remy-reinhardt

[remy-reinhardt]

continued from here @baileylxghtfoot

"Yeah... Maybe you're right," he said as he scratched his head. "It's been kind of boring here anyway... Still," his head tilted to the side. "Y'know, I haven't been to a party in such a long time, and... And I came here almost hoping something would be different, y'know?" The few interactions he had so far had been complete disasters. He knew he was sort of awkward with new people, but this had been so much worse than he had expected.

The only way to improve, as Emile had told him more than a handful of times already, was to keep practicing. But how long until he didn't feel like a newly arrived alien to Earth?

"Hey --hey --hey!" Remy quickly cried, pulling his cup back to him, dropping the few droplets that were still in there. "I'll be the judge of that, okay? What are you, my dad?"

[remy-reinhardt]

[ 10. ] sender finds receiver drunk at a party, sighing. "let’s get you home." (Bailey)

"Huh?" Remy frowned as he pulled out the phone and checked the time. "It's... It's still early..."

For once he had gotten into a party. He remembered far too late that he wasn't exactly a party person, or at least, that these types of parties weren't really what he enjoyed. His only acquaintance, a younger cousin that needed someone old enough to chaperone them, had wandered off to talk to their own friends. Remy was left hanging around, trying to find any familiar faces in the pretty eclectic crowd.

After no such luck, he ended up staying by the drinks table, refilling his cup, glancing at every way to see if anyone else was alone and he could maybe strike a conversation. Everyone seemed to be along with someone else. Remy finished his cup and sighed. He was feeling a bit dizzy, and considered heading home. But he was tired of always going to parties just to leave so quickly, so he told himself to hang on there for at least half an hour more, see what happened.

Finally, a familiar face popped by at the weirdest time. "Bailey...? When did you get here?" he blinked.

@baileylxghtfoot

[remy-reinhardt]

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Remy felt a little relieved when Bailey laughed and dismissed the problem, and even chuckled when he patted him on the shoulder. "Thanks, man."

Remy nodded. He liked to see himself as someone with street smarts, too. It was a pity that he actually knew what street smarts looked like, from watching his father and the rest of his family. In comparison, Remy felt he still had a very long way to go. "Well... Life experience is what matters, right?" A diploma was nice and all, and it could help you get far, or so Remy had been told. But if one was not quick-thinking, and sharp, and alert, there was a limit to how far one could go.

"I hope so. I... I think it will," Remy said, daring to be optimistic. "I mean... Do you have anything you're still unsure about?" He didn't think so, but just in case, he found it important to ask. Just judging by Bailey's apparent interest, he would say he was pretty into the idea of this apartment.

Bailey could see the thoughts in Remy's head spiraling, and he wanted to reassure him that he wasn't going to take advantage of him or his kindness. "Dude, chill, it's okay," he laughed. "You cook, I'll clean. You can do groceries, because you'll know what you need in order to cook, and I'll handle the bills. Besides, I did it for my mother all of the time, it's old news to me," he smiled, patting the other on the shoulder.

"I might not be super smart but I have a lot of life experience. Street smarts, as they say. I think everything will work out great."

[remy-reinhardt]

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"Coffee sounds nice," Remy said on the phone, stifling a little yawn as he stepped out and walked to the side of the road. He was admittedly tired after a day of work, and hoped some coffee and some loud music would get wake him up enough to enjoy the night out with his friend.

He took a deep breath. It had been indeed quite a while since he went out, for anything. Last time, Remy had gone to a bar to see what that was all about. He ended up getting bored out of his mind, wondering if he could manage to catch a movie or something on TV when he got home.

"Hey, you sure you got enough music for the trip?" he asked Misty. "It's a full hour, after all."

" Hopefully some day I'll play all over, but this isn't a bad place to debut some of my new songs.” Misty proclaimed in a dreamy tone hoping to manifest A successful music career.

“I’ll call you when I’m leaving so we can head out.”

3 Days later

Misty tells her Bluetooth in her car to call Remy, once he answered she said "hey Remy, if my gps is working it says I’m like 10 minutes away. I'm stopping for a coffee, what would you like to drink?"

