Sage Hawthorne

26. Romance Novelist. Genderfluid Lesbian.

[sagexhawthorne]

georginalivingston​:

☼

A racing heartbeat, having just run into someone and the vexation building to the surface because of the construction worker’s derision, causes Georgina to take a moment or two to compose herself. It’s about time the city adjusted to changes and listening to the voices of those living on the isle, especially after Chadwick Morello’s situation on the ferry ─ evident to appease the citizens after the two hours at sea ordeal. Either way, it’s a benefit and something everyone has to adjust for the week, but little did she expect to receive such difficulty from the construction truck’s simple request to be moved from the blocking driveway. So when Geo’s collected composure returns, feeling more civil in comparison to her spontaneous, expressive verbal cussing, an exasperated sigh parts from her lips, “I know,” she agrees effortlessly, “I would love to know these details as well. Almost like the town would’ve given us more details, maybe a schedule so we all could’ve planned accordingly.”

But, the construction is expected only last a week, the brunette tells herself steadily like she’s repeating affirmations about her being and how her impact matters in this world. Good cause, one that she approves of because it will be a lesson of importance that she’ll teach to Asher and Joanna about how every voice should be heard. So even if construction seems to be moving slow with the worker’s constant breaks, it isn’t a common reoccurrence on the streets of Catalina for changes to happen. After a moment of observing the construction workers and their carefree attitude, laughter from the males erupting around them, all Geo could do is shake her head before looking at the companion, “Oh, they’re definitely going to milk it.” Silvery falsetto says with a slight, but rare, judgment passing through. “I just don’t understand why it’s difficult for them to move one car that’s blocking my parent’s driveway. It’s a simple request, you know?” At least, she believes it’s a simple request considering how vast the street happens to be, and the spaces are endless. “Did you need to head somewhere, or were you trying to get some work done?”

❤

Sage laughed dryly at the woman’s words. “Why should they tell us anything?” she asked. “Its not like we live here or anything.” She rolled her eyes, as if to emphasis her annoyance.  “But you’re right. They could have at least mailed a letter to everyone living on the affected street.” Its not like there were that many people on Catalina. How much could it have possibly cost to send out a letter letting the locals know they were going to be living in a construction zone for a while, so that they could make plans to be outside of their homes while the noise was going on? “Its so loud out here I can’t even here myself think in the privacy of my own home” she continued. “If I wanted this kind of noise, I would have stayed in Los Angeles.” Sage had lived in one of the quieter parts of the city, but at this point she suspected even the sound of traffic along Hollywood Boulevard would have seemed peaceful.

Sage nodded. “I think this is the part where my father would say something about the public’s tax dollars at work” she pointed out. But Sage hated to sound like her father, so she refrained from saying it herself. Besides, this was her first year actually living in Catalina, so its not like they were technically her tax dollars. Not yet, anyway. “I don’t understand it. I get they have a job to do, but why make anyone’s life more difficult than it has to be?”  Then she shook her head. “I actually made the mistake of trying to work from home today.” She really should have just gone to the library, but it was too late for that now. Her own car was blocked in by the construction as well, a fact she’d observed as she came down the walkway earlier. “Well, since neither of us seems to be going anywhere for a while, would you like to come inside and have a drink? I think we could both at least put some distance between ourselves and the noise.” Not much, but it was better than standing outside where the noise was loudest.

[sagexhawthorne]

thomasxastor​:

♔

She was right, they were. Does it make it right? Not by a chance but this little piece of chance was yet to be made, but then again, to ban someone on entrance just because of it was not the best option or course of action. “Don’t feel bad, please. There is absolutely no need for it and I can assure you that.” He waves off her words, because there was absolutely no reason for that and, again, he only needs one person from the old staff to come and allow his entrance or his mother. “And, as much fun as I think there would be to see that I don’t want you to one: lose your membership or two, make the person lose their job so, how about I make contraposition? We wait here, if you are in no rush and talk, I’m Thomas by the way. Thomas Astor.”

