CHAPTER TWO

Drew was supposed to meet the gang at the Warsaw but with this newfound development of a little kid on his hands plans had to change. He couldn't very well drag a small child to a bar! He wasn't Kate for god sakes! This wasn't a little drinking buddy, it was a human being. A small human being. Though Drew couldn't help but feel a bit alien with the manner she was sitting at his kitchen table not uttering a word. In fact, he hadn't heard her speak since about three hours ago when they first met. Was she a mute, the spawn of Satan, or just shy? Now, Drew loved kids, and he was definitely going to try his darndest to get her to open up.

He had already attempted a sock puppet show, a food fight that ended up just being him throwing food at himself, and a round of peekaboo that ended up in him smacking the top of his head against the bottom of the kitchen table. Perhaps this child was far beyond a round of peekaboo but what did Drew know? It wasn't like he ever had a kid before!

Now stationed by his loyal refrigerator with the door open, he looked to the girl from behind his retro black rimmed glasses. "Lets see... Milk? Do you want some milk?" Silence. Drew looked back inside the fridge and looked back out again. "Water?" A pair of brown eyes stared back at him causing him to peer back into the fridge. "Beer? Brewed right here at home. Can't get better than that." A commercial style grin crossed his lips. The girl was still quiet.

Drew sighed and shut the fridge door, walking over to the kitchen table he sat down in one of his chairs which was probably from the 70's (he hadn't bothered to change any of his parents' furniture in the house). He folded his hands and leaned forward, his tie undone around his neck as he looked at the small girl seated at the booth section near his cooler. Her little legs dangling she watched him with a sad sort of expression.

"Look." Drew began with a heavy sigh, realizing that he was definitely floundering here. "This is just for the weekend until we can sort something out. I'm really trying here so the least you can do is just tell me what you want to eat. I've never had a kid before but I know that in order to maintain life they need to eat." A weak little smile across his lips awaiting something. Anything. And there was nothing.

He let his head fall forward and his head made contact with the tabletop with a loud thud that was only drowned out by the kitchen door opening and a group of familiar voices.

"Who knew that Mentos and Diet Coke weren't play things to give to monkeys?" Lewis Kiniski announced to his best friend Oswald, gesturing up toward the ceiling.

"Well, now Drug Co does." Kate affirmed, rolling her eyes as she brought up the rear.

"Mm.. Mentos." Oswald sighed dreamily, his hands arriving at the flap of his coat before looking to Kate with a trying desperately hard to be seductive look, which just turned out goofy. "The fresh maker."

All three began removing their coats in the middle of the kitchen all together unbuttoning and unzipping respectively all at once until all three froze. Everyone's eyes slowly traveled toward the kitchen table and the little girl who sat there watching them.

"Geeze Drew. Can't you just get a dog like a normal person?" Lewis announced in a stunned, flat tone right as Speedy came bounding into the kitchen.

This new diversion caused the little girl to blink wide eyed and move away from the table and toward the Golden Retriever. Speedy gave a 'woof' and then trotted into the living room with the girl not far behind. Drew sighed and running his hands through his crewcut rose to his feet and moved toward the fridge. There he grabbed a beer and immediately popped the cap off. Boy did he need it.

"Drew! What are you thinking?" Kate exclaimed in a rather loud whisper, rushing to her best friend with urgency. "I know you were complaining how they wouldn't sell you things off the children's menu at the waffle house but this is going too far!"

"Come on Kate. It's not like that at all." Drew waved her away, walking over to Lewis and Oswald who sat themselves at his kitchen table. He handed each one of them a beer and they immediately popped the tops off and began drinking. "They found her in one of the dressing rooms. They think she's a runaway." He confided in a very soft voice so not to cause alarm in the next room. "I have to keep her over the weekend until the Foster Care center opens back up."

"A kid Drew? Are you sure about that?" Lewis piped up in between sips of his Buzz Beer. "You can barely sit through a Tom and Jerry Cartoon without needing to get a piece of pizza let alone sitting for half an hour listening to the story behind a macaroni necklace."

"Hey!" Oswald cried out suddenly, looking horribly offended.

Lewis leaned forward in a clearly patronizing manner that everyone caught but Oswald. "And I loved it."

"Okay then." Oswald nodded, now content and very proud and returned to drinking his Buzz Beer and killing even more brain cells.

"It's just for the weekend. I'll be fine." Drew nodded, though he was trying to reassure himself more than anyone else.

"What's her name?" Kate inquired, stepping closer toward the table and her group of friends.

"Don't know. She hasn't spoken since Chuck caught her sleeping in the dressing room." Drew shook his head. "Then again, I'd be rendered speechless too if one of the first things I saw when dragged up to the office was Mimi." The gang all shivered simultaneously.

"She hasn't said a word?" Oswald inclined his head in question.

"She hasn't said a word. She hasn't eaten anything. She won't eat a thing. And I'm the king of food. It isn't like there aren't options in my castle!" Drew exclaimed, shaking his head he downed the rest of his bottle of beer and the rest of the gang followed suit. Finishing his beverage he placed the bottle in the sink. "I have to go get some juice for her. Kate, would you mind watching her?"

