samfitz

[samfitz]

"Nah, I get it," Sam said with a nod. "You ever try the Gobbler? I'm kinda hyped for it to come back, I really can't lie." For someone who never cooked Thanksgiving meals for himself if he was going it alone, that was the perfect sub to have around then. "Yeah, he's just a walking collection of red flags," Sam said, tipping his beer back. At the end of the day, it was a little funny. Even if it wasn't funny. "I'll ask him where my money is?" he replied when asked what he'd do. "Might be a fucking lost cause at this point but...that's probably the last time I'm doing that." Lessons learned, and all that.

This is it, the shit she needed to take note of in order for her to have a food run when she's too bored to do anything indoors, and everything outdoors seems a little too taxing for her own good. A lot of “Mhm's” and “Uh-huh”'s are said, up until the mention of Wawa. “I think I had a weird phase where I always wanted their hoagies whenever I went on a road trip.” She's squinting at that, because why did that even happen?

Chi didn't mind the venting. Everyone goes through shit, gotta let it out somewhere, was the mentality she worked on. Her “somewhere” though is just the podcast. “I think the second someone says they're ‘good for it’, it's a red flag. Don't worry, karma and stuff. Guy probably got enough karma with the hairstyle.” That last bit is muttered under her breath, because full on shittalking is for another day. “What are you gonna do when you see him again? Kinda nosy.”

[samfitz]

Asbury Lanes was usually a fun time but tonight it looked especially cool, all of the venue glowing under UV blue-and-purple lights. Sam didn't dress in a costume, he considered himself too old for that kind of thing at his big age, but he did wear his oversized, black Korn hoodie that had the voodoo doll from the Issues cover on the back of it. That was sort of festive. "Whatever you say, Queen of spooky," Sam said half jokingly, his hands buried into the front pocket of it. He stepped up to the plate since Daphne didn't seem to want to go first. "Yeah I will. Fair warning," he shot right back, "I'm ridiculously good at this. Like, bowling league good. And I don't go easy on people just because they might be rookies." Too bad they were only giving prizes for best costumes and not games won, they could've had something on their hands.

for: open location: asbury lanes, halloween bowling night

Daphne lived for the Halloween season. In fact, in October, she felt the most alive around this time. Normally she would try to binge watch as many horror movies as she could squeeze into the month and attend any haunt houses that pop up. This year, she was determined to hit up as many of the events around Asbury Park as she could manage to get to. Tonight happened to be Halloween Bowling Night at Asbury Lanes. "Now, fair warning, the real horror of tonight is going to be watching me bowl. I'm not the best at bowling," she warned, giving a guilty grin. While she didn't come dressed up in a costume tonight, she was wearing her glow in the dark hoodie. "Do you want to go up first? Spare me a couple more minutes before embarrassment."

[samfitz]

"Not at all," Sam said. He was not above dating moms, in fact as far he was concerned he preferred the older ladies than ones his age or younger. "Yeah he's in for sure. Nah, he doesn't know I asked you. Why?" Did CJ have beef with Petey that he didn't know about?

"— once emo always emo yeah?" CJ answered with shrug. "Somethin' wrong with moms?" He asked, rhetorically so, and at Sam's plans he lifted his to-go'sy drink to. The boardwalk wasn't as crowded as usual, the last dregs of city folk getting their last weekends in. "Sounds bangin. Might pop in for lobster roll myself beforehand if that's cool, uh, about Petey, he say he was in for sure? He know you're askin' me?"

[samfitz]

"Kinda, yeah. Not a lot of suits around here," Sam said, with the faintest hint of a smirk on his face as he smoked. He stood downwind, so his cigarette smoke didn't hit the stranger. That would just be plain rude. He waved his hands when the guy said there was no need to get suspicious. "I got time. Waiting for a delivery but I guess I'll be waiting some time longer..." He was no benevolent samaritan, but he did feel guilty for immediately pegging the guy as trying to sell him some shit.

"It's the suit, isn't it?" Alex blurted out with a self-deprecating chuckle. In his defense, he had an important meeting earlier and clearly had no time to change. He glanced down at the suit, letting out a quiet sigh.

He knitted his brows at the blond’s question, totally caught off guard. “I was gonna ask you something, but nevermind. No need to get all suspicious."

[samfitz]

Sam contemplated what place would afford them a view of that the most. "Sit out on the boardwalk with a bottle of wine? Or Wonder Bar? We could always go to Eclipse..." It wasn't his scene much, he felt antsy in nightclubs somehow, but Hadley insisted he would tag along. "You call the shots, I'll provide the booze."

