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Post by skybright on Feb 2, 2008 23:51:21 GMT -5
Marla laughed quietly. "That's certainly a . . . cynical point of view. Then again, with some of the things Marcus has seen . . ." She shrugged, "It may well be justified."
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Post by Jordanna on Feb 3, 2008 23:08:29 GMT -5
"Well, I've talked to senior officers who had to deal with politicians. Men I respected--and, well..." Nate shrugged. "They didn't exactly have much faith in the system."
He chuckled. "But what do I know. I've always left politics alone if I could help it--just voted my conscience and kept my mouth shut."
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Post by skybright on Feb 3, 2008 23:13:56 GMT -5
"More people should follow that example." Marla said, drying out a mixing bowl.
She chuckled quietly. "Marcus always was a shameless idealist, even when we were children. He knows better than anyone what kind of people get into politics . . . but he always thought he could make a difference in it anyway. That he could do better than most."
Her smile faded abruptly and she set the bowl aside. "Well . . . it was a nice ideal, anyway."
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Post by Jordanna on Feb 3, 2008 23:23:34 GMT -5
"I guess you have to have some ideals just to survive," Nate mused, rinsing a handful of silverware. "Even if it's just the ideal of getting rid of one piece of scum, like Tiernan. It won't change the world, and it might even open a new can of worms in some ways--but at least it'll save some lives in the short run."
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Post by skybright on Feb 3, 2008 23:30:02 GMT -5
"All anyone can do is try, I suppose." Marla said thoughtfully. "Try and make what they can better -- or at least not make it any worse."
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Post by Jordanna on Feb 3, 2008 23:37:07 GMT -5
Nate nodded thoughtfully, set aside the last plate, and drained the sink.
"Well... I guess this is where we start looking for ways to kill some time."
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Post by skybright on Feb 3, 2008 23:44:28 GMT -5
"I guess so." Marla smiled thinly and folded the dishtowel over the edge of the sink. "Uh . . . any suggestions?"
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Post by Jordanna on Feb 4, 2008 0:05:40 GMT -5
Nate shrugged. "Well, there's cards, chess, TV... Uh, if you want to take advantage of the hot tub, I'll watch a movie or take a nap or something." He grinned a bit sheepishly.
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Post by skybright on Feb 4, 2008 0:18:51 GMT -5
Marla blushed darkly and ducked her head. "Uhm . . . maybe later."
She shrugged. "I'm up for pretty much anything else. I'm really not very good at chess, though."
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Post by Jordanna on Feb 4, 2008 21:44:08 GMT -5
"Not the most exciting game, huh? My dad taught me, but I'm nowhere near the strategist he is." Nate grinned. "I'm better at following orders than making decisions."
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Post by skybright on Feb 5, 2008 0:40:15 GMT -5
Marla smiled crookedly. "I always end up taking forever because I have to stop and think about what each piece is supposed to be doing. I'm not much good at keeping track of all of them at once."
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Post by Jordanna on Feb 5, 2008 21:14:27 GMT -5
"Heck, every now and then, I forget what direction a piece is supposed to move," Nate laughed.
"Okay, so not chess. What kind of card games do you play?"
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Post by skybright on Feb 5, 2008 22:59:55 GMT -5
"Oh, you know. Whist, bridge, hearts, rummy . . . poker." She laughed. "My dad taught me that last one, much to Mother's chagrin."
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Post by Jordanna on Feb 5, 2008 23:02:37 GMT -5
Nate laughed. "Poker was a typical barracks game, but I don't think I could see myself playing that with a lady."
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Post by skybright on Feb 5, 2008 23:15:46 GMT -5
Marla grinned crookedly. "That sounds about like what my mother said when she caught my dad teaching me."
She shrugged. "Well . . . I suppose we could play gin rummy. That's one Mother considered to be relatively civilized."
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Post by Jordanna on Feb 5, 2008 23:28:18 GMT -5
"I don't think I've played that one." Nate chuckled. "If I did, I guess I've forgotten or got it confused with something else. You don't need four players for that? Or am I thinking about bridge?"
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Post by skybright on Feb 5, 2008 23:33:33 GMT -5
Marla laughed and shook her head. "No, that's bridge. Or canasta, or regular rummy." She grinned and ducked her head. "To be honest, all the card games my mother thought of as 'civilized' were ones she and her Hollywood friends could play over gossip and those little finger sandwiches."
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Post by Jordanna on Feb 5, 2008 23:57:14 GMT -5
"Uh-oh, more of that etiquette stuff," Nate chortled. "Okay, I'm game."
They had entered the living room. Nate fished around, trying to remember the hundred things Sid had told him over the phone about the house, and finally located a deck of cards in the drawer of an end table.
"Here we go." He pulled a chair up to the coffee table, leaving the sofa opposite for Marla. "Let's see just how dense I am."
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Post by skybright on Feb 6, 2008 0:12:42 GMT -5
Marla settled onto the sofa and chuckled. "Hey, blame the teacher, not the student."
She broke open the pack of cards and began shuffling. "The object of gin is to get either sets of at least three of the same card, or runs of three or more in the same suit." She explained, dealing out ten cards for herself and ten for Nate. "The first person to do that knocks on the table to signal the end of the hand."
She set the remaining cards of the deck in the center of the coffee table and flipped the top card over next to the stack. "On each turn you either draw the top card from the discard pile," She pointed to the single face-up card, "Or the top card the stockpile . . . uh, the rest of the deck. Then you discard one you don't want, and your turn is over."
Marla shrugged. "That's . . . all there is to it, really. Scoring is a little more complicated, but you don't do that until the hand is over. Oh, and aces are low instead of high."
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Post by Jordanna on Feb 6, 2008 22:45:43 GMT -5
"Okay. Three of a kind. Right." Nate scratched behind his ear and studied his cards with a frown. At length he picked up a card from the stockpile, and then put down a red eight. "Like that?"
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