After they took just five steps into the house, a voice was heard from above them. They looked up and saw an old woman standing on the stairs.
"Well, hello," she said, smiling, as she walked down towards them. "Can't remember the last time we had visitors."
"We knocked," Kevin said. "But no one answered."
"Yes, well. My hearing isn't as good as it used to be," said the old woman, who was actually maybe not as old as Kevin first thought she was. Once she was close enough to them, she held out her hand. "My name's Mary."
Kevin shook her hand. "Kevin. And this is my girlfriend Julie," he said, nodding towards her.
The woman looked at Julie, up and down. Maybe a little too much.
Kevin coughed. "We were wondering if you knew of any towns around here. We're ... kind of lost."
"Most people that come out this way are," the woman said. "But thank goodness, they can get my hospitality."
"So, do you know how far the next town is?" Kevin asked.
"Why don't you two make yourselves comfortable," the woman said, then turned and walked into another room.
"Excuse me," Kevin said. "We need ..." He shook his head, then turned back towards Julie. "She's ignoring me."
"She has hearing problems, remember?" Julie said.
"That wasn't a hearing problem. She's deliberately trying to keep us here."
"Why?" Julie asked.
"Good question."
