My Crumplebottom-Helgason legacy

BRIDGEPORT - Settling in
Karen Helgason
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Remember Karen? She´s the oldest daughter of Lief and Veronica. She left her son with Lief and Agnes and disappeared in the middle of the night. This is her story, the beginning of it anyway.

Karen left Aurora Skies in the middle of the night, leaving everything behind – even her newborn son, Albin. Karen knew her son would be well taken care of with her father and his family, better than she could have. It had gotten so bad she couldn´t even look at the infant without anger. She just couldn´t get passed that his father had left her because of him. Had she not become pregnant Arvid would still have loved her.

Karen had a bank account, money her father had saved up for her. It was not much, Lief was not a rich man and he had children with several women and had to pay his share for all of them. Still, it was enough to get Karen to Bridgeport and for her to rent a cheap apartment in the bad part of town.

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The apartment was not much. It was a bare minimum of necessities, with flaking paint on the walls and old plumbing, but it was somewhere to live.
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The apartment building had 4 units, On the ground floor lived Buster Round and his girlfriend Sherry and on the top floor, just above Karen, lived Ms Braun, a librarian at Bridgeport library. The second floor apartment was dark and Karen didn´t see anyone go in or out.
Buster and Sherry had two dogs, one was a huge great Dane, the size of a small pony. Karen wasn´t particularly fond of dogs, and this one she would be sure to avoid at all cost.
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Karen learned quickly that you get what you pay for. The rent was low, and so was the quality of the appliances. Everything seemed to be broken or at least close to breaking. And the dog was always around. Karen wasn´t entirely sure it wanted to be petted or if it wanted to eat her.
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That first day Karen made a friend. Sherry was an easy-going person who spoke her mind, and it seemed she felt a bit responsible for the stray that had just moved in. She told Karen about the mysterious neighbour on the second floor. He was in jail and had been for some time. Sherry told Karen to stay away from him, and the bikers he ran with at the Motorcycle club across the street.
Karen said she would stay clear, but in truth a biker gang did sound rather interesting.
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Sherry had lived in Bridgeport her whole life, and when she learned about Karen´s financial situation she promised to try and get her an interview at the diner where she used to work.
“It doesn´t pay well, but you can make tips”.
Karen asked her where she worked now, and Sherry told her she worked for herself.
“I work when I want, where I want and how long I want”.
She wouldn´t say anything more but promised Karen they could talk more once Karen had gotten used to Bridgeport and become a bit more street smart. Karen wasn´t a complete idiot, she understood Sherry was probably into something not entirely legal. But the main thing was Sherry might be able to help her get a job! Waitressing was not her dream job, but she really needed the money. Her bank account was drying out fast, she only had 100 simoleons left to her name.
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Later that afternoon, in the pouring rain, Karen took a taxi to the diner. Sherry had told her she would meet the manager, Mr Cook.
The diner was very small, and the location was a bit far off.
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Mr Cook turned out to be a middle-aged man in a cheap suit with an office in the cellar.
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Karen told him she had just moved to Bridgeport from Aurora Skies and that she needed a job. She told him she was not afraid of hard work, and that she really needed this job.
Mr Cook had his back to her the entire time, not even bothering to face her. He sighed constantly throughout her little monologue, clearly not very positive towards the prospect of hiring her.
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“Straight from a small town, looking to make it in the big city, eh?” He didn´t bother waiting for her response. “You and a thousand other girls. I´ll tell you sweetheart, you might think of this as a crap job anyone can do, but that just shows how little you know”. He didn´t even pause. “I need qualified personnel, girls who wants to work and are good at it, I don´t need a little gold digger who will be out of here first chance she gets”.
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“But… I´m not a gold digger, and I DO want this job”, Karen was trying not to cry. He was right about one thing, she did think it was a crap job and that she would move on as soon as possible, but she really needed the job! The money that she had didn´t even cover next weeks rent.
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“Are you saying you are not going to hire me?”
Mr Cook sighed again, a weary sound.
“I don´t have time for girls who are not going to put in the hours, chasing fame and fortune. There is no shortage of waitresses in this town, sweetheart”. He told her. Was she really that transparent? It was her plan. Work to pay rent and put food on the table, while trying to get somewhere with her music.
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“I really need the job, I need the money”, Karen wailed, reality hitting hard. What if she couldn´t find a job?! She´d have to go back to Aurora Skies, if she could even make it back. Where would she get the money?
Mr Cook finally faced her.
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“Now there, luv” He said awkwardly, patting her shoulder. “No need to cry”.
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“Things can´t really be that bad”, he suggested a bit stiffly.
“But they are!” sniffled Karen. “I have nearly no money and no nothing!”
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“You know what Karen, you seem like a nice girl, maybe I can help you out”.
“Really?” She asked. Careful not to get her hopes up, he might just shatter them again.
“If you promise you will work your hours, show up for your shifts without giving me trouble and give notice in advance when you are leaving, I might be able to offer you a job”.
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Karen listened to what Mr Cook had to offer, her hopes dwindling when he had finished speaking. He was offering her a test shift, without pay, and if she did well he would consider hiring her. No promises. It had cost her 20 simoleons getting there, and she would have to pay 20 more for a taxi home. And work for free.
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Karen couldn´t afford to let this opportunity pass her by. At least she´d have a chance of getting the job. And a job meant being able to pay rent. And eat. She´d have to buy herself a bicycle, the job only payed 60 simoleons a night, so she couldn´t afford taxifare. She agreed to Mr Cooks terms, thinking she´d make sure he´d hire her.
Mr Cook seemed relieved now that she´d stopped crying. He even smiled a little.
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Karen was shown were to change into a waitress uniform and put to work. She felt a bit silly wearing the polka dot dress with the frilly apron. The heels she had brought herself. Sherry had advised her to wear her highest heels, better tip. She knew two minutes in it would absolutely kill her feet.
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Waitressing was hard work. Waiting on tables, cleaning up, mopping floors, it never seemed to end. A security guard came in for dinner. He was nice to her, asked her if everything was alright, called her sweetheart and gave her a 10 simoleon tip.
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“Hello, miss, can I have my pie now?”
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The other girl working with Karen tonight was Matilda Smart. She was a cheery girl, seemed kind. She´d worked at the diner for a year, she told Karen, and she warned her about Mr Cook. He might seem proper, but he tries to sneak peaks in the changing room. And that old bum outside, creepy as fudge.
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In the end, Karen got along with her co-workers, manged to work the entire shift even though her feet felt like ground meat, and she was nice to customers. Mr Cook told her she was hired. She´d work five nights a week, 6pm to midnight, getting payed 10 an hour. All tips she got was hers to keep.
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“Bye Karen, see you tomorrow!” Matilda winked, having known all along Karen would be hired.
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That night Karen was sleeping nearly before her head hit the pillow. She didn´t even say goodnight to Kristin on her bedside table.
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