Lawrence Meets Florence

Job Details:

Job Sign-Up: Page 33, Post Number 810

-The Sheridan Estate, Victoria's Room, 10:35 A.M.-

Wearing her white Steel Matron t-shirt and black skirt with her hair hanging freely instead of in her trademark ponytail, Victoria sat on the edge of her bed and watched Abigail sleep inside a pink sleeping bag placed on the floor of her room. Abigail had come in here last night to go on an anime binge because of an all-night Cram School Soda Break special that was on and Victoria had one of the only televisions on the top floor. Amy had the other one installed in her room and Abigail did not dare ask to use it. As it turned out, Amy spent the night watching sappy romance movies.

Victoria saw that the television was still on and Cram School Soda Break was still going, but she did not care. She was not even paying attention to it because her mind was somewhere else, namely Boomslang. In roughly four weeks her sister Amy and Amy's former roommate Sherry Wilkinson were going to go to the club for a night of partying and Victoria was going to be the designated driver. Victoria did not mind, though. She had always wanted to go there but had never had the time... soon she was going to get her chance to see what Boomslang was all about.

Victoria stood up and smoothed out the wrinkles in her outfit, then reached on the left nightstand where her iLac and hair scrunchie sat. She grabbed the scrunchie and did her hair up in her signature ponytail, then checked her iLac for any messages or missed calls. She did not have any, so she set the iLac back on the nightstand and decided to go to the living room to see how her uncle was doing.

-The Sheridan Estate, in the living room-

Victoria descended the stairs to find her uncle seated on the couch and watching yet another hokey "singing cowboy" Western. In this one the singing cowboy was riding through the desert in the company of a beautiful young woman who was riding a white horse. From what she gathered during their conversation, the cowboy and the woman were heading for a frontier town with a railroad station. Apparently the woman had tired of life on the frontier and was going to head back to civilization and reunite with her big-city family. Victoria tuned it out when her uncle turned his head towards her.

"Hey, Victoria." Her uncle greeted her and stood up to face her.

"Hey there." Victoria greeted her uncle.

"How's it going?" Lawrence asked her.

"Eh, about the same. None of my clients have called or texted me with offers of work, so I don't have much to do right now." Victoria told him how she was doing so far, which was OK.

"Looks like it's gonna be a slow day, huh?" Lawrence asked his niece. Victoria nodded.

"Yep. It sure looks that way to me." She replied. She had no idea what she was going to do today. Amy was still asleep after her all-night romance movie binge and Abigail was asleep after her all-night anime binge. Victoria, Lawrence, and Laura were the only ones who were awake right now.

An awkward pause filled the room as both Sheridans tried to find something to talk about. Victoria looked at Lawrence and Lawrence looked at her. Victoria shifted her weight to her right foot as Lawrence shifted his weight to his left foot. Neither of them had anything to talk about and they were just staring at each other, each one hoping that the other would say something to break the ice. After nearly a minute the awkward impasse was resolved by the doorbell suddenly ringing.

"I'll get it." Laura calmly announced as she zoomed by Victoria, who felt her ponytail blow about thanks to how fast the silver-haired maid was moving. Victoria and Lawrence turned to face the door and watched Laura open it.

"Hi there. Is Lawrence Sheridan here?" A female voice asked.

"Yes, Mr. Sheridan is here. And who might you be?" Laura asked the visitor.

"I'm Florence Manderley. Lawrence should remember my name. So should Victoria." The female voice identified themselves. The moment they heard that name Lawrence and Victoria looked at each other. Both of them walked to the door to get a better look at the visitor.

Standing in front of Laura was a tall blonde woman with waist-length blonde hair, golden eyes, a white long-sleeved shirt, and a black knee-length skirt with black high heels. She recognized both Sheridans right away.

"Lawrence! Victoria! It's been such a long time since I've last seen you two!" Florence said. Victoria looked at Lawrence and her uncle was looking like he had just seen a ghost. Victoria was considerably calmer than her uncle but was still surprised to see her mentor standing on her doorstep.

[Post Word Count: 816]
[Total Word Count: 816/2,500]

"It's... it's been awhile, Florence." Lawrence said to Florence, who was still standing in the doorway.

"Yeah. It's been awhile." Victoria echoed what her uncle had said. She could not remember the last time she had seen her mentor. The only thing she knew for certain was that it had been months since their last meeting.

"Do you guys mind if I come in or do you want me to stand here all day?" Florence asked them in a playful manner.

"Uh, sure. Come on in, Florence." Lawrence replied. Florence stepped inside the house and Laura shut the door behind the blonde.

"Thank you." She said to Lawrence and Victoria for letting her enter their home. Neither Sheridan could take their eyes off of Florence.

"So, uh, Florence... what brings you here?" Lawrence asked the blonde woman. Florence pointed directly at him.

"I came here to see about you, Lawrence. We haven't seen each other in years. I didn't know if you were still alive or not." Florence said to him. Lawrence visibly struggled to come up with words to say and Victoria was not sure how to help him.

