A New Precious

Chapter 17

When we arrivesed back home, Aaliyah showed Máiréad to one of the guest bedroomses, a large room next to mine. Then, she and I brought Máiréad's belongings into the house and up to her room.

"This is a really nice house," Máiréad said.

Aaliyah smiled. "Thank you."

She sat on the bed. "Wow, the bed's really soft."

"Comfy, isn't it?"

"Super comfy."

"You need help unpacking your stuff?"

"Nah, I'm good."

"Okay. Well, holler if you need anything."

"Thanks."

Máiréad began unpacking her things. She put all her clothes in the drawers, her computer, phone, and other technologieses on the desk, and her blankets and other random itemses on the bed. Then, she changed into a knitted nightdress.

Soon after she'd finished unpacking, Aaliyah knocked on her door. "Máiréad?" she called gently. "You want some snacks?"

Máiréad opened the door. "Yeah, that would be great. Thank you."

"Okay. What would you like?"

"What do you have?"

"Pretty much anything. You name it."

"Do you have Doritos?"

"I sure do. WHat kind do you want, Cool Ranch, Nacho, Blazin' Buffalo Ranch?"

"Darn, I can't choose between the Cool Ranch or the Blazin' Buffalo," Máiréad laughed awkwardly. "They're both my favorite."

Aaliyah giggled. "Well, you can have both."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. I don't imagine you have very much food to eat at your house."

"Not really."

"Well, I'll get you two big bags of chips."

"Okay, but um... they might be gone really fast."

Aaliyah laughed. "That's okay. I don't eat them very often. I keep a stash just in case someone wants them. Do you want something to drink?"

"Do you have Dr. Pepper?"

"I sure do."

"May I also have some water please?"

"I have bottled water."

"Perfect."

"Okay. I'll be right back."

As Aaliyah hurried off to the kitchen to fetch Máiréad's snacks and beverages, I slowly tiptoed towards her room. "Máiréad?" I called gently, standing in the doorway. "May I comes in, Precious?"

"Yeah, sure, come in," Máiréad replied.

I slowly sauntered in, and smiled lovingly at her. "You looks adorable in that nightdress."

She grinned. "Thanks. It's a sweater dress."

"It's very lovely."

"Thanks. My mom knitted it for me. She knows how much I love soft sweaters."

I giggled. "Awwwww." Then, I caught a glimpse of what she'd put on the bed. "What's all this, Precious?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Oh, these are my favorite stuffed animals. I sleep with them every night." She held up a yellow toy creature. "This is Pikachu."