-- well, those days are gone

twenty eight. owner of henriksen and co. 🔧🔨

[charlie-henriksen]

charlotte-roberson​:

Charlotte simply shrugged at the response, waving away his doubts. “Bold isn’t always best. Sometimes it’s best to do what we’re told– I have to do it myself plenty. You think I like doing those stark white minimalist kitchens? Making homes that feel more like museums?” She shuddered to show just how much she didn’t enjoy those projects. But it was the price of building your brand. Someday she might be able to give those projects to other designers because people would seek her out specifically for her bolder designs. “I think I’d love your living room. It sounds like the living room of a real home. No museum feeling at all, I bet.“ Charlotte stood on her tiptoes and pulled down the blue rug he’d helped her choose so she could buy it for her clients. “The decision making isn’t the hardest part of it, really. I don’t know if I always wanted to do it but I was always interested in creative things and home shows on TV when I was younger. I just happened to get to major in it in college and it makes a decent living in the right place. Did you always want to do what you do? Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever asked you about this. Is it really what you want to be doing now?”

“But it makes my life so much easier when they’re like that,” Noah groaned, his mouth twitching up at the corner. Those stark white minimalist kitchens were a piece of cake to put together and set up, but he had to admit that Charlotte’s more personal, creative ones definitely looked better. It was actually the creative ones that he loved to do, the ones he could immerse himself into for a while so that there was no room for anything else in his head. He chuckled at her shudder. “I can imagine you feel like caged animal with those stark ones, though. Wanting to fly free and design to your heart’s content.” His mom had definitely flown free when she designed their living room, although, it was more of an ongoing project, something that was constantly added to and changed. Charlie lifted up to help the girl to grab the rug, pulling it down with her. “Not a stark white museum but it is like a museum of our family life,” Charlie admitted, “magnets from family holidays. Pictures of us from years ago, ornaments and sentimental stuff my mom collected during her travels and college times. School photos of me and E-” his expression dulled as the recognition dawned on him. “Er - yeah, you could find out my whole family history from that room.” 

Happy for the subject change, Charlie nodded along as Charlotte spoke, listening intently as to avoid the thoughts that were now clouding his mind. “Sounds like you’re in the perfect job for you, C. People put a lot of trust in you and you’ve earned your rep through working hard.” When Charlotte asked him the question in return, Charlie found himself wondering what the real answer was. Did he want to be running his business the way things were now? Would he like to do something else? Would what he wanted to do pay the bills? That one was a no. Was work his only escape? Was even admitting he needed an escape awful? That felt like a hard yes. “I love what I do,” he told Charlotte, “I love making things and doing things for people and seeing their faces when a job’s done and knowing I did it the best I could. Probably a bit like you. I guess DIY and handy-work has always just been my path. I’ve got dyslexia so that kinda’ stuff is what I excel at really. I dread anything else. Sounds stupid but, yeah.”

[charlie-henriksen]

racheldanziger-hirsch​:

.

“Good.  I’m glad you feel that way,” Rachel said maneuvering herself and letting him take some of the load by opening the door.  “It’s a grab bag.  The barista messed my order up three times, so I have no idea what the top three actually are.  I only know what they were aiming to be, which is an Americano with sugar-free hazelnut and a touch of half-and-half.” 

Once they were clear of the coffee shop, she shook her head.  “No, just me and a potential investor who didn’t want coffee.  If I drink this, it really will mess with my sleep cycle, and I think that’s been going pretty well.  I require at least 8 hours to be fully functional.” 

“Was that a different language you just spoke there?” asked Charlie with a grin as he scratched his head with confusion. ‘A white coffee’ was about as complex as his order got and he didn’t even have them that often. As the woman seemed to understand, coffee wasn’t quite conducive to sleep and Charlie didn’t need anything else to get in the way of that.

“Oh yeah, you’ll be awake for days drinking all those. I’m doing you a favour taking one off your hands,” Charlie replied, his eyes settling on the stack. “But eight hours to be fully functional is a dream. Any tips? Other than don’t drink three coffees beforehand.” It wasn’t even as if Charlie wasn’t tired. He was exhausted both physically and mentally, but his brain ticked on when his eyes closed. Memories of the past were a rare but welcomed surprise when thoughts of the future haunted his mind till the early hours. “You’ll have to offer them a different beverage of choice next time. Or have the bridges been burned?” 

