"How'd you sleep?"

"Fine."

"My mum speak to you silly?"

"No." I sat on the old couch with my feet on Angus' lap as he sat beside me. We had spent the afternoon lounging around and talking. The sun had shied away and the rain fell with an almighty pride. It was relaxing, funnily enough, as the water droplets ricocheted like bullets off the roof. Mrs. Young had been drying dishes and came to see us when she finished. Her apron covered in soap and her hands of red as they dried off on the cotton fabric.

"You're both still here?" she asked with a half smile. Angus thumbed at the window.

"It's a tad wet out there, ain't it?"

"You don't have to stay outdoors, you can go somewhere inside." Angus sighed with a smile as his mother sat on a chair across from us. Her face lit up in the dun room. "Angus, why don't you take her out for dinner, then?"

"Where would we go?" he asked.

"I don't know. You could even go-jus' somewhere, but you should show her around town a bit." Angus tilted his head back and forth. "Be a gentleman to your friend."

"In this weather?"

"It should let up by seven, you can go then." Her shiny grandfather clock next to the piano said six thirty. The decision was inevitably left to me, when both heads turned in my direction. I was surprised how quickly Mrs. Young's mind changed about me. Maybe when she learned I wasn't a real threat she lightened up. As the pair stared in earnest suggestion, I considered my options. To be honest, Angus and I had spent a lot of time indoors since we got here. Even longer seated on the couch. However it had been raining since noon and didn't look appealing to frolic in. But Mrs. Young seemed to have an inclination for us to leave the house. Probably didn't want us in the habit of being lazies, even while on a break. And if the rain was gonna stop soon and Angus didn't mind... Oh, why the hell not?

"Sure, sounds like fun," I smiled. Angus smiled back and tickled my foot.

"Alright then, we'll leave at seven somethin'." His mother crossed her arms.

"Oh, now that she agrees, it's suddenly a fantastic idea." Angus shrugged.

"Eh, you were right. My legs are fallin' asleep, gonna need amputations." He stood up as I brought my knees to my chest and we were left alone again.

"There's a good place in the downtown, serves breakfast things. Good place, a real good place."

"Looks like the rain is stopping a bit sooner," I noted. The cacophony outside had settled to a low patter.

"There, see?" she asked. "Perfect day to go out. I understand you just got back from tour, but if Angus brings someone new to town, he better take them out."

"A little eager for us to leave, aren't you?" I joked. The woman glanced around, and leaned in.

"Truth is I'm havin' a ladies' night here tonight, an' Angus hates when I have those."

"Why? He seems like a ladies' man." She waved her hand and sat back in her spot.

"Always has. Called them boring as a child and his stubborn attitude never let it go." A couple minutes later Angus came out with wet hair and a change of clothes.

"You can go in there now," he said shaking his head like a dog.

"Angus!"

"What?" he smiled innocently at his appalled mother. I laughed and made my way to the bathroom. It was humid and the mirror had a slight fog that the fan attempted to remove. I stepped out fifteen minutes later and snuck up the stairs with my savored towel.

The door locked behind me and I opened my suitcase for something more appropriate. Angus had dressed a bit nicer for this event so I followed his actions. There was my black dress I wore so many years ago that had made its home at the bottom of my bag. A little flattened, but better than nothing. I wasn't sure if Angus had dried his hair or not, but I did because I didn't want it to look like we shared that shower. No thank you.

At seven something I made my way down the stairs. My heels surprisingly didn't wobble and they caught the light from the window as the sun broke through the clouds. Mrs. Young had her back to the wall talking to Angus. "She's ready," she smiled as she noticed me. Angus turned his head. "Is this new, or have you had it a while?" Her hands reached out to feel the material.

"It's not new, though I only wore it once," I replied.

"It's pretty! And look how tall you are now!"

"Now I can reach all the high shelves." Mrs. Young laughed then turned to her son.

"Now Angus, it's rude to stare." He gave his mother a glance then looked right at me again. A small frown brushed his face. Whether it was from my dress or his mother's words I don't know. "She won't bite Angus, she's just a girl."

"Sure is..." he mumbled. His mother shook her head and lightly swatted his shoulder. "Hey!"

"Should get goin'. The ladies'll be here any minute."

"Oh no, you're not doin' that again," Angus sighed. She nodded her head.

"I've had this planned, you can leave if you want," she retorted removing her soapy apron.

"Don't worry, we will. Can't stand that old Miss Gregor lady. Always kissed me right on the lips," he said repulsed. I laughed and he grinned at me. "She was a heavy woman too, squeezed my life out with a hug."

"She was always so fond of you," Mrs. Young smiled with nostalgia. Angus wiped his mouth with his hand.

"Yeah, I got that. Come on then, love." With a grab of my hand, we were out the door.

The walk down the quiet sidewalk was peaceful. The sun had come out completely, and was on its way down the horizon, casting an angelic corona. Left over rain painted the leaves and raced to fall on the earth. Once in a while I'd hear some animal or a car drive by. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Angus glance at me. I turned my head and he looked away. After the fourth time, I decided to converse.

"Have you been to this place before?" He put his hand in his pocket and squeezed mine with the other.

"Nah, it's sort of new. Never got a chance. Mum's been there, she likes it."

"Yeah, she told me," I nodded. A raindrop landed on my nose. "I can see you staring at me." He rubbed his shoulder turning away again.

"Sorry, I uh-" He cleared his throat and fidgeted. "It's been a long while since I've seen ya' like that. Makes me nervous."

"Thanks, I feel so flattered," I responded with dry sarcasm.

