RP:On This Week’s Episode Of “You Don’t Deserve A House In Cenril…”
Part of the The Dust Up In Cenril Arc
Summary; Alvina and Hudson house hunt for their new digs while ignoring the elephant in the room about Larket's declining appreciation for witches. No witches are mentioned on this house hunt but Pasta may or may not have been consumed. Looks like their little werefamily is moving to Cenril. I'm sure that won't be complicated.
E.L.'s Home
Alvina arranged to meet Hudson in Cenril, at EL’s so they could go house hunting and their impossible daughters could visit Grandma. EL was all too pleased to take them for a finite amount of time, and promptly reminded them to be back before it was too late. “Harper and Luna, behave for mommy okay?” Alvina coos at her daughters, while Hudson stands on the street to hail another carriage. The previous driver was grumpy and didn’t want to wait the five minutes it took for EL to answer the door. Alvina’s wearing her black sundress that she’d gotten in Vailkrin. Her blue dress had been destroyed by some mishap at the end of her meeting with Khitt (TBD) and she had to buy a new one. It cuts off at her knees, which had heeled completely by now, and she’s wearing matching black flats to suit the warmer weather and a giant sunhat covered in baby hand prints along the brim. Her hair is back, pulled in a low ponytail to hang down the back of her dress and obscure her shoulder scar. The front is cut lower than her usual high neck dresses, showing clavicle bone in a risqué fashion.
Hudson braves the busy cobblestone street for the time it takes to hail a fresh carriage. He waves Alvina in first before climbing in after her and pulling the door closed. He gives the driver the address and then drops an arm around Alvina. "Where's this dress from? Seems new?" he asks her as the carriage builds a bumpy momentum. He looks out the window, observing that they're going deeper into his mother's upscale neighborhood. "Classic Alvina," he comments, for her benefit too, still looking at the grand dame homes they pass, "trying to seduce Marcie, our real estate broker. She did seem a little flirty from our correspondence about these houses but I think it might be the money that's talking, babe." He smiles into what he assumes will be some good natured elbowing from Alvina to respond. "You should feel free to speak up at this, by the way, gods forbid I forget to stress the grave importance of kitchen islands or marble countertops or whatever. I wouldn't mind if the house had a pool, that's literally the only thing I care about."
Alvina gives Hudson a scrunched up expression, elbowing him even though he’s prepared for it and deflects her hands easily. That just makes her try again, with no success. She sighs in frustration, giving up her physical abuse. “If there’s a pool, we have to make sure it has a fence, so the girls can’t fall into it.” She counters, though a pool might be nice. “Don’t underestimate kitchen islands…” She scolds, “You can get little stools to put underneath them if they have a lip and it’s extra seating for guests.” Clearly she had HOUSE OPINIONS that he hadn’t considered in the previous purchases. She outright ignores his comment about the realtor being overly nice about everything. What was the likelihood that this person knew Hudson for who he was? Did the mob have connections in the housing market? “Do you not like my dress, oh my gosh why doesn’t anyone like my dress? I got it in Vailkrin, after visiting Khitti. Some blood wine got spilled on it, and I couldn’t get it out.” That’s the mild version, it’s fine. No one died, probably. She takes off her sun hat in the carriage, which looks significantly more worn than when she’d purchased it with Hudson. She liked how Hudson said it made her look like a theater star. Acting had been her original dream, part of why she became a bard to begin with. But it never panned out. Now she’s a mom, bunking with a mobster, and looking at extravagant houses in Cenril. “Why are we moving here again?” She doesn’t want to name drop but Ethan / Lila were still A THING she didn’t want to run into.
