2020-11-17 - An Early Christmas Bonus

Maybe being at a steady level of 'high' for days has brought out Bennie's inner Love Child, because she's wearing a long white cotton dress around the house and has made a crown of paper flowers in all her spare time which now adores her wavy blonde hair. Likewise, she has managed to dig up a second hand turntable and few scratchy records and now the 'Age of Aquarius' is playing throughout the two story A-frame as she maneuvers around the living room with a Swiffer Duster, banishing little actual dust as she flits about with whirling arms and twirling skirt. Gunner is not impressed by her dancing skills, in fact he must be thinking she's having some sort of episode by the way the large beast hops around on his still too large one-year-old puppy paws, barking excitedly.

Coming in the door with a paper bag full of groceries Easton takes a minute to take in all the scene. He sets the bag down and says, "Did you have a 'bath'? Or is this just the general high that caused me to buy two pies from the bakery and more bread and cheese than I think I've ever bought." And on the note he gets distracted, "We have wine right." Because apparently his snacking is going a little more high end than cheetos and poptarts tonight?

"I don't need a 'bath', because everything is groovy, baby. Bottom cabinet!" Bennie singsongs as she hops up on the couch, pitching over precariously to try and reach the ceiling fan that hangs low and provides circulation. Never mind the fact that she has yet to turn it off. There is a squeak and a 'whapwhapwhap' sound which has both her and Gunner retreating to the kitchen as the duster catches on the wooden blade and it starts swirling around. "Did you say cheese?" She asks casually as if she didn't just leave a potential hazard behind her.

Easton turns to get the wine from the cabinet and then only looks back up at the thwappitta-thwappitta sound over his shoulder. He isn't sure what exactly she's trying to do, but when she leaves the duster to spin precariously he flicks it off with a wave of the hand and sets it down in the corner. "Yes. Cheese. Three of which I have never heard of. And this cranberry cinnamon orange goat cheese thing that I almost just peeled and ate like a banana on the way home." He starts unloading the bag and then goes back to opening the wine, accomplishing neither as he keeps distracting himself. "I like the crown by the way."

Bennie only adds to that distraction by winding herself behind him and sticking her hands into his front pockets, "I don't know why the idea of you going to town on a log of goat cheese like a fat kid on a diet eating a whole cake in shame spiral is so freaking hot to me right now. Or maybe it's just the cheese that's really doing it for me." As he compliments her crown, she nuzzles her face against the back of his neck. "I had scissors in my hand and it was either chop up a bunch of paper or try to give myself a hair cut. I thought the daisies were a better choice."

Easton accepts his new Bennie cape with grace, still pouring wine and unloading the groceries in equal scattered measure. He grins, "Sometimes I think you'd like watching me have sex as much as actually having sex with me." It's not a complaint, just a high observation as she's now shipping him with logs of cheese. "Well, I'm glad you opted for the crown. At least until this fluffy cloud passes." The cloud of pot smoke that is. It's not really fluffy or a cloud anymore but still.

"Well, I mean. Have you seen you? You're pretty damn hot, and sometimes a girl just wants to see the action at a different angle. I mean, we could get some mirrors, or set up a recording. But then I'd mis-text it to someone. I think the whole town is going to have enough blackmail on them to keep us all honest for a while. Oh! Speaking of, I gave out Christmas bonuses early. I found a stack of money in the bar safe I couldn't account for on the books, so I figured we just had a really good night and everyone should profit from it. They were really happy. Like whoa. Sure a thousand dollars a piece was pretty extravagant but hey, tis the season." Bennie just rambles on, extra high talkative until she gets some of those groceries in her belly to mellow it out.

"Yes, that is true." Easton, super modest guy that he is agrees with her, though it's mostly tongue in cheek. "I usually like the view just fine. And I'm too damned impatient for strip shows from you." He goes still when Bennie talks about a stack of cash. He nods and says "Mhmm. You just.. paid out that in cash..." His breathes becoming long and a little ragged. "You gave it out." His jaw clenches and then pulls hers hands out of his pockets and slowly turns. "Bennie. We should talk." And for once he is hoping that phrase works it's weird anti-magic where it feels like a bucket of cold water being thrown on you.

"Yup, wrapped it in neat little stacks and tied it with festive ribbon and everything. You should have seen it, I think the dishwasher almost cried." But she feels the tension even before he removes her from her koala bearness, and she's trying to bite back a smile as she steps away and hops up on the island counter, arranging her dress around her knees with that innocent as can be expression. "I mean, I really should have washed it first. It seemed kinda...dirty."

Easton watches her bite back a smile and hop up on the counter all innocent like. "So you know then?" He waits a beat, "That I'm really a Russian mob boss sent to find the hottest blonds in America?" He hands her a glass of wine and says, "I really need to get an accountant to figure out a way to make those books look less like a pile of shit." He thinks about that for a second and then asks, "Unless someone told you?"

Fingers twine around the stem of the wine glass, looking down into the surface of the liquid as it ripples a little from the tremble in her hand. "First of all, America usually imports Russian blonde mail order brides, not the other way around. And if you were the boss, you'd have croonies doing the work for you." Bennie's smile wobbles and she steadies herself by taking a drink of the wine. "I put together some pieces on my own little lonesome from some things people have said, but didn't really have any solid confirmation. Until now."

