MARK & ANASTASIA {ANASTASIA'S HOUSE}

[Wolfy]

Markus was awoken late in the night by a loud thunderstorm outside. Of course Milo, his lab puppy, was barking and whimpering the whole time, so had him to worry about, not to mention the sound of the howling wind and roaring thunder. So until the storm stopped, he was wide awake, comforting the puppy and trying to make sure that all the windows were closed. And then, out of the blue, he heard a loud crash from outside.

A large branch from one of his neighbor’s trees had fallen right next to the fence between them, narrowly missing their house and the fence. He realized that tomorrow, he would probably have to do a lot of clean-up work, since he worked for a flower shop as a landscaper. “Great,” he muttered as he grabbed Milo and went down the stairs to the basement to wait out the thunderstorm.

The next morning, he woke up lying on the old short couch that he’d placed down there for storage. Glancing at the clock, he saw that it was way late for him to be getting to work. “Oh no!” he said and hurried out the door. He made it to the shop late, and already had a heap of chores to do once he got there. Once he was done, he had about seven fallen trees to take care of.

The last one on his list that day was near his own house. So he left early from the shop to take care of it, and then would go home afterward. Milo came with, carrying Mark’s toolbox by a rope in his mouth. Mark had worked for weeks to train him to do that, and was extremely proud of it. He walked up to the door and rang the bell before looking around as he waited for the man who’d called to answer the door.

[Lenn]

Anastasia heard the doorbell ring and set down the book she had been reading with a frown. Having just changed out of her work clothes, she was wearing a loose shirt and her hair down; not exactly the best state to greet a guest. Standing up, she realized that someone had already beaten her to the door. Anastasia stood and carefully picked her way around the stacks of newspapers that lined the hall. Sam had forgotten so much that he had to constantly look at them to remind himself of which year it was, let alone who she was to him. She listened to the bell on the door tinkle as he opened the door.

“Hullo,” she heard Sam say dully. “What’s this a visit for?” Quickening her step, Anastasia hurried toward the door. Sam had probably failed to remember that he was the one who called for the tree to be removed in the first place. Sam turned around as he heard her footsteps in the hall. “Oh, hullo,” he said in exactly the same tone he had greeted the man outside their door. For a second, a glimmer of recognition flicked in his eyes, but it faded almost instantly. “This is, uh, my…” Sam trailed off, as if he had forgotten that he and Anastasia had been dating for almost two years. “My, er…”

“Never mind,” Anastasia said, pushing away her sadness. “I’ll take care of it. Go back inside.” Shrugging amiably, Sam ambled back into the shadows of the house. Straightening up to her not-so-tall height, which was made slightly more obvious by the considerable height of their visitor, Anastasia smiled politely at the young man in front of her. “Hello,” she said brightly, pulling her auburn hair to one side. “I’m sorry about that, really,” Anastasia announced apologetically. “My boyfriend Sam, he’s having a bit of a, ah, problem,” she hesitated for a moment, “with Rouge. You know how it is.” There was a pause before she stuck out a slender hand. “Anyways, you must be the man he called to clear the tree. It’s right around back, maybe you saw it on the way in. Sure was a bad storm last night. Can I offer you some water or a drink before you get started?”

[/size]

[Wolfy]

Markus looked a bit bewildered when a man came to the door and continued asking what he was there for. “I’m here about your fallen tree,” he said politely. When a young girl came to the door, he took off his hat with a dip of his head. “Good afternoon, ma’am,” he said in his western drawling voice. “Yes, I’m here about the tree.” As the man walked away, Mark couldn’t help but give him a confused look. Then he got his explanation from the girl in front of him.

“Oh, I see,” he said softly. “I’m quite sorry to hear that. It really is too bad what Rouge does to a person…” He suddenly realized that probably sounded really rude to say, so quickly switched the subject. “If you wouldn’t mind, I would love to have a glass of water. I’ve been cutting up fallen trees all day, as you can imagine.” He chuckled softly and stepped inside.

