house colors

Who: Maddy and Roy

Where: Around Town

When: Afternoon

Maddy walked down the sidewalk, eyes on her sketchbook, dodging people like an expert. She chewed on a pen cap between her teeth, sketching quickly, trying to time herself. Challenge herself. She needed a way to wind down from earlier and sometimes she forgot how relaxed timed sketching could make her. See how complete of a picture she could draw walking a block. It was challenging. Fun. Helped hone her skills and considering that the portraits for Peter Pan was now turning out to be a paid gig? She needed to improve.

She needed to make a stop on her trek around the city. She needed to check in on Roy. She hadn't the day before and he was probably worried, considering she told him she thought she had been suicidal there for a few days and she hated to make Roy worry. Maddy paused at the intersection, debating whether to try the auto shop or the bank building. There was no pink cardigan or pleated school girl skirt. It was the red button down, an old, ratty black pea coat, a rumpled blue skirt and boy's boots. It was vintage Doll Girl. That might make Roy feel better too.

Roy had been heading back to the vault, hands in his pockets, head down as he just generally ignored most of what was happening around him. His mood was odd. It was often odd these days, or that was what it seemed like. There was a lot to be strange about, he guessed. Events were going on around him, some he just wasn't at all sure he understood in anything resembling a satisfactory manner. He needed to see things more clearly, but he knew he wasn't always the best bet when it came to that kind of thing. Clear thinking wasn't his strongest suit at the best of times. Marian could attest to that.

"Speak of the devil," she said to herself around her pen cap. There was Roy, across the street heading towards the bank (at least, that's what she figured). Quickly glancing around at traffic, Maddy bounded across the street when the traffic broke and with a hop and skip, fell in step beside Roy, looking back down at her sketchbook as if she'd been walking with him the whole time. "Noon, Mister Grady," Maddy said pleasantly.

He noticed her when she fell in step with him, and he glanced over. When she greeted him like that, he smirked faintly. "Ma'am." he said in return with a nod. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked her. She seemed in a good mood. And at least she was looking like her old self, as opposed to those other clothes she'd been wearing, which he just couldn't get past. But then there were a lot of things in Roy's life he couldn't quite get past, it wasn't like it was unusual for him to hit mental blocks.

Maddy shot him a genuine, brilliant smile, bumping her shoulder against his arm (she barely topped his own shoulder after all) and tilted her sketchpad over, which was a little awkward since they were walking. "Just wanted to say 'good day'," she said, glad he was playing along a bit. "And to share mah good news that the director of Peter Pan has hired me on to do some portraits to decorate the lobby on opening night." The picture was a rough sketch of the Darling children sitting in a circle in the nursery, rough, but still pretty clear.

"Well goodness, ma'am, that's some good news if I ever heard it." Roy said, still rolling with the manner of speech. Really, he was relieved to hear that. That was actually something that could get her recognized, possibly. If she was, maybe she could get into the art world or something, and then wouldn't have to have jobs which involved anything shady or the like. He'd be happy about that. That would make him feel a ton better, in general. Plus, she was good, he knew that. He looked at the sketch she'd showed him, and nodded. "Looks like art to me." he said. "Think you might be doin more of that then?" he asked.

"Isn't it just?" The brilliant smile was still on her face and Maddy rolled her shoulders and went back to her speed sketching. It was good to be drawing, a kind of natural high you could only get when relishing your own awesome, natural talents. "Don't see why not. I'd rather draw all day than be on my feet." Which still hurt, since she wasn't even close to being used to wearing heels. "But the money I'm going to get at the club means I have money to buy better art supplies. And how're you doin today, Mistah Grady? Anything fun planned?"

Well that killed the mood a little, the mention of the club. Even if she wasn't meant to be doing anything crazy. He could imagine it was only a matter of time before she got talked into it by some greasy, shady guy who wants a new girl on stage. "I'm alright, I suppose. Could be worse." he told her. "And no ma'am. Nothing fun planned." He and 'fun' were really only passing acquaintances. He didn't have a whole lot of that, at the best of times, and most certainly not when things got all rollercoaster on him.

"We should go house hunting," she said, putting the finishing touches on the sketch. They hadn't even reached the end of the block yet. She. Was. Awesome. "If you want, I mean." She closed her sketchbook and shoved it into the otherwise empty bag she had on her shoulder and looped her arm through his, like a proper lady and gentleman out on a stroll. "And look, I'm not planning on staying there forever. The owner is a really good guy who kicks people out for looking at me funny. He's taking a big chance on me." Maddy knew Roy didn't like it, but she wanted him to know that she was being looked out for.

"You realize I didn't actually say anything, right? About your other job?" Considering he hadn't. Not a word, even. He'd just answered her question and such. "And if you want to go house hunting, sure." he said, not having a ready excuse for not going. Besides, maybe it would be distracting in some form. He could go for something distracting. Even if it was just a pipe dream. He still believed that, that it was all just something that she was dreaming on, but it wasn't ever going to happen.

"You didn't have to say anything. You worry. You're Roy," she said simply. And he did. Roy always worried, about everything, and she knew he didn't approve and yeah, maybe it was some of that good, old fashioned guilt talking, but she also knew, well, he worried. "And I'm trying to fix that worry. Anyway, yes. Let's go." With her grip on his arm, she made him stop at the intersection, looking left and right. "Which way?"

Well he couldn't argue the logic. He did worry, he'd expressed that worry more than once, and apparently, he didn't even have to voice his worries anymore, he'd done it enough that they were echoes in her head. He wasn't sure if he should be happy about that, or if it should disturb him a little bit. He wasn't sure what, and he wasn't going to figure it out now. So, he looked left, then right, then nodded left. "This way." he chose, randomly. Or, kind of randomly. He knew if they went right that they'd edge towards rougher neighborhoods, and he just really didn't feel like getting into a fight today.

