The Rollins Residence
The moment the bedroom door closed upstairs, the house went very, very quiet.
The dad sighed first. Long. Deep. The kind of sigh that came from years of taxes, a teenage daughter, and now this. “Well,” he said finally, rubbing his forehead. “That’s… new.”
Mike shifted on the couch, clearly unsure where his hands were supposed to go now. “I—uh. I didn’t know she was bringing anyone.”
The mom hovered near the entryway, still holding a decorative pillow she had absolutely no reason to be holding. “She said she was bringing a friend,” she said quietly. “A friend. I assumed—” She stopped herself, lips pressing thin. “I assumed a woman. Or a former student. Or someone… smaller.”
The dad snorted. “That man was built like a linebacker.”
“And he had a beard,” the mom added, distressed. “And he called her ‘dear.’ Did you hear that?”
“I heard,” Mike said, rubbing humus hands up and down his jeans. He’d also heard her call him love which might have been worse. “I just—she didn’t tell me she was seeing anyone.”
The dad looked at him over his glasses. “Well, Mike,” he said slowly, “she didn’t tell us either.” Or in translation = ‘I thought you said you had a chance to get back with her, stupid.’ That did not help.
The mom’s face pinched. “And I wasn’t even that polite,” she whispered, horrified now. “I didn’t offer him coffee. Or his name. I don’t even know his name, Dave!” She looked at the dad like this was a moral failing. “What kind of host doesn’t ask a guest’s name?” If this was a soap opera she’d have collapsed by now.
“A host who just watched her daughter call a mystery man ‘love’ in the foyer,” the dad said dryly.
Mike swallowed. “Do you think—” he started, then stopped. “Do you think they’re… serious?”
The dad leaned back in his chair, considering. “I don’t know. But I know one thing.” Both of them looked at him. “If she brought him here,” he said, “and didn’t warn anyone? That wasn’t an accident.”
The mom groaned softly, covering her face. “Oh, I scared him away already, didn’t I?”
Upstairs, the floor creaked faintly. They all shut up and stared at each other in silence. Let a few seconds tick by.
In the Rollins residence, downstairs, three adults sat in the various new emotions, collectively realizing that whatever plan they thought they were part of… had just changed completely.
——
Wanted to humanize a few characters
@LunaticLeviTheSecond ~ Lav mentioned 