a random act of kindness

Who: Marian and Zhen
Where: The boarding house
When: midday

It had been well into the middle of the night when Marian finally went to bed, and it was well into the day when she did finally wake up. She'd slept almost as well as she had at Roy's, no weird feelings of dreams lost when she woke up, but she'd also not had that strange comfort that settled over her in her brother's presence. Yawning and stretching she drug her aching self out of bed and padded towards the bathroom to get ready. She turned on the sink and reached around to grab a washcloth, only to realize that the sink wasn't running. Not even a drip. Fantastic.

Grabbing her robe, which was really just a threadbare hand me down from somewhere, she headed downstairs, hoping to find the house matron and see if it was just her and her roommates' room or the whole building.

Zhen was sitting in the main common area, taping flowers to the wall. She looked like she'd been at it for a while, since all of one wall and a good part of another were already finished. The flowers were all paper, folded to look like small flowers. Some were painted, some were not. There was a box of un-hung ones on one of the chairs. Looking up from sticking another one to the wall, Zhen smiled brightly at Marian. "Hello!" she greeted, bouncing over. She handed the girl a flower she'd painted blue. "For you." she told her.

Frustrated as Marian might be by the prospect of not being able to get properly cleaned up this morning it was hard to frown in front Zhen. "Thanks," she said, taking the flower, a small smile creeping onto her lips. Marian took stock of the room the collection of painted and folded flowers covering the normally drab walls. "It looks like spring in here." It was actually kind of nice. Weird, but nice.

"Well, I thought that it needed brightening up." Zhen said with a firm nod. "Besides, the weather's been absolutely dreadful. There needed to be more flowers, more color. More bright things for people to look at." she said. "Too many dark things of late, I swear. It's bogging everyone down. How're you then?" she asked. "Doing well, I hope?"

Zhen wasn't kidding about the dark things. The entire diner last night had been speculating about the next set of dead bodies that were found which just compounded with the ever increasing number of murdered victims that seemed to grace every morning's headline. "I think it does the trick," she assured her friend. "Must have taken you all morning though. And I'm doing fine, although the water doesn't seem to be working. How are you?" Marian seemed carefree even if the water situation was rather annoying. Still she wasn't one to talk about herself much, and so she made an effort to shift the conversation away from herself.

"Well good! I'm glad you approve." Zhen said, taking that from Marian's statement, even if that hadn't been what she said entirely. "And it'll take me til noon at least." she said, looking totally unbothered by it. "The water isn't working? Well, that's no good. Want to come with me back to my place? The water probably works there." she offered. Really she had no idea if it worked or not, but she was assuming it was fine. At least, it would be at one of her places.

Marian wasn't entirely sure if she did approve, but she nodded pleasantly anyway. "Not working. I'm guessing either a pipe burst or they shut it off to fix another pipe. Dreadful weather, like you said." She considered the offer, almost to the point of accepting, but then shook her head. "Oh no, that's fine. I'm sure they'll turn it back on sooner or later. Plus I don't want to interrupt your project," she said, motioning towards the walls.

"What, this? I can do this anytime! And, you never know, someone could pick up the slack while I'm gone." More likely, someone would wonder what the hell was going on, and throw her box away, but Zhen didn't mind that either. "C'mon, you know the city won't actually get off their butts in time for anything. It's no trouble at all, I promise." she said genuinely.

Despite Zhen's insistence Marian still hesitated a few moments. She really was slow to accept help, even if it was from a friend and innocent. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate it, she just always felt bad relying on others when she should be able to stand on her own. But Zhen had a point, the city might never get around to fixing things, or even bothering until someone complained and she couldn't go to work still smelling like the night before. "Okay," she finally gave in, another small shy smile paired with the assent. "Let me get my things." Marian hurried up the steps to get her toiletries and a change of clothes.

"I'll hail a cab!" Zhen called up after her, then went to do just that. She was thinking about which place to take Marian, and in the end opted for the one that was most likely to have water running. Which would give away that she was a woman with means, but that was alright. She trusted Marian. She was a sweet girl. A sweet, bubbly sort, and Zhen appreciated that when so many people were bound and determined to be sullen bastards as much of the time as they could manage.

Marian changed out of her pajamas quickly, just slipping into the clothes she'd worn the night before, then tucking a change of clothes and her bathroom things into a worn bag. All of her belongings were meager, but she did her best to keep them in good enough shape, carefully mending holes and worn spots. It only took her a few moments before she was headed back downstairs again, wrapped up against the cold and headed out to meet Zhen. "Is the cab here yet?" she asked, slowly navigating the frozen stoop of the building.

