Caroline and the Unfortunate Circumstance
Chapter Six: Business As Usual
By S. Arallion
Disclaimer: All characters in this story are owned by their respective copyright holders—namely, not myself. Anything you don't recognize is my fault. I make absolutely no profit from my use of these characters. ~~Arallion
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On Monday, Richard came in to work his usual hour late, more out of habit than any real need to sleep in. He had been working on several paintings over the weekend, but he'd risen early every day, unable to sleep in for worry. He had even bought coffee at Remo's, since he'd arrived in Caroline's neighborhood early but didn't want to alert her to his nerves.
The apartment was strangely quiet, except for Salty, who meowed at him in a friendly tone. He made a horrendous face at the cat, but she seemed to have made up her mind that he had been lying about hating her, and trotted over to wrap about his ankles as he walked to the coffeemaker. Rolling his eyes, he leaned over and gave her a quick ear-scratching, which resulted in an embarrassingly loud purr.
He stopped in surprise. Caroline usually waited for him to make coffee when he arrived, since he tended to complain raucously about her results. It appeared that she'd been doing it on her own, though, since there was very little coffee left to use. He chided himself for analyzing too much, but the events of the last week had left his senses tightly wound. The events of the day so far had done nothing to reassure him. Sighing worriedly, he started a pot of coffee and went to his side of the desk to get to work.
"Oh, Richard, it was you," a soft voice murmured from the stairs. He glanced up and saw Caroline, tousled-looking and still in her bathrobe, peering down at him.
"Good morning Caroline," he said briskly, trying to hide his dismay. She was normally awake much earlier than this, and she looked like she hadn't slept more than two hours anyway. "Coffee will be ready in a few minutes, and would you mind reminding your cat that I don't like her?" Salty had climbed onto the windowsill behind Richard and was purring at him adoringly.
Caroline stepped further down the stairs, and looked disbelievingly at the cat. "Wow. Richard, I don't think I can do that."
"Why not?" he said in an exasperated tone.
She snickered. "Because it's really cute. The look she's giving you is just priceless." Thumping the rest of the way down the stairs into the kitchen, she pulled out some bagels and fruit for breakfast, grinning in wonder at small miracles.
Richard glared at the cat, who purred louder, and made a big deal out of sulking about the situation. Watching Caroline's smiling face from the corner of his eye, however, more than made up for the inconvenience. And when he thought she wasn't looking, he reached over and caressed Salty's ears in gratitude.
"Hey, there's coffee in here, I can smell it," Annie announced as she barged through the door. She stopped and looked at Caroline's attire curiously. "Hey, girlfriend, you're going sort of casual today, hmm? You don't usually wear this sort of thing at this time of day."
"How would you know what she wears at this time of day?" Richard retorted. "You're never awake to see..." The dancer stuck her tongue out and proceeded to ignore him.
"I know," Caroline smiled. "I just thought I'd give myself a little vacation, Annie. You know, stay up late, get up late, do things that are less than constructive..." The tone rang flat to both of her friends' ears despite her attempt at a contented expression, and she saw them exchange cautious looks. "Guys, I'm fine. Stop finding something to worry about in everything I do," she snorted.
Richard buried his head in his work again with a hint of embarrassment. Annie, less easily cowed, looked at her very directly. "I'm sorry if it bugs you, Caroline," she stated. "I just don't know for sure that you'd tell us if something were wrong, so we have to keep guessing."
"I promise I'll let you know," Caroline said in a subdued voice, handing a mug of coffee to her friend. "Thanks, both of you. But really, I'm fine."
Annie wasn't convinced, but she drank her coffee without comment. "So, are you going to get ready for your trip to town today?"
"Yes," the redheaded cartoonist sighed. "I almost forgot, but then I saw my face in the mirror..." She indicated the darkening bruises on her cheekbones with some asperity. "You're coming with me, right, Annie?"
"Sure, buddy." Annie draped an arm over her friend's shoulder. "And we're looking for a dress, too, I assume?" She grinned widely. "Hurry up, take your shower. Let's go!"
Richard looked up from his work to the sight and groaned sardonically as Caroline started back up the stairs with her coffee cup. "Oh, no, it's the shopping face. Hide your credit cards, Caroline..."
"Oh, shut up, Richard," Annie snapped. "Did you get your tux yet?"
"Yes," he said mildly. "Why are you going shopping? Crashing the ceremony?"
She looked at him flatly. "I have a date."
"Really?" he murmured, eyes on his work. "Cash, credit or charity case?" He twitched to the side, causing Annie's swat to miss his arm completely.
