Chapter 12
"Where should we start looking?"
Jack's second weekend in town, Janet arrived at his hotel room early Saturday morning with two cups of coffee, blueberry muffins, and the classifieds, ready to help Jack find his own apartment.
"I really appreciate you giving up your Saturday for me," Jack said, after the French roast had started to kick in. "Taylor was okay with you not spending the day with her?"
"Oh, sure," Janet said, waving off his concern. "Nick is going to take her to the movies later. She stayed at her best friend Danielle's house last night. I stopped by there to see her this morning. She's fine. She told me to help you find a nice apartment."
Janet's words about her daughter brought a smile to Jack's face. "And what about your flower shop? Saturday must be one of your busiest days."
"It is," Janet said, after taking a bite of the tasty muffin, "but that's why I have my staff. Kim is a great assistant manager. I told her I'd check in by phone periodically, but I don't expect any problems."
"Okay, then," Jack said, picking up the newspaper while marveling at how Janet managed to keep it all together. "Let's see what looks good."
==============
After an unproductive morning, Janet told Jack not to get discouraged as they ate hamburgers at a local diner on the waterfront.
"I'm sure this afternoon will be much better."
"If it isn't," Jack said, with a devilish grin, "I guess I'll just have to crash a party and spend the night in a lovely stranger's bathtub. Then, of course, the lady will be so taken with me and my outstanding cooking skills she'll ask me to be her roommate, and I'll have an apartment. If I'm lucky, there will be two women to share the place with."
Janet shook her head but couldn't hide her smile as she dipped a French fry in ketchup.
"I think we'd better find you a place to live before you end up in jail," she teased.
"Yeah," Jack said, looking wistful, "something like that probably would never happen twice. But, if all else fails, I'm willing to give it a try."
Unable to contain her laughter at his silliness, Janet finally told him to shut up and threatened to eat his fries if he didn't hurry up and finish them.
=================
Just as Janet had predicted, Jack found a very suitable and reasonable one- bedroom apartment that afternoon in nearby Redmond.
"This is great," he enthused, standing on the polished hardwood floor in the middle of the living room. "It even has a fireplace."
He stepped out onto the brick terrace and looked around at the creek that wasn't too far from the complex. He saw a couple of ducks gliding carefree on the water. Abundant greenery surrounded the area.
"This is a nice neighborhood," Janet said, after joining him at the railing. "A few of my regular customers live around here. They're always telling me how much they enjoy their homes and the surrounding area."
Jack turned to inspect the inside of the apartment from the patio.
"It's small, but I like how it's set up. One bedroom is all I need. There's a little area off of the living room that I can use for a makeshift office if I need to. The kitchen is great. I'm already picturing how I'll set it up."
They made their way back inside so Jack could look around some more and make sure it would fit his needs. He knew it definitely fit his price range.
An hour later, Jack completed the last of the paperwork and gave it to the on-site manager who said she would let Jack know by Tuesday, at the latest, whether or not he could begin to move in.
==================
"Thanks again, Janet," Jack said, when they stepped outside the apartment building. "I wouldn't have found this place without you."
She smiled. "No problem. I'm glad you found something you like."
The air had turned a bit chilly as they walked towards her car. She unlocked the passenger side door and was about to head to the driver's side when Jack stopped her with a question.
"May I ask what you're doing tonight?"
Not stopping to fully consider his question and what it represented, Janet thought for a moment and then shrugged. "Nothing. After I call Kim to make sure there were no disasters since my last call, I'll probably order in some Chinese food and watch a movie on TV after Taylor goes to sleep. Why?"
Jack paused and then asked the question that had been on his mind since they'd found the apartment and he knew their time together would be ending soon. "Would you...I mean, would it be all right if I joined you and Taylor for the evening?"
Janet tried to mask her surprise and failed. Why hadn't she known where his question was leading? She wasn't dense. But she wasn't used to having Jack around again either. They hadn't spent much time together until now. Looking for an apartment had been her idea. Beyond that, she hadn't taken the time to consider what would happen when their search was over.
