Chapter Two: Susan
July 1
I said bye to everyone yesterday. My parents were all, "be careful", but I've been to Indianapolis before, so I'm not worried. Chuck, however, printed out maps of practically every place we might want to go to. "So we won't get lost" is his reason, but I'm sure I won't have enough time to get lost. I'll be at the hospital all day. I admit that I'm really excited about living with Chuck. Staying with him before was fun, but both of us were thinking that we need the opportunity to get thoroughly sick of each other to really see what it's like. Does that make sense?
Anyway, the plane's about to touch down. I'll write later.
Okay, I'm in the apartment. Chuck's exploring the neighborhood. We're staying in a fully-furnished short-term lease place. There's a river? behind us, with a trail. I can see some people running and also paddle boating. Looks fun. I'm not that far away from the hospital- I drove past there. I'm already unpacked, so I just wanted to get some thoughts down.
Okay, my first day at work was today. It was nice. My supervisor, Fran (it feels weird being able to call an adult by her first name) showed me around, and told me where to get the absolute best doughnuts. I think I'll like it.
Anyway, I kinda felt bad, leaving Chuck alone, but he looked through this paper and found some art galleries. He dropped me off and took the car. When he picked me up, he was really enthusiastic about what he'd seen. Apparently, he talked to one of the gallery's owners, and the guy recommended some other places. Chuck's planning to spend tomorrow looking. He also said something about getting temp work, but I told him that it was up to him. So, I talked to Angelica yesterday-
July 8
Oops. I got interrupted yesterday. In a good way. (Hee-hee!) What Angelica wanted was to kvetch about her parents. She's still hot, and a mad Angelica is never a good one. I tried telling her that all of us have disagreements with our parents, but they blow over. Uncharacteristically for her, she blamed herself for the problem, but said that she was not willing to negotiate about her relationship with Phil. (I wonder if she realizes how much she sounds like her mom sometimes)
Work was okay. Tiring. I'm sure I'm not getting paid enough. Chuck liked the galleries and plans to go somewhere else tomorrow. How is it that he's seeing more of Indianapolis than I am? Work. I forgot.
Okay, I'll touch base later.
Susan closed the book and cast a critical look around the apartment. Seeing some clothes strewn around, she began wandering and picking up. The phone rang. Susan tossed the bundle of things down and dove for it. "Hello?"
"Susan? Hey, it's me."
"Hey, Kim! How are you?"
"I'm good. How about you? How's work?"
"Good, great. Tired. And your job?"
Susan heard Kim's massive sigh and laughed quietly as Kim explained, "See, I though mall research would be exciting. It's mostly yelling, 'Hey! Would you take a survey?' over and over, and hearing no."
"What about everyone else, what are they up to?"
"Same as me. Work, work, and work for variety. So, how's my big brother handling the big city?"
"Indianapolis is the big city? Seriously, he's fine. Out and about at the moment, so I guess he's having a great time."
"Still exploring? Tell him to slow his roll. Well, I gotta run, I picked up a shift tonight. I'll call later, alright?"
"Okay. Take care, Kim."
"'Bye, Susan."
Susan hung up and continued cleaning. After she finished the living room, she started in the bedroom and was hanging clothes when Chuck came flying in. "Hey Sus," he yelled.
"In the bedroom!" she answered.
Chuck looked mildly ashamed at seeing Susan clean. "Sorry about that. I really meant to do that before I left out today."
"No big. What'd you see today?"
Chuck brightened. "I saw this whole artsy community. It was like, funky and retro, and there was a fountain in the middle of the street. And they have duckpin bowling!"
"What kind of bowling?"
"It's like, mini-bowling. We should try it before we leave."
"Mini-bowling? Interesting concept. Well, what sounds good for dinner?" Susan turned back to the closet, contemplating the arrangement.
"I don't care, I'm still full from lunch," Chuck said. "I thought I'd try sketching on the canal."
"The river behind us? Oh, okay, have fun." Susan watched, mildly peturbed at Chuck's flying out of the room without another word, but soon forgot about it when she turned her attention to the bathroom.July 10
I need to write fast. Okay, I'm in the bathroom, and I'm supposed to come out and celebrate, but I'm not feeling it.
Chuck wants to forget about SFAA and go to school here. I know that's supposed to be a good thing, but... I'm not sure.
I think I need to process some more.
Susan shut her book and stashed in her shower kit. She took a deep breath and left, pasting a smile on her face.
"Ready to go?" Chuck asked, leaping to his feet.
"Yeah. Where are we going again?"
