Tina looked around the bright space in awe.
There was hardwood floors with big sanded windows. The walls were white with random splashes of color as if someone had dipped a paintbrush in color and thrown it.
One wall was a wall of mirrors and had a barre while an easel was set up near a window. A big, light oak desk was near another and had art supplies on it. On another wall was shelves of other supplies.
On the wall by the door were a series of pegs that held aprons and smocks. One wall was closed off and sat glaringly obvious in the room. It was painted black and red and had a door with a square window.
"This is the best studio ever." Tina uttered.
Mal smiled. "She does love it."
"Can we see your dark room now?"
He nodded and took them to the black and red room. He opened the door cautiously.
Tina peeked inside before going in fully. "Wow!"
Pictures were strewn up on a clothesline while metal shelves held containers of liquid, film, cameras and other things of that kind. A sink was built into the wall.
Mal shut the door behind them. "It's my private oasis."
"It's so cool that Marcy had this built for you."
"Yeah, I offered to thank her but she said no."
It took Tina a moment to get it but then she blushed. "How are you dealing with Pierre?"
"That was only my second time seeing him. I hope I'll never see him again."
"I'm sorry that she's with him."
"I thought you thought he was cute?"
Tina smiled. "Don't be jealous. He's not as cute as you."
"Aww! Thank you, Tina. I might have to steal you from you boyfriend."
"Changs have been known to do that." She giggled.
Mal chuckled.
"Well I've seen what I wanted to. If you have any pictures you don't want, I'll gladly take them off your hands. You're really good."
"Thanks, Tina." He held the door open a sliver so as to not expose his pictures to light.
She slipped out before him then blinked to adjust to the bright light of the studio. She saw Mercedes and Quinn by the desk, admiring the drawing there. "Guys? I'm ready."
They walked over. "Like what you see?"
"It's beautiful."
"Well let's go. We only have so much time before Marcy gets back with Rou."
Mal grimaced. "Can't wait to see how she reacts."
"To what?" Tina asked.
Mercedes slapped his bicep. "To the house!"
"Uh huh." He began pushing them out. "Not to kick you out but I'm about to leave."
"You're so rude!" Quinn snapped. "You are kicking us out!"
"I'm definitely kicking you out."
She made a noise of distress. "I'm telling Mrs. C!"
"Tell her! I don't have to answer her calls!"
"Mal!" Mercedes scolded.
"We'll change the locks and not give you a key."
"You are a menace!"
"Yeah, yeah, get out." He shoved them out the door and slammed it shut.
Mercedes and Quinn scoffed in hurt offense. "Rude!"
Tina giggled.
MMC
"I was thinking." Finn said slowly. Mike and Puck looked at him. "We should go shopping."
Both opened their mouths to argue but he cut them off.
"I want to buy my parents something."
"Fine." Puck bit off bitterly.
"What are you thinking of getting them?" Mike wanted to know.
"I don't know. Something that says I came to Italy." Finn had no idea.
"Your dad likes cars, right?" Finn nodded so Mike went on. "Get him a car part."
Finn nodded again. "Good idea. Where can I get a car part though?"
"Any garage." Mike stroked his chin. "Or…"
"Or?"
"Or you could get one from the track."
"What track? What's a track?"
Mike laughed. "We told you our grandfather races cars."
Finn gaped. "That's so cool! Can we go?! Can we go?!"
"Calm down." Mike laughed again. "I got tomorrow off and we can go racing."
Finn high-fived Puck. "Awesome! What about my mom though? She hates cars."
"Get her shoes. All women like Italian shoes." He shrugged.
"I'm going to be out some money, aren't I?"
"She gave birth to you."
"That's a yes." Puck snorted.
Finn sighed heavily. "Well I do love her."
"That's the spirit!" Mike joked. "Let's get dressed so we can find a store."
MMC
Tina pointed to ivy. "I like this. It's really simple and will fit in perfectly."
Quinn walked around it. "We'll need a stand for it."
"There's stands over there." Mercedes pointed them out. "So what do you think?"
"I like it. Good choice, Tina."
"Me too. Thanks, T."
Tina beamed. "How are we going to carry all these plants into your house?"
"Oh, Tina." Quinn scoffed. "We do not carry a thing."
Mercedes rolled her eyes. "We're going to ask the guys to carry them in."