"It is!" Zhen said, leading the girl over. She opened the door for her, then got inside after her, the cabbie already having the directions and the money up front. "We're ready." she told him, and they took off. It was actually kind of a ride to Zhen's best place, but then they were leaving the downtrodden part of the city behind, and there was a whole lot of that. When they got outside her building, which had a doorman of it's own, she held the cab door for Marian. "Here we are." she said.

She'd watch the city she knew fall away from the window of the cab as they emerged from the slums and into the nice part of town. The part of town that Marian rarely even walked through, let alone spent time in. Climbing out of the cab after Zhen, Marian couldn't help but stare at the building before them and the doorman. Even the sidewalk here looked nicer than it did at her place. In an instant, Marian was suddenly very aware of her unruly hair and worn jacket that was really two sizes to big, even if she had tried to alter it down some. "You live here?" she asked Zhen a little breathless.

"Sometimes." Zhen said, taking Marian lightly by the hand, and she started to lead her to the door. "Hey, Henry!" she said brightly to the doorman, who held the door for her. He smiled and nodded, though his eyes lingered on Marian for a moment too long. Zhen either didn't notice, or didn't care, and she just led the way to the elevators. "My parents aren't exactly 'just came over on the boat' types." she explained, not that that said anything. Though she knew she was an oddity. There weren't a whole lot of prominent people in the city of Chinese descent.

"Sometimes?" Marian was having a hard time really placing the whole situation. Unlike Zhen she did notice and care about the doorman's unwanted attention and ducked her head, hoping the cover the flush on her cheeks with her hair. She let Zhen lead the way, trying very hard to get her bearings about her. "What do they do?" she finally managed to ask once they were inside the building. Of course the inside made the outside look dirty and rundown and Marian was even more aware of the state of looks. It must look like Zhen had picked up some homeless person on the streets to bring home for tea.

Zhen hit the button for her floor, and smiled at Marian. "A little of this, a little of that." she answered. "I don't ask a lot of questions, honestly. It just means I sometimes have access to the apartment. I thought maybe you could use a little pampering today. Everything alright beyond water shortages, sweetie?" she asked, looking as the arrow that indicated the floor swung steadily towards seven.

Honestly Marian would have preferred stairs to the elevator, but she'd only been in maybe one or two elevators so she didn't know much about them. That didn't mean they didn't make her a little nervous. How she could trust all those cables to just lift this heavy box? She put a hand to the wall, as if needing to touch something solid on the way up. Zhen's answer didn't really answer Marian's questions, but just the surroundings were distracting enough. Pampering? What sort of dream world had Marian found herself in? She nodded with a smile, covering up her nerves well enough. "Everything's alright. Just working a lot." Marian paused, thinking of something that might explain whatever it was that Zhen saw in her and yet still manage to keep her out of scrutiny. "And my brother, he's kind of sick. I guess I'm a little worried about him."

"Oh goodness." Zhen said, tsking. "I do hope he comes out of it." she said. "It's the boy who comes and sees you now and then, yes?" she asked. "Kind of looks like something's wrong all the time?" she suggested. Some people looked broken. The boy in question was one of them. The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open, and Zhen led her to the left. "This way."

Marian frowned a little at Roy being described like that even if it was rather accurate. "That's him," she said nodding. "I hope he comes out of it too." He had told her about the girl, Arden, who brought him medicine which was good. Maybe it would be enough to get him feeling better. Following Zhen down the hall, Marian did her best to take in everything. The carpet on the floors, the smooth paint on the walls, even the handles on the doors she passed.

"Now. I figure we'll just have to draw you a nice bath, and I've got all sorts of bubble bath products, and it'll make your skin so soft, and you'll smell wonderful, and your hair'll be shiny and beautiful like it should be, what with you being a stunning young woman and all." Zhen said, letting them into her apartment. She headed directly to the bathroom after taking her shoes off just inside the door. "Then you can go through my closet." she added.

Marian was speechless, especially after Zhen explained the plan for her. "I...uh.." She too slipped out of her shoes, although rather awkwardly and fumbled after Zhen. "Your closet? I have clothes though?"

"Sure you do!" Zhen said. "But you don't have new to you clothes. We look about compatible size anyhow, and really, you need something new today. I've decided this. And while I doubt you'd actually let me take you out shopping, that doesn't mean you can talk me out of giving you some things." she said, as if this were the most obvious logic in the world, that people did it all the time.

