THREE MEN AND A LADY II
Chapter Three
"Fabrizio, put that down,
now!" Rose’s shrill scream echoed through the house, deafening the other
members of the household.
"Rose, are you okay?"
Fabrizio asked calmly. He held his hands up. "I’m not holding
anything."
"Yes, you are. You’re
holding the remote."
"Uh…no."
Rose shook her head emphatically.
"You’re keeping the remote from me; I know it."
Fabrizio sighed.
"Jack!" he called.
"What?"
"Uh…you’re needed."
"Okay."
Since being parted from the TV
the week before, Rose had developed a sort of psychosis.
She frequently thought herself in
the area of the TV and believed everyone was trying to keep her from it. Cal
said that if she had stayed with the TV any longer, she would be much worse.
But the rest of the time, she was
the same as she always had been, but during the episodes, as the housemates had
taken to calling them, Jack was the only person she would calm down for.
"Rose," Jack whispered
gently. "No one is trying to part you from anything; it’s all right."
He hugged her tightly.
"What’re you talking
about?" She also never remembered.
"Nothing." Jack kissed
her. "Nothing."
*****
Cal was not happy. Not happy at
all. This was worse than when Bianca broke up with Lena. Cal was cooking
Thanksgiving dinner.
The kitchen was filled with food,
so filled that Jack and Fabrizio had been forced to move the table and chairs
out into the hall. Now all that was left was to cook. Sighing, Cal wished for
his chair and the TV.