Tina laughed. "I'm sure we can do it."
"No, no, no. Tina. We do not carry a thing." Quinn repeated.
Mercedes pursed her lips. "Stop it, Quinn!"
"Well we don't! What's the purpose of having boyfriends if they don't do stuff for you?"
"Love?"
"Companionship?" Tina went on.
"Stop treating Noah like a pack mule!"
"He is a pack mule! My pack mule." Quinn smiled.
"At least you love him." Mercedes sighed. "Let's pay for these plants and go home. Marcy's probably already on her way."
They paid and workers brought their purchases from the nursery to Mercedes's car. Mercedes thanked them then drove off.
"I really like your car." Tina smoothed a hand over the purple leopard print upholstery.
"Better than Travis and Rhonda?" Mercedes goaded.
"Um…"
Quinn laughed.
Mercedes hit her. "My car is beautiful! Just because it doesn't have a name and it's an it doesn't mean that I don't love it!"
"Nobody's doubting your love, Sissy." Quinn giggled.
"Yes, you are! I'll just have to come up with a name for my hoopty."
"What's a hoopty?" Tina wanted to know.
"It's a term for an old car. Like jalopy."
"Jalopy?!" Tina laughed.
"Get with it, Cohen-Chang!"
Tina giggled all the way to the condo.
Mercedes parked in the garage and they all got out. They took all the small plants into the house and set them up the way they liked before going upstairs to see if the boys were home.
They were not.
"Who's going to get the flowers now?" Tina teased.
"Still them. But it'll be later." Quinn inspected her nails.
"Let's see if Mal's home with the kids. We-" Mercedes was cut off when the door to the garage opened and Marcy and Karou came in with bags.
"Marcy!" Mercedes waved her hands.
Marcy put Karou's things on the elevator and got in. Karou stepped beside her and they rode up to the second level.
Mercedes, Quinn and Tina met them there. "Hey!"
"Hi!" Karou waved before hugging her cousins. "I love your hair!"
"Thanks!" Mercedes and Quinn smiled. "Do you remember Tina?"
"No, I do not. When was the last time I saw her?"
"How about we continue this conversation after you unpack?" Marcy suggested.
"We'll help you unpack." Mercedes offered.
"What?!" Quinn yelped.
"Who's we?" Marcy demanded.
"Stop it, guys!" Mercedes set her hands on her hips before taking a bag. "We can help!"
"We can do a bunch of stuff that's not going to happen."
"Be helpful! For once in your life!"
"I resent that! I help myself every single day!"
Quinn, Karou and Tina fell out laughing.
Mercedes exhaled sharply. "Please stop fighting me. Just help."
"I'll take these bags upstairs then I'm going to work." Marcy was relentless.
"Ooh! I want to go with you!" Karou wiggled.
"Then you better hurry up."
"You've got to unlock the door, Twin."
Marcy unlocked the door. "Come on. We've got to book it. I'm interviewing waitstaff."
"That's so cool!" Tina shut the door behind herself then raced behind the others.
"What room am I in?" Karou looked around as they climbed the stairs.
"The second biggest. I figure you'll like it. It's grey." Marcy said.
"Oooh!" Grey was Karou's favorite color.
They made it to the room and Karou marveled over the decor. It looked much like Tina's room except it was a light grey with blue undertones.
"I love it!" Karou set bags in the walk-in.
"How long are you staying, Rou? You've got as much clothes as Quinn." Mercedes set the bag down.
"I'm staying the rest of summer. I applied to a few acting schools across the globe but I haven't heard back from anybody yet." Karou said. "I figure I can veg out here until I have to face facts and go home for a real job."
"You'll get in school, Rou." Marcy was sure. "Speaking of, I've been checking the post every day for news on Cornell. There's nothing yet but I'm remaining hopeful."
Karou sputtered, taken aback. "You don't believe in hope!"
"Shut up, heifa."
Karou grinned and put the rest of her things in the closet. "I'll unpack later."
"I don't care what you do. I'm leaving."
"I wanna go with you."
"Then come on. I'm leaving now." Marcy walked out. The others followed her down to the kitchen, where she put water in her water bottle then went to the front door.
"Are we having movie night again tonight?" Mercedes asked.
"Yeah. I hope the twins pick some thing without a sequel so we can power through."
"But sequels are amazing." Quinn teased.
