly. Suzannah looked at her incredulously.
"How else could you possibly mean that?"
"Sweetheart, all I was really trying to say is you are a beautiful girl. If you put too much make up on, it would hide your natural beauty." Suzannah looked down at her feet and said softly,
"My Mum told me that. She was going to teach me how to apply make up before she… well… you know." Rhoda had no words for that. She just pulled the girl into a hug. When she found her voice again, she said,
" I could do that. And if you'd like, I can also french braid your hair." Suzannah turned to face her aunt and said,
"I think I'd like that." Rhoda gave her one more squeeze and then pulled her to her feet.
"Now, ya ready to go eat some breakfast?" Suzannah nodded and then looked down at her watch.
"Oh my goodness! We better hurry or I'll be late my first day of school."
"Don't worry, Kiddo. We'll make it. The food's all ready." The two walked back up the stairs and into the apartment. Suzannah picked up her plate and started to sit down to eat when Rhoda suddenly shouted,
"No, Suzi. Don't sit down yet! You're about to sit on my curling Iron."
"What's it doing there, Aunt Rho?!"
"I always leave it there to get hot while I'm cooking breakfast. Then it's ready to use afterwards." Rhoda moved the curling Iron to the counter, and she and Suzannah sat on the floor to eat. After a few seconds, Suzannah said,
"It's quite crowded in here. It's nearly impossible for both of us to get ready and cook breakfast at the same time. Plus, you're always tripping over my things and me in the morning and I have to go to bed before you're really ready and you can't stay up late anymore."
"You're right, kiddo. We need a bigger place. I'll talk to Phyllis tonight and see if any are available in the building." Then they quickly finished eating and began to clean up.
After the two had finished cleaning up, Rhoda helped Suzannah with her hair and make-up. She promised to actually teach Suzannah how to apply it herself when there was more time. They finished getting ready just in time. Rhoda had just finished Suzannah's hair when they heard a knock at the door and a voice call out.
"Sue! You in there?" Rhoda and her niece smiled at each other and Rhoda called out,
"Come on in, Bess." Bess came bounding in and said,
"You ready, Sue,We're gonna be late. Oh, Hi Aunt Rhoda."
"Hey, Bess. I just have to get my book bag and I'll be ready."
"Hiya, Bess. You ready to show my niece around the Jungle known as Junior High today?", asked Rhoda
"Yeah. I'll make sure she gets settled in ok."
"Sounds great. Thanks.", said Rhoda. Bess nodded.
"K. Let's go.", Suzannah broke in. She hugged her aunt and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"Bye, Aunt Rho."
"Bye, Kiddo. Have a great first day at school." Rhoda, said, hugging her niece back."
"Thanks. I will" Suzannah replied as she headed out the door. Rhoda turned away to finish getting ready for work. Soon she heard footsteps pounded up the stairs again She turned back towards the door just in time to see Suzannah burst through it again. Before Rhoda could ask her why she was back so soon, the young girl threw herself into her arms and said softly,
"I love you Aunt Rhoda." It was the first time the teen had said those words to her aunt. Rhoda barely held the tears back as she returned the hug tightly and replied,
"Aww, Sweetheart, I love you too!" She gave her niece a quick kiss on the forehead before gently turning her around and nudging her towards the door.
"Get going now. You don't wanna be late."
"Bye!" Suzannah responded, running back out the door. Rhoda wiped the few tears that had managed to escape and continued to get ready. A few minutes later she headed out the door to Hemphil's.
After work, Rhoda talked to Phyllis while the girls did their homework in Bess's room. It turned out there WAS an apartment available in the building. Of course Phyllis wouldn't give in to Rhoda so easily even though her precious Bess had asked her to for Suzi's sake. She hedged a bit first. After saying it was against her better Judgement, she finally admitted that the apartment from the year before was available.
"Rhoda, The five airline stewardesses are moving out. They want a place that's a little closer to the airport. They will be moving at the end of the month."
"How much, Phyl?", asked Rhoda.
" It's a two bedroom so it's of course more expensive than the one you have now and even more than Mary's place."
"How much?!", Rhoda repeated.
"You could use the second bedroom, now that you have a teenager living with you, though.", Phyllis went on. Rhoda was getting exasperated.
