Summary: An AU series. When MC first imagined who her off campus roommate might be, her mind flipped through all kinds of possibilities. But there was no way she could have predicted that she would wind up rooming with Chris Powell, and there was no way that she could have prepared herself for what came next.
Chapter 2: I Met A Girl
Christopher Powell
Four years earlier…
The day was here: the day before college classes start, the day before students would officially leave their high school lives behind, the day that parents would help their kids move into their dorm rooms or apartments. This day was the jumping off point of all kinds of new beginnings. And among those looking forward to such new beginnings was Christopher Powell of Cherryfield, Maine. Christopher, who typically went by Chris, had felt bittersweet about packing up his things and leaving Cherryfield in the rearview. Like many teenagers, he had spent his whole life there, developing close friendships, making a name for himself in high school football, and calling the colorful foliage and sparkling rivers his home. But it had been time for Chris to discover new things, he thought. It had been time for him to explore the world beyond the confines of Cherryfield’s lobster shacks and blueberry fields. It had been time for him to learn what it’s like to live in a space that didn’t include his pesky younger brother and sister, no matter how much he loved those little rascals. And that was precisely why Chris had decided to seek out off campus housing. As much as he was looking forward to meeting new people at college, that didn’t mean he wanted to have them all in close quarters on a regular basis. One roommate was good enough, Chris thought.
Once his mom had assisted him in choosing an apartment that was local to the university and reasonable on rent and utilities, it had been time to meet prospective roommates. He hadn’t been sure just what to expect, whether there would be a list of guys who were interested or whether he even had a choice in the matter. What surprised him, however, was when the Powells hadn’t heard from any interested parties up until just three weeks before the fall semester began. They had started to get nervous that Chris would need to make up the rent by himself or find a different place to live, and so they had quickly started to intensify their search efforts with flyers on campus and ads posted on every website they could find. It wasn’t until a week and a half later that Mrs. Powell was contacted by the parents of another freshman student who had been relieved to find an open apartment at such late notice.
After receiving their call, Mrs. Powell had immediately set up a time to meet the other student so that Chris could become acquainted and so that she could speak to the parents in person. It was August nineteenth and the weather was still fairly hot when Chris and his mother parked the car on the street and climbed out, squinting in the afternoon sun. Chris’s medium brunette locks shone golden in the daylight as he combed his fingers through them. He and his mother walked leisurely toward a building whose ground floor was a storefront. The signage read ‘Maria’s’ in large block letters and advertised on the windows as a Russian American Grocery Shop. The exterior was charming but worn, clearly having stood on this corner for many, many years. Just upstairs from the store was a second floor apartment with windows overlooking the street.
“Are you ready to meet your roommate?” Mrs. Powell asked with a grin and nudged her son with her elbow.
“It’s now or never, right?” Chris replied with a shrug.
“Well, I wouldn’t worry, you get along well with everyone,” she said as she opened the door on the left and motioned for him to head into the building. They began to ascend a staircase.
Chris breathed out a laugh, lowering his voice as it echoed within the narrow stairway, “Let’s just hope he’s not a smoker or a thief or–”
Chris’s words were cut off when he reached the top of the staircase to see a girl and her parents lingering down the hallway. His eyes flickered toward his mother, who looked back at him hesitantly.
“You were saying?”
In response, Chris only gulped and straightened his posture. They walked toward the family who was standing in front of the apartment’s entrance and they each put on a friendly smile.
“Hi! Sandra and Michael, it’s so nice to meet you both,” she reached out her hand to one and then the other, “we spoke on the phone”.
Sandra leaned into Mrs. Powell for a friendly hug while Michael reached forward and offered a firm handshake, saying “Please, call me Mickey”. He smiled warmly from under his scruffy beard.
Mrs. Powell gestured beside her to her son, who pulled his hands out of his pockets to shake each adult’s hand. “This is my son and, my pride and joy, Chris”. Chris blushed in response. He reached his hand behind his head to scratch the back of his neck.
