Concerns

Who: Evelyn and Jessie
When: Early evening
Where: The James' apartment

Jessie trudged up the stairs to her apartment, feeling more and more exhausted with each one. Her day with Dodge had been confusing at best and at worst, completely overwhelming. As she thought she would, she felt pretty sick now that Dodge wasn't here, thinking of all that he told her about Patrick and what had happened to the boys under Dodge's care because of that man. It certainly trumped anything she was thinking of before she heard it.

More than anything she was ready to be in her home, in her pajamas, in her bed or on the couch, in a place where things made sense. But when she opened the door and sluggishly 0made her way into the kitchen for a glass of water, she found her aunt and even more confusion there. The last time she'd seen Evelyn, her aunt had basically told her she wasn't sure when the next time she'd come to visit them was. So now, staring at Evie in the kitchen, Jessie was having just a little difficulty wrapping her head around her being here. "Aunt Evie?"

Evelyn turned from the percolator, and greeted Jessie with a warm smile. It was a genuine one, which meant it was slightly worn down. The emotional roller-coaster of the day, and the trepidation about the topic ahead, hadn't gone away with a bath and a decent brush through her hair. But, mostly, it was just glad to see her niece regardless of what lay ahead. "Hey Baby J," she stepped forward and wrapped the girl in a brief hug. When she pulled back though, hands still on Jessie's shoulders, she regarded her with the slight frown in her brow. Jessie didn't seem to be in exactly high spirits herself; and that kind of preoccupied Evelyn a bit more than blurting out 'so I need to talk to you about Dodge'. "How was your day?" she asked, tone not smothering but obviously a bit concerned.

Jessie was torn between wanting to spill everything to her aunt and not say a word at the same time. It wasn't like she wanted to hide anything from her family, but it was honestly hard to form the words and repeat what she'd just said. Dodge hadn't asked her not to tell anyone, but it was obviously something he didn't want blabbed around town. And while telling her family wasn't an issue for her, it was as if saying it out loud was going to make it more real. Embed in her head that it really did happen. She took a breath and shrugged a little, mind too full of things she didn't want there to actually know what name to call her emotion. "Really long...but I'm glad you're here. Where's Dad?"

"He stepped out," Evelyn replied. She stepped back to the percolator, removing it from the heat as she shut off the stove. "Shopping -- the cabinets were running low on some things." Which wasn't untrue: things had been running low and Jesse had gone out with a shopping list. That list just wasn't his main purpose in stepping out -- but they would get to that.

She pulled a mug down and poured some of the coffee in it. With her trouble sleeping it was probably the last thing she needed, but even here napping on the couch hadn't worked out so Evelyn was up for anything that could make her feel a little less tired. "Uh oh, so what's 'really long'?" she cast a sidelong glance over at Jessie, mouth quirked into a small wry smile. Then just before Jessie answered she added, "And do you want any coffee? Or milk? There should be enough left for one more glass."

Jessie accepted the reason for her father being gone, but was still a little confused on why Evie was here. She wanted to know if something had happened, if her aunt was going to be visiting more and spending more time with their family, but right now what she wanted to do more was just sit down. She plopped into a chair at the table, shrugging again when Evelyn asked about what she wanted to drink. "Anything's fine, don't really care." She said, closing her eyes for a moment to take a few long breaths. They didn't help calm her down any. "Just..the day. It's been really long. I just want to go to sleep." Even though now, she was sure she wasn't sleeping anytime soon. "Are you staying for dinner?" She asked, a hope in her voice. Normalcy, please, anything to make her feel normal again.

Evelyn smiled, and went to join Jessie at the table with her coffee in one hand and a glass of milk in the other. What with the girl wanting sleep, she didn't think coffee would be a good idea. "I believe so," she murmured, cradling the mug in both hands as she took a sip, eyes always on her niece. Actually, Evelyn wondered whether she would be spending the night. She didn't like putting Jesse out of his way, and she wasn't keen on coming out and saying it, but going back home for the night just wasn't an appealing option to her right now. She watched Jessie for a moment, concern increasing as a dull anger flared in the back of her mind if Dodge had anything to do with the way her niece appeared right now. "What's wrong, Baby J?" she asked, softly. If it were just an acquaintance she wouldn't have asked again. But this was family, and it wasn't so easy to just gloss over such an obviously Not Okay demeanor and jump right into her own experience with Dodge from Sunday.

