As the girls quickly caught up to Hiro they too were compelled to stop and appreciate the sumptuous sight before them. Golden cheese wontons fried to a perfect crunch sat beautifully stacked in a tall pyramid. A small basket full of eggrolls still crackling from the fryer. Three large bowls one heaped full of golden fried rice smattered with a cornucopia of vegetables. A spiraled mass of noodles filled another while the last housed a healthy amount of egg drop soup. Somehow squeezed around the mass of sustenance Merlynn had managed to squeeze in a set of bowls and plates for five including five glasses of chilled tea. “This all looks so wonderful. Please tell me you didn’t do this for me.” Jane asked as everyone else squeezed their way around the table taking their seats. “Actually, Mom always cooks like this, when she's here that is.” Gloria commented uncovering a hidden pan of steamed dumplings from amongst the more prominent bowls of mounded food. “A good friend of mine taught me everything he knows. Also, I've only been leaving more here recently because you’ve handled being at the house by yourself for quite a while now.” Merlynn added as she ninjaed several dumplings onto her plate followed by a rolling tide of noodles to bury them under.
Jane finally sat down a bit timid unsure of where to start. “Jane, help yourself to whatever you want, if you want something different, I could probably whip up a burger really quick.” Merlynn proudly offered adding a swath of rice on one side of her growing plate. “Sorry I'm just not used to all this. I haven’t had the worst life by any means, but I've never seen the kindness you’ve shown me either. I’m not sure if I told you but thank you Merlynn.” Jane finally said as she reached for her first eggroll. It steamed slightly in her hand as she examined it further. The eggroll was fried beautifully and smelled divine. “Oh no not that one. Poison.” Merlynn faked a cough giving Jane a wicked smile. Jane sniggered a little then bit hard into the eggroll refusing her stomach’s demands no further.
The world seemed to stop momentarily as a euphoric nostalgia washed over her reminding her of a happy time when her mother first introduced her to Chinese cuisine. A simple moment, but to her it was the first time they had ever agreed on something. As she finished chewing, she came back to reality finding she was being stared at. “What!? Its good dammit leave me alone. What spell did you put on this to make me remember that?” Jane asked slightly hesitant to take another bite. “No spell, its honestly just a recipe that I’ve always enjoyed.” Merlynn answered filling her bowl full of soup. Jane felt a little warm inside as she took another bite. Just as Gloria finished piling her plate to her liking a knock came at the door. “I’ll get it! It's gotta be my delivery!” Gloria jumped in joy running towards the door. “Hey wait it might be for me!” Merlynn called out, but to no avail. Gloria did not find her delivery at the door, only Claire blushing in the doorway stammering nervously.
“Hi gorgeous I take it you’re here to see my mother?” Gloria asked steeped in mischief. “Yes, I’m Claire. Nice to meet you.” she nervously spoke up. From the looks of her she had come here straight from the bar without stopping to change. “Mom! Your E-CLAIRE is here!” Gloria belted out into a hearty laugh. Merlynn raced from the kitchen meeting them at the door silencing Gloria before she could say more. “Hi Claire please come in and ignore this idiot!” Merlynn wrestled with Gloria ultimately tossing her over the couch bodily. Claire giggled softly as she crossed the threshold into Merlynn’s home. “I hope your hungry I made dinner.” Merlynn gestured to Claire as she grabbed her by the hand. Claire smiled tightening her own. “I could eat.” She said following Merlynn into the kitchen. With introductions out of the way they all sat and finally ate.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Over the course of the next hour, they had laid waste to each mound of food. No morsel left standing. During that time Jane relaxed more feeling right at home. Claire astonished everyone when this quiet, silver haired girl put away the remainder of the egg drop soup like it was a contest. Merlynn managed to slip away momentarily for a smoke seeing that everyone was so happy. No sooner did she turn into the elevator Claire rounded the corner and bore a wicked smile. “Which floor my Lady?” Claire teased posing seductively as she hovered a finger over the keypad. “It could be the ground floor or the roof, as long as we’re going together.” Merlynn answered running her hand up Claire’s side. Claire smiled wider biting her lip. “Roof it is then.” Claire giggled as they slipped into the elevator together pressing the roof button and turned planting a kiss on Merlynn as the doors shut. Arriving outside the stars enveloped the night sky gleaming beautifully. “Pretty clear weather tonight, that’s a rarity.” Claire spoke first after Merlynn lit her cigarette.
“Yeah it is, it's even better sharing it with you.” Merlynn smiled exhaling a bit of smoke. Claire waved it away then gave Merlynn a less happy smile. “I’mma be honest and up front with you, I really wish you would quit smoking its bad for your health. I’d hate to get really invested in this relationship and lose you to something like that.” Claire stood her ground firmly despite how small her voice sounded. “There’s plenty a nasty thing out there that could kill me before these will.” Merlynn withdrew herself slightly from her addiction fighting her. “I’m serious Lynn. I’ve watched you come in and out of the bar. I’ve watched how kind you can be. I’ve seen your real face when you're sitting on your barstool hiding your pain behind a smile. I’ve tried so hard to reach out to you, to comfort you, but I could never make myself do it. My brother tells me it’s a sign that I didn’t want it bad enough and to just move on, however that’s not how I feel. I longed to be brave enough to talk to you, to be able to stand beside you and be there for you no matter the cost.” Claire began spilling her heart out flooding Merlynn with what was trapped inside her.
Merlynn pushed hard against her own fears urging herself to be better, to try harder. “You really mean all that?” Merlynn asked, no power in her voice, no weakness, but for the first time in ages she felt vulnerable. “With every fiber of my being. When you talked to me earlier, I felt the weight of all that doubt wash away. I thought the world would surely crack open and I’d fall in with every step I took to get here, but even then, I was determined to keep going. I can’t just hold all this in anymore and I, I truly want to know if this could be real.” Claire added approaching Merlynn. The fears weighing on Merlynn felt lighter as she admitted to herself she felt exactly as Claire did. Claire’s words echoed deep into Merlynn’s soul creating a longing she hadn’t felt in so long. “I want the same Claire.” Merlynn flicked her still lit half-finished cigarette to the wind rushing in and kissing Claire as deep as she was allowed pulling her into her embrace. Claire responded in gleeful tears as she wrapped her arms tighter around Merlynn. The two released from their kiss blinking the stars out of their eyes with a bit of laughter. “Fancy a short game before bed or would you prefer to retire now?” Merlynn asked with a wry smile.
“What do you think?” Claire responded with a wicked grin. Merlynn quickly cracked one of her own as she proceeded to lift Claire off her feet carrying her bridal style to the elevator and thereafter her room. “Well looks like no game tonight.” Jane chuckled with a sheepish grin shrugging to Gloria and Hiro. “I’m sure we can just try out this module, screw it everyone’s playing two characters!” Hiro exclaimed as they heard a noise from Merlynn’s room followed by awkward silence. “Rude?” Jane spoke up not sure if it was the case or not but settled back into her seat as she examined her two new character sheets Hiro had passed her. “Alright everyone ready?” Hiro asked excited, gripping a fist full of dice. Gloria and Jane both nodded grabbing their own sets of die. “Then let the good dice roll!” Hiro exclaimed tossing the dice onto the table.