*Here I am again, finally getting my ass around to posting another chapter. I have this story mostly written out BY HAND (technology=a bitch, in short..), and now that I have the chance I'm going to type out some of it*
Disclaimer? Seriously, do people even read those?
It all started with sushi.
A warm 85 degree summer evening found Rajiya Toulon sitting in front of the full length mirror in her bedroom at her and Jake's shared apartment, straightening her hair and debating whether to wear the blue bandage dress or the red. Or rather, Rajiya tending to her hairstyle with the ambient noise of the puppets doing the debating over which dress she should wear, that odd language of theirs drowning out the music coming from the record player on her dresser.
"I think she should wear the red," Jester said, irritated at this point as he tugged at the hem of said dress. Both articles of clothing as well as all 4 puppets were on the bed. "It really brings out her hair."
"Oh come on, Little One, you like it because YOU wear red," Six Shooter said with a sneer additional to the permanent one he always wore. "Admit it."
"Do not!"
Blade was watching his mistress while his commrades bickered (he scarcely participated in such squabbles), seated on the edge of the bed with his small legs dangling over the edge. Rajiya was done by now with her hair and laid the straightener down after unplugging it before distributing smoothing argan oil over the finished result. After self examination, she turned to Blade with raised eyebrows.
"What do you think? Suitable for dinner date with Dad tonight at Yoshi's?" she asked the gothic puppet, whom nodded quickly and brought his knife and hook together in approval. His mistress really did look quite lovely and her smile upon rising to her feet and coming over to him and the other puppets showed her pleasure in his reaction. She looked down at Pinhead, Jester, and Six Shooter and their now heated discussion. "Well look who it is here, the Fashion Police," she let out with a sarcastic air. "Who wants to be Joan Rivers? Is everything a game to all of you?"
"Go with the blue option," Pinhead put in quietly. "Its Jeremiah's favorite color, afterall."
Rajiya had every intent on wearing something simple and black; Yoshi's was a Jazz Lounge/sushi restaurant right in the inner city. Don't you dare show up in some outfit that might cause you to pose as competition with any other females San Fransicians higher ranking than you (Gods FORBID), so black was always a safe option. The berating puppets slumped in disappointment they didnt bother masking as Rajiya reached across and settled her sights on the black one she had hidden off the side the entire time.
"Observe my choice, boys!" she said as she pulled the black version out from under the confines of the dry cleaners bag. "I appreciate your constructive criticism but I must go with what's safe. You can thank the uppity bitches of Marin County for that." After putting on the garment she seated herself back in front of the mirror and opened her makeup case to finish her look for the evening. But not before putting on a chunky sapphire statement necklace with a wink at Pinhead in the reflection of the glass. The burly puppet beamed inwardly as he joined the others in sitting themselves around her to watch. The record playing in the background continued its clear yet scratchy melody in the background.
"You better go with a neutral eyeshadow pallet with that outfit. And might I suggest the nude colored suede pumps?" Jake suggested, appearing just then. He was leaning against the bedroom's doorframe, tapping his fingers against the cream colored wood. They scarcely ever shut the doors in the apartment, constantly invading one another's privacy.
"Planned on it, my dear," Rajiya said in a sing-song voice as she finished brushing on her mineral powder over the foundation she'd just applied. "You ought to have more faith in me, I've known you long enough."
"Who is the lucky guy? Don't tell me you finally accepted one of the date offers from one of your shop stalkers."
"Eww don't be gross. It's Dad, said he had something to discuss with me," Rajiya answered, accepting the eyelash curler that Jester held out to her. It was the anniversary of Robert and Alexandra's passing, and Jeremiah and his daughter decided to celebrate their lives instead of mourn each year by going out and spending quality time with one another. Usually Jake accompanied them but this time he was forced to stay home from both work and the annual outing with a real doozy of a headcold.
"It's never good when Dad's want to 'talk'," Jake said, his tone becoming more nasal as he stifled a sneeze. "But have fun, and ask him to get us some vodka for tonight."
"Why don't you text him and ask yourself, hmm?" Rajiya replied, rising to her feet after finishing her makeup. Six Shooter had already brought her the high heels and was taking a couple fistfuls of Kleenex over to Jake. The young man feigned offense.
