Up & Out - Ariella Papa [41]
“Rebecca?” I turn to see Jen behind me in the bagel line. She’s been out sick all week but looks fine.
“Hey, Jen, how are you? We missed you this week. Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, I feel much better.” She looks nervous.
“It’s all going okay, I mean our new boss is…” I shouldn’t say what I really think. She is Hackett’s niece, and besides she has to make her own impressions. “Well, she’s no Hackett.”
“Who is?” she says in jest.
“But are you okay?” I ask.
“I think the change of weather really messed with me.”
“It has been very warm.” I wonder how sick she is or if Hackett has given her some kind of warning about more changes. “Will you be in on Monday?”
“Yeah, everything’s fine now. I feel much better. I’ll be in tomorrow.” That’s right, tomorrow is Monday. It just kind of snuck up on me—like the sake. “What are you doing around here? I thought you lived in Hell’s Kitchen.”
“I did.” That was where I had lived with Tommy. “Actually I probably will again, but now I live in Flatiron. I’m just kind of visiting someone. I think he lives on your street. You’re on Barrow, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Cool. I’ll wait for you.” I hope that she doesn’t feel like I’ve caught her doing something wrong. It’s just a coincidence.
She eyes my outfit. I had thrown on my tight silk black shirt from last night and a pair of Seamus’s sweats that are too big.
“Actually, I had a date with the guy I was telling you about.”
“Seems like it went well.”
“Um, yeah.” She gives me a look and I feel like she is Lauryn, trying to gauge whether or not I had success in the sack. You just can’t reveal those things to your co-workers. Instead, I tell her about how I confronted Janice about her relationship with John.
“I’m sorry I missed that. This is me.” She stops in front of Seamus’s building.
“What a coincidence, this is my friend Seamus’s building, too. What floor are you on?”
“The second.”
“Small world. He’s on the fourth. You’re lucky you don’t have to walk up more. There are what, ten apartments?”
“Yeah.” We go inside and say goodbye. I walk up to Seamus’s apartment and knock. He answers the door. He’s on his cell phone. He’s washed up. His curly light brown hair is still a mess. He looks really sexy. He smiles at me and doesn’t stop watching me.
“Yeah, I’ll call you later, okay. Bye.” He hangs up the phone and puts it on the fireplace mantel. “Hi.”
“Hey.”
“You look good in my sweats.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ll help you take them off.”
“Thank you…”
By the time I remember to mention that Jen lives in the same building, I am otherwise occupied.
On Monday morning, I am tired, but I have a much better perspective on things. I did not spend Sunday with The X-Files or with Mr. Wizard. Instead, on Sunday night, Seamus and I went to Brite Food Shop, in my neighborhood, because he hadn’t been there. He really enjoyed their Asian Latin Fusion and was way into his white-bean-and-wild-mushroom quesadilla.
I am thinking of considering him my boyfriend. It was still a bit strange to have sex with someone new, but there was a point where I just relaxed and it all happened the right way. Once. That’s a start.
If we are going to be in a relationship, I think the best thing to do is to keep my living situation a secret. I hint over dinner that I might be moving soon. He has work to do tonight, so he doesn’t come over.
Lauryn doesn’t say a word when I get in. She just raises an eyebrow. I give her a thumbs-up and she slaps my hand with more fervor.
“What should I do with the TV?”
“Storage?” I suggest.
“Okay, but if you and Tommy aren’t living together anymore, you should take it. Have you made your decision yet?”
I have, but I haven’t told Tommy. I don’t want to think about him today. I just want to enjoy the good day I had with Seamus. I’ll call Tommy tomorrow after my meeting with Delores. Then I will surely appreciate the sound of his voice.
Delores is wearing a very long skirt that