AN: Ok, as promised, some more backstory...
-Back to square one-
TO: "Much". d0nuts07(at)yahoo(dot)com
FROM: "R. Locksley", sherwoodsfinest(at)msn(dot)com
SUBJECT: RE: SCREENING YOUR PHONE CALLS NOW, EH?!
March 3
Sry, what can I say, it's been a crazy night!
You'll never guess who I just ran in to?!
Marian. You remember her right. That crazy photographer I used to date.
How come every woman I date turn out to be crazy one way or another?! but maybe that says more about my taste in women than it does about the female population.
All I'm looking for is a sane available girl, is that too much to ask for?!
Disclaimer: I love women. Each personality quirk is what makes them unique.
Anyway back to Marian… One might say she has had quite the career change since I last saw her. I told you about our plans for Carter's stag night, didn't I? Well, guess what?! Marian was there, at the club, working as a waitress.
Turns out she is still mad at me for not telling her I was gearing up to be shipped out. Actually mad doesn't even begin to cover it… bitchy and irrational is more like it. She never did approve, you know… It doesn't matter how many times I tell her it was a peace mission, not a combat one.
Oh well, let's just say our little chat tonight only served to stir things up again…there's more but I rather tell you about it over the phone. I'll call you first thing in the morning…
/Robin
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TO: "R. Locksley", sherwoodsfinest(at)msn(dot)com
FROM: "Much", d0nuts07(at)yahoo(dot)com
SUBJECT: RE: RE: SCREENING YOUR PHONE CALLS NOW, EH?!
March 4
Ah HA, I knew it! I remember Lady M, alright.... I always suspected she was the real reason you were in such a hurry to see the middle east. You couldn't leave the country fast enough. Of course you kept insisting it was all about honor and duty. Remind me again how you're the sane and rational one…
Anyways, does she know you were flown home in an ambulance plane after nearly being blown to pieces out on a minefield?! I'm sure she'll be thrilled when she hears about that one… girls are funny like that…
…and you better call me, or I'll stop watering your plants and hold your Wii ransom.
/M
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A few restless hours later
I was back at her apartment by the crack of dawn, with a head crammed full to bursting point with questions. Marian answered the door on the fourth knock, having obviously been asleep. She was wearing some sort of nightgown the style of a shirt and her hair was pointing in all directions.
"What are you doing here?" She asked, nervously tugging her shirt down as low as she could get it, which wasn't enough to even reach mid-thigh.
"Did I wake you up? I'm sorry…… Here have some coffee, you look like you could need it, " I suggested, handing her the ultimate peace offer, breakfast in a paper bag from Starbucks.
She snatched it right out of my hand and gripped one of the steaming cups like it was the only thing keeping her from flying to pieces. She took a deep sip of the hot liquid and reluctantly let me step into her kitchen.
"Let's try this again. What are you doing here? It's quarter past 8 in the morning…. I'm not a morning person, I think you know that….. Besides I'm pretty sure I asked you to stay away from me."
"I needed to get a hold of you before you left for work. It's about your car." I informed her casually and took a seat by the kitchen table.
"My car, what about it?"
"I'm going to fix it for you."
"Ooookay, and when you say you're going to fix it, you mean pay someone to fix it, right?! I'm not a charity case. I don't need your money. I thought I made that clear the last time we spoke."
"Crystal clear. Look, it just so happens that I have found someone who is willing to do the repair for free. One of the guys from last night's bachelor party owns a garage in the area. So if you let me have the key I'll make sure you have your car back and running by nighttime. "
"And what if I don't want your help!?"
"Then you are just plain stupid. This will save you a lot of money, time and trouble. It's too good of a deal to pass up on and you know it."
"Ugh .. okay fine you're right," she wrinkled her nose, "I hate it when you're right."
"There you go... Good girl... that wasn't too hard now was it?? I mocked her and ducked just in time to avoid being swatted in the head by a pouting Marian.
"Shut up!" she whined and stuck her tongue out at me.
"There's so much love inside you, honey," I said teasingly.
"Bite me."
