Package Deal

The doorbell rang, then rang again. Lauren was in the shower, but as it rang the third time, she opened the window in there and yelled down.

“Hold on, I’ll be right there.” She saw Rick, her sister’s boyfriend standing there with a bouquet of flowers.

She turned off the water, then stepped out and put on her terry cloth robe. It was old and faded blue, and only came to the tops of her thighs, but it was the most modest thing she had in the bathroom at the moment. Answering the door with only a towel wrapped around her was not something she was prepared to do, even though her towel was bigger and would have covered more of her than the bathrobe did. It was just the principle of the thing.

She opened the door and invited Rick in. “Shellie’s not here right now, but she’ll be here in an hour or so.” she told him. “You can watch TV until she gets back, okay? I’m going to go finish my shower.”

“Actually, I came here to see you.” he said. He held out the flowers to her. “These are for you, too.”

“Really?” she asked. “What for?”

“Well, I wanted to talk to you about Shellie and me.” he said. “Would you sit with me on the couch?”

“Well, I was in the shower…” she said.

“This is important.” he told her, sitting down and patting the seat next to him. “It’s about me and Shellie’s future together.”

“Are you going to propose?” she asked breathlessly, taking the seat next to him. She raised one hand up to her mouth.

Their parents had died in a car accident a few years before, and Shellie was her legal guardian for anther year and a few months. Shellie had been 18 by just a few months when it happened, and Lauren just 14. Now Shellie was 21, and Lauren was only a few months from her 17th birthday.

“I already have, and she has said `yes` provisionally.” Rick told her.

“What does that mean?” Lauren asked. “Are you taking her away from me?”

“No, that’s the last thing I want to do.” he said. “What I want- what both Shellie and I want- is for you to be okay with this, and for the two of you to come live with me in Montana.”

“But I have school here! And all my friends!” Lauren cried out. “What about what I want?”

“That’s why I’m here to talk to you.” he said, patiently. “We’d really like it if you wouldn’t say `no` to this right away.” he told her. “Please give this some thought first. I know it’s a long way from your old school and everything you know, but truthfully, how many real friends do you have there?”

“Well, there’s, uh, there’s…” He could see her thinking hard to come up with a name, and failing to do so. She was a loner, really.

“See, you won’t really be leaving that much behind after all.” he said, gently. He reached out and took one of her hands in both of his. “I really do love the two of you, you know. I fully understand that you come as a package deal, and I would never want to come between the two of you.”

“But… Montana?” she asked, hesitantly. “It’s so far away!”

“It’s where my new promotion is taking me.” he said. “I want to take the two of you with me. Really, I’m trying to take the only good things I have ever liked about this city with me.”

“I…I don’t know what to say.” said Lauren, weakly. “What if I say `no?” she asked. “Are you and Shellie going to go without me?” She pulled her hand out of his.

“No, that’s not an option.” Rick told her, taking her hand back. “If you say `no`, then I’ll be going out west alone, and likely Shellie and I will never see each other again. I don’t like this city, and I won’t be coming back here. Ever.” He looked at Lauren deeply in her eyes.