Is that RHIANNON “RIKKI” BENNETT that I see over there? You know they have quite the reputation of being the HALCYON around town. The 27 year old has been around these parts for 18 MONTHS and within that timeframe has landed themselves a job as a SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER/INFLUENCER while living in SYCAMORE VILLAGE. I overheard that they can be quite OVERLY ASSERTIVE but their saving grace is that they are OUTGOING. They remind me of MIDNIGHT STARRY SKIES, MATTE BLACK ACCESSORIES, AND THE SMELL OF BLACKBERRY AND SAGE but you’ll have to decide that for yourself.
Feather Rhiannon Laurent Moreau was raised in what could be considered an unconventional environment. Her hometown was in the depths of Mississippi, just a half hour outside Biloxi. The words “Bible belt” come to mind when looking at the town, but her upbringing was anything but conservative. Her parents, Eric and Daisy, were what could be considered hippies. Marriage was never for the pair of childhood sweethearts and neither was monogamy. When Rikki was five, her mother began seriously dating a doctor named Miguel. She considers him her father as well and loves him as much as she loves her biological father.
Despite thriving on the unexpected, Rikki’s parents were loving and very serious about education. School was of the utmost importance. It was largely due to this that Rikki graduated high school a year early and was well on her way to Ole Miss. After a disastrous, humiliating relationship, she decides to move to Vegas.
A need to put herself through college is what sends her to the pole and it’s there that she truly finds herself as her own woman. It’s also in said strip club that she meets the love of her life. It’s passionate, deeper than anything she’s ever felt before, what causes her to tattoo Asher’s name on her abdomen, and what inspires her to go back to school.
Long distance was a bitch and it broke even the strongest of relationships, even one that Rikki was sure would result in marriage instead of a debilitating breakup and an unplanned pregnancy. Having a baby by herself wasn’t in her plans, but nine months later, Ashton came into the world.
Moving to Vermont was never in the cards until a job opportunity presented itself. Rikki had also planned on raising her son on her own until his father came back into the picture. Initially, they planned on taking things slow, but much like when they first met, it didn’t last. When Rikki discovered she was pregnant again, they got married and finally fulfilled their plans from four years ago.
Headcanons:
Rikki is the youngest of four and was born three months premature. Her older siblings are Meadow, Lark, and Orion.
She speaks French and Spanish fluently, the latter thanks to her “step” father, Miguel.
Her father is a farm-to-table chef with a successful restaurant in Biloxi and her mother works as the restaurant’s manager.
Has an allergy to coconut, monks fruit, and kiwi
Has a Bernese Mountain Dog named Moose
On top of running a business’s social media account, she’s an influencer on the side but doesn’t post pictures of Ashton in order to keep his privacy.
Can rap, but despite being an ex-stripper, she is a terrible dancer
Has her husband’s name still tattooed on her body, along with Ashton’s name on the inside of her left wrist. Her daughter’s name will be added to the mix once she makes her arrival.
Connections:
Friends/neighbors
Her boss (any business that needs a social media manager for their account???)
location: juniper general store
status: open @jhqstarters
truth be told, pippa hadn't done any sort of these holiday traditions since she was a kid...actually that wasn't true. if she ever did them when she was a kid, it was when her friends had invited her over to do them. since her own mother never did them with her. so you can absolutely be sure, that when pip moved in with mattie and the girls, the young woman was all for making these holiday quirks into traditions for the little ones.
hence her standing in an aisle of juniper general, basket already filled with essentials to make her own lil baskets for her nieces. now she was looking at items she'd need to dye eggs with them. even if she'd done it a few times in her life, she felt it was something that would be fun for them. turning to the person near her in the aisle, she quirked a brow up. "which do you think is more fun, for kids i mean? dying eggs or painting them?"
There was a learning curve to handling two kids in public, but Rikki managed. Fortunately, Wren slept most of the time when carried her in her carseat. Easter fast approached and Rikki was lucky she remembered to put shoes on, let alone remember fun activities for Ashton.
She hummed along to the song playing overhead while Ashton played with a stuffed duck in the cart.
"Depends on the age. I think older kids would have more fun dyeing eggs, but if they're young, I think painting them would be your best bet," she responded.
You know what members? There’s nothing that I like more than a little honesty on a mellow Friday evening. Honesty hour is open from now until Sunday night! Please be sure to reblog this post on any blog that you wish to participate from (don’t worry you are free to delete it once the Honesty Hour has commenced). Please remember that if you wish to participate in this activity you must ask a question, anonymously or not, to each participating member to ensure that everyone who wants to be included gets to be! Be sure to tag all answers with #juniper.honesty… be careful what you fess up to, you never know who might be watching.