“And you must be Mia!” Mrs. Powell exclaimed as she turned toward the couple’s daughter, who had stood alongside them quietly, occasionally peeking a glance at Chris. “It is such a pleasure to meet you, honey,” she said, followed by a tight hug that came unexpected to the girl. She stiffened at first but quickly relaxed.
“I go by MC,” she smiled, “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Powell”.
“Oh, please, call me Barb”.
Chris had been hesitant as to whether or not he should shake MC’s hand, but as everyone else had exchanged some sort of greeting, he thought it lame to just smile and wave. Going in for the kill, he extended his hand to the young lady standing before him.
She was slightly smaller in stature than he, and she carried an average build, not petite or lanky. She wore a Nirvana t-shirt tucked loosely into a pair of denim shorts and a flannel shirt tied around her waist. She stood firmly in a pair of brown boots which laced up above her ankles. As his gaze traveled upward, his eyes fell upon her face, whose features were soft and framed by shoulder length, chocolate brown hair. It moved when she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, pieces of blonde peeking out from the ends. A pair of straight eyebrows sat atop her black coffee eyes, which blinked back at him. He inhaled.
“Hey…” was all he could muster. He took her hand and shook it.
MC seemed to pick up on the nerves in Chris’s voice. She returned his smile with one of her own. It was bright and playful. “Hey,” she chuckled softly.
They looked at each other for another few brief, awkward moments until Barb cleared her throat.
“Well, now that we’re all here, would you like to take a look inside?” She chimed, pointing to the closed door to her right. Everyone nodded in agreement as she smiled and retrieved a key from her purse to unlock the apartment.
Stepping inside after MC and her parents, Chris laid eyes on the space he had visited once before. They walked straight into the eat-in kitchen and could see the living room straight ahead beyond the kitchen island and the tiny dining table, which just barely had room for three. Barb looked at Chris and urged him gently to take the lead. Clearing his throat, he began leading the group through the kitchen, past the bathroom to the right and into the living room, which came with a couch, but needed a coffee table, television and some additional lighting. To the left of the living room were two bedrooms directly next to one another. Each needed a mattress and some decorative flair.
“The landlord and his wife said that their last tenants were also college students who recently graduated. They took most of their personal items but left some decorative pieces behind. Overall, it’s not much but, it’s clean and it would do the job,” Chris concluded with a head nod.
Barb jumped in, “The university is less than ten minutes away by car or mass transit. There’s actually a bus across the street whose line stops directly in front of campus. Plus, there’s a laundromat just two stores down, a local coffee shop and chinese takeout within walking distance; and not to mention, they would literally be living upstairs from a grocery store! It may not be big and commercial but, it’s charming and, for college students, it’s got just about everything these two will need”.
“What do you think of the owners? The landlord and his wife, they own the store, right?” Sandra asked.
“Niko and Maria are married and have owned and run that store together for forty years. They’re the nicest people I’ve probably ever met,” Chris stated.
MC turned her face from the window, “They run the business together? That’s so cute!” She smiled.
“Yeah,” Chris went on, looking toward MC, “I only spoke with them briefly the last time we were here, but I can tell Niko is a real romantic”. He smiled to himself, remembering his first interaction with his potential landlord.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Sokolov,” Chris offered as he shook the man’s hand. His grip was tight despite his elderly features and slouched posture. His hair was gray underneath the ascot cap he wore. He smiled back at Chris.
“My name is Niko,” he corrected, winking, “but I am happy to know that politeness and respect is still of value to some of your generation”.
“And so handsome, isn’t he, Nik?” said Niko’s wife as she came up beside him.
“Don’t embarrass him, Maria,” he waved in her direction and she stuck out her tongue, “Christopher, do you have a girlfriend?”
Chris chuckled to himself as slightly as he could manage. He looked down at the checkout counter and then back up at Niko, “Ah, no, sir, I do not”.