"You know, you've gone for almost five days without calling me a tramp," the dark-haired dancer suddenly noted in surprise. Richard glanced up at her, confused.
"What, did you miss it?" he asked lightly.
She gave him an unaccustomedly straight smile. "Yeah, kind of."
Shaking his head ruefully, he sat up and stretched. "I won't neglect you again," he promised. Salty chose that moment to decide that she was being neglected, and hopped onto his lap, drawing a shout of laughter from Annie and a yelp of dismay from Richard. Oblivious to the commotion, the cat settled in, purring loudly.
"Richie, you made a friend," Annie cooed, still laughing. "I thought you hated cats."
"I tried to tell her that, but she's not listening to reason," the artist muttered, rubbing the cat's soft ears in spite of himself. Annie was loving this, he knew.
"Hey, like owner, like pet," the dancer quipped carelessly. He shot her a dark glance, which she returned sassily. "What? I read it somewhere, don't give me that look. All I have to say is that you'd better make sure all that white cat hair comes off before Caroline sees it, or your cover is blown." The snicker lurked in her voice, not quite escaping.
Richard snorted and turned back to the unfinished panel, avoiding the subject as best he could until Caroline could finish her shower and distract his uncomfortably sharp nemesis with shopping.
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Wednesday evening came too quickly, and despite the wonders worked by Del's facial therapist, Caroline was still embarrassed to go without some help. She and Annie had gone to a makeup artist to try and get stage makeup that wouldn't look obvious, while Richard finished up with Caroline's newest work. The door opened just as he was starting her last panel.
"Did you have a nice time, kids?" he drawled, not looking up.
"Yes, I suppose," Caroline's voice sounded a little uncertain. "Although I feel more like a painting than a person right now... I'm afraid to move my face."
Annie sauntered over to the artist, put her head over the panel, and stuck her tongue out. Richard snorted and made threatening motions with his pen. "Hmm, how about a little blue... right there?" She withdrew quickly, glaring half- seriously. He mimed brushing stuff off the paper. "Eww, 'Cat'- hair..."
"Oh, hey, what's that white stuff on your black shirt?" she asked abruptly, snickering as he looked down in panic. He glared at her, annoyed, and then tried to ignore her.
"Annie, stop bugging Richard and help me get dressed," Caroline called, a chuckle in her voice. "And Richard?"
"Hmm?"
"Are you going home to change?"
He looked up. "Actually, I brought what I need. Do you mind if I change here? Oh, go away," he hissed as Annie leered at him.
"No, that's fine," Caroline replied. "Del's gonna be here in less than an hour though, so you might want to think about getting ready." They vanished upstairs.
Twenty minutes later, Annie rushed down the stairs and out the door. "Be back in a minute," she exclaimed to a confused Richard. Shaking his head, he decided to get dressed.
When Del came in, he found Richard pacing at the window, dressed in a very nice tailed tuxedo. He grinned. "Where is everybody?"
Richard turned, startled. "Caroline is up there," he gestured. "Somewhere. I thought you said you were bringing someone?"
Annie slipped through the door, dressed in a magnificent red velvet sheath dress. "Why, hello hello," she whistled. "Why do all men look marvelous in tuxedos? Even you, Richie," she smirked.
"What are you all dressed up for?" he questioned.
She pointed to Del. "I'm his date."
"No." Richard looked at Del sympathetically. "I am so sorry..."
Del shrugged. "Hey, I wanted us all to be there. And, I couldn't get anyone else to go with me," he finished in a glum whisper.
"Caroline would have," Richard protested. Del shrugged again, and Richard got the distinct feeling he was being ganged up upon. He sighed, and began to sit back down at his desk, when Del's elbow caught him on the arm. "Ow, what is it-- oh!"
Caroline was descending the stairs. Her gown was of midnight blue satin, with an iridescently beaded jacket she'd chosen to cover her bruised arms. Her face was almost flawless, although she looked as if she were afraid to smile. Her short, glossy red hair shone, caught back with a beaded headband. She was beautiful.
She dimpled at them, a little embarrassed. "Hi."
"Wow," grinned Del.
"Hey, put your eyes back in," Annie hissed at Richard, who was staring up with a rather forlorn expression on his face again. He collected himself with a start.
"Annie! What are you doing back here?" Caroline swept down the stairs. "You look great! You have a date too?"
"Yep," came the insouciant reply. "With Del!"
"Get out!"
"I'm out!"
"Oh, god," sighed Richard and Del together.
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To be continued…
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Author's Note: