Pawnshops and Carousels

AvalonReeseFanFic

A/N: Well isn't this just a really late chapter. I'm sorry guys, I've been having a real problem with motivation recently. I'm going to be taking a break from posting for all my stories. I'm guessing this one will get about a month of a break before I post the last three chapters. I'll try to be quick about getting them done so it will only take another month after that for the story to be done. I know this isn't ideal but I've really been struggling keeping up with posting for all of my stories and that's not fair. So as always don't forget to leave a review and I'll see you guys soon!

Chapter 38


Les: Seth demanded time off. All the time off he'd need to get Sabrina and Sebastian home and then some time to get them settled. That amounted to a month off. And I gave him pay because he needed it. He did really well, I was really proud of him. He even got the paperwork to put the mortgage for the house we had all helped buy for him and his new family, in to his and Sabrina's name ready rather quickly. They just had to take it to the bank.

Lili and I were over all the time to make sure that Sabrina and Sebastian were both okay and that they were both getting healthier by the day. But that didn't mean Seth was ready to come back when he did, and even though he came back like he said he would we could all tell that his mind was on Sabrina and his son. Or at least, that's what I thought.


Karen found me in the back. I had been hiding there because I was texting Sabrina asking for my 20th update on Sebastian and Sierra and her since I had come to work that day. Since that hospital scare, I had been super annoying, according to her. Like more overbearing than usual. But I couldn't help it, Sabrina had almost died, I could have lost Sebastian too, and that was scary to me. So, I wanted to be sure that they were always okay, it was only cause I cared.

I had chosen to text because calling her was too much, but it also meant that I had to hide from my dad and my sister. My dad because he was annoyed with all the hovering I had been doing and he kept saying to go home if I was this worried. Which I could not do because Sabrina had kicked me out because, as I mentioned before, apparently, I was stifling her.

I was avoiding my sister because she was the reason Sabrina had Sebastian prematurely. Yes, I was sure it saved her life, but it had all happened because Sabrina and Ashley had been yelling at one another. She hadn't even apologized to Sabrina yet, mainly because she refused to be alone with her, or in the same room as her for more than five minutes.

But Karen had found me and had sought me out because she had a great idea. She had said that she had just come up with it and she wanted to run it by me to see if I thought it was a good idea before she went to Les.

And I thought the idea was a really good one. I'd take any chance to promote AJL, so we both went and took it to Les.

We found my dad on the shop floor. I was sure to ask him if he had a second which he said he did so I figured, even if we weren't in the back it wouldn't matter, it wasn't really all that private of a conversation anyway.

"So, Karen was just talking to me in the back and I think she came up with a pretty good idea," I tell him. At first, he looks a little hesitant but he nods turning his attention to Karen to hear this idea.

"So, I want to have a three-ring circus here in the parking lot."

My dad looks to me and then back to Karen. "You want to put a circus outside?"

"Yeah," she says and I almost nudge her to make her talk more. She has to give him specifics or he'll never get on board. "I'm trying to bring attention to the store."

"Okay."

"So, I'm thinking that if we have a huge event, do a circus theme…"

"A circus theme," he echoes.

I can't tell if he's on board yet or not.

"Yeah," both me and Karen say together. But I add: "It would be huge."

"We could mix it together with charities."

"It you think about it, the Circus theme will draw in kids…" "…so you'll bring in families…" "…and kids will bring parents and parents will bring in money and the whole thing works."

Oh lord I've met Ashley's eyes across the store. I try to look away fast but i can already tell that she's annoyed because she's watching us with narrowed eyes.

And now she's walking over. Shit.

"Families spending money."

"I like that," Les says and I nod, of course he would. I'm distracted now, my eyes are watching Ashley come towards us like a great white stalking a sealion. "You know people coming in, spending money."

Then my dad gives me the most non-committal shrug ever and says: "Okay do it."

Wow, okay, so he doesn't sound excited but at least he's gonna let us do it. My fingers itch to get my phone. To text Sabrina and tell her all about this. She didn't want me hovering over her worrying but she still like to hear my news though, the good and the bad.

