Caleb - Man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.

[brokendoors]

True to his Mama's word, Caleb made it out of The Visit unscathed. And when they'd left, his mom did a lot of hugging to the point he'd actually started pushing her away with a totally age-appropriate 'ew, mom's hugging me!' gross face.

And he didn't think his mom minded, even!
It wasn't until the next day, when his mom was at work, that he made the tiny trek across the complex over to Casper's place.

He wanted to get Casper's input on things.

Comments

[brokendoors]

"Mama only lets me eat junk sometimes now. She says growing boys don't need to put preservatives in my body 'cause I'm not old enough to need 'em." He makes a face. "But I like preservatives.

[lovestofly]

Casper makes a face at the mention of preservatives. "Yeah, I'm with your mom on this one." Caleb should be familiar enough with the contents of Casper's fridge by now, as well as his cooking. But since he did bring out the ice cream earlier, he can't be all that bad. "But the question now is: what will she be bringing today?"

[brokendoors]

"It's the weekend, isn't it? Maybe some fast food!" Caleb looks very very hopeful.

[lovestofly]

fast food didn't have to be bad, though. it just depended on the type of fast food. and he did trust Ivy's taste. "So what kind are you hoping for?"

[brokendoors]

"Maybe... Subway? Mom likes Subway." Submarine sandwiches, and some baked Doritos! Yum, yum.

[lovestofly]

Hmm, Subway wasn't so bad. Good outdoors food. Hamburgers were no good once they got cold. Pizza was no good for the same reason. But a decent sandwich always worked. "I could go for that. Mmmh, tuna-sub..."

[brokendoors]

"Mama lets me have double the cheese, 'cause I loooove cheese." Mmm. Provolone!


Speaking of mamas, guess who's coming up, subway bags in hand.

[lovestofly]

Ah, and there she is, heavenly angel bringing food.

Casper raises a hand and waves to draw her attention to where they are, and then looks over at Caleb. "Looks like you nailed it, kid."

[brokendoors]

Ivy grins and moseys on over. Gracious, her man all wet. Mmm.

"Evenin'! I hope I'm not too late."
"Nope, not at all mama! I'm psychic! I told Casper I hoped you'd bring Subway!"
"Huh, looks like you are."
She plops down beside them and starts to hand 'em out. She remembers that Casper does like tuna.

[lovestofly]

"Heh. I'm the one with mental abilities and I had no idea while he got it spot on." He turns to Caleb. "Sir, I tip my hat to you. You must indeed be psychic." He mimics lifting a hat, since he of course doesn't have one on presently, and then happily accepts the tuna sub from Ivy. She gets a quick kiss as thanks.

[brokendoors]

She kisses him back. "Might have something to do with our weekly ritual. The boy gets his bad food indulgence, I get to not cook."
"Nah, Mama! I'm special too."
"Course you are honey!" Ivy digs into her own sandwich. "Absolutely special, the most special boy here I bet!"

[lovestofly]

Casper can only agree. An ordinary human boy, but special none the less. Heck, there in the Nexus where powers are a dime a dozen, that is actually pretty damn special.

"So how was your day?" Casper asks Ivy, between bites of his sandwich. Mmm, tuna.

[brokendoors]

"Tiring. Everyone decided they needed to speak to me today, and there's just so much to do. Normally our little hotel isn't so busy. I think I've talked the owner into letting us renovate. It's about twenty years overdue."

[lovestofly]

"Sounds like you're going to stay busy for a while, then?" renovations tended to have that effect, in Casper's experience.

[brokendoors]

"Yeah, seems like it. But it's not as bad as one of my colleagues down the street, at least. She found her boss in bed with a .. certain kind of lady he lets work the place." She looks at Caleb then at Casper. "At night. By the hour."

Caleb is, thankfully, busily tearing into his own cheese-laden sammich.

[lovestofly]

Ah yes. There's enough clues there that Casper can guess this lady's profession. "I can see how that would be a bit... awkward." To say teh least.

[brokendoors]

Thank God her place isn't the same way. She wouldn't know what to do if she had to quit! "It's creepy. They're cracking down though, trying to get the working girls out of there."

[lovestofly]

"That's probably good." Even better would be if these girls could do something else. Things weren't black and white, and he couldn't imagine anyone doing that for a living as a first choice, and a hotel was probably a better place than the streets. But, yes, in needed to be dealt with, no question there.

[brokendoors]

"I've got half a mind to see if any of them want housekeeping jobs. We could do with a few more."

[lovestofly]

He smiles at that. "That would be great, I think." He's not blind enough to think that the women in question would need some supervision, though. There could be problems like drugs and such. But everyone deserved at least a chance, right?

[brokendoors]

Ivy isn't blind to the ..accommodating problems, either. What if there's outside issues to discuss, too, like pimps? Or .. whatever else one has to deal with when one is on the outside like that? "Yeah, I think so too. I'll have to discuss it with the head housekeeper first."

[lovestofly]

"I hope it works out. Everyone needs someone to believe in them."

[brokendoors]

She smiles softly, then looks down at the remains of her sandwich. "Yes, they do. I hope to pay it forward."

"Pay it forward?"
"It's when you do a good deed for someone else, honey, after someone has done a good deed for you. IT's how you change the world."
"Oh! Good Samaritan ish, huh?"
"Something similar, yes."

[lovestofly]

Casper smiles. He loves that idea, that one act of kindness can send ripples through the world.

Great movie, too.

"Let me know how it turns out."

[brokendoors]

"I'm sure you'll hear about it in some fashion. I promise not to rant if things get too crazy."