[remy-reinhardt]

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"Yeah... I think that's all..." he said, a bit unsure. Pets, cohabitation, rent... There had to be something else. Remy quickly leafed through the folder once more, but it seemed like everything was there...

"Right! I knew I was missing something." And an important something at that. Thank God Bailey was paying attention. "I can clean some stuff too, and do the grocery shopping, if you'd like, and cook. That's what I do at my father's house, and I actually like doing these things... But I've never been the best at budgeting and tracking bills and... I'd rather you do it, if you don't mind. Or, I mean, I can try..." He didn't want to give the impression he wasn't willing to put in the work. This was something Remy wanted more than anything he had wanted in a long time, and if that meant doing all the chores, so be it. "I can do it."

"Oh, sweet," Bailey replied, taking the copy. "So that's that, then?" It seemed like they were both on the same page, anyway. "But yeah, my brother goes to the college. He's kind of a loner, but he's a good kid. Smart as hell, too."

Everyone had their likes and dislikes, so Bailey didn't judge. He could live without having a bunch of pets. "Oh really? That's awesome! I mean, I know how to cook, but I'm no professional. But that reminds me, how do you feel about splitting household responsibilities?" That was a very important question for two people who were planning on living together.

"I could do the cleaning, if you want. And then we could like, split the other stuff like grocery shopping and tracking bills and stuff."

[remy-reinhardt]

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The 'we' did not go unnoticed. Remy smiled a bit. "Sounds good. Yeah, I... I'll probably leave it all to you, to be honest." Almost all the books he ever read were from the town library anyway, or lent to him by neighbors and family. Now that he thought of it, he did have an old, illustrated children's storybook he had stolen from the library when he was five or six, the one that made him feel guilty for not returning it and even more scared about facing the stern librarian's wrath. It was probably just gathering dust in the bottom of the wardrobe.

"Okay, the wooden thingies," he nodded, searching for them in the little plastic bags that came with the planks, pushing down the urge to groan at the chaos he had been causing during the construction of what, to him, didn't quite look right yet. "Uh... Here, here's one... And the other." Remy could follow instructions, if he put his pride to the side for a moment and thought of the greater good.

Bailey grabbed a hold of the directions and started reading. After a few minutes, he thought that he knew where they had gone wrong. "I have a lot of comic books, but I also like to use bookshelves for games. You know, DnD stuff, board games, things like that. For when we have game nights."

Yes, he said we. He was determined to include Remy in his plans every now and then. "Okay, see that piece right there?" he pointed, looking up from the directions. "That's gonna go upright on the bottom shelf. There should be two little dowels -the wooden thingies- that go into two holes up top."

[remy-reinhardt]

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It had been a while since he had gotten so worked up about something, especially something so small and stupid. Remy liked to think he was better than that... He just hoped Bailey didn't form a definitive opinion of him out of that outburst.

He sat back down on the floor, picked the little assembly instructions, gave them a look, and handed them to Bailey. "Ah... I guess that... Makes some sense?" Some kind of modern avant-garde design? Or just pure practicality? Remy decided he would let Bailey apply some of his own logic and intuition to the building of this wretched thing. Two heads were supposed to be better than one, after all.

"... You got a lot of books?" he asked Bailey. "It's not that I'm questioning why we need to have a bookshelf in the first place... I just --I'm thinking I just don't have that many books myself to bring." Remy really had very few things to bring all the way from his father's house, which, in a sense, was a relief.

It was only slightly scary, watching Remy react to this job in such a frustrated manner. He understood why he was frustrated of course, and it was very overwhelming when things weren't working out, and you're trying to decipher things at the same time. But to unravel mentally over a bookshelf? It didn't seem worth it.

"It's alright man," Bailey chuckled, running a hand through his hair. "Well, can I see the picture? Sometimes, bookshelves aren't built uniformly. They tend to do this because not all books are the same size."

[remy-reinhardt]

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Remy almost took offense to Bailey saying it was not 'riveting' --but sure, to each their own. He assembled all the documents and put them back into the folder. "This is for you, by the way... I already got my copy." From the look of it, it seemed like it was basically a done deal.