Karen, however, is grinning like she won the lottery.

"I think that you having this idea is really good. I have no problem with it. Cause I think it could work."

Aww so he's trying to give Karen some room to grow, to try new things, how sweet of him. You know he never let me and Ashley do this shit.

"What are you guys… like… huddling about?" Ashely asks, making her presence known with her attitude.

My dad, far from impressed, turns to her. "They came to me with an idea."

She hadn't even heard the idea and not only did she hit us with a disgusted ugh she rolled her eyes. My dad tried to explain but I cut him off.

"You didn't even hear the idea yet and already you're putting it down…"

"Yeah, cause I can only imagine what her ideas are like."

"Well it's a joint effort," my dad says.

"Right!" Karen cried. "I want to draw attention to the store, we've all been saying that. We need more traffic, we need to move product…"

"Okay what's your idea?"

God, Ashley was so obnoxious.

"A three-ring circus in the parking lot."

Ashley had almost the same reaction as Les. "A three-ring circus in the parking lot?" she echoes. "That's the dumbest idea I've ever heard in my life."

See, see, Ashley was only saying that because we were all on board and she didn't come up with the idea herself.

"Well, it's just a circus theme, it's not gonna be a circus. I mean we're a professional pawnshop, you're not gonna have a circus."

Bless my dad's heart he thinks that Ashley thinks it's dumb because she thought a real circus was gonna pitch a tent outside our shop. He should have been able to tell, by the way Ashley's been staring down Karen, that her probable wasn't the idea, but that Karen came up with it.

"I think they are on to something. You should join them, make it a great event."

Aw. Shit.

"Oh! Now you need my help?"

Yeah, we didn't say that. Not even a little bit.

Finally, my dad gets what's going on, finally he can tell that Ashley has an attitude. He should tell her to just leave us alone and not worry about it if she's not interested in helping us, but that is not what he says.

"You will help them. Whether you like it or not."

Fuck. Me.


Seth: Ashley comes up to me later in the day, after putting all the work onto me and Karen, and basically refusing to help us, to talk to me about the event. It's basically her accusing me of liking Karen more and being all buddy-buddy with her, and taking Karen's side when really this is about promoting AJL. If she had come up with the idea and wanted to work with me on it, I would have. It's just Karen came up with it. It could be fun, but Ashley doesn't want to have fun, she wants to cause fights and drama. She is being absolutely ridiculous but I am not going let it ruin this event.


The second I get into AJL, with Lili carrying Sierra and me pushing Sebastian's stroller, I see Seth's eyes turn to us. It was like he had this internal compass that always pointed him in our direction, this sixth sense that was tied to us.

He leaves the fur counter where he had been standing with Karen and comes to me immediately.

"What are you doing here, Reenie?" he asks the second he gets close. But Sierra is already shrieking daddy in that excited little girl way of hers, so he goes to her first. He takes her from Lili which quiets her right away, and then he's beside me, pressing a kiss to my cheek and then he's leaning in to the stroller to check on Sebastian.

So far Sebastian is less dramatic than Sierra, he's altogether a quiet boy who rarely fusses, and when he does it's for a specific reason.

At this very moment, he's bundled up so he won't get cold, and is asleep. Completely dead to the world.

Once Seth is done checking us all over, I turn my smile up to him. "We all missed you so we decided to come visit you at work."

"Sabrina," he groans but I turn with that big grin and he just melts. He's always so happy to see me, even if I was supposed to be on bed rest. He turns to Lili and hits her with a whiny: "Mom!"

"She wouldn't listen to reason, what was I supposed to do? Chain her to the bed?"

"You could, we have handcuffs in the bedside table," he says and I smack him, his mom doesn't need to know that we get kinky sometimes.

By this point Karen has come to see us too, though she's more interested in the new baby, which is pretty typical.

"We're also here to see Les, he likes seeing his grandkids after all," I tell him but Seth shakes his head.

"No, Ashley went in there, she's pissed."

I narrow my eyes at Seth, Ashley could be angry for any number of reasons but I ask: "What did you do?" because that the more likely scenario.