Marcy locked the front door. "Say that about the Hunchback of Notre Dame."
"There's a sequel to the Hunchback?!" Tina looked so confused.
The others laughed as the door leading to the garage opened. Mike, Puck and Finn walked in.
"I should call Mal and see where he and the twins are." Marcy noted. "I want to take them with me."
"I love my babies!" Karou squealed.
"My babies!" Mercedes argued.
"Ah, no." Quinn swung back and forth. "My babies."
"Mine!"
"Mine!" Karou snapped.
"I could have sworn I was the one to give birth to them." Marcy told Tina.
Tina giggled. "At least the twins are well loved."
"Eh."
The guys made it to the landing. "What's going on?"
"They're arguing over who the twins belong to." Tina smiled as she took Finn's hand.
Mike wrapped his arms around Mercedes. "Don't they belong to their parents?"
Mercedes turned to kiss him. "Mine."
Puck wrapped an arm around Quinn's shoulder. "This fight is kinda crazy."
"They're mine." Quinn pouted.
Karou flipped her hair. "They're mine."
"Shouldn't they be with their parents though?" Finn asked.
Karou's eyes lightened and she grinned before licking her lips. "Hello, Finn."
"No! No, no, no, no, no! No!" Marcy yelled.
Tina's eyes were wide with the suddenness of it. "Marcy? What's going on?!"
Marcy switched to Japanese. "Stop it, Rou! He's hers!"
"So? I had him first. Right?" Karou frowned.
"Stop it, ya nasty!" Mercedes clapped her hands once.
"Hmm!" Karou folded her arms tightly.
"Stop trying to break up happy couples." Mike smirked.
"They are happy." Quinn pointed out.
"You don't want him." Marcy shook her head slowly. "You just want to rub it in her face that you had him."
"You don't know that!" Karou bit off.
"Then why haven't you talked about him once since you hooked up? You've talked about Artie."
"Uh oh." Mike muttered.
"Let them be happy, Rou. Please."
Karou blew out a breath. "Fine. I won't tell. But I better get a good meal out of this."
"Thank you, Twin." Marcy hugged her and kissed her cheek.
"As… sweet as this is, I thought we agreed talking in other languages was rude?" Puck tried to clear his mind from inappropriate thoughts.
"Wanker." Marcy let Karou go.
"Marcy!" Quinn laughed.
"Mama, she called me a name!" Puck pointed.
"Marcy, stop calling him names." Mercedes sighed.
"Why do you always take up for him?! Why can't you be on my side?!" Marcy crossed her arms.
"Marcy, that is not true!"
"Yes, it is! When it comes to Puck, you're always on his side. We're your siblings, not him!"
"You guys gang up on him! He needs me."
"He's a grown man! Why can't he stand on his own two feet?!"
"You're just a mean hateful thing!"
"Don't talk about my little sister like that." Mike kissed her cheek. "You always put that full grown adult before us."
"I do not!" Mercedes was offended.
"Yes, you do." Quinn argued. "I'm your twin and you take his side over mine all the time."
Mercedes's lower lip wobbled. "That is not true!"
"Don't listen to them, Mama." Puck rubbed her arm. "It's you and me. They just hate on what we have."
"One of these days, she's not gon be around and we gon whoop a fit on you." Marcy promised.
Puck took two steps back. "I'll be around her for the rest of our lives then."
"She has to go to the bathroom sometime." Mike's eyes glittered.
Puck sweatdropped and turned to Quinn. "Q, you wouldn't-"
"I'd lock her in the bathroom to give them more time." Quinn interrupted.
"Wow, Puck." Finn blinked. "You're hit."
Tina laughed. "Stop it, guys. You wouldn't hurt Puck."
"We wouldn't hurt you." Marcy emphasized. "He ain't got nothin coming."
"Because I'm a girl?" Tina put her hands on her hips.
"Because you're soft. He think he hard."
"I'm not soft." Tina poked her bottom lip out.
Mercedes hugged her. "Yes, you are but it's a good thing. Don't listen to her. She's as soft as a rock."
"May your hands become wrinkly as an hour left in water and your face, too." Marcy spat.
Mercedes's mouth fell open as Mike and Quinn laughed. "Marcy!"
"You started it!"
Karou wiped away tears. "Good one, Cuz."
"What does that even mean?" Tina was super lost.
