moving day

Who: Jesse and Becky
Where: James Apartment
When: Afternoon

Becky was sitting in the now empty living room, sipping take-out coffee and looking over the paint samples that she'd picked up on a whim. That was something her and JJ had talked about as they walked around the houses that Jim had narrowed down. It was something to do and she scribbled down some ideas for the main rooms. Around her, the easily packed apartment was slowly emptying as a couple of movers took the furniture out. They'd have to go buy more because there was only one bed and three of them.

After the strange time she had with Evie the other day, Becky had been in a kind of funk and it was kind of stressful. She hadn't seen Evie since and that had her wondering whether or not she should just come clean with exactly what had gone on.

Life. It was complicated.

Jesse walked into the place after having given the movers more instructions. He felt like he was hemmoraging money, and he kind of was at the time, but it was worth it. He just knew it was a risk, and he hoped no one took overly much notice. He didn't think they would, but still. And there was still the part where he was really hoping this would mean he never saw Ronnie again. Especially after his last encounter with her. He just made incredibly poor decisions when it came to that woman, so maybe this would help. Just...not being someplace she could find him. Sure, it was probably a cop out, but he was taking it, regardless. He smiled faintly when he saw Becky sitting on the floor, looking at...paint swatches? Walking over, he looked down at her. "You planning on painting?" he asked. "Or am I hiring people to do more work?"

Becky tilted her head back to look up at him, brushing some loose strands of hair out of her face. "I don't mind painting, unless you don't trust me. Me and a paintbrush? Who knows what kind of damage I could cause." She took the second cup of coffee and held it up to him. "Take a seat. You've been doing hard work overseeing the moving." She grinned at him.

He took the coffee, then did sit down. He'd been doing a whole lot of back and forth during the day, and felt tired. He leaned his back up against the wall, and took a drink. "If you want to paint, you do that." he said. "I don't mind." Plus, he figured it would make the place seem more like theirs. Like he'd told Baby J that she could paint her room any way she wanted, decorate it any way she wanted too. She had free reign. And if they wanted to go decorating the rest of the house he was fine with that too. Interior design wasn't exactly his strong suit. So leaving that to the ladies? That was the best plan he could think of.

Picking her coffee back up, Becky sipped at it and looked at the swatches of colors she was thinking of for the kitchen. She didn't consider herself much of a decorator. She'd never done it before, even when her and her mother had moved into their own place. "What color do you absolutely not want?" She held up the swatches of red, yellow, green, and blue and the varying shades. "I'd hate it if I painted the kitchen robin's egg blue when you absolutely hate it."

"Not a fan that much of yellow." Jesse said. "But other than that, I don't care." he admitted. "So, do whatever. Feel free to decorate, or paint, or whatever you want. And at some point, I'll probably just give you and JJ some money and you can pick out new furniture." he added. Because they needed it. Going from a place that had a single bedroom and not much else to a four bedroom place? Yeah. They didn't even nearly have enough stuff to fill even the ground floor. So they'd need more things. But he trusted that to them.

"Yeah, we could definitely use some more," she agreed. "You're finally going to get a bedroom. Looking forward to that or are we going to find you back on the couch in the morning?" She leaned back against the wall too and stretched out her legs. It had been ages since she'd worn jeans and it was really, really nice. And, come to think of it, they should probably get to the furniture today because someone was going to have to sleep on the floor again.

Jesse chuckled a little, drinking more coffee. "I have no idea." he said. "It's been a long time since I had a bed. And it's not like I haven't slept on one ever since Jessie got her own room or anything, but yeah. It might be odd." he said. He figured it would be. he couldn't promise that he wouldn't wind up on the couch. Sometimes you just got used to something, and that was that. But he imagined eventually he'd get used to his own room and a bed and everything. It would just be an adjustment. But then this entire thing was going to be an adjustment. A huge one.

"Makes sense. I remember my first night at the penthouse. I kept waking up because for the first time I was the only one there and mom wasn't going to wake me up with the radio or breaking things." Eventually there came the anxiety of her boss coming in drunk but that didn't happen until much later. "You'll be fine. By the way, I'm pretty sure your mom is making us all dinner tonight. We stopped by when we were looking and she was pretty excited to hear about it. I think this means you should also look into getting a phone." It had been nice to see Mr and Mrs James. She'd worried that she had forgotten how welcoming it was in that house.

"Speaking of your mom..." Jesse said, shaking his head. "She hit on me pretty hard. Has wandering hands." he told her. When he'd gone to move the woman she'd been pretty hands on. And totally oblivious to the fact that he was really a whole lot of not interested. "But good. I'm sure mom would want to do that. In fact she'll probably be over a lot, trying to help. and a phone. check." he said. They probably should have one. Just in case. "Anything else?" he asked, a tone of amusement in his voice and he gave her a smirk.

