Odd Couples
Ch. 4: Goodbyes and Hellos
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"You made it," she exclaimed rushing over to him as if nothing happened between them.
"I've been thinking, Corrine," he said as he tightly embraced her.
"Yeah?" she looked up expectantly, only find her lips captured by his.
The kiss said everything he wanted to, but couldn't. And Corrine understood it was his way of letting her go. When they finally pulled away, Marshall leaned into her ear. "I love you," he whispered, and he truly meant it with all his heart.
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Corrine, managed to say all of her goodbyes without shedding one tear. And as she stood before the gate entrance, she looked back at the five most important people in her life, and smiled knowing when she'd return they'd always be there for her. She breathed out sharply, pasted on a genuine smile, and waved her final goodbye, and walked through the gates, ready to tackle her new life.
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"No, she's just a friend," he insisted.
"Well, she knows your gonna be there?" his friend asked.
Vaughn sighed. He didn't know how many times he had already explained all this to his roommate. Too many to count. "No, I thought it'd be a nice surprise." he answered.
"Well, what if she doesn't recognize you?"
"She will," he answered icily. He glanced at the clock, and was thankful to know it was just about time for him to leave. "Well, I gotta get going," he said, as he grabbed his keys from the counter.
"Want me to come with you man?" asked his friend.
"No, you gotta go to class," he reminded. "See you later," and happily closed the door behind him.
He was actually excited to see Corrine. They never had the closest or the best relationship, but she was still a friend. Corrine was always around, and it was a relief to know that something was at least consistent in his life.
He bounded down the stairs two steps at a time, out of habit. Even if he wasn't rushing, he found himself skipping steps on the stairs, just to get to the bottom faster. "Good morning," he greeted a woman who was coming from the opposite direction. She was old, he noticed, and wearing a hat, and a coat, although it was nowhere cold out.
The old woman smiled back, "Good morning," and pulled something out of the paper bag she had been carrying. It was a white rose, and handed it to Vaughn.
"Thank you," he said taking the flower from the woman's delicate fingers. Never before had he received a rose, and he never imagined his first one to be from an elder woman.
When he got to the bottom he pushed the door with his hand, and immediately felt the warm sun rays hit his face. It was a perfect day; he had no classes, and his friend would soon be arriving. He figured he'd take Corrine around, show her a few places, though he doubted she'd need a guide, since she spent her whole summer touring Europe already. She probably knew her way around better than he did. Just like Corrine to be perfect at everything.
His car was parked on the corner of the street. And after climbing in and setting the rose in the cup holder, he slid his key into the ignition, and sped off into the direction of the airport.
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Corrine pulled the last of her luggage off the conveyor belt. She looked around, not sure what to do next. Although she clearly knew, getting settled in her new apartment was probably her best bet. She pulled out her wallet from her purse, making sure she had money for cab fare. After confirming, she pulled out the handles and with confidence walked off towards the front, her luggage rolling behind her.
As she neared the lobby, her eyes landed on Vaughn and a very big smile quickly found its way to her lips. "Vaughn?" she asked her self, as she quickened her pace. He met her half way, with a big grin on his face.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, letting go of the handles and letting them drop on the floor.
"Surprise?" he said matter of factly. Bending down to give her a hug. "I thought I'd come by to pick you up."
"You didn't have to," she stated.
She watched as he bended over half way, to pick up her luggage. "I know, but I thought it'd be nice. You know, you wouldn't have to be alone on your first day, like I was--trust me, it's not very fun" he explained.
She could only smile back in response. It was probably the nicest thing he has ever done for her.
He made a face like he just remembered something important. "This is for you," he pulled something out of his back pocket. It was the white rose. "Welcome to London," he said in his best imitated tourist guide voice.
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"So how's everyone since I left?" asked Vaughn as he stuffed the last of her bags into the back trunk.
Corrine gave it some consideration before finding the right answer. "They're all good," she said, but forgot to mention the part 'besides Josie, who's been a total wreck since you left her, and Lucas who's been acting like a complete stranger whenever she was around'. But she figured, he didn't need to know all that.