"To this Mexican restaurant downtown. They're authentic!" He strode out the apartment, with Susan following him, shaking her head. They got in the car and Susan stared quietly out the windows. Chuck pulled up to a street and parked at a meter. "Aren't you going to put money in?" Susan asked as he walked away from the car.
"Free on nights and weekends. We just need to walk a half-block," he answered as he started heading down the sidewalk. "Wow, you really know your way around," Susan said admiringly as Chuck confidently lead her to the restaurant. "Well, Indianapolis is laid out..." and he went into a long monologue about the city's planners and layout. Susan just nodded in (hopefully) the right places. They entered the restaurant and were seated almost immediately.
"Well, let me tell you about some of my plans. I called the school today and talked to the admissions counselor. They do have spots open, but they don't have dorms, so I looked in this newspaper and saw that a whole bunch of people are looking for roommates around the area. Plus, it's on the bus line, so I can get around, and I could even work in the same area." Chuck stopped and looked at Susan. "What do you think?"
Susan opened her mouth.Well, I screwed that up. I was determined to support Chuck and hear him out about turning down the SFAA scholarship and coming here. Instead, I ended up saying something about not being too hasty about changing his mind, and he blew up. How was I supposed to know he was feeling kinda uneasy about being so far away from everyone? We ended up leaving the restaurant huffy and he cut out right after. I can't wait for him to come back. I have to be at the hospital for another shift.
I wish I knew how to resolve this.July 13
We still have the cold war for the ages. I called home, listened to my parents whine about Buster (shouldn't have let him come home, then) and I called Lil, who says that her summer's been uneventful, other than Dil's following her and Tommy on dates and sighing. I'm sorry, I just had to laugh at that. Never mind that last year, that was me at school.
I think, what I'm gonna do, is tell Chuck that he has to step outside his comfort zone. I think that's the big problem (and stupid me, forgetting that my boyfriend doesn't always like new things) so I'll just explain that... well, shoot. I don't know what yet, but I want to talk to him.
"Okay, I feel stupid," she said aloud.
"About what?" Chuck stuck his head out of the kitchen, where he had been hidden by cabinets.
"And the feeling is compounded. I was looking for you, and when I didn't see you right away, I thought you had left again."
"No, I was trying to find something to eat. What's up?"
"I just wanted to talk to you about college, without getting all riled up and emotional about it. Think I can do it?"
"Sure." Chuck came over and sat on the couch. Susan sat next to him.
"Listen, I know that you're uneasy about going so far away from home. It's initially why I chose SMU, because it was close enough to home for me to visit every weekend if I wanted. But, imagine if I had stayed there and suffered in the nursing program. I would have never gotten this opportunity." She stopped and thought for a moment. "I'm not saying that Herron is an inferior program to SFAA. I don't know enough about either one to say that. I'm just saying, give SFAA a chance. You have everything all set there, and if it sucks, you know where you can go from there."
"Good points all, but I wasn't against SFAA solely because it's far away from Silver Heights. I mean, that was factored in, but this is almost as far. I didn't want to be that far from you another year. Last year was hell."
"Yeah, but, if you think about it, we saw each other all the time anyway, and at least this time, we'll be on almost the same schedule. And I kinda think we need time to experience things apart, before we stay together. As I said last year, we'll still see each other, just... not as often."
Chuck slung an arm around Susan and hugged her tightly. "I'll still miss you."
"And I'll miss you, you doof. Just promise me one thing."
"What?" "You won't go somewhere and pull a Dil."
"Huh?"
"I can see you haven't been calling home." Susan smiled as she snuggled up closer.July 29
I'm looking around, seeing the place as empty as we started. We're going home tomorrow, and I'm looking forward to it for the whole two weeks I'll be there. Man, working in the hospital kicked my butt, but I think I made the right decision in what I'm doing. Chuck decided to give SFAA a shot, at least for a year. I told him that we're both coming home for Thanksgiving, no matter what, to compare notes and to see what to do next. I feel all adult now. It's going to be weird to be under my parents' roof and have curfews and rules again. I have a feeling that two weeks won't come fast enough for me. But never mind that- the fair's coming! We always go together at least one time, so I'm really excited about that. All of us- it'll be great! I can't believe summer's almost over. I wonder what this next year will bring?
Ya'll, I am so sorry about the delay of this chapter. Work was kicking my butt, too. The next one should be out real soon. Hopefully. And do me a favor, because I'm curious. When you review, could you tell me your favorite couple in here, and your least favorite? You don't have to say why if you don't want to, but if you have a reason, I'd love to hear it. Thanks for reading!