Pretend This didn't Happen

The parcel

"Ah, I'm stuffed," Claire admitted.

"You can't be," Gary retorted " You only ate two and a half pieces of pizza." Refilling her glass "here drink  some more apple juice and wash it down. You gotta eat more than that, we don't want you blowing away in the wind on us." Gary explained.

"It's your fault I'm stuffed after only eating this much," Claire acused "you gone and ordered it with extra cheese" Claire grumbled.

"Meh, meh, meh," Gary mocked "then I guess we don't need to order a second," pointing to the half eaten slice on Claire's plate "pass that here then, I'll eat it." Gary then left the table and went to the restroom for his customary gastric excretion and to use the toilet and wash up before going to the van where Andrea and Claire were waiting for him. 

The drive back was fairly uneventful and relaxing. "So this is where we live, huh?" Claire said nodding her head "typical trailer trash." Walking into the back yard and seeing the greenhouse and gardens next door Claire came back to her new family to speak "aye, not so typical trailer trash, I likes it." Claire followed Gary and Andrea inside and John greeted them before finding his way home.

"OK, Claire," Gary poured himself a coffee "I am going to have a coffee and then we got work to do." Andrea showed Claire around the home and introduced the babies to her. Gary drank his coffee and contemplated the new studio he was going to build inside of the greenhouse and how he was going to go about it so that it would survive the moisture, coming to the conclusion that he'd rather build an addition into the mobile. "Claire," Gary called to get her attention as she was seated on the couch with Angareas and the two of them were having a conversation of sorts until Gary broke the babble "we are going to have to think of an alternative solution to your room. For now you are going to have to sleep on the couch, unless you have a better idea."

"No, not at the moment I don't have any better idea" Claire admitted. "Plus it has been a long flight and I could use some shut eye." Claire returned to babble with Angareas for a while before stretching out on the couch. Andrea brought a spare blanket to cover Claire after noticing she had fallen asleep. Gary pinned a curtain concealing the lining room to offer some privacy for their guest.

"This is only temporary my love, don't worry" Gary reassured his wife that in a day or two Claire would have her own room and that he just needed approval to build an additon onto the mobile. Gary went outside for a cigarette and to think about how he was going to approach this project before making his way to the mobile home park's office to apply for approval. Gary smoked another cigarette on his way home, meeting Sylvia, another of his tenants outside of her residence crying.

"Can I talk to you?" Sylvia met Gary at the edge of her driveway, Gary nodded his approval. "I am three weeks pregnant." 

Gary raised his hands in protest "Congradulations but you're can not pin that one on me" Gary sarcastically responded.

Sylvia sobbed a laugh and wiped her cheek "I know that but Jerry, the father has gone awol after hearing the news. We were building a life together, I can't believe this is happening."Sylvia sobbed "what am I going to do?" She asked Gary as if he had the answer "I do not have enough savings to go to school and look after a child."

"Fucking idiot," Gary did not hold his choice in words "he may have done you a favor." Gary shook his head as he thought of the implications this would have "you see a boy like that is not worth your time and I am sorry you had to find out the hard way that he was just poking fun and you took him seriously." Gary paced back and forth, the anger was evident in his demour as he fired up another cigarette "I have a possible solution and you now have a room for your child also." Gary took deep inhalations "Get a list together from all of the people you know who'd like to place an order of fish and vegetables and bring it to me and we'll go from there." 

Gary started walking toward home when the man he was playing pool with showed up on his Harley, all decked to the nines, with saddle bags and everything. Parking the bike outside of Gary's the man got down from his Hog "So where the hell you been hiding?" He asked Gary retrieving the parcel from the saddle bags.

"It's a long story" Gary admitted. "Can I invite a long time aquaintance inside for a coffee?" Gary asked the huge bohemouth of a man.

"Maybe another time, here are your winnings." The man climbed on his bike again, starting it up "I got my eye on you."

Gary chuckled and thanked him before he drove away and Gary went inside his home to have another coffee and relax before playing guitar. The curtain was folded back and Claire was also at the table having a coffee when Gary entered.