AD8
Disclaimer: Why do I bother? We all know this by now
Author's note: Reviews please! I need input! Does anyone think I'm on target? Way off base? The last chapter was actually very hard to write. I wanted to hate Jeni for the way she treated Sarah, but I just can't. She's a person to me now, and not the one I thought she'd be.
"Jeez Danny, were you renting storage space from her or what?" Sarah asked as she hauled two bags, one over each shoulder.
"This is probably a year's worth of stuff, it must have slowly accumulated. Think of it like the I-Ching. From the void, ten thousand things are born. Those ten thousand things each brought forth ten thousand more things, and so on. This is the ten thousand things brought forth from the void of a relationship not tended, so they are heavy and unwieldy burdens."
"You can say that again!" Sarah exclaimed as something poked her in the back. She shifted her load again, trying to move the offending piece of whatever it was out of her spine.
"Before the Academy classes started, I pretty much lived here. Jeni cooked most of my meals, and I almost always spent the night. We did everything together, including laundry. I think the only reason I kept my apartment was to maintain my independence. I need personal space, even if I'm not using it. Just knowing it was there made me feel secure."
Sarah gave him a hard look. It sounded like Jeni had a legitimate beef with Danny. If some guy had been all but moved in, and it sounded like he had been, then just dropped off the face of the earth for days at a time… Well, she'd have dumped him long before now. Probably in a very spectacular row, complete with public accusations and thrown objects. In fact, she probably would have thrown his stuff off the fire escape, especially if he was under it. "In that case, I think I can understand Jeni's position a little better. You always made her sound unreasonable. I thought she was grabby, possessive, and entirely too high maintenance. I really didn't know why you were still dating her, much less upset over her behavior. Dammnit Danny, did you ever think what it must have looked like to her?"
"Whoah there Pez, I am only a wise Asian male master. Not even we understand what's going on inside a woman's mind. Remember that this is the first time she's said anything besides 'Nothing' when I ask her what's wrong. The word 'Nothing' is usually followed by a sigh if I continue to make inquiries." Danny said defensively.
"Danny, I am about to violate the secret sisterhood rules and explain a few things, so listen up. Firstly, the word 'Nothing' means something, and you should be on your toes. This word is usually used when the woman is restraining herself from beating you about the head and shoulders for being an idiot. She feels that you will not possibly understand, because you are being so colossally dense. The sigh means she's wondering why you are wasting air breathing, because none of that oxygen is making it to your brain." Sarah sighed for illustration.
"I had suspected something like that, but I was never sure. Thank you for the clarification. Now, while you're enlightening me, why do women never try to explain it? Surely you don't think we like wandering around with no clue why 'Nothing' is wrong, everything is 'Fine', and 'Five Minutes' is half an hour." Danny threw in a couple more lines he'd never understood, just in case Sarah would explain those as well.
"Firstly, we have tried to explain, that's why you get that response. We already know you won't hear us. Secondly, 'Fine' is the word we use when we know we're right but we're tired of arguing with you about it. Thirdly, 'Five Minutes' is the increment of time most used by men when saying they'll get around to something. We just figured you already knew what it was short for, and would understand." Sarah grinned, glad Danny was behind her and couldn't see her expression. It was fun raking him over the coals. He'd certainly had enough to say about her love life recently, turnabout was fair play. Besides, he was being such a male. It was hard not to feel sympathy for Jeni. A stubborn part of her resisted though. She could still hear the insults Jeni had given out so freely, and Sarah was not one to let that sort of thing go. She didn't think Jeni had believed they weren't lovers. That could be trouble if Danny married her. The unhappy thought stayed with her down the remaining flights of stairs to the entryway.
Disclaimer: Why do I bother? We all know this by now
Author's note: Reviews please! I need input! Does anyone think I'm on target? Way off base? The last chapter was actually very hard to write. I wanted to hate Jeni for the way she treated Sarah, but I just can't. She's a person to me now, and not the one I thought she'd be.
"Jeez Danny, were you renting storage space from her or what?" Sarah asked as she hauled two bags, one over each shoulder.
"This is probably a year's worth of stuff, it must have slowly accumulated. Think of it like the I-Ching. From the void, ten thousand things are born. Those ten thousand things each brought forth ten thousand more things, and so on. This is the ten thousand things brought forth from the void of a relationship not tended, so they are heavy and unwieldy burdens."
"You can say that again!" Sarah exclaimed as something poked her in the back. She shifted her load again, trying to move the offending piece of whatever it was out of her spine.
"Before the Academy classes started, I pretty much lived here. Jeni cooked most of my meals, and I almost always spent the night. We did everything together, including laundry. I think the only reason I kept my apartment was to maintain my independence. I need personal space, even if I'm not using it. Just knowing it was there made me feel secure."
Sarah gave him a hard look. It sounded like Jeni had a legitimate beef with Danny. If some guy had been all but moved in, and it sounded like he had been, then just dropped off the face of the earth for days at a time… Well, she'd have dumped him long before now. Probably in a very spectacular row, complete with public accusations and thrown objects. In fact, she probably would have thrown his stuff off the fire escape, especially if he was under it. "In that case, I think I can understand Jeni's position a little better. You always made her sound unreasonable. I thought she was grabby, possessive, and entirely too high maintenance. I really didn't know why you were still dating her, much less upset over her behavior. Dammnit Danny, did you ever think what it must have looked like to her?"
"Whoah there Pez, I am only a wise Asian male master. Not even we understand what's going on inside a woman's mind. Remember that this is the first time she's said anything besides 'Nothing' when I ask her what's wrong. The word 'Nothing' is usually followed by a sigh if I continue to make inquiries." Danny said defensively.
"Danny, I am about to violate the secret sisterhood rules and explain a few things, so listen up. Firstly, the word 'Nothing' means something, and you should be on your toes. This word is usually used when the woman is restraining herself from beating you about the head and shoulders for being an idiot. She feels that you will not possibly understand, because you are being so colossally dense. The sigh means she's wondering why you are wasting air breathing, because none of that oxygen is making it to your brain." Sarah sighed for illustration.
"I had suspected something like that, but I was never sure. Thank you for the clarification. Now, while you're enlightening me, why do women never try to explain it? Surely you don't think we like wandering around with no clue why 'Nothing' is wrong, everything is 'Fine', and 'Five Minutes' is half an hour." Danny threw in a couple more lines he'd never understood, just in case Sarah would explain those as well.
"Firstly, we have tried to explain, that's why you get that response. We already know you won't hear us. Secondly, 'Fine' is the word we use when we know we're right but we're tired of arguing with you about it. Thirdly, 'Five Minutes' is the increment of time most used by men when saying they'll get around to something. We just figured you already knew what it was short for, and would understand." Sarah grinned, glad Danny was behind her and couldn't see her expression. It was fun raking him over the coals. He'd certainly had enough to say about her love life recently, turnabout was fair play. Besides, he was being such a male. It was hard not to feel sympathy for Jeni. A stubborn part of her resisted though. She could still hear the insults Jeni had given out so freely, and Sarah was not one to let that sort of thing go. She didn't think Jeni had believed they weren't lovers. That could be trouble if Danny married her. The unhappy thought stayed with her down the remaining flights of stairs to the entryway.