Chapter Twenty-Five: Sunday, January 1, 2006, New York
Simon looked at the two men sitting across the kitchen table from he and Caroline. The kitchen reminded Simon a little of his mom's, homey and warm. Several potted plants sat in the sun on the windowsill over the kitchen sink. The men both looked about ten years his senior. One was darkly handsome, the kind of handsome Camden girls didn't usually go for. The kind of handsome Jake possessed, but without the same dangerous edge. Or at least without as much of it. Given that he'd just said he taught in the New York public school system, Simon figured a little bit of a dangerous air was probably a good thing. His name was Zach Carmichael. The other man reminded Simon of his friend Luke, with his open, earnest smile. He had light brown hair and had been introduced as Kipper; whether that was his first or his last name, Simon couldn't be sure.
"This is perfect timing!" He beamed at Caroline. "With Erik and Bri moving out and no one else with plans to come…." He faltered oddly, "…to Brooklyn, I was afraid we'd have to resort to posting a roommate wanted ad at the market." His tone and expression made it clear he didn't think much of that idea.
Simon couldn't get over how easy it had been. He'd figured even with Caroline's help, it would take at least a couple of months to find a place he could afford. But all she'd done was make a few calls and here they were. The house was old, but so were most of the houses in this part of the city. The neighborhood seemed decent; there were bars on the ground floor windows, but from what Simon had seen, that was pretty common. The yards looked well-kept and he hadn't felt especially nervous walking from the subway—barely two blocks away—to the front doorstep.
Zach was more reserved than his housemate. "Samantha'll be home soon. We have to see what she says. But if she has no objections, you could move in as soon as you like."
Simon hadn't been given the tour yet, but Caroline had described it on the way over. He'd have the attic room all to himself—not that it was very big, although it did have a jack for a private landline and its own half-bath, which a serious bonus considering the house only had a single full bathroom, on the second floor, and a tiny half-bath off the kitchen which they mostly used for company because it was so small.
The only reason their previous roommates, Erik and Bri, were moving out was because Bri was pregnant—and they were only moving as far away as the next block over, where they'd be renting a flat from someone Simon inferred was also a friend, a woman called Sue-Anne who had just lost her tenant when he graduated from NYU and took a job out-of-state. A woman named Juta that they all knew lived just down from her, and in the other direction, barely half-a-block away, lived a couple named Brian and Martha who had an adopted daughter Eileen and a menagerie of animals, which apparently included chickens. Brian, Simon had been told, had grown up in the same building as Cathy's apartment. Their house was right next door to where Laura and Jerry lived.
"I still have to find a job," Simon reminded both Zach and an overly optimistic Kipper. As much as he loved the idea of moving now—right now, from the sounds of it—and as much as he liked the house and his prospective new roommates, he only had enough in savings to cover a deposit and food plus utilities for a month.
As long as "food" consists of ramen and tuna fish.
Also, assuming he could get a full refund on his tuition for the winter semester. He should be able to, but just because you should be able to do something didn't mean it would go off without a hitch.
Kipper didn't seem the least but dissuaded. "Between the three of us, we'll find you something in no time. Or maybe I should say the four of us." He shot Caroline an almost conspiratorial grin.
Color rushed into her cheeks.
"Samantha still has the final word," Zach cautioned.
"Samantha still has the final word on what?" asked a woman coming in the back door, canvas bags full of groceries looped over both arms. She had had long dark hair pulled, keen dark brown eyes, and looked about the same age as Zach and Kipper.
Before anyone could answer, a pair of young girls, the oldest of which no older than Sam and David, burst past her. "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" They ploughed headlong into Zach who had stood up with Kipper, Simon, and Caroline, to offer her a hand.
Laughing, Zach hauled the girls up into his arms. "You two aren't making a very good first impression." He turned to Simon. "May I present my usually angelic daughters, Sadie and Kyra, and their beautiful mother Samantha, the wonderful woman who does me the honor of being my wife."
She fixed Zach with a suspicious look. "All right, Mr. Carmichael, what have you done and what do you want?"
"This is Simon," Kipper told her, answering for Zach.
"Caroline's friend from California," Samantha said; it wasn't a question.
Simon set the bag he'd helped her unload onto the counter and held out his hand. "It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Carmichael."
"Not only meet us," Kipper added. "But move into Erik and Bri's old room."
"If you're okay with that," Zach cut in.
"It would save us from having to put up notice at the market," said Kipper. "And Simon is…a friend."
Samantha returned her gaze to Simon. "I'd like to hear from you what your intentions are."
Simon was pretty sure she meant about more than the room—but he decided to start there. "I've been thinking about moving to New York for a while. My brother and sister-in-law live in Washington Heights. They're both med students, third year, at NYU."
