Chapter 3 - Settling down

Sydney 

I could not believe my good fortune of running into a pair of good Samaritan siblings the moment I stepped into San Francisco. I couldn't turn them down. A few hours later Mike was hauling up my luggage while Leah chattered away, linking her arm along with mine. She talked to me as if we were old chums and led me to the parking lot where a battered old Honda stood waiting.

The apartment was nice, it had a medium-sized living room, with an open kitchen. A passage on the side led to 2 bedrooms. It wasn't shabby or rundown. It even had a balcony with a nice view of a garden. I liked it.

"Welcome to our castle," Leah said with a flourish. 

She led me to her bedroom. It was just tidy enough to show that she cared about the space and just messy enough to show that she was able to let her creativity roam free. It was her goldilocks zone, perfect for how she was.

"Wow! It's lovely here,” I said.

Mike brought in my luggage. 

" I am moving out next week into a studio apartment, just a floor above. You can take my room once I am gone." He said.

"Perfect," I smiled at him.

"How about we all go out to get some dinner?"  Leah suggested.

“ I’ve got a lot of unpacking to do, I can cook something for you. I am not a bad cook." I said.

“Oh! Come on don't be a spoilsport!" Leah grumbled.

“ Dont force her Leah, help me haul that cot you are not being very useful anyway,” Mike interjected.

 In no time the brother and sister had put a cot for me at the other side of Leah's room. I had soon unpacked my luggage,

Unboxing some dirty clothes, I headed down to the washer and dryer in the basement. Heading upstairs and into the kitchen. Since I had declined to eat out. I decided to cook dinner. I raided the fridge, which contained, some cheese a bottle of bologna sauce. I found some paste in one of the cabinets and set it to work. 

Since the kitchen was too small to fit all three of us, we had our meal in the main hall. 

To my surprise, Mike opened a bottle of wine and passed me a glass of wine. 

"Thanks," I said gratefully. 

He raised a toast, "To Sydney, our new friend." 

I giggled as Leah joined him. We talked about random stuff.

"So tell us something about yourself?" Mike asked.

"Well, I am from Australia as you already know, My parents were very hard-working people. They owned a petrol station and a convenience store, I lost them in a car accident when I was 16."

Leah placed her hand on mine. 

"I am so sorry."

"It was destiny," I paused, I rarely talked about my parents. 

"I went to live with my aunt, I have been on my own since I turned 18, I got a scholarship in the art school here, so here I am in San Francisco." 

"We are so glad to have met you, I liked you immediately, " Leah smiled at me. 

In just a day I had come to like Mike and his sister. They were friendly and very generous.

“Hey, want a refill?” he asked.

“Thanks,” I said as I passed him my glass. I was slightly tipsy but the simple meals and such good company made me a bit reckless.

Filling my glass almost to the brim, Mike passed it back to me.

“Did you get all your stuff unpacked?”

I smiled at him and replied, "Yes, I did."

“Did you find everything okay?” he asked again.

"Oh yes it's wonderful, I am glad I found you people."

"So, what are your plans for tomorrow?" Leah asked.

" I have to start looking for a part-time job, along with the art school," I replied.

"You can be a model if you wish," Leah said.

I laughed," I have done some stage acting and modelling, but I never thought of making it a career." I said.

"Hey, I can introduce you to my agent if you wish, my theatre company is looking for few females for a few roles. Maybe you can give it a try." Mike offered.

"Wow! that's very generous, but I would be fine with the cashier job for now," I replied.

We talked for some time and Mike related how we met before calling it a night.

That night as I lay on the cot oblivious to Leah"s snores I thought about my plans. Apart from being tight on cash my life hadn't been bad. Once I had found a job, things would improve.

I woke up early as the sun rose like a canopy of gold, bright amid the blue, bidding the stars to take their nightly rest. I walked into the balcony and saw the darkness surrender as the sky changed colour from tinges of charcoal to a vibrant orange. I decided to do some shopping.  I found a convenience store and bought a local newspaper. Then decided to buy some fresh meat and vegetables from the local market.

Since I was going to stay with Mike and Leah for a while, this was the least I could do.

 When I got back to the apartment Mike and Leah were already up. Leah waved at me as I entered.

"Morning, I've got us some breakfast," I called to her.

"I'll be out in a min," came Mike's muffled voice from the bathroom.

"I am making some coffee Sugar, cream or just black?" Leah offered.

"Black will do and thanks," I replied.

I fried some bacon, and eggs and toasted some bread for breakfast.

I heard Mike entering the hall so I looked up. He was dressed in just his pyjama bottom, a towel asking around his neck. Water droplets trailed down to his broad shoulder and defined chest. I felt a blush creeping up. my neck and I quickly looked away.

 "Put on some clothes Mr Show off, you are not a lingerie model material do you know that?" Leah snorted.

"You are an annoying kid, you know that?" Mike glared glares at his sister, but an amused smile played on his lips. Then he addressed me.

"How is your leg? You should not be walking around." 

"I am fine, the ice pack helped. Just bought some breakfast. It's wasn't much." I replied cheerfully.

Once he had dressed, we sat in the living area for breakfast, and Mike asked me about my plan.

 "So you found anything of interest, Sydney?" 

"Well, there is a firm looking for a receptionist, a hyper-mart looking for cashiers and a hotel looking for chambermaids. I figure I could give them a try. Seems like the cashier and chambermaid position would be more suitable for me as it says, flexible hours". I would prefer flexible timing so that I can focus on art school.

"Yeah, good point. Since I have nothing on today you wanna join me for the sightseeing? I have to meet my agent later in the day. He is a nice guy. Used to be my drama teacher back in high school before he turned agent." Offered Mike.

"I'd love to but I need to run down to the hyper-mart to see if I can get that cashier job."

"Seems fine, my appointment is in the late afternoon, so I am free in the first half. So, I can take you around." Mike said.

"And what about you kiddo?" Mike asked, turning his attention to his little sister, who was happily munching on a piece of bagel I had brought.

Leah swallowed the piece of bagel she was chewing before replying, "Well, I have three assignments today. So I would be all tied up."

"What do you do? are you still studying?" I asked Leah.

"I am an aspiring actress, I also model, to fund my acting classes," she beamed at me.

"Haven't you noticed how plump she is? That is what the art class needs. Plump nude models." Mike interjected cheekily.

Leah glared at her brother and threw a doughnut at him. "It's call RUBENESQUE, you twit."

Mike roared with laughter, caught the doughnut and stuffed it in his mouth. I smiled seeing their banter. I had always wished for a sibling. But my parents never had a second child.

They were always busy but instilled good values in me. After their accident, my aunt helped me in selling off the service station, and they had enough insurance that I could study and live comfortably, but I couldn't rely on it my entire life.

" Sydney?" Mike startled me and broke my reverie.

"Oh, sorry. I was just kind of lost. I better get going to check out that cashier job, it's a walk-in-interview. Would you mind dropping me at the hyper-mart, please? I...I don't..." Before I could finish my sentence, Mike interrupted me.

"Sure, yeah I will give you a lift, don't worry. Hey! Kiddo, want a ride to your class?" Mike called to his sister.

"Yeah, gimme a min. Just grabbing my stuff." Leah called back.