Romance of a Rock Band

Monique

It was so much fun going to the mall with Annie. She has been so shy since she came to live with us, but at the mall she was running everywhere. She wanted to see everything. I felt so bad when we had to leave to go get Tony. But she was okay. She was just glad to be there for a while. We’ll have to go back soon, when we have more time.

Finally we made it home. Tony had gone into the kitchen, the first place he goes when e gets home from the gym. Annie sat down on the end of the sofa near the floor lamp and picked up a book she had left on the coffee table last night. I sat down next to her. She had gone back to her quiet, shy self. I felt almost sad looking at her…

“What? Is something wrong?” she asked, noticing me staring.

“No, nothing,” I answered. I hesitated for just a second. “Would you like to go back to the mall next weekend?”

“Sure!” she answered quickly.

“Okay!” I said happily. “Do you want Jen to come this time?”

“Yeah. That sounds fun,” she said. She was smiling again as she went back to her book. I felt rather good about myself after that. Tony finally came back from the kitchen with a bag of potato chips and plopped down in the chair across from the sofa.

“Does it really made and sense at all to go to the gym, and then eat a whole bag of potato chips?” Annie asked.

“She speaks!” shouted Tony. Annie looked a little embarrassed.

He’s such a child, I thought. Why does he never think before he speaks? He seemed to notice.

“I was just kidding, Annie,” he said apologetically. “I haven’t heard you say a word since this morning…” He sounded almost hurt.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly.

“You shouldn’t say that all the time,” he said. “It will lose meaning.”

“Okay,” she said, looking a little shocked. We sat in silence for a few minutes.

“Well,” I said, standing up. “I should probably get us some dinner. What do you want to eat, Annie?”

“Ummm I don’t really know,” she said.

“Burgers!” Tony shouted.

“I’m not making you anything!” I said.

“What?!” he demanded. “Why not?!”

“Because you just ate a whole bag of potato chips! You can’t be hungry already!” I retorted. I looked back at Annie to see that she was struggling to hold back a laugh. What’s so funny, I wondered. I thought for a second and couldn’t suppress a giggle at how we must look to her. That must have been enough to break her, because she went into a fit of giggles, dropping her book on the floor. Tony looked confused for a minute, and I watched as he figured it out couldn’t keep it in either. So Annie sat on the sofa, Tony sat in the chair, and I stood in the middle of the floor, and we laughed. Just laughed. This lasted for all of eight minutes.

“Okay,” I said, still half laughing. “That’s enough now. I will make burgers and salad now for Annie and me, and you can heat up what you want later. Okay?”

“Yeah,” said Tony, trying to stop laughing.

“Yeah,” said Annie, who had almost stopped.

“Good,” I said, glad to come to an agreement, however stupid the argument may have been. Because I was not going to make him dinner after he stuffed himself with potato chips.