Parental Problems

“I’m sure you’ve met my boyfriend before right, Lizzie?” Viv asks her.

“Yeah. Hi.” Lizzie greets you and Brooke shyly.

“Oh! Hey, Lizzie.” You and Brooke both greet Lizzie back simultaneously, a little bit too surprised in your delivery. Enough that it might be suspicious that you saw something between her and her mom in the park.

“What brings you by?” Brooke asks innocently.

“Oh… um…” She stumbles, obviously not comfortable sharing the reason why she’s here.

“She’s just here for some… uh… career advice.” Viv tries to deflect the answer.

“Yeah. That.” Lizzie answers.

“Oh? Is everything alright at work, Lizzie?” You ask, genuinely concerned, since she had to approach Viv outside of the restaurant for her to do it.

“Yeah! It’s great working for Chef Nguyen!” Lizzie answers immediately.

“You don’t need to say it like I’m holding you at gunpoint.” Viv jokes, trying to make Lizzie comfortable and laugh a little.

“I really do mean it, Chef. You’ve been a great boss since I started working for you. I wouldn’t have come here after your invitation if I felt like I couldn’t approach you outside of work hours.” Lizzie explains.

“You hear that? Great boss.” Viv gloatingly points out to you and Brooke.

“Never doubted you for a second, girlfriend.” You reply.

“She’s just saying that.” Brooke jokingly teases Viv.

“I can still kick you out, you know?” Viv jokes back.

“Oh? And give up on our roommate plans to fuhhh~” Brooke decides to tease back, before catching herself from completing her sentence. “Uhh… fine dine and wine… our boyfriend?” Brooke rephrases, although it’s not like Lizzie wouldn’t have been able to understand what she was getting at originally.

“Valid point.” Viv replies. “But I’m still the boss around here, capiche?” Viv asks her with a raised eyebrow, trying to sound authoritative.

“You’re the great boss, boss.” Brooke concedes.

“Damn right I am.” Viv says with emphasis.

“Can the great boss make her guests some sandwiches for breakfast?” You jokingly ask.

“Oh! I still got some mini baguettes for Banh Mi. You guys want some?” Viv immediately shifts to girlfriend-mode, undermining her boss persona. Brooke immediately jumps at the chance and says ‘yes’, and you run with it and say you do too. “Alright, four banh mis coming right up!” Viv says happily before standing up from the couch.

“Oh no! You don’t need to make me one, Chef.” Lizzie tells her.

“Yeah? You’re going to work starving and annoyed later? Ruin my restaurant’s reputation out of pride?” Viv asks her pointedly, taking you and Brooke by surprise. Lizzie just lowers her head before shaking it to answer ‘no’ to Viv’s insinuation. “Didn’t think so.” Viv says with a chuckle and a smile to tell Lizzie she’s just being playful.

“Damn.” Brooke can’t help but react. “That’s your definition of a great boss, Lizzie?” Brooke asks her jokingly.

“Chef’s just joking. Plus, that’s nothing compared to my mom.” Lizzie replies, before immediately placing a hand over her mouth for saying too much.

“So it comes out.” Viv reacts, while she opens her fridge door.

“What comes out?” You ask innocently, trying to play off your knowledge of the real reason Lizzie might be visiting Viv.

“Nothing! Nothing! Don’t mind what I said. Just a lot on my mind.” Lizzie tries to move past what she said.

“Um~, not trying to be nosey or anything, but I think I know who your mom is, Lizzie. Her name’s Karen, isn’t it?” Brooke asks, surprising you that she’s possibly revealing that you and her saw them argue in the park earlier.

“What!? How do you know her?” Lizzie asks in both surprise and embarrassment.

“She’s one of the clients in my gym. I kinda saw you talking to her in Viv’s restaurant when she came looking for you a few days ago.” Brooke explains to Lizzie, although you’re pretty sure she’s using that coincidental event from before to hide that you and her found out from eavesdropping on their earlier argument in the park.

“Oh, uh~, yeah. That was my mom.” Lizzie confirms. “Please don’t tell her what I just blurted out!” Lizzie then adds in worry.

“I didn’t hear anything worth telling her.” Brooke assures Lizzie.

“Oh, then here’s something worth telling her— tell her she’s a disruptive bitch and that she shouldn’t go to people’s place of business to interrupt their employees from working.” Viv says from her kitchen, and gets a laugh out of Lizzie.

“Duly noted. Anything else?” Brooke replies.

“Oh, and tell her her daughter’s a grown woman who’s fighting for her dreams and she should be more supportive instead of being a cunt.” Viv adds, and Lizzie’s laugh immediately turns into a frown.

“Viv!” You shout in reprimand. “I apologize for my girlfriend’s language. I’m sure that’s just her way of being supportive, but it’s still rude to call your mom that.” You tell Lizzie.

“No. Chef’s not wrong.” Lizzie surprisingly replies. “It was just… I didn’t want you to hear our dirty laundry.” Lizzie explains her frowning reaction.

“Woops!” Viv shouts. “Sorry, Lizzie!” Viv apologizes.

“You are such a blabbermouth!” Brooke condemns Viv.

“I’m sorry! She came to me for advice! I’m not good with that kind of shit. I barely have my shit together!” Viv defends herself. “Now that you’re here, I thought you guys could give her the advice… ~and I will make the sandwiches.” Viv adds.

“It’s okay, Chef. I didn’t mean to impose.” Lizzie says apologetically.

“No, Lizzie. If you didn’t want us to know, that’s Viv’s fault for having loose lips.” Brooke continues to condemn Viv’s action.