❤

Sage shrugged. “Well okay, if that’s how you feel.” The brunette wasn’t going to waste sympathy if it wasn’t wanted. Then she glanced at her phone, checking the time. She wasn’t supposed to meet her agent for at least another 20 minutes, so she had plenty of time to kill. Tucking her phone back into her purse, she said “You know, I can see that being the more logical approach.” In retrospect own suggestion had sounded like something out of a sitcom. And those sort of schemes rarely ended well. “Nice to meet you Thomas. I’m Sage.” It occurred to her that he really must be one of the rich people, if he went by Thomas. A lot of grown men would shorten it to Tommy or Tom. Thomas sounded like a character on a BBC Drama.

[sagexhawthorne]

gabbylivingston​:

.

“It’s the least I can do after I’ve been watching you struggle from a distance,” Gabby admitted to the woman in front of her. She put a few more items in the bag closst to her. She looked around to see if they missed out on more items but that wasn’t the case. She took hold of two of the bags and looked in the direction of the exit that Sage mentioned. “Alright, since many of these items we just picked up from the floor, I am going to say that you haven’t been in Catalina for a long time yet. Are you new in town?” She asked the other woman as she walked in the direction of the exit. “Also, I’m Gabby,” she introduced herself quickly, that was also the least she could do in this very moment.

❤

“Then you might be surprised how many people would watch me struggle and just walk on by” Sage said darkly. “But maybe that’s just one of the benefits of life on an island instead of Los Angeles.” Wasn’t small town hospitality one of those things people were always going on about when they moved?  At the question, Sage said “Well, yes and no. I was here for about half a year before I moved back to Los Angeles for a few months. But I liked it here so much I decided to come back permanently.” As they walked, Sage pushed the button to open the automatic doors. “And nice to meet you Gabby. I’m Sage.”

[sagexhawthorne]

@char-ainsley​ (continued from here)

Sage was grateful when the brunette bent down to help pick up the fallen items, instead of just walking by or standing there watching as Sage worked to scoop everything up on their own. As they worked, they gave the woman a friendly smile and shook their head. “You might be right there” they joked. “I do enjoy surfing, but apparently that doesn’t do much for helping to prevent cramps in your hands.”

[sagexhawthorne]

amberstevenson​:

“Sounds like my worst nightmare,” Amber agreed with the softest of laughs. She’d never been one for crowds, always preferred solidarity, something she appreciated when she found it in someone else. “Bet you got out of there again pretty quickly,” she added with a shake of her head, lifting her towel to idly dry her hair a little. It probably wouldn’t be all that long before they were there again, packed beaches and strangers wandering the streets asking directions to places all over. “Makes sense. On days I am spent cooped up in front of a computer screen, it drives me crazy too, so I can’t even begin to imagine how that is when you’re doing it all the while.”

❤

“I did” Sage said with a laugh. “But not before some tourist chewed me out for nearly tripping over a sand castle she was building with her toddler.” The brunette shook their head the memory, still unable to believe what entitled jerks some people could be. “Oh yeah?” said Sage with raised eyebrows, curious now. “What do you do that requires you to spend days looking at a computer screen sometimes?” In the brunette’s first time in Catalina, they had learned that the people in Catalina seemed to have every possible job under the sun. It was kind of fascinating, how the small island managed to have a wide enough variety of jobs to be practically self-sustaining.

[sagexhawthorne]

georginalivingston​:

SPECIAL DELIVERY TO: @sagexhawthorne​

LOCATION: Empire Landing Rd

DATE & TIME: January 28th, at 4:00 pm 

It isn’t often that Catalina receives a vigorous list of town updates. When changes happen, whether big or small, the isle struggles with the concept of adjusting to the improvement in a select timeframe. After all, the way the town grows comes in short forms, meaning some things one doesn’t even notice until at a much later date in time. Still, the news that Mayor Morello announced it last week has managed to make everyone scramble. Two of the five significant roads receiving wheelchair accessibility construction happens to be near her parents, and one a couple of blocks down from her veterinary clinic. Although, as what’s supposed to take a week, it feels like it will take longer because the workers are chatty freely and have a break longer than ten minutes.

