The Bowery ||| Open Thread

[Greyknight]

Johann

Johann could feel the contact of Andria's fingertips against his palm. His embarassment grew larger than even he thought possible. "Danke," he managed " but I cannot take dis apfel." He started to speak his native tongue when he became flustered or in this case embarassed. " I didn't pay, so you keep." Johann said taking the apple an wrapping her hands around it. He had seen the look she gave toward the rear of the shop and didn't want to cause her trouble.
He looked down as he realised that he still hand his hands pressing hers against the apple. Quickly he let go and stood to go. " It was nice to meet you but I must get things and report for work soon. Perhaps I can meet you later. That is if you want to. Or...umm..well...ok I need to be going."
Johann frantically looked around but couldn't spot anyone he knew. So he looked down at this petite woman in front of him. " I will be back here this evening. And perhaps we can talk again,yes?"

 

[Lady Mel]

Still lost in the gaze of Johnny's eyes she could feel his hands on hers, and she managed to stumble on the words, "yes i would like to meet you later." she managed to crack a smile as she could feel her heart racing and her face getting warmer, her body tingling with excitement.

As he bagan to walk away she said, "Johnny?" as he turned back to face her, "what time?" she smiled.

 

[DustyWolfe]

Petruska removes his fingers from the brim of his hat and smiles at her "Pleased to meet you fine lady" he says in a very soft voice. He watches her intently, looking deeply into her eyes as he thinks to himself --she sure seems distracted today, I do hope that she is doing okay or that I have done nothing to upset her-- He sighs a bit and turns his complete attentions back to her. He knows she has it rough, he tilts his head towards the chicken coup and then looks back at her. He really wants to offer one to her since he has so many since that's how most of his patrons pay him. "Nita" he starts to say something but stops himself, he wishes he knew how to help her. He has heard stories about how rough it is for her right now through the market gossip. He then chuckles to himself and walks over to a wardrobe "Umm... would you take a chicken in exchange for putting new buttons on these?" he asks as he holds up his coveralls. He lays them over his stool and goes around back and immediately puts a rooster and a hen in a small crate "Here, you can cook them or use them for egg laying" he says softly, genuine sincerity in his eyes "I can't sew, my fingers are too tough now from my job. This is my most comfortable pair" he says with a sheepish smile on his face.

He grins to himself as he watches her walk out of the building partly because he feels like he has helped her, and also because he knows that he will see her again. He doubts he can ever go for her, it wouldn't be proper, but at least he can enjoy her company in this respect if nothing else. He has resigned himself to the fact that he will most likely live out his days alone.

 

[Jessalynvix]

Nita smiles at Peter a bright smile as she listens to him and she blushes a little bit. She gazes at him and what he says hits her and she blushes more. "Yes Peter I will." she says quietly and she takes the coveralls and then looks at the crate. "I'll pick the crate up when I return the coveralls." she says quietly knowing she can't carry the crate and take the hourse as well.

She exits the building and smiles to herself thinking they will have some good food and thinks they will let the chickens lay some eggs and then eat them. She returns the horse to it's lean-to and goes off to take the mending to her other clinet then to finally finish her day and clean up the last house she does. She picks up a little bit more mending at that house and returns to her own house after first stoping in the market and getting a sausage to add to the rice.

She hurries to her apartment dwelling and puts the sausage on to cook with the rice and smiles as she quickly finds buttons for the coveralls. She goes into her own meager possestions to do it and gets the special buttons she took off the last nice dress she ever wore before coming here the star shapped ones. She sews those onto the coveralls smiling as she does this because she likes Peter he is so nice. She kisses her parents and grandmother as they go to eat there meal and tells them the news. "Wir wille haben eggs am morgen." she says quietly.
They look at her curiously a moment. "I reparieren the smithy's coveralls he give me chickens." she says using a mix of german and english.

She finishes her meal and heads off to Peter's taking the coveralls with her. She knocks on his door and waits for him to answer it.

