2.5 Slip By

So after a few chapters, we're following up on this. 

"You're sure the grey hair doesn't make me look too...old?" Since reaching his elder stage, Buck has become concerned by his appearance. 

"You're still a young buck to me." 

Buck sighs at the pun. "Thanks..." 

"No, really. I think you look great. But I doubt you called me over to talk about your hair..." 

To her surprise, Buck pushes her back. 

"Yeah...well...there's no easy way to say this. But I think we shouldn't see each other anymore." 

"What? Why not?" 

Buck puts his hands on his hips and looks away, trying to find a gentle way to explain... "I don't like staying in one place for too long. Always been like that. I like having my own space. And I think you'd like to be serious, right?" 

"Well...yes. So what, you think I'm hideous or something? Or you want a younger woman?" Damaris lets her anger take the better of her, "Just another notch on your belt and all that?"

Buck's jaw sets with displeasure. Why don't they ever understand? "No, it's not that at all Damaris. Of course I think you're beautiful. But I just wanted to have some fun. Why let it sour? We can end on good terms..."

Damaris balls up her fists, "Whatever. Stick your 'good terms' up your ass, Buck." She walks halfway to the door, then turns around, "And you do look old!"

When the door slams, Buck massages his temples. Looks like he dodged a bullet again, huh?

Dot, going a bit stir-crazy and still having maternity leave, decides to go out and do something. She walks aimlessly, until she goes inside the salon on impulse. Maybe a haircut or a makeover would do her some good? 

She asks for the opinion of the nearest employee. 

"I'm actually a tattoo artist, not a stylist," he apologises, "So I can't help you with fashion..." 

Dot only thinks for a moment before asking him, "Do you have any samples of your work?" 

He hesitates, "Tattoos shouldn't be impulse decisions..." 

"I just want to take a look." 

He complies and brings a heavy binder with pictures of tattoos he's done before. 

Dot points to some of the pictures, asking for more details. 

After he patiently explains the reasoning behind some of the tattoos, like the symbolism of the colours, Dot has a lot to think about. 

"I can see you take your job really seriously. I can't believe you remember so much about all of those tattoos!" Some of the photos were clearly from years ago, and yet he had so many details... 

He beams with pride, "When you've been in the trade as long as I have, you pick up some things... Getting a tattoo is a pretty permanent thing. There are lots of factors to consider." 

Dot books an appointment for a few weeks from then. 

She decides to go with a small flower. The colours don't mean anything special, but she liked how bright and happy they seemed. 

Final result. 

"I'm really happy with it! Thank you so much." 

"No problem. I'm happy you like it." 

"Can I take you out for dinner, or a drink? You were so patient with me..." 

He smiles, "I get off work at seven. But nothing too expensive, I just did my job..." 

On her way out, she bumps into Melanie Hong. She used to take her son, Jeremie, to Dot's daycare. 

When she tells Dot that she's expecting, Dot has some pregnancy book recommendations. 

"Oh thanks, but I read those already. So did Justin, he understood the technical terms way better than I did." 

"Justin? Do you mean...Justin Kayes?" 

Melanie nods, "We were married...but that's history now." 

Seeing Dot's discomfort, Melanie decides to pry. "How do you know him?" 

"I was seeing him too, a long time ago. We have a daughter together..." 

Melanie leaps on this information with the ferocity of a snake devouring its prey, "Oh he's the worst, isn't he? After I had Jeremie he was suddenly out all the time... then I found out he was seeing Sofia Carlton the entire time! And a firefighter! She was all too eager to handle his firehose!" 

Dot's lips compress into a single line, a failed effort to suppress her laughter, "I see." Back then, too... 

Melanie pats her shoulder comfortingly, "We're better off without him! He's going to be super old soon, anyways. I wonder if Sofia'll help him out with his dentures, or his adult diaper... he'll need the help. The man's never handled a diaper in his entire life." 

Talking about Justin makes the pain flare up all over again, but Dot can't help but smile at Melanie's fervent hatred of the man. "I'm sure we'll both be fine without him." 

She still has a few hours to kill before seven rolls by, so when she comes across Shanda, she stops for a chat. 

"What are the Gators feeding you? Your arms are jacked!" she exclaims, seeing Shanda's buff arms. 

Shanda flexes a little, "Thanks. I actually do have to be on a diet, though. No sweets. Don't tell anyone...but I dream about sugar sometimes. It's just me and a few mountains of it, or sometimes I dream our captain is there, drilling me. 'C'mon Crowe! You can eat faster than that!' and I just go all Hungry-Hippo. By the end the mountains aren't even molehills." 

Dot blinks, then bursts into laughter. 

Shanda's expression remains grim. "I can't even remember what soda tastes like." 

