Chapter 3

So scream you, out from behind the bitter ache
Heavy on the memory, you need most
still want love, ugly, smooth and delicate
not without affection, not alone

And instead of wishing that it would get better
man you're seeing that you just get angrier

And it's good that I'm not angry
I just need to get over,
I'm not angry, anymore

"Angry", matchbox twenty

The phone rang, and he reached up to snag the handset off of the counter. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's me," Calleigh answered him.

"Hi," he said, craning his neck to see the clock on the stove. He was surprised to find that yes, it was lunchtime already. Calleigh still called him when she ate lunch to check on him. He didn't mind, really. "You left early today," he said, settling back on his heels.

"Crap. I was sure I didn't wake you," she said, in dismay.

"You didn't. There was a phone call after you left, around 6:45," he explained. Calleigh usually left at 7.

"Who was calling at 6:45?" she asked.

"Um, wrong number," he lied. It had been her mother, and she had not been terribly happy. He didn't figure Calleigh needed to know that right then.

"Wrong number? Before 7AM? That's…odd," Calleigh said. She didn't say anything for a moment, then said, "Tim, was it my mom?"

"Yeah," he sighed. "I was gonna tell you she called when you got home."

"Damnit," she muttered under her breath. "How did she get your number…oh, wait," she sighed. "I called her from the house line the other night, and she's got Caller ID. I'm sorry."

He shrugged. "It's fine, Calleigh. I don't mind if your mom has the number." Her mother, he didn't mind. Her father was a bit of a different story, but only because he knew Mr. Hayes had a tendency to drunk dial in the middle of the night. "You told her you were here, right?" he asked. "Because she was kind of surprised when I picked up."

"Yeah, I did, a while back. But she has selective hearing sometimes," Calleigh sighed. "She didn't jump all over you, did she?"

"Not really," he said.

"Not really isn't no. What did she say?" Calleigh demanded.

He sighed. "She wanted to know if I was the reason you weren't going to Louisiana for Christmas."

"Lord. Of course you're not," she sighed. "I mean, oh hell, you know what I mean."

"Well, I am, kinda. 'Cause you'd have leave time otherwise," he said.

"No, it's not because I don't have the leave time. It's because I had Thanksgiving off. Remember? We made sweet potato casserole and went over and had dinner with Alexx's family?" she said.

"I remember," he said.

"Well, then it's my turn to work Christmas, then. She can deal," Calleigh said, irritably.

He didn't say anything. He knew that if he was working, he'd have taken her Christmas shift. But pointing that out was not going to end well. He wondered if she'd kept her end of the bargain, but didn't want to ask that, either. He was distracted suddenly by a curious meow. "Hey, no! That's not for drinking, Strawberry," he said. "It's nasty." He reached out to redirect the cat from the bucket of soapy water by his knee.

"What's that?" she asked, confused.

"Strawberry was trying to drink the bucket water," he explained.

"What are you doing?" she asked, still sounding confused.

"Scrubbing the kitchen floor," he replied.

"What on earth for? You mop it every other day." He could hear the headshaking in her voice.

"My parents are coming next week? Remember?"

"Oh, right," she said. "I'm sorry, I forgot. So your parents coming means you scrub the kitchen floor?"

"It needed scrubbing anyway. I haven't done it since September," he shrugged.

"You do realize that your kitchen is cleaner than most operating rooms, right?" she asked.

"It's not that bad, Cal," he protested.

"What else have you done today?" she asked, as though she was half afraid to hear the answer.

"I did the bathrooms and my bedroom. I left yours alone, other than to vacuum," he said.

"So now you're scrubbing the kitchen floor," she said.

"Yeah. I'm almost done."

"Don't wear yourself out, Tim," she warned.

"I'm not," he said. "I'm fine."

She sighed. "All right. What else do you have to do to be ready?"

He frowned. "The living room needs dusting and the office needs cleaning up and the breezeway and the back porch should get scrubbed up. Oh, and I should probably steam the carpets," he replied after a moment.

"When are they coming?" she asked.

"Tuesday."

"Ok, well, leave the rest of the tough stuff, ok? Like the carpets and the breezeway. I'll help you with those on Sunday, when I'm off, ok?"

"You don't have to, Cal. It's my parents. I don't want to waste your day off with it."

"I don't mind. I don't want you being too worn out from cleaning to enjoy their visit, Tim," she said.

"Fine," he sighed.

"All right. I gotta go. I might be late," she sighed

"Ok."

"Leave the rest of it, Tim. I mean it, really."

"Ok, fine," he said, irritably.

"All right. Eat your lunch."

"I will as soon as I'm done."

"Good. I'll see you later, ok? Call if you need anything," she said.

"Of course," he said. "Bye."

"Bye." She hung up and he reached up to put the phone back on the counter. Sighing, he retrieved the scrub brush and continued attacking the tomato stain by the refrigerator. Strawberry came to investigate and pounced on his hand.

"Hey!" he said, laughing in spite of himself. "Knock it off." He moved his hand away, but the cat pounced again. "Silly," he said, laughing again. He reached up and found the roll of paper towels hanging on the side of the refrigerator and pulled a couple off to wad up. He tossed them across the kitchen floor "There, chase those," he laughed as Strawberry skidded across the still damp part of the floor to chase after the wad of paper towels. He went back to scrubbing, but Strawberry was back to pounce.

"What, were you listening to Calleigh?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "I'm almost done, just this one last spot, ok? Then I'll take a break," he promised the cat, who meowed in response.

Calleigh really didn't have to worry about him getting worn out cleaning, he mused as he decided that stain really wasn't going to completely come clean. The cats wouldn't let him. He sighed as he stood up and stretched. Strawberry twined herself around his feet. "Better watch out if you don't want me dumping dirty water all over you," he warned as he grabbed the bucket to pour down the utility sink. He finished cleaning up the mess and washed up before digging through the fridge to make himself lunch. "There, happy now?" he asked, taking his sandwich to the table and sitting down. Strawberry sat on his feet and purred. "I guess so, huh?" he said. He smiled to himself as he finished his sandwich and tried to decide what to tackle next. He was bound and determined that the house would be completely clean by the time his parents showed up, whether Calleigh was happy about it or not.