The Pet (For Litana)

[Tuomas]

Thomas Mansfield.
Six-foot, short blond hair, strong, glittering green eyes and a soft smile.

Thomas liked space, so he lived in a loft. For someone of his means, it might be odd that he would live in what some people might call a not-so-good part of town, but it gave him the possibility of buying the whole top floor of a building and fitting it out as he saw fit. He spent most of his time either at work, or adding on to the luxury of his loft with his own handiwork. He was very good with a hammer and nails, and was soon good at welding and with a lathe. But that usually left him bereft of a personal life. He had friends who came to visit, but no young lass had captured his heart.

Thomas liked order, and keeping his things planned and organized. Having some hollow-headed bimbo wandering around -and that was what it seemed he was expected to get as moderately wealthy man- did not fit in with his persona. His things must fit in with his life. Most of his friends joked that he would grow an old man with just a pet around to keep him company. He would just leer.

So, that Monday morning as he was coming home from work, with his mind on other things. He almost walked past without noticing...

 

[Litana]

He almost passed without noticing a young redheaded girl sitting more or less in the gutter, he would aproximate 5"7. 120lbs with ragged clothes and a sad look on her face, she spotted him and looked up at him

-Marie-
Mister... Do you have any spare change? For some bread....and milk.. I could really use that...

The young girl sat there to the side of the sidewalk, looking up at the man, she was cold, scared, hungry and slender

-Marie-
Please mister.....

Her eyes glutted down upon the ground, she didnt even want to look people in the eyes when she had to resort to this, but she had no choice

 

[Tuomas]

Thomas

"Milk" caught Thomas' attention. It's not something a beggar normally says, and his eyes opened wide as he saw the bedraggled girl sitting on the cement. Despite the dirt and the dejection on her face, she clearly was quite beautiful, and it was a second before his mind was able to process what she was saying.

"Uh..ye.. sure," Thomas said, as he fumbled through the pockets of his suit. He could see she was cold, and her slender frame struck a chord in the dusty recesses of his kinder brain. Her face was lowered, so squatted down and gently lifted her chin so he could look into her eyes. He wondered what tale of hardship had dragged her down there.

"What's your name?" he asked, almost whispering.

 

[Litana]

The girl noticeably happy that he had said yes to her, she was so hungry and thirsty at the moment, after sitting there, and sleeping not too far from there underneath some stairs, that she sighed in relief, then remembered his question

-Marie-
My name.. Is Marie sir.....

She didnt know what else to say at this point, he had asked her a question, she answered, not used to making conversation with the people who had given her money to survive

-Marie-
Again.. Thank you very much sir.. I appreciate it alot....

Marie gave of the best smile she could possibly muster together and looked up

 

[Tuomas]

Thomas felt his face taking the form of a smile, as he stared into her eyes. "That's a lovely name, Marie," he said. Then he stood up, and in a more brisk, business tone continued, "Listen, you must be cold sitting out here, and it's going to rain. Why don't you come with me, and instead of bread and milk, I'll give you a nice warm meal?" Then he realized how that must sound to a beggar: some guy asking her to go home with him.

"I mean," he stammered, "I've got some things in that I could pop in the microwave, you know. Maybe you could stay in the lobby until the rain is over." But he was resolved he would at least get her cleaned up, and have her sit down for a proper meal. But, she might misinterpret that.

 

[Litana]

Listening to his kind offer, Marie thought about this for a moment, it sure sounded good, a warm meal, getting out of the rain and cold for a change

-Marie-
Thank you sir.. I would love that.. I am cold and if the rain is coming, I really do not want to be out here at all...

Slowly getting to her feet, it was the first good view he got of her, her body, how she looked overal, she nodded

-Marie-
You should lead the way then sir... If you want I can walk behind you a little in the distance....

Her head sank once more

-Marie-
I just figured you wouldn`t want to be seen with a begger......

 

[Tuomas]

Under her tattered garb, Thomas could see she had a lovely form. And she was tall! He liked tall girls... her last comment found it's way to his consciousness.

He snorted. "Like I care what people think." He grabbed her wrist and pulled her along the sidewalk. "The whole point of owning the whole floor of a building is not to have nosy neighbors." He grinned at her. It was a very short walk -just around the block, in fact. As the rode up the elevator, he ignored the smell emanating from her. Yes, definitely she was having a bath.

The elevator door opened into a small foyer, and he quickly unlocked the door into his apartment. He hesitated a second, debating if he should approach her with caution, or invite her right in. Caution was not his strong suit.

He pushed the door open and gestured her towards it, "Entrè vous, madamoisele " he said with a grin and a mock bow.

 

[Litana]

Hearing that Marie laughed a little and nodded gracefully

-Marie-
Merci monsieur...

She entered the loft-apartment and looked around, it looked nice in there, and not to mention it was warm, something she hadn`t felt in a long long time

-Marie-
You have a beautiful home mister...

Smiling shyly Marie kept looking around, it was a rather big place too

-Marie-
Any place particular you wish me seated?

Marie asked this of course because she didnt want to step over the line or break something, considering what this nice man was doing for her

 

[Tuomas]

"Merci monsieur... "
An educated girl, he thought. He wondered how old she was as the care-worn features belied her age.

"Any place particular you wish me seated? "
"Why, the kitchen, of course! That's were the food is. This way." He lead her through the maze of chairs in the reception room, through a couple of doors, and then into a wide, white kitchen with large windows displaying a wonderful view of another skyscraper. "Have a seat." He gestured towards the metal chairs arranged around a table. Thomas spun around on the tiles and yanked open the refrigerator.