"Ah, you got a brother?" he asked. "I do too. He might come visit every once in a while..." Well, Remy was willing to invite him over, for sure. He didn't know if Emile would have the time to wait so long for the bus to come from the outskirts of Redwood to the town center just to pay his brother a short visit, though. Remy hoped he did.

"Hm, I'm just not an animal person," he admitted, fidgeting a little with his fingernails. "But yeah, those types of animals... They're certainly cool looking." What was a bearded dragon? Some sort of big lizard? Could lizards even have hair?

"I cook," Remy said simply. There was no beating around the bush there. "I cook, and it's kind of my whole deal. I... I really love it, it gets me focused, it gets me this sense of... Of accomplishment, it's..." Well, Bailey didn't need a philosophical treatise on why he liked doing what he did. "It's about the only thing I know how to do... And I think I do it quite well, if I may say so myself."

Bailey took a ring out of his pocket and began to mess with it during their conversation. It was mostly an absentminded thing, but it helped him focus. “I’d say that counts. I mean it’s not the most riveting thing you could watch but everyone has their preferences.”

Whenever he could convert someone to playing DnD, it gave him a bit of an ego boost. It was especially fun to try and teach new players. “Don’t worry, I’m a good teacher. If I could teach my brother Ian how to play, I can teach anyone.” He loved his brother to death, but boy could that kid be a stick in the mud.

“No, but I’ve sort of always wanted a bearded dragon; those things look cool. What about you? Also, what kinds of hobbies are you into?”

[remy-reinhardt]

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Remy huffed. "Why would I pay for someone to assemble something I've already paid money for?" he asked with a quick rough hand gesture, a bit to Bailey, a bit to himself. Because he understood why (it would certainly make it a lot easier, to let someone else shoulder the burden of the honestly incomprehensible instructions). But Remy wasn't one to back down from a challenge, and his father didn't raise no quitter.

He stood up, hands on his hips, and thought for a moment. Then he actually looked down and saw the mess of pieces, wood and packaging by his feet, and realized just how loud he had just spoken.

"... Sorry," he mumbled, having surprised himself. "But, y'know, I think we're on the right track. I mean, it's in the general shape of a bookshelf," Remy gestured at the sort-of rectangular box they had more or less assembled. "I just... I just don't get why the wood planks for the shelves seem to be all different sizes, to be quite honest."

Bailey had never put together a bookshelf before, but even he was pretty sure that's not how one was supposed to look. Watching Remy attempt to read these directions and still somehow get it wrong was painful, he had to admit, but there was also something amusing about the whole thing.

"Uh... I don't think that piece goes there. Are you sure you don't wanna call someone to assemble this?"

@remy-reinhardt

[remy-reinhardt]

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Remy paid attention to follow what Misty was telling him. "... Comfy shoes, got it," he said with a nod. Not that she really needed to tell him. He wore the same comfy pair of sturdy sneakers every day anyway, so he wouldn't really need to change.

"You'll really play there?" he asked with a smile. "Well, don't forget to invite me. I feel it's been ages since I've seen you play." Truthfully, it hadn't been that long ago since they reconnected. And with how busy Remy was with his job at the bakery, they barely had any time to meet. It was still a funny surprise to him, how quickly Misty went back to being his friend, as if the years hadn't passed them by.

" Well my parents met there forever ago and they were close with Tom, well Tom's son now runs the place. I was able to get the table based on that. I also promised him I'd come play soon. We do have a table but wear comfy shoes, there's a five minute walk back to the hotel. I cannot wait, this is going to be amazing.” She said enthusiastically.

[remy-reinhardt]

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Remy actually laughed at his joke. Bailey was a funny one... Everything seemed to be going pretty well so far. He wasn't sure what he had been expecting in the first place, but Bailey was probably the best he could have even hoped for in a possible roommate.

"I did... Well, this will sound kind of... I don't know, nerdy? Very niche? But when I was little, I would watch Gusteau's cooking show reruns on TV with my Nana, until she fell asleep," he commented. He had a feeling Bailey wouldn't judge him too much for it. "So, that's sort of my equivalent of watching movies till dawn."

