"Oh Lou, you're so sweet." The words melted out her mouth like honey as Lou approached with a glass of wine, swirling it as any experienced wine drinker would. "You really didn't have to do this, honestly."
"It's the least I could do, Aubrey." Lou's lips pulled back into a wide smile, placing her glass in front of her before looking back as he turned to quickly stir the sizzling pork chops as they browned in the pan. "For a new colleague, after all."
On the stove top sat a large pan where the pork chops were about to be smothered and on the back burner sat mashed potatoes, a dab of butter melting in them. From the oven, the smell of roasted Parmesan asparagus filled the tiny apartment.
Aubrey smiled back warmly, elbows set on the counter in front of the stove. With her head tilted slightly, she circled the rim of her wineglass slowly. She glanced down briefly as he turned his eyes back to the stove.
It was so cute how he thought she wouldn't notice the slight residue on the rim of the glass…or the reach into his pocket when she'd turned to adjust her hair in the mirror in the living room.
"Well, I really appreciate this." She walked around the counter and placed a hand on his shoulder, not failing to catch the brief moment of tension as he turned to look at her.
"I have to admit, when Mr. Smith told Nina about my partnership with the station she acted very reluctant…she seemed panicked almost." Aubrey furrowed her eyebrow slightly. "It was very strange."
"Oh, Ms. Nina can be a strange woman sometimes." He laughed, "I'm sure she meant well however. In fact, you weren't the only one she was reluctant to take on. She was reluctant to take anything I put in front of her at first. But that's the key, Aubrey, persistence. You have to be persistent in anything that you want, it depends solely on you."
"Oh course, Lou. That's exactly how I feel. Good things come to those who work hard, after all." She asked, leaning over to stir the potatoes for him. "If you want something, you have to be ready for anything."
"Oh absolutely. It appears that you're on the right track, my friend."
He took his glass and took a sip of wine. Their eye's met briefly and they smiled. The air tensed as she reached over and took her own glass of wine, swirling it ever so slightly.
"Have you tried the wine yet? It's absolutely exquisite." He asked, pulling plates down from the cabinet.
"Oh, yeah actually. I took a sip earlier, I'm saving it for dinner really though."
His lips pulled back in a satisfied smile as he set the dishes aside. Dissatisfied with her answer.
"How did you find it? It's a bit dryer than I usually enjoy, but an employee of mine recently raved about this particular brand. When I heard you would be joining me at the station I knew right away I should get it for the occasion."
"It was really good actually. I don't usually like dry wine either but this has a pleasantly unique taste to it."
Knock. Knock. Lou paused, eyes fixed on the door down the hall.
Aubrey waited. "Are you going to get that?" She asked politely.
"Of course," He said, taking his glass along with him. Her eyebrows furrowed in frustration at her missed attempt to swap their glasses. She leaned back against the sink and, watching him as he answered the door, dumped a swig of her drink backwards down the drain.
He came back carrying a package that he set aside promptly, returning to turn the fire off on the pork chops and spooned some mashed potatoes on their plates. As he turned his back to place the plates on the fold out TV trays she took their drinks and set them down beside their food, swapping them in the process over. Lou's looked at the glass of wine at his plate, a flicker of unease across his face.
She turned her eyes up to him from her seat, and sipped her drink. He smiled weakly at her, easing slowly down into his seat. Had she swapped their drinks? She couldn't possibly have known.
"Toast? To a new friendship! It's a pleasure to meet someone with such similar interests." She raised her drink up with laughter and he followed suit with a cautious smile. Clink.
"To new friendship."
He swallowed. They placed their drinks down at the same time and cut into their food simultaneously. Silence filled the air as they ate, the clock above the kitchen stove reading nine PM. The TV in front of them played a rerun of Seinfeld. Aubrey giggle as Kremer once again hid from the cableman.
"I used to love this show when I was younger." She took another drink with her eyes fixed on the TV. His drink went untouched, even as she was placing the last bite of food in her mouth. She glanced down at the watch on her risk as she swallowed. "I really hate to say it, but I think it's getting a little late. I have a lot of work to do this coming week."
"Oh of course," Lou stood up as she grabbed her purse and rinsed her plate off in the sink. "It's been very nice to have you for dinner, Aubrey. Take care." He held the door open for her. She placed a hand on his shoulder as she walked out.
"You take care too. Thank you again." She smiled and left.