And one of the reasons why Georgina knows time the precise time is because she’s begged one of the guys to move the truck blocking her parent’s driveway. It’s evident her words have fallen on deaf ears and have managed to agitate her a little. So, as she stood there trying to capture their attention one again as someone rudely holds a hand up to her, the brunette steps away just as she nudges into someone. The other’s weight isn’t much, but she knows it’s someone and that she’s in the wrong for not looking where she’s going. “Oh, my─” Comes flying out of her mouth swiftly, taking a necessary moment to collect herself. She’s ready to apologize for her carelessness. “I’m sorry, but these… fucking guys think it’s funny that I asked them to move their truck because I have somewhere to be. They ‘claim’ they still have five minutes of their break.” A brief pause, rarely one to cuss but vexation grips the surface. “─ which they used this line of me ten minutes ago.”

❤

During her first stay in Catalina, Sage had fallen in love with the small town. Sure, she’d originally come to the island just to get to know her half-sister, but it had been the appeal of the island that had led to her deciding she wanted to move to Catalina permanently. The quiet neighborhood she lived in was perfect for helping her focus on her writing. Which is why the brunette was more than little annoyed to find her street was undergoing construction. Sage understood the construction was for a good cause, but that didn’t help her focus on her writing when the sounds of heavy machinery could be be heard even over the noise-canceling headphones she’d purchased.

Upon hearing some of the noise die down for a moment, Sage decided to go outside and see if she could ask one of the workers what time they expected to be done today. Maybe they would be done soon, in which case it wouldn’t even be worth it for her to pack up her laptop and go somewhere less noisy. Or no, given the way the workers were standing around chatting with each other. As she approached a few of the workers to ask if they were already done for the day, she spotted a woman with them. One who definitely did not look like she belonged in the middle of a construction zone. But the brunette must not have seen her, because she took a step backwards into Sage right as the novelist opened her mouth to ask the workers a question. Stepping back with a gasp of surprise, it took Sage a moment to collect herself. Then she said “Don’t worry about it. I’m more interested in finding out when they expect to be done for the day.” After processing what the brunette said, Sage let out a groan. “That figures. I knew there was no way they were already done for the day.” It had been too good to be true. “Considering they get paid by the hour, I doubt they’re in any rush to get back to work.” The longer their work took, the more they got paid.

[sagexhawthorne]

@raynemontgomery​ (continued from here)

“Sorry about that” Sage said, a light blush creeping into their cheeks. But the brunette relaxed a little when the woman began to chuckle. “Thank you” they said as the blonde helped them pack away the things they’d dropped. Then they said “I’m fine. I should be asking you if you’re okay, though.” They were relieved they’d managed to avoid actually dropping their bags right on the blonde’s feet.

[sagexhawthorne]

@corrinlui​  (continued from here)

Sage admired the way the bags hung from the woman’s arms. She definitely seemed like she knew what she was doing, and Sage wondered if there was some secret to carrying all those bags they were missing out on that they should be asking her about. Laughing at the woman’s words, they said “I like the way you think.” They worked on scooping up their fallen items as they spoke. “I try not to think of myself as a shopaholic, but I’m sure there are plenty of people who would disagree. But I’m definitely not trying to distract myself. I just happen to be exceptionally good at spending money.” Which was why it was lucky for them that their books were still selling. “How about you?” they asked. “Are you a shopaholic or trying to distract yourself from something?”

[sagexhawthorne]

@gabbylivingston​ (continued from here)

“I think my debit card would prefer I take the stuff I already have and go home” Sage said with a frown. “But shopping is just so much fun.” Sage had never been into a lot of the things their mother enjoyed, such as beauty pageants or dancing, but both of them did enjoy shopping. Smiling widely at the woman’s words, Sage said “That would be great.” They finished shoving a few things back into the bags, then added “I like the way you think. And thank you, that’s generous of you to offer.”  Standing up, Sage nodded towards the shopping center’s exit. “I’m just out this way.”