"Well fiiiiiiiine, bitch, I will." He took out his iPhone and sent the request with one hand while blowing his nose with the other.
"Get your contagious ass out of my room, I'm trying to listen to Portugal the Man and finish getting ready. There is a fresh batch of chamomile tea and a super comfortable new throw blanket on the couch waiting for you and your germs in the living room," Rajiya said as she sat on her bed to put on her shoes. Jake gave her a friendly middle finger and left the room with Six Shooter and Pinhead. She stayed seated on the edge of the mattress for a few moments longer, trying to shake off the nagging feeling she had about her meet up with Jeremiah. Jake was right, when parents had something to discuss, whether it ended up being good or bad the vagueness of the impending 'talk' was always wrought with dread of one sort or another.
"You don't need to worry, everything is fine or else he would have said otherwise," Jester said and patted her ankle comfortingly with Blade beside him, hissing in agreement. Rajiya's grey eyes fell onto the puppets and she gave them a small smile.
"You're right, I'm probably just freaking out over nothing."
"Hello darling, you look beautiful!" Jeremiah greeted his daughter, rising to his feet when she approached the reserved table at Yoshi's. She smiled when he kissed her on the cheek and pulled out her chair for her; her father was always a real gentleman.
"You are looking dapper as well, Dad," Rajiya said, seating herself and scooting in closer to the table as he sat back in his own chair. In front of her was a small cast iron teapot, the aroma of green tea wafting into her nose. Jeremiah felt himself smiling then, motioning to his simple yet elegant black suit and maroon undershirt.
"Oh, this old thing? Some really pretty Indian girl with great taste bought it for me for my birthday last year and I finally had an chance to wear it."
Rajiya let out a laugh. "Remind me sometime to praise her for a job well done." She poured herself and her father a glass of tea each and raised it. "To fashionable offspring, equally fashionable parents, our Dearly Departed, and being relieved." They clinked their small glasses together and drank.
"Being relieved? What, worried I was going to ground you or something?" Jeremiah began asking when the waiter approached their table to take their order. He requested the usual round of cut and specialty rolls with a side of edamame before fixing his eyes back on Rajiya.
"Ha! As if I'm scared of your doing that anymore," she teased as she moved her purse from her lap down on the floor beside her feet. She then shrugged. "I needn't remind you of that eerie feeling "I want to talk to you about something" brings."
"Well it isn't anything bad, sweetheart, I just wanted to tell you about a wonderful opportunity I received at work."
"They need you to pose for the statue you so righteously deserve to have erected in your honor in the courtyard of the hospital?" Rajiya quipped. "Wear the suit I-, uhh I mean SOMEone bought for you that you have on now. It looks great."
Jeremiah felt as though he smiled nonstop while with his adopted daughter. He loved Rajiya's wit, company, everything about her. What would he do without this girl in his life? "Not exactly..." He paused, knowing she probably wouldn't be a huge fan of what he had to tell her. He decided to be blunt. "I have a chance to go practice abroad once again."
"Oh really?" Rajiya asked, rubbing her hands together as the steamed soy beans were placed in front of them along with the simple cut rolls of sushi. "Where at?" He couldn't help but notice how her eyes narrowed slightly at this.
"Overseas..." Suddenly being blunt wasn't working out so well. Jeremiah watched Rajiya as she arranged some sliced ginger and spicy tuna rolls onto her plate until she cleared her throat loudly. They looked at each other momentarily.
"Ummm, duh?" she said with a small laugh. "You know what I mean."
"In Egypt," was his nonchalant answer. There was a dull thud as her elbows came down on the surface before them. "Cairo, to be exact. Don't eat with your elbows on the table, Raj, it's bad manners."
For probably only the third time in her life, Rajiya ignored her father's ruling. Her chopsticks, holding one of the spicy tuna rolls, became limp and drooped slightly.
"Egypt is in political upheaval right now, Dad. I declared myself a virtual anarchist in freshman year and absolutely loathe CNN but even I know this."
"I'm well aware of the turmoil that the country is in, Raj."
"So what in the hell are you doing?" Her voice was low, deadpan. Jeremiah wished she would look him in the face but she was staring very hard at the teapot, her full lips pursed.