"That's good to hear," he said giving his trunk a final push to close it tight. He walked to the passenger's side, and opened the door for Corrine, who stared in awe at his gesture. "What?"
"Oh nothing," she answered sliding in to the seat, and watched as he shut her door, and made his way around to his.
"So, where to?" he asked, backing out of the parking space.
He watched her from the corner of his eyes, as she rummaged through her purse. She pulled out a piece of yellow paper that was folded way more than necessary. "Here," she said holding out the paper with an address scribbled on. Vaughn studied the writing, before realizing where it was.
They left the parking lot in silence, though it wasn't the kind of awkward or uncomfortable silence you'd think of.
"Thanks for the rose," said Corrine five minutes into the ride. She stared down at the single white flower between her fingers.
"You're welcome," he felt a little guilty that the rose hadn't really been from him.
"I've never gotten a white rose before, well aside from my parents," she then explained. "They're my favorite, so I really appreciate it." she smiled up at him.
"What about Marshall?" he found him self asking. It was a little too hard to for him to believe that she had never gotten a white rose before. Marshall had probably given her thousands.
"He thought they were a hassle to look for, although I can tell you right now they aren't rare or anything. So he'd usually give me the red ones." she said it in a kind of sad tone, that made Vaughn feel sympathetic towards her.
"Wow, I always thought he was the perfect boyfriend," he said.
"No, he in't perfect, but he is a really great guy,"
"So why did you break up with him then?" he took a glance at her, and she returned it with a puzzled look.
"How did you know, it just happened last night?" she asked, brushing his question aside.
He gave a chuckle before answering, "word travels fast," he didn't mention the part of Marshall calling him up to ask him to keep a good eye on Corrine. 'Take care of her for me,' he remembered Marshall saying before they hung up.
"Obviously," she simply said, and went to looking out the window, smiling at all the familiar places.
"So, you still didn't answer my question?" came Vaughn a minute later.
"What?"
"Why did you do it, if he was such a great guy?"
"The distance, it wouldn't work, you know?" she looked over at him, but he kept his eyes glued on the road. "What's you're reason?" she asked in a joking tone, as if there wasn't any other reason but hers.
When Vaughn didn't respond, the cheery mood, seemed to dwindle down and Corrine went back to look out the window, feeling as if she said something wrong.
"Let's just say, it wasn't that reason," he finally said.
She looked at him, her mouth parted, ready to say something, but when she noticed what they arrived to, her words went missing, and she was literally speechless.
They pulled up to a shabby two story building. It was without doubt old, and without any proper maintenance. The roof sagged in, a few blocks of bricks were missing from the side, two shutters hung crooked, and there were absolutely no signs of vegetation.
"Where are we?" she asked when she came to.
"Welcome home?" he said unsurely.
She opened her door, and quickly stepped out. Vaughn followed suit.
Corrine looked around in shock, before pulling out yet another peice of folded paper from her purse.
"This can't be it," she declared, as she unfolded the paper. "it looks nothing like the photo," she held up the picture to the building to compare.
Vaughn stepped behind her examining the photo and the real thing. He chuckled after taking a look.
"What?" Corrine asked, turning around sharply.
"Let me guess, you got this from the internet," he gave the photo a flick with his finger.
"So?"
"So, I hope you didn't pay to live in this shit hole,"
She glared up at him, and he noticed his mistake. "I meant, dump." he corrected himself. He had to watch his language more often, now that Corrine was around.
"Maybe it's better inside," she suggested walking up to the front door.
"I doubt it," he said, but she kept walking anyway ignoring his reply.
He looked over at the barren property noting the very dead grass, just as an idea came into mind. "Corrine," he ran up a few steps to catch up with her and placed a hand on her arm. She looked up at his touch. "Come on," he tugged gently, hinting to the car. She looked up at the building and sighed before complying to his wishes.
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