darlene mabry (visionsofearth) wrote in light_of_may, @ 2012-09-12 17:21:00 |
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So Reggie had a girlfriend. Okay, to be fair, he hadn’t used the word “girlfriend” in his texts, but that was how she was going to think of Keelin from here on out. It was just easier than referring to her as “that girl Reggie kissed after an eternity”. Outside of Ky, Darlene didn’t have a wide variety of friends. Most people fell into specific categories: former classmates, colleagues, acquaintances; but Reggie was definitely a friend. He had earned that title as one of the few that had endured Darlene long enough to become close to her. She had been there for him right after Morgan left and witnessed firsthand how hard it had been for him. Darlene admired Reggie for a lot of reasons, not only because he was a master elemental, but also because he had managed to keep everything together for his daughters. She had always been adamant that she would have been able to keep her head above water for Jin’s sake, but she didn’t fully believe that she would have been as emotionally stable if Ky packed up and left without a word. He was a great father, a trait that she marveled at every time she witnessed it, but it was beyond time for him to have something for himself. Reggie had plenty of friends, most of them female (ironically) and fully capable of defending his honor if the need arose, but none of them had the ability to get to know Keelin under “friendly neighbor” pretenses. Darlene’s mission tonight was not to make a friend for herself, but to make sure that the woman who had finally caught Reggie’s attention was well worth it. “Please try not to burn the house down while I’m gone.” Darlene might as well have been talking to a wall. She had tried to pull Jin off his game system, but without Ky to step in, her efforts were fruitless. Odds were likely that her son would never even realize she was gone, but who knew what he would get into if he suddenly popped out of his haze and realized she wasn’t there. Darlene slid one of many spare keys into her pocket as she attempted to balance the apple turnover and ice cream in her hand while she shut the door. “If you get bored, go knock on Reggie’s door and play with Bess.” Nothing, not even a “bye mom” as she pulled the door closed. “That boy is insufferable. What he needs is a firm hand,” Airie offered from his perch on her shoulder. “It’s a little late for that.” Pursing her lips, Darlene walked down the hall until she reached Keelin’s apartment. The two of them had met before when the Australian had moved into the building, but it had never been anything more than a quick hello in passing. Had it not been for Keelin and Reggie’s lip-locking, she would have been content to keep it that way. She shifted the desserts to her other hand when the burning cold from the ice cream started to hurt. "By the way," she turned her head to look at the bird as she knocked on the door. "Reggie said Keelin's familiar is bouncy, so you might want to stay up here." 'He's ...what? Why didn't you tell me before we walked over?' "It's Pugsley or Mr. Whiskers." Before Airie had the chance to ask what a Pugsley was, the door began to open. Darlene put on the friendliest smile she could manage to greet Keelin at the door. |