The old man pointed a finger toward Chris and fixed his face carefully. “When you find love, you will never need anything else in your life. Don’t sleep on that, Christopher,” he said. His voice sounded nostalgic to Chris.
“Thank you, sir,” he responded, smiling, “I won’t”. Chris looked over at his mother, who was browsing the aisles of the store, likely assessing whether shopping here would be any good for a college student like Chris. He turned back to the man standing on the other side of the counter. “If you don’t mind me asking, Niko, how did you meet your wife?” He began to scan some of the impulse items below the counter, such as packs of gum, bags of candy, and tubes of chapstick.
“Oh, Nik, tell him the story. That’s a great story,” Maria called from the shelf she was stocking.
“It only gets better and better with each time I tell it,” Niko said before beginning, “So, I was eighteen years old, a strapping young man, not too different from yourself, Christopher. My hair was much thicker and much blonder back then. My buddy says to me one day, ‘Niko, you have got to meet this girl. I’ll tell you, you’re just going to love each other’. I said, ‘Is she beautiful?’ and he said, ‘Oh, of course, you’re going to love her. Just call her up’. So, I took my friend’s advice because I thought, what have I got to lose, right? And I go to her place to pick her up for our date. I knock on the door and, Christopher, the most beautiful woman I had ever seen came to open it. I’ll never forget, she was in a purple dress. I was beside myself. And I said, ‘Are you Rebecca?’ and she said, ‘No, I’m Maria! Rebecca is my roommate! She’ll be out in just a minute’. When I tell you I had never done something so ballsy in my whole life, Christopher… I mean… I touched her arm and I said, ‘I’ve got to say, Maria, I would much rather be taking you out with me tonight’. And she looked so surprised. Even I was surprised. But I meant it!” Niko giggled.
Chris was enthralled, “So, what happened?” he asked.
“It turns out that Rebecca, the girl I was supposed to be set up with, was having cold feet about the whole thing. And so, with a lot of charm and a little persuasion, I got the girl I wanted to come out on the town with me. I haven’t looked at another woman since”.
Maria guffawed, “Oh, don’t insult his intelligence, Nik!”
Chris laughed, “Wow! What are the chances that you would meet the love of your life on accident like that? You’re right, Maria, it is a great story”. He grinned as he placed a pack of gum and a water bottle on the counter in front of him. “How much do I owe you?”
“Listen, Christopher, this is important,” Niko said and Chris lifted his gaze from his wallet, “I look at Maria and I could never hope for a better partner, in business or in life”. He paused before saying, “$3.25”.
Chris nodded, taking mental note of what Niko was telling him. He wasn’t sure what to make of all of this. Was Niko a wise old man or a lonely shopkeeper who was overly invested in giving advice? Either way, he couldn’t help but feel taken by him. He smiled as he fingered through the bills in his wallet and took out a five.
“Niko,” Maria shouted as she neared closer to the counter, “I thought I told you to call the baker on Tuesday! We don’t have any bread!”
“Quit nagging me, I’ll get to it!” he insisted. As she huffed and turned on her heel to walk away, he called after her, “I love you, sweetheart!”
Chris looked from Niko to Maria, and then to his mother, who had settled beside him. He shook his head.
“I love when she gets mad at me,” Niko whispered, “She’s so cute when she’s mad”. He grinned as he handed Chris his change.
“They sound like my parents, don’t they, Mickey?” Sandra laughed, looking up at her husband.
“Dear God, I hope not,” Mickey muttered, earning Sandra’s elbow in his side. He laughed and kissed her softly on her head.
The Campbells politely excused themselves as they slipped into the hallway to discuss their thoughts on the apartment. Barb looked at Chris with fingers crossed on both hands. He smiled at her.
“Mom, seriously? You just forgot to mention that the interested student was a girl?”
Barb’s face fell as she let out a breath she was holding in, “Not cool, huh?”