Finn was just as confused and shrugged.
"She's placing a curse on me!" Mercedes put her hands on her hips.
"A damned good one, too!" Marcy lifted her nose.
"Stop it or I'll tell Laura!"
"What's she gonna do? come back?"
"She could!"
"I guess I'll stop."
"Don't you hate how she always throws Laura on people?" Mike teased with a straight face. "That's the real curse!"
Quinn, Marcy and Karou burst out laughing. Puck put his arm over his face but he was laughing, too.
"Ooh! I'm telling!" Mercedes pointed at Mike.
"You snitch!" Marcy came to his rescue. "You're always tellin on us! How about I tell on you?! I'm telling Granddad you're steady snitching!"
Mercedes growled. "I can't stand you!"
"Then sit down."
Finn slapped a hand over his mouth as loud laughter slipped.
"I wish you'd leave already!" Mercedes swatted her. "Don't you have somewhere to be?!"
"I'm the boss. I go when I feel like it." Marcy tossed her head. The front door to the complex opened and she brightened. "My babies!"
Mal and the twins came inside. The twins ran ahead of their father and began climbing the stairs. Mal followed at a sluggish pace.
"Tired?" Marcy teased.
He gave her a look. "They have too much energy."
"You don't have enough. Have you been eating your vegetables?" Mercedes scolded.
"Yes, Laura!" Mal glared as he pulled himself up all those stairs.
"Don't call me Laura!" She waggled a finger. "You know you're supposed to get a balanced diet or you'll get sick. Is your diabetes under control? How's your sugar?"
"I thought I moved away from my mom." He finally made it and leaned on Marcy.
"Mal, you need to take care of yourself! If you don't, the twins could end up growing up without a father!"
"She's just in a snit because we said we were going to beat up her baby." Marcy told him.
"The big one or the dog?" Mal asked.
"You know we'd never hurt a dog."
"But you'd jack me up?" Puck groused.
"We don't like you."
"Mama, they hurtin me deep!"
"Here we go." Mike uttered.
"You're just mean!"
Mercedes surprised them all by hitting Puck in the stomach. "Mikey's not mean!"
"The Revolution is upon us!" Marcy yelled as she punched Puck.
Quinn elbowed him. "France is ours!"
Mike punched his back. "Overthrow the king!"
Tina giggled as she hit him.
Finn punched him, too.
Karou hit his side. "Off with his head!"
"Really, Finn? Tina?" Puck wheezed.
"Everyone else was doing it." Tina shrugged.
"We want to fit in." Finn added.
Puck held onto Mercedes's arm. "Mama? How could you… do this to me?"
"Puck, get up." Mercedes shook his hand off.
He sniffled. "You've fortaken me."
"It's forsaken me and stop it. Ain't nothin wrong with you."
"It's getting… dark."
"Boy, stop!" She hit him.
"Yeah!" Marcy used her foot to knock him all the way on the ground.
"Wait!" Puck put up his hands when everyone else made to kick him. "What happened to not kicking a guy when he's down?!"
"That's propaganda started by losers so they can have a time out."
Puck could use a time out. "Please Mama. I'm sorry."
"Okay." Mercedes helped him up.
"Well that was fun while it lasted." Marcy bit off.
"A whole thirteen seconds." Mike grumped.
"Come on, let's go, Rou."
"We really can't kick him?" Karou pouted.
"No." Mercedes said firmly.
"Bummer." Mal leaned against the railing.
"Stop it!"
Puck stuck out his tongue.
Marcy snapped her teeth together. "That's okay. She gon go away. One of these days."
"Q, you know I love you, right?"
Quinn pursed her lips. "Uh huh."
"You not gon let them mess me up?"
"We'll see."
"Come on. We really have to go." Marcy looked at her phone.
"Where are you going?" Mal asked.
"To the shop. I have to hire waitstaff."
"Can you take the twins with you? I want a nap."
"They ran you ragged? Yeah. I wanted to take them with me anyway. Come on, babies." Marcy led them to the elevator.
Karou waved. "See you later."
The others waved them off as Mal went inside the condo.
"What do you guys want to do?" Mercedes asked Finn and Tina.
"What can we do?" Finn lifted his shoulders.
"You want to go to a museum?" Mike suggested.
"Ooh! Yes!" Tina clapped.