“It was one heck of a storm, you’re right,” he agreed. Before he shut the door, Milo ran inside, wagging his tail happily. “Oh, I’m sorry. I hope you don’t mind. This is my dog, Milo.” Embarrassed, he reached down and picked up the chocolate lab pup in his arms to get his paws off their rug. “I can put him outside if you don’t want him in the house.”

The puppy set down the box of supplies on the rug and looked up at Anastasia innocently. “You’re not allergic or anything, are you?” asked Mark. He would feel terrible if she was.

[Lenn]

Anastasia raised an eyebrow as she heard the man's low drawling voice. "Oh, don't be silly! Please do come in." She glanced down at the eager puppy, who proceeded to snuffle around the rug. Anastasia's eyes lit up. "Oh! A dog!" She turned around and beamed at her guest, looking for a minute more like a little girl than a twenty year-old woman. "I've always wanted to have a dog, but my parents wouldn't let me when I was little. We travel… well, used to travel," she amended, frowning slightly, "a lot and there was no-one around to take care of it when we were gone. Now I'm at work all day, can't leave the dog at home, and imagine my boss seeing a dog trailing me!" Anastasia laughed, a bright sound that seemed to fill up the empty hallway. She reached out a hand and patted the puppy on the head and then stood up awkwardly, remembering that she was basically wearing her pajamas. "Follow me, please."

Walking into the kitchen, Anastasia pulled open the cupboard and stood on her tiptoes to take down two glasses. "Sorry, it's a bit dusty," she said, gesturing to the dust motes that fluttered down in the afternoon light. "I'm too short to reach those high shelves," she pointed to the top of the the cupboard, "so whenever I open them, dust falls down." She shrugged, looking embarrassed. "Oh well. I'll get to it at some point." The truth was, Anastasia hadn't had anyone in her home but her and Sam for months now, and since she was usually very organized and clean, having a visitor see the state of the house which she was responsible for cleaning was mortifying. Not to mention that fact that she already looked like a mess, and a distasteful mess at that, Anastasia realized, looking down at an unsightly amount of bare leg that was exposed by her shorts. This man probably thought she was a total slob.

Blushing a bit, she turned around and opened the fridge, pulling out a jug of water. Pouring the water into the glasses, which sparkled in the sunlight, she handed one to the young man. "Here ya go, …," she trailed off. "I don't believe I heard your name?" Anastasia shot him a grin as she leaned back on the counter. Her hair looked very red in contrast to the tiled black-and-white wall. "And does… Milo," she added, remembering the dog's name, "want a drink?" she said, eying the puppy, who was busy rolling on the floor.

[/size]

[Wolfy]

Smiling happily, Mark set down Milo and followed her into her kitchen. He was a bit uncomfortable, because he didn’t know whether or not she was comfortable around him in her pajamas. But, like a gentleman, he wasn’t going to mention it. He just took the glass and smiled. “Well, thank you,” he said. He glanced down at Milo and chuckled. “And I’m sure he would like a drink, if you wouldn’t mind.”

He looked up at his host with a grateful smile. “My name is Mark Dawson,” he said. “And, I know that I’m just a landscaper, but maybe I could quick get those top shelves for you.” He shrugged, not wanting to seem like he was imposing. He just wanted to be helpful. “But, first thing’s first,” he said and looked out the window into the backyard.

He saw the fallen tree, toppled over with a ragged stump lying next to it. “Ah, what a shame,” he said, walking out the door into the backyard. “I had a tree just like this when I was young.” He stepped outside and sighed. “We tied a couple ropes to the branches, and had a board between them. Made a nice lil’ swing, it did.”

He looked at Milo and said, “Milo, tool-belt,” he said with a smile. “Fetch!” The puppy wagged his tail and grabbed the leather tool-belt in his mouth. He brought it over and dropped it in his hand. He reached in and pulled out his axe. Then he began chopping up the felled tree, so he could clear the pieces from their yard.