It was a strange sense of FOMO to prepare a nursery when Dhalia herself had never done so, even for her own son. A baby having a baby, at sixteen, didn’t exactly make her the most prepared mother. A fact that left her with a deep-seated guilt she still grappled with. It was easy to feel inadequate as a mother, but she hoped her sister had more security than she.
“You think?” Full lips pursed in consideration before Dhalia took a step back to take a look at the wall and imagine it with a crib against it. She started to nod then let out a sigh. “Maybe..”
With her paint supplies set aside, Dhalia joined Rikki on the recliner. She perched on the arm and let her legs dangle over the side. “How’re you feeling?” Slender fingers pushed a piece of hair from Rikki’s face and tucked it behind her baby sister’s ear. Not by blood, but in all the ways that mattered. “Nursery aside. Do you feel ready?”
.
There was so much to do to prepare for the baby’s arrival, but Rikki was still reeling from the past few months building up to it. She reconnected with Asher, they tried to figure out co-parenting, she got pregnant from a moment of weakness, and now they were married. In the span of six months, she had gone from single mom to a married woman.
If it wasn’t for her siblings rallying alongside her, it was likely Rikki would have fallen apart. Just like always, it had been the Moreau-Laurent-Hernandez family against the world. Of course, now it was the Moreau-Laurent-Hernandez-Bennett family.
Rikki leaned affectionately into her sister and let out a sigh. “Not really,” she admitted. What if Ashton didn’t take her well? What if they couldn’t handle two kids? What if she screwed them both up and they hated her? “I always forget there’s so much to do to prepare. I don’t feel like there are enough hours in a day.”
"Okay, while I'm here, can you help me figure out a plant for the house that's Moose-friendly? I know there are some, but I am just...blanking on names."
That, and pregnancy brain truly was a bitch. Rikki had forgotten her own dog's name at some point. Pregnancy hormones coupled with her ADHD made her life miserable. Being off her meds made her excessively tired, exceedingly irritable, and incredibly forgetful. Her limited amount of caffeine didn't even help.
If you would’ve told Asher that in the span of six months he would reconciled with Rikki, reconnect, get her pregnant again, get married and buy a house, he would’ve called you a liar and laugh in your face, but here they currently are. Pregnant, happy, planning a whole future ahead of them. It was still an adjustment, with Ashton more so, but they will get there.
“I am not saying I don’t like them, I am just saying that he is spoiled, that is all,” he teased. The little boy was like his father in many many things. Ashton was Asher’s spitting image and not only on his looks. “Oh so you can pass out on me?” Asher teased as he went to heat up his food, taking it to the counter so he could finally eat. “I see your angle here, Laurent.”
.
“And you used to pout when I didn’t do it to you,” she reminded him with a scrunch of her nose. While Asher enjoyed lamenting Ashton took after her, he took far more after him. Ashton Reed Bennett was nearly a clone of Asher with Rikki’s brown eyes. “And we both know you never mind when I pass out on you. I sleep way better with you home, anyways. Moose would probably make friends with the burglar if they broke in.”
The loud snores of said Berner echoed through to the kitchen and Rikki rolled her eyes. There were times she was grateful Moose didn’t sleep in bed with Ashton; his snoring could wake the dead and a teething, overstimulated toddler wasn’t fun for anyone.
“Ashton might enjoy seeing you, though. He’s been asking about you.”
“Villainous kitty queen, she’s got tricks up her sleeves, and I’ve got a few up mine. She said “am I bad to the bone ‘cause I get what I want?” Mama said it ain’t no crime. She don’t wanna be anybody else, she’s a woman in total control of herself. It’s such a wonder to be under her spell, what a woman in total control of herself.”
The wall was primed and the base color painted. Dhalia took care to pay attention to every detail. No less for her sister and her growing niece. Now, she placed marks along the wall where she’d soon begin to paint. A mural of her own design. Delicate flowers that reminded her of spring time in their beloved home state of Mississippi.
“I think I’ll put the main bouquet here, or.. maybe here..”
Was she asking for an opinion? Maybe. Although, in the end, she would inevitably make her own decision. It was like that with her art. Sometimes she didn’t know until she just knew, then no one else’s opinion would matter. Even if it should have, considering this would Rikki’s baby’s nursery.
“What do you think?”
@rikki-bennett
.
It was fortunate that it was a bit warmer today than it had been lately so they could air out the nursery a bit from the fumes. It was also fortunate that they had time to decorate the nursery because the baby would be in the master bedroom for the first few months. In the meantime, Rikki could sit in their little girl’s nursery while Dahlia worked on the mural.
Picking out furniture had been a strangely stress-free endeavor. The theme had been a minimalist concept with flowers and picking out furniture to complement it had followed quickly after. It figured that they were having a girl instead of a boy and recycling that furniture was out of the question. Assembling said furniture was going to be the first major test of their marriage.
