A Wrench in the Gears [Damien Haas]

24. It's time to get this bread.

Hey, guys! How are you all doing?

Thank you, guys, for 1.3k+ reads! Can't believe it's the second to the last chapter of this book now. Time flies really quickly when we're having fun, right?

Anyway, Jade's point of view for the last of time! I'm gonna miss writing in this girl's perspective. See ya!

-/-/-

Breathe in, breathe out. Take it easy, Jade.

"I honestly don't know what to say," I tell Mom. "I mean, everything's going great and all, but now that the chance for an LA-based promotion is actually given to me... I mean, it's perfectly fine because it's in LA, but the hours would be different. I might have to get dresses now. I'm gonna miss my slacks."

"Cut yourself some slack," she replies, laughing. "You're about to become the anchorwoman of Athens News in Los Angeles. It's been your dream for how long?"

"Not really my dream," I say as I brush the dust off the table in the living room. "But sort of."

"Well, you just have to make sure your work fits your energy, okay? I have to go, sweetie, I have a yoga class and I'm stuck in traffic. Mama's gonna try and run it."

"Okay, Mom. Take care. I miss you."

"I miss you too, sweetheart. Bye!" she exclaims before hanging up.

It's been four months since Baby Olive was born and Shayne and Courtney got married. It's also been six months since Nancy left Athens and our new boss, Mrs. Lucy Williams, took over. She's more progressive than Nancy, so in a matter of months, I managed to get myself an LA-based promotion. No more going to New York and all that, so I was happy. I haven't told Damien quite yet, since I just received it this afternoon and I came home recently.

Why We're Good at Dating, after eleven successful episodes, was still going. Most of what we did on the channel was just weird-ass stunts and games, but none of them actually peered too much into my relationship with Damien. We both didn't want much of the public to know what we were doing, because it was getting kind of tiring to entertain a bunch of questions, but so far it was okay.

Now, I'm just cleaning. It's been a while since I last cleaned, because it seemed like a heavy chore to me after working for ten hours a day. But now, it's relaxing: there's the scent of lavender in the living room as Beethoven plays in the background. It feels like starting a new chapter, and it relieves me. It's weird to think that I met Damien a year and a month ago, because it hasn't felt a long time yet. Every single day with him is an adventure, and I'm happy with that.

Strangely enough, it's raining this evening, and it's a bit strong too. I take out the umbrellas from the attic and put them inside one of the umbrella holders which I forgot we had because it rarely rained in Los Angeles. Also, when my brothers died and my mother moved away, I could always put my umbrella up in my room or at the front porch when it had to dry up. Damien had two umbrellas and I had two as well, so we needed this.

I proceed to the kitchen and wash and place the new utensils we bought a week ago in their respective places. I decide to clean out some cabinets and cupboards and place new things in them. I throw out everything expired and replace them with the groceries. As for the dining room, I finally take out the new placemats and coasters we haven't opened yet to use them and throw out the old ones. I sweep around and then I head upstairs.

I change the beddings in all the rooms with new ones that I never took out when my brothers were alive. I even replace some old pillows in our room and get the new feathery ones for midnight comfort and occasional pillow fights. In the bathrooms, I throw out old plastic bottles for the last time and use reusable containers for our shampoos and soaps.