Author's Note:
This is my entry in the 2019 Geek Pride event. All characters in this story are made up, although I did meet a real-life woman that was the inspiration for Jade. I love meeting fellow nerds, and love that only a few people on the planet understand me when I start talking about tech. This is my hat-tip to all the nerds out there, male or female!
There are some technical details in the story that are not critical to understand, other than it's the stuff that nerds like me talk about. The in-game chatter will all be denoted by who sent the chat message.
Huge thanks to Guinahart and SBrooks103x for their assistance with editing and opinions, I value them very much. Also, I think I somehow forgot to mention their assistance for my last story, "The Van Guys." They deserve credit for spending their personal time reviewing these, so they get double mention this time. Thanks again and sorry!
Disclaimers:
It's probably too long. I probably don't know how to spell very well. Somewhere, a story like this one has likely already been told. If for some reason you make it to the end and still don't like it, I will gladly give you a refund.
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"Did you bring your notebook?" James asked.
"Of course," Tanya responded, leaning over the center console to kiss her boyfriend.
The kiss morphed into fiery passion, only to be interrupted by a knock on the driver's side window. The two broke apart, holding each other and panting for breath.
"Get a room!" hollered their detractor.
"Fucking Howard," James muttered.
"Hey, that's my Grandpa you're cursing about. That's my job," winked the beautiful red-head.
The happy couple exited the car, walking down the beach boardwalk to get to the Beach Bum. Since purchasing the place, James and his girlfriend made an appearance at least twice a week, and always on Tuesdays.
Every other Tuesday, Tanya would sit on a stool and read a story for the crowd. It became so popular, they'd opened the other available Tuesday nights for other customers to read to the crowd. Tuesday was now dedicated as story night.
As they moved into the bar and sat at their usual table, Tanya looked around at the assembled group. Most of her local family was already there, along with at least a dozen of their regular customers and a few tourists mixed in. She spotted Howard, Shawn, Tammy and her daughter April, Tammy's sister Sandy and her husband Gary, and James' daughter Madison and her wife Sarah. Sandy, Gary, Madison and Sarah were all visiting on vacation.
"Hey, you two lovebirds," Tanya said, smiling as she approached Tammy's sister and her husband.
"I can't help it, this hunk won't let me go," Sandy replied.
"Don't worry, we'll keep it PG," Gary added, smiling also.
Tanya was very happy for them. Tammy's sister had recently gone through a truly tough time, and Tanya was thankful that they seemed to be patching things up. After Sandy had come clean about her affair and ongoing blackmail, Tammy had worried that they'd get a divorce. That was a long story that she didn't want to continue thinking about right then.
"Your usual?" the bartender asked them.
"Yeah, sounds good, Kelly," Tanya replied.
"Same for me, thanks Kelly," James added.
As the black-haired woman walked away, the pair chuckled. "I keep expecting to just have the drinks on the table for us already," James remarked.
"Right?" the gorgeous red-head replied.
"So, which story have you picked? I know you were trying to decide between two," James asked.
"I think I've finally decided."
The beautiful actress cleared her throat, hearing Howard mutter, "Get on with it." She cleared her throat again and began.
"I want to thank everyone for coming tonight, well, everyone that's here voluntarily anyhow," she said to the chuckling crowd. "As I've said before, these stories are made up, based on people I've seen in my life. I find it very interesting to make up stories about other people's lives, and you guys get to hear about them every other Tuesday. This one is a bit racier than my usual, but I think it's still appropriate for April.
"I ran into this woman about a year ago while on some promotional event in Portland. During a break, I saw this very different looking woman with an extremely handsome man. She was as tall as he was, but skinny, where he looked like he worked out at a gym daily. She had this multi-colored hair that looked so different, and she was almost a complete opposite to the hunk that was hugging her from behind.
"I tried not to judge her, but I found myself staring and wondering how those two could possibly have come to be a couple. Of course, that got my imagination to start creating that story for them. I call this story,
Nothing in Common
."
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Jade snorted.
She did that a lot. She snorted when she laughed, and sometimes she even snorted when she cried. That snort was what made her so unique, at least that's what her dad had told her throughout most of her childhood. That, and he used to tell her that she could be whatever she wanted to be in life. He always encouraged her to push harder, to do more, and to just be the best person she could. As a retired Army Command Sergeant Major, he had always been her biggest supporter.
"Jade, you are so much smarter than anyone else in this family. You will do so many great things in your life. I'm so proud of you," he had often said to her.
As she sat, staring out the window, she longed for those days. Jade thought about the last time she'd seen him alive, and a tear rolled down her cheek. It had been five years since his death, and still she wept for his passing. He had been her inspiration for everything she'd done, as well as the voice inside her head.
She shook her head. "No. I'm not going to cry anymore," she said in defiance.
Jade pet her cat, Rufus, before standing to stretch. She stood howling loudly as her muscles all complained at once. Rufus jumped away, startled by the sudden noise.
"Wuss," she commented as she completed her stretch, laughing at her own joke and snorting in the process. She loved her furry pal and ruffled him behind the ears after her comment. "You know I love you, right?"
He gave her a look that she knew well, before walking tall and mighty towards his water bowl. She laughed again at her companion, before deciding it was time. She had to finish getting ready for her first real date since her divorce. The only reason she had agreed to go out with the guy was because her mother had pushed her to go. Jade had argued against it, but her mother was better at being stubborn.
"Jade, you can't keep hiding," she'd told her daughter, for the thousandth time. "I'm sorry that asshole was ever a part of your life, but he's moved on. It's time you do too."
Pushing up her glasses she'd replied, "I know, Mom. I get it, and you're right. It's just this time, well..."
"Don't you dare say it. Jade Ann Dawson, you will not tell me that you'd rather not," she scolded her daughter.
"...I'd rather not," Jade said, with a smirk.
