[It's early afternoon by the time Chie finally emerges from her bedroom.] * Chie looks around the living room, still toweling her hair dry, noting the distinct lack of people. Huh. Guess I slept in just a bit later than I meant to... well, they cleaned up after themselves. That was nice. * Chie walks into the kitchen, intending to get something to eat. Suddenly, she notices the calendar. Today's date is circled several times. * Chie blinks. "Today's...?" * Chie does a quick mental calculation. "Yeah. It is. Wow. I really *have* lost track of time. Past weeks have been so busy that I've forgotten the date... still... man." Got a lot to do. Better call Rei and let her know I'm not going to be around tonight. * Chie grabs the phone (it's cordless) and walks into the livingroom, slumping down onto one of the beanbags. * Chie dials Rei's number. C'mon, Rei, be there... * Rei answers! "Orangina's House of Waffles. Didja have your fizz today?" Rei, hi, it's Chie. Oh! Hiya Chie! You missed the Great Waffle and Tang Exchange. Turns out Maria isn't keen on the most coolest beverage in the universe, after all. What's up? Heh. Listen... I'm not gonna be around tonight. There's... something important I have to do. * Chie sounds really, really serious. * Rei blinks. "Is something wrong? Your cat didn't just die, did it? No, wait, you don't have a cat. What's wrong?" Today's... today's the anniversary of the day my parents died. Every year I go and visit their grave. Except I have to go late so I avoid the rest of my family. * Rei opens her mouth, then closes it. "Oh man. Oh *man*. Your parents... man, I'm sorry, Chie. Shit." You can hear her slumping into a chair. "And yer avoiding your family, too? Wow. I'm sorry." It's... it's okay. There's no way you could've known. And I kinda hate to drop all this on you. * Chie bites her lip. No, 'salright. We've all got problems and stuff, right? If ya need to visit your parents, then that's whatcha gotta do. I can live without my Chie dosage for a day. Thanks. I gotta go, else they'll nag me about it. * Rei snerks. "Oh yeah, they do that, don't they? Guess that's extra double plus incentive." Yeah. I guess, in some weird way, it's not quite as bad. They're dead, but I can still talk to them from time to time. Yeah. So it's not like you're seperated forever or even for the rest of your life 'till you get to the afterlife and stuff. Say hi to them for me, okay? I will. They'll... they'll be really happy that I've got some new friends. * Rei grins. "Oh yeah? We're happy to have ya, so there!" * Chie grins, too, although Rei can't see it. "Thanks." Welcome. Go visit them. And if they want some of my infamous waffles, they just gotta ask. *I* still need to have some of your infamous waffles. * Rei giggles. "I'll bring some the meeting after next. Promise." Fantastic. Nothing less than the best! Well, I should get going now. There's a few things I have to get together before I go. If anybody asks where I am tonight, just let 'em know I had important family business to take care of. Sure thing! Nothin' about your parents dying or anything though, right? Gotcha. If they *really* want an explanation, they can ask me tomorrow. * Rei nods, though Chie can't see it. 'Kay, I understand. At least kinda. Enough to get the idea, anyway. Yeah. So get to it, and have a nice visit, and we'll all see ya tomorrow, right? Sure thing. See you then. And thanks. Coolness. And you're welcome. ^_^ Bye! * Chie hangs up.