Work Text:
Shirley is on the mend after her appendectomy and gets a visitor. ( missing scene for Shirley’s operation)
Carmine heard a knock at the door. When he opened it, he saw Laverne standing there. She walked in quickly. “Hi Laverne, what can I do for you? He said, letting her come in. She did not have much time to talk. He was eating his breakfast.
He offered her some food. “ Thanks, but I already ate. Look, I gotta go to work today; Shirley is taking a sick day. Could you sit with Shirley and keep her company while I’m gone?” She said, looking at him as he took another bite of food.
He offered her some, but she looked at him gratefully and said, “Thanks, Carmine, but I already had breakfast.” Laverne said, shaking her head. She waited for his answer, grateful he was not talking with his mouthful of food. He
He chewed and swallowed before he said, “ Sure, Laverne, I would love to. Is she feeling better today, and is there anything she needs? What time should I go down there? He asked. He did not know if he had time to grab anything but asked to be polite.
“ Maybe a get-well card or something. I thought about an hour, and she was resting on the couch. I gotta go, or I’ll be late. Thanks, Carmine. ” Laverne said as she rushed out the door. He washed the bowl and got ready to go. He would have time to get some things.
Some soup and flowers to surprise her. He thought that might make her smile and feel better. He was glad that he did not have any dance classes till later. He grabbed his jacket and went out the door. Shirley was feeling better. Laverne told her that Carmine Was coming over. This made her happy. Shirley was glad that she was not going to be alone all day. Through she would rest for the most part. She was on the couch, lying down in her pink robe. There was a knock at the door. It was Carmine’s knock.
She sat up, straightened out the blanket, and fixed herself up a little “Come in, Carmine!” Shirley said loud enough that he could hear. Usually, she would get up and get the door but decided not to. She was still a little bit sore. He came through the door with five pink roses, chicken noodle soup, and crackers. He closed the door with his foot and walked over to her. She saw the flowers and got excited.
“Oh Carmine, roses you shouldn’t have. I love them so much and soup too. Ooh. Thank you! You know how to make a girl feel better,” She said excitedly as she sniffed the roses, enjoying their beautiful scent. He smiled as She kissed him on the cheek. He loved it.
“Yeah, does that mean you feel good enough to, you know,” Carmine asked with a sly grin as he carefully sat beside her. Shirley shot him a dirty look. She had misread the situation and thought he had something else in Mind. She trusted the roses back at him quickly,
“Carmine, I don’t think that is a good idea. I am at home to recover. If that is why you are here, you can go home and think about it. Perhaps a cold shower would help cool you off, mister.” She said, looking at him sternly. He realized what she thought he meant.
He turned red from embarrassment. “ I meant to make out or kiss, not …. I mean, only if you’re feeling up to it. If not, we could snuggle, watch TV, or play a board game. Here, I will go put these flowers In a vase.” He said, taking the roses to the kitchen.
“Oh, I thought you meant… haha. I think maybe watching TV or a game sounded good. Carmine. I am glad you were able to come over, really. ” Shirley happily told him as she smiled, sitting down. She was glad he did not press the matter about her wanting to take it easy.
He set the bag with soup and crackers on the counter. He searched for a vase. Once he found one, he put the flowers in, added water, and brought them to the table behind the couch. Shirley told him to pick a game for them to play. He grabbed Clue and went back to her. He moved the table closer to the couch and put the game on the table. He sat on the couch next to her. He took out the instructions and the board. After sorting the cards, he put one of each in the envelope. He put it on the board. He then took the weapon pieces and put them in various rooms.
“Who do you want to be, Angelface?” He asked as he took the pieces out of the pawn pieces` and set them before her. She thought about it as he put the box on the end table. Wait, can you play with just two people?” He asked, grabbing the instructions.
“ Mrs Peacock, it is such an elegant bird. So she must be an elegant lady.” Shirley said she put it on the board. Carmine grabbed Colonel Mustard. They put the pawns in the correct spot. Carmine realized that they needed more players.
“ This is no good. We can’t play this. It requires at least 3 Players!” He told Shirley. Shirley frowned, and Carmine started to put the game pieces away. Shirley stopped him with a look of thoughtfulness on her face.