Remy took a deep breath, closed his eyes and nodded. He certainly could use something to distract himself from everyday stress. Something like a hobby --a hobby that, for once, didn't keep him isolated in a kitchen. "That sounds pretty good, actually. I barely remember anything from back when I first played it, though, so... Be patient with me." He was in sore need of some type of hobby that at the very least had him interacting with others. There were times when, if Emile was hanging out with his own friends and his father was visiting family, Remy would only speak with Terence for the whole day. Not that he minded it too much --but it surely didn't do any favors to his already rather lacking people skills.

"Uh... Yes. Any pets?" he asked Bailey. "I, uh... I don't have any issues with smaller animals, like lizards and hamsters and birds and stuff... But cats and dogs, I'm just not a fan."

Bailey's eyes lit up a bit, excited to talk about music. "Well, I mainly play guitar, but I can also play bass, and sort of piano. And I mean I can play piano in the way that most people can balance on one foot; not often, and a little shaky, but doable," he laughed.

"Really? Well, I won't push it, but we gotta at least try it out one night. Maybe not until 3am, but I bet I could get you to like movies." If it was a classic, Bailey was convinced he could put him on. "Yeah, that's a thing, Druids are pretty cool. I like playing fighters, mostly, but I'm not opposed to a good bard if the mood takes me," he joked. "If you want, I could teach you. It's a good hobby to take your mind off of real world problems for a bit."

"Anyway, is there anything else you'd like to know?"

[remy-reinhardt]

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Remy chuckled. Even as he had no idea who these bands were, Misty's excitement was pretty contagious. "Tacos, sounds good." An hour ride sounded a bit much, but Sunday was his day off, so he had the whole night free and could sleep in till late. He had a feeling the night out would end up leaving him rather drained.

"'Tortured poet', sounds okay too." Of course, his little brother had gone through an angsty teenager phase, writing sad poetry and strumming his guitar after his first heartbreak. Remy imagined something like a more polished version of that. "Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties... Sounds more like a jazz thing, but if you say folk rock, I'll believe you." He kicked off his shoes and threw himself on the bed. His arms were still just a little bit sore from all the kneading he had to do that day, though it definitely hurt much less than how it did when he was just starting work at the bakery.

"A hotel suite, how fancy," Remy laughed. He had never been at a hotel before. A family friend who had travelled with his rich executive-type boyfriend had told him about room service, about one's own choice of pillows, about a bathroom connected directly to the bedroom. It all sounded like the sort of comforts Remy would fantasize about having once he became successful, travelling from one place to another. It was nice of Misty to invite him to experience that beforehand.

"Wait, what do you mean you know one of the owners?" he asked. "Like, the owner of the venue?"

“ Awesome, I have it all taken care of, tickets and transportation as well as a little taco shop near the venue with the BEST Birria tacos. I figure I’ll come get you at 4, u it’s an hour ride. Get some food and get in. There’s 3 bands playing. I only know one of the owners and the headliner. It’s folk rock type vibe, think tortured poet. Roe Kapara opens up, then the other band, then Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties go on at 10.” Misty gushed, she hasn't been able to see any shows since moving. "Got a two bedroom hotel suite for the night so we won't have to drive home late. I could make you a playlist of the bands.”

She could practically feel the electricity crackling inside her, being able to see her favorite indie artist was a rush. The fact that she was going with her oldest friend only multiplied her excitement.

[remy-reinhardt]

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"Great... Great," Remy nodded. "Ah, really? What do you play?" He wished he knew how to play an instrument. Emile had taught him how to play guitar a bit, but he wasn't anywhere as good as his little brother. Half of his family was pretty musically talented, and Remy suspected he simply wasn't part of that half.

Remy smiled, and decided he liked Bailey. Of course, anyone who seemed so willing to give him his space was going to be someone Remy liked. "Good to know. Though I don't think I'll be watching movies till 3am any time soon, I'm not that big on movies," he admitted. Movies, and TV series, and internet memes and whatnot, were not something he was ever interested in, often being so busy: that probably explained why he missed a lot of media references and jokes. He was like an old man in that sense.

