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 Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2015 10:10 pm
"Whichever's quickest," Maia said. "I think I'll rest a bit after getting home." Shopping was more tiring than she'd thought it'd be. Tiring, and fun! "I'll race you from the car to the house, then. Let's go."
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Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 8:56 am
Toby chose the more direct route through the inside of the mall. It was a quiet sort of trek. Nobody was looking into stores or at the goods on the kiosks, they were just ready to leave. He could see that Maia was tired, but at least her spirits were still high. It must be hard to go from living alone in the ocean to buzzing through a shopping mall. It was like bringing a toddler out for a day trip. By the end they were ready to nap, through no fault of their own.
When they reached the driveway back home, Toby leaned over toward the back seat. "You still wanna race?"
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Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 9:21 am
Maia unbuckled her seat belt, grinning at Toby. "Course," she said. "Ready?" she asked. Tired or not, she had enough energy to race him to the door. She exited the car and waited for him. "Go!" She made a dash for the front door; after they got inside, they'd be able to set up her laptop!
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Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 9:26 am
Toby ran halfheartedly down the driveway and up onto the front landing with her bags in his arms. He had the keys, so even though Maia beat him there there was nowhere for her to go. He unlocked the door with a little difficulty and pushed it open for Maia to enter. Dari came up casually behind.
"Are we going to be going anywhere else tonight?" Dari asked.
"No, I don't think so. You can clean up if you want."
Dari nodded, and when he entered he made a beeline for the bathroom. Soon he'd be clean and smelling of citrus.
"Do you still want to rest?" Toby asked Maia. He could take the time to clean up a bit, or something else productive. He may still once Dari was involved in setting up her laptop. Let Dari have his fun. He clearly enjoyed computers and so he should be the one to help Maia, even if Toby had been working with computers for a much longer time.
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Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 9:40 am
Maia made no comment about winning, and instead waited for Toby to open the door. She walked inside, stretched, and made her way to the couch. "I'm going to wait for Dari and watch him set up my laptop," she said, flashing Toby a smile. "Thank you for taking me, it was fun! Let's get Dari milkshakes more often, I think he really likes them."
She nested on the couch, looking towards him. "You could go get washed up or whatever, you must be tired too. Carrying all those things!"
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Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 9:44 am
"Of course," Toby replied, softly nodding. He was fine himself. No naps needed. "Don't be offended if he doesn't take them, though. Anything he eats makes him proportionately bigger, and that means he has to change his shape." Toby remembered a very small, almost pre-teen Dari sitting in the lab, waiting for more sustenance to grow to a proper size.
"Oh, no, I'm fine. I think I'm just going to clean up a bit. Take inventory." He offered her a smile. "Can I get you anything?" He realized that she had been here for a few days, but at times she seemed uncomfortable with getting up and doing things herself, like she was intruding. He didn't want it to be that way, but it was, so he felt the need to offer.
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Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 9:58 am
"I won't get them too often," she promised. She wished there was a way for Dari to enjoy food without any negative effects. "Can I help?" she asked, rising off of the couch. If Toby needed help cleaning, it was the least she could do. He was allowing her to stay here, after all. "Taking inventory so you know what to buy tomorrow?"
"I'm good," she said, to his question. She'd definitely had had enough to eat at the restaurant.
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Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 10:03 am
"If you want to?" All of this domesticity was undoubtedly new to Maia. Nobody who had lived any amount of time as a human wanted to clean, not usually. It still had to be done, though. "You don't have to. You said you wanted to rest, so you should rest." He was off to the kitchen, getting himself a glass of ice water and nodding. "I might as well get a head start."
The sounds of Dari's shuffling could barely be heard. He was cleaning off, wiping down, relaxing back into a more comfortable state. There was a cloudy spot in his chest where the milkshake rested, now mixing with the rest of his insides. Liquids and semi-liquids were fairly easy to 'digest' as he lab workers liked to say.
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Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 10:41 am
"The mall wore me out, but being home is rest enough, I think," Maia assured him. "So many places to go and see all at once, it was overwhelming! I loved it, though." She followed him into the kitchen. "Thank you for taking me," she said.
"I think he'll be busy a while," she said, glancing towards the bathroom. "I can always relax later. What needs done?"
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Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 10:47 am
"I can imagine," Toby said with a nod and a smile, "I'm glad you liked it, though, and you're welcome." She could have been terrified of all of the action or too tired to function but here she was, ready to help him clean.
"A little vacuuming? The countertops, the kitchen floor." It'd have plenty of time to dry before dinner time. "Have you ever done this before?" Her house on the beach had been clean, but that easily could have been due to misuse. She was never in it, so why would it be messy?
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Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 10:57 am
"I've cleaned before," Maia assured him. "Basic things, I had to make my house look lived in, didn't I? Or someone would've assumed the owner had died and it'd be back on the market. And I don't like spiders, so I had to get rid of webs. They kept showing up. I'll wash the counters, do you want to do the vacuuming? I've never used a vacuum before."
She looked around for a wash cloth. "Is there a particular soap you use for the counters?"
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Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 11:02 am
"Do you want to learn to use the vacuum?" The only carpets were upstairs, but that didn't mean there wasn't crud on the floors. Some of it might have to be mopped, but that could wait for tomorrow. They were only two people. Well, three now. He ducked beneath the sink and opened a cabinet, bringing out a disinfecting spray and wobbling it at Maia. Maybe he should do the windows too... when was the last time he'd done the windows?
All of a sudden he realized that his excitement about cleaning was probably just due to having someone new to help. Six hands were better than four, especially when two of them couldn't quite heft the vacuum up the stairs.
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Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 11:15 am
Maia considered his question before nodding. "I'd like that," she said. She took the disinfecting spray and started on the counters. Spraying and then wiping them down with the washcloth, it did seem like she'd had some experience cleaning. "Do you do this every time, before you go grocery shopping?" she asked.
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Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 11:23 am
"No," Toby admitted. "I actually hate cleaning. It just has to be done." And it hadn't been done in a while what with Maia's case cropping up so suddenly. "Don't feel like you have to keep helping, though. Once Dari's out I'm sure he'll want to get your computer started up." The house wasn't that big. It'd only take two hours for a scrub-down, and he liked to think he kept everything organized that he didn't need anything really picked-up.
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Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 11:33 am
"I like helping," Maia said, "It's different. I never really had anyone to help before, I really enjoy it." It was something she'd decided she wanted to do, once she found a job. She finished the counter she'd been working on and moved to another section. "The computer can wait until we're done," she said. "If you hate something, it's better to do it with a friend, right?"
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