A day in the life of an Adult (Tatum's Parents workthread) (Done)

Tanya Waldie:

She woke up late that day.  She has been waking up late for a while now.  Work had a tendency of draining her completely dry before the day was over, especially if they found a legitimate reason to keep her the full twelve hours.  She was fortunate to get to go into work in the late afternoon.

Her husband, Theodore, was not in sight.  It was saddening for Tanya.  His work shift started earlier than hers, so it was usually not a surprise to see him gone.  So, as per usual, she was alone.  But there was one thing that brought her comfort every day she woke up.

Just like clockwork, and putting a smile on her face as it always seemed too, there was a ready made meal waiting for her on the table.  Teddie was always so good at leaving behind a meal for her.  It made her guilty to have to take advantage of it.

Today, I'll leave for him a present in the morning... what's his favorite food again?  Oh right, hot dogs.  He prefers to cook them over the ready made ones, right?  Tanya thought to herself as she let her thoughts wander, casually savoring her meal of chicken and fettuccine pasta.

She took a quick look at the clock.  It seemed she had at least an hour or two before work.  Plenty of time to get ready.  With that in mind, she began her "morning" routine.  Once breakfast was done, she made her way towards the bath room.  Everything was nice and neatly organized.  It was one of the most ironic things about living alone with her husband.  Everything was always nice and orderly.

It was also a very sad reminder of what was missing in her life.  Her husband did his best to keep things in order, sure, but little Tatum had a way of making a mess of all of her nice and orderly things, randomly shoving her toothbrush into the cup instead of placing it in it's proper spot in said cup.  Tatum also had a habit of making a mess with the tooth past.  No mess here, just a nice and pristine bathroom sink.  It almost made her miss having to clean up Tatum's messes.

Just a few more years, she thought to herself, A few more years and I'll be able to move both Teddie and Tats out and into a proper house, and we'll have all the time in the world to be together!  Just need to endure a few years...

As of right now, three or so years seemed possible.  After all, she had endured for all of this time so far, so why not a few more?  Once she secures a position as a manager and gains her own big wig office, she'll be able to make some of the rules!  Then everything will be different.

Oh, right, there was work to get ready for.

Hygiene was very easy for her to maintain, so long as she got up early enough.  Teeth were brushed and flossed, showers were made and done in under five minutes, hair was dried and brushed and styled into a bun, and business suits were cleaned of all lint before being properly worn.  A quick look through her brief case revealed that some of her advertising research was incomplete.  Her report was due today.

Huh, this is gonna set me back, but it's nothing a Waldie can't handle, she thought to herself, Waldie's always claim their victories.  They never take defeat without a fight.  If I skip my before work latte I can get right to work and finish before the boss even realizes what happened.  In that case, I better hurry.

With that, she took right to the street and made her way to the metro.  Living in the condos definitely made for quick access to the metro system.

It was here that she got to see much of the life of Endymion.  People rushing and going, students just leaving class, many people going to their afternoon jobs or just finishing their afternoon lunches.  There was even a child she would spot who seemed to make a game of running all over Endymion, rushing through with all of their might.

The way that child keeps trying to climb over stuff, they're going to get hurt.  I sure am glad Tatum stays home and studies all day.  Though, in all honesty, it would be nice if she actually got out more, maybe make some good friends.  Or maybe it's better if she stays indoors.  All the ugly rumors about Psyche terrorists and the problems they cause... better my Tats never gets a chance to even meet one.

In little time, she made her way to the Backlight, where her work building was.  It was the best location for her work, as it was close to the Emporium stretch.  With so many different shops to choose from, it was the perfect place to do research and create statistics of what catches a customers attention and what is worth selling.  It was also here where they would help develop advertisements for many of the shops, trying to create eye catching logos or coming up with catchy jingles and tunes for the various businesses.  In a way, one could say, it was the perfect position to study people.  And that was why Tanya was so eager to have a job in advertising and research.  She loved seeing what makes a person want to do something.

She made her way into the main office, but was a little disappointed to find Gregory there to greet her.  It seemed her Teddie was out to lunch at this point.  Then again, this was usually his lunch hour.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Waldie," Greg cried out with a friendly wave.

"Good afternoon, Greg.  Is your son doing well?" Tanya asked as she walked by, slipping her work ID into a machine at his desk to mark her arrival.

"Oh yeah, the little tyke is REALLY getting the hang of the banjo!" Greg stated, "I might end up running out of things to teach him at this rate."

"You'll find something new," she replied, "You always do."

