Small town girls: life in the 1950s (for RussianBunny)

[Renton]

Becky smiled at Olive's compliment. "Thank you, sweetie," she said, adding a little excited skip to her step. "I can help you find accessories that will fit your budget, it's sort of a specialty of mine," she said happily.

She listened as Olive described her interests. She was surprised, to be honest; she sort of expected a preacher's daughter to say she wanted to find a nice man after high school and get married and raise a big family. Those weren't uncommon goals for a lot of her classmates. She felt embarrassed for that assumption as Olive was clearly a creative sort, a writer and a photographer.

"Oh my god," Becky said when Olive mentioned her camera. "We could do a fashion shoot together!"

She was also happy to hear that Olive wanted to go to college. "You too?" she exclaimed. "That's wonderful. I want to go to college too. And, you know, get an actual degree. My mama expects me to find a man to marry and leave after our wedding, but that seems like such a waste, you know? Colleges have these amazing libraries and resources to learn, and I want to learn as much as I can more than anything."

She sighed. "There's so much out there and I've been here my whole life. I don't want to settle down too soon."

Their pace settled to more of a meander as they walked. Becky glanced down at her watch and realized they were going to be later than intended. "Drat!" she said, practically pulling Olive along. "My mom won't be happy if we show up late!"

[Bye_bye_birdie45]

"I'll keep that in mind," Olive said at her friend's quip, but she didn't really want to mention that she didn't have any kind of a budget with clothes, unless she asked her father. And Olive tried to avoid doing that, unless she desperately needed something or she'd go without.

"That sounds fun!" Olive squealed, a wide grin on her face. She could have someone to model for her, and that could absolutely help with her learning how to use the cameras properly. It could make all the difference in the world!

"Oh, I understand completely. I don't think I'd want to leave campus for anything, not without getting my degree first." That was just logical, right? You went to college to learn and become intelligent. "And I'm pretty sure I'll end up reading their libraries inside and out!"

Olive couldn't help but let out a squeak as Becky pulled her along quickly down the sidewalk, until they nearly passed her house. "Wait, Becky! I have to talk to Daddy, remember? Here, come inside with me! I'm sure he'd love to meet you!" And Olive took her new-found friend's arm and urged her up the porch (even though both girls could see Mrs. Simon's car in the church parking lot next door) and knocked on the door.

"Daddy?" Olive called. Unfortunately, she didn't have a key to the house just yet: her father had the only one, and the League had promised to have a locksmith come and replicate it twice over, so Olive could have one (and they could have a spare, just in case). "Daddy, are you there?"

[Renton]

"Damn... sorry... I forgot!" Becky proclaimed, realizing her proclivity for pulling her friends around was rearing its head again. She let Olive take the lead towards her house. It was a famous one in the neighborhood, old and rumored to be haunted (as all old, large, unoccupied homes are). She waited patiently as Olive knocked on the door.

~~~~~~

Jordan was in the living room when he heard a knock. "Coming, coming," he said when he heard Olive's voice. He opened the door and was surprised, and pleased, to see the pretty redhead standing next to her. It seemed his daughter had indeed made a friend already!

"Hello there sweetie," he said, leaning in to kiss his daughter on her cheek. "And you must be Rebecca Simon," he said with a smile, extending his hand. "Your mother dropped by when she showed up and said you'd be coming."

He looked down the street towards the Church. "I guess we should head over there now. It's my place of business after all," he said, chuckling. "Let's walk over and Olive, you can tell me how your first day at your new school went," he said, grabbing his hat from the coat rack near the front door and putting it on.

[Bye_bye_birdie45]

"Shh," Olive whispered to her when she heard her friend curse. Yes, it was a mild curse, but still a curse. "Don't let Daddy hear you say that." Thankfully, Pastor Driver didn't seem to have heard it, so there was no harm.

She happily kissed her father's cheek back, and she was very pleased to see how happy her father seemed over her making a friend. He knew how difficult it was for Olive, so both of them were rather excited. Olive waited for her father to grab his hat, and lock the house door, before the trio started to head towards the church.

"It was rather nice for a first day, Daddy." After all, some 'first days' students thought it would be fun to pull pranks. One year, when Olive had been in 7th grade, all the lockers had been filled with seaweed. "Becky and I have two classes together, and all my teachers seem very nice! What about you, Becky?" Olive asked, not wanting to exclude her new friend from the conversation.

[Renton]

Becky was quiet at first, worried perhaps that Jordan had heard her curse. When all was clear, she spoke up in her usual fashion. "Pastor Driver, I am just so glad I ran into Olive today. She is a sweetheart. We're already making plans for fashion shoots and shopping and it's just going to be a grand time." Not wanting to embarrass Olive, Becky reeled in her excitement. "How has the move in to your new home been?" she asked inquisitively.

