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OOM III: Adjustment
Oct. 21st, 2005 06:34 pmJuly 11, 2008
There were sirens in the distance. One thing Chris had to get used to after months in Milliways was how noisy New York was. Sounds she wouldn't have noticed before, jarred her on her first few days back.
It was early afternoon and already muggy out, the air felt thick and heavy. Chris fanned herself with the small ad paper as she moved through the crowd. Caiti was beside her, paying more attention to the shop windows than anything else.
"I can't believe I let you talk me into spending fifty dollars, on that," Chris said with a glance towards her sister.
"I thought she was pretty accurate," replied Caiti, shrugging her shoulders as she did.
Chris rolled her eyes and snorted. The psychic seemed to have a collection of vague little fortunes that she recycled depending on age and what the person asked for. Things like "you'll go a trip soon" and "you enjoy helping people".
"Her readings were as personalized as the daily horoscope in a newspaper."
Her sister gave her an annoyed look and the two crossed the street. "You're just being cynical."
"I'm being realistic."
"This is because of the J thing isn't it?"
"The what?"
"You know what," Caiti said, pushing her tote strap back onto her shoulder, "what she said about the guy you'll meet."
The J thing. Among one of the little stock fortunes the psychic had trotted out was about a new love Chris would soon meet. he'd be a little older, have an exciting career and his name would begin with a J.
That had actually rattled Chris for a second till she remembered Caiti had been told something similar. Not so much with the age and occupation, Chris couldn't remembered what her sister had told about but the "his name will start with J" part.
"Do you know how many guys names starts with J?" Chris sighed before rattling off a few to prove her point, "Joe, Jim, Jeff, Jason, Josh, Jerry, Jake, John... For guy's names, there's probably more that begin with J than any other letter."
"And?"
"And it's a trick that's what. A clever one but still," Chris paused to open the door to the restaurant for her sister.
"Thanks."
Chris followed Caiti inside and the pair stood near the entrance, waiting for the hostess to seat them. After a brief moment of silence, Caiti spoke.
"You seem to be determined to believe what you want but I don't think that proves anything. Like you said there are lots of guy's names that start with J. It could be a coincidence," she said airily.
This just prompted another sigh from Chris. "Whatever, Cait."
--------------------------------------------------------
Chris looked down at the books, wishing they weren't in plastic covering so she could flip through them while she waited. One register open and a long line, she was feeling antsy.
She was excited about going back to school, nervous too. Some of those nerves had to do with readjusting to school, her upcoming classes, juggling this and work. Everything one would expect with a change like this.
But some of it had nothing to do with school at all.
It had been six weeks. She spent a lot of that time shuffling between work and home, remembering what it felt like to mourn. The time had passed quickly, with days flowing into the next.
It wasn't until early July that she remembered that Caiti would be flying in and that she had to get the extra room ready for her.
Her sister had taken an assignment with the Peace Corps and was going to Morocco for two years. Her old apartment was on campus grounds and rented out by the semester so her moving wasn't a problem. Besides, it sounded to Chris as if Caiti had had enough of her roommates from all the complaining she did about them.
So, Chris had to pull herself together and had something else to focus on for a while. She found that acting like she was pulled together almost made her feel that way. It was better than wallowing.
Part of this included going back to school for her Masters. After a little waffling she had decided on Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies.
Some of this was inspired by the book Jack gave her.
Chris sighed and shuffled forward when the line finally moved. It had been six weeks since she had seen Jack and even though she knew she shouldn't worry, she had been away longer the first, she was.
She missed him.
There were sirens in the distance. One thing Chris had to get used to after months in Milliways was how noisy New York was. Sounds she wouldn't have noticed before, jarred her on her first few days back.
It was early afternoon and already muggy out, the air felt thick and heavy. Chris fanned herself with the small ad paper as she moved through the crowd. Caiti was beside her, paying more attention to the shop windows than anything else.
"I can't believe I let you talk me into spending fifty dollars, on that," Chris said with a glance towards her sister.
"I thought she was pretty accurate," replied Caiti, shrugging her shoulders as she did.
Chris rolled her eyes and snorted. The psychic seemed to have a collection of vague little fortunes that she recycled depending on age and what the person asked for. Things like "you'll go a trip soon" and "you enjoy helping people".
"Her readings were as personalized as the daily horoscope in a newspaper."
Her sister gave her an annoyed look and the two crossed the street. "You're just being cynical."
"I'm being realistic."
"This is because of the J thing isn't it?"
"The what?"
"You know what," Caiti said, pushing her tote strap back onto her shoulder, "what she said about the guy you'll meet."
The J thing. Among one of the little stock fortunes the psychic had trotted out was about a new love Chris would soon meet. he'd be a little older, have an exciting career and his name would begin with a J.
That had actually rattled Chris for a second till she remembered Caiti had been told something similar. Not so much with the age and occupation, Chris couldn't remembered what her sister had told about but the "his name will start with J" part.
"Do you know how many guys names starts with J?" Chris sighed before rattling off a few to prove her point, "Joe, Jim, Jeff, Jason, Josh, Jerry, Jake, John... For guy's names, there's probably more that begin with J than any other letter."
"And?"
"And it's a trick that's what. A clever one but still," Chris paused to open the door to the restaurant for her sister.
"Thanks."
Chris followed Caiti inside and the pair stood near the entrance, waiting for the hostess to seat them. After a brief moment of silence, Caiti spoke.
"You seem to be determined to believe what you want but I don't think that proves anything. Like you said there are lots of guy's names that start with J. It could be a coincidence," she said airily.
This just prompted another sigh from Chris. "Whatever, Cait."
--------------------------------------------------------
Chris looked down at the books, wishing they weren't in plastic covering so she could flip through them while she waited. One register open and a long line, she was feeling antsy.
She was excited about going back to school, nervous too. Some of those nerves had to do with readjusting to school, her upcoming classes, juggling this and work. Everything one would expect with a change like this.
But some of it had nothing to do with school at all.
It had been six weeks. She spent a lot of that time shuffling between work and home, remembering what it felt like to mourn. The time had passed quickly, with days flowing into the next.
It wasn't until early July that she remembered that Caiti would be flying in and that she had to get the extra room ready for her.
Her sister had taken an assignment with the Peace Corps and was going to Morocco for two years. Her old apartment was on campus grounds and rented out by the semester so her moving wasn't a problem. Besides, it sounded to Chris as if Caiti had had enough of her roommates from all the complaining she did about them.
So, Chris had to pull herself together and had something else to focus on for a while. She found that acting like she was pulled together almost made her feel that way. It was better than wallowing.
Part of this included going back to school for her Masters. After a little waffling she had decided on Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies.
Some of this was inspired by the book Jack gave her.
Chris sighed and shuffled forward when the line finally moved. It had been six weeks since she had seen Jack and even though she knew she shouldn't worry, she had been away longer the first, she was.
She missed him.
