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"Hey guys. I'm back." Sam closed the front door to the lodge with her foot. Her arms were occupied with grocery bags filled with every vegan's dream. "Thought I'd make a vegan spaghetti I wanted to try."
When no response came, Sam chuckled to herself. "I know, I know." She locked the door with her pinky. "You're tired of the vegan health nut whipping up dishes, right? But you guys won't be sorry when you've got a taste. It'll change. Your. Life." The lodge's silence suggested that everyone was either in the basement or napping upstairs. Or. Maybe they were hiding out. "You know, if you guys are hiding from me, you won't last long. 'Cause whether you like it or not, I'm making my famous vegan spaghetti whether you like it or..."
When Sam came into the living room, she stopped in her tracks. Now here was a sight that made her smile from ear to ear. One of the pleasures she got from being the only early riser and the only one to not nap in the middle of the day was to witness her friends sleeping. And that's exactly what made Sam gently set the bags down to her feet and plant her hands on her hips as she witnessed Chris, Ashley, and Josh sleeping in various parts of the living room.
Ashley was on the floor, mountains of pillows surrounding her. She was lying on her stomach, some of her auburn hair, spilling from her sky blue beanie, covered her face as she snoozed lightly. Her index finger acted as a bookmark for the novel she was reading. The gentle rise and fall of her back suggested that she fell asleep from reading too much, the story in the book probably creating vivid colors and dreams behind her eyelids. Sam wondered what dreams the avid reader/writer was having, whats stories she was concocting as she explored the limitless bounds of REM sleep.
Chris? Oh Chris, was a way different story. Chris was on the couch lying on his back, one arm draping to the floor with a controller in his hand, the other somehow falling over the arm rest over his head. His glasses were skewered on his face, threatening to clatter to the floor. As opposed to Ashley's light snoring, Chris snored like a grizzly bear in the midst of winter. It was amazing how he didn't do that that wake-up-while-snoring/choking thing middle aged people do. A dabble of spit was on the corner of his mouth. Yeah. Hours of MK11 must do that.
And Josh? Good old, Josh? Josh, the prankster Washington? Oh, he was sleeping in a way that made Sam nearly laugh. Between Ashley's nest of pillows and the couch were Chris was sleeping, Josh was spread out like a starfish, his head near Ashley's and his feet propped on the couch's edge. His mouth was slightly agape, a low drone of a snore escaping his lips.
What to do, what to do. Sam could sneak into the kitchen and prepare the lunch she bought, stealing away the quiet hours of the lodge and listen to Bach on her phone while she boiled the pasta and cooked the sauce.
Or...she could simply, you know, make her friends sleeping arrangements more comfortable.
Sam honed into her inner Ashley and, quietly as she could, sneaked like a Tom and Jerry character toward Ashley. First, Sam carefully extracted the book from the girl's hand. She found the handmade bookmark she was using, knowing that Ashley abhorred dog earring pages, and marked the place she left off. Carefully, Sam fluffed Ashley's pillow, making sure she was properly elevated so that she wouldn't wake up with a neck cramp.
Lord knows there's nothing worse than waking up from a hardwood floor with a stiff neck.
Sam stood from her crouched position and proceeded to Chris. She grabbed the T.V. remote and turned down the volume of the main menu theme. Then, after setting down the remote, she gently, ever so slightly, eased his glasses off his face and folded them onto the coffee table. Chris stirred slightly and Sam held her breath, hoping that the tech geek wouldn't open his eyes. When he opted to rolling onto his side, Sam let her breath escape. It benefitted her because he moved his arms so that his hands were acting as a pillow.
A quilt was draped over the back of the couch. Chris was already wearing a red flannel with a black sweater over it, but hey. The more warmth, the better, right? Especially upon here in the mountains. Sam grabbed the quilt and placed it over Chris, making sure he was covered from neck to feet.
Ok. Two down. One to go.
Josh provided a challenge. His position was so out of whack that Sam feared even a slight nudge would wake him up.
Sam took into account how he was still wearing his boots.
So maybe, just maybe if she unlaced them and took them off, she could maneuver his legs so that they rested on the floor instead of propped up on the couch.
Worth a shot.
Avoiding the rickety loose floor boards, Sam undid one shoe, and then the other. She stole a quick look at Josh. Eyes still closed, still snoring, still unaware that she was there. Perfect.
Carefully, like a child trying to defuse a bomb, she carefully pulled off one boot. Josh revealed a black sock with a stitched in phrase. Just Joshin' Ya.
"Oh, hardy freakin' har," Sam muttered to herself. Leave it to Josh, even in the midst of sleep, to grate her nerves in the best way. She carefully slid off the other boot and set them on the floor.
Now the more trickier part. It felt like an Indiana jones movie, for she was rubbing her hands together, trying to test the heavens of Josh's sleep. No. She wa determined to set him straight. Literally.
