The Revelation #12

*Hey, Ash, long time no see!*
*Lee looks really peaceful, I’ll tell the girls to keep it down.*
*Why don’t you guys just move to the bedroom, Joe and I want to set up the new TV.*
*Which flat screen did you get?*
*The forty-two inch, Billy wanted to get a bigger one but Maria wouldn’t let him! They got into it at the TV store, so Ann and I just went to the counter and paid for this one!*
*Well, we now know who wears the pants in your relationship! Ash come on we want to watch the game, it’s about to start.*
*She’ll wake up if I move her. Go home and watch it there!*
*Oh come on, Ash!*
*No!*
*I’m setting it up anyway!*
*Billy…*
*Ash, let him. Maria will have his head if it wakes Lee up!*
*Go help Ann unpack.*
*If Ann and I end up in a room alone, we won’t be unpacking we’d be undressing, and anyway, I want to watch the game!*
“Ewww, Billy! I really didn’t need to hear that!” Lee shook her head, trying to get rid of the image of Billy and her sister naked. “Ash, let them set up the TV, I’m awake anyway, so much for keeping it down, Joe.” She lifted herself up on the couch reluctantly, kissing Ash on the nose before she got off completely. Then she noticed the bewildered faces staring at her, their eyes were about to pop out of their socket!
“Is everything okay?”
“Sure...everything is…fine.” Ash managed to answer as he sat up, but he still looked surprised.
“Then why are you all looking at me like I sprouted wings or something?” Their eyes darted to the ground except for Ash. His eyes had softened.
“Nothing, go say hi to your sisters, it’s been awhile.”
She walked away slowly, still a bit confused by their reaction, but that was washed away when she heard Maria’s chirpy laugh come from Ann’s room.
“Hi guys! I’d missed you so much!” She hugged Ann then Maria, sitting next to her on Ann’s bed.
“I bet. What you meant to say is ‘I wish you guys hadn’t come back’.” Lee laughed, Ann was a little close to the truth.
“As much as I loved being alone here with Ash, I really did miss you.”
“You’re back together, for good this time?” Maria asked, worry dominating her voice.
“For the rest of our existence,” she said repeating Ash’s words.
“What?” Ann stopped unpacking and looked at her. “What do you mean by that?”
“When he tells me, I’ll let you know.” Ash had been saying a lot of cryptic things to her, some that implied marriage, but he never came out and said it straight. She was glad; as much as she loved him she wasn’t ready for such a commitment, not after Steve, not until she completely knew Ash—not even after that.
She shivered remembering the agony in Ash’s voice. He was so sure she would leave him after he told her the truth. The conviction in his voice scared her, she wasn’t sure how she would react, but she hoped that when the time came, she would keep an open mind.
“So, how about a ladies’ night out? We’re done with finals, we’ve been tied up with our boyfriends, and we haven’t had time for us.” Lee needed a distraction, and a girl’s night out was always crazy enough to do the job.
“Yeah, I’m down for that!” Ann was always willing to go out clubbing.
“What about Ash’s psycho friend? I don’t think he’ll let you go out without him.” Maria had resurrected a ghost Lee had forgotten about.
“I don’t think she’s dangerous, she does need to make a reservation at a loony bin, but she’s harmless, otherwise, she would have done something when she came.”
“Lee’s right, and just in case she’s wrong, I brought our toys from the shooting range.” Ann pulled out her nine-millimeter pistol out of her bag.
“Are you crazy? What am I saying? You are crazy!” Maria was on her feet. Her voice was raised.
“What, they are just for insurance!”
“What if it goes off?”
“It won’t!”
Lee moved from the bed and stepping away from the nose of the barrel that was now pointed at her. “Ann, is that thing loaded, because I don’t like the direction it’s pointing.”
“Sorry.” She pointed the gun down. “And it’s not, I’m not that crazy!”
“Ann, take those things back, now!” Maria’s voice had climbed higher, her face red and annoyed.
“Okay, okay, I’ll take them back tomorrow.” Ann put them in her top drawer before she turned to Maria with a smile. Lee laughed; they all knew she didn’t mean a word she said.
Maria exhaled, not out of relief but defeat. “What time do we leave? I need a drink.” They laughed; Maria sounded as defeated as she looked.
“Right after dinner.” Lee gave Maria a hug. She knew how hard it was for her to let Ann get away with her crazy stunts.