Jessie looked at the mug of milk on the table but didn't move to take it. She glanced from it to her aunt and back again, mulling the words around in her head. How did she say them, how did she make them less disgusting or sickening than they were? "Spent the day with Dodge today and he told me something really scary. I don't even know how to say it..."

She reached now for the glass of milk, trying to ground herself with the cool feeling of the liquid through the glass. When she looked back at Evelyn, her eyes were just as serious as before, if not more. "He told me about this guy Patrick that he used to really depend on, like a dad, and that Patrick did some really awful things to the boys he takes care of now and..He blames himself for what happened with the boys and that's really not fair. It's not his fault he didn't know what was going on, that he didn't know they were getting hurt by this Patrick ass..Just the idea that someone could do something like that...It makes me sick. And Dodge lives with this kind of guilt all the time. It's just really screwed up..."

Her aunt was quiet for a long moment, frowning behind her mug as she mused over things. A part of Evelyn, one that she wasn't proud of, couldn't help wondering if it was part of a ploy. Something to garner sympathy and make leeway with a girl where she otherwise would have been unyielding. She had seen it before: guys giving their own own sob stories while trying to put their hands all over a girl, and effectively giving that girl a guilt-trip when she tried to reject them. It wasn't that they were lying, just taking advantage of their own personal tragedies. And she hated that she could think that in someone she (had?) considered a friend... but a part of her could. She just didn't know if it was the grounded skeptic or shell-shocked paranoid part that was thinking it. And another part of her was still a bit unwilling to completely write him off as a Bad Egg, but she was too aware of how much of a charmer Dodge was and how persistent he could be and the general obliviousness or disregard he had with boundaries.

"I know," she finally said, solemn, as she put her mug down. And the tone of her voice revealed that it wasn't just an 'I know that's messed up' but an 'I know about the story, all of it'. And she did know; not just about Patrick but also about how much it seemed to mess with Dodge and how much blame he put on his shoulders for it. And, even now, Evelyn still thought that part of him had been very much the truth, and it made sticking with what she had ahead of her to say that much harder. "I know about Patrick, and how that affects Dodge." She paused, every part of her really not liking this, and then added in a tired manner that said this part was significant: "He told me."

Jessie was more than a little confused, but she was already feeling less bad about telling someone something of this nature because apparently, her aunt already knew about Patrick. Which was kind of weird. She hadn't figured that Evelyn and Dodge were really close enough to talk about Patrick and the kind of things he'd done, or that Dodge would want to talk about it to many people. She wasn't sure if she would want to, if she was in his place. "When did he tell you about him?" She wanted to ask 'Why', but it sounded stupid in her head so she figured it might sound just as stupid out loud. Asking someone why another person did something wasn't really fair, she didn't know why Dodge told her and likewise, neither did Jessie.

Evelyn had took think about that for a moment. When had Dodge told her? She remembered their conversations just fine for the most part, but sometimes it was hard to separate just which topics had been brought up in which conversations. "I'm not sure exactly... a week or two ago?" she offered. Then she leaned back a bit, capturing a breath and exhaling. "I've known Dodge for some years now. He and his boys hung around the grocer's I worked at -- I couldn't tell you just how often he dropped in, or his gang did." Sometimes it seemed daily, sometimes not. His appearances had never run like clockwork, although they happened frequently enough -- a grocer's was a prime target for greedy, or just hungry, pickpockets after all. There was a momentary pause as she thought how best to proceed. Ripping the lid off this topic like a band-aid seemed best, though it was daunting; but she also didn't want to just rush through an issue so important.