The clock above the toilet ticked midnight as he vomited violently. His whole body contracted with the hurl, drops of sweat rolled down his ghostly pale face. He raised his head; the room tilted and spun with the movement, the sound of violent ringing deafened his ears. He reached up for his home phone on the bathroom counter and weakly hit the 911 dial, dropping the phone on the floor in the process. Only just managing to weakly pull himself to his feet, he moved unsteadily toward the hall.
"911 What's your emergency?"
"Come," He gasped for air at the word, his body slamming against the hallway wall and he sunk slowly to the hardwood floors. "hurry."
As paramedics rushed him into the hospital, his eyes rolled up into his head and his body seized, someone called to hold him down, quickly. Straps went across his head and body as a needle pierced the skin on his forearm. Then…darkness.
By time he came back around the TV murmured quietly, the room blurry for the first couple times he blinked. His door slightly adjourned. A nurse walked in and froze, seeing him staring back at her with empty eyes.
"He's awake," She said quietly, a tinge of disbelief in her voice. She turned and rushed back out and was followed back in by a man in a white coat.
"Mr. Bloom," The man stuck out his hand and Lou looked at it blankly, dazed. The doctor withdrew his hand awkwardly and put it into the pocket of his coat.
"Where am I?" His throat felt dry, scorched like the desert.
"Alive! Amazingly," The doctor took his chart and flipped through the papers. "As much as I hate to admit it, we really don't have an idea of what caused your episode. We've decided to keep you longer for more tests. We need to ensure this doesn't happen again."
Lou looked down towards his feet slowly and twitched his toes under the blanket, just to be sure they could still be moved. The doctor followed his gaze.
"However, it doesn't appear that you'll have any lasting side effects...Though I do suspect it'll be a good week or two before you're finally back on your feet. You've been out for a few days."
The door was pushed open by a young looking girl; she carried a large bouquet of flowers in front of her. Her eye's widened at Lou staring back at her. The errand girl at the station…Layna, was it?
"M-Mr. Bloom! You're awake! I uhm, Ms. Aubrey sent these flowers for you."
He observed the bright get well soon sign sitting in the flowers, framed by yellow daisies. A smilie face stuck sideways in the dirt. His eyes turned up toward the news on the TV. His station…Not his film. His jaw clenched, causing his head to ache. The camera zoomed in at the man hanging limply from a free, a broken branch impaled through the chest.
"Aubrey's really done a good job with filming this week," Layna spoke timidly, trying to ease the look of tension on Lou's face. She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and straightened out her skirt. "We didn't think she would do very well on her own, but she really held up her own. Ratings are up even more than be-."
With Lou's eyes fixed on the television intently, his hand snapped up, cutting her off.
"Excuse me Layna, I'm currently processing the impact of this incident on my career, do you think you could come back in a little while and then fill me in on the office gossip I've missed?" His voice was tinged with resentment.
Layna's mouth fell open and she struggled to find a reply. "Y-yes Sir. Mr. Bloom, sir." She turned quickly to leave, almost walking head first into the door. The doctor stood awkwardly nearby while silence filled the room.
"If you have any more questions following your recovery, Mr. Bloom, please don't hesitate to ask."
"Of course not," Lou said quietly. "Thank you for your time sir."
The door shut behind him with a quiet click and he clenched the pillow on the side of him, a low growl escaping from his chest, growing violently and ended with the pillow being flung into the window blinds, knocking them down in the process. He inhaled deeply attempting to center himself while he watched as her name appeared on the video credits where his should have been.
A little over two weeks later, he limped into the office and scanned the busy scene in front of him. A couple of employees stopped to greet him; a pat on the back here, a hug there. It was his first day back and most the staff knew it. He saw her before she saw him, his eyes fixed on her even when another employee stopped to welcome him back.
Aubrey paused from across the room, a stack of money from the footage she had no doubt just sold, sat in her hands. She looked up and their eyes locked. The corner of her mouth tugged up in the slightest of a vague, half-smile but the piercing look her eyes gave him didn't match. She walked towards him, pausing to put a hand on his shoulder warmly.
"Lou, it's so good to have you back. We were all so worried about you. But you remember what you told me, okay? Persistence is key. You keep hard at this problem and you'll be better than ever, my friend. What doesn't kill you, only makes you stronger. I hope my flowers helped cheer you up."
She gave him a big smile and a kiss on the cheek, walking out the door and to her car before he could even react, leaving him uncertain even, on how to react. He wondered just what the full extent of Aubrey's presence in the office would bring him.
Outside, Aubrey's vague smile melted into a full smirk with each step she took quick and deliberate. She raised her car remote up in her hand and unlocked her car, taking home her weeks' worth of revenue from the films with pride.