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"Happy New Year!"
"Carter! Same to you. How was Venice?"
"Beautiful, cold, expensive. I hardly missed my mother at all. How was your Christmas?"
"Went to a funeral."
"You're kidding."
"Nope. Friend of Luka's died Christmas Eve."
"Really? He OK?" Carter was surprised to find that his concern was genuine.
"Yeah. She was an old lady, you know, they'd kind of adopted each other. So it was sad but not tragic. Some funeral though."
"Yeah?"
"Those Croats know how to party. Even the dead ones."
"They were all Croats?"
"Pretty much. Quarter of a million of them in Chicago it seems. It's a wonder we only know one."
"Maybe we don't."
"What?"
"Maybe they're all around us; the Balkan Mafia."
"Hey, I've seen the old ladies. Give me the Mafia any day. And they're all besotted with Luka." Carter looked at her levelly.
"Been seeing him a lot?"
"Not really."
"Really not really?"
"No. Yes. I mean Rosa died and I kind of helped out with her place and went to the funeral is all." And told him the story of my life and heard his and lay with him all night and kissed him when I shouldn't and now I wish I'd kissed him some more because that'll probably be my last chance. " Haven't seen him since. Why?"
"I think you should be careful, Abby."
"Of what? The Balkan mafia?" she asked with a laugh. Carter moved away to pick up a chart, and leaned down to speak quietly in her ear as he did so.
"Of yourself."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that you shouldn't be - impulsive. I think -"
"Drop it Carter."
"I'm concerned, Abby."
"Well, thanks for your concern, but it's really not necessary,"
"Abby"
"No. Just don't. He's a friend, Carter. And I'm not stupid." She moved away from him then, her previous good spirits evaporated.
So, that's the way the wind blows, he thought. He was concerned. She must know well enough that she needed more time. He should - stop it. Be her friend, offer encouragement, nothing more. If she even wanted that from him. He realised suddenly that he had let go any hopes he had been cherishing about her. Well, whaddya know. He smiled. The relief was immense. Still, if she was allowing herself to think of Luka romantically again . maybe he should speak to Kovac. Perhaps he hadn't seen the signs. Yeah, right. Strangely he didn't doubt for a moment that Luka would be anything but honourable about this. He wondered, not for the first time, what the other man's feelings toward Abby were. Ask him, tell him to keep a distance. Well. He remembered the last time he'd done that. Or just keep out of it. It required only a moment's consideration for him to decide that this was his preferred option.
"When you're done smiling to yourself, Carter, we have sick people back here!"
"I got it Kerry."
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" He hated the coffee in the lounge, always had, always would. But he needed something and this was the closest approximation to coffee currently available .He had already spoken to Kerry and asked for his shifts to be rearranged. He could sense her curiosity, but offered no explanation. There was now minimal crossover with Abby's shifts. He hadn't seen her since Rosa's funeral and was glad of it. He was very much afraid that if he didn't put some distance between them he'd forget himself and forget too that although she had made so much progress she had for now to think only about herself. He'd thought about her kiss. She had drawn a line under her old life and moved on. If she hadn't she wouldn't have felt safe doing that. He should be glad for her. He was glad for her. And he tried to forget how much he'd wanted to kiss her back. Tried to forget how he had wanted to lie with her forever in Rosa's apartment in the cold. He wished she hadn't done it.
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"Hey! Happy New Year."
"And to you."
"So how was it in here?" She was trying hard not to think that the last time she'd seen him she'd reached up and drawn his mouth down to hers. A friendly kiss for New Year. If she said it often enough she might believe it.
"Oh, colourful. Twenty seven different shades of vomit, couple cases of hypothermia, one near drowning and a fatal stabbing. And that was just my caseload."
"Make any resolutions?"
"No. Actually, yes I've just now made one. I am never going to drink this stuff again."
"You're going to rely on Doc Magoo's and the Roach Coach? Brave man."
"No. I'm going to buy a second machine and some decent coffee."
"Just for you?"
"For anyone who wants their coffee to taste of coffee."
"And you're going to pay for it? Very philanthropic."
"Well, you know me." Yes, I do. Now.
"And expensive"
"It has to be worth it. How about you?"
"What?"
"Resolutions."
"No new ones."
"Good. They're a waste of time."
"You never made any? Apart from the coffee I mean."
"Yes. Lots. Never kept any though." His eyes rested on hers for a moment. "See you around."
"Sure."
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Way to go Abby. The kiss of death. She could not have scared him away any better if she'd done it deliberately. He had told her he loved her. Well there was love and love, wasn't there. Perhaps it was just as well. She couldn't afford to be with anyone just now. The meetings seemed to take up nearly all of her time, she was tired and it was dark at 4.00 pm and in four days time it would be the anniversary of her birth and the anniversary of the first drink she'd taken in nearly six years. She thought briefly of Carter. It would be a year since he'd seen Sobricki again. Was he working the same shift as her? Maybe they could go out, eat, chat. They both had a lot they wanted not to think about on January 10th.