Chris rolled his eyes, “Not exactly!”
“I’m sorry, sweetie, it’s just… I knew if I told you, you would have doubts about rooming with a girl and I didn’t want you to make a rash decision without meeting her first! Am I wrong?”
Chris looked at the floor and then back at his mom. He sighed, “Listen, I understand where you’re coming from and all, but you could have warned me. I acted like an idiot in front of her”.
Barb’s mouth curled up into a jeering smile. She pulled her son close and ruffled his hair. “Aww, don’t be nervous, Chris, you’ve handled girls before”. She taunted him lovingly and he swatted her hand away from his hair. She giggled.
Chris smiled as his cheeks blushed slightly. He inhaled, “Well, it’s not like we have any other takers so, it looks like I’m gonna give it a try”.
“‘Atta boy,” Barb said with a soft hand on her son’s back.
Sandra, Michael and MC entered the apartment once again from the hallway. With a smile, Sandra addressed Barb and Chris. “We are all happy with the location of this place and it seems as though things are in order. MC likes the space, although with just two weeks left before classes, she really doesn’t have much of a choice in the matter,” she chuckled, looking at her daughter.
MC stepped forward, “I would really appreciate if you and I could talk a little about what we would expect of one another as roommates, Chris. If that’s okay?”
“Of course,” Chris replied as he extended his arm toward the dining nook, “Shall we?” He grinned before walking with MC to the table and pulling out her chair. She thanked him gently before sitting down.
“You two go ahead and we will be downstairs when you’re ready,” Barb said, shooting Chris a wink. She left a copy of the apartment key on the table in front of him before she and MC’s parents shuffled into the hallway and shut the door behind them.
MC’s gaze shifted from the door to the table, where Chris was resting his arms. They made eye contact, which Chris held confidently. He considered where to start.
“So… you can choose whichever bedroom you would want between the two. It doesn’t make a difference to me,” he nodded.
“Oh…” MC said, “Well, thanks! That would be cool”. Some silence followed. A warm smile formed on her face before she took a quick breath, “Hey, if we’re going to be roommates, there’s no reason for us to have an awkward start. I feel like we might as well just… jump in”. She shrugged.
Chris laughed with his hand cupped around the nape of his neck, “Alright then, agreed. Head first”.
MC nodded her head encouragingly.
“So… MC… is that like Master of Ceremonies? Do you moonlight as a rapper?” He teased.
The girl before him rolled her eyes slightly, “No, but, props for coming up with a joke that I haven’t gotten… I don’t know… a hundred times?” She sucked in her lower lip as she looked at him playfully.
“Calling me out on my shit. I respect that,” he pursed his lips. “So what’s it stand for?”
“It stands for Mia Catherine. When I was little there were a lot of girls named Mia in my classes so we wanted to be different and… over the years it just stuck”.
“I could see that,” Chris nodded, thinking about how different MC seemed from most girls he had ever met. He paused for a moment. “Just tell me this… Are you a smoker, a thief, or a slob?”
The brunette threw her head back with laughter, “All good questions!” She said, “Uh, I am not a smoker,” she began to count on her fingers, “and I am not a thief. My bedroom may get a little chaotic because I’ve got a lot of clothes and a lot of projects, but don’t worry, I wouldn’t dream of messing up our common areas. I’m pretty good about that”.
Chris nodded and then cocked his head, “You mentioned something about projects?”
“Yeah, I’m a photographer and an aspiring videographer so I’ve got a good amount of equipment and lots of photos. I’m gonna be majoring in media studies,” She explained.
“Wow, that’s so cool,” Chris stated genuinely, “I’m not much of a creative. I’m a physical therapy major and I’m playing football for the Knights, so you might just need to worry about smelly gym socks on occasion”.
“Football, huh? That’s the one with the shoulder pads and the helmets?” She teased.
Chris laughed, “That’s what they tell me, anyway. So, do you have any questions for me?”
