[1:9] Lavender Valley

You open the door, fill the threshold and cross your arms. 

She looks up at you with a slight, amused smile. 

It becomes a stand off. She tilts her head, you raise an eyebrow, and neither wants to be the first to speak. With a roll of her eyes and a sigh she surrenders. 

“Aren’t you going to invite your favorite neighbor in?” she asks. 

You might literally have done a double take. “No. I was not planning on it, no.” 

“Listen, about earlier I might have been a little -”

When she pauses to search for the word you interject, “Rude? Awful? Grating? Exhausting?”

“Sure. All those things. But I had some time to reflect and I got some wise words and now I’ve come to realize that perhaps I was a bit standoffish when you came over earlier.” 

“Yes you were. Listen, I'm getting ready for bed so…”

“Right, okay. I want to formally apologize and introduce myself. Hello I’m Sophie, nice to meetcha, and I brought alcohol as a peace offering. I thought we’d drink it and chat and make amends and bury axes but I see it’s not the best of times. So we can do this another time.”

You almost let her walk away. A part of you wanted to stay cold and send her sulking back to her apartment as a defeated woman so you could revel in the victory. But that felt cruel. She did come over and apologize after all. It would be better to let bygones be bygones. 

“No. It’s fine. Come on in.”

You step out of the way and flick the lights on which you realize casts a harsh light on the emptiness of your apartment. The living area was empty except for a coat rack near the door that had a coat and a hoodie on it. The only real place to sit was the stubby bar in the kitchen that had two stools. That’s been your office for the past few days. 

Sophie walks in, slows slightly in the spartan living area then walks to the bar and sets down a six pack of tall, slender and very pink cans of Hello Gorgeous. You can tell she was put off by the fact you have basically nothing. 

“I umm, don’t really have a place for us to sit. Just in the kitchen there” You say.

“Hey, no worries. Going through a rough patch eh’? Been there.” she says. 

She peels one of the cans of booze off, cracks it open and winces as she drinks it. “This is all that was in my fridge. Have some. It’s gross but it’s alcoholic.”

She had changed from earlier. She was wearing a vintage Pixies band tee shirt, tight ripped jeans and short heeled boots. She had a bunch of different necklaces and bracelets, which didn’t at all match her large hoop earrings or many rings. Her blonde hair was still pulled back in a ponytail but with two loose locks that fell down either side of her face. She had a mischievous smile as she leaned and sipped the drink that made you wonder if her narrowed hooded eyes and wry smile was just her. 

You walked over and grabbed a can. It was called Hello Gorgeous, a grape and elderflower wine. You popped it open and took a slug. It was bitter and floral. Not something you’d normally choose at a bar but you did feel a bit more ‘at home’ with it than Josh and his micro brewed beer collection. 

“And he passes the test,” she mused. You replied with a puzzled look. 

She gestured to the wine in your hand, “You weren’t afraid of a girly drink. A lot of men would have found an excuse to avoid this like it was going to make you grow tits or something.” 

You chuckle, “Right, well, what’s the calories on these things with enough of them maybe that will happen!” 

She smiles and continues that almost predatory stare but doesn’t laugh, “alright. You’re funny. You can hang. I like that. So what’s your story? Why don’t you have a couch, a TV or a playstation or anything?” 

You take another drink. The bubbles seem to hit you, going right to your head. Maybe that’s why you appreciated her forwardness. “Pipe burst in my old place, destroyed everything I owned and I’d have to fight the landlord in court to get his insurance to pay for it. He was a scumbag and I didn’t have the money. Story as old as time.”

“Yeesh. That sucks. I’m sorry. I was expecting like you sold it to feed a raging crack habit or lost it all in a messy divorce. Because no offense but this kind of gives off bitter divorcee vibes but man, that sucks. They say you’ve been here for a week right?”

“Just a few days actually.”

“Oh. I was out of town. I missed the newsletter. Okay so it’s not such a red flag that you don’t have anything. Waiting for payday before you order some furniture?” 

“Actually, I am looking for a job.”

Her eyes widened with surprise, “don’t like the one you’re at?” 

“I told my boss off and stormed out after he was a giant dick to me. Haven’t looked back. Bridge is burned.”

“My man.” She raised her fist for a bump. You obliged. She takes a long drink, winces, and says, “So your apartment is a loss, you leave your house then tell off your stupid boss and now you’re jobless and you move in here at Lavender Valley.”

“That sums it up.”

“Who have you talked to here?” 

“Just Josh so far, down at the end of the hall.” 

She interrupts, “Yeah, I’ve run into him once or twice.”

“Yeah, just him. And Mrs. Primm who did the lease.”

Sophie nods, “She’s great. You know she doesn’t just rent this place to anyone. Lavender Valley is a special place. I don’t know how much you have noticed but this place isn’t just some apartment complex it’s more like a sanctuary. It’s for people who need a break - who need a change.”

“She does that for everyone here? I mean I didn’t tell her that whole epic sob story or anything.” 

“You don’t have to, Mrs. Primm knows.” She says as she drains her can. 

You smirked, unsure how to respond. If you didn’t know better it sounded like she was suggesting Primm had some sort of clairvoyance or intuition. Though it isn’t hard to see someone in crisis when they shuffle into the office looking the way you did. Maybe supernatural powers have nothing to do with her decisions. 

You and Sophie continue to chat for a while. She’s not married or seeing anyone. She’s a hair stylist who worked out of a salon in a rather ritzy area of town but has lately been starting to build a clientele who are interested in having a personal stylist. So she’s been doing pretty well as of late. She’s lived here at Lavender Valley for just over a year after Primm took her in after her last job closed unexpectedly and absconded with everyone’s pay and back pay. She wasn’t kidding when she said she’s “been there”. 

It was just past midnight and all but one of the cans of wine were drunk when she finally pushed herself up off the counter and stretched, “Well it’s getting very late and I’ve kept you up way past your bedtime.”

“It’s okay, it’s not like I have work tomorrow!” 

She gives a soft chuckle and starts to head toward the door. “I had fun though. You’re not an asshole like I expected. Not like the last guy who lived here. He was a piece of work. I think maybe that’s why I came off the way I did earlier. I shouldn't have done that. I should aim to be more charitable and forgiving and empathic and blah blah blah blah. You get it.

“Oh and by the way, and if you need anything don’t hesitate. Restaurant recommendations, hot gossip, want to chat over more gross girl drinks, whatever. My door is always open. We’re besties now.”

You thank her as you follow her to the door…

1.) Not a Fan of Josh? You didn't get the sense she liked Josh all that much. Maybe it's time to take her up on that hot gossip offer. 

2.) Wait…What Happened to The Guy? Ask her what happened to the asshole who used to live here.

3.) Wait…How Many Men Actually Live Here? Josh said that you were the third guy to live here. That seems odd. Ask her why so many women live here and so few men.