"It's okay," he rushed to tell her, noticing that she was puzzling with his request. "It was a dumb idea."
"No," she said, still not sure what she thought of the suggestion. "I just...I guess I didn't think beyond you finding an apartment. It's fine if you want to spend the evening with us. I have to warn you, though. My house is a mess."
"No problem about that," he said, hoping he hadn't caused a strain between them. "But if you're not comfortable, you can just drop me off at the hotel."
"No," she insisted. "I just have to pick up Taylor at Danielle's house. We'll stop for Chinese and then head to the house."
Silence filled the car as Janet headed back to Bellevue. She wasn't sure what else to say and, now, neither was Jack.
"Janet," Jack finally said, when he could no longer take the tenseness, "it's okay if you'd rather I didn't come to your place tonight."
"It's fine," she tried to reassure him. "I just hadn't thought about it, so your question took me by surprise. It'll be fun to spend the evening together. Didn't we say we both wanted this?"
"We did, but we also spent a lot of time together today. I had a great time, but maybe you need a break from me."
No, Janet thought. Now that the idea was settling in, she realized she was happy Jack had made his suggestion. In fact, she thought the problem might be that she was too happy their time together wasn't ending. Yet.
"I don't need a break, but I'll be sure to let you know when I do."
She tried to lighten the mood with a grin. She wasn't so sure it worked.
======================
"Thanks, Cheryl," Janet said to the attractive blonde woman as she stood on her doorstep. "I wasn't sure if Nick was going to bring Taylor back here or take her home. I hope she wasn't any trouble."
"Not at all, Janet. The girls had fun. I hope Taylor can spend the night again soon."
"Sounds good. I'll talk to Taylor about inviting Danielle over, too. We always enjoy having her."
After saying good-bye, Janet headed for her car with a new concern. If Taylor was home, that meant Nick was there, too. Not that she had anything to hide, but as she looked at Jack sitting in the car, she couldn't help but wonder just how well the two men would get along.
"Where should we start looking?"
Jack's second weekend in town, Janet arrived at his hotel room early Saturday morning with two cups of coffee, blueberry muffins, and the classifieds, ready to help Jack find his own apartment.
"I really appreciate you giving up your Saturday for me," Jack said, after the French roast had started to kick in. "Taylor was okay with you not spending the day with her?"
"Oh, sure," Janet said, waving off his concern. "Nick is going to take her to the movies later. She stayed at her best friend Danielle's house last night. I stopped by there to see her this morning. She's fine. She told me to help you find a nice apartment."
Janet's words about her daughter brought a smile to Jack's face. "And what about your flower shop? Saturday must be one of your busiest days."
"It is," Janet said, after taking a bite of the tasty muffin, "but that's why I have my staff. Kim is a great assistant manager. I told her I'd check in by phone periodically, but I don't expect any problems."
"Okay, then," Jack said, picking up the newspaper while marveling at how Janet managed to keep it all together. "Let's see what looks good."
==============
After an unproductive morning, Janet told Jack not to get discouraged as they ate hamburgers at a local diner on the waterfront.
"I'm sure this afternoon will be much better."
"If it isn't," Jack said, with a devilish grin, "I guess I'll just have to crash a party and spend the night in a lovely stranger's bathtub. Then, of course, the lady will be so taken with me and my outstanding cooking skills she'll ask me to be her roommate, and I'll have an apartment. If I'm lucky, there will be two women to share the place with."
Janet shook her head but couldn't hide her smile as she dipped a French fry in ketchup.
"I think we'd better find you a place to live before you end up in jail," she teased.
"Yeah," Jack said, looking wistful, "something like that probably would never happen twice. But, if all else fails, I'm willing to give it a try."
Unable to contain her laughter at his silliness, Janet finally told him to shut up and threatened to eat his fries if he didn't hurry up and finish them.
=================
Just as Janet had predicted, Jack found a very suitable and reasonable one- bedroom apartment that afternoon in nearby Redmond.