"Yeah, I thought she might. I'm sorry about that." When was the last time her mom had a steady boyfriend, anyway? She'd have to think about that. She glanced back at him, catching the amused tone and the smirk. "What?" she asked, blushing a little bit because she wasn't sure what was so funny. "What's so funny?" She reached up to wipe her mouth to make sure she didn't have a coffee mustache or something.

He laughed. "Nothing. Just you. Telling me my mom is making dinner and will be coming by, saying we need a phone, picking out colors for the walls...for a girl I had to convince to stay, you sure are stepping into the role of the lady of the house." he pointed out. Not that he minded. He wanted her to be comfortable. But he couldn't help but tease her just a little.

Becky rolled her eyes and punched him in the shoulder. Not hard or anything, but there was a tiny bit of force behind it. "I'm a secretary, remember? I'm good at keeping lists and keeping track of things. Think of me as... your personal assistant." She nodded primly and sipped her coffee with mock-daintiness, pinky out and all. Lady of the house? That was kind of weird to think about. "I'm not a girl, buddy. I'm a lady." She wagged a finger at him and nudged his shoulder with hers.

"Oh fuck no." Jesse said, shaking his head. "You're not my persnoal anything, you're little Becky, who's living with me." he told her, amused. "But you aren't my secretary, nothing of the kind. Not an assistant, none of that shit. And hey--I did say lady of the house. I should get a free pass on saying 'the girl'." he said.

"This once," Becky allowed with that prim nod. "This once I'll give you the free pass. So how old do I have to be to get rid of the 'Little Becky' stuff anyway?" It's not that she minded. She had her own nicknames. How long had he been calling her 'Little Becky' anyway? "Forty?" she suggested. "I'm waiting for the day when JJ says that I shouldn't call her 'Chirp' anymore."

"Never?" Jesse suggested. "And I think she likes it. Makes her feel special." he said. "But yeah, you'll just have that forever in my head. You were just such a little thing, hanging around the house all the time, then there were your little terrified boyfriends..." he said. Though they got that way because he made sure he terrified the shit out of them. It was his job, according to him.

"Well, she's a special girl," Becky said quietly. She was, especially with everything that went on with Ronnie. "Speaking of terrified boyfriends..." She cleared her throat and looked at her coffee. "The last time my mom had a boyfriend -- one that stuck around, was back when I told you and your dad about that one." She'd been what? Ten years old? Ten years old and quickly becoming a permanent fixture at the James household. She'd been quieter when she was younger, and little was pretty accurate. She'd been pretty short and nervous. And that boyfriend her mother had at that time? She couldn't remember his name but she could remember being pretty fucking scared around the guy. He never did anything to her, not like some of those horror stories, but he could've. And she'd been so nervous coming up to Jesse and his dad. "What did you do, anyway? Mom's pretty much never dated since then. She never brought a guy over." She eyed Jesse curiously and tapped her fingers on the side of the coffee cup.

Jesse knew exactly what she was talking about, of course. he didn't have to pause and think even for a minute. And he'd threatened a lot of people in his life, so a good lot of them were a blur. But that incident, that particular time, he remembered incredibly clearly. And he had to decide how to answer. In the end he went for truth if not specifics. "We made it clear to him that certain behaviors weren't acceptable, and if he should happen to go through with them, at any point, ever again, in his entire life, that he might lose the use of one or more limbs." he told her. Specifically his legs, but Jesse didn't think that detail really needed to be out there.

That sounded fairly close to what Becky had eventually figured what had happened. Having it confirmed, well, Becky wasn't sure how she felt about that. Relieved that it had been what she thought? She'd certainly thought about it the past couple of nights, after seeing Jesse lay into Felix the way he did. She took another sip of coffee and watched the movers carry out JJ's bedframe. "Did you beat him up too?" she asked softly. Why did she ask that?

"He might have needed a little more convincing than just being told." Jesse said, which wasn't a full admission, but he knew she'd get what he meant. He didn't feel the need to go into all the little details with her--it wasn't the way he did things. He didn't do what he did for any stories later, he did it because the end result was what he wanted it to be. In this case, he wanted Becky to feel safe again, and if that took a few teeth getting swallowed by the guy making her feel unsafe then so be it.

She did in fact understand what he meant and again, Becky wasn't sure how she felt. People getting beaten up on her account. Not that those men didn't deserve it. They did, but it was because of her. "Will you roll your eyes and get annoyed with me if I say that I'm sorry you were put in that position. Both of them? And that you had to do that?" Her voice was still quiet. It wasn't some fragile voice, it was just that there were other people in the apartment that she didn't particular want hearing that.

