2019-12-10 - There's Always Room for Jell-O

The Jell-O wrestling match is done and the building is cleared out save for the poor suckers stuck with the clean up. While the moon hangs fat and happy outside, unbothered by the frozen bite of the Winter air, two bodies mill about in the gym's proper, armed with mops and buckets. The mission, should they choose to accept it (and they have): to scrub the leavings of the sticky, messy sugar-free substance that has splattered all over the main boxing area in the name of charity.

Isabella's bandaged fingers clutch on the handle of her mop, slopping water mixed with cleaning solution into her patch of floor as she proceeds to clear it of Jell-O remnants. She's still moving slowly, but not as slowly as she had been earlier - Lilith had taken care of that and thanks to her friend's intervention, she has managed to reclaim some of the mobility she had lost as a consequence of her last Veil expedition. She's dressed in her earlier attire - the black sleeveless blouse, the jeans, the knee-high boots and her moonstone pendant, though her reddish-brown leather jacket has been discarded, hanging safely away from the site of the carnage.

"The turnout was pretty amazing," she tells her friend in a conversational fashion. "Joey and Sparrow did amazing work, though I'm still glad Nicole won." She winks over at the ex-heiress. "How have you been, Erin? Really?"

Joey at least had the ring covered in visqueen to keep the surface safe. Thanks to Alexander sneezing wrong he had to buy a new ring and was really hoping to keep this one mat colored and not holiday fun colored for a bit. Don't ask why he has plastic tarps on hand. They solve problems, ok?

He's in his office in the meantime occasionally using a bit of glimmer unbeknownst to him which occasionally highlight where things are to create gravity of attention on a file drawer, or a stack of paper. This is how he finds shit, folks. Must be mice to go through life just believing 'well I must be a good guesser'. At least the cops or the feds aren't harassing him. That's new.

He's also not a terrible boss as there was an extra bonus $300 in cash atop his employees' paychecks too. You are welcome, Erin. Really business has been good, really good, and the suit coat that hangs on the hanger in the office. No there's no real risk of him turning into Byron.

Wearing her best clean up clothes, Erin looks about the way she does when she comes to work at the gym. Black yoga style pants, a black sports bra and racer back tee with a hoodie over it and white athletic shoes. The Addington could be the one to blame for Joey's troubles finding things in his office. She would never admit it though. Not at all. She'll cast a coy look his way now and again when she senses his use of his magic. Because it amuses her.

Getting back to mopping, she looks over at Isabella with an easy smile. "There were so many people! I love that there was such a big turnout. And I am glad Nicole won too. I bet on her." Looking at her friend at the question, she offers a reassuring smile. "I am having fun shopping this season. I took a lot of names from the Angel tree so I get to shop for kids. I'm thrilled about it. My tree is up and decorated, I paid someone to put lights on my house. I expect Tobin to complain about all the lights on at night, blinding him." Since he lives next door. "But I am good. Thank you for asking me. How are you and Alexander? Are you ready for Christmas?"

"I'm glad, I was a little worried about you after Halloween and I wanted to check on you. Do you have any plans for Christmas?" Isabella keeps mopping up the floor before squeezing the thing in her bucket and slops more water and cleaning solution into it.

"I also wanted to talk to you about..." And there's a mischievous look cast her friend's way. "Alexander's turning forty early next year during the Winter. I'm going to lure him into the mountains on a ski trip, but I thought it would be fun and unexpected if I rounded up all of his besties and surprised him. What do you think? Care to be my co-conspirator?"

Joey leans back back in his office chair, one Nike up on the edge of the desk to lean way back and a pen scooped up to wiggle in his fingers in impatient habit. He grabs the receiver of that ancient-ass hand set telephone; receiver in hand and jabbing at the 7 digit number with his middle finger before settling in to take care of purchase orders and maybe lunch? Nope, he's checking up on a dog.

Carry on world.
Nothing to see here.