OOC Wir wille haben eggs am morgen =We will have eggs in the morning and reparieren means mended or repair in German

 

[DustyWolfe]

Petruska goes about his day, finishing up his smithing work and making a few brands for some ranchers that are visiting from the west. He's a great iron worker, and his brands are some of the best that many of the westerners that come carrying gold from the gold rush claim to have seen. He prepares the brands happily knowing that these men with the heavy pockets will pay him in gold, or if nothing else a handful of silver certificates. He sighs a bit, wishing he had someone to share the wealth with. He has some money, but he doesn't flaunt it. The trip to U.S pretty much broke his father but they had a bit saved back when he passed away.
As he finishes shodding the last horse he looks up at the pinkening sky and shakes his head, a bit relieved at the day being over with because he knows that he will see her again. If she doesn't come to bring the coveralls he will at least see her in his usual morning stroll through the market. He walks through the market every day, though he very rarely buys anything.
Petruska changes clothes down in the stable so he doesn't track in hay and other undesirable filth then walks around to the house and starts to clean a chicken. Once he finishes cleaning the chicken he tosses into a pot of boiling water and measures out a couple of cups of rice then adds it. He had picked the smallest chicken because he figured he could eat it alone. He adds some herbs from his garden then reaches up into a meager cabinet to get a bowl, he bumps his head as there is a knock on the door.
"Who could that be?" he muses to himself as opens the door to find Nita standing there with his overalls, his heart starts pounding as he steps back and motions for her to come in "Thank you, you did wonderfully" he says as he pulls out a chair "Stay for soup?" he asks tentatively as he reaches over and brushes a stray tendril of hair from her face. He kicks himself mentally as he does this, not believing he actually touched her.

 

[Jessalynvix]

Nita blushes as she stands there and he takes the coveralls from her. She smiles at Peter. "You are welcome." she says softly and blushes even more as he touches her face. She doesn't move back or anything though the touch more or less sends a shiver down her spine and makes her tingle a tiny bit. She blushes more. "Yes." is all she says to his invitation even though she has eating something she knows her body is still hungry so she takes the seat that is offered to her.

She watches as Peter gets the soup into bowls and sits down with her. She smiles at him and starts to eat her soup slowly savoring the taste of it. "It is good." she says humbly and she tries to stay in good thoughts and not think of what she might have to do. "Are you in need of having more things mended?" she asks quietly as she wants another exuse to see him. "Oh and the chickens where are they?" she asks quietly not wanting to forget to take then home with her.

 

[Greyknight]

Johann

As Johann turned to walk away he heard Andria call out ' What time?' He turned back to her and said, " I'll be back hear when St. Michael's bells toll out 7. I'm really in a hurry I have to get to work soon. See you this evening." He waved as he turned and started to trot towards the docks.

Johann barely noticed the passing of time as he worked for there were very few breaks and the labor was very physcial. Once he started in unloading a ship he was wholy occupied in his task. The second ship was just being finished when in the distance he heard six chimes from the enormous bells hanging in St. Michael's cathredral. Just enough time to get home, clean up, and grab a bite to eat, he thought to himself.

Once again making his way through the marketplace Johann noticed many familiar faces as he wound his way through the maze of stalls and the press of people. He nodded to those he knew and studiously ignored those he did not. He did not want to draw unwanted attention to himself. He let out a small,sad sigh when he finally reached the building where his family lived. Perhaps for not much longer though if little Augustus doesn't get better, he thought to himself. Standing up just a little straighter he went inside.

 

[Lady Mel]

6 Chimes of the Bell

Andria heard the bell at St. Michaels ring out six times as she brushed her long brunette hair.

She was anticapating seeing Johnny in 1 hour. She was excited yet nervous, her palms were clammy as she grasped the brush in her hand. She went to the closet to find something pretty yet slightly suductive, she rumbled thru her dresses and then she found it, the dress was soft as velvet to touch, soft pastel ribbon of lavendar, entwined up the front that started at her navel and up to the low cut bust line, the corset she wore underneath pushed her breast nicely together as she was already well endowed the dress would show her feminine features that would surely catch the eye of Johnny.

She left the house at 6:40 that would give her 20 minutes to rush back to the fruit stand to wait for his appearance. As she walked thru the empty streets of closed shopes she wondered where he lived, could it be he was already there waiting for her? The fruit stand had been closed since 5pm when she arrived she didnt want to unlock the doors so she sat on the barrel out side. It was the same barrel that Johnny had sat on earlier in the day as she thought back to that moment she chuckled to herself still seeing him biting the apple but what she remember most was the beautiful eyes and his warm finger tips. At that moment she heard someone walking down the street. Could it be Johnny??

