The Secret Beneath The Waves

Chapter 17 - Green soap

**Picture of Shawn at the top of the page

Chapter Seventeen - Green soap

Spencer and Tony made their way through Pete's Fresh Market , checking off items on the lengthy lists that Shawn had hastily scrawled out for each of them. At the start of the trip, Tony soon figured out Spencer could not cook if her life depended on it. Spencer quickly realized Tony did not know the difference between spoiled and good apples. It was a day of new discoveries.

At nearly eight, the pair made their way back to the apartment complex, arms laiden with numerous grocery bags. "You used to walk all this way?" Tony inquired, trying to moderate his slightly labored breaths. Spencer nodded. If she spoke, her exhaustion would show. It had been a long time.

"Finally!" Adri drawled when Spencer opened the door. The blonde was perched on a kitchen stool, tapping away at her phone. Spencer rolled her eyes as she fished out paper dishes and food, which consisted of chicken noodle soup and garlic bread. The girls ate in silence, before retreating to their respective bedrooms. Plenty of unpacking was in order.

The next morning Spencer completed the familiar routine; rolling off the bed after unsuccessfully shutting off the alarm and showering. This led to the extensive process of trying to untangle her hair, before giving up and walking into the kitchen, a toothbrush in her mouth. A few minutes later, Adri showed up in the same state. "What's the goal of today?" she asked confused. Spencer could relate. Save weekends, they never really had that much free time, and even then weekends were spent getting ahead of catching up on work back on the boat. Spencer shrugged, yawning. "Finish unpacking and buy the rest of the essentials." Adri nodded, otherwise unresponsive. She slumped down in her stool and stayed there. For as long as Spence could remember, Adri had never been a morning person. Shr ruffled the groggy girl's hair as she made her way out of the apartment again, to run into Oliver carrying a bag of plumbers. Noticing her raised eyebrows, he explained. "Shawn ahd to fix the toilet in our room. I might have accidentally thought it was a garbage disposal."

Spencer had learned a long time ago that if you questioned something Oliver did if you were confused, your puzzlement only increased. She left him to his plumbing dilemma, and made her way to the elevator, going to the ground floor.

The smell of chicago style hotdogs wafted tantalizingly through the air, as she passed several vendors, each advertising the hot dogs for different reasons. In her mind, the food was a symbol of Chicago. Taking something regular and putting your own spin on it to make it better. Gradually making her way through the crowd, she found herself at some other store. Grabbing a cart she made her way swiftly down the aisle, grabbing anything and everything she thought was vital.

Spencer was at the soap section, grabbing various brands off the shelves for her mercurial minded roommate, when someone tapped her lightly on the shoulder. Turning around, she came face to face with a woman she had never expected to ever see again in her life. The lady's chocolate colored eyes matched Spencer's, her frizzy thick brown hair, streaked with gray however, deeply contrasted Spencer's own long wavy locks. The light green soap threatened to slip out from Spencer's weak grasp.

"Mom?"

Blaire Jacklyn Evans was an eccentric and ebullient middle aged woman, with a light pink cardigan draped over a simple black dress. She was known to have quick retorts among her neighbors, and was a lady that was rarely lost for words. This however, was one of those sporadic moments. The woman carefully regarded her daughter, her eyes betraying no emotions. Spencer still had the same lean physique, though her hair was slightly longer. The biggest change was her eyes, they were different, an intriguing kind of different. Though the same chocolate brown, but they now had some sort of...depth to them. As if she had seen too much. Of what, Blaire was oblivious to. Both women regarded each other carefully over steaming styrofoam cups of coffee. Chicago was a city of over caffeinated people, but, so was the rest of the world.

"Why are you here?" Blaire questioned, her fingers tapping on the table. Spencer replied a few moments later. "The people I work for have told us to leave for a couple of months.

"Y-you've gotten yourself fired? What company? Who do you even work for?"

Spencer hid a smile. This was exactly how she had expected her mom to react. She had played this moment through in her head many times before. In every scenario her mom had appeared amazed at what marvelous feats her daughter had accomplished. Working on a boat. Exploring oceans. However the next part of their encounter was entirely not presumed. Her mother just looked at her, unimpressed. "Look" Spencer breathed, resting her chin on her clasped hands. Clenching her teeth, she continued. "I'm sorry if I've let you down in any way. It was unintentional. I'm not trying to make you hate me. Even though, no matter what I say, you probably will." And with that, Spencer bent to get the bags at her feet. Her mother said nothing, not even when an unknown boy, with auburn hair called out Spencer's name. They spoke a few words, and the boy hooked a thumb at Blaire. Her daughter simply nodded and walked away. The boy however, came to stand at her table. Blaire looked at him, assuming the same look she had given her daughter. Her daughter had run off and married someone. A cheapskate too, considering her ringless finger.

The boy looked at her, smiling slightly. His eyes, Blaire noticed, were a light blue, like the sky on a sweltering summer day. Blaire always noticed people's eyes. It told the most about the person. Wordlessly, he brought out a stack of papers. A magazine. "I'm Tony Ranger" he introduced himself while grinning, and placed a newspaper in front of her, already turned to a certain page. The New York Rose was printed boldy at the top of the page. The boy then left, on a light jog, no doubt to catch up with her daughter. As she read each word, her eyes softened, the stiff façade dropped. She looked up, but the boy and her daughter were gone.

"Did you get what you needed?" Spencer asked as Tony jogged up to her. He grinned, "at this point calling a plumber is our best shot. NOt better cleaning supplies." Spencer nodded, then inquired about something else. "You didn't talk to my mom, did you? I told you not to." Tony grinned again, and shook his head. "Wouldn't dream of it."