“In fact, I do,” she lifted her hands out of her lap to rest them on the table next to his, “Can you manage to clean up your smelly gym socks from places like the floor, the couch, and the kitchen counters?”
“I’ve lived in a house with a single mom and two younger siblings for most of my life,” Chris replied, “I’ve been cleaning up after myself for a long time”.
“Barb runs a tight ship, huh?” MC nodded, smiling. Chris confirmed.
“I can also cook some things, if that interests you at all,” he chimed, “It’s nothing special but, mom says it’s pretty good”. Chris sat back in his chair, shrugging.
“Well, that will definitely come in handy because, thus far, my specialty goes as far as grilled cheese sandwiches, Ramen noodles and pancakes. Oh, and I do pride myself on my baking skills”. She smirked.
Chris chuckled, “That’s fine by me”. At this, he suddenly appeared thoughtful and began to look around the common spaces of the apartment. He hesitated before asking the question. “MC, do you have a boyfriend?”
“Nope,” she shook her head and her wavy hair shifted from side to side.
“Okay, because I was thinking about how small this apartment is and, I don’t know how comfortable it would be to have guests over all the time. Not to mention… we share a bedroom wall…” Chris blinked as he cleared his throat.
“Pfft,” MC’s lips vibrated in laughter, “Don’t think I didn’t consider that the minute you said you’re on the football team,” she grinned, gesturing to Chris’s general form.
He squinted, “Did… did you just call me hot? Because, basically, I think you just called me hot”.
MC fought her cheeks from flushing and she held her palm out forward. “What I’m saying is that you’re a pretty boy athlete who will likely have girls hanging all over him and who sleeps in the room next to mine. I hope the store downstairs sells earplugs”.
“So here’s the deal,” Chris said as his cocky facade began to waver, “I just got out of a pretty serious relationship about a month ago and, truthfully, I’m not sure if I’m over it yet. I made a promise to myself that I’ll be going into college with no intentions of starting another relationship. Strictly classes, football and friends. Sound fair to you?”
MC eyed him suspiciously, “Classes, football and friends. No girls?”
“No girls,” he shook his head.
She blinked, “I better get myself two pairs of earplugs, just in case”.
“Alright well how about this,” he laughed, leaning forward, “In the case that either of us plans on bringing somebody home, we will tell the other about it first. Deal?”
Chris lifted his brows and his right hand, extending it to MC. She looked at his hand and then up to his face, when a slow, excited smile began to creep across her cheeks. She sighed and slid her hand into his, “Deal”.
“Alright!” Chris stood from his chair, hearing the legs drag against the tile floor, “I’d say this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship”.
He had come to terms with the fact that he would be shacking up with an artsy, messy girl for possibly the next four years of his college experience, and he may not have admitted it, but he had begun to feel a little bit excited about it as well. Now that moving day was upon him, it was go in or go home for Chris Powell.
When he arrived, the apartment was still empty. He began to wonder if lateness was also one of MC’s endearing qualities. Right behind him was his mom, who didn’t waste any time opening windows and wiping down surfaces of any dust or residue. Chris let his boxes down with a light thump on the floor. He smirked in her direction.
“Need some help, mom?”
“Stay out of my way!” was all she said, not even bothering to look up from her project.
Chris shook his head as he started ripping a cardboard box open, “You know, it looks pretty good in here. The last tenants probably cleaned before they moved out. You don’t have to–”
“Christopher, please, just let me do this!” Barb snapped. Her fanatic wiping suddenly began to slow to a stop as she hung her head. She slowly turned around to see Chris looking back at her, stunned at her frantic state. She frowned and sighed, “It’s just… for all I know, this could be the last time I ever get to do something like this for you. It’s the first time you won’t be living in the house with me and, then you’ll be graduating and off to find another place of your own…”
Barb’s eyes started to tear up as she looked away from her son. “Oh, mom…” Chris’s face softened and he walked over to embrace her. She squeezed him tight and he could hear her sniffling. “I’m not going anywhere,” he said, pulling back to look at her, “I’ll always be around to help take care of you and Jo and Kyle”.