"You would take me shopping?" Marian was thoroughly confused, to the point where she just dropped to sit on the side of the tub, which was not a small tub. Actually the bathroom was the nicest she'd ever been in, everything you could ever want in a bathroom and sparkling clean. She felt like she was dirtying it up just being in the room. "Really, Zhen, you don't have to. I can just wash up quick and change and be out of your hair in no time."

"Now sweetie," Zhen said, starting the bath up, which did in fact have running water. "if I wanted you out of my hair, why would I have invited you home, and offered a lot of things? Really now." she said, reaching out to pat Marian's head affectionately.

Marian really was horrible at taking things from people even if she knew they were just coming from the goodness of someone's heart. She'd known Zhen long enough to know that's how she was. She was always decorating sitting rooms with flowers or making up paper birds to share. But this, this was beyond all that. "Thanks," Marian finally breathed in nothing more than a whisper, dropping her gaze from Zhen's to hide the tears in her eyes.

Zhen dropped a kiss on the top of Marian's head. "No thanks necessary." she told the girl, dumping loads of perfumed bubble bath into the hot water, making the bathroom smell like lilacs. She'd picked that because it was a much more spring-y scent than some of the others she had. "You'll have a nice bath, then you can pick out clothes. It'll be fun!" she insisted. "I have this sun dress that's earth tones that I think would look lovely on you." she added, adding a few more products to the water as the tub filled.

Just the smell of the tub was luxurious and Marian could scarcely imagine what it would be like to actually smell that like afterward. Roy always told her she smelled of soap, like it was the most pleasant thing in the world, but that's all it was. Cheap soap. This...this smelled like summers she wasn't even sure she remembered. "Okay," she finally agreed, wiping at her eyes quickly with the sleeve of her coat before unbuttoning it.

Zhen moved to help her with it, taking her coat and such, and laying them across the counter. "Feel free to use anything that's in here." she told Marian. "It's all up for grabs. There's shampoo that smells like the bubblebath on the ledge!" she pointed out. "Are you hungry? I could go make something to eat while you soak. And don't be afraid to soak for a while! Relax! Don't get out til you're all pruney!"

Marian's stomach growled at the mere mention of food, loud enough to be heard over the running water. Blushing wildly she dropped her eyes to a button on her dress that she fiddled with. "I could eat," she finally mumbled, nodding at Zhen.

"Then I'll make food! You just let yourself relax." Zhen said, mussing Marian's hair again. "Now I'll get out of your hair and let you do that!" she added, bouncing out of the bathroom to go make food. She was thinking a nice breakfasty spread. Eggs, toast, bacon, maybe some other things. Juice would be nice. She also paused to put her record player on, some light, pretty, upbeat classical starting to play.

Marian closed the door behind Zhen, but then left it cracked just a bit so she could still hear the music. For a moment she lingered in the doorway, just listening, enjoying the sound and the way it danced around her. Shaking herself out of the dream she slipped out of her meager clothes, gently laying them on her coat. Just the feel of the water on her toes when she first stepped into the tub was enough to tell her how incredible the bath would be. It was awkward at first, sitting in that big tub surrounded by bubbles, but after a moment or two she finally relaxed letting herself sink into the water. She washed her hair twice with the shampoo, which was nice enough to actually get out most of the tangles. As instructed she stayed in the bath until pruney, reluctantly climbing out and wrapping herself in a towel nearby. After drying off she changed into her clean clothes, towel drying her hair and pulling a comb through it to get out the last of the tangles. About when she was finishing up the smell of food drifted into the bathroom and she found herself wandering out, just following the scent.

Zhen was setting things out on the dining room table, and she looked up and beamed at Marian. "There you go! Much better, right?" she asked. "Come sit, have something to eat." she added, dropping down into her own chair. "How was your bath?" she asked, smiling sweetly.

"Much, much better," she told Zhen, smiling brightly. She took the offered seat, eyes wide with the amount of food on the table. Oh, she really was hungry. "The bath was lovely. Thanks again Zhen." Marian could still smell the lilacs around her, probably from her hair, which just made her smile more.

Seeing Marian smiling, Zhen felt better. That had been her goal, after all. Not that Marian didn't smile a lot. The girl was great for that. She'd just wanted to give her something to smile about, as opposed to just seeing her smiling for other people. There was a difference, in Zhen-land. "Good! And you're welcome. You deserved it!"