“I think if you put it there, it might fit nicely with where we were wanting to put the crib,” Rikki suggested from the recliner, gesturing to the second place Dahlia had suggested. “Or maybe we could set the changing table there.”
Nazli nodded jotting down a few notes in her book. She was trying to make any accusations or anything just wanted to know the facts before she wrote about it. “I can see how you would want to be careful with something like that.” She nodded. She didn’t personally have a bigshot as a parent, or if she did she wasn’t aware of it, however she had written plenty of stories on people who wound up together strictly for the business side of things and those were the saddest relationships that she had ever seen, especially when the truth comes out and it was one sided.
From what she could tell Asher and Rikki’s love was genuine and their family a beautiful thing. It was nice to see a women behind her husband ready to back his every move. Opening your own business, no matter the type, was a scarry and daring decision so having someone by your side encouraging you was a great thing to have.
“You worked at the same restaurant?” She questioned ready to jot the women’s answer down. Honestly what this interview was was simply comparing the answers that she gave against Asher’s to ensure that she was being given the entire and true story. It wasn’t that she thought Asher had lied to her… in fact at this point in time she was routing for the man and the piece that she had in mind would greatly reflect her thoughts on him as a business owner and a person as a whole.
.
“Once I told him, though, he got over being a little starstruck fairly quickly. I’m fortunate, my dad just loves him and he’s super proud of him, too,” Rikki responded. How many people could say they could watch their husband fulfilling his dream? She had supported his dream from the first time he had told her all those years ago.
God, how many nights had they spent talking about the things they wanted from life?
“We met at work back when we worked at the same luxury club in Vegas. He ran the kitchen, I worked the top floor. We met because I dealt with a particularly nasty client and I sort of took cover in the kitchen. He started walking me to my car at the end of my shifts to keep me safe and things just progressed from there,” she explained. What kind of club wasn’t something she would volunteer unless asked. A lot of people tended to change their tune upon discovering Rikki was a former stripper. “I’m very biased, but Asher Bennett really is a wonderful, incredible person. I know just how lucky I am.”
denver adored their family, he had always admired them as he had wanted a family of his own and looked up to them. any time he could have a fun competition with asher it always made his day. he was thankful to call that family friends of his. as he looked at rikki he laughed softly,
“good, i knew you would be onboard with kicking some ass, the bennett family hasn’t let me down yet.” the smile grew. “so i am shit when it comes to decorating, but being a single man these last few years i have learned to cook pretty good.. now baking, i cant promise i am any good at it. so it may take some serious instruction reading and googling here.” he explained.
.
Living in her husband’s hometown had become a bit of a culture shock; they had once bonded over living in a somewhat small town, but the north and the south were two very different places. It was also a cool sort of odd that she met people who knew Asher when he was younger.
“Well, I do derive sick pleasure from kicking the ass of people I barely know,” she commented. Maybe that sense of competitiveness was something she inherited from Eric. She trailed her finger along the small little rim of her plastic frosting bowl and sucked the remnants off. “I’m actually pretty good at it. Perks of having a chef father. What do you need from me?”
She smiled with a nod “Yes always very important to make sure that they know they’re still your priority and just as important.” She spoke. Nazli had read all of the baby books when her and Osiris had decided that they would start to try for a child. She wanted to make sure that she did everything right, especially seeing as she didn’t exactly have the best of role models. “The halfway mark! That’s such an important milestone! Congratulations again.” She smiles
Nazli nodded “Well I think that it is safe to say that he has achieved it! Honestly it was a beautiful thing to watch, to see how he interacted with his staff and customers. Was also great to hear him talk so highly about everyone that was involved in the whole process.”
Nazli nodded with a smile listening about Rikki’s father. There was no need to put the man in Asher’s article unless he had contributed something to the dream. “Did he have any influence in Asher wanting to open his own restaurant or was it strictly a coincidence that you wound up falling in love with a man who dabbled in the same craft?”
.
Rikki hadn’t been sure at first how her heart could grow to love another baby as much as she loved Ashton, but it did. This new baby was just as welcomed and loved as her brother. There was more love in the past few months they knew of her existence than some people received in a lifetime. “Thank you,” she murmured.
Watching Asher at work had been one of her great draws to him back in Vegas; the kitchen was a place Rikki had always felt safe and he had reinforced that belief. Watching him live his dream was a rare glimpse, to see him be truly happy. “He’s so dedicated and I couldn’t be happier for him. I always knew he could do it,” she agreed.
But then there was the question Rikki couldn’t seem to live down. It was the same question she was asked every time she brought up Eric. “It was very much a coincidence. Asher and I met at work and were friends for about two years before we started dating. He didn’t know my dad was my dad until we were serious. That little tidbit tends to make me really intimidating and it tends to derail conversations. He didn’t connect the dots because before we got married, I went by Laurent, which is my mom’s name,” she explained.