Straightening herself up and crossing her arms atop the table she continued, "But then I left, and when I moved I didn't see him for a while." There was another brief pause, considering how best to summarize this mess had started. "Until I ran into him on the street a couple weeks ago. And then... well, I guess it wouldn't be surprising that he was able to find the boarding house." ...after he had dropped in on her at the ball when she was working... "But he showed up there a couple times, and during one of those times is when he told me." And the way she finished it showed that there was more there; but she held back, just watching her niece as the girl absorbed it. Because every part of Evelyn felt that this was a sensitive issue. Even if she recalled Jessie stating her lack of interest in boys, it didn't change that the topic was one to be handled with care. So Evelyn took the greatest care to watch her niece, note any reaction, and gauge how Jessie was taking things before she continued further.

Well, she knew that her aunt and Dodge knew each other. She knew that Dodge even had a book that belonged to Evelyn and she'd told him he should take that book back. But the extent of the relationship Evelyn and Dodge had was something she didn't know. And it was starting to sound like there was more that Evelyn wasn't saying, not to mention that Dodge had sort of..sought out her aunt, from what it sounded like... So she watched her aunt as she talked, listening. "Ok..." She said, reaching for her glass of milk and lifting it to take a sip this time, inviting her aunt to continue with whatever it was that she wasn't saying yet.

Evelyn considered Jessie for a moment and whether she should just jump to the main part; but with a slight track shift she opted to try determining what Dodge was aiming at -- or just what the gravity of his offense was, as it were, "Jessie, I haven't forgotten what you said Monday. I know you said you weren't interested in a boyfriend and I'm not doubting you. But I have to ask you something. Well, a couple things. About Dodge's part." Because even if her niece was not the least bit interested, it didn't change that there was a certain wrongness to what Dodge was doing from Evelyn's end. Whether he succeeded or failed, the fact was that he had come to her apartment and asked -- pleaded -- to take her out, been rejected, and then in less than a week began flirting or outright pursuing her niece. Whatever his intentions, whether due to obliviousness or fickleness or willful manipulation, that didn't change his actions; it didn't change what he did, or might still be doing.

She gave that a moment to settle in, breathed, and then continued. And her tone was careful to show that she was just after the truth, and that whatever the answer she wasn't here to judge Jessie on the matter. "First, what does Dodge want? Or, well, what has he shown himself to want?" What with Jessie telling her Monday about him insisting on walking her home, Evelyn could take a guess. She couldn't picture Dodge being just friends with any girl. Or, not in the way it meant to most people, with no continual touching despite reminders or hints that it wasn't welcome. He was a flirt, an undeniable fact; who usually needed to be told or given the hint multiple times to respect boundaries, and even then usually ended up testing them. "And -- I know this sounds odd but just bear with me -- when did you and Dodge start hanging out, exactly?"

This was getting weirder and weirder and Jessie didn't like the sense of dread it was filling her with. Right now, milk seemed like a terrible option. She pushed the glass away from her, watching her aunt as she listened to her requests. At least her aunt was asking her what Dodge wanted, which was a little different than just assuming that she wanted to be dating Dodge, even if the situation itself was starting to feel a bit like an interrogation. "He told me today that he liked me and I told him that I can't like someone my dad doesn't approve of. So I told him we were strictly staying friends and that's that." She paused a moment, trying to think back to exactly when she and Dodge had first started hanging out. "First time he walked me home was...last Monday. Why? Aunt Evie, this is getting really weird. What are you trying say?"

She frowned at that, and this time it wasn't the gentle concerned one she had for her niece. It had a dark edge, one that seemed she was none too happy with the answer there. Because she really, really wasn't. What Jessie had told her had lined up perfectly with the worse of the scenarios. Dodge hadn't just been hanging out or flirting with her niece, he had gone as far as to confess some sort of feelings for her. And it was a good thing Jessie wasn't into him, or else Evelyn would have been entirely disinclined to do anything to curb her brother pummeling him.

