gold dust woman

Stevie May Youngblood, 39 // I have no fear, I have only love.

[stevieed]

“If my girlfriend asks, I got held up late at work,” Elijah stated, almost as if he was setting up the rules for himself more so than his new, unwitting partner-in-crime. He just didn’t feel like going home quite yet, and the idea of actually hanging around at work was too depressing to stomach.

“Right, got it,” Stevie said with a nod. Her suspicion had been piqued, but so had her curiosity. “And if I asked, would the answer change? Am I covering for you for something bad? I just like to know what I’m getting myself into.”

[stevieed]

     “Hey!” He had to give them credit–they were certainly a deep sleeper, and it wasn’t every day he rolled into the parking lot of his bar just to find some passed-out patron out back. They weren’t going to like the smell of that dumpster when they came to, he could guarantee that.

     Giving the body a final nudge with his boot, Kai picked up a stray piece of plywood, slamming it against the thick metal trash disposal, “Rise and shine, rise and shine!” Please be alive–that wouldn’t be the best way to start his day.

   Stevie was always thankful when people agreed to meet at a local bar for their interview instead of a restaurant-- not that she had anything against the latter, but she found it was so much easier to interview someone when they were comfortable and relaxed. Generally, a bar and a couple drinks made that much, much easier.

   She was on her way out of one of those very interviews when she heard the sound of wood meeting metal. “Holy--” she exhaled, quickly turning towards the noise. When she realized she wasn’t in any immediate danger, however, she settled. “You scared the life outta me. Wow.” She took a pause then, looking down at the man slumped on the sidewalk. “Oh, him. He was there when I got here, like, an hour ago. Hour-and-a-half, actually. He was a little more... animated earlier, though.”

[stevieed]

maxinercgers:

“Is walking in the snow for twenty five minutes to have a hookup with an old high school friend in their car in a church parking lot a good or bad idea?”

“Bad. No, wait-- good,” Stevie said, eyes narrowing. “Or, actually, definitely bad. God, I don’t know. It’s like a paradox. Is this a situation you’re actually gonna be in or are you just askin’ around?”

[bidoctor]

[stevieed]

“Do you think they even clean the glasses here? Not that it really makes a difference on you’re on drink number three I suppose…” 

“Yeah,” Stevie drawled through a half-laugh. “I’m pretty sure they do. Three drinks in can definitely make you start questioning things, though. I got super drunk a couple years ago and became aware real fast that I hadn’t cleaned my kitchen floor in like, two months. You ever scrubbed kitchen tile with a toothbrush after seven Sazeracs? It’s somethin’.”

[stevieed]

“It’s no good. I can’t carry on without eating something.” Holly paused after pulling off the lid, and then frowned. “It’s not as gross as it looks, I promise you.”

“The way it looks isn’t what concerns me-- it’s the way it smells. You sure you shouldn’t, you know, heat that up a little? Or a lot, actually. Really zap it.”

[stevieed]

“So, my dad thought it would be fun to make a personalised scavenger hunt for our presents this year. I don’t know if he’s doing it just to make sure we won’t end up arguing like we normally do at some point or another, but if he did, then it’s definitely a success,” Ellie said and sighed. “We’re all scattered after all, so if you see another Featherstone kid or two, running around town like a headless chicken, you’ll know why…”

“I mean, if he’s trying to keep you guys separate, a scavenger hunt is pretty genius,” Stevie said. She had a little smile curling the corner of her mouth, trying to hide the fact that she was a tad impressed by the idea. “How much progress have you made so far?”

[stevieed]

Hunched over the book he was reading—How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, a gift from his very business-minded uncle—his finger traced underneath the words his eyes strained to follow, before sighing in frustration and looking up. “I don’t understand this book,” he said, leaning back against his seat as he surveyed the open pages. “It says I should always start my questions that people will answer ‘yes’ to, but how will I know if they’ll say yes? I can’t ask them if they had Raisin Bran for breakfast, because they might say no. I don’t even like Raisin Bran, you know?”

“When I was a kid I always thought Raisin Bran was a cereal exclusive to people over, I dunno, sixty, but then I hit thirty-five and suddenly started liking it. Raisin Bran is a mystery,” Stevie mused before quickly shaking the thought away, after realizing she’d addressed the wrong part of Casey’s concern. “Anyway, though-- maybe it’s less of asking for yes answers in regards to opinions, and more of... icebreakers? Like ‘do you have the time’ or... actually, yeah, that’s all I’ve got.”

[buckys]

Jessica Chastain / Dusan Reljin for L’OFFICIEL PARIS

[stevieed]

“I have almost a full three weeks left before my semester starts, and all the holiday stuff is over now. I almost don’t know what to do with myself. I don’t, actually. I’ve decided I’m taking suggestions.” he announced to the person he has spotted nearby with a grin and a small shrug, “Left to my own devices when bored, I’ve been told I have a tendency to cause a little chaos. At least according to my siblings. And my wife. And most of my friends. And the golf course.”

