Mary Magdalene

aaron: 🤞 fingers crossed it works

aaron: if it doesn’t i’ll paint it and turn it into one of those cute succulent displays or the the lil zen gardens with the tiny rakes!!

aaron: what’re you doing up at this hour btw?

marla: i'm gonna hold you to that you know 🌞 cute zen garden or bust

marla: i'm watching old betty boop cartoons

marla: u?

-

“No, no, I mean, like…we’ll all forget but the vibes of like, the space are going to be totally off. The energy. You know?” Tierney said, glancing towards the fighting couple again with a raise of her eyebrows. Yes, the bookstore was one of her favorite places in Silver Lake, cozy and comforting and everything, but she also was a big one to think about the imprint of energy and the vibes people put out effecting the space around them and….all that shit, which she knew could make her sound a bit insane from time to time. “I hope for their sake it is though. At least sorta. I mean, can you imagine? If I’m ever in a relationship that gets to the point of fighting in public - not even public, in a book store, objectively one of the calmest places you can be…just put me out of my misery, eh?”

"I think you underestimate the Book Nook’s strong, calming aura,” Marla replied with a faint smile, her eyes still on the couple. “Like, this is just funny to me...I dunno, I’m not getting any strongly toxic vibes off either of them.” If anything, it could serve as inspiration for a story for her. “Yeah, I don’t know what’d have to happen for me to argue in public like that, in here of all places. Only if it was like, a public flash-mob performance or something. A faked proposal gone wrong — but god, I actually hate all those videos. They’re always so not funny and too contrived.”

.

“Would you be the douchebag or the one looking for a douchebag to keep you warm at night? Because I don’t have much experience with douchebags in that department, but it can’t it good. Maybe try one of those sugar baby websites instead,” Nell playfully suggested. “There was a site called Beautiful People?” She asked with a dumbfounded grin. “I can take a guess at the kind of clientele they got. That couple over there seem more like the eHarmony or Christian Mingle type,” she noted, taking a glance at the couple who had continued their quiet argument. “Unless this is you confessing that you signed up for a site solely for subjectively beautiful people. In that case, I won’t judge.” Though she would, but only slightly.

“Seriously? Wow, and I thought all those law shows were exaggerations. If I had known you could use excuses like that, there are so many fights with my siblings that I could have gotten away with. I mean, I doubt that defense worked for that particular trial, but my parents are just dumb enough that they might have bought it.”

She’d been around those sites plenty, but Marla wouldn’t let on to that. “Yeah, it was called Beautiful People. You’d upload your profile picture, and then for 24 hours existing members would vote whether you were hot enough to join their ranks. I was like fifteen, sixteen and it was all the rage. So I uploaded my pic for laughs, and got rejected,” she said with a laugh. 

“Why, did your siblings eat a lot of twinkies? I tried one once, and honestly? It was gross. I don’t know how Americans are into that shit.”

.

“Never been, but that’s a goal of mine,” Aarav told Marla, a smile spreading across his face. “I’ve been up to the tulip festival in Ottawa, though. I used to live in Philly, and my parents drove us all up there a few years when I was a kid. But the Netherlands – yeah, I’d bribe someone with a hell of a lot more than a cheeseboard to get over there.” 

Speaking of wine and cheese – Aarav turned the cart left, leading them both in that direction. “You should grab some uh – grapes, crackers, cured meat – make a whole charcuterie board out of it. Depending on how important the paper was,” he joked. “What are you studying?” Aarav missed being in school himself. He thrived under the pressures of deadlines and grades. 

He first stopped at the wine section. “Red? White?” He asked. 

“Ottawa! Sweet. I’ve been. Only passing through from Montreal to Toronto, but still.” Any mention of her second home country had the half-Canadian perking up. “Yeah, that’s the plan,” she answered when Aarav listed off all the things for a charcuterie board, Marla following along and pushing her own cart. “I’m doing an MFA in creative writing. Just started the second year, so the pressure’s on.”