"It was on my list." Easton says lamely as he takes a sip of wine. "But couldn't find time between 'oops, I'm alive' and 'oops, so's your dad' and then you know... " He trails off, coming back with some bread and cheese on a cutting board and knives for all. He sets that down next to her and says, "Do you want details? Or no."

"Don't. You don't need to feel bad or apologize or any of that. I didn't want this to be a confrontation, Easton, because it's not. I just wanted to...take away some of the burden you've been carrying for god knows how long. You've been dealing with my stuff pretty much since the day we met. And I'm giving you an opportunity, no strings attached. No judgment. But if you want me to keep my name on the bar...don't leave me in the dark like I'm some dumb bimbo, okay? And by the way, the money's still there, all present and accounted for, so if you just want to eat cheese and drink wine and maybe make out a little, I'm okay with that. For now."

"Benz, I am sorry though. Because I'm not sure how to navigate this shit." He shakes his head and says, "Yea and apparently that idea was shit anyway. We're already fucked." The idea about putting her name on the bar to keep his name away from it that is. It's probably a good thing there's a lot of weed in the air though because he doesn't seem terribly concerned. "Because Monaghan has problems. And if he has problems, they might be our problems." Oooh look at all this we/us talk from Easton Marshall. "So I'm trying to schedule Vic and me and Jay separately at the bar so that one of us is there if shit goes down." It's good to have three ridiculous badasses for bartenders. "And we'll figure it out."

Bennie's lips push forward in a purse, just making that face and nodding to the apology she said she didn't want, but there it is anyway. "Alexander was talking to me about a 'friend' he feels the need to confront, didn't want to tell me who, but coupled with that, the extra cash that seemed to disappear at the end of the month, you inexplicably hiring the unqualified and unenthusiastic Vic - though she's gotten a million times better and I couldn't imagine my life without her. Things just started to click. Just know I'll defend you and the bar, tooth and nail, even if I'm not an ex-marine or ex-cop or...whatever Jay is. When you were gone, I ...I can take care of myself. But I'm sure glad that I don't have to."

"I know. You can do all sorts of terrible shit babe, but I really don't want to ask you to." He spreads some of that amazing goat cheese on a piece of baguette and takes a bite, apparently not able to resist any longer. "Yeah, Vic was a tough pill. But yeah, now? I'm so glad she's there." Which is something he never thought he'd say. "I'm not involved in anyway. And I didn't realize the casino was probably Monaghan pulling strings either, Byron approached me." And Easton doesn't want to think too hard about what happened to make the original deal fall through. "And I'm leaving that in the Marshall Trust." He takes another bite, because seriously it's amazing and he normally avoids bread and cheese unless he's at the bar. "Because you're right. It's not what I want. I want the bar. And I want you."

"We are involved now. Whether we like it or not. But the key is...what's the phrase? To minimize the threat." Bennie says, reaching out with her foot to hook the back of his leg and drag him closer. Part out affection and part so she can steal a bite of his food, which she does by leaning in and threatening the integrity of his fingers with a snick of her teeth and tear. "I needed to hear that. About the bar. I was really getting worried about you. I already knew the bit about me, because. I mean, look at me. I'm a goddamn catch."

"Yeah, I meant.." He wobbles a little and says, "It's not like I'm out shaking down people for money." And why he feels the need to clarify that he DOESN'T do that is pretty clear. She just got out from under these types of people, he doesn't want to be associated with them. He lets her chomp the food, nimbly moving fingers so he can keep the rest of his body in tact. "You don't need to worry about me." He says it and then winces, "Because I'm gonna start seeing Maggi again. I got shit to work through that De La Vega keeps poking at."

And that? That causes a series of giggles from Bennie she just can't restrain, managing to get out in between the bouts of hiccuped laughter, "Phrasing." And having the decency not to poke herself at what that could be must take an epic level of self-restraint on her part so much so that it looks physically uncomfortable. She'll try and leave that for Maggi.

"It was one time! And I seem to recall you being a little upset about it at the time!" Easton sounds almost nostalgic for her throwing bottles of light blue fingernail polish at walls. Almost.

Bennie reaches out to capture him further, twining her arms around his neck and hugging him close until the limbs dangle at the elbow on his shoulders. "I'm letting it go. All of it. One thing I realized when you were Lost is none of that stuff really mattered. What really mattered was your happiness, and safety. Not the acts. The acts are the result of your lack of happiness. So I'm leaving the acts in the past. In a lot of ways, we're getting another chance. So whatever happened before you were Lost, I'm letting it go. And have I mentioned I'm super high and so my give a fuck is totally low?"

"Shit I should have gotten that on tape." Easton says as she gives him an out. He shakes his head and says, "I still can't believe I got back to you." The bread and cheese and wine and all that is forgotten as he slides his hands up her legs, under the flimsy cotton. He nods and says, "Okay, but you don't have to.." He wants to say more about it but well he's getting more distracted by the moment. "Oh your give a fuck is low... well, let me see if I can't help you out with that." Nope, totally doesn't make sense but that's his line anyway. He pulls her close into a kiss letting her legs wrap around his waist.

"Gunner, close your eyes buddy."