Marian was sure she didn't deserve it, but she nodded anyway, taking a bite from the food on her plate. It was of course delicious, and that showed on her face. Swallowing it down, she fixed her eyes on Zhen, trying hard not to devour the food in another three bites. "Are you here all alone, when you're here?"

"Yes. Or, most of the time. My parents are here sometimes. Usually when they are, however, I don't stay here." Zhen admitted. "They have their own thing going on, I don't need to get into that. I'm happy doing my very own thing. Like helping lovely coworkers." she added.

Marian blushed at being called lovely. She'd heard it before, but coming from Zhen it sounded truly genuine. "Where do you go when they are here?" Marian really wanted to ask if Zhen got lonely, but that seemed far too forward, and it could have led to asking if Marian got lonely. She wasn't quite prepared to answer questions like that about herself.

"Here and there." Zhen said. "I tend to have a lot of different places that I wind up. I like letting the day take me wherever it's going to." Zhen said. "So, Marian, how have you been? What's going on in your life?" she asked. "You've been doing a fabulous job of dodging so far, you're quite good at it, but I would like to know about you."

Marian flushed a deeper red this time. Few people outside of Roy bothered to notice she was deflecting questions and answers away from herself, and yet Zhen seemed to have seen through her act. She took another bite, chewing slowly while she waited for her cheeks to cool. "There isn't much to tell," she finally answered after swallowing. "I've been working what feels like all the time, picking up a few of Carla's shifts here and there. You heard she's pregnant right? Mostly just tired."

"I did hear the happy news." Zhen said, smiling as she ate. "And tired, that seems about right. Just asking. You're such a sweet girl, it's nice to get some proper time with you. I just wondered. You so rarely ever mention yourself. You're very focused on others. It's a trait I don't see much of, honestly."

At that Marian pushed the food around on her plate just a little before taking another bite. "I just don't think there's much to mention." Marian preferred to focus on her friends, on the people at the diner, her brother, anywhere but herself. It took the attention away from how much of a failure she'd been at life. "I am enjoying spending more time with you though," she added with a bright smile.

"Aww, tha'ts so sweet of you! I'm glad you came. And wait! There's always something! You're a lovely, interesting young lady! What're you doing with your life when you're not at the diner?" Zhen asked, still smiling encouragingly at the young woman. "What kind of dreams or hopes do you have?"

Marian thought about that. When she wasn't at the diner, she was at home, usually sleeping or just hiding. "I spend time with my brother I guess," she offered. It was true, but only when she could stand to be around him. "I don't really have hopes or dreams," she told Zhen. Her only hope was to eventually be able to provide for her family, but that seemed like nothing more than a pipe dream.

Zhen just stared at Marian for a long moment. "Marian," she said slowly. "If you don't have hopes or dreams, you are a dead soul." she told her. "Everyone has to have something they look forward to. They have to have something they want, or strive for, or even just daydream about to keep their spirits up. You can't be perfectly content, working your ass off all the time, getting nowhere, and spending time with your brother 'you guess'." she said.

Marian didn't answer, letting the silence spread between them while she considered how to answer. Maybe Zhen was right and she was a dead soul. It certainly felt that way sometimes. Finally she fixed a smile on her face at Zhen. "Well yea, everyone has dreams of being swept off their feet by some rich guy who walks into the diner, or living somewhere like here, or doing something truly momentous with her life, but those are silly day dreams. Things you read about in books." She propped and elbow up on the table and her chin in her hand, smile a little smaller but still there. "I suppose I want to be able to help my family out, have a nice place to live and such. But that hardly sounds like a dream. It's more just a plan." A plan she was doing a lousy job of getting to.

"Those aren't silly dreams. Sometimes it happens." Zhen said. "My family is from a small village in China that doesn't even have a proper name. We didn't have electricity, there was a dirt floor in most of the house, and we were considered better off than the other villagers, who basically lived in huts." she explained. "Now look around and tell me that sometimes things don't go well."

That was surprising to hear, that Zhen's family had gone from almost nothing to all this. "I guess sometimes they do," Marian mused, looking around the room, taking it all in. "Maybe I'll get lucky," she said, finally bringing her eyes back Zhen and pairing it with a little wink. Although she was still pretty sure nothing like that would happen to her, and if it did, she wouldn't know what to do with it.

"Maybe you will." Zhen said with a nod. "Dream, sweetheart. There's nothing wrong with it, and it keeps the spirit alive. Don't ever be afraid to want something else, or more. Don't let go, you're far too young to give up so easily. Fight. Keep fighting. It'll do you well." she said sagely, hoping the girl heeded her advice.

