June 21, 2004
Angel Grove, CA
Nick had worked late that night. He didn't come home until well after midnight. I felt him crawl into bed and could smell burning plastic and chemicals on him. Rolling over, I smiled at him. He looked exhausted, stubble on his face and bags under his eyes.
"Hey." I whispered. "How'd work go?"
"Fine. Shouldn't you be sleeping?" He mumbled, sounding cranky.
"I wanted to talk to you." I replied. "I found furniture. It's going to be delivered to the house tomorrow if you're not busy."
"I have work tomorrow." He said, resting his head on the pillow. "Just have the delivery dude help you set everything up."
"You sure?" I asked, watching him close his eyes.
"Yeah. Sure. Whatever." He rolled over on his side and covered himself up with the blanket. Sighing quietly, I rolled over as well and drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, Nick was gone before I even woke up. I did find a note from him attached to an envelope on the bed. The note said he had to leave for work early and that he wouldn't be back until late again. He also said that the money in the envelope was for turning things on in the house. Inside, there was about $500 in twenties. Sitting up, I counted it again to be sure. Perhaps I should go into the contracting business if he gets paid this well for one night. Rolling over, I tucked the money in the drawer of the night stand next to the bed before climbing out. I grabbed a quick shower, putting on a pair of jean shorts and a green tank top when I was done. I was tying my sneakers when there was a knock on the door.
"Come in." I called. The door opened and Jason stuck his head in.
"Hey. What's the deal?" He asked. "Stealing my partner to move furniture."
"What are you talking about?" I questioned. He grinned, crossing his arms as he leaned against the door jam.
"Tommy was all set to come help with the tournament today until he just happened to come across a friend that needs help moving furniture today. I couldn't even imagine who that might be." He teased. I shrugged.
"Maybe he would rather chance stubbing his toe than having to spend the day with you and some kids." I offered. Jason laughed, shaking his head.
"Just do me a favor and don't break him. We're planning on going to the beach tomorrow. I don't want him to bitch about being sore all day tomorrow."
"You're such a charmer, Jase." I said, standing up. Outside, I heard honking.
"Sounds like your ride is here."
"I'll see you later. Good luck today!" I called out, grabbing my purse and heading towards the front door. I opened it and saw that Tommy's truck was parked along the curb. He waved at me from the driver seat as I shut the front door behind me, walking towards the truck. I climbed in, buckling up my seat belt.
"Morning! I brought you some coffee." He said, gesturing towards the cup holders between us. I saw two cups from the local coffee shop, their logo on the side. "Two sugars, one cream, and a shot of caramel."
"Oh, a man that remembers a coffee order. You're the best." I picked up the cup with my name on it and took a sip. It was delicious. "That's amazing. Thank you for this. And for helping us out today."
"No problem. Is your husband joining us?" Tommy asked. I shook my head.
"Nick had work today. It's just us." For a moment, I thought a look of relief came over his face but it was gone just as quickly as I had seen it. He pulled away from the curb and headed towards the store. "So, Jason blamed me for you bailing on him today."
"That's a shocker." He said flatly.
"You didn't have to do this, you know." I pointed out. He nodded.
"I know. Honestly, I agreed to do it for selfish reasons. I really didn't want to go to the tournament today. Don't get me wrong. I love our students and think they are going to kick ass today. I just didn't have it in me to sit around and make small talk with the other coaches. It's the worst part and just don't have the patience for it."
"I'd send Jason too then." I replied. We both laughed as he took the turn into the parking lot. It was fairly busy, the Saturday giving people free time for some shopping. I grabbed the list of measurements from my purse as well as my wallet while he parked. We climbed out and headed inside, me telling him about what I wanted to get first. Even though I had had my heart set on that living room set yesterday, I knew I wouldn't be able to afford it. There had been another couch I liked here that I was going to price and measure. It wasn't as nice as the other set but I knew it would be in my price range. I also knew that we needed a bed. Thought mine was in my old room, I didn't feel right using it for our bed. Probably because it had been the bed I had been with Tommy in. I didn't want to think about that each time I laid in it. For now, it would be fine in there until we found a reason to use the room.
"I know I can fit a bed and some chairs in the back of my truck without an issue." Tommy said as we climbed up the stairs. "That's what I managed to do when I moved into my apartment."
"I think it's all we will really need for right now. I can have Jase help with a couch later this week if need be." As we reached the top of the stairs, the first thing I noticed was that the living room set I liked was gone. I frowned, letting out a sigh.
"What's the matter?" He asked, looking at me concerned.
"Nothing. I mean, I know it's silly but I really liked that couch and loveseat that were here yesterday. I know I couldn't afford it but I'm sad to see that it's gone." I replied. I shook my head, scanning the room. There were no other couches either. The one I had considered was gone and there were nothing but recliners left.
"They get new things in every day. We can just keep checking back until we find something you like." He said, giving me a supportive smile.
