Curious Things and Curious Times

[Solani Naleen]

It has been awhile since she last set foot in Chicago. The last time she was with her parents, and that feels so long ago. But not this time. This time she's alone with no one telling her where she can and can not go. The only thing to do that would be her age, and that would only keep her out of select spots.

Chicago doesn't quite seem nearly as big now then what she remembered, from when she was last here..

After walking for a little while, she pauses outside a rather large wharehouse, well store but the looks of the sign which is visible. As she continues walking, she watches for the door into the store. Upon spotting the door, she picks up her pace and enters the store, to be greeted by a vast amount of antiques.

Slowly, she starts to stroll through the store, looking at the various antiques which are easily seen.

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Fiona's head popped up from behind a shelf when the jinglebells rang on the door. ::

"Hello." she greeted cheerily. "Welcome to Timeless Antiquities." :D

[Solani Naleen]

Solani jumps slightly when she hears the greeting, but turns to look in the direction that the greeting came from.

"Um, hi. Thanks I think."

Timeless, Antiquities, a nice name for the store.

[Fiona Devlin]

"Can I help you with anything?"

[Solani Naleen]

"I'm not to sure. I guess I'm just looking at the moment."

[Fiona Devlin]

"Please look around." she replied. "My name is Fiona. And please help yourself to the cookies at the counter."

[Solani Naleen]

A smile crosses her face. Cookies, the one word garaunteed to bring a smile to her face. Instead of continuing to look around right now, she makes her way to the counter.

"Pleased to meet you. I'm Solani. I'm new to the city."

After looking at the cookies for a moment, she selects one and starts to nibble it, trying to hide the fact that she's hungrier then what she's showing.

[Fiona Devlin]

:: There were a variety of treats, from chocolate chip to gingerbread, all home-made by Fiona. She loved to treat her customers like guests. Some stopped by just for a cookie and a chat. They were always welcome ::

"Welcome to Chicago then. I'll be around. Just give a shout if you need anything."

[Solani Naleen]

"Thank-you."

Solani continues to nibble her cookie as she goes to wander around the store. After 15 minutes though, she finds herself back at the counter.

"Ms. Fiona, do you know of a location that is in need of employees?"

[Fiona Devlin]

"I can always use an extra hand. Here or at the club. Do you like Blues?"

[Solani Naleen]

Solani shrugs her shoulders slightly.

"I'm not entirely sure. I've never really listened to the Blues before. You own a club?"

[Fiona Devlin]

"Aye. That I do." she grinned. "Have you ever heard of Robert Johnson??? Willie Dixon??? Stevie Ray Vaughn???"

[Solani Naleen]

"Truthfully, I've never heard of them. I've never really listened to alot of music or paid alot of attention to music. I've always focused on my studies so I could get good grades."

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Fiona looked crestfallen, if only for an instant ::

"What are you studying?"

[Solani Naleen]

"Right now, I'm not studying anything. I need to make a bit of money before I can continue. That and I need to find a place to stay."

Solani glances down at the plate of cookies before selecting a gingerbread cookie this time and starts to nibble it.

[Fiona Devlin]

"If you'd like a job here, there's an apartment upstairs. Bed, bath, kitchen, and a telly."

[Solani Naleen]

Solani gets a very obvious look of surprise on her face which she quickly changes to being happy.

"I would love a job here. You've got a lot of cool antiques here, though wouldn't you want to ask me a couple of questions to see if I'm even qualified to work here?"

[Fiona Devlin]

"We can do the drudgery if you'd like." she teased.

[Solani Naleen]

Solani shakes her head slightly, pretty sure if they did, she wouldn't have a job.

"That's alright Ms. Fiona. You know what you're wanting in your employees."

[Fiona Devlin]

"Please." she chuckled. "Call me Fiona."

[Solani Naleen]

"Alright Ms. Fiona, I will."

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Fiona chuckled again ::

"Let me show you upstairs."

:: She led Solani to the spiral staircase, all the way up to the third floor ::

[Solani Naleen]

"Alright"

Solani follows Fiona up the spiral staircase, up to the third floor, looking around her as she goes.

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Fiona went to the second door and unlocked it. The apartment was larger than she described, and comfortably furnished ::

[Solani Naleen]

Solani's jaw drops as she sees the apartment, much larger then what she was expecting.

"Is this where I will be allowed to stay?"

[Fiona Devlin]

"Aye. I'll need to bring some food over though. It hasn't been lived in for awhile."

[Solani Naleen]

"Wow, I mean, wow. This is impressive."

Solani steps into the apartment and starts to look around.

[Fiona Devlin]

"I use to stay up here. Now I live on the north side."

[Solani Naleen]

"Wow, you must have done really well, real quick."

[Fiona Devlin]

"It was an inheritance. My Aunt left it to me."

[Solani Naleen]

"Ah, you are lucky to have that happen then. I know none of my aunts would even think of doing that for me."

[Fiona Devlin]

"Aye, she was a sweetheart. And pretty."

:: Fiona grinned widely ::

"Very pretty."