"Obviously we need a fence," he agrees readily. He's thinking about grilling stuff with Sargaso, and drinking beers on rubber floats. Is there anything better? No? He's hardly listening to her waxing on the advantages of kitchen islands. All that he understands is that they are Of Critical Importance. She's talking about her dress, and he's long past that. "It's just a little, you know, edgy," he comments offhandedly, glancing at her. He's wearing a salmon pink golf shirt and mint pants. Like he cannot look more moneyed Cenril if he tried. "Like you look a bit like... a moody theatre girl who somehow started dating the trust fund baby class president. Uh, that's me, I'm feeling my look, thanks. And chill, because my mum lives nearby?" He throws a grin at her as the carriage slows to a stop. He gets out first and opens the door for her, paying the lad after.
House #1
The infamous Marcie is waiting for them on the lawn and waving. She's wearing some sort of robin egg blue tweed ensemble and a very large gold chain around her neck. Huge gold chains: for rappers, mobsters, professional baseball players, and real estate agents. Hudson is exhausted already. The giant house - maybe it should be called an estate - looms in front of them as they head over to their host. "I was thinking, we can get a housekeeper, like in addition to Marge there's this woman whose literal job it is to clean stuff and buy fresh fruit," Hudson is saying. "Don't look at me like that, neither of us wants to clean toilets? Maybe you can hire her, though I like my current lady if you don't mind." Not so veiled reference to the fact that he perceives Alvina's primary objection - the funny look she's giving him - to be having another woman in the house. He hadn't suggested a housekeeper for any shady reason, he literally just got used to having one during his brief stint as a bachelor and now cannot imagine life without her. They're coming up on the infamous Marcie so this conversation is cut abruptly short. "Hellooooo, Marcie," he pumps her hand, letting her at Alvina next.
Alvina couldn’t argue the advantages of a smaller distance between E.L. and their –new- house. “Are you selling the old house?” The thought if it sitting there, like they’d seen it after the shop was vandalized felt…wrong. “Moody theater- you said this hat made me look famous.” She huffed, clearly upset at his scope on the situation. “Opposites attract,” she reminded him dramatically, because maybe she was a moody theater chick at heart. “Sure?” A maid? It would be handy, so they didn’t fight about the little things like where Hudson left his clothes for the hundredth time. It would be nice to not have to think about buying some of the groceries. Wouldn’t that spoil them? At least he understood the importance of THE FENCE. The Kitchen Island would be discussed with Marcie, who is accepting none of Alvina’s hand shake business and pulls her into the perfume cloud with a hug. Alvina was slowly becoming numb to the value of money, and didn’t notice Hudson paying the carriage driver. When they were together, things just appeared like magic. Doors opened, and she didn’t see him greasing the palms of the people who opened those doors. It was her assumption that it was because they were nice people, both Hudson and Alvina as a couple and the people ‘helping’ things appear. Like Marcie, who was responsible for this manor appearing before them. The lawn was well kept, obviously this place had a garden / landscape team to keep it this nice. “Nice to meet you, I’m – “ Marcie interrupts with her mom-like knowing laugh. “Alvina, Hudson has told me so much about you.” Did he? Alvina’s pretty sure they only had a couple letters go back and forth before this meeting. Is this normal? Alvina hasn’t met a Realtor IRL so she smiles and gives back a weird energy. “Ooohhh did he?” And Marcie laughs like it is the funniest thing. The bard looks back at Hudson with a carefully placed smile, her brow furrowed while her eyes bulge a bit. Isn’t this place too much?