The petite woman in blue jeans wiped at her nose with the back of her rubber glove. She smiled softly, “No, no, it’s time for you to start focusing on yourself. I can hold down the fort for now”.
“Well then, I’ll tell you what,” Chris rubbed his thumb over his mother’s shoulder, “you can come over here and clean my apartment any time you want”.
Barb laughed and gave Chris a love tap on his chest. He grinned and returned to unpacking as she retrieved a spray bottle from a crate of cleaning products. Some time passed as Chris hung some clothes up in his closet and Barb finished cleaning and disinfecting.
“Alright now, Chris, the next time I visit you, I expect that toilet to be exactly as clean as it is now”.
“You’ve got it, Ma,” he winked as he walked through the kitchen, “I’m gonna go get my mattress. I’ll be right back”.
“Do you want some help with that?” she called after him, but received no response. She shrugged and continued rummaging through some boxes.
Chris slid the twin sized mattress out of the van with a huff and lifted it upright, hugging his arms around it. When he got it to the door, he realized he had forgotten to prop it open, so he released a few fingers and tried to grip the door handle and the mattress at the same time, working the door open slowly. As he struggled to inch his way through the doorway, the door suddenly swung open from outside.
“Candid!”
He scrunched his brow at MC, who had come along just after him and snapped a picture of him with her camera. She took him entirely by surprise.
“Aww, first day in the new apartment! That’s gonna be a good one, Chris,” she said, flashing him a cheeky grin, “Are you okay?”
“Here, Chris, let me help with that,” said MC’s father, Mickey, as he dropped the boxes he was carrying and shimmied past his daughter.
“Oh,” Chris squeaked, sweating, “it’s alright, I think I’ve got–”
Mickey’s burly figure lifted the bottom of the mattress with ease and rotated it sideways. “You take the top,” he said.
“Alright, ah, thank you, sir, I appreciate it”. Chris breathed as he started to carefully climb the staircase backwards. He and Mickey carried the mattress through the hallway and into the apartment to set it down on the bed frame. Mickey headed back out to his vehicle to grab the remainder of the boxes for his daughter.
MC strolled into the apartment to find Barb arranging a bouquet of flowers in a vase on the dining table. She smiled sweetly at the woman.
“Hi Barb,” she waved with one hand on her backpack strap.
“MC, so good to see you again, sweetie,” Barb replied and leaned in to kiss MC on the cheek.
“You too,” she paused, “My mom regrets that she couldn’t be here, but she wanted me to thank you again for helping out. I’m sure this place could really use a mom’s touch”.
“Oh, nonsense,” Barb waved, “I’m happy to help. Chris knows there’s no way I would have sent him off to college without overbearing my way into the process just a little bit”.
MC giggled, “I think you’re sweet”.
“And I’m so glad you found us when you did!” she smiled, washing her hands in the kitchen sink. “Is there anything I can help you with?”
“Actually, I would love some help replacing the shower curtain, if you don’t mind. The one the last tenants left is a little too… loud for me”.
Barb assisted MC in putting up a new shower curtain and then offered to help put out some of the decorative touches she had purchased, like a bath mat, throw blankets and kitchen towels, while MC started putting her clothes away. Once everything in the common areas were set, Barb excused herself to step out and buy everyone some food.
Meanwhile, Mickey and Chris assessed the apartment once more for any possible maintenance issues. Every so often, MC could hear her father talking to Chris from inside her bedroom. They chatted about football, mostly; how Chris had been scouted as a Hartfeld Knight when he was playing for his high school team and how he had been voted as Captain by his teammates during camp. Mickey told Chris about how he played football as a boy but had only been good for tackling, as he was always stocky. He explained that it was some time in high school when he realized he wasn’t really any good, but that he continued to watch the big leagues religiously. MC shook her head with a smile when she heard the two of them laughing together. She shut her dresser drawer and stepped out of her room to find Chris doubled over and Mickey red in the face, cackling. She looked at them with raised brows.
