What a Way to Make a Livin'
(Dolly Parton: 9 to 5)
Levi was running low on money. He had acted like his funds were infinite all summer long, but when he had checked his bank statement, there was only four hundred dollars of it left. Which wouldn't have been that bad if they were still staying at Marlisse & Co, because she paid him well, housed and cooked for him. They both decided to start on a job hunt.
When Levi was rehired at Starbucks- which was a quick five minute phone call to his manager, who was happy to have his best employee back- he told Cath she didn't need to look anymore.
"Why not? Maybe I'd like to have a job," she said, handing him a forkful of fried rice for him to taste. They had been cooking together a lot since they started living in Lincoln.
His eyes twinkled when he took a bite, "maybe you would, but summer is almost over, sweetheart. You've signed up for 16 credits this term. I'd hate for you to end up overwhelmed by school and a job."
"Okay, but four of those credits are Piper's class, hardly counts. And I had a job in high school."
"How did that work out for you?"
Cath rolled her eyes, "I got fired for not smiling enough..."
"What if you try to get a job at the library? I think that would be a nice fit," he smiled and rubbed her shoulders. She turned down the heat and faced him.
"I got fired from a bookstore."
"Ob-la-di, ob-la-da. You're older now, you can handle it. If you want to work, you should at least be somewhere you like. I think you should apply there, you'd be a great fit," Levi kissed her cheek and then lifted the lid to check on his sauteed green beans. "Besides, they could definitely use the help. I heard last year there was some asshole that worked there, and he never did his job. He just made beautiful girls write papers for him."
"God, shut up," Cath rolled her eyes again and couldn't help but giggle.
After dinner that night, Cath read the last of Simon Snow and the Second Serpent to him. Her throat was sore and her neck was tired, but she was happy. Levi pulled her tighter against his chest.
"Go to sleep, beautiful. You deserve it."
Cath gladly fell asleep listening to his heartbeat. They were happy in their servant's quarters. She was happy to be sleeping in his bed. It had been a great night cooking together and reading Simon, she wished every night was just like it.
Baz was so much bigger than he had been back in June. Still smaller than his littermates, but bigger nonetheless. Cath smiled as he hopped around, trying to follow Levi while he got ready for work. He was really attached to them, like he knew that they were his family.
"Hey Basil," Levi picked him up and buried his face in his reddish-brown fur. "Do you not want me to leave? I've got to go to work though. You've got to stay here with mommy."
"Mommy?" She licked her bottom lip.
"Yeah, duh, can't you tell? He looks just like you."
"Totally. I think you should call for a paternity test though, because he doesn't look too much like you."
"Are you kidding? Of course he looks like me, everyone always says he has his father's eyes." Levi grinned.
Cath got on her knees and pulled him towards her by his hips, "you're such a dork."
"That means you actively sought out a dork. What does that make you?" He kissed her.
"In love."
She kissed his cheeks like she was trying to take away the blush with her lips, brushing them back and forth along his cheekbones.
"I love you too, sweetheart."
"How long until you have to be at work?"
"An hour."
"How long does it take you to get there?"
He raised an eyebrow, "twenty minutes."
"Forty minutes is plenty of time..."
"For?" Levi smiled at the edge of his mouth.
Cath took the little rabbit and set him on the floor, then pulled her boyfriend down on top of her by his collar.
"Anything you want."
"Did you ever find out how big John's dick is?" Wren asked.
Cath rolled her eyes so hard it hurt, "I wasn't exactly itching to find out like you were, Wren."
She walked around the kitchen trying to pick something to make for dinner. There were so few options for what they had, and Levi was the more creative one when it came to making food from limited resources. Baz was right at her feet, attempting to eat a piece of apple she had cut for him and follow her at the same time. At least, he gets to eat...
"I liked Levi's tattoo by the way, I saw it last weekend. Does he have any others?"
"No, just the one on his arm. His grandma used to read him Where The Wild Things Are when he was a kid, so he got it for her. For them, I guess."
"That's really cute," her sister sighed.
"He's just really romantic."
"Ew?"
"Being romantic doesn't necessarily involve sexuality, Wren. It's syrupy and sentimental. Like he really loves love," Cath explained, checking the expiration date on the carton of eggs.
"I know, but it still sounds weird saying that about him and his grandma," she yawned. "Work is totally killing me. I feel like my feet are going to wear down to my ankles and I swear to God, if I catch another dude staring at my ass when I'm helping someone else's table again I'll kick their ass."
Cath shook a box of spaghetti noodles to see how much was left inside, "they don't look at your ass while you're at their table?"
"No, dummy, I'm facing them. It's not so much the checking me out that bothers me; it's the gestures that go with it."
"God," she scoffed, "that sucks. Do you ever call them out on it?"
"I did once, but my boss told me it was 'inappropriate to talk to customers that way.' It's so stupid, I almost quit right then and there. Although, I don't blame him. I really yelled at the guy, I almost poured his food right on his stupid over-gelled hair."
"You should 'accidentally' just drop a little bit on their heads. Just a little though so it seems realistic."
Working seemed more and more difficult than it's worth everyday. Some jobs make you talk to more people than you need to, some people make you deal with more people than you want to. There were too many people involved. Cath needed a job that people would just leave her alone in. To work at home would be ideal, but it didn't seem very realistic. Even writers have to go on book tours or into occasional meetings. Though that still didn't seem as bad as a job where she'd have to serve people.
She was looking through the fridge for the minced garlic when a little throbbing pain started building up in her belly. It wasn't quite like a menstrual cramp as much as it felt like a needle stuck in the right side of her stomach.
"Ow, fuck..." Cath muttered.
"What happened?" Wren asked, pausing from her story to check in on her sister.
"Nothing, I just got a stomach cramp."
"Really? I haven't gotten mine yet. Are you off track?"
She shook her head even though they were speaking over the phone, "no, not yet. It's like a sore muscle or something. I've been spotting recently though, so I think it's starting soon."
"Must be all that sex you're having! Meeeee-owww."
"You're so gross sometimes..."
"You love it." Wren winked, and Cath could tell without seeing her.
