"Thanks for taking the time to come and help me with this," Gracia said to her friend.
"It's no problem!" the woman replied, smiling as she shifted her grip on the paperboard box of groceries she was carrying. Gracia did the same with hers. She never normally bought this much food at once, but with the housewarming party tomorrow night, her regular grocery list had more than doubled.
The women continued walking down the street together, occasionally reconfiguring their holds on the heavy boxes. Gracia considered herself lucky to have found a friend in Cosette. She and Maes hadn't been living in Central very long, and they didn't know that many people outside of his job. Even though she was still unpacking and setting up house, she found herself lonely some nights; Maes had an unpredictable schedule, and would often spend some late nights at the office to keep up with whatever case he was currently solving. It seemed like there was a lot more crime in Central than back home - or perhaps it just seemed that way because she heard about it all from Maes now.
Anyway, it had been nice getting to know Cosette. She was about the same age as Gracia, only a little younger and still unmarried. This last point was something Gracia particularly enjoyed about her new friend: she always had the most interesting stories to share about the many men she was seeing. Speaking of which, didn't she go out with a new guy last night? "Cosette, tell me: how was your date last night? Weren't you meeting up with someone new?"
"Oh Lord, what a time that was. He kept interrupting dinner to go to the call box outside and call his mother. His mother!"
"What?"
"He even dragged me out to the phone to talk to her once. Can we say: still suckling?"
"Maybe she's ill, or just worried about him?"
"It was creepy. First dates are like the window to your future together, and all I saw was his mommy tucking us in at night. No way, uh-uh." Cosette shook her head as if trying to erase the mental image.
Gracia laughed and said matter-of-factly, "My father wouldn't let me out for my first date with Maes."
Cosette gave Gracia a quizzical look. "Really? Why not?"
Gracia chuckled to herself as she remembered it, then put on a deep voice and answered, "He said to me, 'Gracia, there are only two kinds of men who wear suits like that: mobsters and pimps.'"
The two women stopped walking, looked at each other long and hard, then burst out laughing. "Maes does have some unusual tastes in fashion," Cosette replied. "Lucky for him he looks so good in that uniform. Or should I say 'lucky for you?' " Cosette winked and Gracia blushed, rolling her eyes in lieu of waving her hand.
The Hughes' new house wasn't that far from the market area, and soon the women were coming up the walkway to Gracia's new front door. "Did you want help getting all the food prepped, Gracia?"
"Would you mind? It would be a big help."
They let themselves through the front door and immediately smelled something cooking. Was it eggs? Most likely. Maes was the kind of guy that had learned to make a few staples fairly well, but was not always successful in branching out from what he knew - possibly because he didn't branch out often.
"Maes must have come home early," Gracia mused aloud. They started making their way toward the kitchen, Cosette following Gracia's lead.
As they entered the hallway, Gracia could make out the sounds of Maes humming. He was definitely home early. That was a first. "Sweetie?" Gracia called out.
"Honey, is that you?" Maes called from the kitchen.
"Yes, I've just got back from the market with the food for the party."
Maes then appeared in the doorway in nothing but his socks and Gracia's yellow cooking apron. It was just barely long enough to cover himself, stopping far, far short of his knobby knees. She wasn't quite sure how to react at first; he was nearly naked in front of her friend, which should probably be embarrassing, but oh did he look good like that. Oh, Maes.
When he registered that Gracia wasn't alone, his expression shifted from that goofy seduction face of his to surprise - and then it was back to goof again. "I thought I'd come home early and surprise you with dinner tonight," he said casually, as if he always greeted guests while so underdressed.
"You definitely surprised me. You are so sweet."
"Will your friend be staying for dinner too? I can put more on."
Gracia looked to Cosette. She just shrugged her shoulders and gave a little nod.
"How do you like your eggs?" Maes asked her. "I'm afraid they pretty much all end up scrambled, if that makes a difference."
"Scrambled is fine," Cosette said quietly, her eyes wide and trained on Maes' face.
Maes tapped two fingers to his forehead in a little salute, then leaned forward to kiss Gracia's temple. Then he turned around and went back into the kitchen.
Ah. It seemed he was definitely not wearing anything other than the socks and apron. Gracia could feel herself blushing. Maes could be such a clown sometimes.
Cosette raised an appreciative eyebrow. "Not bad, Gracia. And look, he cooks too."