Kate looked at Drew wide eyed, waving her hands in the air. "Oh no. I have a date I have to get ready for." She told him quickly, making her way toward the door.

Drew turned to look at Oswald who also was already moving to his feet. "Wish I could Drew. But I've got a company party with everyone at Global Parcel." Without asking, no one ever did, he opened the fridge door and stole a six pack of Buzz Beer. "I'll be needing this." And with that Oswald and Kate left.

Drew stood there all alone for a few long moments until he sighed and turned around to look at Lewis. "I'll probably regret asking this, but Lewis, can you watch her?"

Lewis looked up dumbfounded, hoping it was just the little bit of alcohol taking affect. "What?"

"Just for a little while. Fifteen minutes tops." Drew headed into the living room where the little girl was petting Speedy. Drew tried to pat her on the shoulder but she quickly recoiled. He did his best to ignore the fright he had caused and moved to his coat rack, taking his coat he slipped his arms through the sleeves. "Just to the convenient store around the block."

"Are you crazy?" Lewis followed him the entire way with long lanky strides. "I can't. Drew. I can't I have a.... Well I have this thing... A date.. A meeting... A..." Lewis drew his lip inward in a scowl. "I'm screwed either way aren't I?"

"Thanks buddy." Drew patted Lewis' right shoulder before heading out the door rather quickly.

The door clicked shut and Lewis was now left alone... For the most part. The tall janitor turned around only to find Speedy laying across the carpet. Wasn't there supposed to be a kid here? His brow furrowed and he began to search the room. Not left alone two seconds and he had already misplaced a little person! If Drew found out he'd never live it down. Why did things like this always happen to him?

With a heavy sigh he turned into the kitchen, his neck craning around the open doorway. Nothing. Where was she? That's when he saw them... Two little socked feet protruding from beneath the circular kitchen table. There she was.

Striding toward the table he bit on the inside of his bottom lip. He worked with monkeys all day, a child couldn't be that much more difficult. His long arms swayed back and forth at his sides, his head angled downwards. "You know, you shouldn't stay under there. People will start thinking you're weird." Ironic enough? The weird lecturing the weird. Lewis closed his eyes, ridding himself of these taunting thoughts.

"Will you come out for a sandwich?" He offered, biting the inside of his lip once again and moved to the cupboards opening and closing them accompanied by the occasional clash of metal silver wear and ceramic plates until his work was done.

Bringing the sandwich back over to the table he set it on top and waited. And waited some more. And then some more. He felt like he was on one of those animal documentaries that he usually watched out of boredom when his Sci Fi shows weren't on, but this one had little payoff. Lewis stepped toward the table and he watched the little socked feet slink back under. Great. Just great. He sighed, shaking his head he walked over toward the booth and plopped down, careful not to kick the little body underneath.

He then proceeded to open up another beer, staring for no particular reason in front of him as he began to ramble. "You can't stay under there forever." He lectured, taking yet another swig of his drink. "Scientists at Drug Co have released reports that say animals grow only as big as their cages. You don't want to stay under there unless you want to be small forever." He set his beer bottle down and blinked with realization. "Instead of a tall, lanky freak!" He exclaimed with widened eyes as the idea struck him. "Maybe it'll work backwards. Make room!"

And without much more warning than that he ducked his well over six foot body under the kitchen table. Shifting and contorting until both of them could fit underneath it. Lewis had to hunch over quite a bit, even sitting indian style to the point where it looked horribly uncomfortable and he resembled a hunchback but he showed no sign in moving. Grimacing he reopened his eyes and they finally landed on the little girl who was staring at him wide eyed, as though amazed.

So small. He found himself thinking as he looked at her little hands that were clasping onto her little knees that were pulled into her chest. How could anything be that small? The large man wondered in disbelief. He was willing to bet that his large hands could easily wrap around her waist without trying. She looked scared, though less frightened than earlier, probably as a result of him actually showing his own 'weakness' and ducking beneath the table with her. Lewis found himself feeling like he was a little kid again, making forts with Oswald and Drew.

His eyes met with hers and gave a goofy sort of smile that was trying very hard to be reassuring. "Hey." The little girl blinked back in the darkness that the overhead table caused until finally..

"Hi." Came her little voice, so very quiet.

She spoke! She spoke to me! Lewis felt his heart race excitedly though he tried very hard to hide it even despite him bumping his head again on the bottom of the table. It took Drew all day and she still hadn't spoken to him, it didn't take him nearly as long! Lewis for once, actually felt proud and a warm fuzzy feeling took over his upper chest. The kind of feeling you got when a new dvd collection of Battlestar Galactica went on sale. And it was the best.

Lewis slinked his long arm around the underside of the table and to the top, blindly feeling about for a few moments until he found what he was looking for. Grasping onto it he brought the plate with the sandwich under the table and set it on the floor in front of the little girl.

Withdrawing his hand Lewis could only smile kindly at the tiny thing. "There you go. Peanut butter and banana."