She smiled, but didn't needle Sam further about getting his money's worth. Her parent's had been the 'too busy fighting with each other to care if the cupboard was full' types, and then her time with her grandma generally involved lots of 'there are kids starving, clean your plate!!' Hadley understood all the little ways your childhood dynamics haunted your adulthood. " I....wanna people watch? Like...specifically find messy people to people watch."

[samfitz]

.. THE FITZSIMMONS

Henry Fitzsimmons (J.K. Simmons) — 62, chef/restaurateur and owner of Horizon Bar and Grill Dr. Luanne Fitzsimmons (Jodie Foster) — 59, clinical psychologist Alicia Fitzsimmons (Natalie Dormer) — 33, deputy chief of staff for Rep. Mikie Sherrill Samuel 'Sam' Fitzsimmons (Colson Baker) — 29, chef Isaac Fitzsimmons (Dane DeHaan) — 25, filmmaker

.. random headcanons

The Fitzsimmons lived in Philadelphia originally and Henry's side of the family comes entirely from Pennsylvania.

While searching for a place to open up a restaurant, the Jersey shore and specifically Asbury Park boardwalk was in need of reinvigorating, so Henry chose there to open his restaurant instead of in Philly.

Luanne used to be a marathon runner and has participated in the Boston Marathon.

Isaac graduated from film school at NYU Tisch, where Sam's ex also studied drama.

Alicia is mildly colorblind.

Henry and Luanne met at a bar in Philadelphia when they were 23 and 26, they hit it off after they discovered they'd both attended the same terrible scam musical.

Henry is a boat craftsman as a hobby and has built several fully functioning boats.

Sam was a contestant on Chopped when he was 21, he was the judges' favorite to win but producers arranged the runner up to win because his backstory was more emotional. He's still salty about it.

[samfitz]

"Yeah, if you want a good bite to eat at this hour, my recommendation is Pizza Town. Or Fresh Deli, if it's open. That place has the best pork roll. Or y'know, there's always a Wawa." He said this last part only sarcastically, tipping his beer back.

"Nah, he's not going anywhere," Sam shook his head, not entertaining that possibility. "Definitely avoiding me, though. He was all, bro, I'm good for it, I swear." And now, he needed that $200. Pretty urgently. "I guess that's on me for lending two Benjamins to fucking Froggy." He was full on venting and didn't even realize he was doing so, to a relative stranger.

“Crazy hairstyle and multiple names. I feel like I’m being told an urban legend.” Uzochi could work with this, honestly. Move away then mention this guy time and time again with a few pieces of misinformation to freak people out. Might be a little shitty to take from a place she so desparately wants to move out of, but she’ll feel bad about it another day. Plus, it’s just an idea.

In the middle of their conversation, Chi had fully scooted her body to face him, since originally she was only peeking off to the side. It was her just indirectly saying “Full attention is on you now”. “Avoiding the food, then. I don’t think it was on my mind in the first place, though, to be honest with you.” She replied, lip somewhat poked out. There’s certain places where her brain just goes “Food’s a maybe.”, no matter how hungry she is, and this is one of the places.

There was a quick “Thank you” at the compliment about her name, then her eyes immediately widened and fully focused at the concept of money. It wasn't supposed to be funny since she didn't play about her own money, but she couldn't help but laugh. “And he owes you money? Holy shit, that’s a third strike.” Red flags on red flags, to be honest. “If I see him, I’ll definitely let you know.” Snitch. 

As if the nosiness couldn't help but come out her mouth like bile, she kept speaking. “You think maybe he ran off? Avoiding you is always a possibility.” Because if she was in his shoes, she'd avoid everyone like the plague just to make sure that money was never brought up again. She's not forgetful though, so it has to be a what if for a reason.

[samfitz]

"Wow, you are so Top 40 Radio," Sam said, teasing a little. "So what are you into? Brat summer? The Espresso girl?" His coworker wouldn't shut up about brat summer. He was just about over it.

"Yeah, count me in," she answered with a shrug. "If anything, I can just get drunk since I don't think I'd know any of their songs. Like, if it hasn't been announced by Ryan Seacrest on the radio, the chances that I've listened to it are pretty slim to none."

[samfitz]

Sam laughed. "I guess you're better off waiting for when Morrissey rolls into town. I hear things get interesting." He spoke from personal experience, although even the Moz didn't top his craziest shows to date. There had been many of those, for varied reasons.