"This is great," he enthused, standing on the polished hardwood floor in the middle of the living room. "It even has a fireplace."
He stepped out onto the brick terrace and looked around at the creek that wasn't too far from the complex. He saw a couple of ducks gliding carefree on the water. Abundant greenery surrounded the area.
"This is a nice neighborhood," Janet said, after joining him at the railing. "A few of my regular customers live around here. They're always telling me how much they enjoy their homes and the surrounding area."
Jack turned to inspect the inside of the apartment from the patio.
"It's small, but I like how it's set up. One bedroom is all I need. There's a little area off of the living room that I can use for a makeshift office if I need to. The kitchen is great. I'm already picturing how I'll set it up."
They made their way back inside so Jack could look around some more and make sure it would fit his needs. He knew it definitely fit his price range.
An hour later, Jack completed the last of the paperwork and gave it to the on-site manager who said she would let Jack know by Tuesday, at the latest, whether or not he could begin to move in.
==================
"Thanks again, Janet," Jack said, when they stepped outside the apartment building. "I wouldn't have found this place without you."
She smiled. "No problem. I'm glad you found something you like."
The air had turned a bit chilly as they walked towards her car. She unlocked the passenger side door and was about to head to the driver's side when Jack stopped her with a question.
"May I ask what you're doing tonight?"
Not stopping to fully consider his question and what it represented, Janet thought for a moment and then shrugged. "Nothing. After I call Kim to make sure there were no disasters since my last call, I'll probably order in some Chinese food and watch a movie on TV after Taylor goes to sleep. Why?"
Jack paused and then asked the question that had been on his mind since they'd found the apartment and he knew their time together would be ending soon. "Would you...I mean, would it be all right if I joined you and Taylor for the evening?"
Janet tried to mask her surprise and failed. Why hadn't she known where his question was leading? She wasn't dense. But she wasn't used to having Jack around again either. They hadn't spent much time together until now. Looking for an apartment had been her idea. Beyond that, she hadn't taken the time to consider what would happen when their search was over.
"It's okay," he rushed to tell her, noticing that she was puzzling with his request. "It was a dumb idea."
"No," she said, still not sure what she thought of the suggestion. "I just...I guess I didn't think beyond you finding an apartment. It's fine if you want to spend the evening with us. I have to warn you, though. My house is a mess."
"No problem about that," he said, hoping he hadn't caused a strain between them. "But if you're not comfortable, you can just drop me off at the hotel."
"No," she insisted. "I just have to pick up Taylor at Danielle's house. We'll stop for Chinese and then head to the house."
Silence filled the car as Janet headed back to Bellevue. She wasn't sure what else to say and, now, neither was Jack.
"Janet," Jack finally said, when he could no longer take the tenseness, "it's okay if you'd rather I didn't come to your place tonight."
"It's fine," she tried to reassure him. "I just hadn't thought about it, so your question took me by surprise. It'll be fun to spend the evening together. Didn't we say we both wanted this?"
"We did, but we also spent a lot of time together today. I had a great time, but maybe you need a break from me."
No, Janet thought. Now that the idea was settling in, she realized she was happy Jack had made his suggestion. In fact, she thought the problem might be that she was too happy their time together wasn't ending. Yet.
"I don't need a break, but I'll be sure to let you know when I do."
She tried to lighten the mood with a grin. She wasn't so sure it worked.
======================
"Thanks, Cheryl," Janet said to the attractive blonde woman as she stood on her doorstep. "I wasn't sure if Nick was going to bring Taylor back here or take her home. I hope she wasn't any trouble."
"Not at all, Janet. The girls had fun. I hope Taylor can spend the night again soon."
"Sounds good. I'll talk to Taylor about inviting Danielle over, too. We always enjoy having her."
After saying good-bye, Janet headed for her car with a new concern. If Taylor was home, that meant Nick was there, too. Not that she had anything to hide, but as she looked at Jack sitting in the car, she couldn't help but wonder just how well the two men would get along.