Sharing is just good manners

From Torg Adventure

Revision as of 02:17, 24 September 2012

"Well, I suppose that it wouldn't do any harm for you to stay in Max's room tonight," your mom finally says after a minute. "This way, Sam doesn't have to lose access to her little workout room while Maggie is here."

"I don't mind, Mom," Sam interjects. "Really, I can go without for a few days."

"That's very polite of you, Sam," your mother responds. "But Max does have a large bed, and he is a grown man now."

"Mom!" Lisa objects. "You never let me have my guys sleep in my room."

"That's because you started asking when you were twelve," Sandy retorts. "And I seem to recall that my forbidding it didn't mean that they still didn't end up there, if I remember correctly." She reaches for a fortune cookie. "Besides, you haven't asked in years. Things change."

"So I can start having guys sleep over then?" Lisa asks hopefully.

Your mom cracks open her fortune cookie, and pulls out the slip of paper. "No."

Lisa pouts. "That's not fair. Why Max and not me?"

Your mother reads her fortune off the piece of paper, then sets it down on the table next to her plate. She puts a piece of the broken cookie into her mouth. "If I allow you to do it, we'd have a different man here every night of the week." She puts another piece of fortune cookie fragment into her mouth. "But I think this is a conversation that can be had without our visitor here."

She turns to you and Maggie. "Max, why don't you take Maggie's bag upstairs and show her where you room is, the bathroom, and all that. I'll have the girls take care of cleaning up, and then maybe we can catch some tv or just talk in the living room when that's all done."

"You're sure I can't help clean up, Sandy?" Maggie asks earnestly, still playing the part of the sweet girl. Or was the tough Maggie the act? Maggie seems so genuine now that you're getting confused.

"No, there's not too much to deal with anyway," your mom assures her. "It's not like there was any cooking involved. And you and Max brought the food." She nods at the doorway to the living room, which led to the stairs. "Go ahead and get your stuff upstairs, and let Max give you the tour." She looks back at you. "Grab her suitcase for her, Max."

Maggie smiles at you. "Yes, be a sweetheart Max, and grab my suitcase." You see a hint of the real Maggie in the smile now, mysterious and just a little bit not quite right.

You walk towards her suitcase. Despite Maggie handling it with ease, you have no doubt at to it's weight, based on how it affected the balance of the car when it was added and removed. Trying not to let your apprehension show, you grab the handle carefully and try to lift it.

The suitcase weighs as much as you thought it would, and then some. You were expecting this not to be easy though, and that helps. You actually manage to lift it a good two inches off the floor, despite it taking almost all of your strength to do so. The next struggle is not to show everyone how much of an effort it is taking you to lift this suitcase, and carry it over towards the door to the family room.

Thankfully, no one seems to be paying you too much attention. Your sisters are starting to pick up the dirty dishes, while your mom is still making small talk with Maggie. Maggie is still being as charming as ever to your mom, although you get a sense that is watching you out of the corner of her eye, and still has that smile on her face. You manage to get the suitcase across the length of the kitchen without it touching the floor since you picked up, although it's been close at a couple of points. You did not realize just how far it was from the back door to the living room before.

"Sandy, if you'll excuse me, I suppose I should let Max show me his room," Maggie gets out of her chair and then pushes it back in carefully.

"Go ahead and get unpacked," your mom tells her, smiling. "Then join us in the living room after."

"We'll be right down. Promise." Maggie follows you into the living room, where you're managing to make headway in your quest to get the suitcase upstairs. Maggie catches up with you just as you and the suitcase get out of sight of your mother and sisters in the kitchen.

"Not bad, kid," Maggie says, her voice and speech patterns suddenly back to normal. "But let me get that before you give yourself a hernia." She smoothly grabs the suitcase from you, making it look easy to carry that monstrosity. "'cause you having a hernia would ruin all my fun this weekend."

You pause momentarily to catch your breath as Maggie starts lugging the suitcase the rest of the way to the stairs. You wonder what she meant by 'fun'. You're not sure that Maggie's idea of fun is necessarily always going to be fun for you. It's not like you can really back down now. You suck it up and follow her as she goes up the stairs.

What next?

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