"Oh yeah, you are? What part of it?" Sam asked, intrigued. Cooper's quickie wedding had definitely raised his and Talia's brows, but meeting Nancy everything made sense. She was pretty and it must've been one of those quickie Vegas drunk moments, without the Vegas element. And at least they'd lasted longer than Mike and Julia had, that had been the most disastrous wedding and post-wedding of all time Sam had been privy to. "Uhh yeah, I worked at Marea for about a year... honestly I was working all the time so I'm not sure I took in all that the city had to offer. My, uh, ex would take me to like, off broadway plays and things though so I guess there's that." It was still weird calling Talia his ex, borderline felt dirty to bring her up now, somehow. He still didn't know how to navigate that whole thing.

"Well --" The high-pitched word was coupled with a very thoughtful expression, Nancy's head cocking in one direction while her eyes narrowed, imagining the colorful stage Sam had sent. "Y'know… if you told me that the singer was gonna be loaded and screaming obscenities at the crowd, I could kinda rock with it." She cracked a smile, letting out a wry chuckle while shaking her head. Was it obvious that she didn't attend concerts for the music?

Nancy's smile continued to grow, making the apples of her cheeks that much more prominent while humming, "Cute." Sometimes she missed Cooper. Not often, but he was far from the worst guy she'd wasted time with. She was sure that the moment she saw him again, every little annoyance would fly back in a rush -- she already felt stalked by his family simply existing in Asbury. "You were in New York, right? How'd you like living in a big city? That's where I'm from, y'know."

[samfitz]

"Hey, that was a lot of bass," Sam said, raising his brows to signal that Felipe shouldn't pooh-pooh the achievement. Sam himself had never been much of a fisherman, something about lacking the patience for it. After the third attempt and the bait not taking, he would usually give up on catching anything. "Dad said you had the soul of a fisherman — whatever that means — and he doesn't say those things lightly." When he thought of the two of them fishing together, Sam pictured scenes from The Lighthouse, which Talia made him go see when it had come out. "Uhh, depends. Not sure about Thanksgiving, but Christmas everyone's coming back I think... yeah. Isaac's in Arizona being a runner for some indie movie, and Alicia's slammed with work, as per usual." All the siblings were alike like that. But at least Alicia was in D.C. trying to singlehandedly save their shitshow of a government. Sam just made food.

"Haa,” he laughed dryly, “Maybe something from those shows stuck with me after all.”

Hearing Sam talk about his sister reminded Felipe of his own youngest sister, Cheli. Too many times he had to step up and be a mediator in between their sibling spats when she had said something that took it too far. It had to be some sort of universal experience when it came to families.

"Oh, man. That guy can tussle with the best of 'em. I still have a picture on my fridge of the time we went out and caught all that bass--not as impressive, admittedly..." It had been years ago when the elder Fitzsimmons had generously invited him on a fishing trip off the coast. He'd earned his sea legs that day. "You guys doing anything for the holiday season or is everyone pretty much doing their own thing?"

[samfitz]

"I fear that may be only one of his many names," Sam replied. "One of those." He'd gone to high school with a kid like that. He went by Jose, but also Rocket, Wombat Man, and Fart Destroyer, each nickname with its own lore behind it. And then there were guys like Sam, who everybody just knew as... Sam. Or Samuel if you were his mother in a particularly angry mood.

Sam managed to get the attention of the bar person on shift tonight (not Froggy), and before long he had a beer in his hand. He laughed through his nostrils as he settled on one of the bar stools, to keep talking to the girl. His mom loved to watch Kitchen Nightmares. "People don't exactly come here for a square meal, hence the iffy food. They just come here to get drunk off their face before they have to roll on home. And tourists come to see how the locals like to do it." The place oozed authentic Shore realness, so it had that going for it.

"Uzochi, that's a cool name," he commented. He never really knew what to do when presented with the option of a name and a nickname: did you use the name and be more formal, or the nickname and be more familiar, even if you didn't really know the person yet? He'd wing it like always.

"Yeah, I don't have any exciting names like Froggy. Or hair like his. Don't we all wish we could be that cool. Actually I came here cuz he owes me money, and it's been a few weeks too late and I'm getting a liiittle bit pissed." He wasn't sure why he shared all that with her, what was the need? But there it was. Taking another sip, he scanned the room with one eye, not noticing anybody he knew.

“I don't think I'd be able to sleep at night if I knew there was a nickname for me based on something I did while I was drunk.” To Chi, it'd definitely be one of those things where she's attempting to sleep, and then it randomly pops up in her head out of the blue to keep her up. Maybe a guy with a hairstyle like…Froggy's doesn't understand the concept of embarrassment though.

