Come and Play

Chapter Six ~ A Touch of Adler

           Tania sat upright in her bed with a pillow tucked behind her back and her glossy, hot pink laptop on her lap. She flipped the screen up and turned on the computer, sighing as always when it took ages to start up. She logged in with her professionally thought-through morse code password and went on Tumblr. Since she had moved into 221B she was inspired to start a blog because John had one and it seemed to be a good way of passing time. Since she didn't have a social network like Facebook or whatever that was, she decided to sign up on Tumblr. It was 7:00 pm and Sherlock texted her about changing his mind and going back to Barts for further investigation, leaving her all alone again in the flat. She added two new posts to her blog, then closed her laptop and flopped back into bed, pulling the warm white duvet over her. Her blog itstaniasbitches.tumblr.com had a red background (unsurprisingly), like the color of most of her accessories.   

          After a while of moaning and groaning from jet lag, she got bored and decided to help Mrs Hudson downstairs. The carpet thudded under her heavy and lazy footsteps she took to reach the kitchen. 

          "Oh, hello, dear." chirped Mrs Hudson in her almost sing-song voice, polishing plates with a piece of damp cloth. Tania spotted another piece of damp cloth by the sink, so she picked it up and started polishing a plate at her own steady pace. The landlady was wearing a nice red shirt underneath a thin black cardigan. 

"Mrs Hudson, girl, you look fabulous!"

"Thank you darling. It really is nice to have a girl around once in a while."

"I can't imagine how you'd be able to put up with Sherlock everyday." Tania remarked, stacking her clean plates onto the dry rack. "No offence."

Mrs Hudson gave a cute little laugh. "None taken! Its just that he's always up and about, running around, and when he gets in a bad mood I know that he's just frustrated with his cases. My husband was just like that; always energetic! But its really very fine around here at 221B." 

          Tania observed the way the landlady's wrinkled skin creased with age as she smile of cringed at her thoughts. Despite her being old there was still a twinkle of joy and youth in her eyes and a flush of life in her cheeks. There was a slight tan on her complexion and a wedding ring that looked regularly polished.

"You're husband was executed in Florida. Double-murder?" 

Mrs Hudson looked shocked at the visitor who suddenly brought the topic up, but she returned to normal after a few seconds of awkward silence. "Yes. Sherlock tried to help. I let him and his boyfriend have 221B cheap. Did Sherlock tell you?"

"Yeah." she lied, "he and I have been getting on really well these last three days." More lies. She decided it was best too change the subject. "I assume you live in 221A?"

          "Yes, indeed I do. It's quite nice. We should have a nice little ladies chat over tea and biscuits at my place some time." she flustered with joy. "I still find it funny how Sherlock hasn't asked you to stay at 221C, which I also own. Just because you've been so nice helping with cooking and cleaning you can have it cheap as well, if you'll be needing it!"

"If Sherlock tried to kick me out, I'd fight back."

          After all the plates had been polished, Mrs Hudson placed the stacks neatly into the cupboard for later. Tania went into the sitting room and turned on the electricity. In a split second luminous rainbow bulbs lit up one by one, making the entire place seem livelier. The stockings were already hung up by the lit fireplace and Sherlock's skull looked radiant in its own skeletal way. The room was dim and homely; Tania was reminded of home.