Chapter 21. Uninvited Visitors
At noon that day, Wilson and Cuddy were finally able to leave PPTH. They drove south together in Wilson's car through New Jersey, Delaware and finally into Maryland in search of House. It took seven hours or so, with a stop for lunch, but his GPS helped Wilson find the town of Shelby. Once there, however, they were both at a loss.
"How will we find them?" Cuddy asked as they drove through the town on the main road.
"Maybe Cameron's been here a while and someone will know where to find her," Wilson suggested. He spotted a gas station up ahead on the left. "I'm going to stop for gas and then we'll decide what to do next."
Wilson wasn't used to pumping his own gas. That's what living in New Jersey for a long time did. When he got back in the car, Cuddy indicated the Mo-Z Inn motel across a parking lot and said, "I hope there's another place to stay in this town."
Wilson shrugged. "It looks clean. And there's a diner next door. Why don't we get something to eat and ask about lodging, and about Cameron."
Cuddy grimaced but in the end agreed. They parked close to the old-fashioned diner and entered. It was late in the dinner hour and there weren't many customers left. A pink-clad middle-aged woman was talking to an older man at one of the booths when they entered.
"How about this one?" Wilson asked, indicating the booth closest to the door. But the waitress quickly approached. "I'm sorry. That booth's kinda reserved? I know we should put up a sign, but...how about this one?" she asked showing them to a booth further down and handing them menus. "Our special tonight is lamb stew, and there's also some chicken friend steak like we had at lunch."
Cuddy didn't hide her disgust, but Wilson's eyes lit up. "Tough choice," he said. They told her what they wanted to drink and then opened the menus as she walked away.
Cuddy's eyes went immediately to the salads. She just hoped the ingredients were fresh. You could never tell.
A teenage girl came through the door, calling to the waitress, "Sorry I'm late, Aunt Linda!"
"Oh, that's OK, Chrissy," the woman responded as the girl went through the doors to the back of the diner.
"Maybe we should ask the waitress whether she knows Cameron," Wilson suggested. But when the waitress returned with the iced tea Cuddy had asked for and a teabag and hot water for Wilson, he didn't say anything except that he wanted the lamb stew. Cuddy ordered a Caesar salad with grilled chicken.
"I doubt that these people know Cameron, or House either," Cuddy said once the waitress had gone to turn in their orders. "Maybe our best bet is to ask at a big drugstore pharmacy."
"Good idea," Wilson said, nodding. He saw the teenager emerge again, this time wearing an outfit similar to the older woman. Somehow it looked better on the youngster.
It wasn't long before the waitress returned with their food, a huge portion of stew with big chunks of lamb, vegetables and potatoes, and an even larger salad which certainly looked fresh. "Can I get you anything else?" the waitress asked just as the outer door of the diner opened and two people entered, laughing and sliding into the first booth, the one Wilson and Cuddy had tried to sit at.
The look on Cuddy's face made Wilson turn around to look. It was a toss-up which opened wider, his eyes or his mouth. House and Cameron hadn't seen them and he turned back to his food, hunching down, but he heard their waitress call out, "I'll be right with you, Docs. Gotta take care o' this couple here first," and he felt House's eyes on his back. He was afraid House would recognize him and looked at Cuddy to see whether she was as disconcerted as he was.
Wilson couldn't know that House was so distracted by his conversation with Cameron that he didn't care who the 'couple' was.
Cuddy was watching as the older man, who'd been talking to their waitress when they arrived, got up and walked toward House and Cameron. "Got my boat back," the man said. "So I guess we're on for Saturday."
The waitress named Linda joined them and put a hand on the man's shoulder. "You taking Doc House out fishin'?" she asked. Then, without waiting for an answer, she turned to House "How'd the interview go?"
"How come no one told me Meisner was even more of a cripple than I am?" House replied. "You were right, Pete. He's a good guy. And then there's Kirkwood, well, I have my doubts about him."
"So you're taking the job?" the man called Pete asked.
"I think so, but don't tell anyone yet."
By now, the bits of conversation that he'd heard, and the intent look on Cuddy's face prompted Wilson to turn back to watch House and Cameron, just in time to see the teenager approach them with a smile and a full pot of coffee. She didn't even ask, just righted the mugs in front of them and filled each one.
"Mom and Dad finally agreed that I can apply to Princeton, Yale and Harvard, besides U of Maryland," the girl said.
"That's great Chrissy!" Cameron said. "Let me know if you need a reference. Oh, are you busy this Saturday? Carol said she can spend some time with me, inventorying the clinic. We used so many supplies during the storm I'm not sure what we have left and what I have to order."
"Sure, I can help between the breakfast and lunch crowds," Chrissy told her. "What about Doc House? Won't you be helping too?" she asked him.
"I think after getting up before dawn to go fishing with Pete, he'll want to get some sleep," Cameron said, smirking at House.
"Wait a minute. Who said anything about getting up before dawn?" House objected.
"That's the best time for fishin'," Pete told him.
"The things I do for my friends," House said with an exaggerated eye roll, and everyone at his table laughed, including him.
Cuddy and Wilson didn't know what to make of this House. He was so unlike the man they knew.