"Uh... Yeah, I've heard of it," he replied with a shrug. "A cousin of mine really likes it, I've played it with him once or twice when I was babysitting him." It had felt to him like Dungeons and Dragons had a lot more rules than something like Monopoly, but it might just had been that the cousin was too excited about him joining to explain it properly. "I was a... Druid, I think? That's a thing, right?" He had promised his cousin to pass by and play more often, since, in the end, Remy did have fun. Then school exams and his second part-time job occupied all of his time, and his cousin ended up resenting him for not coming over, and not wanting to see him anymore. That must had been about ten years ago, perhaps even more. Remy wondered how that cousin was doing, and if he was still bitter about it.

Everything looked good to Bailey, then again he didn't know much more about this than Remy seemed to. However, everyone had to start somewhere, no? "Oh, right. Well, honestly I'm more of a night person, but I won't be too loud, don't wanna disrupt your schedule. I'm actually in a band, but most of the time we practice at my mom's house. I know, ironic huh?" he laughed, shaking his head.

"Honestly, I'm pretty go with the flow. If you want your space, I'll give it, if you wanna stay up and watch movies until 3am, I'm good with that too. You know, when you're not working," Bailey clarified. "Other than that, I play Dungeons and Dragons. You know it?" It didn't matter really if the other had heard of it, but he was curious to know the others interests.

[remy-reinhardt]

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Remy glanced up at Bailey every once in a while, and he was glad to see he was paying close attention. He was planning to give him the folder anyways, so he could pore over the info for as long as he needed (as long as he made a decision soon, that is).

"It's about $### each," he said. "But I think we can haggle a little bit." Considering the price of the other apartments Remy had been seeing, this wasn't expensive at all, especially since it was a two-bedroom. Most of the one-bedroom places he had seen during his house-hunt were tiny, which, while Remy could live in them without much trouble, he had to put his foot down regarding light, noise and a good enough kitchen. This apartment was perfect in that regard, and if all he needed to get it was to share it with someone else, he figured there would be no problem.

"Do you...? How do I put this --What's your usual schedule, to put it some way?" What Remy wanted to know was if he played loud music, if he watched action movies or played shooter games at night, if he invited people over all the time, that kind of stuff. None of these things were dealbreakers, per se, but he preferred to know them beforehand so as to spare himself any ugly surprises. "And, uh... I suppose I should ask you more about yourself," he said, once he stopped thinking about the apartment itself and focused more on the person sitting across him. "What do you do? I work at a bakery, so, early hours. I won't bother you though, I'm really quiet. You'll barely know I'm there."

Bailey nodded respectfully as Remy spoke, looking over the visuals carefully. His eyes scanned over the documents, getting a good look at what he was explaining. Everything seemed pretty great, he thought. It sounded like it had everything that a person could need to get started on their own. "Well that all sounds pretty good to me," he confessed, though he did want to take a few more minutes to poke through the documents.

"Not about the apartment, no, I don't think so. Well, aside from how much the rent is, because that's pretty important." Hopefully it wouldn't be crazy expensive for two people, but Bailey knew that he was going to have to start saving up and getting more serious. "Do you have any questions? For me, I guess?" he chuckled. Bailey was pretty easy going and could get along with almost anyone. Remy seemed like a decent guy, so he didn't think they'd have an issue.

[remy-reinhardt]

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Remy chuckled a bit awkwardly at Bailey's comment. "Well... I really want to see if I --if we can move in as soon as possible. It's a really good deal, and I'm just... Kinda nervous someone else gets it before I do," he admitted. "But of course, it all depends on what you think of it."

He took a deep breath and spread the photos, a diagram of the floor plan, and a little map with the apartment marked in red, on the table. Everything he had been given as info on what could be his next living space. "Okay, it's a two-bedroom, one bathroom place. Faces Rosemary Road, which, you know, it's close enough to the town center, so that means it's quite good location-wise. A Simple Wash is right next to it," Remy said as he pointed at the map and at the photos, basically citing what the real estate agent had told him. "It has central heating and, uh... A pretty nice kitchen, though on the smaller side. I checked it and doesn't seem to have any plumbing issues. I... Honestly, I don't have much experience with this."

Remy cleared his throat and patted the folder. "Here's everything, anyway. Do you have any questions?"

