THREE MEN AND A LADY
Chapter Thirteen
Fabrizio stormed down the stairs,
screaming like a madman. Rose fainted when he burst into the living room; Jack
closed his eyes and wished he were somewhere else--anywhere else. Cal took no
notice, as Rose had fallen into his lap.
Ruth calmly continued drinking
her tea. Fabrizio aimed the Super Soaker at her. Jack snapped back to reality.
"Fabri, what are you doing?" he asked gently.
Fabrizio whirled around.
"Rescuing you," he answered.
Jack nodded slowly. "I see.
Rescuing us from what, exactly?"
Fabrizio opened his mouth to
reply.
"Uh…guys?" Jack and
Fabrizio turned to Cal. Rose lay draped across his lap.
"Just why is Rose in your
lap?"
Cal smirked. "She fainted
and fell there for comfort."
The vein in Jack’s neck popped
out slightly. This was getting to be too much.
"Can I use the gun?"
Fabrizio asked excitedly.
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because it is not a good
idea."
Fabrizio stomped off to the
kitchen.
"Jack?" Rose stirred.
Cal grunted. "I knew it
wouldn’t last." He swiftly handed Rose to Jack and left the room.
Jack gently held Rose close. This
would have been a great moment--if Ruth’s eyes weren’t boring into his back
like drills. Sighing, he followed his housemates into the kitchen.
Later That Night
They sat down to dinner. All was
as usual. Well, almost usual. Rose was in Jack’s lap, Cal had cooked, and
Fabrizio had lurked around the kitchen like a minion of some sort.
Cal had recently gone on a German
culture kick, so they were having bratwursts and potatoes.
Ruth entered the kitchen last,
her hawk-like eyes staring at them all. No one was spared.
They had barely begun eating when
a very insistent knock on the front door cause them all to look up from the
food.
"Oh, God. What now?"
Rose muttered.