"Only good things!" chirps Marcie, who commences leading them around the grounds. Hudson is imagining a lawn party, replete with beers and burgers and bocce, and so only belatedly notices that Alvina is giving him a bug-eyed look for no apparent reason. He lifts his eyebrows in response as if to say What? In short, he seems unbothered by the opulence. They're starting their tour outside. Hudson pretends to care about the carefully manicured hedges and azalea bushes in the yard, the colorful banks of tulips. The pool isn't new, Marcie tells them, apologetically, but isn't the retro arc-deco design charming? There's already a fence, Hudson pounds a fist on it as they pass it, for Alvina's edification. There's an obvious place for a grill, he notes, with satisfaction, before they head inside. Marcie keeps saying the word SUN-DRENCHED, among others, employing all manner of real estate agent bingo terms to describe the interior of the large home. Much of it is skylight, which Hudson likes, although it inspires a several minutes long conversation about the cleaning required to keep the windows clean of bird poop. The critical kitchen island is present, although with the size of the living and dining spaces, Hudson gets the impression it's more for the family's day to day meal rather than entertaining overflow. The dining room especially looks like a museum, i.e., a giant room that's all decor and sees little use. There are many bedrooms, and many bathrooms. More than they need. Hudson is mostly checked out by this point - the house is Perfectly Fine, he's already made up his mind, this is for Alvina - but displays mild interest in the magical cleansing facilities. Of course he does. He's hardly listening as Marcie goes about talking about the price tag, and telling them that the seller is very motivated. "That's great. I've never seen this before," he remarks to Alvina, showing her how it functions. "If this is the one, I think we'd pay in cash if that helps," he adds, as an aside.
Alvina’s secret message was lost to Hudson’s….whatever he was doing. Looking at the house and picturing barbeques? She rolls her eyes when he pounds on the fence. I get it, there’s a fence. NOTED. The rest of the house is too impressive, and Alvina doesn’t care to be part of the bird poop conversation in regards to the skylight. She wants to dip away and explore the place like a prepubescent girl being tricked by some powerful otherworldly being to search through the rooms and find her way out. All the decoration only added to the feel of being in another world. It was all sleek and cut in ways that made it look some odd mesh or retro / modern. Hudson’s showing her the toilet when it registers that he’s ready to just throw down the cash to this woman right now because the toilet is cool and they have a pool. Shouldn’t they look at previous owners or see if the house had mold or something? It was so much bigger than the last house. Wouldn’t this attract thieves or – Alvina stops mid-thought to overlook the toilet for the tub. “For Sven’s sake…” She sighs with stars in her eyes before stepping down into the appliance. It’s set in the floor. They’d need a gate for it or something but she could STAND in it, while the edge was flush with the flooring and reached her chest. Marcie, who is too star struck with the idea of being paid cash in full is explaining how the bath works, since it’s the most excited Alvina has been about anything. “Hudson, we can tear the house down and live in this bathroom.” She suggested, to which Marcie nervously laughed.
Hudson wrests his attention away from the magic toilet and looks at the bath tub, since it's caught Alvina's eye. He moves to where she is, and measures the tub against his larger frame. Marcie, like a pull string toy, begins explaining about the nature of this particular bath tub, and its magical abilities. Very luxurious, and so on. "Do the other houses we're supposed to look at today have all this bathroom stuff?" he wants to know, once he manages to get a word in edge wise. This causes Marcie to launch into an elaborate discussion of the finer details of the bathrooms in the other homes slated for perusal. Reminded of their aggressive schedule, she begins to herd them out of the home. Hudson, for his part, regrets asking almost immediately, and looks at Alvina with an expression that says as much.
House #2
A carriage has been pre-arranged and is waiting for them on the street, and this time they pack in, with Marcie, her floral perfume filling the car in a smothering fashion almost instantaneously. As the carriage drives them to the next home, she seizes the opportunity to identify the homes of the local celebrities, tapping with one painted nail against the window as they pass each one. The neighborhood seems to be getting more secluded, indeed, consistent with that theme. The home they finally pull up in front of has a gated driveway, and is composed of dark stone, in the miniature of an actual castle. Hudson frowns at it. "Seriously?" he asks aloud, to which Marcie exclaims, flapping her arms excitedly, "Hold on, it's very old fashioned looking but there's a TENNIS court!"
