Flimsy as her short, satiny robe was, Claire was glad she had grabbed it before her shower. Dee's mother was waiting to use the bathroom when she opened the door, and a towel, or (shudder) nothing would have felt even less adequate. She had not been known for her modesty at their old place. But this was not their old place.
"Oh, I'm sorry Mrs. Beck." Squeaked Claire. "If i'd have known you were waiting..."
"Ellen, Claire. Best get used to calling me Ellen." The older woman gave a genuine smile. "And it's fine. Just some touch ups and a pit stop before work." She was, indeed already dressed in her scrubs. "I knew there would be some adjustments to make and planned accordingly."
Adjustments. Right. "Still, if I'm in your way, don't be afraid to pound on the door."
'Ellen' smirked. "You have met my daughter, right? Remember; *she takes after *me. If I'm unhappy, you'll be made aware."
"That is only a little terrifying."
"I know current circumstances aren't the best, but you are welcome here. Both of you." Ellen smiled again. "We'll be tripping over each other until we get a rhythm down, but we'll work it out."
"Yeah. Yeah we will." said Claire, resisting the ridiculous urge to flee from this gentle woman down the hall to the room she and Dee were sharing. Her girlfriend's childhood room. In the same house as her mother. "I know I'm a little stand-offish. I don't mean to be but..."
"New place. New roommate." Ellen smirked again. "Living with you significant other's mother..."
"Yes. That." Claire grinned weakly. "It's a little awkward, but I do appreciate you making room for me. Us."
"Well I'm not going to turn away my own daughter. And the two of you are a package deal now so..."Ellen slipped into the bathroom. "We'll work on it." She added closing the door.
Claire felt her body relax. 'Ellen' was a delightful human being. They'd gotten along right from the start; so different from her own mother. But that was when they had their own place. Money had been tight, but they made enough to get by. Everything had been just shy of heaven until their troll of a landlady discovered that they were 'living in sin' in her building. Multiple layers of sin, turned out, and they were evicted. It had happened so fast, it couldn't have been legal, but they didn't even know how to fight it.
So with few options, Dee had called her mother. Claire's own family had a much bigger house, but were much less decent people. They might have let Claire come back (might) but Dee would have been out of the question. And the bad housing market combine with the time table had severely limited finding a new place. Even with more time, they'd been scraping to make the rent on their old place some months.
Claire made it back to her room and closed the door. She didn't get dressed right away, but she didn't shed her robe either. Adjustments. The room was empty anyway. Dee had gotten up early to work on something. She'd been furious at the 'troll woman' but this was her old home and she had slipped back into it easily. She loved having a larger kitchen, a basement, yard and garage. She was most certainly in one of those place. Claire would go search her out... once her mother left.
She sat on the bed, knees clamped together. She was uncomfortable here; not because of anything either of her housemates had said or done, but because of things that maybe they didn't say. She did not want to cause 'Ellen' any inconvenience in her own home. Like taking to long in the bathroom. Or playing music to loud. Or maybe sometimes not wearing enough clothes... She felt like she was walking on eggshells, whether or not she actually was.
Her eyes fell on the boxes they had yet to unpack. Lots of their things had to go into storage, but her computer setup had to come with. She had no idea what to do with it here, however, so packed it remained. There were corners she could probably set it up in, but she mostly used it for streaming; a small supplement to her income. But she had to find a place she wouldn't bother anyone doing it. That, and 'Ellen's' internet was not exactly the best.
She was startled from her thoughts as her phone rang. Actually rang, as in someone actually calling. Not a text or a messenger alert; a real voice call. That was weird, especially so early in the morning. She rarely got calls anymore. She blinked, taken aback before she shook herself out of it and reached for the nightstand to answer it. "Hello?"
"There she is!" Dee's voice came through the device. "Hey babe! You up yet? Did I wake you?"
"Up and showered." She replied. "Saw your mom in the hall, thanked her for putting up with me. Where'd you get to so early?"
"The garage. Working on those old chairs." Dee said. "Had mom's car pulled out to make room and just saw her leave. You don't need to worry about her. She likes you."
"So she says" Claire sighed. "And I like her. It's just... new. So what's up? You haven't called me in, like, ever. It's always been texts or shouting."
"I was gonna see if you'd come out to the garage." Dee said. "I could use... a hand... with something."
"I guess." said Claire. "What do you need? I'm not going to get dirty am I? I did just take a shower..."
"Uh, no. I don't think..." Dee stammered. "No, uh sorry, no. You should be fine. She you in a bit." Claire could hear Dee curse under her breath and fumble with her phone before she hung up.
Claire blinked again. That was several shades of strange for Dee. Calling, and stammering? And hanging up so abruptly? Part of the reason she didn't call, was that she was a talker, and would stretch out conversations. She stood, looking around for clothes before glancing down at her robe. It was brief, but it covered all the important stuff. She smirked to herself. The garage was not connected, but it wasn't far. As long as she wasn't going to get dirty, it would do fine. And Dee might get a kick out of her coming out in so little.
She left the room and headed down stairs, realizing as she did, she would have to be careful with the stairs and this robe when Ellen was home lest she flash Dee's mom. She slipped on some sandals at the back door and went outside. The garage was actually only eight or ten feet from the house. There was a passage door right near the portal she came out, but she bypassed it and went a little further around to the front where the main door was standing open.
Dee was standing inside, leaning on the trunk of her can, propped on her left arm while her right held her cell, her ankles crossed. She was wearing a set of coveralls, though they'd been shrugged off her shoulders, the sleeves tied around her waste. Underneath was only a black tube-top like sports bra. A pair of work boots complete the ensemble.
