dc_adult (dc_adult) wrote in dc_nextgen,
@ 2011-04-23 15:34:00

Um... Hi.
He'd been suspicious the moment Rosie'd said GK'd called her up and 'given permission' for Jed to come and check on him in Star City. Of course Rosie'd asked him to.

At "So, how about lunch with my buddy Zoe and her Mom? Better than hanging around in my apartment. It being in a basement and all," Jed was pretty sure he knew what was going on. He wondered if Mom and Rosie'd offered to raise the kid's allowance or something.

At "Ms. Torres, this is my Uncle Jed. Uncle Jed, Zoe and I are going to go ahead and get some shopping done. See you soon," Jed.... considered suggesting Mom and Rosie raise the kid's allowance.

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	dc_adult 2011-04-23 11:12 pm UTC (link)
	"Yeah. We're about to head to Europe to get the notes and the shots for her next book. What about you? I'm sorry, I don't think he mentioned." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	dc_parent 2011-04-23 11:18 pm UTC (link)
	"I'm an attorney. I have an office in the Triangle." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	dc_adult 2011-04-23 11:22 pm UTC (link)
	"Intersting." Jed politely refrained from mentioning that GK had apparently ignored all advice to stick to the well known 'safe' neighborhoods of th city. "That's... definitely one thing GK's clueless about." Rosie'd tried to make sure of that over the years. "What's your specialization?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

dc_parent
2011-04-23 11:33 pm UTC (link)

"Civil law. I kept my practice in the Triangle to help the residents because they often don't have the access or the funds to take advantage of the legal system. I was forced to live in the Triangle when I had Zoe, and the people I met and grew close to helped me make the decision to stay and give back to the community. We're working hard to return it to a safe place. It's a struggle, but it's worth it."

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	dc_adult 2011-04-23 11:38 pm UTC (link)
	He listens carefully, nods earnestly. "That's great. Giving back's important," he says with utter sincerity. Then he pauses. "Weird questino, but are there any community issues that seriously need airing in Sacramento? I've got some business at the legislature day after tomorrow, and could maybe mention in a few things outside my usual spiel." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

dc_parent
2011-04-23 11:51 pm UTC (link)

It was an odd question for a lunch, but Michelle wasn't going to pass up the opportunity.

"We need more funding for youth programs, but what city doesn't?" She smiled and leaned forward. "We have a youth center but it's lacking in supervision. What good is it to have a place for the kids to hang out if there's nothing for them to do. We were lucky to get corporate backing for the center, but I want to see funding for staff. And perhaps for the police to make more patrols inside the Triangle instead of skimming the edges."

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	dc_adult 2011-04-23 11:54 pm UTC (link)
	Another earnest nod. "Supervision and accountability in any public project dealing with kids is always worth nagging about." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	dc_parent 2011-04-23 11:58 pm UTC (link)
	"There are a lot of good people who have nowhere else to go and they have children that deserve the chance to make something of themselves." She gave him a smile. "Don't get me started. I could talk about it all afternoon." She reached for her water glass. "Europe sounds exciting. I've never been further than Star City." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	dc_adult 2011-04-24 12:22 am UTC (link)
	"It's nice. Had a really interesting time getting good shots of old World War I battlefields for one of Rose's books. And I've gotten some great wildlife shots in the Black Forest in Germany. I liked New Zealand even better, though. I think Rosie wants Switzerland this time." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	dc_parent 2011-04-24 12:36 am UTC (link)
	Michelle was genuinely interested. Travel was something she'd always wanted to do, but she didn't regret the choices she'd made. "That sounds wonderful. Do you spend most of the year traveling?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

dc_adult
2011-04-24 12:51 am UTC (link)

"Depends on the year. When I was fresh out of high school and she was pregnant with GK, she had this idea -- that's Rose. one day she's depressed and bothered by morning sickness, the next day we have to document all the famous cases of a bizarre epidemic in 1920 -- and we ended up doing research and pictures in Jamaica, Canada, and France all during the second trimester. We took GK all around the UK a lot as toddler. Once he started school, though, we tried to cut down during the school year for a while, give him a more stable environment."

