'Tis confusion!

still raining

Q went to the living room and peeked out the window. He turned to Joe. "Ahh, you summoned him."

"James is out there?" Sal asked.

"Got it in one," Q replied. "Should I let him in?"

"No," Joe and Sal replied simultaneously. Q laughed. "Yeah, I thought that was the answer I might get from you two."

"Ah, let him in," I told Q. "After all, what if Santiago sent him?"

Q shook his head. "You just made my decision to not let him in that much easier." He smiled and reached for the doorknob. "But I suppose karma and whatnot..." He flung the door open, and Murr darted inside like he was being chased. "Took you long enough, guys. Sheesh."

"What the hell are you whining about?" Q demanded. "I have an awning covering my front steps."

"Yeah, but there's no awning from my car to the front steps." Murr said. He headed to the hall closet and pulled out a towel. "Anyways, what are you guys all doing here?"

Q and Sal exchanged glances. "Well, buddy, since this is my house, I'm usually here," Q replied. " This weather has kinda prevented anyone from getting anywhere else..." He suddenly turned to me, brow furrowed. "Hang on. Shouldn't you be at work or something?" I laughed and poked him in the arm. "Trying to get rid of me?" 

"Of course not."

I grinned. "I was teasing. I was actually gonna call work and see what was going on, but I literally just received a text from my manager saying the mall was closed due to this reenactment of the great flooding that's been happening. The grounds around the mall flood faster than you'd believe. My manager said it could be at least three days until the mall is open. If you want me to leave at any point, just say the word..and maybe point me in the direction of your scuba gear." Joe chuckled. "Hey, I called first dibs on the snorkel, remember?" I laughed. "Well, let's hope Q doesn't want me out of here, then."

So where'd you leave Emily?" Sal asked Murr. He gasped. "Oh man, she's still out in the car. Oh crap."

"WHAT?" Sal exclaimed. "You left her in the car like a puppy? What's wrong with you?" Murr frowned. "I ran in to see if I could borrow an umbrella, and I had to wait out there so long, it kinda slipped my mind." Q groaned. "You're awful, you know that?" He grabbed the umbrella leaning against the corner, and thrust it into Murr's hands. "For god's sake, go get the poor girl. I'll go make hot chocolate or something." Murr nodded, yanked open the front door, took a deep, somewhat dramatic breath, and charged outside. Q slammed the door behind him. "What a tool," he laughed. "I hope his mother did the same thing to him once or twice." He grabbed my wrist and pulled me into the kitchen with him. "Come help me with the hot chocolate?" "Sure."

In the kitchen, Q found a bunch of mugs and put a kettle of water on the stove. He then motioned over to the cabinet. "Under the sink there, there should be a bottle of spiced rum, or there's still some Kahlua in the fridge. I was thinking of spiking the hot chocolate, giving it a little extra warmth. Which do you prefer? Pick your poison." I smiled. "Kahlua in hot chocolate is one of my favorite ways to drink it, actually."  "Help yourself." I grabbed the bottle from the fridge and set it on the table, then added hot chocolate packets to each mug. Once the water was done boiling, I poured it into the cups, then added a generous glug of Kahlua to each before stirring. I threw a few marshmallows into every cup but one. Q watched me. " Murr told me Emily doesn't care for marshmallows either. Maybe put some of those into Gatto's cup." I looked down.  "I put five in his cup already. If I add two more there won't be room for anything else." I fished the marshmallows back out and popped one in my mouth, then turned to Q. "Open your mouth." He obliged. I stood in front of him and tossed it in. He caught it on his tongue and chewed with a smile. We each grabbed two mugs and headed back out to the group. Murr and Emily had gotten back by this point, and were sitting on the couch next to each other. Joe was staring out the window, cell phone in hand, and Sal and Barbara were stretched out on the floor, watching a video on Sal's tablet. Q cleared his throat. "We have hot chocolate." He passed mugs to Emily and Murr, and I did the same to Sal and Barbara. We then went back and grabbed the remaining drinks. I grabbed the one with the excess marshmallows and brought it over to Joe. He seemd completely absorbed in his cell phone, to the point that he didn't look up until I cleared my throat. Twice. "You ok?"

He nodded. "In a manner of speaking. I'm just worried about Bessy. I'd really like to get her over here..."

"Don't tell me she's at work? In this weather?" Joe shook his head. "Nah. She's home with the pups. But I'm ready to say screw it and go get her. I won't bring the dogs here because of Quinn's cats, but... if James can get Emily in this storm, there's no reason in hell I can't get my wife over here."  He nodded to himself. "Actually, that's exactly what I'm gonna do. I'll be back, guys." He grabbed the umbrella Murr had previously borrowed, then ducked out the door.

"Be safe!" Q called after him.