 

[DustyWolfe]

Petruska clances at the overalls one last time before putting them up, he notices the star buttons and looks at them curiously before going back to the kitchen and sitting down to join the lovely lady for dinner. He eats quietly, blushing at the compliment to the meal "Thank you" he says modestly. He stops eating and glances at her a moment as he tries to think about his clothes and whether or not any of them need mending. "Uhh... I'm sure I have clothes that need mending" he says as he tries to think about this. He grins broadly at her question about the chickens "I have them in a safe place, but I got to thinking about something, you can cook the chickens I gave you, and if you help me keep my place clean since I'm not a very good housekeeper I can give you all the eggs you want. I have about 25 chickens and more eggs than I can eat, that's why I keep ending up with more and more chickens" he says with a laugh "and about 10 chicks as well now" he adds with a sheepish smile "They are awfully cute." He goes back to eating his soup, listening to her as she speaks. He can't even beging to understand why he is so excited about her being here. It's nice to not be alone all the time. He sighs softly to himself then looks up at her and smiles.

 

[Jessalynvix]

Nita smiles at Peter and blushes a bit. She blinks as what he says sinks in. "Ya I clean for you." she says softly thinking that they will definately will not go hungry again. She listens to him and thinks about this. She giggles a bit. "Ya chicks are cute." she says quietly and she smiles as she is very happy to clean for him and make sure his place is clean in exchange for eggs it suits her for they need food so that they do not starve. "Thank you." she says softly and some of the worry fades from her eyes and she just hopes they can scrap up the cash for the rent so that she does not have to whore herself out. A faint blush creeps into her face as she even thinks about that.

 

[DustyWolfe]

Petruska smiles as he sees the relief in her face at having food "I can find stuff for you to do I think. Please, don't worry. You wont starve" he says softly and looks down at his dish, he feels really bad for her, especially cause he likes her. He finishes off his soup and stands up, he brings the pot over and splits some more chicken off the bone and puts it in her dish then adds some broth and rice and does the same for himself as he looks around for a spare pot "Take the rest home?" he asks, wanting to so bad to help her but he doesn't know how without just being overly giving to the point of making her feel bad. He eats his soup quietly then takes his dish to the sink and cleans it out before returning to sit down and watch her "It's nice to have..." 'what's the word I'm looking for' he thinks to himself "companion... company" he corrects himself "I get lonely here all by myself" he says softly, wishing he knew how he could let himself get closer without losing it all. He had noticed her blushing but was afraid of embarassing her so he said nothing..

 

[Jessalynvix]

Nita smiles at Petruska greatfully and she flushes a bit more as she nods her head. "Yes please." she says quietly. She continues to eat the soup rather enjoying this having a full stomach for the first time in a very long time. She finshes her soup up and smiles at him. "I may need for you to carry something for me." she says quietly stumbling over her words a bit. She tries to not blush at what Peter says about having company and she nods her head. "And you can help me with my English some?" she asks still stumbling around her words so they are kinda garbled in half english half german. She takes her own bowl to the sink and quickly puts some water on the stove and heats it so that she may wash the dirty dishes up. Once the water is warmed she pours it in the sink and puts some soap in and washes the dishes. She rinses the dishes and dries them off and sets them on the counter.

 

[Greyknight]

Johann

Walking up the stairs to the small apartment his family shared Johann's thoughts wandered. What to do. he mused. Will the family have to move? If they do will I go or stay here? So many questions and not enough answers. Just then Johann's reverie was broken by loud cursing in German followed by a plate smashing against the wall. Sighing softly to himself Johann walked into his home.

His entire family was seated around the table that dominated the kitchen. He went over and lightly kissed his mother and nodded to his father." I need to clean up. I'll be back out for dinner in a few minutes, Muter." Walking back to his room Johann grabbed the basin of water that was slowly being heated on the radiator. Once in his room he stripped of his work shirt and washed himself quickly. Donning a clean shirt he then went back to the kitchen.

Dinner went by fairly quick. It seemed that while Johann had been at work the doctor had been by. Augustus was geting worse, not better. The family had to move and Johann had to decide if he was going to stay or move with them. Unable to decide right away he told his parents that he was going out to think about it.

Walking out of the building, it felt as if a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. Johann breathed deeply of the night air. Just then St. Michael's bells began ringing. With a sudden realization,Johann remembered that he was supposed to meet Andria. And he was late. Quickly making his way through the now mostly closed shops he hoped that she hadn't left yet. And more importantly, that she wasn't mad at him.