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	dc_parent 2011-04-24 01:09 am UTC (link)
	She marveled at the casual way he spoke of spending so much time out of the country. "So you began your photography career right out of high school? Most people don't know what they want to do at that age." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	dc_adult 2011-04-24 01:12 am UTC (link)
	He nods, smile sheepish again. "I got my first camera for my thirteenth birthday, and I was hooked. Once I was old enough, it seemed the thing to do forever. When did you decide to go into law?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

dc_parent
2011-04-24 01:26 am UTC (link)

"Well, Zoe was three years old and the Triangle had gotten very bad. Gangs had taken over. Drugs and prostitution were our major commodities. We had one of the masked people come in and clean it up, but the damage left was incredible. We tried for months to get the property owners to fix the apartment houses, even tried to get legal assistance, but they didn't want to help us either. It was pretty clear Star City was writing us off. That's when I decided to help us. I went back to college, then to law school."

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	dc_adult 2011-04-24 01:36 am UTC (link)
	"That's -- excuse the frankness -- damned impressive. Sounds challenging enough, and a three-year-old to deal with makes everything harder. And yeah... plenty of people aren't going to want to deal with any problem unless it's staring them in the face -- and they don't go where they'll have to stare it in the face, so you have to drag it to them." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	dc_parent 2011-04-24 01:48 am UTC (link)
	"Like I said, there are good people in the Triangle. I had help and her father didn't need a court order to provide support for her. He appreciated that I was making a better life for her as well." Michelle didn't linger on the subject of Zoe's father. "Zoe and I would do our homework together in the evenings before I went to work. They were good times." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	dc_adult 2011-04-24 01:55 am UTC (link)
	"Yeah, we didn't need a court order against Jack's estate, either, but for the opposite reason," Jed mutters, fathers not being his favorite subject either. Then his face softens at the latter story. "That sounds really sweet." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	dc_parent 2011-04-24 02:08 am UTC (link)
	"She kept me on my toes. Though I have to wonder why she decided now was the time to set me up on a lunch date. Lucky for her and GK, it's turning out to be a very nice lunch." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	dc_adult 2011-04-24 02:13 am UTC (link)
	Another sheepish smiles. "I'm flattered, thank you, and I agree. Also, I have a few suspicions on one end of things. GK's been dropping a few clues about having met a nice-looking boy. If I have a date, this distracts his Mom and Grandma from the fact that he had a date." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	dc_parent 2011-04-24 02:24 am UTC (link)
	"What a sneaky pair they're turning out to be. It's a good sign for Zoe, though. She needs a friend and unlikely a pair they seem to be, they're doing pretty well. They even study together in the evenings." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	dc_adult 2011-04-24 02:31 am UTC (link)
	"Rose'll be glad to here he's studying at all." Wait a minute. Why was he studying? He'd deferred enrollment for several months, he'd said. "Let me warn you, he may just be sharing novels and style tips and talking about baseball and fencing, so if she fails poly-sci we might need to get on their cases." He chuckles. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	dc_parent 2011-04-24 02:55 am UTC (link)
	"If she does, I'll be having words with her. I want her to have those choices I didn't take when they were mine. If she's reading novels that aren't true crime or political thrillers, I'll be surprised." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	dc_adult 2011-04-24 03:06 am UTC (link)
	Jed shudders. "True crime stuff gives me the creeps. Rosie and GK read it a bit, but I hate it. But yeah, it's good when the younger generation always has a better situation." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	dc_parent 2011-04-24 03:37 am UTC (link)
	"When I have time to read, it's romance for me. Something historical and full of heaving bosoms." Michelle smiled at her own silliness. "Did you want to order? I see the waiter giving us looks. The salads are good here." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

dc_adult
2011-04-24 03:41 am UTC (link)

"Right! Good idea." He looks to the waiter. "I'll have the salad. Vinaigrette dressing."

"Oh gosh. Rose did an analysis of those bodice-rippers in one of her books. 'Screwing Between Chapters,' she called it. 'Sex and the Early Twentieth-Century Novel.' I like escapist adventures, myself. And Costumed-Type biographies -- none of the recent crowd. People like The Fury."