"Dodge had a crush on me -- but he was a flirt and I saw him as just a kid and didn't think much of it at first. But then he started stopping by the boarding house... and it turned out that his crush wasn't so little or harmless. At least that's what it seemed like. He certainly appeared earnest enough to have me convinced that -- even if I thought it was something that would pass with time -- he considered himself in love. Or, at least, enough to throw 'love' out there; and enough to get upset and plead with me when I told him I had a date." She paused there, a part of her feeling pained in the remembering. Even now, even though she knew he had turned right around and confessed feelings to her niece within a week, the act still seemed so convincing. "And he was very, very convincing. Enough so that I felt awful turning him down; because he looked so..." she groped around for a word fit enough to describe how he had seemed, but found nothing better than "... hurt. And he left, and the only thing I've heard of him since was about him and you, and what you've told me.

"And I'm not going to lie and say I'm not really disturbed and concerned right now," she looked at Jessie there, the truth of that obvious. "Because either he was playing an act; and it was expert enough to truly fool me even if I rejected him in the end. And that level of manipulation is an expert one and dangerous for anyone to be around." God, she hoped Jessie never discovered just how dangerous it could be. "Or he actually did feel that way, and after getting rejected jumped into pursuing you, my niece. And, whatever the motivation, that sort of thing is something to watch out for." And Evelyn really really hoped it was the former, that everything had been an act; and that he wasn't after Jessie because he was trying to get back at her.

Jessie's breath left her in an exhale and she didn't instantly pull another in. She found herself just staring at Evelyn, mind working overtime trying to process everything from her father's distaste of Dodge, to Dodge's confession of liking her, to his story about Patrick, and now to Evelyn's tale of her and Dodge. Jessie felt at the best, overwhelmed, and at worst, kind of sick. The fact that she said he'd used the word 'love' around her aunt...

Jessie ran a hand through her hair and turned to look away from Evelyn, still trying hard to make any of this make sense to her. She'd thought of Dodge as a friend, someone she was starting to trust, and now she was hearing that not so long ago he'd pleaded with her aunt to go on a date with him. Jessie had told Dodge she didn't believe that he could like her so quickly, that he didn't know enough about her to make that decision, but now she couldn't help but wonder if he was liking her because he was feeling rejected. Rejected by her aunt. And to be honest, it hurt. She couldn't be one hundred percent sure the reason Dodge spent time with her was because he couldn't spend time with Evie anymore; she wanted to think the best in people. She wanted to believe that Dodge did want to be her friend like she'd said they were and not try to be around her because he couldn't be around Evelyn or because he wanted to try and be closer to Evelyn. None of this made any sense, no matter how hard she tried.

Finally, she got up and took the glass of milk, placed it back in the refrigerator, and poured herself a big glass of water. She downed it quickly and poured another, returning to her seat with a look that suggested she didn't feel any better than she had before.

Evelyn's eyes tracked Jessie's movements, watching her. And doing so was painful because seeing such a look on that face was just awful. And, god, she never ever ever wanted to see such a look on her niece's face again. And she sure as hell hated feeling that, partly, she had put it there. And as for Dodge's part, whatever his game or motivation? In that moment there were no words or punishment adequate enough to make up for that look. She didn't rush Jessie to say anything, all too aware of how uncomfortable and probably hurtful this was for her. It wasn't as if Evelyn had anything she could say anyway. As her brother had pointed out, there weren't any words to make this situation not fucked up. All she knew was that if she could do anything, anything to take it all back and stop this situation from ever happening, she would. But she didn't have time travel, all she had was Here and Now and a moment that was one of the most awkward and awful in her life. "God, I'm so sorry, Baby J," Evelyn murmured, finally; because even if it did nothing to help, she needed Baby J to know that.

Jessie continued to stare into the glass of water she had until her aunt spoke. She frowned, looking over at her finally. "You didn't do any of this. Why are you sorry?" Sure, she felt even more confused and lost on the situation with Dodge now than she had before, but her aunt hadn't done anything wrong that Jessie could tell and it made her feel even more uneasy that she was apologizing. What did she have to apologize for, unless there were more parts of the story someone was leaving out. Most of her didn't even want to be thinking of this anymore. She wanted this to all be a bad dream, like she'd hoped for earlier, but she knew it wasn't. She knew this was real and that she'd have to find a way to figure out what all this meant. But right now, she just didn't want to think about it anymore even if that was all she'd be doing for quite some time.