 

[Lady Mel]

footsteps

As the bells chimed 7 times, Andria sat patiently waiting for Johnny the footsteps she had heard earlier were not of him. She began to think he was not coming. She glanced over her shoulder in disappointment only to see the shadow of the handsome man she had been waiting on off in the distance. She smiled as she watched the shadow grow closer to her. as she seen his strong built body approach she quickly turned her head, for she did not want him to see her watching him.

 

[DustyWolfe]

Petruska smiles at Nita "Of course I can help you with English, I speak it as well as I do my own language... well most of the time at least" he says with a grin. He watches her quietly as she washes the dishes then looks around quietly, for some reason he is looking for jobs for her to do. He is by no means rich, he just has a wealth of goods and livestock since that's how he gets paid most of the time. He looks at the floor while she has her back turned then quickly grabs the broom and hides it under the bed, thinking like a fool that she will never spot it there. "You know... I have no broom. No wonder the floor is so dusty. I need to put more thresh in doorway too (thresh hold... a type a straw was put here to keep bugs and dirt from coming in through the space between the floor and the bottom of the door).

He muses a bit, trying to think of odd jobs then shrugs and adds "Oh yea, and I will walk you home. I don't want you to get jumped because someone thinks you are.... are..." he can't think of a word... you know.... a friendly woman" he says softly, not wanting her to think he is rude or something. He just really likes her and doesn't want her to get injured or anything. "Oh... my pants" he runs to the other room and fetches a pair of pants, taking a knife to them quickly and ripping out the crotch "I need these mended please" he says before she is ready to leave "and I guess I will buy a broom while we are in the market?"

 

[Jessalynvix]

Nita finishes the dishes and smiles. "Thank you." she says softly and she shakes her head a moment. "You hid it Peter. I saw it earlier." she says quietly. "I shall sweep tomorrow and clean up and make more thresh."

She blushes a bit and smiles at him. "Thank you much." she says and waits for him she picks the pot up and will let him carry the chicken crate. She looks at his pants. "You must caught on somehting." is all she says. "I shall fix them and have them for you tomorrow when I come to clean."

She starts out the door and waits for Peter and they start there walk through the empty market place as it is later in the evening and pretty much everyone is done. She leads him up to her place and asks him in briefly. "Mama Papa Granmama dis is Peter he help me learn better English and pay me to clean in food." she says softly as she sets the pot on the stove and settles the crate on the floor out of the way.

They all look at Peter and warily for a moment. Then warm up as they realize he is indeed nice.

 

[Lady Mel]

not coming back

Thank you all for letting me join
But r/l issues are taking me from writing for now

 

[Arioso]

Tatiana

"I'm sorry...I pry too much," Tatiana murmured when Ole remained silent.

She had nearly combed straight through all the knots in his shaggy hair, and still he'd refrained from answering her question about why he'd chosen to stay in the Bowery, with all its misery, when his family had left for the farmlands of the midwest.

The awkward silence weighed upon her like a rebuke. And so Tatiana busily set herself to clipping Ole's hair, tidying it up until he could see without needing to brush his bangs out of his face.

Eventually, the two of them eased into a tentative conversation. Tatiana was careful not to pry about his family, and instead they talked about life and work in this big, bustling city. And if Tatiana's cheeks still flushed a little at the masculine beauty of Ole's chest and shoulders, she nonetheless suppressed her reactions. She had already made him feel uncomfortable enough.

But he seemed kind at heart, and when she finished he actually offered her a grateful smile as he showed her to the door.

It had only taken about half an hour, all told, so when Tatiana left Ole she made her way through the streets back toward the restaurant. There was still much of the day left, and both the afternoon and evening customers to feed. Mrs. Krupskaya ushered her into the kitchen, where Tatiana set herself to chopping cabbage after cabbage after cabbage for the stew.

"And don't forget to take a pot of stew over to Herr Yager's tavern so that he'll send his boy over with a case of beer," Mrs. Krupskaya reminded her when the stew was simmering on the stove. Mrs. Krupskaya and Herr Yager had a long-standing arrangement where her restaurant would provide a little food for him to sell to the tavern patrons, and in exchange he would send over a case of beer that could be served with meals at the restaurant.