"Do you have a job lined up?"
"Not yet."
"We can fix that," Kipper interjected. "Simon, you know Henry Pei, right?"
He blinked. How in the world did they know he'd met the Peis last April? "We met—"
"See, right there," said Kipper. "Henry's looking for a cook/dishwasher/busser."
"I have restaurant experience," Simon said to the dubious look Samantha and Zach were both giving Kipper. "And good references." Even if he quit without much notice, he knew Pete would give him a good reference. So would Cecilia's father. I have some savings, too," he added. "I could write you a check right now for the first and last month's rent if you wanted me to."
"I'm more concerned about the months in between." Samantha turned to Caroline. "Do Vincent and Catherine parents know about this?"
Caroline's blush deepened. "Not yet."
"I think they should." Samantha returned her gaze to Simon. "Are you in school?"
"I plan to be. It's too late to apply for for winter semester, but I can start up again in summer. Things got a little…I made some bad choices last year so I'm only in my sophomore year and planning on changing majors anyway, so that might set me back a little."
Samantha gave a slow nod, although what she was Simon couldn't guess. "All right. I know this won't make much sense to you, Simon, but I'm not making any decisions until I speak with Vincent and Catherine—and Father." She shot Caroline a look. Caroline was clearly frustrated. "I know we're adults," Samantha told her. "And you think that we can make decisions without consulting anybody. But part of belonging to a community is taking other people's feelings into account and your parents' feelings—your grandfather's—mean a great deal to us. Or did you actually think I'd agree to letting your….are you two still at 'just friends'?"
Heat overtook Simon's cheeks. "I think…maybe that's the safest answer?"
She snorted out a little laugh, clearly not believing him. "In any case. There is no way I would let you move in without clearing it through Caroline's father—and her grandfather, who I'm sure is going to have a few things to say about all this. I hope you understand."
Simon nodded. "Being…involved," he chose his words carefully, "with someone means being a part of their entire family and family is more than just who you're related to."
…
Caroline was quiet, collecting her thoughts, until they got settled onto the subway car. "I'm sorry about all that. Back there at the house," she explained. "I should have realized that as elegant as the solution seemed to both your problems, Samantha wouldn't do anything without speaking to my parents." The truth was that she hadn't been thinking about anything other than how wonderful it would be to have Simon close.
Not even whether or not he really wants to move out here right now.
Simon just smiled. "I meant what I said. About family."
"It really doesn't bother you that Samantha feels like she has to ask permission before letting you move into her house?"
"It doesn't bother me that you have friends who love you and who worry about what your parents might think about your nineteen-going-on-twenty year old boyfriend—because I don't think we're fooling anybody—moving across the country just to be near you. The only thing I'm really worried about, besides your parents only liking me when I lived three thousand miles away, is finding a job, and making a good impression on your friends, because what they're asking for rent is less than I could find anywhere else."
"I'll talk to my father tonight, although by now I'm sure he's already heard. I'm sorry."
"Caroline, you have nothing to be sorry for."
"I feel like I rushed you into something you were only thinking about and now my entire family is involved." If he were a boy from her world, from the Tunnels, he would understand why Samantha would always defer to Grandfather, to Father. It must seem foreign, alien even, to someone from up top.
"I wasn't thinking that much about a timeline. I just knew I didn't want to lose you to the next guy you met." He put his arm around her shoulders. "I knew how much like being able to do this."
She smiled up at him—then closed her eyes and leaned against his warmth.
"So, if things work out that I can move right away, I'll move right away. I don't have that much stuff and I can call my boss as soon as things are set. He'll understand."
"What about school?"
"The semester hasn't even started yet. I can drop my classes without affecting my grade."
"And the whole everybody knowing every one else's business?"
He snickered and kissed the top of her head. "I'm sure by now even Kevin's brother Ben knows how old you are."
She heard the unspoken 'and probably isn't happy about it'.
"Can I ask you something, though?"
Caroline nodded against his chest.
"Samantha called…your grandfather, 'Father'? Did I catch that right?"
"You did. Granfather was…is…like a father to a lot of children who didn't have anybody else Samantha, Zach, and Kip are three of them. So are Erik and Bri." She pulled in a little closer. "My father isn't…he's not Grandfather's biological son. Devin is."
"My parents adopted, at least unofficially, a lot of people, too." He laid his chin against the top of her head. "I guess we really do have a lot in common."
Caroline smiled.
"Do you want to do anything special this afternoon?" Simon asked her.
"I already am."
She laughed. "I'm serious."
"So am I. But if you're asking where I'd like to go, how about a movie? Lady's choice."
"You need to be more careful with offers like that. There's that new one with Kate Winslet that just opened. It's a real chick-flick."
"Then a chick flick it is."
