We now arrive to our first holidays. I've also including three words from Challenge # 6: Grill, friends, challenge.
Today features Angela and Oliver and June 1st - Say Something Nice Day. Hope you all enjoy.
May 28
"So, who's surprised that Daisy brought Oliver today?" Aubrey said, holding a large tray of meat while holding the back door open.
"No one, Aubrey." Cam said, holding a tub of ice as she and Jessica followed Aubrey to the back yard. "I am surprised that he agreed to come today. He's been more, as Angela puts it, more douche like ever since he and Rani broke up last year."
"I'm surprised that they didn't break up earlier. The last couple years of their relationship they were just…awkward to be around. Her continued hostility towards Daisy didn't help." Jessica sat her tray down on the table near the grill.
"Well, I don't mind that he's here, but he needs to keep his douchiness to a minimum, Jess." Aubrey signed as he added the meat to the hot grill. "Although, he seems to be really good with Lance, so who knows?"
"Dr. B felt bad their family was going to be in Ocean City for Memorial Day and wouldn't be here, but once she learned Oliver was coming with Daisy, she didn't seem to feel so bad."
"I did promise Booth that I would keep him and Dr. informed of any interesting events that happen while they're gone." Cam chucked, soon to be joined the two of them.
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
One hour later, everyone began eating, the twins sitting in their highchairs, the other kids sitting on a blanket in the backyard, and the adults in a circle of chairs. Nearby, Daisy was playing Sirius XM's Classic Rock station from her phone. The group were enjoying the different meats, vegetables, and other items for their lunch.
Well, most folks.
"Agent Aubrey, this cut of steak has a…" Oliver thought about the word before continuing. "…bunch of fat…on it."
Smiling, Aubrey looked up. "Cut it off, Oliver."
Grumbling, the anthropologist slowly removed the small hunk of fat and set it aside. "As a host, one should make…sure the food is up to…proper presentation."
"Oliver, that's enough." Daisy said quietly.
Feeling the warning in Daisy's tone, Oliver sighed and began to cut quick before having to slow down when his hand fumbled with the knife. "Fine, I'll make do with this…subpar meat product."
Arastoo rolled his eyes. "You could always…I don't know…eat something else, Oliver."
"But I…don't…want to." Oliver said. "Besides…I don't eat…hot dogs."
"Yeah, but you'll eat bacon lube." Angela muttered.
Stunned, the tall man turned to his friend as everyone chuckled. "You told her!"
"Angela." Hodgins put his hamburger down, silently frustrated that his wife told everyone else. "Yeah, Oliver, I've told her."
"You ate it, too, Hodgins."
The entomologist nodded, making a note to talk to his wife later. "Yeah, I ate it, too. Now, maybe keep the snide comments to yourself and eat your meal, all right?"
Angela looked up and saw Oliver about to respond. "Is there anything you're not critical about, Oliver? Maybe anything you can say something good about?"
"I'm just honest…that's…all." Oliver went back to awkwardly cutting his steak, not enjoying everyone's stares.
Angela began cutting her steak again before an idea began to form. "June 1st according to our calendar is Say Something Nice Day. I bet Oliver can't go one day without being a douche."
Annoyed with Angela's pressing of the issue, Oliver stared at his plate. "I'm not a…feminine hygiene product."
Unbeknownst to the group, a red-headed little girl walked up to the adult table. "Momma, what's a douche?"
"Oliver Wells." Angela snarked.
"Angela!" Hodgins retorted, silencing the artist.
"We'll talk about it later, Honey. Go back to the blanket and eat your lunch." Jessica sighed as she returned to her friends. "It's getting a little heated here and I'm already not looking forward to telling my daughter about what douches are. Let's change the subject, shall we?"
"In a minute." Angela replied. "Oliver should have to go to work Thursday and say something nice to everyone there at the lab."
"I agree." Cam said before sipping her wine. "I think you should as well, Angela."
Surprised, Angela turned to her boss. "What? I'm nice to people."
"Usually you're very friendly, but you also tend to have sarcastic comments for employees that you find annoying." Cam said. "I think both you and Dr. Wells could use a day where you can be positive to everyone."
"Come on, Cam." The artist turned to her husband. "Hodgins…"
"Angela…" Hodgins finished his bite of hamburger. "As Assistant Lab Director, I agree. If you want to dare Oliver to observe Say Something Nice Day at the lab, so do you."
Aubrey wasn't the biggest fan of Oliver, but he agreed with Cam. "Fair's fair, Angela." He said before sipping his Pinot Noir. "Would anyone else like some wine?"
Annoyed, the artist looked at everyone. "Fine, I'll do the same. I can do it easily."
"Yes, please, Aubrey. Thank you." Accepting the bottle, Cam topped off her glass. "This is all day, Angela. Every person working at the lab. You too, Dr. Wells. You're schedule to assist with Dr. Hodgins in the morning and Anthropology during the afternoon."
"My superior intel…ect will allow me to succeed at this, Dr. Saroyan."
"Okay, now that's settled, let's finish enjoying this wonderful barbecue that Aubrey and Jessica were lovely to host for us." Cam said in a familiar authoritative tone.
As everyone went back to chatting about various topics, Aubrey moved to whisper in his wife's ear. "Booth and Dr. B are going to be so mad they missed this."