At around 11:30, when several kettles of stew were well along, Tatiana put a lid on one of them, hefted it off the stove, and lugged it down the street to the tavern. The heavy pot strained her muscles to the point that a mild sheen of sweat broke out on her forehead, but she was used to this, as it had been a daily part of her job ever since she'd started cooking for Mrs. Krupskaya.

Stepping inside the tavern, Tatiana called out, "Milo? Milo, are you here? I've come with today's soup."

 

[DustyWolfe]

Petruska puts his hand on the back of his head and laughs heartily "Well, don't I feel sheepish? You caught me" he says with a wink then smiles at her "So my ploy to get you to come back an extra time didn't work" he says with a grin.

Petruska looks around quietly as they walk through the empty market. He carries the items she cannot and and smiles at her family as he is taken in to the meet them. "Hi" he says softly since he doubts they know much English." he isn't sure what to say really so he just stands back out of the way and watches. After a moment he pats her shoulder lightly then quickly draws his hand back knowing he shouldn't have touched her like that "I really should go" he says softly. "I will see you tomorrow." He feels the need to get home before he starts to show emotions that he doesn't care to show at this moment.

 

[Jessalynvix]

Nita flushes as Peter touches her shoulder a bit. "Yes see you tomorrow." she says softly as he leaves. She then heats the soup up and serves each of them a bowl. She starts to mend the cut in Peter's pants so that she can return them to him tomorrow. She smiles a bit as she is working on the pants.

She goes to bed as soon as she is done mending so she can sleep before she gets up to go and clean. She wakes up and goes off to do her cleaning. She finishes all her houses then returns to Peter's she knocks on his door.

 

[DustyWolfe]

Petruska takes the normal way to his back on the other side of the bowery. He stops on the way and walks down the end of one of the docks and sits, watching the moonlight on the water as he sighs. He wishes things were different. He really wants to be with Nita but it will never happen because he knows he can't make a move of any sort with the secrets he has to hide.

Petruska finally heads for home and slips out of his clothes into a night shirt. He slips into bed and blows out his lantern, sighing as he keeps thinking about the person he can't have. He is sure he will die alone. He chuckles a bit to himself "I guess the only way anything will happen if she seduces me and we all know that women never seduce men" he says then laughs at himself.

He sleeps deeply with good dreams then awakens with a start realizing that he over slept. He goes into work and has the worst day ever. Some greenhorn brings in a pony with a horrible temper. As he tries to trim it's hoofs it bites him several times but he finally gets the jobs done after smacking the pony's nose lightly a few times. But when he tries to shoe the pony he kicks him in the side just below his ribs, causing him to double over in pain for a while. He finally straightens himself out and painfully finishes shoeing the pony then puts him in a stall with a few flakes of hay, leaving him till morning when the owner picks him up.

Once he finishes work he drags the tub into an empty room and starts bringing in buckets of icy water then heats several buckets of hot water over the fire and adds them till the tub is steaming with warm water. He strips out hys clothes and slips into the tub to relax and sooth his bruised body from the bites and the kicking. He blocks out all sounds, smell, everything....

 

[Jessalynvix]

Nita stands outside and decides to go into his place since he didn't answer the door. She started off by sweeping the floor and laying some new thrush down. She cleans up the kitchen and makes her way through out the house tiding up. She goes into another room and stops short as she sees Peter in the tub. She gasps as she sees all his bruises. She goes out and returns with a salve and some liniment.

"Peter I'm going to tend to your brusies." she says quietly as she starts to wash them slowly. She gazes at his body and blushes having not seen a nude body before aside her own. She rubs the cloth over them clensing them with the water and she then brushes her lips over them gently before putting salve on them. "What happened?"

 

[Jessalynvix]

oops

 

[Jessalynvix]

oops

 

[DustyWolfe]

Peter gasps and jumps as he hears Nita speak to him. He scambles for a cloth that he uses to dry off with and covers himself very quickly, blushing brightly at her seeing him. He closes his eyes on the verge of tears at the thought of losing his home, his business, his land even though it is not much.

He blinks at her question and her touching him, her fingers moving the cloth away as she starts to clean his body, cuts and bruises and all. A few of the bites are a bit deep and he was very lucky not to have a rib broken "A horse with a nasty temper decided he didn't want his hooves trimmed or shod" he says softly, then catches one of her hands and looks into her eyes "P... please... Don't tell anyone. I will give you all my money... Just please... I can't lose my land and home" he pleads with her.