"You should be. You know how you look right now?"

"Yes...maybe not what you're seeing anyway." Angus stopped walking and looked around.

"Come here." He led me away to a bird bath on someone's lawn.

"Isn't this trespassing?" I asked.

"We'll only be here a minute. Look in the water." I did what I was told. The still water wasn't as reflective as you see on television, but I could fairly make out my face. A simple face, yet pretty enough. I knew I was more than decent, but whatever Angus saw was more than I considered. Yet it was still difficult to see clearly in the opaque liquid. "Closer look," Angus sang as he splashed some of it on my face. I wiped it off to see him laughing. Cupping even more into my hands, I threw it on him.

"Wipe that grin off!" I laughed as he stumbled back a bit. We edged out of the lawn and continued on our way to the diner.

"Might as well have walked in the rain!" Angus said wiping his face. "Jesus..."

"That's what you get," I mumbled but I couldn't help the smile that crept up.

The smile grew even bigger as I brought my plate back to our table. The restaurant was a buffet like place, so we just helped ourselves. Angus was already at the table with his-his...I'm still not quite sure what the hell he got, but he looked satisfied. He frowned in surprise when he saw my food.

"Holy smokes, you gonna eat all that?" he asked when I sat down.

"Of course I am. It's only eggs."

"Only eggs, you got the whole chicken!" I laughed to myself and started eating in content. I pointed my fork at his plate.

"Much better than whatever you dished up." He pointed at it.

"This just so happens to be-"

"Would you two care for something to drink?" A waiter showed up out of nowhere, smiling expectantly. Angus and I exchanged glances.

"Uh, milk for the both of us," I answered. The waiter sped off leaving us confused. "Okay, sure."

"As I was saying, this is-" We were shaken by a nearby baby who started crying. Angus held his hands up. "You know what? Never mind." A few minutes later the waiter came back with our milk-in one glass. He must have thought we were sharing, and by sharing he gave us one straw. One. Once again, he sped off.

"Alright, this guy's starting to weird me out," I commented. Angus pushed the glass towards me.

"You can have it if ya' want, we don't both need it." He took his fork and began cutting his...food.

"I don't think either of us should have it," I told him stirring the liquid with the straw. I started laughing at the black line on the surface. Angus heard my episode but didn't look at me.

"Yes, my love?" he asked inspecting his meal. I couldn't answer with my hand covering my mouth. Finally he looked up at me. "Now what the hell are you laughin' at?" I could only point. A look of disgust crossed his face before he too began laughing. A thin, black hair floated on the surface of the milk; long and gross. After concealing our giggles from nearby tables we pushed the glass away. We both decided neither one should have it. Angus reached his hand in my direction. "Give me a napkin here, I got a little somethin' to say."

The whole walk home we were still laughing at our experience. The food was good, nothing better than eggs and-eggs. But when the waiter gave us our drink, he left a little more than what was necessary. "You think he's seen your napkin yet?" I asked as we crossed the street toward the house.

"Probably. My God, that's unhealthy. Nothin' like that ever happened to Mum, that's for sure. She'd give 'em a real scolding. That I know." The sun had long since left the sky on our way back home leaving us in a cold night. The pavement was still wet and the front porch was damp and slippery. "Ya' know, through all the trickiness of the show, I had fun," he said as we stopped at the door.

"Me too. You're a good guy." I gave him a friendly punch on his shoulder. He gave one back to me, and eventually we had (another) small fight. My right wrist was caught and brought down before I could swing. I frowned at him before he leaned closer to kiss my head.

"I love ya', ya' know that?" he smiled. I frowned at him again, ready to take my hand back when the front door opened.

"Angus!" Our attention was directed to a rather big and grey lady, hunched over with age. Angus let go of my wrist and stepped back as she held his face in her chubby hands. Two red, slimy lips attached to his own mouth before the woman stepped back again. "Angus sweetheart, my how you've grown!" I stared at Angus as he grimaced at the prior events. "You remember me, don't you?"

"Yes, yes I do Miss Gregor," Angus said taking interest in his shoelaces. The woman waved him off.

"Oh please, call me Gertrude!" She laughed then saw me. "This must be your date for this evening! Aren't you lovely! You know, I've known Angus since he was ten years old and-"

"Here's your book Gertrude, have a safe walk home," Mrs. Young said from the doorway. The old woman turned around and accepted the paperback.

"Oh, thank you dear. Have a nice night. And I'll see you sometime soon Angus!" She pinched his cheek and hobbled off. The poor man brought a hand to his lips and scrubbed.

"Thanks Mum," he muttered. Mrs. Young smiled and let us inside.

"Guess she's still fond of ya' son," she laughed as she closed the door. Angus crossed his arms and sat on the couch. The house smelled like chocolate and scented candles. I sat next to Angus and took my heels off.

"An' she's still tryin' to get Frenchy with me," he muttered again. "That ain't how I wanna end my evening."

"How was the restaurant by the way?" Mrs. Young took her chair across from us and folded her hands on her lap. One look at each other was all it took. "Heavens, what happened?" she asked through our cloud of laughter.

"I'll tell ya' Mum. Did you wait until I got back to send Gregor away?"

"No, she insisted she stay longer for those cookies. Oh, and Hannah. While you were gone I got a call from a friend of yours?" I raised an eyebrow. "Justice Sercoya?"

"Oh! Yeah, she's coming soon all the way from New Jersey, what'd she say?"

"Just that she might be a little late, there's been some difficulties getting over here. Now then. I'll put on some tea and you two can explain your little giggle fest."

you're next...