“I see you’re replacing me already?” She feigned incredulity.
“Agh,” Mickey wiped his brow, “I’m just trying to get to know the boy”. Chris could hear a slight accent in Mickey’s voice when he spoke.
“Your dad was just telling me about his old football days,” Chris nodded as he watched his roommate cross the living room and into the kitchen to pour two glasses of water.
“Dad, you should tell him about the time you hit that caddy with a golf ball,” she smirked, carrying a glass in each hand and placing them in front of Chris and Mickey.
Just as Mickey was getting into his golf story, Barb came through the door carrying an armful of shopping bags. Chris jumped up from his seat on the couch to rush to her side.
“I figured you’re going to want to taste test the Chinese place down the street, so, what better time than the present, right?” Barb said as she placed a bag down on the counter and pulled out a few menus.
“Wow,” Chris began to take out platter after platter of food from the bags, “This is awesome, Mom”.
“Yes, Barb, thank you for the dinner. I would have gladly went to get it,” Mickey said as he stood up.
“No, no, we needed you on handyman duty,” she smiled in response and then exclaimed, “Dig in, everyone!”
The two roommates and their respective parents crowded around the Chinese food and had a well deserved meal. Nine takeout containers and five embarrassing conversations later, Chris and MC cleaned up the kitchen and saw the adults out. Barb did her best to spare Chris a very tearful goodbye, but he bet that she would hardly make it to the van before she broke. He took a breath as he looked around the newly quiet apartment. The sounds of cleaning, unpacking, eating and laughter were now replaced by the hum of the air conditioning and the light footsteps taken by his roommate.
“I’m gonna finish up some things in my room,” MC smiled softly and patted Chris on the arm.
“Alright, MC”. Chris smiled at her as she walked off into her bedroom.
As he stood there in between the kitchen and living room, thinking about the before and after of his new home, he smiled to himself. He took everything in for another few moments before stepping into the bathroom for a nice, long shower. Once he had cleaned up and changed into shorts and a sleep tee, Chris approached MC’s open doorway and knocked.
“Come in, Chris,” he could hear her voice from just a few steps away. He entered the room and looked around at what was just an empty space the last time he saw it. MC had adorned her desk with cacti and succulents. At the head of her bed, she had hung a large, beautiful tapestry and, on the adjacent wall were lines upon lines of twinkle lights with an impressive collection of polaroids hanging from them.
“Woah,” he muttered simply, “you’ve been busy”.
MC turned her head to look at him from her place on the bed. She sat indian style amongst cushy pillows and blankets as she tried to select the last few photos to hang. She chuckled, “Yeah, well, the good news is that I like decorating”.
Chris sat next to her on the bed, eyes scanning the photos scattered across the wall and in MC’s lap. “Did you take all of these?” He asked.
“Most of ‘em, yeah”. She held one polaroid in each hand and looked from one to the other and back, and then she turned to notice Chris’s mesmerized face. The twinkle lights reflected in his blue eyes. “I know, it’s a lot”.
“No, it’s… I think it’s really cool”. He offered her a genuine smile, which she returned. “Who’s that? Good looking guy…” he asked as he pointed to a photo of MC standing next to a tall young man with slicked back hair.
“That good looking guy would be my older brother, Jamie”.
“Oh yeah? What’s he like?”
“Pretty boy on the outside, dork on the inside,” she laughed, “He’s a musician but, after high school he decided to take the more practical route and become an accountant. Now he goes to work in a shirt and tie every day. Sucker”.
“Wow, harsh,” Chris laughed.
“Nah, he’s incredibly intelligent and talented. I just like to tease him,” She ensured.