"I just am, I guess," she responded, shaking her head a little. She just felt responsible, even she knew she couldn't take responsibility for all of it. She knew it wasn't always a helpful state of mind, but oddly enough it sometimes was. Sometimes it kept her sane enough to think through things and figure how to work them out. Whereas thinking that there was nothing she could do or that could have been done just left her powerless and in despair. Sometimes taking responsibility for things empowered her to prevent or fix them. But, sometimes, it just left her feeling guilty and still powerless. Evelyn wasn't sure if feeling responsible was helping her any here, but she felt it regardless.

"You shouldn't be." She said, holding her second glass of water in her hands but not taking a move to drink from it. She didn't feel right. This whole day felt wrong. Everything about it had been difficult and confusing and now she was left feeling like a friend of hers was using her somehow and she just felt bad. All kinds of bad. She wanted nothing more right now than to be in her pajamas, on the couch, with her blanket over her head, and pretend that that was all the world was. Her safe apartment with her family, with her blanket protecting her. It was a childish way to think, she knew, but sometimes it helped. At the very least, she didn't want to be in the kitchen anymore. It was steadily becoming the place where she and her family 'talked' and she was more than ready for a change of scenery. "I'm gonna go sit on the couch," She said, hoping it served as enough of an invitation for Evelyn to join her. It wouldn't be so bad, sitting on the couch and maybe getting a hug from her aunt at the same time.

Evelyn nodded, and she gave Jessie a moment to head towards the couch before she stood up herself. She didn't follow her immediately, instead straightening the dining table a bit. Before Jessie had come home she had been perusing the newspaper -- the crossword lay before her half-done while job and 'For Rent' classifieds peeked out from beneath it. It didn't take long to fold the paper up and tuck it beneath her arm. She stepped into the kitchen to rinse out her mug and, like Jessie, fill it up with water before taking the five steps or so to join her niece on the couch. Only, just before she could sit down, a woman's sorrowful voice crooned through the radio and Evelyn -- figuring that was the last thing they needed -- walked over to change it. When she found a lighthearted variety show she returned back to the couch where Jessie sat and, placing her mug and the paper on the coffee table, settled down next to her. And Evelyn observed Jessie for a moment, before opting to reach over and grab a blanket (one she had used when trying to nap but the folded up when that failed) and spread it across herself and held the other half out to her niece. "Blanket?"

Jessie had abandoned her glass of water when she got to the couch, putting it on a nearby table. She pulled her feet out of her shoes and brought her legs up onto the couch, knees against her chest as she settled diagonally onto the couch. She was thankful when Evelyn followed her, because while she may not know what to say at the moment, she didn't really want to be alone. So she took the blanket and pulled it up to her chin, settling against Evelyn. After a few moments, Jessie glanced down at her feet as she wiggled them under the blanket. "Do you really think the only reason Dodge wanted to be my friend was to get closer to you?"

Evelyn shifted and wrapped an arm around her niece's shoulders, pulling her in a little. Her chin rested atop Jessie's head as she took her time considering the question. "I don't know what to think," she finally murmured, giving a light squeeze. She considered what she knew of the situation a little bit further, carefully putting her thoughts into words, and continued, "I can't really guess at what his intentions are, if he's being heartless or just thoughtless. All I do know for certain are what his actions were: that he said he had feelings for me, that he said it earnestly, and that about a week later he confessed feelings to you. I don't know the why, but I do know that behavior doesn't add up to anything good regardless of what the intentions might or might not be."

And she rubbed Jessie's shoulder a little, and placed a quick smooch against her niece's forehead, since none of this was pleasant to say and she couldn't imagine it was pleasant to hear. But a small part of her, listening to herself, stored some of it away for later for her own much needed reflection -- about things she had done, about things others had done, and about how maybe it would be healthier to stop rationalizing so much and just focus more on what the ultimate actions were.