"Yep." Jessica snickered before sipping her Saoirse Finn Rosé.
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
Hodgins and a smug Angela arrived at the lab Thursday. After helping her husband out of the minivan and into his wheelchair, the artist smiled. "This is going to be a fun day. Oliver won't be able to contain himself."
"Angela, I'm going to forget that comment you made, but honestly, your negative opinions regarding Oliver stop now. You also have to say something positive to him."
Surprised, Angela stopped and turned to her husband. "Honey—"
"Angie…this is Assistant Lab Director Dr. Hodgins talking. You made a promise and now you must back up your end of the deal. You're a great person but even though you mean well, you sometimes come off like a know-it-all." Hodgins saw her stiffen. "Angie, we've talked about this."
The artist nodded, knowing her husband was correct. Helping Jeffrey out of the van, she took his bag and then his hand. "I know…I know…all right. I'll be nice all day."
"Thank you." Hodgins tapped his badge to the reader by the door and when he heard a click, Angela opened it before she took the back hall down toward the daycare while he went to the lab.
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
Oliver came to work about 9:00 AM and was determined to prove that he could do this. Most of these people were beneath him intelligence wise, but Daisy told him that they were all proficient at their jobs. "Just find…one nice thing…to say to each other…I can do this."
After complementing the security guard near the platform on his stance, he proceeded to complement the anthropology intern on duty for carefully adding the latest vic's bones to the cleaning solution. To his surprise, he found what he was doing easy after a while. For the lab technician who was slow with finishing with the microscope nearby, he decided to bite his tongue instead of attempting to compliment them.
He was many things, but a liar he wasn't.
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
Angela made it a point to say something nice to as many folks as possible, ignoring the looks she was receiving. However, when it came to the more difficult staff, she lied to them. Unfortunately, she had to continue to lie as Jessica, Hodgins, and Cam were called to a scene, leaving her with just Oliver and a skeleton crew.
Seeing Oliver working with Lacy Warren, the senior lab technician, Angela observed them for a minute. Laci was the crankiest woman she ever met. However, the older woman was very efficient and good at her job. Needing a break, she made it a point to walk by on her way to the coffee cart outside to eavesdrop, hoping for some good juicy gossip. What she heard instead surprised her.
"Ms. Warren, thank you…for being efficient as you prepared the platform for the examination. I appreciate your work as you don't let yourself get idle with gossip, unlike the young man using the microscope earlier."
The older woman smiled. "Thank you, Dr. Wells. I do appreciate the days you work here as well. Too many gossip hounds here who waste time socializing outside of their breaks or act like they know everything. Unlike them, you're intelligent and are honest. I appreciate that, young man."
Oliver nodded at the compliment. "I appreciate you as well."
Feeling annoyed, Angela walked up to the woman, who was sporting her typical Aqua Net helmet hair. "Laci, nice job with…your hair. I like how it is styled. Really nice."
Looking up, Laci gave the artist a scorching look. "Look Ms. Montenegro, I don't know what you're up to today with you saying something nice to everyone, but giving out fake complements to make you feel better is more insulting that your know-it-all opinions that you tell everyone here."
Shocked, Angela laughed nervously. "Today is Say Something Nice Day, Laci."
"Yeah, I know. I saw it on the bulletin board. I know you think I'm some tight ass pain who doesn't know how to have fun, but maybe you don't know everything like you think you do. Maybe take a page out of Dr. Wells' book here and if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have work to do."
Stunned into silence, the artist quietly walked out the door to get coffee, Lacy's words affecting ringing through her head.
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
Less than an hour later, Angela sat in her office, still thinking about what Lacy said. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't hear the voice calling her name.
"Angela!"
Startled, she looked up to see Oliver holding a tray with a rod on it. Getting up, she walked over and took the tray from the man. "What's this?"
"The intern took it out of our vic's leg. I've assisted Dr. Hodgins in swabbing it and the other evidence for trace. Jessica has asked if you can try to track down who the victim is by the serial number on it. She recalls a case from 2016 she worked with Dr. Brennan where a similar rod was found in a victim who was recently paroled from prison*."
"Can do." Angela took the tray but saw Oliver wasn't leaving. "What is it, Oliver?"
"While I agree with Ms. Warren is keeping things professional and staying out of gossip, you were…making an attempt…to be nice. While our intelligence levels are…different, you have much…cons…considerable skill in art and…being a good friend. I…"
Touched, Angela set down the tray. "Dr. Wells, you have many douche tendencies. However, you have also dealt with a lot the last few years, including what happened here with Gerald Maxwell and Rani dumping you."
Oliver nodded. "Thank you. It has been a lot—"
"But I do also remember what you did to Christine's report card, and I'll never forgive you for that. It was petty."
"I wanted to make…sure she wasn't…cheating—"
"Oliver, not another word, you hear me? I'm trying to give you a compliment. Now, stop talking for a moment." When he was silent, the artist continued. "You're sometimes unpleasant but you have made strides in not being as douchy as you were. I suspect my husband has rubbed off on you.."
"He is a worthy colleague and I'll accept the compliment, Angela." Oliver turned around. "Have a nice day."
"Same to you, Oliver."
The tall man walked out of the office and Angela smiled as examined the rod. Holding back her sarcastic comments had been a challenge, but maybe Lacy had a point earlier. If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.