~~~~~

Jordan was a little taken aback at Becky's enthusiasm, but he couldn't help but be pleased. Olive was often a shy girl and meeting someone this buoyant who couldn't care less about his profession could well be a wonderful development.

"It has been going smoothly," he said. "It's a beautiful house for sure. And I do appreciate the help your mother and her group have provided. Just the house itself was a gift that I can't even begin to repay."

They arrived at the church where Jennifer and her friends were setting up. "Afternoon, ladies," Jordan said, removing his hat. "You are the professionals at this. What needs setting up?"

[Bye_bye_birdie45]

Jennifer, to be honest, was rather glad that her daughter had arrived to help, and it was certainly nice to see Pastor Driver and his daughter Olive there to help out as well. Some of the other women who were there (there were three others, and they were all League members) were quite surprised to see that the new Pastor was handsome, but they were all married, so there was nothing else they could do but smile and wave and be friendly - and possibly gossip later on behind their husband's backs.

"Oh, Pastor Driver, you don't need to worry about helping set up, I'm sure we've gotten most of it - and if we've missed anything, I'm sure it's on the checklist," Jennifer said, coming over to shake the Pastor's hand. "Becky, why don't you check to make sure everything's done." Then she turned back to Jordan. "Would you mind if I introduced you to some of the ladies in the League? Miss Snider over there was the one who suggested the house next door versus one of the ones I had picked, down the road yonder."

Olive, who was nervous about meeting adults she hadn't previously encountered, was very eager to shuffle over to the checklist. Tables were set up, the decorations were up, the food was (obviously) missing until Sunday after church, the floor was clean... All that was left was to pull out some of the fold-away chairs and set them up by the tables.

[Renton]

Becky nodded and got to work. Initially anyway. She went over the checklist with Olive, and was happy to hand it over to her. The chairs needed to be set up, and while this was easy work, it was fairly boring as well. Still, Becky slogged through it. She did sort of dread the purpose for these chairs; Becky found the luncheons to be boring much of the time. Still, it was something that mattered to her mother, so she put up a show.

Once the chairs were set she approached Olive. "Come on, let's get out of here and do something fun!" she said. "My friends and I were going to the diner, they're probably there already!"

~~~~~

Jordan was amused by Jennifer's zealousness in introducing him to the rest of the League. He knew that women were attracted to him, but assumed most of these women were married, and there'd be little risk of truly awkward interactions. He shook their hands and thanked Miss Snider and charmed the League members for a few minutes before glancing up to see what Olive was up to.

[Bye_bye_birdie45]

Olive was quite proud of herself. Everything was neat and in order, and nobody had gotten hurt in the process of organizing the hall. And she hadn't made a fool of herself by bumping into a chair or tripping over something. This was good.

"Huh? sure! That sounds great," Olive said with a grin. "But... shouldn't we tell our parents where we're going?" After all, she didn't want to worry her dad over something small. "Wait, I have an idea," and before Becky could say anything, she went over and wrote a small note on the checklist and said, "Let's go!"

Becky had been correct: the diner wasn't too far away, only a few blocks, and Olive was glad she had saved some of her lunch money from school when she saw that kids around were eating and playing music on the jukebox. And Tammy and Lizzy were also there, despite apparently being grounded or having to take care of sick family members.