“White. It’s gonna be a brie-heavy board, so I need something for that,” she said, beginning to pour her eyes on all the different available choices. “I found a woman on instagram, she basically makes a living making charcuterie boards for people. Living the dream life, honestly.”

“I feel like every evening should start with a nice glass of red, so I guess we’re both burgeoning alcoholics,” she said, raising her glass in her direction with a smile. The brunette took a sip before setting it down so she could get the plant drama figured out as quickly as possible. “I’ve gotta say I don’t regret my decision to skip college one second. That sounds really stressful. I’ll bring you some fresh flowers from work tomorrow and hope that pulls out some inspiration our of you.” Remi watched as he friend got up and immediately crossed the room to the kitchen, making it obvious she needed something to distract her. “I’m always a sucker for a good salad. I’m almost done here, so I’ll be able to help out in a sec. Is that assignment the only thing on your mind?”

"This is why you just get me,” Marla said, scooping up another handful of dirt into the pot. That should do it, she thought. It felt nice to do, she herself had planted and replanted her own babies plenty of times, and she’d never say no to getting her hands dirty in this way. “Yeah. Sometimes I’m like, why did I even decide on a master’s, college was bad enough, but I don’t know. I guess I’m an old fashioned masochist.” Joking about everything always, that was the Marla way. “Well, how can I say no to fresh flowers... you spoil me. Okay, it’s a plan, you supply the vino and I’ll whip us up a late-lunch, early-dinner. Well, it was the only thing on my mind most of the day, so I’m very open to having other things on my mind now. In fact, anything but.”

                                           MARLA’S FAMILY

Henrik Samuelsson [Mikael Persbrandt] (50) — Agricultural engineer, wildlife conservationist and fisherman. Lives in Mölle. Evelyn Price [Lily Rabe] (47) — CEO and founder of Loop, a wellness and lifestyle brand. Lives in Toronto and New York. Marlena ‘Marla’ Olivia Price-Samuelsson [Ellie Bamber] (24) — Creative Writing MFA student and Onlyfans content creator. Lives in Los Angeles. Noelle Julie Price-Samuelsson [Erin Moriarty] (21) — recent graduate from the University of Edinburgh. Lives in Gothenburg.

Not pictured: Hermann, 2, Marla’s stray cat. 

**BONUS**

-

“I’m fine—” she murmurs, thankful for her pretty high pain threshold as her fingers flex in an attempt to radiate any of the pain through the tips. “Hm, it sounds interesting. Let me know if you ever finish it.” ( she wasn’t many things, but she could be a supportive friend at times ). “Tequila, yes, now you’re speaking—” She speaks, laying the towel down on the counter as she calls the barman, her friend, over, requesting the shot of choice. Two glasses arriving in front of them both moments later. 

"And you’ll read it?” Marla asked with a raised brow. “Papers are boring, even I know that. But you know what, when I finally get my shit together and publish a poem or a short story — you’ll be the first person I bring it to.” She’d made a slew of friends since moving to L.A., but Orla was a fave — the kind of person to just get her on another level. Someone on her intellectual level too, which, was surprisingly hard to find in this town. The rumors turned out true, it really was as shallow as people said. Her fingers wrapped around the shot glass, eyeing it eagerly. “To creeps who keep us in business?”

aaron: ok i have done that that

aaron: but to be honest, i don't know if it's non stick or not

aaron: maybe i should just toss it and buy a replacement?

marla: okay, now you let it sit for about half an hour or so, and the stuck bits should loosen and you can gently scrape off whatever's left with a steel wool scrubber

marla: tossing it creates waste, aaron. don't be lazy

marla: you can always repurpose it for gardening, or some other use

From her place on the floor Sasha looked up from her split ends, put a semicolon to the thought of giving herself a haircut first thing when laundry was dealt with, and pulled her own leg into a hug, resting her chin atop it. Laundry room was a pain, but it had it’s silver linings, like running into Marla after not having seen her for five days or thereabouts and talking about greek gods and swedish poets or whatever it was she was reading that week. And then, once this was done, if there was enough laundry, came the other topics. 

