Page 7 of Falkner
Shaking her head, she ate her lunch quietly in the living room.She no longer used the kitchen for anything but cooking her meals, as the place was right next to the bedroom, her bedroom, and she knew that the scraping of the chairs and closing the cabinets was a bit loud.So she ate her soup on the couch with a tray so that Doone could sleep.It just wasn’t fair.
Meggie wanted her independence again.Without her daughter there to watch her every move.If she wanted to take a nap, she didn’t have to do it on a lumpy couch.Didn’t have to be extra quiet around the house.Not that she listened to music, but she could if her daughter wasn’t there all the time sleeping.And that’s all she did was sleep all the time.
She knew that she was working extra shifts to get some money gathered up to get an apartment, but it didn’t seem like she was looking all that much.Because if she wasn’t working, she was sleeping.Yesterday she’d been gone from seven in the morning until midnight and didn’t say a word to her about how she’d changed the sheets on the bed for her.It had been for her, too, but Doone was sleeping on them.She just couldn’t wait for her daughter to find herself a place to stay.
When she came out of the bedroom, she looked like she had not slept well.Her hair was a mess—all the curls were a riot on her head, and her uniform needed pressing.She’d not say anything to her; she didn’t want to get into another fight with her, but she did look like she was going out rather than going to work.
“I’m meeting a man about a place to stay soon.”Relief was so profound that she couldn’t speak for a few minutes.“His name is Falkner.Dixon is his last name.I’m not having any luck finding a place to stay in my price range, so he’s offered me one of the rooms in his house.”
“That’s wonderful news.”Doone just stared at her.“Well, isn’t it?You’ll be out in plenty of time, so I don’t have to worry about you getting me kicked out.That’s wonderful for me.”
“You don’t mind that I’m moving in with a strange man so long as it gives you what you want.”She didn’t understand why she was so upset.Neither one was going to be homeless this way.“I guess I thought that you’d at least be concerned about me moving in with a near stranger.Don’t you want to know anything about him?”
“Why would I care?”Doone went back into the bedroom with some of the clothing and took a shower.She didn’t know what was up with her, but she was thrilled beyond words that she was going to be moving out.And with her being gone, she could go back to the way things were for her.She just hoped that living with this man didn’t interfere with her being able to take her to the doctors when she had to go.Or shopping too.
When she came out of the bedroom and bathroom, she looked better.Not great, her hair was still very curly, but she did look better in a pair of new jeans and a t-shirt.She told her about the boxes that had come.
It occurred to her that when Doone left, she’d not really spoken to her very much.Not even an I’ll see you later was there.Meggie didn’t understand her daughter at times.She was going to have a place to stay, and that would mean that Meggie was going to be all right with her house.It was a win-win for them both, she thought.
After her daughter left, she sat in the kitchen thinking about what she was going to do today.The first thing she was going to do was change the sheets again.That way, she’d have fresh when she went to take her nap today.And it would be a glorious nap too.She might not even get up before dinner time, she was going to enjoy it so much.
She realized about halfway through changing her sheets that Doone hadn’t taken anything with her when she left.That meant that she was returning at some point.Disappointment raced all over, and she sat down on the edge of the bed and sobbed.She wanted her life back to the way it was without her daughter around.Damn it all the hell and back.Why couldn’t things go her way for a change?
Finishing up with the bed, she ran a damp mop over the kitchen.The bathroom was cleaned up after her daughter’s shower—she couldn’t find fault with her there, she always cleaned up after herself when she used something.Even if she hadn’t done her dishes from lunch, Doone would get them squared away without any fuss.She’d been leaving her dishes around just so she’d not have to do them, and Doone would.It was the least she could do since she was sharing her house with her, that she cleaned up after her.
Depressed now that she knew that Doone was coming back to stay, she finished up the rest of her housework and sat on the couch.She should have suggested that she take her things with her so that she’d not have to come back.She could only hope that the man she was going to be living with didn’t change his mind about her living with him.That would be just like her daughter to get her hopes all up, only to have them dashed again when it didn’t turn out to be true.It was just too cruel.
When lunch time rolled around, she fixed herself something to eat and left all the dirty dishes in the sink.Doone had better clean up after her, too.It was the least she could do after getting her hopes all up and then dashing them.She just wanted her place to herself and not have her daughter around.Was that too much to ask?
