disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men, Marvel does. I do not expect any monetary benefit from this work of fiction which is intended for entertainment purposes only.
Ordinary People
by Dizi
Chapter 12: A Little Insanity
... Interlude ...
"Calling to let you know she's left, Bright-eyes."
"She already did that. Daddy, how could you let this happen?"
"Maggie, I meant it last night when I told you not to disappoint me. This is what I was talking about. Your mother feels bad and wants to make it up to you. Let her. It will be good for you both."
"How! We'll drive each other nuts!"
"Just spend some time with her and be open-minded. You might learn something. You, my darling daughter, need to learn more tolerance."
"You're forgetting something. It's not me that doesn't accept her the way she is. Mom is always trying to change me. I'm not the intolerant one."
"Oh, yeah. Well, do your best."
"You wanted her out of the house, didn't you? You didn't even try to talk her out of this!"
"Maaaaybeeee..."
"Daddy!"
"Okay! She's been driving me crazy! I needed a little time to myself. It's going to be a boy's week around here and I'm going to enjoy it. It's not like you won't get anything out of it. She's going to shop herself out buying you everything under the sun."
"I'm not going to be able to see Bobby for the whole time she's here! Daaaaaad..."
"It's too late now, she's gone. But seriously, Maggie, if you let yourself, you might enjoy it. Did you ever wonder why Janice and I got married in the first place? Everyone knows we're nothing alike."
"I came up with two choices: either you loved each other very much or you knocked her up. Since you were married for almost two years before I was born, I settled on the first one."
"Smart aleck. Listen up. She's opinionated, can be a bit of a snob sometimes, and is a stickler for the rules. It took some time, but I fell for her pretty hard. We wouldn't have lasted long if she'd spent this much time at home in the beginning of our marriage. The thing is that your mother can be a real pain, but she's also very generous, has lots of energy, and a big heart. She loves us all very much, let her show you in her own way."
"I'm still not going to be able to see Bobby. And she's still going to get on my nerves."
"Big loss. If he cares about you at all, he'll be there once she leaves. And whenever she's driving you crazy, remember she IS leaving. She's happy and excited. I stick with my original fatherly command: don't disappoint me."
"I'll try."
"Good girl. Now, I'll let you go because she'll probably be calling you all day to let you know her progress."
"Can't wait."
... End Interlude ...
Four days. Her mother had been at her apartment for four days. Maggie could swear she was going insane trying to be nice to her.
Maggie loved her mother. She respected and admired her. Just because they didn't understand each other didn't mean that wasn't true.
Janice Gaines had kept her word and arrived early in the evening, making a four hour drive into six. They'd had only a couple hours before Maggie had to get ready for work. Because her mother had called almost every half hour, she hadn't gotten much rest.
Deciding Maggie would be lonely, Janice had shown up several times during the night to 'keep her company'. Which had been really sweet, but distracting. Especially when she'd innocently asked questions Maggie didn't want to answer. Questions such as, "How do you like your new boss?" and "What's your new schedule like?" Without trying, Maggie's mother had hit on the very things Maggie had wanted to keep from her. To Maggie's relief, she'd accepted vague answers.
That had probably been because she'd kept herself busy while Maggie was working by rearranging her whole apartment. Or that's what it seemed like when Maggie got home.
Then after several hours sleep, the shopping started. The first expedition wasn't so bad. Maggie thought of it as Day One.
Apparently, Janice found much to be desired in her daughter's new home. She believed everything in the kitchen to be "not up to par". Two hours alone were spent finding the right dishes and cookware. Kitchen gadgets galore were purchased with glee, most which Maggie knew she'd never need nor use. But she liked the new flatware.
The next stop had been home electronics. The DVD player Maggie had just wasn't good enough. So she received a whole new entertainment center, complete with about thirty DVDs, some of which Maggie liked and others she hoped would keep her mother busy at some point during her stay - the woman would have to stop and take a breather sometime, right? Janice didn't blink an eye at the new game system Maggie added, along with eight new games.
To be completely honest, none of this sounded all that bad. When kept in perspective. The hard part in all of it was the dozen or so stores they went to for the kitchen things alone, five more for the electronics. Maggie's father had always said she got her energy from her mother, but she'd never paid attention or really understood what he meant until now.
Thankfully, Maggie's mother was all for snacking between every other store and usually it was fast-food - Maggie's favorite kind. However, dinner was at a fancy French restaurant much more in line with Janice's tastes. She didn't complain because she was just grateful Janice hadn't insisted on cooking herself.
She wasn't so spared the next morning at breakfast. Everything was either burned or raw, the scrambled eggs somehow being both. The two women were completely baffled at how toast cooked in the brand new toaster came out burned for Janice but perfect for Maggie. Laughing and getting along as they hadn't for a very long time, they finally accepted it as one of those idiosyncrasies of life that happened only to Janice while in a kitchen.
Day Two's shopping went much like Day One's except it was clothes and since Maggie didn't have to work - damn Dave! - she was much more rested.
