A/N Parts of this story are taken from a skit we did in drama, so now, I really do own nothing. L
"Morgan, I'm hungy."
"Hungy?"
"Hungry. Should we wake one of them up?" Graham and Merrill were asleep on the beach chairs in front of the water.
"I don't know. They might get kind of peeved."
"What's peeved?"
"Never mind. We do have to wake one of them up. I have an idea." Morgan cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, "Mouse!"
Merrill flipped over, turned around, and fell of the chair. He got up and looked around. When he saw Morgan and Bo giggling, he frowned, and stalked toward the house. Morgan and Bo stopped smiling when they realized he was mad.
Bo ran after him. "Uncle Mer-rill! We didn't mean to do it--- Morgan made me do it---- We were just hunnngrryy," she cried.
Merrill turned around and scooped Bo of the ground. Morgan could see he was actually smiling. Merrill carried Bo upside-down into the house, with her kicking, screaming and laughing the whole time.
Merrill made some peanut butter sandwiches while Bo and Morgan sat down at the table.
"Uncle Merrill," asked Bo. "Are we going to stay at the cottage forever?"
Merrill came and sat down with the plate of sandwiches. "Don't you like it here?"
"Well I guess so, but I want to go home too," She pouted. "I can't even go swimming yet."
"I'm sure you'll be able to go swimming tomorrow," Merrill assured her. "Oh, here comes your Dad," Graham walked in and closed the sliding door behind him.
"Are you having sandwiches? It's almost time for dinner."
Merrill pointed at the plate of sandwiches, his mouth full. "Dinner."
Graham frowned slightly, then shrugged and sat down at the scrubbed wood table. His nose was bright red. "Guess we should have put some sunscreen on, huh?" Merrill commented.
"Yeah," said Graham, rubbing his nose tentatively. Just then the phone rang. "I'll get it," said Graham, standing up and motioning the kids to sit back down. He went over and picked up the phone that was attached to the wall.
"Hello? Oh, Hi doctor," Merrill looked up. "Yes, we're just eating dinner now. Bo's fever hasn't gone back up. No, she's not going swimming. What? Uh…just a second," Graham covered the phone with his hand. "She wants to talk to you," He whispered to Merrill.
"Tell her I'm not here."
"Merrill, grow up. Take the phone," Graham handed the phone to Merrill, who reluctantly got up.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Merrill. It's me, Amie. Did you come to the hospital looking for me?"
"Uh, yeah. But it's not important."
"O-Kay. So why did you come?" Merrill didn't want to say anything. So he just went to the next option in his head.
"You're married," he said.
There was silence on the other end. "Pardon me?" She said eventually.
"You're married," Merrill repeated.
"What," she said quietly, "are you talking about?" Her voice raised a notch. "Being married is a perfectly legal practice throughout north America. Why are you accusing me like it's a bad thing? First of all, in that whole time we were talking, you never showed any signs that you were interested in me," She sounded really angry.
"You're right," he said apologetically. "I'm sorry. Was there a second of all?"
"First of all, I'm always right," she joked. "Second of all… I forgot what I was going to say," Merrill smiled weakly.
"Look Merrill, I'm not married. If you're not busy, would you like to go get a pizza or something?" Merrill's spirits soared.
"Yeah, sure, when?" Merrill said trying to hide the ecstaticness in his voice (A/N Is that a word?)
"No time like the present. How about I meet you in front of the pizza place in 45?"
"Great!" Merrill hung up the phone. He turned to Graham with a smile on his face.
Graham tossed him the keys. "Back before midnight, Cinderella."
***
"Hey," Graham greeted Merrill as he walked into the cottage. Merrill closed the heavy oak door and threw his keys onto the table, where Graham was eating cereal, and sat down. "How was your date?"
"Okay," said Merrill. "Are the kids in bed?" When Graham nodded, he eyed the bowl of cereal. "It's ten o'clock. Why are you eating cereal?"
Graham narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Why are you changing the subject?"
Merrill shrugged. "I'm not."
"You are. It didn't go well, did it?" Graham sighed. The last time Merrill actually liked a girl for more than two days was when he went to Vegas with his "girlfriend." He came back two hundred dollars in the hole; hung over, and married to someone who was definitely not the woman he left with. Surprisingly, they stayed married for nearly a week before getting a divorce.
"No, it was fine. She was fine. We got pizza and then walked around for a while. She just seemed a lot…different from the Amie I met in the hospital."
"Well, what did you expect? That she would come on a date crying her eyes out?"
"No, but---"
"But nothing. Your making trouble where there is none. Why do you like to do that? "
Merrill stood up, and his chair screeched loudly against the wooden floor. "I don't like to do that."
"Yes you do. Every time you get bored with a relationship you make up reasons to end it. People aren't toys Merrill."
"You told me when I divorced Carole that you wouldn't hold it against me."
"I didn't, and I'm not," Graham got up and put his bowl in the sink. "I'm to tired right now to listen to what was wrong with this one. I'm going to bed," He started up the stairs.
Merrill opened his mouth in anger. "Graham!" He said sharply. "What's your problem?"
Graham swivelled around on the stairs. "My problem," he said indignantly. "Is that you promised to help me take care of my children, and instead you're out cavorting around with different women all the time."
"When was the last time I went out? It must have been three weeks ago!"
"That's not the point Merrill. I just thought you'd have a little more consideration for my feelings, that's all."
"Is that what this is all about?" asked Merrill, stricken with guilt. "You missing Colleen?"
Graham sat down so that he was sitting on the steps and put his face in his hands. "No," He said resignedly. "That's not it." Merrill came over and sat next Graham.
"What is it then? " Merrill asked, confused. After Graham's speech, Merrill didn't think Graham was worried that he was going to get married and leave him and the kid's alone. He would never in a million years ever do that.
"I do miss Colleen. So much that sometimes I wonder if I'll ever feel happy again…but the kids do need someone like a mother to them. And I don't think I'll ever be able to marry again, at least not anytime soon. When you do have a steady relationship with someone, I don't want to the kids to become attached to her. Because when you find something wrong with her, you'll dump her, just like you did all the others, and the children will lose someone else important to them. I don't want that to happen again, Merrill."
"I'm sorry Graham," whispered Merrill, feeling guiltier than he had in his life.
"I know you are," Graham got up and walked up the stairs, leaving Merrill to his own thoughts. So he hadn't found the right woman yet.
"Oh, and I was thinking," came Grahams voice from behind him. "I think we should take to kids to church tomorrow morning, even though it's Monday. Do you think the church has weekday services?"
"Probably," said Merrill, smiling.
*