"Nothing, I swear, we just…" he pauses to glance at Karen, the two share a little bit of a secretive smile, before he finishes with: "We just gave her the costume we want her to wear for the event."

Oh great.

"It's the clown costume, isn't it?" I ask and Karen looks surprised as if she didn't think that Seth would have let me in on that secret. Well, the jokes on her, cause he tells me everything. He nods this big grin on his face but both me and Lili are not impressed. "You knew that wouldn't go well, I told you not to."

Also true. But just like I rarely listen to him about the little things, Seth doesn't listen to me either.

"You know I hate it when you two fight," Lili adds in. "And you know you instigate, you have ever since you were little."

"Mom, we're all wearing costumes, I'm wearing one too. Dad says she has to help, and this is how she's going to help, by being in theme for our event."

That's a good point too, but we all know Ashley wasn't for this idea and she was going to protest to any form of them asking her for help, even if Les has told her to do it.

"Alright, well, let's go save Les from Ashley," I announce already pushing the stroller towards the back.

"What? Reenie! No!" my husband cries as he follows after me. But he doesn't stop me, either. He darts forward to open all the doors for me.

When I get to Les's office, I can see Ashley looks far from impressed, and the clown costume is out of the bag on his desk.

They've clearly been arguing.

"Hello," I say cheerfully. "We came to visit Grandpa Les today."

Les is immediately smiling. He stands right away to get a look at the sleeping Sebastian, and then he tries to take Sierra from Seth and fails because Seth never lets his little girl go.

Ashely is wide eyed staring at me, Les's office is too cramped for her to make a hasty exit as Lili and Karen have followed us. I look down to the clown costume and ask: "What's going on here?"

"Oh, like you don't know," Ashley snaps, folding her arms over her chest and glaring at me. Fair, cause I did know, wasn't going to tell her that.

"It's the costume we'd like her to wear for the event, we all have one, it goes with the theme," Karen says and Ashley rolls her eyes.

"Oh! That's cute. That's such a great idea!"

"You're hopped up on pain meds and pregnancy hormones," Ashley cries. "You also don't work here right now so you don't get a say!"

She's raised her voice at me, and right away Seth has put Sierra in Les's arms and come to stand between me and Ashley like his body will shield me from her words.

"Do not talk to her like that! Have you not learned your lesson?"

"Okay… let's calm down here," I say before my husband can really fly off the handle. "Why don't you tell me why you don't want to wear it."

"Because it's embarrassing!" Ashley cries.

"Ash, we're all going to be in costumes," Seth says, he's probably had to repeat that sentence to her over and over, but he doesn't sound too upset. "You have to wear it."

"No, it's not happening," she snaps back her arms folded across her chest.

"You were told to help us, Dad said you have to help us and this will be how you help."

"I will help you but I'm not wearing that!"

Seth was clearly done trying to reason with her. "You yelled at my wife until she went into premature labour. You owe me."

"Seth," I chide, because that's a horrible thing to hold over his sister's head. "It wasn't her fault."

Seth turns a dry glare to me and I just shrug it away. "Really, Seth," I say again before turning to Ashley. "Would it really be that bad to dress up as a clown for one day? It's just to fit with the circus theme so they're not really singling you out. Circuses really do have clowns, you know…"

"Oh, don't you have another baby to push out?" Ashley snaps. It's a dig about how quickly we got pregnant after Sierra but all I remember is that I'll never be able to have kids again and my face falls.

"Ashley!" Seth thunders, and then just like that, she's taken the clown costume and left.

Seth turns to me, he's obviously upset about what she said but I just shrug. "It's fine, she didn't mean it like that," I say but the tears are starting to brim in my eyes.

He crosses to me right away, and pulls me into a hug. "I'm just be silly," I tell him as the tears start to fall and he says nothing. "It's the hormones I swear. I'm fine."

But I was lying.

It took a really long time to get me to stop crying.

Les, Lili and Karen both yelled at Ashley for her insensitive comment, which was uncalled for because she hadn't meant it that way, but Ashley agreed to wear the costume, so I call it a win.