Marian smiled, the small shy smile that people seemed to think was so pretty. "I'll try," she said, sounding as if she meant it. Those dreams had always been there, but she tried so hard to ignore them. Everything about her life so far was an indicator that they wouldn't come true. That the best she could hope for was to survive just a little better than merely getting by.

Zhen hopped up. "Good! I'll hold you to that." she said, tone sweet, even if there was kind of a serious underlying tone to her words. "Now, let's go raid my closet, and you can pick out whatever you'd like. As much as you want, seriously." she said, bowing with a flourish towards her bedroom. She'd be happy to give Marian everything in there if she wanted it.

Still hesitant about actually taking things out of Zhen's closet, Marian did her best to giggle appropriately at Zhen's bow and follow her friend with excitement. There was no denying she was a little excited though, it had been so long since she'd had new things, even if they were just new to her, and there was no denying the threadbare and worn look of everything she already owned.

Zhen's bedroom was huge, far bigger than was anywhere near necessary, and it was decorated with all sorts of odds and ends. There didn't seem to be a true theme at all. Flinging open the closet door, she walked inside of it, turning on the light and then she spun around, indicating the clothes hanging that lined the closet. "Well, here we are! Welcome to Zhen's free store, exclusively open to you! Have at it, darling, take your pick." she invited.

Marian's jaw went a little slack, amazed at the mere size of Zhen's room, eyes darting everywhere trying to just take all the different things in. Sure, there wasn't a specific theme, but that worked with who Zhen was. It was a few moments before she could actually focus on the closet and following Zhen there to look at what was hung along the walls. Again, shock covered her face, as she trailed her fingers along soft cloth. "You have so many pretty things," she said in a hushed voice that one would use in a library or a tomb.

"Well, now some of them can be your pretty things." Zhen said, looking through some dresses, and then she pulled out the one with rich browns that she'd been thinking of for her. "This one right here belongs to you." she said, holding it out to her. "It'll look great on you. It'll go nicely with your hair and eyes." she said.

Marian didn't take the dress yet, but did run her hand along the fabric, flabbergasted at the rich texture, and how it looked almost brand new. "Do you really think so?" she asked, but she knew Zhen was right. "You're sure you're okay with this? Me taking your things? I don't have anyway to repay you."

"I really think so." Zhen said. Then she laughed. "Marian, I took you over here to let you use the bath, and to give you things. Stop asking if it's okay, or I'm sure, or anything like that. I'm sure. I'm not a waffling kind of woman, now am I?" she asked. "And nowhere did I ask for repayment. Call it even for you remembering you have dreams." she said, starting to pick out other things, still holding the dress out to Marian.

Nodding in attempts to keep the tears out of her eyes, Marian took the dress, holding it gently in her arms. Maybe she could go see Roy before work today, show him the new dress and her hair all shiny and smelling like spring before it started to smell like grease from the diner. He would like that wouldn't he? "Thank you," she whispered, very softly as if her voice couldn't get any louder.
"You're welcome." Zhen said, voice soft as well. "Why don't you go try it on?" she suggested, giving Marian an excuse to give herself a minute. "I'll pick some other things out for you, and you can go through again when you're feeling more like the princess you are."

Relieved at the moment to herself, Marian nodded again, moving out of the closet and back into the bedroom to change. It took a few moments though, for her to even get up the courage to take the dress of the hangar and replace the one she had on with it. Once it was on though, she instantly felt prettier, even without looking in a mirror. She stood for another few silent minutes wiping hastily at the tears in her eyes, and pressing her hands against her cheeks to cool them down. Never, had someone outside of Roy been this nice to her, and the whole prospect was overwhelming. After regaining most of her composure she wandered back towards the closet, peeking in nervously before finally stepping in. "Well?" she asked shyly, turning a little so Zhen could see.

Zhen looked over, a mess of clothes over her arm, and she squeed, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Oh you look lovely!" she said immediately, clearly pleased. "It does look sensational on you! Beautiful!" she said, hurring over. She grinned brightly at Marian. "It's very much you. I think you'll be happier with it. And these." she said, holding up the armload of clothes. "If you don't like any of them you don't have to keep them, and of course you can pick out anything else you like, I just thought these specifically would suit you well."