Maggie really didn't see that she needed new clothes right then, but she kept her father's words firmly in mind. Janice loved to shop for clothes. It was her favorite past-time and she was an expert. However, it was Maggie's least favorite thing to do.
The real problem was that their choices differed greatly. Maggie was very casual, preferring cotton as in jeans and tshirts. Which had thrown Janice into a frenzy for years as she was the kind of person to wear cashmere and silk, usually as in pressed slacks and blouses, if not skirts and dresses. Maggie also liked dark colors - she went through a solidly Goth phase as a teen which she still leaned towards most of the time - and Janice pastels.
Gentle and cautious discussions ensued.
Daughter won over mother for regular clothes because Maggie finally made her understand cashmere and silk wouldn't hold up well in a convenience store or while going to classes, though Janice still didn't like it.
Mother won over daughter when it came to 'nice' clothes, Maggie being unable to make her understand she didn't need 'nice' clothes. So Maggie found herself to be the owner of five designer dresses, including a Van Dyne original, after fifteen stores - probably an exaggeration but Maggie lost count. Where she would wear them was a mystery. She resigned herself to giving up a large portion of closet space to the things her mother wanted her to have but she wouldn't wear.
The last stop of the day was lingerie. Here was an area Maggie had never paid much mind to. She had never let her mother drag her to this many places in the past so they had never been to a shop dedicated to women's underclothes before. It was a revelation on many levels. Janice didn't treat her as a child or even a teenager. She took Maggie straight to the most revealing and sexy items available. The part Maggie hadn't liked was when she said things like "This will drive Albert absolutely crazy. He's a wildman in bed, you know."
Maggie hadn't known and hadn't wanted to. Four children made it obvious her parents had a great sex life, but that didn't mean she needed to have that kind of picture in her mind. It was one area she didn't want to share with her parents. It was too gross. Not to mention, if she joined in that kind of discussion she would have to say something about Bobby and she wasn't going to do that.
They ended the day by going home to sandwiches - which Janice couldn't burn and was already raw since she insisted on making them.
Day Three started with waffles. Again they were either burned or half raw. The waffle iron Janice had bought Maggie didn't like her any more than the toaster had.
The shopping was for food that day. More discussions were had. Not always so gentle or cautious this time.
Though even Janice knew she had little to no cooking skills, she preferred gourmet and that's what she wanted to cook. Following the logic, such foods were what she wanted to buy. Maggie, on the other hand, knew her limitations. She liked to eat, whether it was gourmet or hot-dogs. Unlike Janice, Maggie liked to buy what she could cook when it came to groceries instead of what sounded good. Anything requiring capers or pinenuts was beyond her capabilities.
They both won and bought some of everything. Maggie decided Janice could play in her kitchen as long as she didn't burn the building down. What wasn't used - and what she wouldn't use - she could give to the mansion. Maggie was sure Jean and Ororo would appreciate the offerings. It wasn't like she wouldn't still be eating the food - hopefully.
Why they had to go to three stores for food was something Maggie would never understand.
The fourth one was a surprise, a computer store. Janice wanted a new laptop. She bought two giving one to Maggie. It was under protest because a three thousand dollar piece of equipment was more than she thought she needed, but Janice insisted. After everything else, Maggie thought it was taking guilt too far - she didn't count the dresses which actually cost much more because she hadn't wanted them.
Only four stores that day but it was just as exhausting as the others. Even Maggie's mother was wearing down because she was all for going to bed early that night.
Day Four consisted of putting away everything purchased from Day's One through Three. It wasn't easy.
There was only so much space in a one bedroom apartment. Taking everything which was replaced and putting them in the boxes the new items came from for delivery to Goodwill helped but there was still a corner of Maggie's bedroom and one in the living room with stacks of boxes because there was no place to put them.
This led to the first discussion of the day consisting of Maggie needing a larger apartment. The next being how such a lovely woman insisted on mainly going without make-up. Then how such pretty hair should be styled better. There was more but Maggie managed to block it out.
Her mother meant well. She'd been more than generous. They had even gotten along - mostly. But Maggie's ability to take well meaning advice in stride and hold her tongue was wearing thin. She and her mother were very different people who were related but liked each other. Or that's how Maggie termed it when she wasn't feeling particularly kind. Silently because saying that outloud would completely undo all progress made.
Perhaps insane was an exaggeration, exhaustion and frustration weren't. Going back to work was a relief.
Maggie only hoped her apartment would look the same when she got home, but was afraid it wouldn't.
At the mansion only a couple miles from where Maggie was working at the QuickStop, Bobby wasn't happy.
"Bobby, yore startin' tah bum me out. Either take yore depressing self outtah heah or put on yore happy face," Rogue demanded when he sighed forlornly, once again disturbing the movie. He had suggested watching 'Shrek' in the first place. How was she supposed to enjoy it when he was acting this way? They weren't even halfway through it.