Jessie sighed, settling down closer to Evelyn as she did. "I want to believe that he wanted to be my friend because he just..wanted to be my friend. Not because he wanted to get close to you or because I'm some sort of consolation friend, because he couldn't hang out with you anymore...But it's hard to..." No one wanted to be told that maybe the reason your friend was actually hanging out with you was because he wanted to hang out with your aunt and he couldn't anymore. It plain sucked. Not to mention it was pretty weird that he'd tried to take her aunt out on a date. The next time she saw Dodge, they were going to have a talk. Period.

"I think that anyone with a good head on their shoulders would want to be your friend, for no other reason than you," Evelyn replied; and she wasn't saying it just to say it. She honestly believed that. She believed that Jessie and any decent, well-grounded person with their shit together would become likely friends if given the opportunity. But the key-phrase was 'a good head' there. And Evelyn didn't think Dodge had one right now. She couldn't say what he was thinking, or speculate what the nature of it was, but the rapid manner in which he had changed gears and focused on her niece did not point to a well-grounded character or anything good. And even if Jessie was focusing on why Dodge was wanting to be her friend, Evelyn hadn't forgotten that what Jessie said he had wanted was something more than that. If Dodge had shown to only want to be Jessie's friend, it still would have been disconcerting and the timing would have been suspicious; but the fact that he wanted more than that, and had gone so far as to confess things, that was the Major Red Flag for something.

Jessie hadn't brought up Dodge's confession of liking her again but she also hadn't forgotten it. Between telling her he liked her and her telling him they were only going to be friends, to now knowing that Dodge had said something about love to her aunt just a week ago and tried to get her to go on a date...She just didn't understand it and a good part of her wanted to go find Dodge right now and punch him like she had Mud, but another part of her wanted to hear from him what he had to say for himself in this situation. Because she was confused and pissed off and just plain didn't understand this at all. She wanted just one part of this whole day to make sense, but none of it seemed to be doing that. And the worst part of it was that she wasn't going to get any answers right now and that she was probably not going to get any sleep either. "Can we talk about something else for a while? Like..are you going to visit more often now?"

"I think so," she murmured, having no problem with changing the line of conversation. Jesse knew now about the lawyer, and the Drake, and the mugging; he didn't know everything -- she hadn't been in a great state after lunch to continue on such topics -- but he knew enough that she knew avoiding him (or not dealing with some things) wasn't going to help anything. And she missed her family, and her friends; and even if she had no plans on moving back home, she was all too aware that isolation hadn't done her any favors. And she knew that she needed to make a much needed trip to her parents' and confess things, and she needed to get out of the Drake and the next job she got would be one the people at home knew about. So, yeah, Evelyn knew she would do some more visiting -- to home as well as Jesse's -- even if things would be more uncomfortable before they got better.

"And," Evelyn added as she pulled back a bit, so she could beam a grin down at Jessie, one meant to brighten their mood, "I was actually offered a job working in a garage, and I think I might take it."

This was a much more pleasant topic of conversation and one Jessie was happy to dwell on for a while. Having her aunt around again would be really nice. She'd missed her and had definitely not liked not knowing when she could see her again. So the smile she had at the beginning of this was growing as Jessie learned about Evelyn's job offer. "That's really cool, Aunt Evie. So you'd fix up the cars there? Can I come visit you at work?" Being in a garage, surrounded by cars that needed fixing, sounded like a welcome reprieve from what was going on right now. Jessie liked puzzles and what else was a broken car other than a big puzzle that just needed the right pieces?

Evelyn laughed a little at that, "Well, not really fixing cars. Right now it might be paperwork -- but anyone who puts me in a garage is going to get more than he bargained for if he thinks I'm strictly staying behind the desk." And she was only half-joking there, honestly. Because even if she often looked the part? she was never going to be happy mindlessly doing the same task over and over -- neither at a grocer's or from behind a desk. No matter how menial the job was supposed to be, she usually managed to grasp onto something that could mentally engage her, even if her only compensation was her own interest.

