West Coast

Knocking on the door, Lacey found that the door was already open. She tried to peek through the crack without invading the premises. A tall woman with wild blonde hair swung around the corner. Her presence was overwhelming, dressed in nothing but a kimono and strappy sandals. Smiling, she threw the door open and took Lacey into her arms like a mother who hadn't seen her daughter in weeks. Lacey tentatively hugged her back as the larger woman pulled away and held her at arms' length, sizing her up.

"Aren't you a pretty, young thing?!" There was a sparkle in the woman's eye, "I'm Maggie, Maggie M'Gill. You need somewhere to stay, mama?"

Lacey nodded in response. She could see, underneath the laugh-lines and the growing roots of Maggie's hair, the beautiful young woman Maggie must have been in the old days, a true flower-child of the revolution. The apartment fed into that theory, with protruding brick walls and painted ceilings. There were flower pots in every corner and low-hanging lights of different colors and charming poems and jokes along the walls. Lacey could make out the smell of cinnamon and pollen and felt at home.

"I'm Lacey James," She said at the woman held her in place. "I'm sorry I just sort of came in, but I just got here and, oh, well I'm uh, I'm from New York and-"

""Hey, hey, darlin' slow down. We're glad to host ya for as long as you need. The rent's $50 a month and there's always a bed waiting." Maggie turned her back on Lacey but motioned for her to follow her through the crooked rooms. There wasn't a lot of open space, all the walls jutted from the walls as if Maggie had put them there herself. The house seemed to get brighter and brighter as it went along, almost a circle of color and inspiration. Maggie was explaining the clusters of rooms and their uses, giving a quick rundown of the other inhabitants. Apparently, there were five others consistently living in Tangie Town, Lacey made six. She lost count of how many bedrooms they actually passed until they got to where Lacey would be staying.

The room was much smaller than the one she had in Brooklyn, but Lacey didn't need much. There was a mattress on the ground that seemed clean enough and a small wooden bureau. There was a window on the slanted ceiling looking out to the beaches below and the walls were poorly painted white. Lacey could make out paint of different colors lying underneath the white near where it touched the floor and ceiling. She made a point to chip away at it later. Standing behind her, Maggie nudged Lacey past the doorway, encouraging her to get comfortable. Obliging, Lacey walked in and set her stuff underneath the window.

Maggie put her adorned hands on her hips and smiled at her new resident."You'll like it here. Dinner's at 8 every night, don't miss it without giving mama a call. The rest of the rat pack will be here shortly. Any questions?" She asked Lacey as she turned around.

"Just one," She began, "Is your real name Maggie M'Gill?"

Maggie closed her eyes and laughed an honest laugh, "It's the only name that matters."

With that, she sauntered off, the fringe of her kimono swaying with her hips. Lacey was left under the window of her new room. She pushed it open and stuck her head out, her hands keeping her steady on the panels of the roof and she dared herself to climb out onto it. Getting her footing, she straightened herself up on the roof, finding a flat surface right above her room. She dangled her feet down into her open window and leaned back, her hands imprinted from the rough panels of the roof. Sitting there, she found a minute to breathe. God, even the air was different here, somehow softer than that of the East coast and she closed her eyes to take it all in.

It wasn't long when she felt a strange tug on her ankle, nearly throwing off her balance. She edged herself closer to the open window to see who had disturbed her. The stranger was dressed in a red and white striped shirt and his blonde hair curled around his face. He saw her furrowed brows and laughed, holding out a hand for her to grab so he could help her down. Lacey looked at his hand, up to his face, and back down to his hand. Deciding to trust him, she allowed him to help her back into her room. She landed a little rough, but managed to stand just fine to look at the lanky guy smiling down at her. Still holding her hand, the man decided to give it an enthusiastic shake

"You must be the new girl, huh? I'm Cassidy. Welcome home!" He said expectantly.

"Lacey" She introduced herself with a smile. The more she looked at Cassidy, the better she felt about him. He was full of energy but he still managed to be warm and welcoming, like a golden retriever. Her furrowed brow quickly melted and she flashed another smile at him.

"Mama sent me to fetch you for dinner. Everyone's itching to meet ya." Cassidy let Lacey's hand go and called her to follow her, turning and twisting around the corners of the apartment, daylight no longer filling the floor as the sun set.

Entering the kitchen, Lacey heard the one and only voice of Bob Dylan, his scratchy drawls and messages. She heard Maggie cry out with the record, "how does it feeeeeeel? To be on your owwwn..." as she shook the pan around on the stove. Three strangers lined up with empty plates in their hands: A girl in a white dress with striking red hair stood behind a shorter man with thick-rimmed glass and loafers. At the end of the line stood a taller fellow with greasy hair and a tank top, a flannel tied around his waist. Cassidy got himself a plate and got in the moving line. The nameless three saw Lacey as they turned to sit at the table and she was welcomed with nothing but warm smiles.

"Hello, hello!" The boy with the glasses greeted, Lacey smiles, trying to shake her nerves. Maggie looked over her shoulder to see Lacey and abruptly stopped the music, throwing a grease rag over her shoulder and her arms over her head. Placing their plates around the table, the rest of the residents waited for an introduction from Lacey, but Maggie spoke up before she got a chance.

"Oh, kitties, this is Lacey! She's got Loo's old room and she's from the cement jungle of New York City, she's staying with us as long as she needs to." There was that proud-motherly look on Maggie's face again.

"Hi" Lacey smiled and gave a small wave despite herself.

The redhead tilted her head and smiled at Lacey. "I'm Suzie," she said, walking up to Lacey and pushing the hair out of her face. "It'll be nice to have another girl here again." Suzie took to standing next to Lacey as the remaining men introduced themselves.

Straightening his glasses, "Miles" introduced himself by bowing slightly to Lacey, making her laugh to herself. Finally, the man with the flannel sauntered over with a smile breaking through his beard, extending a hand to shake Lacey's, saying, " And I'm Peter." Lacey nodded and Maggie clapped her hands loudly over her head and ushered everyone around the table and dumped the rest of the stir fry onto Lacey's plate.

Dinner started with a quick prayer from Maggie to a Goddess Lacey hadn't heard of before. Oddly, no one at the table even waited for the prayer to be over, they just dug into their meals. They all exchanged niceties and stories of what lead Lacey here and about the house and it's previous residents. Dinner in Tangie Town was a time to get to know each other. According to Maggie, you could never find out too much about a person. So Cassidy, Suzie, Miles, Peter, and Maggie were all paying extra close attention when Lacey spoke of her life back in New York and Lacey didn't shy from the details. By the time everyone was finished and they were cleaning their own dishes, Lacey really did feel like a sister who found her way home