Stevie, peering up from her cellphone and the seventy-three unread email messages thereon, shot a curious look at the man giving such a grand spiel before her. “I’m jealous. My holiday break is over and now it’s back to the real world. To real work,” she said with a chuckle, gesturing with her cell. “You should pick up a new hobby. Or go mow some lawns, make a little extra cash on the side. The hobby thing is probably a little more fun, though. What kinda stuff do you like to do that, y’know, isn’t chaotic?”

[stevieed]

for @mason-janes // backdated December 15th(ish), 2017

It was funny, almost, how she’d come so close to bringing home a tree in the middle of November, a time that most folk would deem way too early for Christmas anything, but ended up not actually making the purchase until the middle of December, a time those same folk might deem too late. Life worked that way, though, especially around the later months. Despite having her own holiday break from work, Stevie was still busy. She was going back and forth between deciding where to spend Christmas, trying to figure out if she should go see her parents in Memphis even though she’d just returned to Lanford from her five-month stay with them, and worrying about Florence. Her daughter was with her dad, certainly in good hands, but for whatever reason, Stevie couldn’t shake her anxiety. She'd been in need of a distraction, and a tree seemed like a good option. 

The first time at the tree lot, where she’d run into Mason and joked about Clark Griswold, her impulsiveness almost wound up with her buying a tree then and there, and it was that same impulsive nature that finally landed her one of the fine spruces. She’d pulled over last-minute, found a tree that seemed to be exactly what she was looking for, and drove it home only fifteen minutes later. Once she’d arrived at her house and was staring at the seven-foot tree strapped to the roof of her Jeep, she knew she definitely needed to give Mason a call unless she wanted to wind up trapped in her doorway, back to the frame and face to the spruce.

So she waited for him outside, leaned against the porch railing. When he finally pulled up, Stevie smiled and moved down to the lowest step to greet him. “Ah, have you come caroling?” she asked, feeling the wind chill sweep through her hair. “I could really go for a one-man performance of Blue Christmas.”

[unanuvola]

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[stevieed]

“A crowded room,

friends with tired eyes.”

[stevieed]

The red head took a small bite after taking the muffin from Stevie. “Some people act like they do. Fake bitches.” Pursing her lips dramatically, she narrowed her eyes. “Are you serious? Do they actually work? I though that was just a myth to make people drink those terrible drinks.”

Stevie laughed, shrugging rather deeply. “I don’t know what they actually do for your body, but they’re a hell of a wake-up call based on flavor alone,” she said. “I remember my roommate in college used to take a shot of vodka to cure a hangover based on that same logic. System shock. It worked, too.”

[stevieed]

“I like your way of thinking. I’m going to remember that one,” Jin laughed. “You know, I gotta admit, I was a little tempted to do just that, but thank God I didn’t. I don’t think I know what that is…what’s a Teddy Ruxpin?”

“Well, once you go full-geezer I don’t think you ever go back. I’ve been trying to avoid it, but the older I... the harder it is to resist,” she said with a grin, mostly joking. “Ah, right, you’re definitely a little young to know that one-- Teddy Ruxpin was this talking teddy bear that was a big thing in the eighties. It had a tape deck built into it and it would read stories out loud. I was pretty obsessed.”

[stevieed]

“Have you ever used this app?” Devyn asked the person beside her, flashing her tinder profile to the patron. “I’ve been on it for a week because I’m too busy and I’ve received a total of ten dick picks and enough pick up lines to last me a lifetime. How hard is it to find someone to kiss on New-Years.” Too hard, especially with the busy schedule she had now that she had begun to model. “Any suggestions?” 

Stevie looked up from her own phone when the woman beside her flipped hers around, peering at the screen. She’d never been one for dating apps or websites, but she’d heard her fair share of horror stories-- mostly involving dick pics. “No, I’ve never used it. Everyone that asks me about tinder hates it,” she said with a little laugh. At the request for suggestions, she shrugged. “God, I’m the worst person to ask, honestly. I haven’t even been on a date in, what, a year? Year and a half, maybe? I don’t know anything anymore.”

[stevieed]

“Chocolate chip. Always.” Sarah answered without any hesitation – not only she loved chocolate, she also hated banana, so the answer was easy. “No thank you. Both of them sound awful. Especially green smoothie. I can’t believe people actually enjoy drinking that.”

Stevie handed Sarah the chocolate chip muffin, happily keeping the banana for herself, and took a seat opposite her friend. “I don’t think anyone enjoys them,” she said as she began peeling the paper liner from the muffin. “I’ve had a couple for hangovers, though, and they do work some sort of evil, kale-based magic.”

[stevieed]

“I don’t want to sound like an old geezer but jeez, technology these days…I literally just saw a kid walk into a tree because he was looking down at his phone playing some game and I’m pretty sure he was like 7. His mom didn’t even stop him because she was also on her phone.”

“I’d say you’re less old geezer and more... concerned citizen,” Stevie offered with a chuckle. “To really achieve the full geezer, you have to talk about what life was like back in your day. For example, back in my day, I was distracting myself with a Teddy Ruxpin when I walked into trees.”