"Likewise," Bailey smiled. First impressions weren't everything, but he wanted to make sure he he gave a good one. The other seemed like a good person, from the vibes he got. Maybe a bit formal, but that wasn't a dealbreaker. "Forward, I like that," he joked, though he was being sincere.

Bailey glanced at the folder as he pulled it out, excited to know what it contained. "Sure, yeah. It sounds like you have a good idea of this sort of thing, so I'll let you take the lead."

[remy-reinhardt]

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"Um, I don't think I know this... Arista?" he said after trying to remember if he had ever heard the name before. Was she Jim's friend? A girlfriend? "Is she, like, famous in town?" Admittedly, Remy did not follow Redwood Hollow's news as closely as he should.

Remy smiled wider when Jim mentioned sailing, and then, when he said Dungeons and Dragons, he had to stifle a laugh. Not a mocking laugh, just that Jim was just, potentially, one of the most interesting people he had met. His family was comprised of colorful characters, but Jim was something else. An artist, a sailor, a (respectfully) RPG geek... Every time he talked to him, Remy felt like there were more and more layers to uncover.

"What I'm into?" he chuckled. Well, there was really only one answer to that. "I'm a very boring person. I just cook. It's... It's kind of my life, really. It's all I like to do, all I think about." Remy immediately regretted telling him this. One thing was being humble, another was admitting outright he was a single-minded weirdo. "... Though, I'm trying to get back into reading, too. Used to love reading as a kid..." But then he spent years trying to get accepted by the other children, and that meant joining them at their games even when he would rather stay home with a good book.

Jim shook his head.

"Nah, I don't believe in that stuff either. Wish I did though, sounds like a lot of fun. But Arista is into all of that and she's chill. Maybe one day she'll give me a tarot reading that convinces me it's real. It's always fun to get a reading from her, you should ask her for one some time."

Jim smiled proudly at Remy's compliment.

"Thanks man," Jim said. "Drawing's just about my favorite thing to do after sailing. Dungeons and Dragons is somewhere up there too...."

Jim looked at Remy.

"I think it's fun you know, just to get out that creativity. And you get to see yourself get better at it, the more you try....what about you though? Not into crystals...not that interested in art...so what are you into?"

[remy-reinhardt]

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Remy had found a nice little place not too far from the town center, not too far from Terence's bakery. Surprisingly, it wasn't as expensive as he imagined it would be, and it had plenty of light, was close to a good grocery store and to a laundromat. It wasn't super roomy, but it could house two persons comfortably, and it faced a street so that meant it had lots of natural light. His father's house had always been rather dark, so this was definitely a welcome change.

Really, it was a great place, and Remy was, admittedly, in a bit of a hurry to get it before someone else snatched it. Unless this guy was extremely particular, he didn't see why he wouldn't be potentially excited about this opportunity.

"Good, good," he nodded, shaking his hand. "Remy, Reinhardt. Nice to meet you." Was he being too formal? If Bailey's offer was good, then they would end up seeing quite a bit of each other, every day. "Well, let's get right to it, shall we?" he said, setting the folder with all the information on the apartment he managed to gather on the little park table.

Bailey had been convincing his mother for years now that she needed him to stay because he helped out around the house and assisted her with the bills. Without the boys around, their mom would have no one to cut the grass, protect the house, do the "manly" things that a husband or son would normally do. Not that he wouldn't still come over and help anyway, but branching out on his own meant he'd likely have less time for that. That's what he tried to tell her, anyway. But truthfully... he was the one that was scared to leave.

Even though their father had long since passed, and his mother had seemingly gotten over the grieving, Bailey always feared that the day he or his brother left home, well... it would break her heart all over again, and she would be lonely, what with the empty nest syndrome and all. However, he recognized too that eventually he would need to start living his own life, and after a long talk with his mother, she encouraged him to start doing just that. The first place to start, of course, was moving out. So when he saw that there were roommate wanted signs all around Redwood Hollow, he figured he would answer the call.

"Not too bad," he answered, with a smile as he sat to join the other. "Yourself? Bailey," the man introduced himself, offering a handshake.