No Reason But Us

Chapter 5 : Be Romeo

"What did I tell you before coming home in the middle of the night?" Marie said to her son while she happily heated the pot roast on the stove.

"Call ahead," Gage answered as he sat by the kitchen island waiting for his favorite food. "Sorry, Mom, we had a meeting in the theatre club, and it took aaalll daayy. Madame Vestia finally told us about what play we're gonna do and made us watch the movie and documentary. Gosh! it's crazy and by crazy, I mean crazy boring."

"I'm sure it's not that bad."

"Mom... there's also a video about Shakespearean words and what they meant."

"You are doing this for Courtney."

"I know, I know."

"Pot roast is ready," Marie placed it in a bowl and then a cup of rice on a plate. She put them on the table in front of her son.

"Thanks, mom."

"So, are you going to join the play?" The mother leaned on the counter and watched Gage eating.

"If I do, it's just some extras or stuff number, whatever."

"Hmm... what about Courtney? What part does she want to play?"

"Juliet, of course."

"OH! Why don't you audition for the role of Romeo?"

"No," Gage bluntly replied.

"Why? You are just as handsome as him," Marie held her son's face and squeezed it like he was a little toddler.

"Mom, stop..." he whined. Gage continued munching his food, "but promise me that you don't stop cooking this. By the way, is Dad home?"

"No, he's still out of town for work. He said he'll be back next weekend."

"That's too bad, I was looking forward to spending time with him. I won't be able to come home for the next few weeks. Oh well, more time with you then, Mom."

"Oh you, just eat your food and take a shower before going to bed," Marie walked towards a framed picture of her family, herself, Gage, when he was just a little boy and Adrian.

-----

The next day, the two girls were at a mall near their school the morning after, and they were at a craft store to buy the things they needed for the backdrop for Rita's niece's birthday. "Okay, we need styrofoams, acrylic paints, and cutter," Oddey said.

"That's it?" Rita quipped. "Wow, talk about frugal planning. If we add balloons, paper plates, giveaways, and other stuff, we still have a lot of money to spare."

"I know, right? now come on, so I can start working on it."

After material shopping, the girls went to Usagi Cafe for lunch and coffee too, they wanted to be cozy to discuss the backdrop with the paper bags of what they bought, Oddey even showed a rough diagram in a notepad. "So this is my plan, I will make the barnyard and the farm animals out of the styrofoams and the barn will be five feet high and the rest of the animals will be two feet," Oddey explained.

"Cute, I have a question," Rita said.

"Okay, shoot."

"Why styrofoam again?"

"So that after the party, your niece and her baby friends can have fun breaking it, I read it somewhere about planning a one-year birthday party or was it that someone told me..."

"Wherever it is, it's still good advice. Anyway, thanks for helping me with this."

"That's what best friends are for."