Alvina is trying not to drink in the perfume but it’s SO THICK. Marcie points out various stars and Alvina only knows a few. The new house makes Alvina push her hands against the carriage window with excitement. A Castle?! Just like Josleen and Macon have? “ Oh Hudson, it’s beautiful!” She cried, diving out of the carriage to escape Marcie’s overwhelming smell. There is indeed a tennis court around the back, as well as a small track and full outdoor kitchen. What even was this place? It did not have a pool…which met with some outcry from Hudson. And there was no place to put his grill because of all the outdoor seating and finery. Marcie is busy listing off all the people that have lived here as they room the dark castle’s interior. There’s a basement. The basement goes on for days. Alvina gets tired of walking before they hit the second floor. Marcie is telling them about a wine cellar where someone was murdered while Alvina is rolling her eyes behind her hands. It had looked cool from the outside… but Alvina doesn’t voice her opinion until they get through all the bathrooms. Not a single magical tub to be found. BORING. “I don’t think I like this Hudson…” She says, with Marcie in earshot. The woman breaks into a mild sweat and looks towards the entrance, checking for the next scheduled carriage. It isn’t due here for another ten minutes at least, how can she stall them? “B-but have you seen the garden?” She offers, leading them outside, around the tennis court and track. In the very left corner of the property, hidden in shadow and mild summer humidity, there are three rose buses and a maturing tree. Alvina blinks. This is not a garden…? She thinks but doesn’t say. The walk took about five minutes, considering. She looks at Hudson, just to check in with how he’s doing over there.
Hudson is of the same view as Alvina. A house that looks like a castle is fine but there are a lot of renovations he'd want to make. He'd liked the bathroom gadgetry and the pool and the natural light of the last house, it had really set the bar high. This house is dark and has a literal murder basement. Hudson feels like the whole thing is for old people, which they are not. Still, he's willing to give it a shot, if it's Alvina's dream home, well... He doesn't have to wait all that long to figure out that it's not. She's been dazzled by the magical tech just as he had. Out of politeness for Marcie, and also passive deference to her sergeant-mom-like ordering them about the property, they continue to traipse around to look at the 'gardens.' He views them - this is not a garden, is it? - with disinterest. "I think we liked house one more, this would require a lot of renovations," he is less concerned about Marcie's feelings, because he's about to shell out just how much capital to make this happen? "Let's see the last one for the day," he suggests, and, humbled, she assents to escort them back to the front of the property. It takes a while. Hudson notices there's a little duck pond, which is nice, but not enough to make him want to live here. Marcie, an expert at reducing awkwardness, fills the time by asking Alvina about their children, whose names she has memorized because of course she does. She's telling them about the pre-school options, all of them sterling, by the time the carriage has pulled up to take them to the last house of the day.
House #3
Alvina is overwhelmed by the idea of picking out preschools and immediately forgets they are house hunting. Marcie mentions several schools that sounds promising and prominent. They are still in the carriage when the beach rolls into view. It stops near an apartment like building with tall shrubs and a large guarded gate. Alvina, lost in the idea of prep schools for their daughters doesn't register their location until Marcie is taking them to the third and top floor of the building. "I know you said houses but this is just one of my favorite properties and its highly rated with families." Marcie says, as they all crowd into the lift and get pulled to the top floor by some invisible mechanism or enchantment. The loft is all windows. Each wall is a facing a different direction making the beach front visible on the back half and downtown Cenril with the front half. The interior walls are thin and glossy, there are sky lights but the middle section appears to be blue. Alvina points it out and Marcie explains there's the sundeck on the next floor up, and what they are looking at is the bottom of the pool.