"Halloween was eventful. That wedding, all the things happening there, then Byron's house. But Thanksgiving was interesting. I went hiking with my friend Jack. He owns the auto shop on Spruce." Taking a look around, she smirks. "If there's a drain in the floor, we should just spray everything down with a water hose them squeegee the floor. Or spray it down, scrub it with a wide broom then squeegee it off. It may actually be quicker."

Considering that, she looks around briefly to see if it would actually work, but the conversation brings her back to looking at Isabella with an impish spark in her eyes. "Ohh, that would be so fun. A ski trip in the mountains, surprising Alexander with a party? Oh you bet I'd be interested in helping! Want me to make reservations at a chalet and work out a caterer for the party? How many people are we talking?" Already going into party planner phase. The job she'd done for her grandmother most of her grown up years.

"I don't know if there's a drain on the floor out here. Pretty sure there'll be some in the showers but we're in the main area." Still it's a good suggestion and Isabella's voice rises to carry, catching a glimpse of light in what is presumably Joey's office. "Hey Joey! Is there a drain out here? We were thinking of just hosing this all down if there is."

Of course, Erin already has a plan and she grins faintly there, unable to help but be relatively self-congratulatory at having the idea of approaching her friend in the first place. "Do you know the best place in Mount Baker where we could? It's got some of the best skiing and snowboarding in the area during the Winter and I figured if we inviter a few of his closest friends and their dates or plus ones, it'd be a significant turnout but probably not so large that it would be exhausting. That and...I think he would be touched. He doesn't really believe that anyone elects to spend time with him unless he's being..." Her expression twists faintly in remembered agony. "Useful in some way. I know he likes being helpful but friendships aren't really built on convenience. Plus...I mean, it's his fortieth birthday! It's a milestone and honestly I don't know if anyone's ever thrown a party for him in his life outside of his parents when he was young."

Joey calls back to answer Isabella's question, "Only on my wallet, Iz." The phone is dropped into the cradle and a note is scribbled out and ripped off the pad and stuck to the board. There. Adulting done. Looking around he points, "I know it's cold as a Gingerbread Man's nuts out there but if you want go open the bay door and you can hose stuff off into the parking lot. I got those push squeegies for the floor to move the water out. Who cares if the rocks are green." He grabs the end of the bleachers and starts walking the away from the flow of traffic and water so they can have drainage options. "Forty? Could pass as eighty with the way he competitively tells people to get off his lawn. Man we're hitting all the milestones this year. Just has my thirtieth a month and a half ago."

"Sounds like a good idea, thanks Joey," Isabella says regarding the man's suggestion, looking over at Erin to see if she concurs. "And I didn't know that - but I figured thirty was the new twenty, anyway. Do you want to come with, maybe take Nicole or Jaime or whoever? It could be fun, to get out of here for a while." She watches him for a moment, before she grins faintly, remembering his participation in the Cabaret's Amateur Night over the summer. "How willing are you to jump out of the cake? I'll happily pay you for the time."

"I like that idea, I'll check into the chalet and see the options. I really love the idea of surprising him. He's a good man and he should feel valued for himself, not just what he offers." Erin ponders it and can't help but to smile. "Then we'll throw him a fun one." A look to Joey has her laughing, "Totally jumping out of a cake. That would be perfect because you, what I love about you Joey Kelly, is you're not afraid of anything. You just dive right in no matter what people think about it."

A nod is offered to Isabella, "I think it's a good idea to hose it down and squeegee it out of here through the bay doors then. I don't mind the cold." She knows where the hose is and walks over, opening the bay door, trying to hear Joey's answer too, as she starts unwinding the hose and bringing it inside.

Joeygives Isabella an utterly inscrutable look and he might just turn around and head right back into his office and close the door. He doesn't. "Snow huh?" He mulls over the offer. "Usual suspects I take it?" He chews on the idea for a long moment. Dark green eyes flick to Erin, pause wondering where the enabling of terrible ideas is coming from because this is clearly for everyone else's entertainment of Alexander going oh god, oh god, why me!? Why is this happening?! Looking back he calculates the gains and possibility and asks, "What all are you thinking involved? jump out of the cake and get zapped by him for sneaking up on him, whole floor show, what's on your mind." There's no pride really to stand on but principle, and anyone wants to get up in his face to talk some shit about it? Well they are welcome to get in arm's reach. It'll be the last mistake in a long future of behavioral changes they will make. Apparently this is a 'sure'.

