No One Loves The Birds That Dont Rise

He knew his mother was the same way. She would talk anyone's ear off about her family. That she made her family and loved every part of it. "sure " he said watching her go, she was cute he smiled as he looked back at the tables around him. He smiled "The pickles are so good. Who would have thought they be such a good snack" it was weird one so sour and crunch already but adding the deep-fried breading made them even better "Besides when you get a bite of the boiling hot pickle juice" he laughed as he took a bite. "I mean not really that that ... she knows my mom too so it be just as bad for me" he chuckled. "But really not, she always said good things about you and your family" he nodded. "Do you like working here?" he asked as he looked around. "I waited tables one... and worked bar... and a store" he really did it all for a bit. "But how I work at the aquarium and love it, and spend most of my money on burgers" he laughed.

Her mom was quite the household name, seeing as she had the bar and grew up in East Haven. No matter where she went someone knew her mother, so it only made sense that his mother knew hers. Taking a bite of a pickle, Ren raised her hand to cover her mouth as she chewed quickly, trying to not speak with her mouth open. "Oh", she said swallowing. "Um. Honestly? No, not really. Not at all actually." It sounded awful, especially seeing as it was a family business and all. Renee felt an abnormal amount of pressure to be involved, but she had bigger dreams. "I've been waiting tables since I was like 14."

His parents would be mortified if they saw him here, but Leo could not help but come in for all the good fried stuff on this menu. He had a bit of a hangover from last night, and nothing kicked that as well as the fried onions and some fries. When however the waitress seemed to think his order was something he shouldn't go for, he could not help but frown a little confused. "What? Are the fries and onion rings no longer good? I had them last week and they were sublime." he said a little puzzled, though he smiled a tad cheekily at the girl. "Then what would you suggest I get instead?" If she thought he should steer clear of something, he hoped she had some suggestions of what he should choose instead.

"I mean normally they're great, but honestly the oil needs to be changed in the fryer so the fries have a weird taste to them right now. But I can suggest the burger, and a side salad. Or even the soup, just, nothing that's fried."

closed | @renchristenson

Ren couldn't help but let a laugh burst from her lips. Sure she'd made comments about wanting to go out, how going to a club would be fun, but she never really meant it. In all actuality, Ren had never been to a club in her life. And rarely did she ever go out drinking. Truth be told, the younger blonde was much more of an introvert then people realized. "Right. Me? At Oasis? Now that sounds like a sign of the apocalypse if I heard heard one."

closed starter - @renchristenson

Seeing it was her brother, Ren leaned against the door frame. It was nice to see him making an effort, or at least attempting to. Maybe it wasn't fair to hold it against him. After all, he'd been going through heavy stuff too, but it always seemed that no matter what was going on, Ricky's issues came first before hers. It seemed to cement the idea when he showed up with a box of her things from their childhood home. "You couldn't have kept them in the basement", the blonde asked, her tone laden with a bitter snark.

"Well", the blonde looked over her shoulder before turning back to the patron. In a hushed voice, Ren continued. "We got a new cook recently, and he's been messing up everything. I tried to get it last night for dinner and he really over cooks the noodles."

Tyler looked at her and then chuckled "No way" he laughed with a smile "I should have guessed she is always talking about her family" he smiled at her. Nancy was very sweet lady always kind to anyone who walked into her place. "Nice to meet you" he said as he took her hand. "Now I know I gotta be nice to you" he laughed for a second. He was only kidding he was pretty nice guy so he knew there was no worry of him being to mean.

The blonde offered the man a soft smile when he mentioned how her mother often brought up family. She knew her mother loved her, and was proud of her. Ren just wished that her mom would show it to her more often, rather then just talk her up to everyone and anyone. When he cracked a joke, Ren couldn't help but let out a giggle. "How about I put in your order really quick?" After disappearing for a while, the waitress returned with not one but two baskets of fried pickles and slowly sunk into the booth across from the man. Though she joined him, Renee still felt a bit awkward, and at a loss for what to do in the conversation. A red filled her cheeks as she picked at the breaded pickle spears. It had been a while since she'd tried to make friends with the opposite sex. Her ex, Jackson, felt like it wasn't appropriate for a married woman to have men friends. Told her that it wasn't proper. And trying to squeeze herself into the mold of a perfect trophy wife, she'd cut most men out of her life. Still, Ren was able to find it in her to make conversation, it was kinda like riding a bike. "So, how many embarrassing stories has my mom told you about me?"

