Randall attempts to cook something that night.

Randall continued to stare at you. Finally he muttered "whatever..." and stomped into the kitchen. You heard him rattling around, looking through the refridgerator and cabinets. After several minutes things quieted down. Your curiousity got the better of you, so you craned your neck to peer through the door. Randall was standing in the kitchen staring at various food items on the counter, looking completely confused. Your heart jumped at the image of your mom back in the kitchen - and the 'lost' expression on her face made you feel guilty.

You made a decision to intervene and went into the kitchen. "Hey, Randall," you said cheerfully. "How about I give you a hand? Maybe if we do this together, we can manage to keep from starving to ****."

His face brightened. "Thanks, dude!" he said with relief. "I figured you were right. Even if we were just 'normal' roomies, we'd have to figure out sharing responsibilities - cookings, cleaning, and stuff. But in this case you've got school and I've got ... well, I guess since I don't have to worry about that junk anymore, I should pick up some slack around here."

He gave you a grateful look. "But I don't know much about this 'domestic' stuff. So thanks."

"Sure, no problem," you responded. "We're in this together."

You weren't exactly a master chef yourself, but you had been **** to help your mom a few times so you at least knew your way around the kitchen. You pulled out your mom's recipe book and flipped through it. "She always said this was easy..." you said to yourself. "How about meatloaf?" you asked, pointing the recipe out to Randall.

"Why not?" he shrugged. "I always liked your mom's - it was one of my favorites."

With that the two of you started on dinner. Since neither of you were particularly skilled at this, you followed your mom's instructions to the letter. You directed Randall, showing him where everything was stored and going over the basics. While he worked on the meatloaf, you dug some potatoes and beans out of the pantry to put on the stove. You didn't have alot of options, though - you'd had to throw out some stuff after your hospital stay. "Guess we'll need to go to the store this week," you mentioned to Randall. He looked over at you. "We can do it one evening. Not sure I'd know what to get on my own," he responded.

The meal took far longer to prepare than you would have guessed, but it was your first real try without your mom's supervision. More surprisingly, you and Randall found yourselves having fun! What would have been a tedious chore on your own became something of a game when you worked together. The meal itself was okay - not great, but better than you feared it would be. Even though you tried to follow the recipe precisely, you had overcooked a few things. But it was a welcome change from pizza.

After you finished eating, you got up and began clearing the dishes. Randall looked at you questioningly. "Habit," you told him. "Plus I'd rather keep on top of it now rather than have to clean it all later. Unless you want to spend all day cleaning while I'm at school?"

He shuddered. "No thanks. Let's get it now - I'd rather have your help." He got up and began helping you.

You cleaned the table, put away the leftovers, and washed the dishes. As you were finishing the last few plates, Randall said

"Dude, that was kinda cool! I mean, I'd still rather be eating pizza in front of the tv...but I had a good time. Actually felt like we were finally out on our own, you know....adults."

"Well technically YOU are the adult now," you teased. "Maybe you are really turning into my mom!" you added in mock horror.

He laughed and tossed a wet sponge at you. "Don't talk back to your mother!" he joked.

Despite the weirdness at interacting with 'your mother' this way, you felt more at ease than you had since Randall and you left the hospital. The dynamic between you was still a bit strange but you felt your friendship more strongly than ever.

By the time everything was put away, it was getting rather late. "Guess I'll turn in," you said.

"Dude!" he complained. "Why? It's not like 'mommy' is going to make you..." he teased.

You gave him a mild glare. "Well unfortunately I still have to go to school. And teachers get kinda crabby when I sleep in class..."

"Party pooper!" he said. "But I guess I have an early morning too - want to be at my best for aerobics class!" He twitched his eyebrows suggestively. You rolled your eyes. "Whatever, Randall. You can tell me about your awesome experience tomorrow."

You bid your goodnights and headed up to your room. You heard Randall puttering around your mom's bedroom, changing for bed and cleaning off his makeup. The sounds were so familiar that you could almost pretend that it was your mom down the hall. You shook your head trying to dispel those thoughts. You tried to forget about it when you were joking around with Randall, but it was still so odd to think of him in your mom's room, wearing her clothes, and using her things. "But it would feel WAY too weird to room together like you used to when he stayed over," you thought to yourself.

With a sigh you pushed it from your mind and went to sleep.

The next day you felt a little more 'normal' as you settled back into the routine of school. You did look forward to seeing Randall when you got home. You were very curious about his day - what he had done and, frankly, what he'd seen at the gym. But you were disappointed to have company that evening. Randall had to stay 'in character', playing your mom, because....