"Usual suspects," Isabella confirms with a faint grin. "And just jumping out of the cake and maybe singing Happy Birthday? I'm definitely not going for a raunchy lapdance for him, and you can wear whatever you want so long as he knows who you are." He's touch-averse, it will probably go poorly, but jumping out of a cake (which is obviously going to be a lie) and launching into a traditional serenade would most definitely be a surprise. Though at the look on Joey's face, she has the good grace to look contrite. "You definitely do not have to, by the way, you're still invited because you're enough of a bro to him to get one. It was just an idea. I may have had too many jello shots today."

"Sureee, blame the jello shots." Erin teases, coming over with the hose and starting to spray it down. "Wait, you're the hurt one." Hadn't she been moving roughly? Offering over the hose, she takes a squeegee, "You spray, I will push the water around and try not to imagine Joey in a speedo jumping out of a cake. Mostly.. because I think Nicole would kick my butt for it."

Instead of the squeegee, she uses the wide bridtly brush broom, to scrub the jello off if Isabella sprays it down first. "Joey this was so amazing of you to do this for charity." As she considers things though, she questions Isabella. "What all does Alexander collect? For a birthday present, I mean."

Joey just stares down Isabella for a long moment and says "Raunchy? I'm a classy motherfucker." That he can stay this with a stern, serious expression is its own comedy. He considers, "I get to wear what I want so long as he knows I'm me right?" He mulls this over and eyes her suspiciously like the Grinch eyeing up Whoville. He answers Erin's question about what Alexander collects without looking at her in that same curt tone he asks people if they have the money, keep your elbows in, or even thanks for the coffee. "Evidence." It's that simple. He pauses though and says "Yeah, well... those kids can use it."

Mulling it over he asks point blank, "SO we talking a strip teas and a lapdance or just a jump out of a cakey lappy dance? This is gonna heavily impact what I wear because dressing like Jacques Couseau in a diving helmet will make one of those awkward."

Isabella laughs when Erin calls her out on her bullshit, but the offer to take the squeegee has her pausing. "Are you sure?" she wonders, brows furrowing at her friend - but she's already taking it up, so she takes up position to set up the hose and proceeds to start cleaning up the floor. She does this carefully, unwilling to spray either the ex-heiress or the gym owner in her attempts to assist in clean up after the event. There's also a very brief pause, when Erin mentions Joey jumping out of the cake in a speedo, and turns to give the man a long and considering look.

She's committed, not dead.

But it's largely done out of jest, and she winks at both her companions. His banter back about being classy has that pearly grin flashing at him. "I'm definitely not going to argue there, I'm pretty sure you can pull off anything you want to, Joey Kelly," she says with no small measure of confidence as she keeps hosing the Jell-O off the floor. An appreciative laugh when he deadpans about Alexander collecting evidence, because it's true. "He likes books, and collects a lot of them," she tells Erin. "True crime, nonfiction. I think the only fiction he actually does read is poetry. I didn't know that about him at first and when I found out, I was really surprised because he didn't seem the type. He also likes working with his hands, and learning new skills. He does some crafting." She grumbles a little as she finishes hosing off the floor, so she can put it away and get another squeegee to help Erin with the rest. "Multi-talented bastard." The words are both envious and fond. She can't make anything to save her life, as the holidays have clearly demonstrated.

To Joey, she grins. "Again, absolutely no obligation, but if you want to do it, you can wear whatever you want so long as he knows you're you, and just jumping out of the cake, maybe lead us all into singing Happy Birthday. He's touch-averse...so if you surprise him with physical contact, he might not appreciate it and I'm definitely not aiming for him to freak out on his birthday. I'm serious, though! You don't have to! It was just an idea."