Hearing her daughter talk about it, she nodded and rubbed her arms. "Listen, as proud of you as I am that you took the boat in the divorce to hurt him, if you need the money and don't need this, sell it. You can use the money to get you a place or I could even help you. Lord knows I gave your brother the house and I can help you get something you want as well." She smiled a little. "Sell it to him for more than you should. Get him back that way. He has to pay for the thing twice. But don't you suffer while you decide what you want to do. That won't help a thing. Trust me, I've been there."

Ren couldn't help but scoff. She'd thought about it. Hard. And more then once she'd thought of selling it, to anyone really. But there was a part of her hanging on to it. Maybe it was her subconsciously holding on to Jackson. Either way she couldn't give it back to him. "Right", she said, the blondes voice uncharacteristically low. Lacking it's usual upbeat chime. "So he can get the house, the boat, basically everything when he's already getting married and having a baby. And what will I have to show for the past ten years of my life? A car with a fucked up hood?"

There it was again. No cops... Something told Ren to call anyways. It was the right thing to do, after all. But the man. There was something about him she couldn't seem to put her finger on. She couldn't explain it even if you asked her, what made her decide to trust him. After quite some time of silence, Ren gave him a small nod. "Okay", she told him with a sigh. "But honestly, I feel pretty bad about you working on my car. You didn't cause the accident."

"Just for a night or two. Come on, we can have a movie night or something." She tried to sweeten the deal with Renee. She just wanted her close for a bit. "Okay. I can help with payments if you need me to. Just say the word." Nancy watched her and took a deep breath. "What did you say? Are you going to let him?" Personally, Nancy was all for her daughter to keep the boat. She approved of the way she took it in the divorce.

If this was a phone call, Ren would be rubbing her temples. However her mother was face to face with her, so expressing irritation at the barrage of questions would only hurt her mother's feelings. Her mom meant well, even if she had the tendency to either be overbearing or oblivious when it came to her daughter's emotional needs. Dropping the car and invitation to stay, Ren sighed again as she focused on the hardest topic. That of her messy divorce. "I haven't said anything back. I don't know, I don't know what to do. I mean, I don't really car about the boat, I just care that it meant something to him and I got it. But maybe I just should. I could use the money and... I just don't know..."

He looked at her with a smile, he could tell she was a bit nervous or something. She did look a bit younger then he was but Tyler did not mind that he was friends with anyone really. "Oh Nancy is cool she won't mind you having a snack" he smiled at her for a moment. "I mean I am pretty sure Nancy herself has snacked on my fries before" he joked. "But my names Tyler" he held out her and with a grin "See now we are friends makes it ok" he laughed. @renchristenson

She sighed as Renee talked and she touched her hair before moving down to touch her daughter's arms. "Okay. And you're sure you're okay?" Nancy asked and looked into her eyes. "Does the car need any fixing? I can have Harrison look at it. You should come stay with us for a few days. The guest room is all set up." She just wanted to keep an eye out for her and it'd be better at the house than down here at the marina. "What did Jackson want?"

As much as Ren was recently frustrated with her mother and brother and over all family dynamic, her mother's touch was like a tonic. Especially when she smoothed her hair. It reminded her of better times, back when she was younger. Back when her family was whole. The blonde gave her mother a nod to answer her question, but it was shortly followed by an eye roll. The last thing she wanted, or needed circulating around town, was that she moved in with her mom and boyfriend. "No, mom, please. I'm fine. I have it handled. Turns out the guy I hit is also a mechanic. He's helping me with it." Then the elephant in the room came back up. Sighing, Renee shoved her hands into her back pockets. "He wanted to buy back the boat."