Sam, using the best care, grabbed both of Josh's feet. Then, willing the snooze Gods or whoever to keep him unawake, Sam placed. them both on the floor.
Ok. That was done. Josh's arms were still spread out like starfish and his head still required a pillow. Halfway there.
Carefully, Sam took one of the pillows near Ashley and crouched at Josh's head. Under the tangerine colored light, his brown hair resembled Hershey's chocolate. There was something peaceful about watching Josh sleep. Unguarded. Vulnerable. The rise and fall of his chest indicated that he was sleeping peacefully, that whatever plagued his brain since his sister's disappearance was eradicated for a moment, drying up like a puddle under a burning sun.
Sam shook herself out of her daze and positioned the pillow under Josh's head. She waited for him to lift his head as he subconsciously felt something soft at the back of his head.
She waited.
And waited.
And waited.
On the verge of giving up, Sam began to stand when Josh lifted his head to readjust himself. Quickly, and silently, Sam placed the pillow under his head.
"Yes!" Sam mouthed, pumping her fist. She stepped back and examined her work with her three friends. "Sleep tight guys," she whispered.
Sam picked up the groceries and made her way to the kitchen, ready to lose herself in cooking and Bach and all those things that were everything to her and nothing to everyone else. She was digging out her phone to her playlist when a voice called to her, sleepy and grainy. "Hey, Sammy?"
Sam jumped slightly, wondering who else was in the lodge. She turned to see Josh, his eyes half open, a lazy grin imprinted on his face. "Yeah?" she said.
"You gonna tuck us in when it's time for bed too?" Josh gave a laugh that was still attached to sleep, lazy an watery. "Nice job with the kiddos Mother Goose." He nodded to Chris and Ashley, who were still sleeping soundly. "Give me me a break for a change."
Sam rolled her eyes. "What? I couldn't have you guys sleeping the way you were." She lowered her voice, for fear of waking Chris and Ashley. "You guys looked like you stayed up all night."
"Well, Ms. Giddings, that's because we did stay up all night. Your powers of deduction are astounding, really." He placed his hands behind his head. "Though there really was no point in doing all of this care taking."
Curiosity piqued. Sam knew she'd regret this, but she leaned her weight on her hip, still holding the bags. "And why is that?"
"What time is it?"
Sam checked her watch. "Uh. Almost noon. Why?"
A loud bell sound erupted throughout the lodge, and Sam's mind immediately went to the grandfather clock upstairs. That thing was loud. The throng, throng, throng, of the bell made her heart jump and it also undid her hard work. Ashley screamed and jumped from her nest of pillows, her novel flying in mid air. Chris rolled off the couch as gracefully as a crash test dummy, nearly hitting his head on the coffee table. Sam watched as all her hardworking was disrupted.
"What happened?" Ashley said, scrambling, her hair tangled and messy. "Wha...oh, my book!" she rushed to it as if it were a newborn.
"Wha-where-who's there?" Chris said, looking around. "Oh, shit. I can't see. The hell are my glasses?"
Sam sighed and picked up his glasses from the coffee table. "Right here, Chris." Her tone was subdued.
Chris placed them gingerly back on his face. He blinked a couple times and stifled a yawn. "Thanks. Hey, how'd they get there? I fell asleep with them on."
"And who put this bookmark in my book?" Ashley asked, looking at the wilted daffodil attached to a thin piece of cardboard. "I only remember using my finger."
"Oh. I can answer that." Josh sauntered over to the now awake teens and slung his arms around both of them. "Apparently, our good vegan friend Samm-ay," he pointed with his finger at Sam who turned a few shades darker, "took the initiative to act as our personal caretaker, ladies and genitals."
Sam felt the blood rush to her face. She covered her face with both hands, stealing peaks between her fingers. "Ugh! Why? Why me? Why?"
While Chris and Josh laughed, Ashley clasped her hands over heart. "Oh, Sam. Thank you so much. I don't know anyone else who'd do that. Really."
Chris crossed his arms. "Yeah, Sam. Thanks. Hey, when it's time for bed can you tuck me in?"
"Nope." Sam picked up the grocery bags. "I'm done. I'm done."
"I want a kiss goodnight too," Josh called after her. "And my favorite PJ's if you please. Preferably Ninja turtles."
"And a glass of warm milk-uh!" Chris said in a baby voice that just absolutely killed Ashley.
Ashley slapped both of their arms, though she had trouble battling the laughter. "Guys, oh my..oh my God. Stop. You're embarrassing her."
Sam nodded her head and swabbed the inside of her cheek with her tongue. "That's ok. It's perfectly fine. Just keep on laughin', keep on giggling. 'Cause guess what I'm making."
The three stopped in their laughter and fixed her with horrified looks. They looked at one another, the three stooges.
"Yep. That's right." Sam opened the kitchen door. "Hope you like gluten free pasta!"
Before the door swung shut, she only heard the sound of Chris and Ashley punching Josh in the arm. "Ow!" Josh shouted. "What I do?"