She rose with a nod.  "Though you don't really have to get up.  Small apartment, you'll easily be able to hear me if you don't want to get up." She gave him a friendly smile and left it up to him whether or not he followed the few paces over to her kitchen that was separated from the living space by just a bar and counter top.<br/><br/>She grabbed the coffee pot and a dish towel to set underneath it on her coffee table, as well as the muffins.  She found she couldn't remember when she last ate.  "My parents never married, like I said.  We lived in a pretty small town so it was a pretty big deal.  Everybody knew.  Dad got a promotion at work when I was ten and moved from St. Clairsville, Ohio to Columbus.  It was three hours away so I pretty much just saw him the traditional rotating holidays of couples who are no longer together and share a kid.  Mom dated a long string of losers, even after I went to live with dad.  She died when I was nineteen.  I pretty much lost touch with her side of the family after that.  I still hear from Dad at Christmas, my birthday and I guess every other month or so.  He calls to make sure I'm okay.  He's never asked for money or anything.  He wasn't a dead beat dad or anything, but neither was he ever really much more than a sperm donor. He made it to my first gallery showing." She shrugged.  "I didn't grow up unloved or in a truly terrible situation, but I didn't have the Norman Rockwell paintings either."<br/><br/>As she spoke, she sat back down on the couch after placing everything on the table.  She sat facing Marcus with one leg bent and tucked beneath her while the other trailed off the couch.