Rooted to the spot

[dirk__gently]

Answering the phone for Maddie’s place is a cushy job, and it’s not raising Dirk’s opinion of his former secretary. Of course, Maddie’s business doesn’t get many calls from irate old ladies wanting to know why they’re being billed several hundred pounds for things like ‘realignment of causal stability’ when Dirk still hasn’t found their lost cat.

Comments

[anodynetwin]

Maddie notices. It takes her a while, what with all the rushing around and the fact that Dirk doesn't really like moving or going out to begin with. But normal people do not make creaky noises, and they get uncomfortable sitting perfectly still for hours unless they're yogis.

She passes close by him a few times to get a good look, and finally shakes her head and nudges him with a hip in passing. "Ey! Look alive there, Gently. Are you all right? You literally look a bit grey." She grabs a beer-theme mirror from off the wine-fridge and points it at him to for emphasis.

[dirk__gently]

He's not the most active person, but he's inclined to going out to get smokes and the paper, or visiting the bar. There are people who make creaking noises, but Dirk would protest he's still in the under-50 set and should not be one of them. The rest is just plain odd.
The first few times she passes by, he doesn't seem to notice, deeply absorbed in his magazine, or maybe sleeping with his eyes open. When she does speak his response is slow, as if he were very distracted. "...Mmmuh? Hm. Oh, afternoon... I'm fine..." Truth be told he's a little dazed, as he realizes he's been staring at the same page of the scientific journal for more than an hour, his mind almost a blank.
Dirk's mind is never a blank...
He blinks at his reflection, scowls, and takes off his glasses to clean them before looking again. "Not enough mental stimulation, I've... been inside more than usual..." He scowls at his reflection again, privately unsettled. Something's not right here, but he hates to admit it until he's worked out what it is.