satindesire
Queen of Geeks
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2005
- Posts
- 13,101
Hunter's Folly, California, a quiet suburb of San Fransisco...
The alarm jerked her out of a heavy sleep, right in the middle of a particularly unpleasant dream. She wasn't often thankful for her alarm but today she was, and it was all about the silver linings for Meridith.
After her morning bathroom routine, she padded barefoot into the kitchen where her dad was already drinking coffee at the kitchen table. She kissed him on the cheek and grabbed a mug from the cabinet. "You're up early, Daddy."
Meridith Robins was the only child of Katherine and Phillip Robins, a blue collar family that had lived in Hunter's Folly for Merry's entire life. Phillip was a Vietnam Veteran who had lost his legs from the knee down to diabetes when Merry was a teenager, and Katherine had died suddenly from a stroke just three years ago. The boarding house that Merry shared with her dad was an aging historical property that Katherine had bought after a miraculous windfall from a distant relative. Just ten short years later, she passed away, leaving Merry to care for her father and the aging property.
"Morning Baby. Couldn't sleep." He rumbled, turning the page of his newspaper. "Are your legs hurting you again?" She said, her brow furrowing deeply in concern. Phillip adjusted his position in the wheelchair, a frown curling the corners of his mouth down. His craggy, weathered face showed his age, and years of hardship. "Been worse."
Merry blew on the steaming coffee and took a tentative sip. "I'll call Dr. Rothschild today and see-" "No no, I don't want no fuss, Merry." "Daddy, I-"
Their argument was interrupted by the kitchen suddenly plunging into darkness. Phillip's newspaper drooped, his craggy face deepening into lines of frustration.
"Third time this week, god dammit." He mumbled, shaking his head. Meridith set the mug on the table and sighed. "I'll go put a new fuse in. Hopefully the Contractor will call us to fix it soon." "He's supposed to arrive today?" "Yeah, sometime this morning."
She took a flashlight out of the tool drawer that they had stocked for this very purpose and carefully navigated the basement stairs to replace the fuse. The basement was a mishmash of old childhood toys, storage bins and box upon box of Merry's mother's belongings. Neither of them had the heart to get rid of anything, so they quietly packed away her things and tried not to miss her.
Merry hated the basement. The unpleasant sadness of missing her mother was always a fresh wound when looking at her old mirrored vanity or curio chest, the scent of her perfume seemed to linger in the wood like a ghost. She hurriedly replaced the fuse just in time for a knock at the door.
"Just a moment please!" Phillip hollered, pushing his wheelchair from the kitchen to the living room door. Meridith was still in her pajamas, and froze at the basement entry door as her dad swung the door open for the -very- tall and -very- handsome Davan.
"You must be Davan," Phillip said, holding out his scarred and calloused hand. "Phillip Robins, my daughter Merry."
Merry cleared her throat, painfully aware of her scrubby Hello Kitty pajamas and messy-from-sleep braid. *Fuck. Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck.* Her smile was wobbly, cheeks flaming with embarrassment. "Hey, nice to finally meet you Davan."
The alarm jerked her out of a heavy sleep, right in the middle of a particularly unpleasant dream. She wasn't often thankful for her alarm but today she was, and it was all about the silver linings for Meridith.
After her morning bathroom routine, she padded barefoot into the kitchen where her dad was already drinking coffee at the kitchen table. She kissed him on the cheek and grabbed a mug from the cabinet. "You're up early, Daddy."
Meridith Robins was the only child of Katherine and Phillip Robins, a blue collar family that had lived in Hunter's Folly for Merry's entire life. Phillip was a Vietnam Veteran who had lost his legs from the knee down to diabetes when Merry was a teenager, and Katherine had died suddenly from a stroke just three years ago. The boarding house that Merry shared with her dad was an aging historical property that Katherine had bought after a miraculous windfall from a distant relative. Just ten short years later, she passed away, leaving Merry to care for her father and the aging property.
"Morning Baby. Couldn't sleep." He rumbled, turning the page of his newspaper. "Are your legs hurting you again?" She said, her brow furrowing deeply in concern. Phillip adjusted his position in the wheelchair, a frown curling the corners of his mouth down. His craggy, weathered face showed his age, and years of hardship. "Been worse."
Merry blew on the steaming coffee and took a tentative sip. "I'll call Dr. Rothschild today and see-" "No no, I don't want no fuss, Merry." "Daddy, I-"
Their argument was interrupted by the kitchen suddenly plunging into darkness. Phillip's newspaper drooped, his craggy face deepening into lines of frustration.
"Third time this week, god dammit." He mumbled, shaking his head. Meridith set the mug on the table and sighed. "I'll go put a new fuse in. Hopefully the Contractor will call us to fix it soon." "He's supposed to arrive today?" "Yeah, sometime this morning."
She took a flashlight out of the tool drawer that they had stocked for this very purpose and carefully navigated the basement stairs to replace the fuse. The basement was a mishmash of old childhood toys, storage bins and box upon box of Merry's mother's belongings. Neither of them had the heart to get rid of anything, so they quietly packed away her things and tried not to miss her.
Merry hated the basement. The unpleasant sadness of missing her mother was always a fresh wound when looking at her old mirrored vanity or curio chest, the scent of her perfume seemed to linger in the wood like a ghost. She hurriedly replaced the fuse just in time for a knock at the door.
"Just a moment please!" Phillip hollered, pushing his wheelchair from the kitchen to the living room door. Meridith was still in her pajamas, and froze at the basement entry door as her dad swung the door open for the -very- tall and -very- handsome Davan.
"You must be Davan," Phillip said, holding out his scarred and calloused hand. "Phillip Robins, my daughter Merry."
Merry cleared her throat, painfully aware of her scrubby Hello Kitty pajamas and messy-from-sleep braid. *Fuck. Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck.* Her smile was wobbly, cheeks flaming with embarrassment. "Hey, nice to finally meet you Davan."
Last edited: