Title: Don't Leave Home Without It (1/1)
Authors: Cousin Shelley and Arletta Asbury
Faction: Cousins
Time:  Late Morning
Date:  Wednesday, July 11th, 2001
Disclaimers: All participants used with permission


Shelley sat on her bed, staring at the credit card that
bore the name Lucian LaCroix.  Possibilities whirled in
her mind.  She could turn it in ... no, *should* turn it
in.  And she would.  Eventually.

"Shelley, what are you doing?" Arletta asked, walking into
the room from her adjoining room.  Seeing the other woman
staring at the "borrowed" credit card, she said simply,
"oh."

Arletta then observed something very frightening.  The look
on Shelley's face.  Her eyes twinkled, her mouth smiled,
and she looked entirely too happy.

"We're gonna get in trouble, aren't we?"

"Not unless we get caught!  Come on!!" Shelley replied,
dragging her out the door.

"That's UNTIL we get caught," Arletta muttered, more to
herself than her oblivious partner.

------------------------------------------

Arriving at the department store, Shelley still had on
that entirely too happy look on her face.  "Electronics
are on the 3rd floor," she said, heading for the escalator.

"What do we need in electronics?"

"Ohhhh, some stuff ...."

Arletta groaned.

"Look TV's!  Isn't this one CUTE??  We need new TV's
for our rooms at CERK, don't you think?"

"Uhhhh ... no ...."

"We'll take two, delivered, please." Shelley smiled at
the clerk.  Handing him a small gray credit card, she said,
"charge it!  Charge EVERYTHING!!!"

Arletta held her head in a useless attempt to stop her
growing headache.  "Uhhh, Shelley?  Maybe we shouldn't ...."

The clerk was looking very excited at the blonde customer
with charge-it-itis.  "May I show you some DVD players?"

"Oooooooo!  I've always wanted one of those!"

Arletta looked from Shelley to the clerk and suddenly had
two distinct sensations.  The first was an undeniable
feeling of impending doom.  The second was a migraine.
She had to try again.  "Shelley?  See, this really can't
be explained away as research ...."

The blonde Cousin actually stopped for a moment to
consider that last statement.  "Hmmmmmm, then we'll just
have to tie it back somehow to the research ... wait!
I know!!  We attacked the UF without much reason, right?"

"Rrrriiiiiiight," Arletta said carefully, wondering where
the catch was going to be.

"So, we owe them an apology ... sort of.  I mean, generally,
Cousins don't *do* apologies, but this is an emergency,
right?  A spending emergency!  Let's get them something nice."

Arletta wasn't sure she even followed the tirade, much less
agreed to it.  "Something *nice*?" she asked, her head
pounding.

"Yeah!  Hey clerk, how much does a large screen TV cost?
Oh what the heck, the whole entertainment center?  Oh, and
can you deliver it to an address completely anonymously?"

The nameless clerk just nodded his head and smiled, silently
adding up his commission for the day.  "Whatever you need, we
can do!" he replied, enthusiastically.

"Shelley, this isn't going to go over well with ...."

"OOOOOOOOHHHHHHH!!!!!  LOOKY!!!  DIGITAL CAMERA'S!!"

"Don't you HAVE one already?"

"Not with ZOOM!"

-----------------------------------------

Jess, the Cousinly Receptionist, picked up the phone and
quickly dialed Shelley's room.  "Shelley?  There's a
delivery here for you ... a BIG one," she said into the
phone, staring at the stacks of boxes all over the lobby.

*************