"Yes." Jesse said. "Because sorry or not, you don't get to be. You didn't put me in that position. I did. I saw a situation I didn't like, and I did something about it. A lot of people don't. A lot of people would just turn a blind eye, and pretend they didn't know it was happening, or figure that you could fend for yourself. That's just not how I operate. But you didn't put me up to anything. You didn't ask me to take any action. And I could have dealt with things differently, I chose how I reacted." he said. "So it's not on you, it's on me, and I sleep just fine at night, princess." he told her.

"No, a lot of people don't," she agreed with a nod. "And I'm glad that you did. I'm grateful for it. I just wish you didn't have to do it, I guess. The first time around I couldn't take care of myself and my mom was doing a really shitty job of it, but this?" He'd know what she meant. "I could've done it differently. I should've done it differently. I know it's not my fault for the things he did, but I don't know why I thought what I did was the only way to do it." She frowned and looked at the ridges on the lid of the coffee cup, tracing it with her index finger. The apartment was quiet for a moment while the movers were downstairs and it suddenly felt like the apartment was bigger, the sounds of their breathing echoing off the empty space. "It makes me so mad. I don't know what to do. I don't know if I should tell Evie about it."

He watched her, paying close attention to everything. Her tone, how she looked, her body language. "He manipulated you into thinking that was the only way to go. It's how predators like him work." he told her. "I've seen it before, Becky. And it's always the same sort of story. They all feel like that. Like they should have thought of a different way or something, but when someone's got their hooks in you like that, it's really hard to see anything different." Like he was with Ronnie, he knew. He had a whole lot of monumentally stupid decisions in his past when it came to that woman, and he understood he was being played. He always understood he was being played. he just didn't know how not to be played. How to get away from it. Well. Beyond 'pack up and move and don't tell her'. Which, so far as tactics when he realized was pretty childish. "As for whether you tell Evie or not, that's up to you, hon. I'd say she's your best friend, and you two probably have a lot to share on the subject."

She gave him a thin lipped smile. "So I'm not a special snowflake, huh?" she joked and tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear. "So I guess it's one of those things where it's a lot easier to point out when the person is an evil son of a bitch when you're not the one at the end of the hook? Like you know that things are wrong but you're so into the situation that you can't see your way out of the maze?" She didn't answer him on the Evie stuff. There wasn't much else to say on it she felt.

"Most of the time, yeah." Jesse said. "In the middle of it all, there's a lot you can't see. Like I said, I've just seen it a lot before. I mean, it's no secret that I've spent a good lot of time with shady fucking people, and a lot of them are like that. Not all to the same degree, of course, but manipulative bastards, either way. And turning someone's mind in around on itself isn't nearly as hard as it should be." Which was a sad state of affairs, and why he'd raised his daughter to not take shit from anyone ever, and to be a strong person in general.

"But I'm not one of those girls. I'm not the kind that puts up with guys who can't take no for an answer and all that. I consider myself a pretty fucking smart person who knows what kind of guy I deserve -- not that I got involved with him because I thought I was going to get a happily every after. It was pretty obvious that it was, I don't know, blackmail I guess." She was frowning again and her eyes were a little narrowed. She was clearly angry with herself, feeling weak willed and she didn't know how to get over it.

Jesse reached out and lightly rubbed the back of her shoulder for a moment. "I know." he told her. "And you are a smart girl. If it was only stupid, weak people that got into situations like that they wouldn't be nearly as common as they are. But, unfortunately, they are. Half the time it's just not getting involved with someone in the first place. But any time you open yourself up to anyone, there's always that chance they'll be able to yank you around by the heartstrings or whatever. You're out now. Don't be too hard on yourself."

Becky leaned in a little bit, just for a moment appreciating the action and the reassurance that came with it. "It sucks." She took a bigger gulp of her coffee and shook her head, pulling away a little bit. "I don't mean to suddenly lay all these issues on you. I'm working on it. And you already had your one pass on calling me a girl." She smirked at him. "I'm a lady now."

He quirked a half smirk at her. "Yeah, well, I'll probably slip up on that now and then. You're just going to have to forgive me." he said. "And I don't mind if you want to talk things over with me. I really don't." he assured her. And he was being honest. If she wasn't even sure she was going to talk to Evie, she needed to talk to someone. And he did have a weirdly unique perspective. He'd seen the types, he'd confronted the types, and in his own way he was a victim of it himself, just a different brand of it. So he could understand all sorts of ways.