“Was he evil in the dream? Or hurt?” She leaned back against the wall, lips pursed. “I don’t think dreams mean that much to be honest. That they’re messages or whatever. Just that you might have seen something that reminded you of him, or ate too much before bed.” She had friends who would disagree, but Sasha couldn’t really bring herself to believe it.

“No, it was like...like a scene from our lives that had actually happened, not long before we broke up. With a bit of added nightmarish sparkle,” Marla explained. Would she elaborate further? Probably not. It would mean having to talk about the thing that happened, and she wasn’t in the headspace for that. 

“But also in my dream I thought I missed him? I woke up and looked him up on facebook. Glad I did 'cause now I’m sure it was just the dream being a dream,” she said with a grin that widened, remembering the horrors she saw there on his profile. “Like okay on paper he sounds great, Swedish guy, has a job in London at a top company, pictures with his mom, whatever, but oh my god, he looks like such a tool. Such a tool.”

“Oof, dead Greek philosophers…pretty much cousins to dead poets.” She had to assume this was for a paper. No one came and looked up this kind of shit for fun. At least nobody Finley had met yet. “You’re warm but not burning hot,” she mused as she got to her feet and checked her watch. Five minutes left of break. Well, by the time she got back into her book it would be time to stop anyway. Tucking it under her arm she gave a nod with her head. “Come with me. What you want is over here.” She leads down the aisle and then to the left, where the shelves span the wall. “Philosphy is here….and Greek specifically will beeeee…this bay right here.” She grinned over her shoulder at the girl. “Is your paper due tomorrow? You’ve got that “about to pull an all nighter” panic about you.”

"Yep, amicable cousins,” Marla said with a smile and a nod, then curiosity led her to eye the book in the girl’s hands. “What are you reading?” Always on the quest for new titles, new interesting books, never not grabbed by the choices other people chose and why they chose them — maybe she should’ve worked at the Book Nook or this here library. 

Following wordlessly, they walked past another aisle, wedge heels silent on carpeted ground, until they reached their destination. “Ah. Perfect, thanks. Not tomorrow, but soon enough. Then again, I’ve been meaning to find this Anaxagoras on my own anyway.”

📍Santa Monica Pier seafoam_maiden to truffle or not to truffle, that is the question. 

WELL NOW I HAVE TO THINK quickly, her mind said and under any other circumstance that’d be fine. except she wasn’t having to quickly recall the average lifespan of a reef shark or how acidic the ocean is at certain depths, “ uh… ” she grimaced and the woman behind the counter scoffed. she knew that if she didn’t decide now it was only a matter of time before they decided for her, actually that’s not a bad idea. “ can you just order me whatever you think i’ll like ? ” she asked the woman who nodded wordlessly before telling her the total. o-oh you’re not going to give me any hints at all are ya ? “ well that may have been a mistake but - ”

Marla watched the exchange between the girl and the woman at the register, wondering how that was going to pan out. “Pretty brave choice,” Marla said to the girl next to her, although she wasn’t faring any better, it would be her turn any moment now and she was still as indecisive as a Libra at a sample sale. “But honestly— everything here is great, you really can’t go wrong,” she tried to reassure the other. 

mila: good!

mila: I have no idea, but maybe around new years?

mila: yeah I feel like I know someone else that is probably feeling the same way.

mila: I have never really experienced one myself but if you ever wanna plan and throw one, you've got my venue.

marla: oh. who? do i know them?

marla: you've never been to a rave? oh milushka you are missing out

Kayla: Thank you for thinking of me xoxo you're the best

Kayla: Did I tell you I was kinda working on my portfolio? I had new headshots taken, adulting!

Kayla: Also I miss you

Marla: oh my god you are?? i wanna see those headshots asap

Marla: I bet they're gorg. who's your photographer?

Marla: imy2 🍉

Jimmy: I like to consider myself a saint

Jimmy: thank you! it's twins actually. they're due end of June

Marla: it was a green day reference, but yano :P

Marla: twins, wow. that's quite the jackpot