[charlie-henriksen]

charlotte-roberson​:

Charlotte grinned when she realized the person next to her was none other than Charlie. She hadn’t seen him in a few days and had been meaning to call him about a potential new client for him. The universe had a way of working things out sometimes. “You still have an opinion on things you like, right? Don’t limit yourself, Charlie.” It may have been her area of expertise but that didn’t mean she was always right. She had to design with others in mind, after all. “I was thinking the blue would be better! Sometimes I just can’t resist the temptation to be bold but I don’t think that’s what this space needs.” Her nose scrunched at the news of why his mother needed a new one but she laughed softly. “Do you have a picture of what that room looks like? If I were just picking my favorite rug out of all of these? It’d be that one over there–” Charlotte pointed to an intricate yet understated rug in the far corner. 

“I do have my opinions, but I’d rather leave the decision making to you.” He admitted. “You are bold whereas I just do what I’m told,” Charlie he added with a smirk. That was how his job worked; he found out what people wanted and then did it for them. Leaving a few hours or days later with usually pretty satisfied customers.  Charlie’s eyes followed Charlotte’s finger as she pointed to her favourite rug. He pictured their mix-match living room in his head. They’d always liked it that way - nothing too perfect, but perfect its own way. “Well, the living room has millions of colours in so that one would actually be perfect, I think,” he said with an appreciative nod. “This, is why I recommend you to everyone,” he joked before heading over to pick up the rug. “I don’t know how you make so many decisions. I’d be losing it. Did you always wanna’ do this?”

[charlie-henriksen]

charlotte-roberson​:

who: open | @catalinastarter​ where: island threadz, lafayette square when: tuesday late afternoon

One of the good things about running her own business was the freedom she had to work anywhere. She could also choose how far she was willing to travel for jobs and frequently did travel to the mainland for clients who simply refused to use any other designer for their projects. While she still had a full client base on the West Coast and would accept new clients anywhere if they could cover her expenses, Charlotte wanted to make her mark on the island. She wanted to be the go-to person for anyone who was looking to create or refresh their space. After a couple of months of small jobs, mostly traveling back and forth for work, she was hired to do a house in Avalon. Her focus on local resources above all else led her to Island Threadz for inspiration. Her swatches and moodboards were in-hand as she studied the rugs hanging above the store. “Excuse me,” She spoke to another shopper nearby. “Can I ask your opinion on something? I’m stuck between these two rugs for a living room that will include all of these colors and textures. Which one would make you feel more relaxed?”

Had it not been for the ‘favour’ Charlie owed his mom, there would’ve been no chance the guy would’ve left the house today. It was his day off, aka carer day, and that would’ve consisted of him watching TV beside Ellouise, scrolling through his phone and then proceeding to do his carer duties. He was sure that his family orchestrated favours out of him purely to make him leave. A familiar voice made his venture out of his Lafayette Square home more bearable, though. The familiar voice of Charlotte Robertson, an almost co-worker of his. She designed, he created and decorated. “I mean, I think you know the answer to that, C,” Charlie said with a chuckle as he shrugged without a clue. This was Charlotte’s field for sure, not his. “But I guess the blue one, maybe? And maybe, as I’m on a mission to get my mom a new rug after one of the foster kids threw up on hers,” Charlie grimaced at the thought of kid sick, “I’ll just take the other one and that’ll help solve the problem?”

[charlie-henriksen]

racheldanziger-hirsch​:

who: open | @catalinastarter​ when: thursday morning  where: anywhere now, but her first stop was ventura coffee roasting co.

It was one of those mornings where things just hadn’t quite come together.  And it wasn’t in a bad way, exactly. It still resulted in her floating around Catalina like she was the coffee fairy, in an effort to prevent many wrong lattes from going to waste.  Unfortunately, she’d only been born with two arms.  As she wasn’t an octopus, she was going to have to rely on the kindness of a stranger and their free hands. 

“So, if you help me hold this door, one of these is yours for free.  Preferably the one on top, but I honestly just need to get inside without dropping something.” 

“Got you,” Charlie replied to the coffee balancing woman as he held the door open for her with a polite smile. “Anything for free coffee,” he joked, beckoning for her to go through when she was ready. At least free coffee would cheer him up after his meeting with the doctor. He’d decided to walk from the Ventura medical centre into town to grab some groceries before calling his taxi, which he hoped would help to take his mind off the news. It hadn’t. Maybe small-talking to someone else would though. “You got a big team meeting or something?” Charlie asked as the door shut behind them. “Either that or you’ve had about one hour’s sleep.”