"Let's see," he said, "we have some old lasagna." He pulled it out and sniffed it. "Yuck. You're not a vegetarian, are you? Because that green stuff is not vegetables." He bent down again, "some old pasta... mleh." He stood up again and showed her a bowl of pasta. "It's from yesterday." He poked it. "It's kind of dry. It would probably be better if I just threw on some from a package. Would you like some tomato sauce, or cream sauce?" He was already dragging out pots before she could answer.

 

[Litana]

Seated in the kitchen after going through a couple of rooms she smiled, seeing him pull out the yucky old food first

-Marie-
Ewww.. That`s not eatable.. I think...

Laughing softly now, she heard the vegetarian question as she simply shook her head, she wasn`t a vegetarian and she wasn`t planning on becoming one either in the near future

-Marie-
Well sir any food will do really.....

Noticing him already taking out a new pack followed by some pots she smiled and answered the last question

-Marie-
Uhmm Tomato-sauce will be great....

Her mouth ran watery, she hadn`t had this kind of meal to look forward too in a long, long time

 

[Tuomas]

Thomas deftly put the utensils on the burners, before turning back to Marie.

"You know, this is going to take a bit, why don't you go clean up? There is a bathroom just down the hall."

 

[Litana]

Marie nodded and smiled still

-Marie-
Good idea.. I dont want to sit in a strangers house eating looking like this... Ok down the hall? I`ll be right back....

She got off the chair and walked down the hall, looking in a few doors since she wasn`t sure

-Marie-
No....No.... No... Here it is!

Walking into the bathroom she looked around, it looked nice, she couldnt exactly shower so she washed her hands, then her face, but shook her head and took the bottle of shampoo standing near the shower

-Marie-
I`ll do this over the sink....

Marie washed out her hair, the thick red hair flowed down her shoulders nicely as she finished up, she tied her hair up in a ponytail and made her way back to the kitchen, sitting down on the chair silently behind him without him seeing her, she whispered to not startle him

-Marie-
How long?

 

[Tuomas]

Thomas had taken off his jacket, and was just staring out the window.

"Not long," he said into the window. After a couple of seconds he turned around, and noticed her cleaned up face. He was astounded again by the delicate perfection of her lines, now revealed. She would look wonderful in a nice dress, he thought. Her red hair would blend in spectacularly with... He loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top of his shirt.

"All cleaned up? That's good." He quickly made her plate ready, and deposited it in front of her. "Bon apetit ." He sat on top of the counter next to the table. "So tell me," he said, "how does such a beautiful girl wind up dressed like that?"

His mind was quickly devising a plan for her.

 

[Litana]

Marie looked at the food infront of her with a huge smile as she dug in, but not roughly, she didnt want to look like a pig, she ate slowly, chewed, swallowed and answered his question

-Marie-
Well, its a long story... My parents sort of left me for dead. A long time ago....

She sighed and took another bite of the food, it tasted great to her at this point

-Marie-
And I have been living on the streets for 10 years, being abandoned at 8....

Thinking about it made her furious really, but she hid it pretty well

-Marie-
So I have had to beg to survive, and as you can imagine, there ain`t much clothes you get with the hourly wage of a begger.....

 

[Tuomas]

Pretty resourceful, thought Thomas, having survived as a mere child like that. She must be a strong person.

"I'm sorry," he said. "It must be hard. I couldn't imagine doing that myself." He looked out the window musing for a second. His own mother had abandoned him when he was a mere child, as well. Most stories were the other way around, but in his case, his father had come home to find a simple note saying that she was leaving. Marie's words struck a particular chord in Thomas. At least his father didn't leave him.

"Listen," he said, and cleared his throat. "My ex left some clothes here. Maybe some of them will fit you. She's been gone for years now, so..." He smiled at her, sadly, but tried to lighten the mood, "it's not like I'm going to be using them, you know." He jumped off the counter walking behind her, "When you are finished eating. Take your time." He patted her shoulder lightly, before walking to the window again.

 

[Litana]

She felt comfortable here, smiling as she ate, she lit up hearing about new clothes, or a possibility to maybe get some anyway

-Marie-
That would be so awesome.. These old rags wont last long....

Thinking about it, she was pretty sure she`d freeze to death when winter came, she had no real future prospects due to her childhood, but atleast with newer clothes, it could work out just great

-Marie-
I am nearly done eating...

Taking a deep sigh of relief, Marie smiled once more, untying her ponytail she let her hair flow down her shoulder, it was as red as fire

-Marie-
Ok I am done.... I would love to get changed if possible.. But I wouldnt want to impose...

She spoke carefully

 

[Tuomas]

"I am nearly done eating... "
Thomas turned around, and caught the flare of her red hair falling about her shoulders. He stared entranced, as the strands cascaded about her face and down her shoulders.

He woke up. "It's not imposing at all. This way. Leave the dishes, c'mon." A couple of steps away they entered the master bedroom, a large room with large windows. But this room looked away from the other tall buildings, and looked over the tenement houses towards the river. There was a white silk spread over the king-size bed, so he did not invite the girl to sit down as he pried open the closet door. "So, I know nothing about girl sizes in clothes, so we will have to guestimate." He pulled out a cardboard box from the back of the closet and started digging. He came across a red, one-piece satin dress, one that had drawn the eyes of hundreds of people when his ex wore it at a charity ball. He held it up for the girl's appraisal. "What do you think of this?"

"But first," he said, pulling the dress back. "You need to shower. You did a lovely job with your face and hands there, so now you can do the rest of you." He pointed to the bathroom behind the girl. "Soap and shampoo. Go on."