“Oh fuck. Frozen? I feel like Gordon right now when he gets told the food on Kitchen Nightmares is fresh, then he sees the freezer.” She might have to watch another episode tonight just because she mentioned that. “I might have to do some taste tests, though. Tiktok style and all. Compare the two.”

At the introduction, she couldn't help but grin. This is a victory, because reccomendations and someone to talk to is a goodie in itself. “No, no. I dig the bias. I'd do the same thing.” She then stuck out her hand for a handshake, lips still curled up. “Uzochi. You can call me Chi, though. Nice to meet you, Sam from Horizon." The last bit was mostly a joke in regards to nicknames, but there was a little bit of awkwardness in Chi's tone since she was worried it wouldn't land.

[samfitz]

"That's an emo lyric right there," Sam teased when Felipe said all his scars were on the inside, crossing his arms at his chest and smiling a little. "Oh yeah, her burns are lethal. I've seen her nearly make Isaac cry." His youngest brother was completely unlike Alicia and Sam, on the more sensitive side. None of the siblings were really like one another, except both Alicia and Sam had a stubborn streak and they'd admit it.

"Nah dude, I get it," Sam waved away Felipe's mention of not having been around Horizon. "Offseason is such a 360, I'm about to start wondering what to do with all my free time." Truth be told it was more like an existential crisis for Sam every winter, he was a different person every November through April. "He's good, living up his semi-retirement. He was up at Niagara fishing the other week, sending us photos of his catch. He caught this big ass Chinook salmon, thing was huge."

Felipe let out a low whistle, "Talk about a sick looking battle scar, though. I don’t have any of those, mine are all on the inside.”

“Always a riot, that one.” He replied, referring to his sister. He’d been at the receiving end of her zingers a couple of times before at their restaurant. “Man, I haven’t been down to the Horizon in a while. Once summer starts dying down so does the craving for ceviche. How’s your pops?”

[samfitz]

"I think there's some story with him and a frog," he explained when the girl seemed confused about Froggy being named Froggy. "Tried to eat one drunk or something."

"Oh they use frozen wings...and some real shitty brand at that." At least that was what Sam had ended up with, the one time. Maybe they'd improved since then. Who knew. "If you want good hot wings...Horizon Bar and Grill," he said, throwing in a word for the restaurant. It was never a bad time to advertise, in his mind. Shameless about it too.

Fuck it, maybe he'd order a drink while he was here. He didn't feel like going back to the restaurant to continue wiping down the counters. "I'm Sam," he introduced himself. "I work at Horizon. But don't let the fact I'm totally biased sway you."

Chi was all ears, at least up until the point about the hot wings. Her face had scrunched up in confusion at the mention, wondering what made them sound so bad. “What's the context on that?” She's honestly thinking the worst. Or maybe it's just something miniscule like flavor.

“I don't think I'd ever willingly call someone with an appearance like that Froggy.” She had admitted. The name just sounded silly coming out of her mouth, and she'd probably curl up in embarrasment if she had to shout it in order to get someone's attention. Definitely not happening. “Haven't seen him, though. Which is surprising, because he legit sounds like he'd stand out.”

[samfitz]

Sam snorted at the over 40 line. "Are you saying you've picked up emo moms?" He smiled when CJ said he was in, and patted him on the shoulder. "Sick. That's what I wanna hear. I'm gonna try to clock out around 6:30 that night so we can make it to the doors in time. Or you get there before me, get in and I'll catch up. I think Petey will be there too."

"Yeah man that emo scene, you know how it is. Wild sons-a', 'specially the ones almost hitting 40, reliving the actual moment...nah you know what, I'm down."

[samfitz]

"Shut up, you'll love it," he said, underlining the statement with confidence. "So you in or you out? It's ass going alone and I don't really wanna." Shows were for taking friends and getting drunk at.

"Going down hill? What an odd thing for me to think about the concert?" Lavender knew that Sam meant the lyrics to a song, but she couldn't help herself from teasing him.

[samfitz]

Sam's brows raised, just a little. Shocked at how few people he'd tried to pass his spare ticket on had literally never heard of them. Times sure moved fast. "Yellowcard? Good Charlotte? Dashboard Confessional? They're in that ballpark," he tried to explain. "You do music, you're supposed to know these," he added, teasing a little.

"Who?" Reese cocked her head to the side. "I don't think I've heard of them. Though, if you can't find anyone else - I'll go."