"Happy New Year!"
"Carter! Same to you. How was Venice?"
"Beautiful, cold, expensive. I hardly missed my mother at all. How was your Christmas?"
"Went to a funeral."
"You're kidding."
"Nope. Friend of Luka's died Christmas Eve."
"Really? He OK?" Carter was surprised to find that his concern was genuine.
"Yeah. She was an old lady, you know, they'd kind of adopted each other. So it was sad but not tragic. Some funeral though."
"Yeah?"
"Those Croats know how to party. Even the dead ones."
"They were all Croats?"
"Pretty much. Quarter of a million of them in Chicago it seems. It's a wonder we only know one."
"Maybe we don't."
"What?"
"Maybe they're all around us; the Balkan Mafia."
"Hey, I've seen the old ladies. Give me the Mafia any day. And they're all besotted with Luka." Carter looked at her levelly.
"Been seeing him a lot?"
"Not really."
"Really not really?"
"No. Yes. I mean Rosa died and I kind of helped out with her place and went to the funeral is all." And told him the story of my life and heard his and lay with him all night and kissed him when I shouldn't and now I wish I'd kissed him some more because that'll probably be my last chance. " Haven't seen him since. Why?"
"I think you should be careful, Abby."
"Of what? The Balkan mafia?" she asked with a laugh. Carter moved away to pick up a chart, and leaned down to speak quietly in her ear as he did so.
"Of yourself."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that you shouldn't be - impulsive. I think -"
"Drop it Carter."
"I'm concerned, Abby."
"Well, thanks for your concern, but it's really not necessary,"
"Abby"
"No. Just don't. He's a friend, Carter. And I'm not stupid." She moved away from him then, her previous good spirits evaporated.
So, that's the way the wind blows, he thought. He was concerned. She must know well enough that she needed more time. He should - stop it. Be her friend, offer encouragement, nothing more. If she even wanted that from him. He realised suddenly that he had let go any hopes he had been cherishing about her. Well, whaddya know. He smiled. The relief was immense. Still, if she was allowing herself to think of Luka romantically again . maybe he should speak to Kovac. Perhaps he hadn't seen the signs. Yeah, right. Strangely he didn't doubt for a moment that Luka would be anything but honourable about this. He wondered, not for the first time, what the other man's feelings toward Abby were. Ask him, tell him to keep a distance. Well. He remembered the last time he'd done that. Or just keep out of it. It required only a moment's consideration for him to decide that this was his preferred option.
"When you're done smiling to yourself, Carter, we have sick people back here!"
"I got it Kerry."
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" He hated the coffee in the lounge, always had, always would. But he needed something and this was the closest approximation to coffee currently available .He had already spoken to Kerry and asked for his shifts to be rearranged. He could sense her curiosity, but offered no explanation. There was now minimal crossover with Abby's shifts. He hadn't seen her since Rosa's funeral and was glad of it. He was very much afraid that if he didn't put some distance between them he'd forget himself and forget too that although she had made so much progress she had for now to think only about herself. He'd thought about her kiss. She had drawn a line under her old life and moved on. If she hadn't she wouldn't have felt safe doing that. He should be glad for her. He was glad for her. And he tried to forget how much he'd wanted to kiss her back. Tried to forget how he had wanted to lie with her forever in Rosa's apartment in the cold. He wished she hadn't done it.
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"Hey! Happy New Year."
"And to you."
"So how was it in here?" She was trying hard not to think that the last time she'd seen him she'd reached up and drawn his mouth down to hers. A friendly kiss for New Year. If she said it often enough she might believe it.
"Oh, colourful. Twenty seven different shades of vomit, couple cases of hypothermia, one near drowning and a fatal stabbing. And that was just my caseload."
"Make any resolutions?"
"No. Actually, yes I've just now made one. I am never going to drink this stuff again."
"You're going to rely on Doc Magoo's and the Roach Coach? Brave man."
"No. I'm going to buy a second machine and some decent coffee."
"Just for you?"
"For anyone who wants their coffee to taste of coffee."
"And you're going to pay for it? Very philanthropic."
"Well, you know me." Yes, I do. Now.
"And expensive"
"It has to be worth it. How about you?"
"What?"
"Resolutions."
"No new ones."
"Good. They're a waste of time."
"You never made any? Apart from the coffee I mean."
"Yes. Lots. Never kept any though." His eyes rested on hers for a moment. "See you around."
"Sure."
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Way to go Abby. The kiss of death. She could not have scared him away any better if she'd done it deliberately. He had told her he loved her. Well there was love and love, wasn't there. Perhaps it was just as well. She couldn't afford to be with anyone just now. The meetings seemed to take up nearly all of her time, she was tired and it was dark at 4.00 pm and in four days time it would be the anniversary of her birth and the anniversary of the first drink she'd taken in nearly six years. She thought briefly of Carter. It would be a year since he'd seen Sobricki again. Was he working the same shift as her? Maybe they could go out, eat, chat. They both had a lot they wanted not to think about on January 10th.