[charlie-henriksen]

Plot drop;

PRE-EXISTING CONNECTIONS

- Customers of Henriksen and Co (DIY company)

- Fellow DIY people / such who work for / with Henriksen and Co  Charlotte Robertson (interior designer)

- High school friends (Charlie is 28)

- Family members (Cousins, etc)

- Carer for Ellouise

- Ellouise’s friends 

- Ellouise’s family

- Pals 

- Beach dwellers (People who are at the beach when Charlie goes there to escape maybe? People who are alos escaping)

NEW CONNECTIONS

- Customers of Henriksen and Co (DIY company)

- New employees of Henriksen and Co

- Self-care buddy (Person who forces Charlie to leave the house and do stuff)

- Dog walking pal (Someone who walks Dave the dog with Charlie and their own dog? Maybe even the other’s dog is related to Dave the dog - Golden Retriever)

- Dad? (Dad might not even know he exists)

- Sibling from his Dad’s side? (Charlie’s dad was never around so this could totally work)

- Foster siblings 

- Beach dwellers (People who are at the beach when Charlie goes there to escape maybe? People who are alos escaping)

[charlie-henriksen]

Hi guys, Kate here! I bring you my boy, Charlie, who’s a carer for his girlfriend and owner of Henriksen and Co handy-guy services. I love a pre-established / plot / connection (Charlie has always lived on Catalina island and is twenty eight) or a stranger connection so if anyone fancies doing that with us then just let me know! Here is a few things about Charlie to help you out ✌️ P.S it’s great to be here 🤪:

TW: stroke, long term illness

- Charlie was born to single mom Geri, dad was never in the picture / ever spoken about really

- Has a HUGE family so was truly raised by a village

- Charlie is dyslexic and found this out in elementary school. Did struggle at school with certain subjects as a result but really excelled in woodshop, design, all that kind of stuff

- His friends were mostly supportive (apart from a bit of joking here and there which low-key did hurt his feelings because they always made him out to be stupid which people with dyslexia are clearly not) but the most supportive was Ellouise, new girl turned childhood sweetheart

- It was his freshmen year of high school when Charlie’s mom came out to him. He was pretty shocked and felt betrayed that she’d never told him as they were so close. Was super happy for her when the dust settled and just needed time to process and ask all the q’s

- Graduated high school and when his friends went off to college, Charlie was doing DIY jobs for various people in town (had been for a while). Decided to start up his own handyguy business

- Business boomed with all the reputation Charlie had built up and when all his friends returned from college looking for jobs, Charlie felt quite smug knowing that he didn’t have that issue

- Bought a run down house with Ellouise (together since school) and renovated it with their family’s help. Adopted an old boy golden retriever together called Dave

- Decided to propose to Ellouise, so booked a nice weekend away in the middle of nowhere but Ellouise became ill (she had a stroke due to preexisting medical conditions) and there wasn’t a hospital for miles

- Charlie drove as fast as he could but in the end it was too late. Ellouise’s brain was too damaged by the stroke for medication to work.

- Ellouise is now paralysed, unable to communicate and unable to swallow. Only after a few years could Charlie be persuaded to hire a carer so that he could continue working. Although he found time to do small job, he couldn’t leave his business to his employees to run whilst he cared for Ellouise

- Ellouise’s condition has had a huge impact on Charlie and Charlie’s life. He might put on a brave face but nothing changes the fact that the love of his life will never be the same as she was.

- Although he’ll talk about what happened to a few people, he won’t talk to a therapist about it despite being offered numerous sessions. He still blames himself for not being able to get her to the hospital on time and even though it happened a few years ago now, Charlie is still very much processing what happened

- He now works part time for his own company and when he’s not working, spends most of his time at home with people usually coming over to him as he will often refuse to leave Ellouise if there’s not a carer there with her

- Can sometimes be found at the beach with Dave if there is a carer there. Used to love dancing like a fool to old music (and to anything to be honest), hosting barbecues (absolute dad), getting way too competitive with board games..

- Was pretty much full of life before all this happened but is obviously different now. 🙁 

- However, glimpses of our boy can still be seen when he’s with his family, when he’s with Dave, when he’s with some of his friends, etc so there is still fun to be had! ✌