Hudson is silent in the carriage. He had sort of assumed their daughters would attend his alma maters... but doesn't want to talk about this now with Alvina in front of Marcie, because gods forbid it somehow become An Argument. Also, he's not sure if he really cares about this issue or just wants to do this thing on principle alone. (Maybe he only started caring because Alvina started to take control of a situation that was resolved in his mind. Like dude calm down why are we reinventing wheels, etc.) He gazes out the window. He likes the look of the ocean but was thinking more secluded residence with a private beach. He's pleasantly surprised all the same. Of course the apartment is beautiful and very modern and a doorman has its perks, that he knows, but in an apartment they'll have NEIGHBORS. He's not sure he loves that, considering. He presently has a studio in a multi-unit dwelling and he can hear his neighbors, talking to each other (and sometimes also not talking to each other) late at night sometimes. There's also no grilling or pool to be had, he assumes, until Marcie blows his mind and suggests the unit has a second floor. They ascend. The pool and deck space isn't as expansive as the first house, of course, they're working with limited space, but there's a spot for a grill and anyway there isn't a real need for an Olympic size swimming area, if he's being honest. The city view is breathtaking, but he doesn't know because in his mind they live on a giant compound that impresses all of his friends. And yet he gets the vibe from Alvina that she's tentatively excited about this property, likely because the building is new construction and it's a completely new unit (a beautiful one) in a walkable and posh part of town, with ocean views. And maybe she doesn't want to live on an estate. He asks Marcie if they can have a second, and she excuses herself to leave them alone by the sample pool furniture. He cants a gaze up at Alvina, lifting his eyebrows. "Well?"
Alvina had always assumed the girls would just go to whatever school Hudson had attended in his youth but Marcie excited her with the talk of OPTIONS. So when Hudson pulls her aside, Alvina fumbles, looking around. “I don’t know….. that second house was a wash but this one is close to…everything. The first one was mind blowing too… What do you think??” Now that she’s been charged with making a decision it seems impossible. The first one was her –favorite- on principal and bathtub alone. Plus it’s like a little castle in it’s own way and what girl doesn’t want a castle? But this space is very hip and makes a broad statement about their lavish situation. Yes there is a second floor, and yes there is room for a grill and a great view of the beach but is there enough outdoor space for the girls? Alvina can’t believe she’s thinking about it, but what if they want to turn into little wolves and run around a yard? Marcie was fiddling with some of the curtains, trying to pull them down to cut the harsh light that came through the windows at this angle. It would be a balancing act to deal with them.
Hudson shrugs, watching indecision flit across Alvina's features. "No to the second, it was for old people," he says, searching her face for her reaction. "I liked the first, in my head that's what we do, but this is nice, sure, I'd live here. Less old fashioned. I can tell YOU like it. I don't like that there's no yard and we'd have neighbors and that there's less space but maybe we don't need all the space. And I guess I could probably buy the building and we could gut the other apartments. Make one floor into a huge playroom and the other floor into, I don't know, whatever." A gym or gigantic mancave or greenhouse or stable or literally anything. Said with a shrug, like it's nothing. "So anyway that's cool but I like house one. But this is supposed to be your dream home, babe," he says, glancing at her. Her hair is backlit by the early evening sun. His mouth stirs in a slow smile. "Happy wife, happy life. You're in charge."
Alvina has a mixed reaction to this transference of power. “I’m not your wife,” she chides him with a grin, “but I will take that into consideration if that comes to pass.” It’s all a joke until he asks her. The sun is warm on her back and the space, even though it’s so close to the central hub of Cenril is oddly quiet. Must be enchanting of some kind, to deafen the noise because she can’t hear their so called neighbors either. Fancy. She takes one last look around, eyeing the posh flat. It’s just about everything she might have wanted in her teens but…it doesn’t feel family friendly – enough- for her tastes. “I’m going to have to call it…the first house was my favorite.” It’s not just the tub, probably. “I’d be happier having a place with greenery. But you know we probably have to keep someone on staff to keep the lawn like that…” A STAFF of people to keep their home functioning properly. Marge, to watch their children. Hudson’s cleaning lady, whatever her name was, to clean the house and acquire the oh so important fresh fruits, and a lawn person or persons. Someone to clean the pool too? For Sven’s sake. “Do you think Marcie will care?” Alvina laughed, whispering to Hudson so the realtor doesn’t overhear. She’s exhaling on a pane of glass and cleaning it with her tweed elbow, probably just rubbing excess perfume onto clear surface. Alvina took the liberty of approached her and offering their JOINT opinion. Perks of almost being a wife, she guessed. “This place is absolutely stunning…” She started off with the positive. “But I think we liked the first one Marcie. It’s really the lawn that settles it for us.” Also the tub. She turns back to Hudson with a cautious optimism that read ‘ how did I do at being powerful and bossy?’