MC continued reviewing the photos strung up on her wall. She pointed to one of herself being embraced by an older brunette.
“Right here, this is my cousin, Avery. She’s the closest thing I’ve had to a sister. She lives in Queens”.
“She looks fun,” Chris nodded as he gazed upon the photo.
“Yeah, she is. We have a blast together. She was the rebel of the family who would always take me to late night concerts and… dye my hair with horrible box dye from the drug store…” MC grinned as she seemed to reflect upon some old memories.
“Hey, I noticed a little bit of an accent earlier while I was talking to your dad, but I couldn’t place it. Where is he from?” Chris asked.
“Ahh, the Scottish brogue,” MC grinned, “My dad is German and Scottish. He lived in Scotland for a while before he moved here. You should have heard what my Grandpa sounded like,” she laughed, “Jamie does this hilarious impression of him”.
Chris’s lips turned up slightly, “That’s awesome. I like your dad”.
“Yeah, we’re all pretty fond of Mickey,” she spoke as she hung up a few more photographs, “So, what can you tell me about your family?”
“Well, back in Maine are my mom and my two younger siblings, Jo and Kyle. Jo is eight and Kyle is ten. I’ve practically raised them and, I love them both to death. But they can be a real handful”. Chris pressed his lips together tightly as he nodded his head.
“Aww, I’ve always been the youngest of my family so I never knew what it was like to have little ones running around,” MC said, “…What about your dad?”
Chris went silent for a minute as he stared blankly at the pile of polaroids on the bed. He prayed that MC would keep her eyes on the wall and not on him, but he had no such luck. She noticed his silence and turned to face him, hands falling to her lap.
“…Sore subject?” she asked, treading lightly.
In response, he straightened and cleared his throat. “My dad hasn’t really been involved much in my life. He left when I was ten, when my mom was pregnant with Jo”. He spoke matter of factly and with blunted affect.
“Oh, wow, Chris, I… I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have–”
“Hey, no, it’s fine. It was eight years ago. I’ve made peace with it,” Chris swallowed hard and brought his eyes back to the wall of polaroids, “So, uh, what’s the story behind this one, here?”
MC frowned as she studied Chris’s face. He could feel her eyes on him but he refused to make eye contact, no matter how long the quiet stretched. He bit his lower lip.
“Chris…” came her voice again, softer this time, “I know we haven’t known each other long but, it’s okay if you wanna talk about it. I’d be happy to listen”.
Another few quiet moments passed between the two of them as Chris’s mind went blank.
“It must have been hard, you know, helping your mom raise your siblings; having those responsibilities when you were just a kid yourself…”
“Ehh, it was what it was,” Chris said flatly as he finally turned in MC’s direction, “I really don’t need to talk about it. But thank you”.
“Okay…” MC’s face was riddled with concern but she fought to soften her expression into a smile. She sensed Chris’s feelings of discomfort and unwillingness to budge. Letting out a long exhale, she fastened one final photograph to the bottom string. “And… done. See that?” she said, “Look who made the wall!”
Chris leaned forward to see the photo MC had taken of him earlier, pinned awkwardly between a door and a mattress. His expression looked surprised and confused. “That’s me!” He pointed.
“That is you!” she echoed.
“I look horrified,” he laughed, scratching behind his ear.
“May be so,” MC said as she turned her body to face him, “but just like the rest of these photographs, it holds an important memory of an important person”.
Chris’s features were lit up with a bashful smile. He spoke softly. “Thanks, MC, I’m truly honored”.
Chris held his fist out toward his roommate for her to bump it with her own.
“Now, get out of my room, Powell, so I can go to sleep”.
Chris began to laugh but it quickly morphed into a yawn. “Yep, yeah, that’s probably a good idea,” he said as he stood up and walked to the doorway. Stopping with his hand on the doorknob, he turned back for a moment. “…Goodnight, MC”.
“Goodnight, Chris”.