“What if we make Laverne, Lenny, and Squiggy Some of the other players?” Shirley Suggested. Carmine looked at her like she was losing it. He was wondering if she was feeling ok. Maybe this was not such a good idea after all.
“Shirley, they are not here! You know That, right? Is your medicine making you loopy? If it is, I can leave and let you rest.” Carmine suggested. He was looking at her intensely in her. She had seemed fine before. Maybe he was wrong.
“ No, I’m not loopy! Of course, I know that they aren’t here! I am fine. I was saying we could act like they were here and be able to play. We’d have to move the pieces ourselves, but it might be fun.” Shirley said excitedly.
“ We Could all be the characters. I will be Mrs. Peacock, you are Colonel Mustard, Laverne could be Ms.Scarlet, Lenny could be Mr. Green, Squiggy could be Professor Plum, and Edna could be Mrs.White.” Shirley told him
“Ok, that makes sense now,” Carmine said as he re-read the instructions. He saw the instructions for a two-player version of Clue and sent an extra pile aside. Shirley tore off sheets for them to mark the clues.
Shirley Gave him a pencil. They each looked at their card, marking the appropriate boxes. Carmine gave her a dice, and she rolled it. It totaled six. She grabbed her and moved her pawn six spaces one away from the conservatory. She handed the dice to Carmine, and he rolled a five. He moved his pawn towards the lounge.
“This is fun, and I am glad you are feeling better!” Carmine said, handing Shirley the dice. Shirley looked at Carmine. “Thank you for spending time with me today. This is nice. I am glad not to be alone,” Shirley said lovingly.
They kept playing till they both figured out most of the clues. In the end, it was Shirley who figured it out. “I am going to guess that it was Professor Plum in the library with the knife!” Shirley said excitedly.
Carmine grabbed the envelope and handed it to Shirley. Shirley was pretty sure she was right. She had a knack for these things. She opened it and looked. Indeed, it was Professor Plum with the knife in the library. Carmine was impressed with her ability to guess it.
“ Wow, Shirl, you are a regular Nancy Drew!” Carmine said, surprised. She smiled and kissed him on the cheek. “Well, I was in the official Nancy Drew club! I got a spoon and everything. I love a good mystery!” Shirley said, putting the envelope on the board,
She sat back and yawned, putting her head on Carmine’s shoulder. “So, do you want to play again?” He looked down at Shirley, who had her eyes closed. He carefully got up and laid her down on the couch. He covered her with a blanket and gave her a gentle kiss.
He let her sleep while he put away the board game. She woke up at 11:30. Carmine was warming up her soup in the kitchen. He put it in a bowl and some crackers on the side. He turned off the stove and brought the soup to the living room. She sat up, putting her legs over the edge.
“Awe Carmine that is so sweet for you to make me lunch. You did not have to do that!” She said sweetly to him. “You’re welcome, Angel face.” He said, handing her the soup.
He went to get himself some soup, and they ate lunch. For the rest of the afternoon, they snuggled and watched TV. Shirley fell asleep again on his shoulder. He looked at the time and realized Laverne would be home soon. He heard the key in the lock, and Laverne walked in, and Carmine walked over to her.
“Hey Carmine, how is Shirl doing?” Laverne asked, looking at Shirley. She quieted herself when she realized Shirley was sleeping. “You guys must have had a busy day. If she is tired, whatdja do to her? You didn’t? ” Laverne asked, looking at Carmine in shock.
“No, we just played Clue. It ended up being Professor Plum in the library with the knife. Shirley guessed it. Then we had lunch and watched TV. She seems to be doing better. Now that you are home, I am going to go.” Carmine said, heading for the door.
Laverne walked with him. “Thanks again for spending time with her today, Carmine. It means a lot to me. Maybe we could all get together and play Clue sometime.” Laverne said. She was holding the door open for Carmine.
“Of course, I’d do anything for you, Girls, you know that. Yeah, maybe when Shirley feels better, we could all play. Shirley came up with the idea that we all were characters in the game. I was Colonel Mustard, you were Miss Scarlett, Shirley was Miss Peacock, Squiggy was Professor Plum, Lenny was Mr. Green, and Edna was Mrs. White. Well, goodbye, Laverne, I’ll see you later,” Carmine said, heading up the stairs, leaving Laverne to imagine everyone in the board games and what that would be like.