A Blast From The Past

Nikkei Simmer: Yep...the house is looking pretty good so far. It took a while to build, but the builders managed to get it all done really quickly before the fall rains start. We still even have a week of summer left.

It seems as though Phil and Noel are managing around the house as well as working. They help to keep the place clean and tidy, while I do the cooking and fishing. If things get tight however, I also dumpster dive. It really stinks, but what can you do. We have to pay the bills and make sure that the roof is kept over our head. Hopefully our next generation (Heather's and mine) have it a bit easier than we do right now.

The days are long and filled with a lot of disappointment, but y'know...that's a part of life that you have to get through. I usually come home from fishing exhausted and looking for the next supermarket sale because you have to unload the fish, or else the whole fishing day becomes a waste of time. Heather paints and does whatever she can. And frankly right now, she makes the bulk of the money. Fishing isn't all that lucrative, but I'm just hoping as I gain experience, the money gets better.

But at least coming home and cuddling next to the woman that I will eventually call my wife, is comfort enough.

Eddy Mullis: Life was a heckuva lot easier when I was in University. When I heard that my dorm-mates in university were planning to set roots down in Sunset Valley, it got me interested. My other buddy decided that he was going to do a two year Masters in Science and do his Master's thesis on molecular biology, but I don't have the money to kick around another two years and go for a Master in Arts. And neither did Phil and Nikkei Simmer. They headed to a place where they could find employment. Plus NS had a girl waiting for him there, so he said. So I figured that maybe I might be able to bunk with them for a while until I get my feet under me.

...yeah, I don't have the flyaway hair that I used to have in University. I'm supposed to be more mature now. But you can't drive the Rebel away. I'm still leaning towards black clothes and guyliner defines me. NS used to shake his head when he was at Uni whenever he saw me applying that stuff. He was a rebel too, but he didn't go in for the rebel clothing. He was more straight-arrow than the rest of us. Phil used to get into the scene. He'd party half the night and most of the morning and probably went into class hung-over. NS would just drink two beers and call it quits.

But it looks as though he's gone straight-arrow, like NS. Hopefully they'll welcome another roomie.

Phil Burrows: EDDY!!! Ya big mooch, how ya been?

Eddy Mullis: Been good...bud.

Phil Burrows: So what brings you to Sunset Valley?

Eddy Mullis: Oh, y'know...got tired of the school grind and decided to beat feet before I turned into a creeper. Y'know didn't wanna get old and still be in school.

Phil Burrows: So you need a place to crash, eh?

Eddy Mullis: Yeah, something like that...

Phil Burrows: Well, we're gonna have to go talk to the Big Man about that...eh...

Eddy Mullis: That doesn't bode well, dude.

Phil Burrows: Well...y'know, his fiancee pays the majority of the bills. We just live here. C'mon in and sit down and I'm sure NS will be out shortly if he ain't too busy with his wife-to-be...that is... You'll have to excuse me, I need to get ready for work.

Eddy Mullis: At this point, I was wondering whether I should just ditch the whole deal and go bunk at a motel or something. My old drinking buddy didn't give me a whole lotta hope that NS was gonna be too keen on letting me stay with them. I think I was starting to feel like I was waiting for the Angel of Death. And NS's muscles looked huge in that muscle tee of his. He wasn't much of a talker back in Uni and he certainly wasn't now.

He did mention that there were job openings around Sunset Valley, evidently Phil had told him why I was here and he mentioned that yeah...he was amenable to my bunking with them, but that it would definitely take some doing on their part, they had just completed a renovation on the house that I'd seen only from the outside before and that it might take a while before I could have a room of my own. But by this time, I was willing to volunteer to sleep on the floor in the living room just so long as I'd have a roof over my head during the winter.

Nikkei Simmer: Still wearing the makeup, eh?

Eddy Mullis: Well, what can I say, I'm a rebel.

Yeah, I know, I was treading a thin line. "Say, I'm looking for a job, you maybe know of any openings?"

Nikkei Simmer: "Yeah...you might try at Divisadero Books, they're looking to fill a couple of positions from kids going back to school. Some parents won't let them work during the school year, they say it distracts them from their schoolwork which I think is a whole pile of horsepucky. It teaches 'em responsibility."

Eddy Mullis: I noted that severe tone in NS's voice and I remembered that he only used it when he had an opinion on something that he thought was right.

"Yeah, I'm definitely going to look into that."

Nikkei Simmer: "And I'll look into making sure that you don't have to sleep on the floor tonight. But you'll have to bunk with Phil."

Eddy Mullis: At that point, I couldn't care less if I had to sleep in a stable with a bunch of horses, just so long as I had a roof over my head. It smelled like rain and that wasn't a great thing to be out in.

Nikkei Simmer: "If you plan to stay, you're going to have to contribute..."

Eddy Mullis: "You got it... I'm going to head down to Divisadero and see if they'll take me on..."

Nikkei Simmer: "Well, Eddy, the bookstore is right beside the theatre, you can't miss it."

Eddy Mullis: I was so relieved that I had a roof over my head as long as I contributed. Heck at that point I would have even promised my first-born just so long as I had some shelter. NS is a good guy; a straight-shooter. And at least I have a place to bunk while I'm earning simoleons. It's good to have a family.to count on, unlike my blood family who could care less whether or not I make it or not. NS extended a hand to me and shook on it, an agreement man to man and if he was going to trust me enough not to demand it put in writing, then I was going to do my part to not betray his trust. And at that point, I figured the best thing to do was to do as I said I was going to and get myself a job.