She knew the problem wasn't the mission. That had actually been quick with the children right away assuring the team they were not being mistreated at all but rather the opposite. Some of the older teens had been kicked out of their homes when their parents discovered they were mutants. The halfway house was the first place they had been accepted. The local FOH wasn't very happy with the place but weren't making an issue of it because the mutant children were being segregated. However, that segregation wasn't hurtful, it was because they were wanted there, which made a big difference to all the children. The X-Men had decided to quietly offer the opportunity to go to the Institute to those who felt they might some day be interested, and provided the director of the establishment with their information for if the situation changed. All in all, from what Rogue had been told, it had been a pleasant change from the usual missions.
What she didn't know was Bobby had arrived home and immediately called Maggie. It had been a short conversation. All their conversations since the beginning of her mother's visit had been short and to the point. Which was they missed each other desperately but Maggie couldn't - or rather wouldn't - see him until her mom left.
"Now, cherie, leave him be." Remy was full of sympathy. He and Rogue had been the only ones to take Bobby up on the movie suggestion. "His lady won' see him. He miss her. Remy be de same when we apart."
"Hah! Swamp rat, yah don't get depressed, yah go tomcattin'!" Eyes narrowing, her fists bunched against her thighs. "Yah think Ah don't know that?"
"Ah, ma belle cherie, dat what on de outside, inside be Remy's pain. Bobby more secure den Remy, he let us see how he feel." Finished laying on the charm, Remy's voice lowered and he added with mock despair, "Maggie not even let him visit at de store an' she be workin' tonight."
"What! Why she bein' like that? Her mama's not therah." Anyone could see how well Bobby and Maggie fit together. It was sweet enough to touch her heart and soften her ire. Rogue didn't really know Maggie as a person, but she liked her just for the way Maggie got Jean choked up all the time.
"She says her mom comes in at all hours of the night to check on her and she doesn't want to chance a meeting." Bobby answered. "I don't know if I can wait another three days." How would he know if she were eating enough? Getting enough sleep? He couldn't check if those damn rashes were getting better or worse, and who was going to hold her hand so she didn't rub them? No, he couldn't wait anther three days to see her. But then if he didn't,she would be extremely mad at him and the wait could be considerably longer. He couldn't win.
"It's almost eleven. She's therah now, right?" Rogue met Remy's eyes. "Maybe we can take a little trip ta the store an' get 'Ro a candybar. We can let Maggie know somebody's missin' her an awful lot."
"You'd do that for me?" Bobby smiled for the first time in days. "You're the best!"
"Sure, shugah. Now, yah stop yore noises ovah therah and we'll go." She settled back and unpaused the DVD. "Aftah the movie."
Her back to the door as she stocked the cigarettes, when she heard the bell Maggie called out while turning around, "Good evening! Just let me know if you need any... help..."
Voice fading, she stared at the man uncomprehendingly. The first thought in her head was that he must be really hot in that ski-mask. The second was 'Oh my God, is that a real gun?'
Said gun was pointed straight at her head and her eyes were now trained on it.
"Open the register and put the money in a paper bag!" the man shouted. "Move!"
Moving slower than usual, everything seeming to be happening to someone else, Maggie took the few steps necessary and pressed the button to open the register, just as she'd been told.
"A bag! Get a paper bag and put the money in it!" At the counter now, easily reaching over it, he pushed the gun into her hair. She could easily feel the metal against her head. "I'll shoot! Hurry up!"
Training kicked in dimly. She pushed the silent alarm button as she got the bag, then opened it and set it on the counter in a way that it wouldn't block the camera not so cleverly hidden inside a speaker box. All stores had a camera like it that took still pictures when a certain set of money was removed. The first stack she took out of the register and dropped in the paper bag triggered the first piece of evidence the police would look for when they arrived.
"Move it! You're too slow!" The gun pressed harder.
Moving faster, however all seeming to be in slow motion from her perspective, Maggie took each stack of money and dropped it in the bag. Her hands were starting to shake.
The man took hold of the bag with his free hand but not to leave. "Take out the drawer! Take it out and give me the rest!"
Her throat tight, Maggie didn't say what she thought, which was 'Why? We don't keep money under the drawer. It's against policy. It's even on signs that we only have fifty dollars in the register.' But she did as instructed, laying the drawer now only holding change on the other side of the bag.
Surprised, she didn't move when she saw the money. There was lots. At least three one-hundred dollar bills and several fifties.
The gun jabbed her, making her move again. "Put it in the bag!"
Numb, terrified, and paying close attention to what she was doing so she didn't drop the money with her shaking hands, Maggie didn't even realize the gun had been removed from her head and the man was coming around to stand behind her. Until the gun pressed against the back of her head instead of the side after she'd finished putting the money in the bag.
That was when the man saw the button for the alarm. He either guessed or assumed she'd pressed it.
"Bitch!"
Pain instantly ran through her as the gun crashed with blinding force against her skull.
Her knee hit the shelf under the register which the paper sacks were on, scattering them as Maggie fell and her head hit the cement floor.
Unconscious, she didn't see the man run out of the store with the bag clutched tightly in his hand to a car waiting outside.
to be continued.
note: I know, it's a day late, same old problems. But here it is! Are you shocked? Surprised? I told you the plot was going in an unexpected direction.
Next chapter: well... everyone finds out about the incident. I really don't know how else to say it.
Thanks for reading and all the support,
Dizi