Finn deflated. Puck laughed.
"Come on, Finn. It'll be beautiful and fun."
Finn fell into her eyes. "Okay."
"Yes!" She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.
Finn smiled goofily. "Point me in the direction of the nearest museum!"
MMC
Tina was getting used to waking up early to bright sunshine filled mornings. She took a long shower then dressed for the day before going downstairs.
She went to the sunroom but no one was there so she went to the kitchen. Mercedes and Quinn were drinking coffee. "Morning, guys!"
"Good morning, T." Mercedes greeted.
Quinn waved. "Good morning."
"Where's breakfast?" Tina sat at the island.
"We eat brunch on Sundays. After mass." Mercedes explained. "Are you wearing that?"
"I get to go to mass with you?" Tina sat up. "Let me go change."
"Hurry! We're leaving soon!"
Tina skipped out and went upstairs to find a suitable dress for church. She found a dark blue number and hurried to change clothes and her makeup before coming back down the steps. "I'm ready!"
"Well come on." Mercedes held the door open.
They exited the condo and saw Marcy, Mike, Finn, Karou, Mal and the twins exiting the elevator. They spoke.
"Good morning." They responded before going into the garage and piling into Travis.
As Marcy drove to their church, Tina noticed something. "Where's Puck?"
"He doesn't go." Quinn said. "He found a temple and he goes there."
"So he gets to sleep in." Finn was angry to be awake (although he asked to go).
Tina took his hand and leaned on him. "It's okay."
He smiled.
MMC
"Service was… long." Tina blinked as they trudged into the diner.
"Only the Muslims outdevout us." Marcy joked.
"It's…" Finn didn't know how to say it.
"Boring?" Mike did. "Church back home was more fun."
"Definitely a better choir." Quinn elbowed Mercedes, who blushed.
"I'm starving." Mal complained. "Let's just get some food."
A waitress came by and took their order.
"What else do you guys do on Sunday?" Finn asked.
"Grocery shopping and housework." Marcy folded her arms.
His face dropped. "Really?"
"Puck and I don't." Mike shook his head. "They go to the stores for us. We do clean though. They'll nag us if we don't."
"Just because you're boys, doesn't mean that you should live in a pig sty." Mercedes lectured.
"I have to strip the beds and gather all the dirty clothes so Marcy can wash them." Mal pouted. "Then I have to carry them all back upstairs when she's done. Then I have to make the beds."
"Why do you have to make the beds?" Tina asked with a giggle.
"Because she can't fight with her monster bed, I have to make my own and if I'm doing all that, I might as well do the twins'."
Tina giggled more. "Poor Mal."
"Poor Mal?!" Marcy glared. "I have to go shopping (which I hate), come home and put the food up (which I hate) then do laundry (which sucks) and clean the house from top to bottom but he has to change a few funky sheets and it's woe is he?!"
Tina laughed. "The whole house? Top to bottom?"
"I have to sweep; mop; dust; clean the kitchen (which includes the dishes, wiping down the stove, fridge, counters and table and mopping); clean the den, living room, sunroom, laundry room, dining room, the twins do the playroom but my rooms; water all the plants; iron the clothes; wash the dogs; straighten my studio and make sure to keep the twins out of cleaning chemicals all the while then cook dinner and feed the dogs before taking them for a walk. So yeah, top to bottom."
Finn blinked. "I was tired just listening to that."
"I usually save mopping until after the twins are put to bed but yeah, it's a lot."
"You know I'll help you, Twin." Karou said.
"Thanks, VB."
"It's easier on us because we don't have to worry about children eating anything dangerous and it is the two of us." Quinn swirled the straw in her water.
"We don't do any of that." Mike had no idea what that work entailed. "We wash the dishes, sweep the floors, I do laundry, we straighten the den and our rooms but that's it."
"You know how to do laundry?" Finn was amazed. "I helped my mom once and we had to clean the whole room."
"You probably put in too much soap. Has your mom tried the pods? They're new but they're good." Marcy suggested.
"I like them because I don't have to measure anything." Quinn admitted.
"I'm just glad I don't have to worry about sweeping up tiny crystals." Mercedes said.
"You just throw them in, put your clothes in and go about your business." Mike shrugged.
"I kinda wanna do it now." Finn looked up as their food came over.
"I can show you and you can tell your mom you learned something in Italy."
