*** 10 minutes later***

Maria heard the crunch of tires on gravel. Even before she looked out the window, she knew what she would see. She was right-- the old brown station wagon was parked out front, and Elisa was coming out of it. Seeing Maria, she waved cheerfully. Maria waved back with less than enthusiasm. Maria got up to go open the door, and slowly walked down the steps. She scuffled to the door , and with infinite care, unlocked it. She hesitatingly put her hand on the knob, and pretended to struggle with turning it. Elisa was looking in, of course, and she giggled through the glass. Maria finally opened the door, and invited Elisa in.
"Hi! Run into any traffic getting here?", said Maria jokingly.
"No, of course not! Why do you think I got here so fa-- oh, I mean, sure, lots of traffic."
"Well, sit down, make yourself at home.", Maria offered the sofa to her. The amount of time you spend here, thought Maria bitterly, this could be your home.
"Thanks. Say, do you have anything to drink? I'm a little thirsty."
"Oh, lots. What do you want? Coke? Sprite? White grape juice?"
"I'll take the white grape juice, please. Thank you." Elisa watched as Maria walked to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator and took out a bottle.
"Could you put ice in mine?", Elisa asked.
"Sure."
Maria got glasses, got ice, and poured the juice into the glasses. She brought them over to the coffee table and set them down. Elisa took a big gulp from her glass, and sighed .
"That's much better. Thank you soooo much."
"Welcome."
"Hey, I brought my new CD along. It's "Rosebush" by Thorn. Do you want to hear it? It's great."
"Sure, let's go upstairs-- I have a CD player in my room."
They both got up, picked up their drinks, and walked upstairs into Maria's room. They set their drinks down on the nightstand, and Elisa put the CD into the CD player.
Light rock played:
"Flowers fade,
they wither away,
but for one lovely day,
their beauty stays.

How quickly summer flees,
the leaves fall from the trees,
chains and locks are the breeze,
with heartbreak the keys.

Life doesn't last,
today will be the past,
the futures always out, just out of reach.
Like the tide and the beach.

Flowers fade,
they wither away,
but for one lovely day,
their beauty stays."

As the song ended, Elisa said, "Isn't that the most wonderfully depressing song you've ever heard?"
"Yeah, it's not bad.", commented Maria truthfully.
"Well, so, now what do we do?"
"Could you wait for a second? Mother Nature Calls."
"Huh?"
"I have to go."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
Maria goes out the door and heads towards the bathroom. Elisa waits until she shuts the door, then reaches into her purse and pulls out a little package of something. She tears it open and dumps the contents into Maria's glass. She quickly stuffs the empty package back into her purse as Maria comes back. Maria sits down on the bed, and takes a sip of her drink.
"Let's play monopoly", suggested Maria.
"Okay."
Maria reaches under her bed and pulls out a dusty box. She blows the dust off the cover, and opens the box. She takes out the board and asks Elisa,
"Which little thingy do you want?"
"I personally like the hat."
"I'll take the horse."
"You go first."
"No, you. You're the guest."
"All right." Elisa rolls the dice. "Seven. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.", counts Elisa as she moves her piece. "Chance." She picks up a card from the pile. "Get out of jail free. Oh, goody. I'll need that. Your turn." "Could you hand me the dice?", called Maria from the bed. Elisa gave the dice to her. Maria rolled the dice. "Eleven. Could you move for me? I'm a little tired", Maria yawned.
"Sure." Elisa moved the horse eleven spaces. "Maria?"
Maria was fast asleep. Elisa looked up, and smiled. She said, "I'm going home, Maria."