[sagexhawthorne]

@amberstevenson​ (continued from here)

Sage nodded in understanding. “I remember making the mistake of coming down here one afternoon on a weekend back in July” they said. “It must have been the height of tourist season, because I couldn’t walk more than two feet without having to dodge someone’s beach towel.” They expected it would be the same this summer, so they were making a point to cram in as many nice beach days as possible before the tourist season began. “I’m a writer” they explained. “When a lot of your days involve staring at a computer screen, changing location can help inspire you.” Which is why Sage currently had a notebook and pen in the oversized bag they were carrying. 

[sagexhawthorne]

Who: @alycia-acosta​ Where: Outside Aly’s house When: Sunday January 24, early morning

During Sage’s initial visit to Catalina last year, the brunette had made a fair number of friends. One of them had been Aly. The two had bonded over a shared love of surfing. And when Sage had moved back to Catalina, they’d quickly gotten back in contact with Aly, suggesting the two go surfing together one day.

Which is why, early on Sunday morning, Sage was standing on the beach by Aly’s house. It was pretty convenient that Aly had the ocean right nearby her house, exactly for days like today. “The waves look decent today” Sage commented to Aly. The waves weren’t massive, but at least it wasn’t flat right now. “Hopefully we’ll get a few good ones in.”

[sagexhawthorne]

@thomasxastor​ (continued from here)

Sage gave a dry laugh at his words. “I have a feeling this is the sort of place where the staff are trained to notice who is wearing what” they said.  The brunette knew that certain circles of people believed you could tell a lot about someone by their appearance. With a sigh, Sage said “See, now I feel bad for you.” It would have been easier if he’d been a rude and entitled jerk about the situation, because then Sage would have no problem leaving him to figure it out himself. A thought came to mind. “How about I try and distract the person at the desk while you attempt to sneak past?” they suggested.

[sagexhawthorne]

@johnnie-tanaka​ (continued from here)

"Let’s just say you don’t want to try and get the bartender to change the channel if there’s a football game on” Sage half-joked. “And you definitely don’t want to call it soccer by mistake” they added. The patrons at McFlanagan’s could be a bit much when they were drunk, in Sage’s opinion. “The biggest appeal of Luau Larry’s is that the drinks are cheap” they added. “Its such a tacky tourist trap, but their happy hour specials are some of the best on the island.”

[sagexhawthorne]

Who: @catalinastarter​ / open Where: Catalina Shopping Center When: Saturday January 23, around 2 pm

Sage had been at the shopping center for roughly two hours now. The brunette had decided to go shopping for a few things to make their new home feel more like their own. Unfortunately, Sage had the bad habit of going a bit overboard whenever they went on a shopping spree. Right now, they were attempting to make their way into yet another store while carrying two bags in each hand from the stores they’d already been into. Unfortunately, the bags were heavy and were causing a cramp to form in one of Sage’s hands. As they attempted to move the two bags on their cramped hand to the other one, they ended up dropping all four of the bags they were carrying. And of course the contents of the bags spilled out onto the floor, right at someone else’s feet. With a sigh, Sage began to pick everything up. “I wonder if I should take that as a sign that I’ve spent enough money for the day” Sage said to the person whose feet the bags had nearly landed on.

[sagexhawthorne]

amberstevenson​:

for: @catalinastarter​ location: step beach time: shortly after sunrise

It was nothing unusual for Amber to be out with the sunrise and on the beach. She’d got into the habit of early morning swims shortly after arriving on Catalina Island and had yet to break out of it again, finding the whole thing invigorating and a great way to start off her day. She’d been fairly sure she’d been out there alone today, but once she’d made her way out of the water again and onto the sand, wringing the water from her hair, she’d realised there was someone else heading down the sand in her general direction. “I thought I was the only one crazy enough to be out here this early,” she commented lightly, bright smile on her features.