"Have a good day at work Mrs. Waldie," he cried out as she made her way to the elevator.  "Huh, she's in early today.  Must have something she needs to finish real quick."

She made her way to the elevator and pressed for the third floor.  All that's left now was to get into the mindset for work.

It was rather eerie how easy it was to get into the work mindset.  All she had to do was mentally recite a simple mantra taught to her on her first day of work, and suddenly all of her thoughts and motivations were of her job, her goals for the day, and how best to meet them.  It was almost like she was chanting a spell, in a way.

Strive for excellence, strive for completion, and never stop till you've performed a job very well done.  Excellence, completion, job well done.  Excellence, completion, job well done.  By the time the elevator doors opened, her mind was now completely focused on nothing more but her job and how best to complete it.  Not distraction nor fatigue would be able to stop her until she was finished for the day.

Theodore Waldie:

Morning played out just as it usually did: with Tanya dead asleep just to his left. How he wanted to wake her up and spend a little bit of his early noon with her. Oh, how he wanted to wake her up and just talk, just like he usually did. But he knew better. The woman needed her rest if she was going to perform at her best. So, all he could do was get things ready for her before the day started.

He got up to quite a disorganized mess. They must have over worked her again. He hated when they overworked her. Her things ended up all over the floor. If he didn't clean that up, she would wake up to a mess, and that would just cause her stress. She loved having things neat and orderly, after all.

With a groan and a sigh, he set to work. He gathered all of her papers, piece by piece, and looked through them to make sure he understood what they were. Once that was accomplished, he organized it the way he knew she liked it, making sure each page was right where it needed to be. It seemed that she had an incomplete research report to turn in. He wondered about trying to finish it for her, but decided against it. The last time he did that, poor Tanya received the scolding of a life time, which he in turn got from her as a result. It was just as well. He had no understanding of how advertising worked, anyway. He just knew that it does.

Once that was set up, he got to his own hygiene. A nice long hot shower was all he ever needed. That was where he did everything, from brushing his teeth to brushing his hair to shaving any unnecessary hair off. He was under the impression that doing it all in the shower saved time. Well, it seemed to save time for him.

A light blue button up t-shirt, followed by dark blue work pants and dress shoes, and he was almost ready to head out for the day. But was he forgetting something?

Tanya's breakfast! He couldn't allow her to go a day without something to eat, right?! Thus he set to work on getting a meal ready for her. What to make this time? Well, tacos were a favorite, right? He had to work quick if he wanted to make it in time and still have something to eat himself.

Sauteeing the meat, cooking the beans, letting the rice cooker handle the rice, and preparing the avacados. It wasn't like this before, in all honesty. He was only able to manage meager meals for everyone back in the day. Half of the days, their morning meals were soup. The other half of their mornings were leftovers from dinner. Once in a while, Tatum would replace her meal with cereal.

Now he was thinking of Tatum again. He missed that little tyke. She always loved to make a mess of things by trying to start a small food fight with him. He was usually bad about it himself, encouraging it via challenging her to a duel with their forks. It would always end with Tanya scolding the both of them. Still, it was time spent together, and even Tanya couldn't deny the fun they were having as a family.

Were those days really gone now? All he ever got to do now was help get his wife ready for work before heading off himself. AT least he allowed himself time every day to call Tatum. Usually the best time to call was a few hours before being let out of work. The excuse of "I'm just checking up on my daughter" was usually well received, and since it's late in the afternoon when he calls, it's usually easy for people to assume that she was out of work. Of course, when he ends up with a late shift, this usually means he ends up calling her right before bed.

Still, he found that he couldn't allow himself to despair. With the combined effort of himself and Tanya, they would make a better life for themselves. All they have to do is make enough to get a better, more stable living situation. He just needed to hang on just long enough until Tanya got a high end job as a high end manager.

Oh, right, the meat was about ready! All that was left was to warm the tortilla's.

Oh, she could do with cold tortilla's, anyway. Tanya prefers her tortilla's uncooked, last Theodore checked.

The meal set, he made a small taco for himself, grabbed his bag and his security hat, and rushed out the door. He always made sure to check the clock as he left. From the look of things, Tatum would still be in school for another hour. He cursed his luck. He had hoped that maybe he could sneak in an extra phone call today.

At the metro, he was able to see much of the life of Endymion. There were quite a lot of gossipers.

"Hey, hey, did you hear? Psyche terrorists are popping out of the wood work, left and right! They're gonna start an invasion soon!"

"Get real! The Cadets have it under control! They're not gonna let a bunch of masked losers run free!"

