Author's Note: Special thanks to JMS529, Jayne Leigh, BrittanyLS, and JJ2008 for the reviews!
QUOTE PROMPT #164 – MARY/MARK
"The speed of light is 299,792,458 meters per second. Pain travels through the body at 350 feet per second. Even a sneeze can reach a hundred miles per hour. And as for life? Well... that just bloody whizzes by."
Mark sat on the picnic table, watching as his daughter climbed the jungle gym at the park. "When did she decide her favorite color was yellow?"
Mary, who was sitting on the bench, shrugged. "A few months ago. I think she's rebelling. I mean, yellow? Come on."
"And liking sushi? That's new," he commented.
"Yeah, Marshall took her out on a little date last month and she fell in love with it. Every time we let her pick dinner, that's what she chooses," Mary explained.
Mark frowned. "She's been calling me 'Dad' and not 'Daddy'."
She chuckled. "Yeah, well, I've gotten 'Mother' a few times so consider yourself lucky."
"How can you be so calm about all these changes?"
"I... see them every day, Mark," Mary told him. "I'm used to them."
His eyes flashed with anger. "I'm not going to apologize for moving away. I needed to for my job. I've never been so happy at one and I'm good at it, Mare, really good at it."
Mary tossed her hands up. "Whoa. I didn't say you had to move back here. But, you know, calling more than once every two weeks wouldn't be such a bad idea. Maybe, you could make a few more visits out here. Life goes on, Mark. I'm not going to apologize for that. But if you're not careful, you're going miss out on her entire life."
QUOTE PROMPT #165 – MARY/BRANDI
"There are imaginary numbers now. Are there unicorns in the next lesson? Can somebody please teach me something useful like how to balance a checkbook?"
Brandi looked up from cleaning the bar and her heart sunk. Standing in front of her, with a scowl on her face, was her sister. Taking a deep breath, Brandi slapped a coaster on the bar. "What can I get for you, Mary?"
"How about the truth?" Mary challenged.
"The truth about what?"
Mary sat down on the bar stool. "Why'd you leave? How could you leave? You are his mother!"
Brandi's nostrils flared. "It's not like I abandoned him. I left him with you!"
"I'm not his mother!"
"Well, I didn't know how to be!" Brandi took a moment to compose herself. "It's not like anyone taught me."
Mary slammed her fist on the bar. "No one taught me, either, but I sucked it up and figured it out! Not only that, you had me! You had Mom! Hell, you even had Marshall! We all rallied around you to make you successful and still, you walked away."
Brandi shrugged. "Well, you're just a better person than I am. You always were."
"So, that's it? That's all you have to say for yourself?" Mary asked her.
"That's it," Brandi confirmed.
Mary stood up. "You should call Mom sometime. She's worried about you."
Brandi closed her eyes, briefly, when Mary started to walk away. "Mary, wait! How- how is he?"
"He's fine; growing bigger every day." Mary rolled her shoulders. "He and Marshall are very close. He's been calling Marshall 'Dada'."
"That's good. He should. Marshall's a good guy. He should call you 'Mom'."
Mary smiled, sadly, before turning and walking out the door. She was certain that she would never see her sister again. This time, however, she just wasn't sure that she wanted to find her again.
QUOTE PROMPT #166 – MARY/MARSHALL
"You throw that rubber spider at me again, and I'm going for my staple gun."
"What do you have there?" Mary demanded.
"Nothing," Marshall said, trying to keep his voice as innocent as possible.
Mary took a few steps away from him. "I can tell that you're hiding something behind your back! What is it?"
Marshall shrugged. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"It's an ice cube, Mommy!" Norah squealed.
"Marshall, I swear, if you-" Mary cut off suddenly when Marshall leapt towards her. She took off running through the backyard with Marshall hot on her trail, laughing maniacally. He nearly cornered her by the fence, but she veered off and run into the house.
Marshall followed her, slamming the door behind him. He reached out and stopped the bedroom door from closing before she was able to do it. He grabbed her by the waist and tossed her on the bed, covering her body with his body. He held the ice cube up for her to see.
"You really don't want to do that," Mary warned him.
"Oh, but, Mare, your skin is looking rather flushed," he told her. "I think you need cooled down."
Mary shrieked when the cube touched the top part of her breast. "You son-of-a-bitch!"
Marshall dragged her tank top and bra down to reveal her left nipple. He caressed it with the ice cube until it stood erect. "Lucky for you, Jinx and the girls are outside." He rolled off of her and sucked the ice cube into his mouth.
"Unluckily for you," Mary sat up and adjusted her clothing, "Jinx is taking the girls for the night. Hope the ice cube was worth it."