She had done it at the Drake, as a waitress and now moreso as a concierge; and even at the grocer's she would do it -- if only in ways of coming up with a better system for storing inventory or figuring out if changing up the layout might help sales. And the lawyer job, though she had been hired (so she thought) for clerical work, actually offered a lot in the way of challenging tasks and learning about the most up-to-date office technology. So if Dutch wanted her to only take care of paperwork then Evelyn wasn't going to be there for long. She remembered that he had joked about her getting a job fixing cars, though she didn't know if there had been any truth in that or -- if there had been -- if it would even matter anymore.

"Still, I think you should take it. I think you'd like that job, being at the garage, and maybe you could fix some cars on the side too?" Maybe it was a lot to ask for Jessie to come visit Evelyn at a job she hadn't even taken yet, but the prospect seemed fun. Maybe she should wait and see if her aunt did end up taking the job and then, if her boss even wanted Jessie hanging around. But it was putting ideas in her head about going to see the garage anyway. "Can we go by it sometime? You, me, and dad? It just sounds cool."

"I'll have to ask? But I don't see why not," Evelyn replied, a light smile still there. Although she actually could see why not; Dutch knew Jesse now, apparently. And Evelyn didn't really know how that had went, save for that both men had been drinking and Jesse had told Dutch something. And, seeing as how she was so limited on the details, she didn't know if the two would care to see each other. And even if then... well, she was aware that 'People Person' and 'Dutch' didn't really belong in the same sentence. But keeping the conversation light was more important than spouting details and speculations... especially considering it wasn't even a job she had taken yet, if it was still on the table. "But I think I should probably learn a bit more about driving my own car first before I go offering to fix someone else's..." she added slyly. Because, yeah, her car (it still sounded so odd just thinking that) was a very recent development.

"Woah, you have a car? When'd you get a car?" Jessie asked, the look of shock plain on her face. She hoped this was something very new, because something like getting your own car was something Jessie felt like families should celebrate. She wanted to believe that her aunt would want to tell her about developments like these when they happened, like getting a car and finding new jobs; things that they could all be happy about together. But even though Evelyn had been acting oddly not so long ago, she was here now in their house, filling Jessie in, so maybe even if the car wasn't that new of a development, she could be happy knowing that Evelyn was telling her about it now.

"Thursday night," And Evelyn managed to keep a smile in her expression as if that evening's memory hadn't been horribly discolored with how Dutch and her had parted ways. "It's used, but it's been fixed up something nice." She hadn't driven it much, but she trusted that, regardless of how he might have felt about her?, he had done a damned good job.

Thursday night wasn't that long ago so Jessie didn't feel like she'd been left out of the loop all that much. But now she was focused on the idea that her aunt had a car. A real car that they could take drives around the town in. She turned her eyes to Evelyn and although they weren't as happy or excited as they would have been had her day been different, they were still eager about the new development. "Will you take me for a drive sometime?"

"That'd be nice," Evelyn murmured, half to herself as well as to Jessie. From the moment Dutch first mentioned finding her a car, Evelyn had spent a good amount of time picturing just driving in it. Around the city or outside it or, hell, sometimes even across the country in some grand road trip. She had never been outside the city, and there was a whole lot of world out there. She didn't want to run away, or leave an never come back, but she really wanted to just see what else was out there instead of just see the black and white pictures of newspapers and magazines. And, really, going on a drive with someone else there was a better picture than her just driving alone. She pulled herself out of her reverie, and glanced back down at Jessie, grinning again, "So of course -- or, well, once I can be trusted enough behind the wheel." Because good lord she wasn't going to try risking her niece's life.

Jessie shook her head, rolling her eyes at Evelyn slightly. "I'm sure you'll be a great driver, aunt Evie.You shouldn't be nervous about it" Although, Jessie had a feeling that she would be if she were in her aunt's shoes. Looking at cars and trying to puzzle them together was a wholly separate thing than actually operating a vehicle. "Is there a place you can practice?"

