Run, Girl (If You Can)

Alice didn't end up having time to spend all of her wardrobe budget in one day but she did get a decent start. Her purchases would last her at least a few weeks.

There was still a little time before the deliverymen were scheduled to come over so Roger offered to treat her and Marissa to lunch. They went to a rather nice sushi place that Alice liked to go to when she was by herself. Her mother-in-law usually chose the lunch venues while they were out and she hated any form of fish.

She couldn't recall the last time she felt so relaxed while out to lunch with other people. The conversation was pleasant and the overall vibe at the table was good. She had always thought Roger was a nice person and everything she saw today confirmed it.

When they finally made it back to her tiny apartment, the deliverymen were waiting for them. Oops.

There was quite a large group of them so everything was assembled relatively quickly and effectively. Marissa directed them where to put things as they went. She must have done this before; it looked almost like she was a traffic cop smoothly directing cars in an overcrowded intersection.

As the last of the deliverymen trickled out and Alice looked around her apartment she was very impressed with what she saw. These shabby couple of rooms looked a million times better.  

"You're a miracle worker," she said in awe. "Thank you so much!"

Marissa smiled happily. She was a woman who took pride in her work. "You're very welcome! Would you like to pay with a check or card?"

"Check, if that's alright."

She pulled her checkbook out of her purse and wrote one for their previously agreed amount plus a tip for helping her go clothes shopping. Now she knew where to go and how to find deals in the future.

"What's the extra $100 for?" she asked, confused.

"For helping me find clothes," Alice said a bit sheepishly. "I really appreciate everything you've done today."

The interior designer seemed surprised. "You didn't have to pay me for that! I did it because I wanted to. In fact, if you ever need help shopping again feel free to call me. It was fun."

Her heart swelled in spite of herself. Perhaps she had made another friend today.

"I'll definitely take you up on that!" Alice hesitated before asking yet another favor. The Clark siblings had already done so much for her today.

 "Is it alright if I get a ride back into Manhattan with you two? I need to return Keeley's clothes and pick up the spare kitchenware and old TV she said I could have. Then I'll be all set in my new place."

"No problem," Roger said warmly. "We can drop Marissa off first then I'll come say hi to Aaron with you."

===

Keeley had watched enough TV to satisfy herself for a while and was back to spending time with her family when the intercom buzzed. Aaron was changing Kaleb's diaper so she picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Mrs. Hale, Alice Wheatley and Roger Clark are here to see you."

Roger was here too? She had only met the man once so she didn't have much of an impression of him other than that he appeared to be terrified of her husband. Most people were.

"Go ahead and send them up. Thank you."

"It certainly took her long enough. It's nearly four o'clock," Aaron observed.

"She's not alone, either. Roger is with her."

He raised an eyebrow. "I told her to contact him but I didn't realize he would actually go shopping with her. I thought he would simply pass her onto his sister."

Keeley barely had time to process that since the elevator dinged. She called down the stairs for them to come on up.

Alice seemed happier than she had been since coming to stay with the Hales. What was that about? Did she really have that much fun furniture shopping? Even more interesting was that Roger seemed pretty happy himself.

Her eyes narrowed. Something here didn't add up. Wasn't Alice interested in Gray just a little while ago?

It wasn't that Roger was unattractive. He was handsome in an average sort of way, with wavy medium brown hair and gray-blue eyes. He couldn't hold a candle to Gray, who was such a successful ladies' man because of how devastatingly handsome he was.

Keeley didn't know a thing about this man's personality but was willing to bet it was a lot better than her brother-in-law's. Aaron wouldn't have trusted him to be a dummy shareholder otherwise. She would definitely have to ask Alice about him later.

"Hi Roger," she greeted cheerfully. "Nice to see you again."

"You too."

He looked around the house and took in its cozy décor and the baby toys scattered on the floor where Aaron was sitting with the twins.

"How's it going, Aaron?" he asked casually.

Maybe he wasn't as afraid of her husband as Keeley thought. He was certainly acting friendly and normal now. To be fair, he did have quite a bomb dropped on him the first time they met. His reaction might have been different than usual because of that.

"Pretty well. What brings you here?"

"Alice asked for a ride back and I figured I could say hi and help her move the rest of her things over," Roger explained.

His sister must be quite something for them to have gotten that completely empty place ready to move into in less than a day. Keeley could immediately feel the relief radiating off of Aaron that their guest would be leaving sooner than expected and it took everything in her not to visibly roll her eyes.

He was so desperate to have her all to himself. But he also was the type to prefer peace and quiet so having someone else coming and going all the time must be uncomfortable for him. He was the consummate introvert and was in love with a hardcore extrovert. Poor thing.

"That's so nice of you!" she complimented. "Let me go find those things for you. I'm pretty sure I left them in one of the spare guest rooms."

Aaron stood and shook his head. "I'll do it. Those boxes are heavy. You stay here with the babies."

Keeley smiled as she watched him go. Always so considerate.