"Phyllis. Just answer the question! How much?" Phyllis sighed and said,
"$225 a month." Rhoda quickly did the math. True, She was making more money than Mary at Hemphil's. She was also raising a teenager which included more expenses than she'd have for just her. However, The plant store was doing good business. Georgette was doing a fantastic job running it for her. Rhoda added everything up and figured out that she could afford the apartment.
"Phyllis, We'll take it.",Rhoda said.
"Wonderful, I'll have the Paper work ready for you to sign by tomorrow. You can move in at the end of the month."
"YEEESSSS!", said an ecstatic voice from the door way." The women turned to see Bess and Suzannah standing there, grinning like crazy.
"So you're pretty excited, huh?" said Rhoda with a chuckle.
"Oh, yes! I can't wait to have my own room! May I decorate it however I want?"
"Absolutely! I get a discount at the store!" Rhoda answered her.
"Oh, Thank you, Aunt Rho! You're the best!", Suzannah said, hugging her.
"Maybe I can come with you and help you pick stuff out?",Bess said to her friend.
"Oh That would be fabulous!", Suzannah said enthusiastically. Then the girls went back to finish their homework. Rhoda said goodby to Phyllis and went up to see Mary.
"Mare?" Called Rhoda as she knocked on the door.
"Come on in, Rhoda." Mary called back. Rhoda burst in and dashed over to Mary's kitchenette window. Mary was baking something that smelled delicious.
"Kid, guess what!"
"What? You seem really excited about something."
"I am,Mare. Phyllis just told me that the five stewardesses are moving out at the end of the month and that means the apartment will be available. I'm gonna rent it."
"Wow!Are you sure you can swing it?"
"Well, It's more expensive then my apartment now, that's for sure, But, Suzannah and I can't live in my current place much longer without driving each other crazy. I actually did the math, Mare. I can afford it. With my job and Hemphil's and the money I make from the plant store, I make enough for us both to live on and pay the rent."
"Then, Rhoda, I'm really happy for you!"
"Thanks, kid."
"I'm making brownies. Why don't we go to the living area and have some coffee and talk. The brownies will be ready in a couple of minutes.",Mary said.
"Sounds great." Rhoda went over to the couch and sat down. Mary soon joined her.
"How was Suzannah's first day?"
"Well, from what she told me, it was pretty good. She met some other kids who sat with her at lunch and she said they were really nice. A lot of the kids were fascinated with the fact that she is from London. They apparently asked her lots of questions about what it's like there."
"That's wonderful, Rhoda." The two friends talked for a little while longer, Then Suzannah came down and said she was finished with her homework. They said goodby to Mary and headed upstairs.
Three weeks later, it was time to move down to the new apartment. Rhoda and Suzannah had shopped for furniture together. Mary and Bess had gone with them. Suzannah's new room was going to be painted robin's egg blue. Her new double bed had a blue paisley bedspread and matching shams. She had curtains in her window to match the bedspread. There was different pop art and a poster of David Cassidy hanging on her walls, and also a macrame owl and a ceramic peace sign. She even had a set of beads in her doorway like her Aunt Rhoda's. Rhoda's room didn't look much different from the old apartment. All the things from the old place went in her room including her set of beads. In the living room and Kitchen areas there were some new furniture. This included a pretty and comfortable couch, a couple of arm chairs, and a coffee table in the living room area and a round table and four chairs in the dining area. There was some art work on the walls and some hanging plants and an "R" and an "S" similar to Mary's M hanging on the wall next to the kitchenette. Mary and Phyllis and Bess helped set every thing up and even Lou, Murray, Ted, and Georgette came over to help. Phyllis, of course, kept giving her own opinions about how things should be set up. Rhoda, Suzannah and the others just ignored her for the most part. Rhoda ordered Pizza for dinner to thank everyone for helping. They all ate and then Mary, Phyllis and Bess stayed to help with the clean up. After everyone else had left, Suzannah and Rhoda collapsed onto the couch and surveyed their new place. They were exhausted, but they now had a beautiful new apartment that was big enough for both of them.
"So, What do ya think, kiddo?", Rhoda asked her niece. Suzannah gave her a tired smile.
"It's wonderful, really. Actually, that's not the word I'm looking for. It's…. perfect." Rhoda nodded and gave a contented smile. Suzi had chosen just the right word. Rhoda then turned on the television and the two of them watched a movie till it was time for bed.
Well,that's it for chapter 4. Chapter 5 will be posted tomorrow, hopefully. Again, Reviews are MUCH appreciated and help keep me !