"Been there, done that….. and I treasure those memories quite fondly."
"What was that, I couldn't hear you?"
"Nothing. Not a thing."
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Gallons of coffee were gulped down along with some breakfast bagels and a couple of chocolate Cream Cheese Muffins for dessert.
We ate in silence. It wasn't a completely comfortable silence, but it wasn't hostile, which I guess, was about as good as it got between us these days...
"Perky morning people should be shot, but you know what I'm willing to make an exception in this case because this was the best meal I have had in quite some time," she told me as she finished her last cup of coffee.
"Anything for you my lady. On a more serious note though, I had a little run in with one of your neighbors earlier and she asked me to relay a message to you."
"Oh, what message and who exactly did you talk to? "
"I don't know her name but I think she is your landlady."
"Mrs Carlsson, that old hag… I don't think she likes me much."
"I figured that much. She said that if you want that bathroom fan fixed you should do it yourself and if the rent isn't paid by the 7th she'll assume that you intend to move out."
"Oh, lovely. Did she tell you about the time she called the cops on me for a noise complaint."
"She did mentioned that, yes. Only she said it was because your apartment smelled like a meth lab and posed a potential danger to all children in the area."
"Yeah, well they didn't find anything obviously, so the noise complaint was the only thing that stuck."
"I'm guessing that rehab stint she claimed you went on isn't true either… " I said with a wry chuckle.
Marian didn't laugh. "Rehab? That's a new one. Whatever gave her that idea?!," she said in a calm voice.
"Uhm... Well apparently, you were gone for a couple of months or something and in that old woman's twisted mind a disappearance act like that could only mean that you either went to prison or rehab…"
"Oh… " she said quietly. "Try hospitalized… "
"What?!"
"The reason I was gone was because I had a bit of a breakdown. Nothing too serious, I mean I didn't go nuts or anything."
"W- whoa… er…What?!" I suddenly felt winded, unable to think. This was unexpected to say the least…
"Look, forget I said anything… This isn't something I feel comfortable talking about. I haven't been anywhere near a rehab facility or a prison. The only drugs I take are anti-depressives. That's all you need to know for now so can we please drop this subject…"
"You were the one that brought it up in the first place."
"Whatever," Marian muttered.
"No, not whatever. If you level with me, I might be able to help you… Is this about what happened to your sister? "
"Yeah, sort of … A combination of things really. Uhm, I think the correct term is acute depression. All I know is that I had panic attacks and lots of them. I spent about a week in hospital and then I went to live with some friends for a while until I was ready to get back on my feet again. I sought help and now I'm doing much better, so can we drop this now? Please…"
"I only have one more question,"" There is this one thing I just can't seem to wrap my brain around. Why would your landlady threaten to send the social services after you? That would only make sense if you had a minor living here with you."
"Didn't you hear I'm running an illegal daycare center out of your living room," she replied without missing a beat. "Actually, all joking put aside, social services sometimes acts as a referral service for mental health services."
I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding. "Alright, that explains it. I was thinking that… well.. eh.. how maybe you had a child you never told me about. It sounds ridiculous but Mrs. Carlsson said…" I trailed off without finishing the sentence. Even I heard how lame of an argument that was.
"Not the most reliable source. I thought we agreed on that one. "
She had a point there.…
"Aaah but see there is a pacifier on your kitchen floor and that chair over there by the cabinets looks suspiciously much like a booster seat to me and what about that picture on your refrigerator…. I think that my question was justified. "
She rose to her feet and walked over to the fridge. "Robin, meet baby Alexander," she said, removing the magnet and handing me the photo I had been pointing at. "You remember my friend Annie, right?! She has a baby now and they visit a lot and that's why I have all this baby junk here…"
"So, the child isn't yours, you just borrows him occasionally?"
"Right, I baby-sit to make ends meet means," she nodded.
Was it just my imagination or did she look a little uncomfortable?! She was definitely avoiding my eyes, that's for sure. How come I have a feeling that I am missing something??? Geez, the more I scratch at the surface of this, the bigger it gets…..