>>5539538>>5539540Meryl appreciates your continued support- although she scrunches up her face a little bit. <span class="mu-b">"Of course 'of course'!"</span> she says, exasperated but thankful. She turns around and embraces you. <span class="mu-b">"Come on now, you think I'm collapsing? Nah, I'm stronger than I look."</span> Sure enough, after a moment, she places her hands in your armpits, and then lifts you, to prove she can do it. Before, when someone was watching, she wasn't able. You weigh about two-fifty, so she's lifting a man half-over her weight like it was nothing- quite impressive. Her shining marine eyes fill your vision as she puts you down, posing in a 'gunshow' position for a second. Nice bounce. <span class="mu-b">"I'm just grateful everything worked out, that's all."</span>
<span class="mu-g">Did something happen?</span> Why is she out here alone?
<span class="mu-b">"There were some guys that got lost. Your dad talked to them, and they drove off. I was worried for a bit, but it seems like it was nothing,"</span> she says, and digs her chin into your chest. <span class="mu-b">"Besides, I wanted to wait for you."</span> <span class="mu-g">Aw.</span> Still, people turning up out of nowhere- that seems like those two men you met before. Have they been following you? It's hard to let that go, especially because Dr. Sheridan showed up the same day they did. What happened to her, by the way? <span class="mu-g">Did she leave?</span>
<span class="mu-b">"Nope, she's still here."</span> Meryl snorts. <span class="mu-b">"She insisted your parents not break out another whiskey bottle for her sake, so the four adults have been through two bottles of wine. I got some great maternity tips between her and your mom."</span> Wait, is Meryl pregnant? Does her pregnancy work differently? <span class="mu-b">"Nope, I have to wait to know just like everyone else. I also learned that your mom can be really competitive when it comes to cards. And that your dad can perform a second deal."</span> Apparently he learned to do it to improve Mom's win rate.
The explanation of the fallout is broken up by Meryl's giggling, and it becomes virtually incomprehensible. Her laughter is infectious, and soon the two of you are standing in the summer night without a care in the world. The wind blows, the moon shines down from above, and the two of you talk for what seems like forever about nothing at all. The bars you used to visit in college. The best library for cramming. Even bus routes.
She speaks about Boston, and her community on the coast. You don't know if they're human or Dagonian, but it doesn't matter, because they helped take care of her in ways her parents wouldn't. Still not many friends her age, but it wasn't nothing. The brave surfers in the area gave her a small community. Swimming and some surfing kept her fit, it seemed, which seems obvious in retrospect, but she would always swim in private if she could manage it.
<span class="mu-b">"I gave up surfing for expense and time. For swimming, there wasn't anyone I knew I could trust,"</span> she says. <span class="mu-b">"Until now."</span>
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