OCRP- Ezra

 

Ezra wasn't sure what was happening. Sure, he was mad at someone, but didn't have time to be frustrated with Liz, who seemed right at home. Still, it left him confused. Didn't she just move into Dakota's place with Dakota's brother?

"Well, officially, they aren't real siblings," Liz explained. "And I'm not Cole's real girlfriend, either."

She gave him the eye as if maybe she'd been kidnapped or something, but was too afraid to say anything.

"I don't know what's going on." He pulled his fingers through his dark hair away from his face. Nothing had felt real for a long time, especially after losing Dakota.

"So I don't guess you really know Dakota?" He asked while she was looking for the size of the T-shirt that practically swallowed the doll, sitting on the couch.

"Not really, she hasn't said much to me. Actually, no one is really talking to me," She looked at him blankly as if she might as well be as lost as he was.

"Oh."

She said she got a job, but she knew it was temporary while someone was on pregnancy leave. 

"Well, maybe you'll be on permanently." Ezra found himself being optimistic. Although he would hate to tell her about his job. It consumed him with a lot of old books that he needed to find vital information, only he wasn't sure what 'vital' actually meant.

"Yeah, no." She shook her head. "I don't think so. They don't like the way I dress. My shoes are too comfortable. I'll be lucky if I survive the month," she sighed.

It was the first time, in a long time, that someone was telling him their problems. He went to get her a soda from the fridge. Han wasn't around to raid it, as of late, so there was lots to drink.

"So, what sort of job is it?" He popped the lid open and handed her the canned drink.

"A law office, but I still have to make fresh coffee in the morning. I have to make sure the breakroom is clean by the end of the day. I mean, any other girl Friday would have waltzed in, handing out coffee from Starbucks, but not me." She half laughed as she took a sip of the drink. "No, truck stop coffee is what they got. And Little Debbie Oatmeal pies."

"They expect you to supply goodies every day?" He thought that was insane. How could they treat a new person that way, he thought.

"No, I started a Breakroom Club. Twenty dollars if they want to join. And then treats vary, mostly a dollar or two. Everyone's paid up. Even the head honcho I'll probably never know." Liz looked calm, yet a little unsettled.

"So, how's Cole's job turning out?"

"Oh, he's a whiner," she told him. "His feet ached. He thinks he might have pulled his shoulder. It's his first job, you know."

"Really?" 

She shook her head, yes. 

"You know, I quite liked shelving books," Ezra remembered. 

"He thinks the pay isn't worth it."

From her look, evidently, he whined a lot. "He might be right about that." Ezra agreed. "So are you on full-time?"

"Well, it feels like it, but you know, it's just temporary," Liz said, looking overworked and underpaid.

"You'll have to give me your recipe for Truck  Stop Coffee," Ezra said.

"It's easy, two scoops for every cup," Liz told him.

"Well, I'm going to try it tomorrow," Ezra said, yawning. Liz was going to keep him up past his bedtime if they kept talking, but she seemed to know when to leave.

"Maybe we can go thrifting, Saturday morning if you're free," she said. She'd find some new clothes for Em. They could probably start in the preteen girls' area.

"Sure," Ezra found himself saying even when he meant to say no.