And You'll Be The Girl That I Love

  The new apartment, in the downtown area, was stylish, and spacious, and the design-concious couple furnished the apartment with uselessly attractive furniture such as a guitar and understated flowers.

  One of the more functional objects they purchased was a professional bar. Olivia had nagged Harry for days on end for the big-ticket item, and he had decided to indulge her fantasies. To be frank, she wasn't the most talented of mixologists; most of her creations emanated a strange green stink. But she was confident her charm and good looks would get her a job.

  "This stuff is nasty. They blend it all wrong," Olivia groaned. She had been rejected once again at the Red Lounge, the fifth place she'd tried. "Want some?"

  "I don't drink third-party liquids. Haven't you heard of Anthrax?"

  "C'mon, with how much they charge, I doubt it'll hurt you."

  "What do you think voters will think of you being batshit insane?"

  Harry glared at her. He hadn't been to city hall yet, and he wasn't sure whether he would perform well at his job. Olivia's comment dug deep, and she could tell. "I'm sorry, Harry. I'm just annoyed at all these stupid hipster clubs. I mean, what's wrong with me? I'm perfectly capable."

  She glanced at the clock. "Oh, shit, it's almost closing time. Let's see, I spent...$50 on drinks. That's not too bad, is it?"

  "Well, considering you were trying to make money, it's pretty bad."

  "Whatever. I'm tired, let's just go home."

  Harry leaned over to give her a kiss. "You're too good for this place, anyway. Their pianist can't play for shit."

  She laughed. "You're going to be a great politician, Harry."

  "And you're going to be a great bartender."

  "Mixologist, honey, mixologist."

  "Mmmkay."

  The next morning, Harry woke up early and made his way to the bathroom. He was ambitious, and wanted a head start on his speech skills even though he would basically be on paper-pushing duty. 

  The Public Services Building was intimidating, but Harry ran confidently in. Sure enough, he got a low-level job in the City Hall wing. He could tell from his brief interview he would be well-liked as well as he kept his...quirks under wrap. 

  After he got his job, Harry decided to take a congratulatory stroll through the park to meet some locals. Anne Arbor had a reputation as a town for young artists, and it was easy to see why. There were few children and fewer elders, and Harry's put-together suits and slicked back hair stuck out in a crowd. Nevertheless, he had no precautions about introducing himself to an effeminate hippie practicing martial arts near the fountain.

  "Hello, I'm Harry Temper. I'm new in town, and I couldn't help but admire your technique."

  "Welcome, spirit-brother! I am Rain Cloudy, purveyor of organic pomelos to the urban wastelands. I hope you are enjoying Anne Arbor!"

  Wow, Harry thought, This guys even weirder than he looks! "It's a great city. Me and my wife are from Bridgeport- it's horribly designed. This is a much prettier town, don't you think?"

  "Wonderful! Wonderful! Wonderful!" And with that, Rain Cloudy skipped away, leaving Harry stranded and confused. 

  He turned his attention to a rambunctious clan near the stairway. They had arrived together, and were decidedly odd. The old, flirtatious blue lady seemed particularly off her rocker. 

  He turned his attention to the pierced blonde man the old lady was attempting to court. "Hey, do you need some help?" he asked. This seemed like the sort of person he wanted to be associated with: musical, bohemian.

  "Oh, it's all good. She's my mother-in-law, not quite right up there. Too much partying."

  "Those dark haired boys-"

  "My kids. Ignore them. They're just in a fighting phase." He paused for a second. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

  "No, I'm Harry. Nice to meet you."

  "You new to town?"

  "Yeah."

  The man laughed. "I guessed. Most people here know who I am."

  "Oh?"

  "Name's Stefan Blanc. Like from Blanc-85."

  "Oh, really? My wife loves your work."

  "My wife hates mine. But she just likes classical stuff." He smiled brightly. "I'll see you around."

     Oliva had finally found a job, at an empty sports bar in the basement. She wasn't happy. "How could this place stay in business? There's no one here."

  Harry raised his eyebrows. "I don't think you should say that about somewhere you work."

  "It's only temporary. As soon as the Red Room takes me, I'm outta here." The Red Room was a particularly unhip dive bar on Fifth Street, but it got a lot more traffic then where she currently worked. 

  "Be grateful you at least got a job."

  "You are so unsupportive, Harry." She put her glass on the counter with a sudden clanging sound. "But you have a point. You have a job. I have a job. Do you know what that entails?"

  "Oh, god, please don't say a celebration."

  "A celebration!"

  "Goddamnit, Olivia."

  "C'mon, you could get your name around and stuff. It'll be fuuun..."

  Harry had a hard time saying no to his wife. "Oh fine-"

  They headed out to a cool club on the docks the next night. And it was fun. Olivia was a great dancer, and Harry could almost keep up. Though they spent al the money they'd made in the past two days, it was worth it.

    And, much to Harry's delight, several celebrities were hitting the dance floor that night. One, Beau Merrick, was a vampire, the epitome of cool- if not the most savory character. But Harry held no prejudice as long as it got him some connections. 

  "As a vampire, do you feel as though you are being discriminated against for your species?"

  "I don't know, man, lose the sweater and I'll get back to you."

  That morning, Harry decided to thank Olivia for the night. "Oh, honey, you shouldn't have."

  "Want to eat breakfast together?" Harry asked hopefully. Olivia sighed.

  "I'm sorry, Hares, but I'm working 'till three in the morning at the Red Room. I need to get some sleep."

  Harry looked dejected. As much as he loved his new life, his new schedule left him without much time with his wife. He was out all day at City Hall, getting himself promoted to Ballot Checker and eventually  Assistant, while Olivia was out all night tending bars for petty tips from drunkards. It didn't seem fair.

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Challenge Notes:

The title is from Honney Bunny by the band Girls.

Well, now you REALLY know what the back of Harry's head looks like. Sorry about that. 

Anne Arbor was empty when I downloaded it,   so I populated with my own favorite characters. Rain Cloudy is from a hippy commune on the other side of town, and the Blancs are my previous legacy, in their sixth generation. Stefan is the husband of myfifth gen heir. They are by far the wealthiest family in town. 

  The date at the bar was the social outing for the week. I'm also counting destination parties as "outings" so you'll see a lot of those. 

  Harry and Olivia really don't get much time together. They're always either out, sleeping or skilling. That'll probably be the only conflict for this generation. It's going to be a pretty boring start, so hopefully the next generation will be super dramatic.

A note on Olivia's outfits- she has several: 1. her regular outfit, with the polka-dot pants and derby hat, 2. her work outfit, in a dress and a braided bun, because I thought she should have her hair up and her clothes less summery while she's in all these dive bars, 3. her club outfit, in a top-knot and necklace, and 4. her little black dress, which you haven't seen yet. I don't trust most CC so this is mostly store content. I love fashion, and Olivia makes a great Barbie, lol.