“That’s strike two, roomie. One more and I’ll… you know what, I’m a professional. It’s not worth breaking the hippocratic oath and spitting on your food for the jabs.” Viv fires back.

“Thank God for the hippocratic oath then.” Brooke replies sarcastically.

“What do you need advice about, Lizzie? Maybe Viv’s right and we can help— but no pressure! Obviously. If you want to keep it private, you don’t have to tell us.” You tell Lizzie.

“I mean, cat’s already out of the bag anyway—” Lizzie says, making you and Brooke look accusingly towards Viv for blabbering. “Chef Nguyen offered to help after mom came by the restaurant the other day.” Lizzie starts to explain what she’s doing in Viv’s apartment first.

“You kinda gave me ****. The grand opening’s tomorrow! I need you, Lizzie! You told me you were quitting!” Viv shouts from her kitchen.

“I’m sorry! Mom was just putting pressure on me to leave work! With the little to no progress of how my life’s going, I was tempted.” Lizzie says, the stress she’s feeling very apparent.

“Time out. Why is your mom pressuring you to quit Viv’s restaurant?” You ask.

“She thinks being a waitress is beneath me.” Lizzie answers.

“That’s a bit harsh.” You say in reaction.

“It kinda is.” Viv comments at the same time as you.

“Just ‘kinda’?” Brooke asks in reaction.

“Okay, fine. It is beneath her.” Viv reacts. “Just don’t tell my waiting staff that I think that. They might misinterpret what I meant.” Viv adds.

“Oh, I thought—” Brooke says in surprise, and Viv picks up on her confusion.

“You thought I meant that her mom was being harsh too? Nah. Most of my staff didn’t even give me printed resumes when they applied for their job. Color me surprised when I got an application from someone who graduated from Yale.” Viv explains, and you and Brooke can’t help but gasp in shock at that information.

“Yale!? You graduated from Yale? What are you doing waitressing!?” Brooke can’t help but ask. Meanwhile, you’re wondering how Lizzie is already a university graduate, when she barely looks out of high school.

“It’s not a big deal.” Lizzie says dismissively.

“Your mom thinks it is.” Viv points out.

“Well my mom is a bigger drama queen than even I dream to be.” Lizzie replies.

“Sorry, you dream to be a drama queen?” You ask in confusion.

“A dramatic actress. Although to my mom, she doesn’t see the difference.” Lizzie clarifies. “Still, I wouldn’t mind being called the ‘Queen of Drama’. I have played Cleopatra before, and I wouldn’t decline roles of royalty if the opportunity presented itself.” Lizzie adds as trivia.

“There lies the problem.” Viv comments, as she approaches her living room again carrying the tray of banh mis she prepared for breakfast. “The opportunities aren’t presenting themselves.” Viv adds, as she places the tray on her coffee table, making Lizzie frown in disappointment again.

“You’re an actress?” You ask the obvious.

“Aspiring to be.” Lizzie answers. “I’m doing waitressing jobs to pay for rent. Callbacks have been… scarce, to put it lightly.” Lizzie explains.

“Maybe she just wants to show support in her own way? Like, she can take care of you while you go to auditions. So whatever income you get from waitressing jobs doesn’t get eaten up by rent. I know that’s what I would do if my daughter was in your shoes.” You try to argue as a parent.

“Yeah. That’s not what she wants.” Lizzie tells you flatly.

“What does she want then?” You ask.

“She wants me to go back home and put all of these ‘pointless’ dreams behind me. Get a nine to five. Get a stable career. Save up so I can invest. Typical parental advice stuff to kill your kid’s dreams.” Lizzie answers.

“I know that’s how it may sound, but I think she’s just looking out for you. Any good parent worries about their child's future.” You say, playing devil’s advocate.

“You’re saying I should listen to her?” Lizzie asks you calmly.

“I’m saying you shouldn’t look at it like she wants you to quit on your dreams. What I think she’s pressuring you to have… is a back up plan. A fallback in case this streak of bad luck regarding getting acting roles continues. You’re young so you’re not thinking about that kind of stuff; but as a parent, we worry about it for our children.” You tell her, and Brooke expresses that you have a valid point.

“Whew. Good thing you came. I would’ve just mindlessly agreed with Lizzie.” Viv comments, as she chews on her banh mi.

“Chef, you do realize that if I follow that advice, I’m going to have to leave the restaurant, right?” Lizzie points out to her.

“Oh, fuck.” Viv reacts, stopping her chewing and a piece of lettuce sticking out of her lips. “What kind of shit advice are you giving her!?” Viv asks you accusingly, doing a one-eighty on her initial reaction to your advice, getting you actually worried that she’s annoyed with you; before finally giving you a smile that she’s just messing with you.

“Look, from our conversation from before, it’s not like your mom is asking you to leave your job immediately, right? Consider this your running two week notice. I’ll find a replacement while you scour for some jobs that can appease your mom, but something that can also give you the time to go on auditions so you don’t have to completely give up on that dream. If you find one, we’ll have someone ready and you can start that new job immediately. Sounds good?” Viv suggests.

“Chef, if I could have found a job like that, I would have done it already. That sounds like a pipe dream.” Lizzie points out, stumping all of you for a moment…

Before a light bulb appears above your head.

“I~ might have an idea of a job like that.” You tell her.

At Viv’s restaurant that evening…

“You’re suggesting I hire Lizzie as Paige’s assistant?” Becca asks you.

“Yeah.” You answer, as you, Viv, and Becca meet in her office.

“I wish you would’ve suggested this sooner.” Becca says ominously.

“I just hired Tricia this morning.”