"I'm telling you, just be careful! It's dangerous to go out!"

Theodore found himself sighing in relief. As long as Tatum was taken care of at the School Dormitories, there was nothing for him to worry about.

There it was, the Blacklight. And there was the building where both he and his wife worked at.

It seemed it was Anderson whom he was relieving today.

"Good day, Mr. Anderson," Theodore called out, "How's the family?"

"Teddie, my good man!" Anderson said, pulling Teddie into a firm handshake, "Oh so glad to see you! The family is doing great, but Louie isn't doing so hot."

"No kidding?" Teddie said, swiping his work ID into the front desk machine to mark his entering work.

"Turns out there's something in bread that he's allergic too, and now that I'm out I have to get him to a doctor. If you ask me, maybe this'll teach him not to eat too much."

"Andy, go easy on the kid!" Teddie replied, taking his place at the front desk as Anderson swipped his employee id to mark his exit, "I mean, he loves to eat. Isn't that a sign of good health?"

"Well it is, but at this rate, he's gonna eat us out of home and foooood... how's your kid doing?"

"Straight A's, as always," Teddie said, indulging in Andy's hesitation to leave a little longer.

"Wow, she's as hard a worker as her old man!" Andy joked, giving him a playful jab, "Though really, when are you gonna visit her? It's tonight, right?"

"That's the plan! We leave early and give our little girl a one in a life time visit! I know she'll be excited!"

"Oh, so you're getting out early too?" Andy asked, a big hopeful grin on his face.

"I hope so," Teddie replied, "As long as everyone get's to leave early, I can close early. And Tanya is supposed to get out early today, so-"

"Well, best of luck to ya buddy," Andy stated, "Considering your track record, you're gonna need it. Whelp, I kept ya long enough. C'ya tomorrow, Teddie!"

"C'ya then," Teddie replied, waving.

I hope we don't get set back again, he thought to himself, I'm really looking forward to getting to see our little girl. Oh, knowing Tanya, she probably forgot. I'll leave a note for her later. That should help remind her.

Tanya Waldie:

Work.

Study.

Research.

Work.

Research.

Type.

Finish research.

Her mind was rather robotic by this state of being. The world seemed to completely vanish from her state of perception in favor of the work. The research data was complete in record timing and effectively emailed to her manager. Just for good measure, she also had the report printed out and delivered it to her Managers mail slot at his office personally. This way, she knew that he had all the evidence needed to prove that she had finished her job on time.

Now it was time to work on a new project, one that she has a vested interest in. There was an up and coming new candy company that wanted to make it big in Endymion, and she thought that they had potential. The name they had chosen was already an eye catcher. Forbidden Candy. Even the Garden of Eden theme helped to make it eye catching. These guys had put a lot of thought into their presentation, and they seemed to have faith that their candies and sweets would catch on quick. Such confidence was inspiring, and she wanted to make their product a success. If she could make the advertising for their company and make them a house hold name, they would have to move her up to manager status! It was a win win, as long as she could deliver.

Of course, that wasn't the only opportunity she was looking for. Anything to gain good favor with the higher ups, from taking on difficult jobs to covering for others, she was the one to call, and she almost always delivered. As long as she could build herself up to be this impressive and very reliable worker, then she was sure to get the attention of the Owners of their business.

Today would offer her one such opportunity, thanks in large part to her reputation on standing up where others would step down.

"Mrs. Waldie," said a man in a blue business suit.

"Mr. Carlton, what a surprise!" said Tanya, being sure to keep her work going as she spoke, "To what do I owe the pleasure?

"We have a situation, Mrs. Waldie," Carlton stated, "It seems one of our other works, Ms. Lenore, had to call in sick today. Now, normally this wouldn't be such a big situation for me, just move her work till the next day. However, we're meeting with another company today who are looking to us to help advertise their product, which is a new model of car. It's supposed to be more fuel efficient somehow. Ms. Lenore has already turned in her work, but she was supposed to do the presentation today."

"Have you tried rescheduling?" Tanya asked. She already knew the answer to that question, but she has found that actually bothering to ask questions seems to impress Mr. Carlton. It seems to leave him with the impression that you care enough about the work to want to know more or ask questions about it to get a better understanding.

Either that, or Mr. Carlton enjoys any excuse to talk more.

"We've tried, Mrs. Waldie, we really have, but they're insistent on today and if it's not done today, then the deal is closed. Now these guys are big money makers already, so we want them to contract with us and let us develop the advertising for them!"

"I see, and what would you like me to do, Mr. Carlton?"