[Solani Naleen]

"And you're sure about letting me stay here? You don't want it for yourself right now?"

[Fiona Devlin]

"You don't look the type for throwing wild parties."

:: She gave Solani a suspicious look, obviously teasing :::

"Are you?"

[Solani Naleen]

"I'm not. Unless you consider having a few friends over to do homework and eat chips a wild party."

Solani is still looking the apartment over, still very much impressed with it.

[Fiona Devlin]

"When did you want to start?"

[Solani Naleen]

"If need be, I could start today. All I would need to do is pick up my bags from the motel that I'm checked in at."

Solani says as she turns to look at Fiona again.

[Fiona Devlin]

"Do you want a lift? I fixing to go out for lunch anyway."

[Solani Naleen]

"I guess. Only if it's not out of your way though. If you're heading out for lunch I don't want to get in the way."

[Fiona Devlin]

"Come on. I'll but you something."

:: Back down the stairs she went, and after locking up she went to the car. It was a white Lotus Esprit Turbo ::

[Solani Naleen]

Solani follows Fiona back down the stairs.

"You really don't have to. I really don't want to be an inconvenience."

Upon seeing the car, her jaw drops again.

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Fiona became worried ::

"What??? What's wrong???"

:: She scurried over to Solani's side ::

"Is there a scratch???"

[Solani Naleen]

"Nothing's wrong, at least I can't see anything wrong. I never thought that you would own such a nice car is all, Ms. Fiona."

Solani makes sure her mouth stays closed this time so as not to cause Fiona any more worry then she already has.

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Fiona sighed in relief ::

"Thank you. You had me scared me for a second."

:: She hopped back into the driver's seat again and waited for Solani to get in before turning the key. The engine came to life and music pulsed from the speakers. The song was 'Raspberry Swirl' by Tori Amos ::

[Solani Naleen]

"Sorry about that."

Solani says as she climbs into the car. She does up the seatbelt and settles back into the seat, a slight smile on her face.

[Fiona Devlin]

"Where are you staying at?"

[Solani Naleen]

Solani gives the name and address of the motel that she's staying at before she goes to start looking out the window, watching things go past.

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Fiona parked near the motel, and waited for Solani to fetch her things ::

[Solani Naleen]

Solani hops out of the car after Fiona's stopped and runs the distance up to the motel where she'd been staying. She grabs her belongings and returns her key, with a slight arguement with the motel worker about her checking out now.

After that is accomplished, she returns to the car, puts her bags in, and then climbs back in herself.

[Fiona Devlin]

"Ok, where are we eating?"

[Solani Naleen]

Solani shrugs her shoulders slightly.

"I don't know. I'm not familiar with restaurants here in Chicago."

[Fiona Devlin]

"There's a tapas bar nearby, or would you prefer something fast?"

[Solani Naleen]

"I'm not really picky. As long as the food is cooked properly and is edible, I'm happy."

[Fiona Devlin]

:: The option was left to Fiona, who wasted no time getting them to the tapas bar ::

[Solani Naleen]

"So, Ms. Fiona, um, how long have you owned the bookstore and club?"

[Fiona Devlin]

"I won Kingston Mines in a poker game." she grinned. "The shop was left to me when I was still in school. I decided to keep it instead of selling. It pays more then being an English Teacher." ;)

[Solani Naleen]

"Neat. But that doesn't exactly answer my question. It let's me know how you got them, but not how long you've had them."

[Fiona Devlin]

"I took on the shop 3 years ago. I won the club at a party last year."

:: She held the door for her friend ::

[Solani Naleen]

Solani looks at Fiona for a moment, almost as if she doesn't believe her, but says nothing about it as she climbs out of the car.

"Ok. And I take it you enjoy having both of them?"

[Fiona Devlin]

"What's not to love?" she winked.

They were greeted and led over to a table.

"Now I'm buying, so don't try to eat like a bird. I won't allow it." :p

[Solani Naleen]

"Alright. Just so you know, I doubt I would be able to eat that much. Birds do eat three times their own weight a day. But I will make sure that I don't eat a small amount"

Solani says with a smile as she sits down at the table which they are taken to.

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Fiona picked several items at random, including garlic shrimp, chorizo, and fried cheese. To drink, she chose Sangria ::

[Solani Naleen]

Solani looks at the menu for a moment. Normally, she probably wouldn't come here to eat. She'd usually just grab a sandwhich somewhere. A slight smile crosses her face as she browses the menu before making her decision to go for a small seafood platter and a fruit juice.

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Lunch breezed by quickly, and Fiona took Solani back to the shop. The rest of the day she showed her new friend the ins and outs of working things ::

[Solani Naleen]

Solani payed close attention to how the shop works. She really doesn't want to mess this up. Especially since Fiona is so nice to hirer her without really asking any questions. That is doubly important for her right now.

At the end of the day after everything is closed up for the night, she bids Fiona good night and goes to get herself settled into her new apartment. Things are definatly looking up for her right now and as long as she doesn't blow it, she won't have to much to worry about.