"I am needed more than ever there," he continued, unfolding his cloth napkin and moving to place it on his lap. Instead he found himself wringing it in his hands. Did she really have to look so forlorn?
"And let me guess, you've already accepted this wonderful offer?"
"My flight is booked for 3 weeks from now."
The obviously overpriced sushi and plastic chopsticks fell to the floor and some soy sauce spilled onto the table from the small saucers. Jeremiah took Rajiya's shaking hands into his and held them tight.
The Toulon family is known for its resiliance and togetherness. It'd take a lot more than thousands of miles and a hard seperation to cause any problems.
"Well well well," Jake said to his roommate when she came into the living room after locking their front door behind her. The puppets wormed themselves out from under the (very cozy) throw blanket to greet their mistress. "If it isn't our favorite hot mess."
"Fuck you, butthole."
"Is that really the best you can come up with?" he answered Rajiya, making room for her on the couch. She slumped down and took the puppets into her arms after settling under one of his. "I'm disappointed. Give me that Grey Goose, I see you started without me. Did Dad give you a ride home?" He took the large and still cold bottle from her hands and poured some of the alcohol into two half-full glasses of orange juice he had ready since she texted him announcing she was on her way home.
"Yeah," Rajiya said after taking a long drink. "I bet you're just dying to know what the talk was about and I promise I'll tell you. Tomorrow." She patted Pinhead's shoulder to calm his worried demenear. "Tonight I just want everything else to go as planned. Deal?"
"Ugh, fine," Jake playfully lamented and put the blanket over her lap and the puppets. They of course protested to being covered and squirmed out from under it. Blade hissed and had to have his fedora placed back on his head by Six Shooter. "They've been waiting patiently for you to get home. And by patiently I mean making me check my phone every two seconds and wandering over to the door about sixty million times. I just barely got done coaxing Jester off of the kitchen windowsill, the little creeper." This earned him a half-hearted and tiny punch to the back of one of his hands.
Rajiya smiled warmly at the puppets as Jester snuggled up against her side. "I missed them too. I'm glad to be home." She kicked her shoes off onto the floor and took her necklace off, tossing it onto the coffee table with a loud *clang*. "Let's hit the crunk juice and watch a fucked up horror movie on Netflix."
"I already have V/H/S waiting for you, I know the routine." Jake picked up the remote from the arm of the couch and put the movie on. He clinked his glass lightly against Rajiya's and nodded towards the framed picture of Alexandra and Robert that sat on the mantle beside a vase of orchids. "To Family."
Rajiya took a swig to extinguish the burning sensation in her stomach that she felt when remembering Jeremiah's news. "To Family, indeed," she added, squeezing the puppets closer to her and kissing her best friend.
To Family...
Long after the credits on the third movie that night rolled and the empty bottle of expensive vodka sat discarded on an end table, the puppets found themselves trying to wake their Mistress and Jake to get them to go sleep in their beds. But to no avail; both were intoxicated and had passed out halfway through the last movie. After situating the blankets on the humans they wandered over to the bay window to look outside and talk amongst themselves.
"Judging by the way things went tonight, I'd say Jeremiah's Talk was not a very welcome one," Six Shooter said, not bothering to whisper since Rajiya and Jake were well past the point of being woken up.
"I'd say not," Pinhead agreed as he fluffed one of the large pillows and laid back against it. "We'll find out tomorrow."
"I don't want Raj to be upset," Jester pouted, his face expressing his sadness. "I don't mind when she drinks for fun but this time she wasn't happy."
"Stay strong, everyone," Blade reminded them gently. "No matter what it is, we are here for Jeremiah and Raj both. That is of the utmost importance. They know this."
"To Family, right?" Jester said, his tone brightening. Blade patted his shoulder with the back of his hook.
"No matter what."
So there you have it, more story development. Not very exciting, but then again I plan on dragging this thing out pretty far. You'll get your puppets, and lots of them!
And also, the places I mention in this story are indeed real. Yoshi's, Infinity Condominiums, etc. I have been to these places myself and my experiences help me bring detail to the story. You can see them for yourselves, via the Internet. Isn't it grand? Google that shit if you want more visual to locations.
So long for now 3