~~~~~~

"Is something wrong, Pastor Driver?" Jennifer noticed when the man appeared to pull himself away from the conversation as he peered around the room. Jennifer looked herself, and she saw why: both teenaged girls were gone. Now, where could they have gone...? she thought to herself.

[Renton]

Becky didn't see the harm in ditching without telling anyone; she was 18, it wasn't like she needed permission to go anywhere, and it was clear that Olive had things under control. When they got to the diner, Becky was pleased that her persuasiveness had worked on her friends, even though they weren't supposed to be here. "Glad to see you girls," she said as she took her seat and ordered a strawberry milkshake. "Thought your brother had chicken pox, Lizzy," she said with an eyebrow raised. "I guess he got better pretty fast?" She loved to tease her friends and she never meant any harm by it. She realized she had a strong personality, but it had always served her well.

She eyed a group of four boys in varsity jackets sitting in another booth over by the door. "The 'Welcome Back' sock hop is this evening at the gym" she said, her eyes furrowing with almost laser focus. She pulled out her compact and reapplied her lipstick. "All right girls, it's only a matter of time before they notice us. I call dibs on Stanley," she said, eying the tall blonde boy.

~~~~~

Jordan wasn't too worried about his daughter, but it wasn't like her to go somewhere without telling him first. He heard Jennifer come up behind him and ask if something was wrong. "Oh... no, not really," he said. "Our daughters seem to have up and left. I think they got everything done, but Olive usually tells me when she's going somewhere. I'm none too worried, I assume she's in safe hands with your Becky. If they're out for too long I'll head into town to look."

Truth be told, Jordan was a bit nervous. He knew he could be a bit too protective of Olive, but she was all he had left in the world. As it was, he knew this was a safe town, but he still felt a nervous twinge in his chest about Olive being out without telling him where she was going.

[Bye_bye_birdie45]

Olive felt a little awkward as her new friends all ordered the diner's special milkshakes (which were ten cents - not overly expensive, she guessed, but she didn't have any money on her), but thankfully nobody said anything when she just got a water. Likewise, at least Lizzy had the grace to blush when Becky mentioned her brother.

Sock hop? Olive thought to herself quietly as Becky seemed to immediately focus on a group of boys who were sipping on milkshakes and eating fries. Not wanting to sound stupid for not knowing up-and-coming social gatherings, Olive also looked over when Lizzy and Tammy peered at the boys.

"They're a part of the football team!" Tammy squealed. "They're seniors! I think Richard already got offered a scholarship to Tuscaloosa!"

"That's hours away, though!" Lizzy said. "I couldn't imagine dating someone who'll go so far away for college!"

To be honest, Olive couldn't imagine herself dating anyone on a football team, period. Athletes in particular had never really been nice to her. Not to mention, none of them looked especially bright.

"Aren't they cute?" Lizzy asked Olive, who - before she could stop herself - shrugged and answered quietly, "That one with the black hair doesn't have braces." Which caused Tammy to go into a giggle fit.

~~~~~~~~~~

Jennifer sighed and rubbed her hand over her face, even though the gesture wasn't even remotely lady-like. Becky, in all her infinite 18-year-old wisdom, had probably gone off somewhere to meet her other friends. Not that Jennifer normally minded, but it wouldn't been at least considerate for her daughter to tell her where she was going. Or to write a note.

"I'm sure they'll be fine," Mrs. Simon said, walking over to the clipboard to double-check everything on the list. Then she noticed some small scrawling on the bottom:

Daddy, Becky and I are heading over to a diner she said is downtown. I'll try and be back soon! I love you!

Smiling to herself, she showed it to the Pastor. "Is this your daughter's handwriting?" she inquired, knowing very well that it was. "She'll be fine, Pastor."