Chapter Text
July 1977. A single mother comes home after a long day of working at a law firm in a sleepy town in Washington. This lady, Jane Crocker, looks like she’s practically about to fall asleep. Her expression then brightened greatly as her son greeted her.
“Hi mom!!!” Her son, John, said enthusiastically as he gave her a hug. John was 5 years old, wore big glasses, and had various nerdy interests such as the somewhat-new movie Star Wars, Star Trek, Doctor Who, and various other Sci-fi shows. This somewhat led to him not really having any friends. It was hard to find people that liked the same things in a tiny town like this.
John was also Jane’s absolute pride and joy. She cherished him more than anything in the world, and would do absolutely anything for him. “Hello, dear…” She said rather softly. “How are you feeling? Not too lonely, I hope? I’m sorry I was gone for so long…”
“It’s okay… I’m just happy you’re here now!” John grinned. He had as much energy as he usually did, which happened to be a lot. The same couldn’t really be said for his mother at the moment. She felt exhausted. Perhaps the two could just do something simple…
“I’m happy to see you too, dear.” Jane smiled back. “I’m feeling pretty tired out… How about I order us a pizza, and then maybe we can watch some TV?”
“Yeahh!! Pizza!!” John cheered, grinning even more.
“Alright, alright…” She smiled softly. “I’ll order some.” She went into the kitchen, and dialed up a local Italian restaurant. She ordered a standard, large cheese pizza. Nothing too wacky. The employee on the other end said it’d be ready within the hour, to which Jane nodded and then hung up.
“Okay, dear! The pizza’s ordered!” Jane said cheerfully, turning on the TV set as John hopped up onto the couch. She tuned it to the proper channel, and sat down next to her son to watch another new and exciting episode of Columbo, a show the both of them enjoyed. The two of them both enjoyed the mysteries, though Jane also thought Columbo himself was rather handsome.
Within around 30 minutes, the doorbell rang. The pizza was here! Jane stood up and opened the door, paying the delivery person accordingly and then taking the delivery box. She set it down on the coffee table, opening it to reveal the delicious food inside. John bounced excitedly, flapping his hands a bit.
“Now, before we eat,” Jane began to speak. “Do you want anything to drink?”
John nodded.
“Ice water?”
John nodded once more.
Jane then returned to the kitchen once more, grabbing a couple of plates and two glasses of ice water. John didn’t really like soda, and Jane just wasn’t really in the mood to drink anything else.
The night continued calmly, the two of them watching Columbo, game shows, comedies, and whatever other things happened to be on before the channels signed off for the night. By the end of it, the two of them felt pretty tired. Time for the nightly routine.
The two of them washed their faces and brushed their teeth, and then Jane tucked her son into bed and gave him a kiss goodnight. Jane then got into her own bed, sighing as she rubbed her eyes and set her glasses on her nightstand. As she laid there in the dark, she began to think. She… really didn’t like her job. Hated it, actually. She never really wanted to work at some lousy law firm… But she didn’t really have enough money at the moment to pursue her dream.
That dream was to run a bakery of her own.
She knew it wouldn’t be easy… But someday she knew she would.
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Jane groggily opened her eyes. Bright moonlight shone through the window. She looked over to the clock on her nightstand. Three in the morning. She groaned and sat up. She had to get up in a few hours anyway. Maybe she could head out and get some early breakfast. She put on some loose, casual clothes before leaving her room. She peeked into John’s room to make sure he was okay, and then went over to the side door of the house. She grabbed her keys and made absolutely sure the door was locked after she went outside. She just wanted her son to be safe.
She began to walk up the street to the local diner, one of the few buildings around that still had its lights on. One of the best places to eat, too.
Jane entered the diner. There were only a few people working there at the moment. About what she expected, really. She ordered a simple meal of pancakes and a side of bacon, along with some coffee. She sat down in a booth, and then looked out the window at the clear night sky.
Someone else entered the diner. Jane only glanced over, so she didn’t really see who it was.
Until this new person sat down directly across from her.
Jane looked over at her, a bit confused. The lady that was now sitting across from her was wearing a light pink sweater, with a cat design on it. She had curly hair, in a blonde color that had to be dyed. “Um, hi…” Jane spoke. “Who are you, exactly?” Jane asked, still VERY confused.
“Roxy Lalonde!” The lady smiled a very friendly and genuine smile.
“It’s, uh, nice to meet you, Roxy… I’m Jane.” She said, glancing around before focusing back on roxy. “Is there… Any reason you chose to sit by me?”
“Well… I was coming in to get some food for myself, and then I saw you sitting there. You looked a bit lonely, I guess. Thought it might be nice to have someone to chat with!” Roxy smiled, a little bit softer this time.
“Oh! That’s… quite thoughtful of you!” Jane smiled back. “I can’t say I recognize you. Do you live around here?”
“Oh yeah, me and my little sister live in the motel just up the street from here.”