The hours slip by quickly as she chats with Shanda, and suddenly Dot has to high tail it to the salon to take Alistaire out for dinner.

"Hey, do you see that?" Alistaire points to a particularly bright star. 

Dot squints at the sky. "See what?" 

"Theeeeeere," he traces a line with his finger, until she sees a pinprick of light a bit brighter than the others. 

"Huh. Yeah. What is it?" 

"It's Sixam." 

Dot thinks hard for a second, since the name rings a bell. "We learned about it in elementary school... it's a planet, right?" 

Alistair nods vigorously, "One of the only ones sims have encountered with intelligent life! It's visible tonight without a telescope." 

Dot squints at the sky again, "There's a star out there somewhere named after me." Dot-264 to be precise. 

"Really?" 

Dot shrugs, "A birthday gift from my dad. He bought one of those certificates from the science lab with my name on it." All because I said I wanted a wish from a star... he was so literal sometimes. 

"Ahh. That's actually pretty nice. I used to be really into astronomy when I was little. I would've fainted if someone got a star named after me!" 

Alistaire turns the discussion towards books. 

"I don't read often," Dot confesses, "We read a book in school called 451 Fahrenheit-," 

"Fahrenheit 451," Alistaire corrects, "Sorry. Continue." 

"Yeah we read that in high school. I liked it, but it took me a long time to get through. I think I started it three times before I actually finished it..." 

"So where do you stand on that book? Is it about censorship, or the evils of television?" 

Dot sighs, "Ugh, no. Stop. We had this debate in class. I just liked the book! It doesn't have to be more than that!" 

Alistaire laughs, "Ok, ok. Sorry. I just really like getting into stories, you know?" 

"I can see that. You have any book recommendations?" 

Alistaire's eyes light up, "So many! You should probably give me a specific genre, though. To narrow it down." 

"How about something...romantic?" 

Alistaire gets the hint. "Well, I might have a few suggestions... maybe we could look through the library sometime?" 

She gives him a hug. "Yeah, I'd like that..." 

They both linger for way longer than necessary. 

Dot makes her move. 

"Look, I don't want to rush anything," she says after they pull away, "But I'm only interested in something serious..." 

Alistaire smiles, "I'm not interested in anyone else, if that's what you're asking." 

"So you're not seeing someone else? And you won't see anyone else while we're...um, together?" 

Alistaire kisses her gently. "No, I won't." 

Dot blushes. "Good..." 

Dot has to hurry away after that. Her mother decided to throw a huge party for Pancho's upcoming graduation/Aloiso's recent graduation/she just felt like it. 

Invited is Dot's half-brother, Woodrow. He's quite a bit younger than she is, the result of Wei's short relationship with Amy Bull. Dot formally introduces herself. 

"I can't believe that in a town this small we've never crossed paths," Woodrow jokes. 

"I'm sure we bumped into each other in school..." 

"I have a terrible memory. You could've been wearing a neon sign saying "look here you dumbass" and I still wouldn't remember it." 

Dot chuckles, "Well, I hope you'll remember me this time." 

"I can't even remember how I got here." 

He's employed at the science lab, by the way. Someone out there trusts him with dangerous chemicals. 

Also in attendance is Justin. Dot smiles at him, mostly because she can't help but remember Melanie's cracks about his age. 

"You look good," Justin remarks. 

Dot isn't sure if she's imagining the glimmer of regret in his eyes, but she chooses to ignore it. "I've had a lot of time to myself lately. But I should be working again soon." She punctuates the end of her sentence with a warm smile. She won't let Justin get to her. 

***

Dot surprises herself by heading out to see Alistaire after the party. Her mother practically pushed her out the door, eager for time with her granddaughter. 

"Everything alright?" Alistaire was surprised to get her call. 

"I just wanted to spend time with you... that's alright, isn't it?" she's suddenly unsure of herself. 

"No it's alright, I don't work until 10 tomorrow." 

"Nice tattoo," Dot admires his chest. 

Alistaire admires the view. "Nice dress." 

They make use of their free time well enough. 

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AN: Enjoy this photo of Pancho eating grilled cheese:

Jeez, Damaris and Dot have the worst luck. I wanted her and Buck to go steady, but once again I unwittingly chose someone with commitment issues. 

It was, once again, difficult to find a partner for Dot. She's in a weird in-between generation... she's about 1-2 weeks older or younger than her closest age mates. Alistaire is actually a tattoo artist (and Damaris's age), and I let him keep his job but it was impossible to interact with him without moving him into someone's house. He actually lives with Mark Stamp. 

Alistaire's traits:
-Bookworm
-Computer whiz
-Eccentric
-Workaholic
-Perfectionist

Also I hope by now it's clear that Dot's roll is single. I think the only thing we don't know is how many kids she'll have... :)