❤

Sage had decided to head to the beach early that morning, hoping to get some writing done while enjoying the fresh air. Winter in Catalina was mild enough that Sage didn’t feel the need to wear much more than a jacket, and figured writing outside would be a nice change of pace. Plus, there probably wouldn’t be a lot of tourists around to cause distractions. Glancing up when they heard someone speak, Sage gave a friendly smile. “I like this time of day” Sage admitted. “Its a lot easier to focus when there’s not as many people around.” Then they quickly added “Not that I mind the current company.” 

[sagexhawthorne]

thomasxastor​:

STATUS: open with  @catalinastarter​​ (0 of 3) LOCATION: CATALINA ISLAND COUNTRY CLUB

The situation was laughable, at least, and that is the reason for the rare chuckle tumbling his lips as leans over the desk counter. Truthfully, him too, wouldn’t allow himself in — baggy shorts and a wet hoodie? It’s a surprise he is out in public — Another glimpses down at himself and he sighs, he was going to be late (he was late). “Alright, if I may use your phone, I’ll get someone to bring my identification and a suit, but please let Mr. Shaw know that Thomas Astor is here? and I promise you, I am Mr. Astor, the grandson.” He requests, and even if he was a bit frustrated, his voice remains calm. There was no one to blame but himself for waking up late and still think he could make it in time for this meeting, after a run. When Thomas realized how late he was, the only money left in his pocket was spent in the taxi drive up to the club, just in time to realize his phone and wallet were left in the hotel.

“Apparently there’s a first time for everything and now I’m not allowed in the club.” It was a playful commentary, throw at the person coming in. In truth, he knew he could request a manager or someone else to let him inside, but there would be not much use if he could not get also, a change of clothes and he did not want to give the receptionist a headache or sound more pompous. “Now, I have to call my mother to bring me pants.”

❤

Sage was on their way into the country club, where they were supposed to be meeting with their literary agent. The brunette had managed to get a spot on the country club’s member list, thanks to the reputation their father had in Los Angeles and because of Sage’s career as an author. Sage wasn’t particularly thrilled at the idea that their father was the main reason they’d been allowed to join the club to begin with. so they chose to believe it was primarily their own career that had gotten them there.

As Sage was about to enter the club, they heard someone speak to them. Shrugging at the man’s words, Sage said “I’m sure you’re not the first person they’ve barred from entering. You probably won’t be the last, either.” Sage had been fairly surprised when their own membership had been approved, but that was neither here nor there. “I’d offer to invite you in with me, but I’m pretty sure the manager would kick us both out for you violating the dress code.” Sage suspected shorts and a hoodie were not considered appropriate country club wear, especially in the middle of winter.

[sagexhawthorne]

johnnie-tanaka​:

Status: Open @catalinastarter​ Location: Just outside MARLIN in LAFAYETTE SQUARE Celebration: New job at Davis Gaming Company

“So, guess what?” Johnnie asked. “I quit my old job at the temple, which… no offense to my aunt – she got me that job when I first moved – I was dying to leave for a while.” The relative lack of anything to do, plus the situation around the Hanukkah celebrations last month or so, made him want to ditch his communications job at Congregation Beth Israel. In anticipation of this, he had done a few freelance gigs to beef up his portfolio.

“And I got a new job. My first week went well, so, I’m ready to celebrate! The question is… where? Any suggestions?”

❤

Sage was on her way out of Marlin after an early dinner when she heard someone nearby speak. Glancing around, her eyes landed on the person speaking. She listened as they talked. Then she said “Well, that’s great news!” As someone who was lucky enough to do what she loved for a living, she was always happy to hear other people were happy at their jobs. “Luau Larry’s is great for cheap happy hour drinks” she advised. Sage found that place delightfully tacky. “Or there is always McFlanagan’s if you think you’re up for a slightly rougher crowd.”