"I'm certain there are," and then she paused a moment, hesitating, before adding, "maybe I'll ask your dad." Really, Evelyn would have preferred to learn from her own experience -- find a safe place where she could start out and do trial and error without worrying about possibly running somebody over. But the new anxiety within her wasn't to keen on the idea of her driving around in some unpopulated area alone -- even if she had the added security of a hardbodied car. So, really, she was considering asking for some help -- and company -- whereas she otherwise might not have.

"You should. I think he'd like that." Jessie knew she would, at least. If Evelyn asked her dad to go with her, it was a definite step in the right direction. A step that showed her Evelyn wasn't acting funny anymore and she was actually back spending time with her family. A step that Jessie approved of. "And then when you're more comfortable, you can take us both on rides around town. Where is your car, anyway?"

"Just outside the boarding house," she said, rubbing at Jessie's shoulder absently. The car wasn't directly in front of the main entrance but, as it was a corner building, was close enough that she could see it from her apartment window. She didn't bother to tell her niece that she had driven around the block a couple times -- well, more than a couple -- until such a spot opened up even though there had been others within walking distance. But with it being evening, and having just left the general neighborhood she had been attacked in, Evelyn couldn't bring herself to park there and walk. And she had tried.

Nodding, Jessie shifted again so that she could lean her head against Evelyn's shoulder. She had wanted to see the car but it was further away than she really wanted to go. "Can we take a walk and go see it sometime? Tomorrow, maybe?" Vaguely she wondered what time it was. The day that felt like it was never going to end just kept dragging and Jessie wasn't really hungry for dinner, but she was wondering if it was late enough for Evelyn to stay here instead of going back to the boarding house.

"I've got some things to take care of, but if not tomorrow then this week. Definitely." She was scheduled for work tomorrow, and she suspected it would be her last day -- or, well, at the least very close to it. She didn't know how things would go, not at all; or if she would stick through the whole shift or -- if she went and got the business out of the way first thing -- if she would end up leaving early. "But when you do see it, you have my full permission to crawl and poke around in it as much as you like." Then, considering that for an exaggerated moment, teased, "Well, as long as you don't start taking any parts out."

Jessie's smile was slowly getting bigger. She was still very much troubled by all that was going all, all that she'd been told today, but it was nice to be able to sit here with the aunt that she missed and joke about her new car. Something normal, finally. "Well, that's good 'cause I was gonna do that anyway.Except for taking things apart. I was going to do that sometime next week," She teased back.

Evelyn smiled, appreciating the normalcy and comfort of the moment herself. With all the shit that had been going on, it felt like a long damned time since she had something peaceful and comfortable and familiar like this. And she was quiet for a moment, still not able to relax entirely but coming as close to it as she had in ages, before giving Baby J another peck on the forehead. "I'm going to make something to eat. You want anything?" She knew that Jessie was usually the cook (because, save for eggs, her brother was best kept away from a stove), and was all for giving her niece a break tonight on that.

Jessie was really anything but hungry. Actually, eating right now sounded awful. She shook her head and started to sit up, pulling the blanket off of her as she slowly stood. "I think I'm gonna try to get some sleep." She needed to hold on to this feeling of normalcy right now because it was the only real shot she had at getting any sleep tonight. Still, she leaned close to Evelyn and hugged her tight. "I'm glad you're here. I missed you."

Evelyn raised an arm to hug her back. "I missed you too," she murmured. "You get some rest, and I'll just make extra for you when you want it," she smiled wryly, "for tonight, or tomorrow, or whenever." And she would make extra for Jesse too. It gave her something to do while she reflected on things and she normally wouldn't mind doing it anyway; but with how much she had to make up for she felt even more compelled to do something, even if it was small. Evelyn stood up, and reached down to grab the mug and glass just in case Jessie had any thoughts on doing it before bed, and then she straightened up and gave her niece a gentle smile, "'Night, Baby J."