"Yeah... Because I'm not mowing the lawn," comes Hudson's response as Alvina, to his surprise, agrees with him. He rises off of the lounger he's sitting on and touches her on the back. "Marcie gets paid no matter what," he tells her, in a subdued tone that finds it amusing she's concerned about offending a woman who literally works for them right now. Classic Alvina. He lets her lead the way back to deliver the news. Marcie is of course fine and like a dog with a bone, begins to ask them about when they'll expect to put in an offer. Properties in that neighborhood are hot, they should be forewarned, and so on, she's telling them as she escorts them out of the loft. "We'll send something over later today," Hudson tells her, just so she stops hyping up the process. Content that she's about to get paid, Marcie is practically frothing at the mouth with excitement over their new home. She hugs them both with matronly enthusiasm outside of the building, and promises to revert to them immediately with whatever the seller has decided about their offer. Inside a carriage, and finally alone, Hudson tents a hand over his eyes and looks at Alvina. "For Sven's sake, she's A Lot," he comments.
The Ride Home
Alvina laughed to agree, sighing into Hudson once Marcie was in another carriage. “If I ever try to become a realtor, don’t let me have perfume.” She demands, “Or a tweed outfit.” It’s rude, to make fun of this woman who is helping them but she was…very extra. Plus, it’s just Hudson. It’s like a secret they can have together. REMEMBER WHEN. “About all that school stuff…” she started, just in time to catch Hudson’s exhausted expression that read ‘I don’t want to talk about it’. “What are you tired from carrying around your fat wallet all day?” She chided him, with an extra rich smile on her face. The cat not only found the cream but she knew where it lived. The bard looked positively elated at being included in this process and the house they’d picked. Hudson’s offer didn’t weigh on her at all. He had the money, his offer would be accepted, they basically just bought a house in her mind. In Cenril. So far away from Ethan and Lila, it wouldn’t be a problem. And even if it was! She could throw on her slowly developing bored / rich face and leave them to their petty dramas. Or so she tells herself. It’s so weird, Ethan was a lifetime away. He’d been a good friend, until he stopped being a good friend to Hudson…so complicated. “Anyway, I’m going to get super tan, and buy ice cream cones and we can have pool parties. And-“ Her hands latched onto the sleeve of his polo. “Oh Hudson, I’ll get to take a BATH.” She melted into the seat with a hefty sigh. Josleen could keep her fort, Alvina had the BEST BATHTUB.
"I just want to chill and not think about grownup things for a second," he groans, as she kicks off on this school stuff. She gets the hint, he'd said it playfully anyway. She moves on to being endearingly effusive over the home they'd chosen together. "I like you pale too," he reminds her, chuckling into her comments about taking a bath. He loops an arm around her, and draws her close to hold his face against her hair. They're quiet, the only sound that of the carriage hurtling over cobblestones. It's soothing in a repetitive way. "I know you're on a diet but... I want to get pasta in cheese sauce and chicken parm," he says, after a while.
Alvina makes a soft “hmm?” as if she’d been dozing in their silence. “That’s not going to be good for my thighs…” She sighs, knowing she was going to eat just as much of it as he was. Except maybe…not cheese sauce. She’d get the red sauce, and they’d fight about how weird she was in the way couples fight about dumb things. A no-holds-barred death royale style show down. Over pasta. “It’s a celebration, we can get whatever we like.” She reminded him, shifting to press her lips to his cheek casually. “We’re moving to Cenril.”