"I made it out alive, Florence. Almost a year ago I had a close call that made me rethink my priorities. I got out while I still could and I've given up that life for good. I'm never going back to it." Lawrence told her, referring to his days as a wandering soldier for hire. Florence smiled a little.

"You should have gotten out when I did, Lawrence. You would have been a lot happier that way." Florence said to him in a gentle voice. The burly man frowned.

"I don't think I would have been happy for very long, Florence. Back then I felt invincible, like I could take on the world. I also needed the battlefield. Fighting made me feel alive like nothing else could." Lawrence told her. Victoria knew exactly where he was coming from. She too needed a fight to make her feel truly alive. When she heard his explanation for continuing to be a soldier for hire after she had left the lifestyle Florence smiled a little wider.

"I once felt the same way you did, Lawrence. But now I've found a new purpose in life. That purpose is to use my medical training to provide medical care for people who need it." Florence told Lawrence that she no longer needed the thrill of the fight to have a purpose. Lawrence silently pointed towards Victoria.

"I've found a new purpose too, Florence. I'm doing what I can to care for my niece... not that she really needs me to care for her now. She's a lot stronger than me and she's the one who's paying the bills. I'm just living here trying to find a job where I don't have to risk my life for a paycheck." Lawrence told Florence his new purpose in life before admitting that Victoria did not really need his help anymore. The burly man appeared saddened by his admission and Victoria did not know what to make of that. She had seldom seen him so emotional about anything.

"While you were gone I looked after Victoria the best I could. She's a lot like you, Lawrence. She's fond of strong alcohol and she tends to gravitate towards fights." Florence said to him. Lawrence quickly forgot his sadness and laughed.

"Yeah. I wish I could have done more for her than give her a drinking habit and teach her magic to fight with, but it seems that she's turned out all right." Lawrence said to his old friend with a tone carrying a measure of regret. Victoria took this opportunity to chime in.

"It wasn't your fault how my early years turned out, Uncle. I'm still alive thanks to you. I've also got a good way to make a living thanks to you." Victoria tried to cheer up her uncle with the knowledge that he had made some positive impact on her life. It was probably not what her parents wanted for her, but everything had still turned out all right. She was a mage of Sabertooth who had a steady career and a good deal of money she had earned and saved thanks to that steady career. The brunette could not reasonably ask for much more out of life.

"I also taught Victoria my Combat Medic magic while you were gone, Lawrence. Since my fighting days are way behind me it was the best I could do for her." Florence told him that she had helped Victoria the best she could in his absence. Lawrence smiled a little.

"I'm sure that Victoria's made good use of it. She's been on a lot of adventures since then and she's likely had to use it many times." Lawrence said to Florence. Victoria had indeed made use of Combat Medic magic on many occasions since learning it. In addition to it saving her own life, it had also saved the lives of several other people.

"Since I couldn't talk her out of her dangerous lifestyle, I figured that I'd give her the best chance I could to help her survive it." Florence said to Lawrence. The man smiled again and laughed a little. Suddenly footsteps came from down the stairs and Amy soon appeared at the bottom.

"Uncle, who's that lady?" Amy asked Lawrence.

"She's an old friend of mine, Amy. Her name's Florence Manderley." Lawrence introduced Amy to Florence while Victoria and Laura silently looked on. The blonde woman then walked towards Amy and came to a stop a short distance away from the blue-eyed brunette.

"My name's Florence Manderley. I'm an old friend of your uncle's. I'm also a friend of Victoria's." Florence introduced herself to Amy and listed the connections she had to the blue-eyed brunette's family members.

[Post Word Count: 978]
[Total Word Count: 1,794/2,500]

"Oh, so you're our uncle's lady friend?" Amy asked Florence about her connection to Lawrence Sheridan. Both Florence and Lawrence blushed.

"Well... well, uh, yeah. You could say that." Florence replied with obvious embarrassment written all over her face. It was also obvious that the blonde wanted to be anywhere else but here right now.

"In a manner of speaking, yes. She's a lady friend of mine." Lawrence answered with candor. Florence's face turned beet-red and she faced him.

"Lawrence Sheridan!" Florence exclaimed using his full name. Victoria and Amy laughed a little.

"Well, it's true. You're a lady and you're my friend. You're the only female friend I've ever had because my facial scars tend to drive people away, especially women." Lawrence explained to her what he meant by his statement. Victoria could see what he meant by that. His facial scars probably led people to make unfair assumptions about his demeanor and character like her "normal" self made people think she was a guy wearing girl's clothing.

"Lawrence..." Florence said to him. Victoria felt a little sick inside. This conversation was starting to sound like something out of a sappy romance movie.

"It's true, Florence. Not too many women see me in a positive light. They see my scars and they see my muscles and they assume the worst. When I approach most of them walk the other way or get out of my path as fast as they can." Lawrence defended his statement. Victoria looked at him and used her special ability to detect the truth to see that every word of what he had said was true. It was kind of sad to see someone as strong as he was talk about himself like that, but Lawrence was being completely honest with Florence. Florence's facial expression softened.