"I suppose I can forgive you. I do get to paint the new place after all. Fair deal." She ducked her head and pulled a knee up to rest an arm on it. "I guess I just don't want you to think that I can't take care of myself or that I'll get caught into this thing again. I don't want you to worry about me. Not that I don't appreciate it, I just don't want you to think I'm weak." That was hard to admit but in the quiet of the apartment it felt easier to do so.

Jesse didn't say anything for a few moments, watching her. "Why do you worry so much about what I think?" he asked. "And I don't. I get it. I know you're smart, you're not weak, and you got caught up in something that went too far and you didn't know how to get out yourself. That's all. Happens to a lot of people." he said, reiterating the same point he'd been making.

She sighed. "It's not just you, you just happen to be the one that's hearing about this. I guess part of it is that you saw me at a really low point and I don't want you thinking that you're going to have to swoop in and save me all the time. I don't want Chirp to think that I talk about not letting someone treat you like crap but I've been there. I tried so hard to be the strong, independent modern woman. Get the job, save up for my own place, so on and so on." Becky shook her head and leaned her head back again. "Maybe if I keep saying it, I'll convince myself that getting knocked on my ass my first time isn't the end of the world. It's just going to feel like that for awhile."

"Well, stop worrying about what other people think, for starters." Jesse said. "Even if we don't think anything bad about you. You're not put on this earth to impress other people, Becky, you've got to do what's right for you. And it's not the end of the world that things didn't work out straight away. Most people don't just fall into some perfect life. I mean...look at mine. If we're talking massive amounts of not making that great of a life for oneself, I could be a shining example. The only thing I ever did right was make damn sure I was the one who was raising my baby girl. But most people would say that I shouldn't have had a kid that young in the first place."

"You are a shining star," she teased gently and gave him a small half smile. "Everything will work out in the end, right? That's what you mean? Things worked out pretty well for you in the end. Not that this is the end. I certainly hope it isn't." Becky exhaled and let her head lull on his shoulder because it was convenient and she just needed that moment of strength again. Picking up one of the red paint swatches, she held it up. "I'm thinking cranberry for either the kitchen or the living room."

That hadn't actually been what he meant, but if she wanted to take it that way he wasn't going to tell her any different. Instead he looked at the paint swatch and let her change the subject. "Sounds just fine to me." he told her. "Anything you want, go for it."

Becky swatted his arm. "You seriously don't have any opinion whatsoever? You better be careful, Jim. I might figure out a way to rope you in and make you decide." It wasn't that she had a lot of problems being a decision maker but she was nervous about picking something him or JJ didn't like.

He laughed. "I don't have an opinion. I'm not a decorator type. You don't want to leave it to me, I'll pick something shitty. So that's all you. You and Baby J. You get to do all the decorating, I buy the place. That's the deal." he told her, smiling.

"Will you at least make the final decision on the dog? Might come down to a pretty tough decision. We could be stuck between a German Shephard and a Mastiff and can't decide which one would be the best. That puts you on the spot." Becky returned his smile and looked at the paint swatch. Fine. She would do it and JJ would approve. That seemed to be what worked for Jim. "Where's Chirp anyway?" She tilted her head to look out the window at the gloomy sky and hoped that wherever she was, she was at least warm and dry.

"Getting a few new 'essentials' for her room." Jesse said. "It's possible I gave her free reign already." he added. Which he had. He liked to spoil her when he could, and at the moment, he could. So it was damn well happening. "She should meet us at the new place soon. Should we get going?" he asked. "I promise I'll help with the final say on the mutt." he added, since she'd asked for that. He could do that, that part was something he could definitely contribute with. But the home decor--nope.

It was a good thing that his daughter was pretty damn well adjusted with a good head on her shoulders otherwise the worst person who'd be taking advantage of him wouldn't be Veronica. "Yeah, I guess we should. I just wish we still had the nice weather." Becky gathered up her paint swatches and tucked them into the Sears catolog she picked up. "But there's your mom's cooking to look forward to. I suppose trudging through the rain is trial enough."

Getting up, he glanced around the empty place. he was hit with a weirdly nostolgic feeling, a bittersweet kind of feel to it. "Yeah, mom's cooking. Let's just concentrate on that." he said. And not unpacking. Or leaving behind a place that he'd made a life in. Raised his daughter. he was glad that they were getting a new place and the house would be better for everyone, but still, there was that pang he felt. Best to get the hell out of there and ignore it. "C'mon, the faster we get going the faster we can crash in on them and spend some time bugging my other sisters before dinner." he said, as if this were a big treat.

Becky stood up as well and tucked her catalog under her arm. She noticed him looking at the apartment and she rubbed his shoulder comfortingly. "It'll be good, Jesse," she said. He had lived here for so long, she was sure it was probably a little daunting to be moving out.