Or maybe perhaps he got a big kick out of being called Mr. Carlton. He always seemed to smile a huge grin just at the mention of that name and title.

"Do you think you could take over for Ms. Lenore if we gave you the time needed to study her work? IF you could nail this presentation, then it will mean a big bonus for you! I may even be able to afford to give everyone a raise if this pulls through."

Did he say he could raise our wage if I pull this off?! Tanya's face betrayed her interest.

"Ah, that caught your attention, didn't it?" Mr. Carlton said with a smug smirk, "I'll sweeten the deal. Pull this off, and I'll give you half of your bonus today, to do as you see fit!"

Half the bonus today?! Hook line and sinker.

"In that case," she replied with her own smile, "Just tell me when and where."

"That's what I like to hear!" Mr. Carlton states with a confident tone, "Just a fair warning so that you know, it's gonna take you well into the night, you might want to recommend a security guard to stay for the night until we're let out."

"Theodore!" She immediately stated. This was met with a pause. "Trust me," she continued, "That man is the one for the job. He'll make sure all is well."

"Heh, if you're so sure of him that you called for him first, then maybe I should consider looking at his track record. It could be worth seeing what he could offer for us. Just be ready to come to my office at seven tonight. That should be plenty of time to get your presentation together."

"Wish me the best of luck then," Tanya grinned.

"I'll wish it, but you won't need it," Carlton stated, "You're a star, Tanya, a true ruler of her kingdom!" With that, he left her back to her work.

Since she was pulled out of her work trance, she only just now noticed that her phone was blinking. It was probably Teddie leaving her a message. May as well play it and see what happens.

"Hey, Tany? This is Teddie! I just wanted to remind you about our early release. We were planing spend a few hours with Tats today! Call me back when you can! I know you get absorbed in your work, so take your time!"

And, like a gut punch, she felt guilt. She had completely forgotten about that. Well, it was too late now. She had every intention of climbing the ladder until she got to the top. Sure, a visit today would be nice, but if she sacrificed that for the chance to improve her standing, then it will eventually lead to being able to see her family any time she wanted. She had to keep fighting for that.

With a heavy sigh, she called Theodore to tell him the news. Whether it was good news or bad news, that was up for him to decide.

Teddie Waldie:

This was bad news. Very... very... bad news.

"Couldn't you have gotten someone else to do it?" he very calmly stated. He wanted to raise his voice, and he wanted to raise it very high. They haven't seen their daughter for far too long now, and he really wanted to have at least those few hours. Perhaps fortunately, he was on the job right now, so raising his voice would be very unprofessional.

"No one else can. I've checked. They really want to land this deal, and in the long run, it means they could potentially raise the wages for everyone if this pulls through. As much as I want to pass the torch to someone else or get our boss to do it alone, it's hard to ignore something like that."

Was that true? Teddie wondered. Tanya has made excuses for the so called "greater good" before.

Still, it was hard to ignore the idea of getting a pay raise. It would mean they could maybe do just a little bit more for each other, and for Tatum later down the road.

Oh, he seriously hoped that Tanya was getting him those hot dogs he loved to grill later, because he did not like doing this one bit.

"Okay, I get what you're saying," Teddie replied, "I understand. I'll let Tatum know later. Tats deserves to know."

Teddie could hear Tanya's sigh. He knew that sigh all to well. It was the "guilt sigh."

"If you feel so bad about it, you make it up to her," he stated, "You're the one who gave up the visit for this. And you dragged me into it by having me the guard for the night. I don't mind doing it, but-"

"I know, I get it," she replied, "But I think I know how to make it up to her. Don't tell her, okay? I want it to be a surprise. She's been doing good at school, right?"

If this was going where he thought it was going, he wasn't sure it was a good plan. Tatum never goes out, as far as he's aware, so what use would she have for extra money?

Well, she might want to treat herself. She does go out for groceries. Maybe she'll be encouraged to spend a little for herself once she has extra spending cash?

"Okay, I won't say a word," he replied, "but this better be good."

"I'm thinking, at least, five thousand extra, as long as she keeps up her work," Tanya said.

F-five thousand?! Dang, that'll make her ecstatic! I know there are a lot of things she wants but can't get.

"For the first one, I'll also throw in some of my bonus. Make her first extra ten thousand." Tanya added.

T-ten thousand?! Okay, so she'll definitely have a little extra spending money per week, that's good.

"Let's try and make it a daily thing!" Tanya added.

D-daily?! At least five thousand daily?! Okay, now you're just trying to spoil our- wait, I should say that outloud!