Maddy tugged him in the direction he pointed, moving in closer as the chilly wind blew, laying her head against his arm arm they walked. "What kind of house should we get, you think? With a yard, of course, although if we're close enough to a playground, I won't mind." She wanted a swing, after all. It struck her that she was house hunting with Roy with everything going on with Dodge. Was that something she shouldn't be continuing? No, of course not. Roy was never going to leave her. Roy was always going to be with her, even when she did things he didn't like. S'why she loved him. That made her smile.

"You wanted a swing out back, I remember. A tire swing." he said, since they'd discussed it, and Roy did actually recall that. Though her mentioning a playground and everything accentuated in his mind again that she was a little girl in his eyes. Even if she was walking with him, head against his arm, holding onto him like they might be a couple, he couldn't get past certain things, and that was one of them. Especially when she said things that played into it. "And I don't know what kind of house. Something with two floors?" he suggested. "And a basement." He could work in a basement. Not that this was ever going to happen in a million years.

"Basement workshop?" she asked, glancing up at him. That seemed like something Roy would like. A place to tinker. His own kind of 'safe place'. Everyone needed one of those and Maddy tried to think of where hers was. "No attics. We could have a storage said in the backyard. I like that idea." Maddy didn't want to end up in an attic again, although she still wasn't sure she wanted to move out of her attic just yet. She'd been there for five years now.

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking." he answered her about the workshop. "And okay. No attics." he agreed. He wasn't sure there were houses that big without attics, but he could always seal it off--wait, he wasn't thinking about this. Not really. It was just some silly dream Madeline was having to give herself something to dream about. That was all. Nothing more, it wasn't ever going to happen, they weren't ever going to have enough money to do anything of the kind, and even if one day one of them did, he wasn't even sure they'd still go through with it. There were still a lot of issues, after all.

Maddy squeezed his arm a little bit in appreciation. "We could make you a really nice workshop. Shelves everywhere for all your stuff. But if we did have to have an attic, I guess I could turn it into an art studio or something. Maybe." That was an idea. Or she could just set up all her art stuff in her bedroom. "Maybe you could help me stretch canvas. Really proper like paintings in a museum." The houses down this street were all duplexes; two-family townhouses that were nicely kept despite the run down area.

He thought about that. He'd never done anything like it before, but he liked doing things of the kind. "If I knew how, I could do it." he said, feeling confident in that. And he could work out how to do it properly, too. Maybe it would take a try or two, but he'd manage. "Where do you get canvas and such?" he asked, not having any clue whatsoever what something like that might cost.

A small frown. "Um, real canvas is... four bucks." Which was a lot. "I'm looking for cheaper alternatives. For now I just stick with whatever I can find." Maddy was pretty good at grabbing what she could for the nicer paintings that she sold. Still, someday she'd be able to afford proper canvas. "I like that one," she said suddenly, pointing to a skinny townhouse across the street a little ways down. It was a dirty grey with faint blue shutters.

Roy winced faintly. Yeah, that was incredibly expensive. Who had four dollars lying around? For that, it had better be stretched for you. "Well, if you do find stuff I can help you with, let me know, okay?" he told her, and then followed to look where she was pointing. He quirked a half smile. "What do you like about it?" he asked, curious about what might draw her to a certain place.

"The color," she said, pulling her head from his arm to tilt in the other direction. "It makes it, I dunno, kinda awesome. Like, even if it looks not much different from everything else, whoever lives there cares enough about it to make it their own. Cared for." Maddy looked back at him with a smile. "Probably nowhere to put a garden for Marian though."

"But isn't grey not a color? I mean there's blue on the shutters, but if you're going for color, wouldn't you want something that was brighter?" he asked her, looking at her again. He knew she liked bright colors. She wore bright colors, she sometimes pulled out those wigs and the like. She did her artwork and everything, so yeah, he figured she'd go for something bright. Something that stood out against the dull of the city.

"No, it's a color. It's in the light brownish family." She was pretty sure. Like taupe and steel blues and stuff. "Because grey can have all sorts of colors in it. Blue, red, yellow. And I mean yeah, it could be brighter, but the bright color they decided to use really looks good. Like a beacon sorta thing. Not many people do that." Maddy winked at him. "Of course a bright yellow house with blue shutters and a red door would be totally awesome."

He chuckled a little. "Is that what you'd want?" he asked. He could see it. He could see her having a house that was ungodly bright, that was all kinds of attention grabbing. It would be very 'her'. Appropriate, in some fashion. "A yellow house, with blue shutters and a red door. I'll have to remember that." he told her.

"You should. Because I'll have it someday." She grinned at him and pulled him along down the street. "Don't know if I'd find it here though." It was true. The kind of house she wanted for them would be out in the suburbs and Maddy had never been there. She wasn't sure if she could leave the city. Roy wouldn't like it. "But in the meantime, we'll make do."

He noticed that she'd said 'I'll have it' that time. Not 'we'. So he wondered if she was changing her mind on things, going that route, like she was altering her plans slowly. Refining them so they didn't include him anymore. But then, she said 'we'll make do' just after that, so he wasn't sure. In the end, he opted not to call her on it at all, just going where she led him. "If you've got enough for the house, you should have enough for paint. So technically, you could buy any place and just turn it into a yellow house with blue shutters and a red door." he pointed out. "Even if it started out something much more dull than that."

Maddy nodded thoughtfully, considering this. That sounded appealing. "What colors do you want?" Because it would be his house too and maybe he would want a blue house with yellow shutters and a red door or something. "Unless you want to decorate the inside and I'll decorate the outside?"