Geek on the Side!

Vanessa goes to Los Angeles

I packed enough for a five day stay in Los Angeles, which means about two suitcases' worth of clothing. I then headed to the airport that was about a half hour away from Arbordale to board a plane to Los Angeles, my home town. I had two choices; a three and a half hour direct flight via Spirit Airlines, or an eight hour flight with one stop via United.

One extra, extra long flight later....

You think I'm stupid enough to fly Spirit? First Class on Spirit is Coach on every other airline alive! I flew United, duh! It wasn't even that bad a flight! I mean, granted, a couple of guys did start a fight with a stewardess over alcohol, and during our stop in Vegas some dude cried out that one of his guitars had been destroyed by being tossed around outside the plane before take-off, and then an Elvis impersonator took a giant poop in the toilet and forgot to flush...

...still better than Spirit. Marginally.

I took out my phone at LAX and called Mother. "Hey, Mom? I'm in L.A."

"OK," she said. "So when you coming home?"

"I, uh, guess when I get there via Uber?" I said, sighing, before she hung up.

I was hoping she or Father could pick me up, but I guess I'm taking an Uber. So I called one (who then almost got into an altercation with some local taxi drivers, but that's not important) and went to my parent's home in Mulholland Drive.

Yeah, yeah, my childhood home is impressive and all, what with it being a mansion and all that; it's whatever. After paying my Uber driver (who kept trying to hit on me, though that ended as soon as I told him I was pregnant) I took my luggage and walked up to the door. I rang the doorbell, and was greeted by an unfamiliar face.

"¿En que se le puede servir?" Asked the little old Latin American woman. Based on her accent, I'd say she's Guatemalan.

"Buenos días, señora," I said to her. My Spanish is perfect. "Me llamo Vanessa Russo. ¿Le podría avisar al señor y la señora Russo que he llegado, por favor?"

She nodded, closed the door, and headed back inside. If you don't know Spanish, you really should learn; it's the language of fiery passion and wild lovemaking.

"Hey, honey!" Mother said as she opened the door. She hasn't changed much in thirty years; just a gray hair or two, and a wrinkle here or there. Glad I take after her in that regard. "Well, come on in!"

And so I entered my parent's home for the first time since I turned eighteen. Nothing's changed so far; the living room is as I remember it, except the couch has a blanket and a pillow now...

...what.

"OK, so you can take the couch!" Mother said, all smiles. "The guest room is currently being renovated, you see, and your old room is currently your father's private gym."

"Dad has a gym?" I asked.

"Not that he ever uses it, mind you," Mother said, rolling her eyes. "He bought like seven thousand dollar's worth of gym equipment, and Socorro has to dust it every week!"

Shoulda gotten a hotel room.

"So," Mother clasped her hands together. "I spoke with your father, and we've decided that his secretary will accompany you to the clinic tomorrow at nine AM, sharp."

"Cool," I said. "Sooo, I won't stay for long, don't worry."

"Good," Mother blurted out. "Not that I don't WANT you here, sweetie, it's just-"

"You and Raul, right?" I whispered to her.

"We're friends!" Mother exclaimed a bit too quickly.

"Right," I said, giving her a disbelieving look.

"I still think you should use this pregnancy to your advantage," she said. "Marry a rich man, pass the baby off as his."

"Mother, we've been through this," I said rather forcefully. "I am NOT bringing a child into a loveless marriage!"

"I thought your issue was with your body," she said, staring me down. "I told you, love has NOTHING to do with marriage; it's all about the tit for tat!"

"Yeah, you're an expert on that," I blurted out.

"Actually, I am," she said, crossing her arms. "Marrying for love? I did that; it's vastly overrated."

"Wait, what?" I asked, shocked. "Mom, you were married before meeting Dad?"

"Yeah," she said, shrugging. "Total loser, though. Couldn't afford to move us to a bigger house yet still wanted a family. Then I met your father, he whisked me off my feet, and so I divorced the jackass and moved to L.A! And my life's been way better ever since!"

"What was his name?" I asked.

"Why?" She asked, glaring at me. "He doesn't matter anymore; dumb jerk probably ended up killing himself or something, anyway. It's not my concern, and neither is it yours. So stop asking about it."

"OK..." I said, gulping. Mother has hardly ever been like THIS with me. I could tell I hit a sore spot.

Hours later, I had finally settled in, but I had yet to see my own father. It wasn't until close to midnight when he returned, completely disheveled.

"Hey, Dad," I said to him.

"Ah, hey honey," he said as he waved at me. "Looong day at the office, today! Thankfully, Tasha was there to help me out!"

"She sounds reliable," I said, knowing full well she's reliable carnally.

"Yeah," he said, then he frowned. "Try not to keep her too occupied tomorrow, OK? I really need her at the office."

My father is more concerned that he won't have his secretary/screw toy around for a few hours, than the fact that his only daughter is getting an abortion. Then he wonders why I limit myself to calling him for fifteen minutes on Father's Day...

My father excused himself and went up to the bedroom that he shares with Mother. I laid on the sofa, pondering all my life decisions that had led me to this moment.

I got a text message from Elaina, telling me she finally started working on that cosplay. She managed to get the right fabric, which did make me smile. I thought about texting Daisy or Kevin, but no; I don't want Kevin to find out why I'm here and Daisy and me... we're still weird. I don't feel comfortable talking to her yet. Paige? I know she'd tell Daisy, so...

"Hey Paige," I texted her. "Went to L.A. to visit the folks. Back in five days, in case you start wondering where I went."

And so I turned my phone off and went to bed. What a day...