Marian couldn't help but grin at Zhen's reaction, and maybe even bouncing a little on her own toes. It was very hard not to be excited. She was still a little flabbergasted at the actual armload of clothes that Zhen was handing off. "Are you sure you won't miss any of these things?" She'd given up on asking why or protesting that it was too much, even if she was still rather blown away by it. Somewhere between putting on the dress and walking back to the closet she'd resigned herself to take maybe one or two things, but Zhen seemed to have other plans.

"Positive!" Zhen said. "You are meant to have these things. I can see that now, that they're just not mine and never were, I was just holding onto them til you got here." she told the girl with a wink. "So, you'd best take them! I mean, otherwise they're just going to go to waste, and that'd be a terrible shame."

"There really is no use in wasting them," Marian said, but her voice was still hesitant. Zhen though, might have found just the angle she needed to get Marian to willingly take the armful of dresses she was handed. When sometimes she had to scrape to make ends meet, the idea of wasting anything worried Marian. And she knew full well she'd get good use out of the clothes. Marian took the items she'd been handed back into the bedroom, laying them gently on the bed and then sorting through them.

Zhen stood in the closet door, smiling as she watched Marian. "What size shoes do you wear? I have a few you could have that would go with most of them. Possibly all of them, I've got this black pair that would." she suggested.

Marian glanced over her shoulder then down at her stockinged bare feet. "Seven? I think. I haven't bought shoes in a while. Mostly I just make do with what I have." Shoes that were too big had scraps of fabric shoved in the toes to make them fit, and shoes that were too small she just didn't wear to work.

"Well, come look for some shoes. I think I have sixes through sevens." Zhen said, pulling out boxes that had shoes tossed in, pretty haphazardly. But they were all in decent condition. Pulling out a specific set of black dress shoes, she eyed them critically. "I think these'll fit you. And black goes with everything!"

Taking the shoes, Marian set them on the ground and slipped her feet into them. Of course they were the perfect fit, and of course they felt better on her feet than her old scuffed up worn out shoes. "Do they work?" she asked hesitantly. A new pair of shoes and a new wardrobe? Marian had to stop herself from pinching her arm to make sure she was awake.

Zhen stood back, and looked Marian up and down critically. "Yes!" she suddenly decided. "I think they do. So they're yours!" she added, then got out a few more pairs, just sort of random ones, that would go with other clothes she'd given the girl, so she'd have a few pairs to choose from, and not have to go with the same ones every day--which she'd noticed previously that the girl did.

Marian flushed a little, smiling down at her feet. She felt good, for the first time in a long time. It was a nice feeling, a really nice feeling. Looking back up at Zhen, who was still sorting through the shoes, Marian couldn't help the tears that were still threatening to spill. In an attempt to cover them, she moved forward, throwing her arms around her friend in a grateful hug. "I don't know what to say," she mumbled a little, voice a little weak from holding back tears.

Blinking, Zhen laughed warmly, and hugged Marian back. "Say 'thanks!'" she suggested. "That works fine for me. But really, the hug and smile works for me too, so I believe we're even. I can tell you appreciate it all. That's what matters to me." she said honestly. Marian was deserving, in her book. So, she was trying to give her something good in her life, see what that catalysted. What kinds of changes Marian might make, just from this sort of kindness leveled in her direction.

Sometimes all it took was one thing. A new dress. Feeling pretty. Sometimes it was all the little things.

Marian nodded, tears in her eyes but still smiling. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," she said, hurrying through the words. Sniffing a little, she tried at a bigger smile. "I do really appreciate it. I want to do something nice for you now." She chewed on her lip a little, because there was so little she could do.

"Oh, don't worry about that. Just remember having dreams. Go forth into the world and have things on your mind that you want to do tomorrow. Give yourself that, and I'll be happy." Zhen told her, grinning. "Sound good?" she asked.

She could do that. Or at least try and do that. Spending this time with Zhen though, reminded Marian that there were good people in the world. People who still did things out of the kindness of their hearts. "Sounds good," she agreed, swiping at her eyes with the heel of her hands again to get rid of the tears.

Zhen sat back, and smiled at her. "Let's pack up your new things." she said. "Then you can go and spend some you-time before work." Since she knew Marian worked today. But she had time. Some time to just kind of enjoy herself for a bit before she went back tot he grind.

Marian was nodding again, moving back to the bed to sort through things, packing what she could in the bag she'd brought with her. Checking her watch she realized she very well might have time to find Roy before having to be at work. She could show him her new dress before having to change into her work uniform. And she could see if he was feeling better today, coughing less, sleeping better.