"I didn't know that you felt that way about me." Florence said to him. Victoria still thought that this whole conversation was sappy, but maybe some good would come out of it. Maybe Lawrence and Florence could become more than just friends.

"It took me a long time to come around to feeling that way. When I was an active soldier I didn't have time for my feelings or for caring about others. I had to keep myself alive and focus on completing the mission. But now that that part of my life is behind me I've got other priorities." Lawrence continued to talk to the blonde woman.

"Well, you can focus on those other priorities now. You don't have to live that kind of life any longer." Florence said. Victoria wondered what her uncle had went through to get the scars on his face, but she decided that it was best not to ask. It was best not to pry lest he turn the tables and start prying into things she did not want to talk about.

"Yeah. Say Florence, did you want to do something together some time soon? Like go to a movie or something?" Lawrence asked her. The blonde cupped her hands over her mouth. Victoria and Amy kept quiet in favor of watching the scene unfold with keen interest.

"I'd love to, Lawrence!" Florence replied in the affirmative. Lawrence gave a small smile. So did Victoria and Amy. It seemed like Lawrence was going to get somewhere with Florence, even if they would remain only friends.

"Great. What day or night did you want to go to the movie theater?" Lawrence asked Florence when the latter would be able and willing to go see a movie.

"I'll have to check my schedule before I can let you know, Lawrence. But it'll be within the next week or two." Florence said to him. Lawrence did not seem upset by that at all. Rather he seemed happy that he was even getting the chance to ask her for a trip to the movie theater. Suddenly footsteps sounded from the stairs and Abigail made an appearance.

"Hey guys, what did I miss?" Abigail asked everyone present the moment she reached the bottom of the stairs.

[Post Word Count: 678]
[Total Word Count: 2,472/2,500]

-The Sheridan Estate, Victoria's Room, twenty minutes later-

After Lawrence had asked Florence for a movie date and the latter had accepted Victoria's friend Abigail had come down the stairs and asked everyone what she had missed. Victoria had brought her friend up to speed on Lawrence and Florence's relationship and also informed her of Florence's relationship to Victoria herself. The green-eyed brunette was not sure whether Florence and Abigail had met or not, so she told Abigail about Florence's status as her mentor.

"So Florence and your uncle go way back, right?" Abigail asked Victoria. The brunette nodded.

"Yep. Apparently they were friends long before I was born." Victoria summed it up to the best of her knowledge. She had known that Florence and Lawrence knew each other and had been told by Florence herself that they had once served in the same unit, but Victoria did not know that the two had any kind of feelings for each other. Lawrence was not a very talkative man to start with and did not have a lot to say about himself or his past, which made the revelation of him having any kind of feelings for Florence a total surprise.

"And Florence was your mentor?" Abigail asked. Victoria nodded a second time.

"Yeah. She taught me my Combat Medic magic. She figured that if she couldn't talk me out of my lifestyle, she could at least teach me something to keep me alive." Victoria summed their relationship up. Well, there was slightly more to their relationship than just Florence having taught the brunette a useful type of magic.

"She's also the closest thing I have to a mother figure." Victoria added without being pressed to do so. The brunette knew Florence better than she knew her own biological mother. The only things Victoria knew for certain about her biological mother Octavia were that the latter liked poetry and wine.

"I wish I had a mother figure." Abigail said with a slight trace of envy while looking at the carpet. Then she slapped on a smile.

"But it's OK. Complaining about it won't do anything. I'm going to keep moving forward the best I can." Abigail said with a smile so forced that Victoria did not need a special truth-detecting ability to see how fake it was. Victoria used her ability and could see that Abigail was not OK, but the brunette could not exactly call her friend out on the falseness of her words without sparking an argument. There had to be another way.

"Why don't you go talk to Florence?" Victoria offered. Abigail blinked.

"Huh? Talk to her?" Abigail repeated the question.

"Yeah. Go talk to her. No one said that Florence can have more than one friend." Victoria replied. Then she thought about something.

"You might wanna wait awhile, though. She and my uncle are in the dining room and they're busy talking to each other. They haven't seen each other in years and for a long time Florence thought my uncle was dead." Victoria added that her friend might want to wait awhile.

"Ohhhh, OK. I'd better wait then." Abigail said. The door to Victoria's room opened and in strode Amy.

"Hey guys!" Amy greeted Victoria and Abigail. The two mages waved at the blue-eyed brunette.

"There's a LOT of backstory I'm missing. Would either of you care to fill me in?" Amy requested. Abigail faced Victoria. That was the green-eyed brunette's cue.

"Sure, Amy. I hope you have some time on your hands, though." Victoria warned her sister that the story would take awhile.

"I've got time." Amy casually replied.

"OK then. I'll tell you as much of the story as I know." Victoria stated. Amy crossed her arms over her chest while Victoria began to speak.

"OK, so my... our uncle and Florence once served in the same unit back when they were soldiers for hire. Florence was a combat medic and our uncle was an ordinary soldier..." Victoria started the lengthy story.

[Post Word Count: 668]
[Total Word Count: 3,140/2,500]