Just a minute ago, a guy and a gal strolled into Peggy's apartment building, chatting and laughing as they headed upstairs.
In the security room, the gal on duty checked the info and recognized the visitors. "Hurry, call Miss Lisa!" she told her buddy. See, Lisa was in charge of all of them for better management.
"Shit!" Lisa got the call and muttered a curse, then dialed Adam fast. No answer. She kept trying while sneaking a peek through the peephole.
By then, the couple had reached Peggy's door. Lisa's mind raced with thoughts, but she held back and whispered, "Boss, it's not that I'm slacking, but who could've seen this coming? You're on your own now…"
"Haven't seen Peggy in ages, let's surprise her!" The woman, looking all glowy and not even forty, fished out the key from her purse and grinned at the middle-aged guy next to her as she unlocked the door.
"Linda, it's pretty late, maybe we should've given Peggy a heads-up," the middle-aged guy said gently, gazing at her with love in his eyes.
"No worries, she's probably still up, you know how she gets with her science stuff," Peggy's mom, Linda, replied with a sweet smile She twisted the lock, swung the door open, and threw her arms wide, but her "surprise!" got stuck in her throat when she didn't see Peggy.
"The light's on, she must be in the bedroom or the bathroom. David, why don't you chill on the sofa for a bit?"
"Sure thing." David gave a gentle smile.
Even though he's not Peggy's dad—and even if he were—now that she's grown up, there are still things to be careful about. You know, there's some nasty stuff going on in the States. Being a decent guy, he makes sure to mind these details.
"Peggy?" Linda called out while heading to the bedroom.
Inside the bedroom, Adam, with his super hearing, picked up on Linda and David's arrival right away. But the window was tiny, and they were on the third floor, so with his size, slipping out wasn't easy. He was totally stressing out .
Help, what's it like to be caught in bed by your "mother-in-law"?
"Peggy?" Just then, Linda twisted the bedroom door open.
"Mom." The bedside lamp was on, and Peggy, lying on her side facing the door, casually greeted Linda.
"Oh, you're in bed? Forgot to turn off the living room light, huh?" Linda came over, sat on the bed, and chuckled as she felt Peggy's forehead. "Wait, you're a bit warm. You don't have a fever, do you?"
Right then, her face changed, and she stood up to flip on the main light. But she sensed something was off and quickly glanced behind Peggy. In the dim part of the bed, there was definitely someone else lying there.
"Oh my God!" Linda gasped, covering her mouth, and stared at her daughter in shock.
"Peggy!"
"I'm an adult now," Peggy said, still lying on her side with a whatever look.
"Linda, everything alright?" David called from outside the bedroom, hearing the commotion.
"I'm okay," Linda answered, then glared behind Peggy. "Who is that? Come out now! Or do I have to pull the covers off?"
"Hey there, Mrs. Adler~" Adam finally popped his head out from under the covers and greeted her casually with a little wave .
"Adam?" Linda recognized him right away, and her face relaxed a little.
Looks matter, you know. Her daughter's amazing, and most guys just don't cut it. But Adam's different. Not only does he look good with Peggy, but his accomplishments are just as impressive—maybe even better. Hey, it's a money world, right? Everything's about cash. Even the best scientists gotta eat.
If it were some other guy, she'd be pissed . But since it's Adam, she figures she can deal with it.
"Peggy, Uncle David's here too. You two better get yourselves together and come out," Linda said, shooting Adam a look before turning to Peggy.
"Okay," Peggy replied, frowning a bit.
Linda shook her head with a half-smile, left the bedroom, and shut the door behind her.
In the living room, David, the sweet middle-aged guy, noticed something was off with his partner and quickly asked, "What's up?"
"Peggy's all grown up now…" Linda awkwardly summed up what happened.
Since they'd have to meet each other soon, it was better to give a heads-up to avoid more awkwardness.
"So, this Adam's been Peggy's friend since they were kids, and he's pretty great, huh?" David grinned .
Being the nice guy, he wanted to help his partner feel better.
"Yeah," Linda nodded. "Remember when I told you about my divorce with Barry? Peggy was so upset she started to give up on everything. Thank goodness Adam and Sheldon were there to bring her back."
"Good thing, or Peggy wouldn't be where she is today," David chimed in.
"Sheldon's the same age as Peggy, and Adam's a few years older. Even though they're all friends, Peggy used to hang out with Sheldon more," Linda said, a bit conflicted. "So, Adam showing up like this caught me off guard."
"That's how young folks are," David reassured her. "When they click, things happen fast. Peggy's always buried in her research, and you can't look after her like you used to, so she's probably been lonely. This might be a good thing."
"Yeah," Linda said with a small smile . "Peggy's always been unique. I was worried that our stuff might mess with her, but now I see she's really grown up. She's got her own life, and it's not just about science anymore. I can relax a bit."
"Still, we gotta check out this guy," David said, glancing at the bedroom with a weird look.
They'd been talking for a bit, but there was zero noise from the bedroom. Hmm…
"David, you'll help me keep an eye on this later," Linda said, then realized something was off. Her face turned red, and she yelled toward the bedroom, "Peggy!"
No answer from the bedroom. Everything went silent.
David's lip twitched as he thought, Kids these days, no way…
After a solid ten seconds of silence, Linda's face twisted, and she hissed, "Adam Duncan!!!" "Just a sec, almost ready," Adam called out awkwardly from the bedroom.
"Right," David thought, shaking his head at how kids behave these days. Seeing Linda's face turn red, he quickly changed the topic. "Hey, Linda, you hungry? Maybe we can whip up something to eat?"
"No, thanks," Linda said, unable to smile even at her partner right now.
That little jerk, Adam Duncan! This is too much!
And just when she thought Adam couldn't be any more shameless, time proved her wrong. It was a whole half hour later when they finally heard the bedroom door opening. While they waited, David tried to distract himself by reading on his phone. He came across a page mentioning "pat-reon:belamy20," but his mind was elsewhere, wondering what was taking so long.
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