"Besides the culture?" Tina teased.
"We have culture?!"
The others laughed.
MMC
"Okay, get changed and we'll leave." Mercedes said as they walked in the house.
"Okay." Tina went upstairs.
"I'm tired." Quinn commented. "I just want to go to sleep."
"We shouldn't have stayed up last night." Mercedes took off her heels and put them in one hand as they walked upstairs.
"I don't know how Marcy and Karou talked us into barhopping. But it was fun."
"You only said that because you got all those free drinks."
Quinn elbowed her. "Like you didn't get any. You just sent them back."
Mercedes blushed. "I'm not looking for another repeat of Aaron. I'm keeping my nose clean."
"Goody-goody."
Mercedes looked at her sharply. "Although you're selfish as the day is long and just as bossy, you're as good as I am!"
"I am not bossy!" Quinn was offended.
"You're so bossy!"
Quinn glared. "Laura's bossy!"
"And you're right behind her!"
"Ugh!" Quinn screeched as she went into her room and slammed the door.
Mercedes felt pleasure at being able to win. She didn't always. She went to her room and changed into errand clothes.
MMC
"I've never actually been grocery shopping. At least not since I was really little." Tina admitted.
"It's easy." Mercedes told her. "You see what you want, get it then buy it."
"Why are we here? It's a deli."
"To get meat and cheese and some seasonings." Marcy said. "I like going to cheese shops but this place has the best motz in town."
"So what do we do?"
"We have a number. We stand in line or whatever then when they call us, we go up and ask for what we want."
"What do we want?"
"Not a lot for me. I still have a lot of meat but I need hamburger, panchetta, salami and pork shoulder."
"Wow."
"I like panchetta."
"Who doesn't?" Quinn rubbed her back.
A man behind the counter shouted out a number.
"Is that us?" Tina asked.
"Not yet but close." Mercedes said.
"This is kinda fun."
MMC
"This is not fun."
Mercedes laughed. "We have to put the food up."
"I've never separated meat before. It's gross!"
Quinn laughed. "Be sure to really wash your hands after."
"Noted."
MMC
"Now that the food is put away, it's time to clean!" Mercedes began dancing.
Quinn giggled. "Stop it, silly Sissy."
"I'll get Marcy down here and she'll talk about you!"
Tina laughed. "Let's clean! What's first?"
"The kitchen is still clean from yesterday so how about you clean the den; Quinn, take the sunroom and I clean the living room after putting a load of laundry in?"
"What are we listening to?" Quinn asked.
"One of Momma's albums."
"Momma?" Tina was confused. "Your mom? You stole her music?"
Mercedes and Quinn cocked their heads in confusion. "Stole?"
"Did she let you have it?"
"You don't know, do you?!" Mercedes realized.
"Know what?"
Quinn caught on and laughed. "We didn't steal her music!"
"So she gave it to you?"
"Technically." Mercedes smiled. "Tina, my mom used to be a singer."
"What?!" Tina's eyes widened.
"Yeah, her first album dropped when she was fifteen and her second one two years later."
Tina was in awe. "Was she big?"
"Pretty big. She was Italy's Sweetheart."
"She was like Whitney Houston." Quinn compared.
"Wow!" Tina blinked. "What was her stage name?"
"It was just her name, Rosie Taylor."
"I can't wait to tell Artie!"
"Get ready to fall in love with eighties pop Italy style!" Mercedes teased.
Tina was excited. "I'm ready!"
MMC
"I'm tired." Tina moaned. "What's left?"
"Well we cleaned every room, washed all the clothes and bed sheets, mopped all the floors. We are done!" Mercedes was glad.
"Good!"
"What do you want to do for your last night in Italy?"
"I just want a good meal, a long bath and a glass of wine and not necessarily in that order."
"How about we order in again, have Marcy and Karou come down here and we watch Casablanca? Take a bath first and get in your PJs and we'll break out the wine."
"Yes!" Tina struggled to her feet and trudged upstairs.
Quinn laughed. "We should all take baths. I hate dusting. I'm probably home to all kinds of pathogens."
Mercedes giggled. "Alright, you head up and I'll call someplace close. I think I want to bathe, too."
The two put away the cleaning supplies then walked upstairs. Both went to their respective rooms as Mercedes called for takeout. This bath was going to be glorious.