"Now you're just trying to spoil our little girl!" Teddie finally voiced his thoughts, or at least some of them. "Are you sure this will go over well?"

"She's a good girl," Tanya stated, "It's not gonna go to her head. You know as well as I do the kind of girl she is!"

"I'm still not sure about the repercussions of this, but I know there are a lot of things she wants... okay, but only if she does well in school. If we're going to give her this much, we might as well turn it into a job, teach her job responsibility."

"Obviously," Tanya replied, "She wants the good pay, she puts in for the grades. Maybe we can get the school board to help with this?"

"They already give her room and board for the good grades, and they tend to be good about letting us know about her work. Let's just leave it at that for now."

"Alright. I'll send them a letter with some of our money tomorrow." Tanya stated, already starting her schemes.

"You're gonna spend some of our cash now?!" asked a surprised Teddie.

"We're well enough for the week now," Tanya stated, "And once the new pay raise comes in, we can afford to have a little less money for this week. It'll be tight, but I think we can do it."

"You still have to land that deal," Teddie warned, "Don't count your chickens before they hatch!"

"Don't be rediculous," Tanya stated, "I'm a Waldie. A Waldie always claims victory no matter what! With that, I better get to it. If I'm going to make this work, I need to start planning now! I think you know how long this will take."

"All night," Teddie groaned through a smile, "I'll take up the late shift tonight. You get what you need. I'll make sure we get home safe tonight."

"I'll be counting on you!" Tanya said with a sing song voice, "Love and Kisses!"

"Love and Kisses," Teddie replied, hanging up so that Tanya could get to work. He then sighed a heavy sigh.

"Well... at least I'll get to walk her home tonight," he said, "She's going to crash the very moment we get home, and she will probably be too tired to be much for conversation, but at least I'll actually get to spend a little bit of time with her. Even just half an hour of just sitting next to her is better than not getting to be with her. Wow, I sound desperate if just getting to walk her home yet not getting to do anything worthwhile is considered an improvement by my standards... Sorry Tats, we'll do better next time, I promise." He paused in his thoughts. "I better start thinking about what to say to her later when I can get to my phone call for her. She is not going to like this one bit."

Both:

Tanya was tired and exhausted as the presentation went on. She was tired and exhausted physically, mentally, and emotionally. The group she was dealing with didn't say anything particularly negative. They didn't say anything positive either. They didn't even ask questions. They just stayed silent throughout the whole thing, leaving her to do all of the talking. Was she even getting through to them?! Was she boring them to death?! How was she doing?!?!?!?!

Despite all of this, she did not show a single ounce of weakness. To them, she was still full of life and a strange enthusiasm for the deal they were making, and how their advertising company could help them gain recognition the likes of which no other company could give them. If she was this happy to work with them, then this must be representative of how the company as a whole must feel. They chose her to represent them, right?

In the end, they made their peace with her, and immediately decided to seal the deal. The even shook hands on it. The moment she received her handshake was the moment Tanya let go of all of her tension. All that was left was the travel home. Too bad she exhausted herself in that. She'd love to give Teddie some attention now that they, ironically, can spend some time together, but in her state she knew she would be awful company. She hoped that he would at least be able to appreciate her presence.

Teddie had just finished his phone call with Tatum. He intentionally told her “Ten extra, and not a cent more,” since she was asking for a raise to her allowance. Tatum has no idea what they have in store for her. Poor girl probably only things she's getting maybe ten extra dollars. That alone seemed to excite her to no end. Maybe the “ten extra” will be a bigger shock to her system than she realized.

All that was left now was to keep up security and wait for everyone to leave so that he could lock up. The waiting was always the hardest part. The place was basically in lock down, so there was really nothing to worry about.

Save maybe for the Psyche Terrorists.

Eventually, everyone got the okay to leave. The last of the staff stepped out and he locked the shutters for the night. Tanya was looking as tall and proud as ever, the very image of the amazon that he fell in love with. The moment the two were alone was the moment she nearly collapse.

“Okay, let's get you home,” he said, supporting her by the shoulder. It was a little embarrassing, since he was five feet and she was a good six and a half on him, six and nine inches in her heels, but it was something he had to support.

“I am so gonna crash,” Tanya announced tiredly as the two walked.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Teddie noticed that there was movement in a nearby alleyway, and what sounded like fighting. Psyche Terrorists? He was quick to make sure they made it back to safety as quickly as possible. The last thing they needed was a meeting with those very dangerous people. He prayed to the forces that be that his family was safe, and that little Tatum would never, ever, have to even come close to one.