tragic_mask | (no subject)

(no subject)

Melpomene slept deeply without dreaming, and only woke up when the light between the curtains fell across her eyes.

It was a nice way to wake up. So now, as she opens her eyes, she stirs only slightly, and then settles back into a comfortable position.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"It would sit there, brooding and menacing. It would mock you, in its unnaturally-colored, fruit-containing way."

"Not a pleasant thought..."

"The women in Minnesota are fond of making jello molds," he says. "My mother would make one to welcome new people to our neighborhood. I was always vaguely suspicious of them, you know."

"As you should be," she said. "My mother never made jello... mostly pound cake, instead."

"Pound cake is respectable. It'll never attack you in a dark alley... though it may whisper behind your back in the parlor. Desserts, it seems, are dangerous."

She laughs. "I'll never have ice cream again."

"I think ice cream is safe," he says. "The Switzerland of desserts. It will distract other, more nefarious desserts long enough for you to eat them safely."

"I don't think I could eat a conscious dessert. Even if it's neutral."

"More for me, then," he grins. "I have it on excellent authority, though, that apple-based pastries are not sentient at all. So you're safe there."

"I will remember that, if I ever begin to really crave dessert." A pause.

"It's really a moot point, though."

"Why?" he asks. "Not planning on going to any church socials with me?"

She shoots him a look which tells all.

He chuckles and shakes his head. "My mother will be so disappointed."

"Yes, well, we all know your mother is a lost cause," she says, comfortable with the story now, slipping her hand into his.

"She tries her best," he says. "She's just a bit old-fashioned, that's all."

"Eh," she says, non-committally.

"She does like you. She wouldn't be planning to visit if she didn't--I did tell you about the visit, I hope?"

"You definitely did not," she says.

"No?" he says. "She wants to come by in the summer. With my father. She wants to go to a Broadway show, and is hoping it will be a sort of bonding experience with you. Maybe go shopping."

"Well, we won't be shopping together, for sure..."

"You wouldn't even go up to Macy's with her?" he asks. "She'd probably buy you some things. Or ask your help for buying things for me. You know my tastes better than she does."

"Macy's? Really?" She looks pitifully at him.

"She's watched the Thanksgiving parade on television every year since she's had a TV," he says. "That, and Rockefeller Center, are New York for her."

"That... is unfortunate, to say the least."

"So you've got a golden opportunity to show her the real New York. It'll be a lot of fun, I promise."