It was nearly two when someone pulled into the driveway.It wasn’t her daughter, so she watched as a man and a woman got out of the big car.Waiting for them to ring the doorbell, she was surprised at how wealthy they looked.Letting them in the house when they told her they were there to pick up Doone’s clothing, she started to think about what her daughter might be doing.It would be just like her to get herself into a situation where it would hurt her.She should have asked more questions about her moving out.
“We came to get her things for her.She and Falkner are working things out on their end.”She asked how they were related as she gathered up her daughter’s things to be taken away.“Oh, Falkner is my husband’s brother.He lives in a grand house that used to belong to their parents.They moved into something smaller.”
“He forced his parent out?Well, that’s what it felt like Doone was doing to me.Having me forced out because she was staying here for too long.She only has about a week left before we bothwould have been homeless.”The woman looked shocked, but she was so happy to have Doone’s things taken out that she didn’t care.“I know that she helped me get this place and all, but I don’t deserve to be homeless just because she is.I’m glad that she’s moving out.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”She said it was all right now.Doone had finally gotten herself someplace to stay that wasn’t here.“You mentioned that before, how you didn’t want her living here any longer than necessary.I’m sorry to hear that.Doone seems like a very good person.”
“Oh, she is when she’s not taking over my house.I just want things to be back to the way they were before.Without her around.”Meggie laughed a little and stared at the couple.“I’ve forgotten your names already.I guess that’s all right.Will you please remind Doone that I have a doctor’s appointment in the morning?For her not to be late.I so hate being late for things, and she knows that.”
“Yes, I’ll remind her.I’m sure she knows.”Meggie nodded and laughed again.She was nearly giddy with the thought of Doone being out of her home that she wanted to dance a little bit of a jig.“You have a well-deserved life, Mrs.McFarlen.You get just what you need.”
“Oh, I will now that I have things back to the way I want them to be.Doone will be all right with this other person, and we’ll be back to her taking me places and not being here all the time.It wasn’t a good time for me to have her here all the time.It almost makes me wish that she’d not come here that night at all.I know that sounds cruel, but it’s just messed up my life so much to have Doone here all the time.Well, when she wasn’t working.She certainly did work a great deal while she was staying here, too.”
After they left, she felt lighter again.Like everything was back to the way that it should have been.She had her place back; she could make as much noise as she wanted, and she could take long naps in the afternoon in her own bed like she wanted.It was all perfect.
She did wonder about the man that Doone was going to be living with.She hoped that he was at least tolerant of her and didn’t want to send her packing soon after moving in.Maybe he’d help her find someplace to live if he didn’t want her living with him anymore.Or better yet, she would have saved enough money up so that she could find a place of her own.However it worked out, she was simply thrilled that she wasn’t living with her anymore.
She got a message from Doone telling her that she’d be there first thing in the morning, that she had to work in the afternoon, so there would be no time for lunch.That was her favorite part of the outings that she had was Doone paying for them a nice, fancy lunch.She could forgive her this one time for not being able to do it, but not after this time.She needed those lunches as much as she did her own place.She felt that Doone sort of owed her lunch, too, for all the things that she’d had to give up while she was living with her.
She’d given up a great deal, too, to have her daughter living with her.Mostly, it was her freedom.It didn’t seem to matter to Doone that she’d lost so much with her living with her, and she wanted her to respect her losses, too.Just because she was homeless because of her apartment burning down didn’t mean that she had to give up everything that Doone had worked so hard to get for her.It simply wasn’t fair of her to think that she’d been completely all right with her living in her home.She was going to have to talk to her about it and have her thank her for all that she’d done for her daughter.She had given up her bed for her.The least that she could do was to show her thanks a little more.
Yes, she thought, she’d have a talk with her when she picked her up tomorrow.She’d tell her what she’d given up in order for her to have a roof over her head, and thought that she should be a little more appreciative about it.
~*~
Falkner was glad that Doone was going to be staying at his home.It made him feel like he could protect her better with her being there.She had messaged him, the only way that they’d been able to talk at work, and told him that she was having no luck finding a place and wondered if his offer of her staying with him was still open.He nearly danced around the room when he heard from her and told her yes, it was forever open for her to live with him.
He’d told his family that he’d found Doone, and they couldn’t wait to meet her.But he didexplain that she’d been homeless, living with her mother in a cramped one-bedroom house that the government was subsidizing.He also explained how he was going to be living with her, but not in the same room.Mom and Dad thought that he was great for doing that for her, but he wasn’t so sure.He felt like he should be doing more for her, but she wasn’t having it.This was temporary, she’d told him, just until she could find herself something on her own.Then she’d told him about her mom.
