Dustin isn't particularly pleased when his mother's freshly divorced best friend, Cathy, decides to temporarily move in with them. It means a whole lot of late-night gossiping, chick flicks, and mood swings. But things get interesting when Cathy tur...
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Sunday morning was quiet, so I took it as an opportunity to unpack my essentials. For the most part, I still planned to live out of my suitcase, but I took out my toiletries and some of my most used items of clothing, and arranged them all in the drawers of the small bedside table in the room.
There was minimal space to move around in and I was constantly knocking into hard corners and tripping over my own things. I had no trouble picturing the space as a study. It would have been much more spacious with a single desk and maybe a bookshelf or two. It definitely wasn't my first-choice as a bedroom.
I had to constantly remind myself that it was only temporary.
But the four robin egg blue walls seemed to close in on me, the complete opposite of the welcoming effect the paint had done upon my arrival. Eventually, I decided to exit the confinements of my miniature prison and go into the kitchen for some breakfast.
My stomach was grumbling and I was craving scrambled eggs on toast. I wondered if it would be inappropriate to raid the Reed's fridge. Maura seemed like the type of woman who would encourage visitors to make themselves at home. But then again, I had only met Maura face-to-face twelve hours ago and I didn't want to just assume.
When I entered the kitchen, Maura and Mum were sitting at the dining table in their pyjamas, a bottle of aspirin sitting between them as they sipped their coffee from large Styrofoam cups. The entire room was shadowed in darkness and—for once—absolute silence. I crossed the room and drew back the curtains.
"Oh my God," my mother shrieked, squinting up at me like a blind animal. "The light...it burns."
Maura looked slightly cross-eyed as she glanced up at the small sliver of sunlight coming from the window. Her lips twisted into a pained scowl as she lazily tapped the sunglasses perching in her nest of untamed hair until they fell onto the tip of her nose.
"Jesus Christ, I'm never going to drink again," Maura announced, resting her face in her hands.
"Honey, I completely agree."
Then the two looked at each other and burst out in a fit of childish giggles. The laughter was soon subdued though. The sound of their own chuckles had sent a ringing pain in their temples and they promptly frowned and groaned in discomfort.
"Thank God for drive through McDonalds," Mum said, keeping her tone softer. She took a sip of her coffee. "Oh, that reminds me; we got a couple of hash browns for you and Dust."
I crept towards the bag and took out the greasy goodness, the idea of eggs and toast disappearing at the thought of deep fried potatoes.
"Where is your son anyways?"
"He goes for a run every morning. He should be back any moment now. Ash, you're welcome to help yourself to anything. There's juice in the fridge. Are you an apple or orange kind of girl?"
