Room 83

[Richie]

Everyone - everything indeed - deserved a name. His car had a name of her own and Richie would claim that she had a personality as well, with a temper that you had to be careful not to get on the wrong side of. The little blond girl currently demolishing possibly the most unhealthy meal he could conceivably give a child her age was no exception and really Richie should have thought things through a little more clearly. It was energy though, fats and Richie had to keep telling himself that, had to remind himself she needed every scrap of food and energy that she could get; he just wished he'd maybe gotten something a little more healthy and a little less likely to get a glare from social services when they found out.

Carefully, he eased the wardrobe door open, reaching in and pulling out a blue jacket. It was one of his favourites, warm, comfortable and often a source of mild mannered arguments and exasperation in the Green house house, as his wife hadn't been able to stand it. So she claimed at least, saying the shade of blue was all wrong for him, and she was an artist, she saw these things so much more clearly than other people did and it was a hideous coat. Richie had always been rather fond of it nevertheless, enjoying the mild arguments they would have about it. It was comfortable, it was warm and it was for that reason that he carefully left it on the edge of the bed and moved back to his original seat. "It's for you," Richie told the little girl when he was seated, not wishing to startle her by offering it while closer. "Keep you warm Kiddo."

[Susie]

For a long minute after he sat down Susie stared at him and then the coat, and then back at him. When she had finished her mouthful of French fries she slid forwards and hopped off the bed, moving to pick up the coat, though her blue eyes stayed on him until she had her hand on it. Susie lifted it up and turned it around, as if scrutinising it deeply. Then she promptly put it on. Obviously it was just huge on her, reaching well past her knees, almost to her ankles, the shoulders slumped off her coltish frame like wings sprouting out from her back and the front probably could have wrapped around her waist at least twice. Susie wormed her arms into the sleeves and flapped them a little to work her tiny hands out of them, her fingers wiggling a bit. Then she turned around properly, looked up at Richie and smiled.