"You're right. Okay. Let's find some stuff I actually can buy." We walked over to the bedroom section again. Tommy had brought his tape measure with him and we walked around, measuring beds that would fit into our bedroom. We found one that I liked, a dark colored wooden head board with nothing fancy to it. There was no foot board, just a bed frame underneath it. It was just half an inch shorter than we needed, meaning it would be a tight fit but would work. Tommy went to find someone to help us with it while I grabbed the curtains, linens, dishes, and glassware I had found yesterday. Two employees helped take apart the bed and loaded it up into the back of Tommy's truck. Tommy helped me load the other stuff into the bed of the truck. They were even nice enough to give me two of the rugs I had been eying as well, them just fitting in with the rest of the stuff. I helped him tie everything down with straps to secure it in place. I paid for everything, not liking that it took half of the rest of our savings. I reminded myself that I would be getting paid the following week and Nick was already bringing in cash.
Tommy and I drove back over to my house and he backed into the driveway and carefully over the lawn so that his tailgate lined up with the porch. Cutting the engine, he grabbed some work gloves from the glove box and handed them to me. I took them and climbed out, walking around the truck. We undid the harnesses, freeing everything. Jogging up the steps, I unlocked the front door and propped it open with the stopper on the bottom. I grabbed the box of dishes from the truck and headed inside, wanting to get them out of the way. I was surprised to see that the living room was no longer empty. Instead, it was now filled with the living room set I had fallen in love with. I stopped, setting the box on the floor.
"Surprise!" Tommy said, walking into the house. I looked at him, confused.
"Did you do this?" I asked. He nodded, putting his hands on his hips.
"Yeah. I saw how much you loved them and thought it would be the perfect Housewarming present for you." He replied. "You should have seen Billy, Adam, and I unloading these last night."
"Oh, Tommy. I love it. You shouldn't have though! It was expensive." He shrugged.
"I know how to make a good deal. I didn't pay full price. Besides, I knew it would make you happy and that's all the matters." I had to admit that it looked great in here. The color of the fabric went well with the paint of the walls. It already felt warmer in here. For some reason, I felt tears prick the back of my eyes and I had to blink to make them go away. I didn't know why I was crying. It had been something nice and thoughtful. But in my chest, I felt a weight there I couldn't explain. "You okay?" He asked, putting a hand on my shoulder. I nodded, wiping the tears away.
"Yeah. Sorry. I'm a sap these day." I chuckled, sniffling. Outside, I saw that the sky was starting to get cloudy and dark. "We better get everything moved in before it rains."
"I think you're right about that."
It took about twenty minutes to get everything moved off the truck and into the living room. We hurried, hoping to beat the rain. Tommy barely had enough time to roll up his windows when we were done before the thunder rolled and rain poured from the sky like a bucket being dumped. Rain berated the windows, quickly forming little streamed in the roadway. The smell came into the house, the water cooling the hot asphalt of the road. I opened up a couple of the windows, letting the cool breezy in the stuffy house. I helped Tommy carry the bed and the pieces for it upstairs. It wasn't easy, seeing as most of the pieces were bigger than I was. We managed it though, getting all the parts in the room. He used his drill to put the pieces of the bed frame together. It was slow work, each piece having multiple screws plus weird nuts that needed a wrench to tighten them. Tommy swore as he tightened the last one, giving it a good wiggle to ensure it was going to hold. We moved it into place, putting the box spring and mattress on it. Standing back, we admired our work.
"It looks great." I said, pulling the linens from the bag I had bought. I moved to make the bed and he grabbed one corner of the fitted sheet, helping me.
"I think you picked the hardest bed to put together."
"Would it be me if I actually did something easy?" I asked, grinning at him.
"You have a point there." He replied, putting the sheet over the corner of the bed. For a moment, I pictured that this is what life would have been like if we hadn't broken up. Making the bed each morning after getting up. Setting up our first house together. Spending time just enjoying each other's company. I felt the weight get heavier again and I tried to shove it off of me but I couldn't.
Once the bed was made, we headed back downstairs and rolled out the rugs. One went in the hall outside of the kitchen and the other went in the living room. They curled when we unrolled them so Tommy found some paint cans in the basement to place at the corners until they stretched out. I was really liking how well the living room was beginning to look. With all of the furniture in it, including the entertainment stand, it looked more like a home than just empty space.
"If this whole theater thing doesn't work out for you, there's always interior design." Tommy said, bringing the dishes into the kitchen. I laughed, looking at him over my shoulder as I unwrapped each glass from the newspaper they had wrapped them in for protection.
"I think I'll pass. I have no clue how my mother does it for a living. I don't mind doing it in my own house but I would hate having to do it for other people."
"That's a shame. I could use a keen eye for my apartment." He said, moving to unwrap the plates in his box.
"Oh, the great Tommy Oliver can't decorate his own apartment?" I asked. He chuckled.
"It looks like what I assume a dorm room would look like. Not that I mind. It's small. It works for me though. The perfect size for one person."
"Why not buy a house? You're doing well for yourself." He shrugged his shoulder, carefully stacking the plates on the counter between us.
"I own the building the dojo is and my apartment is above it. Seems kinda silly to buy a house and to pay two mortgages I suppose. Besides, I like being able to keep an eye on things all the time. You never know who might get the idea to break in." I scoffed.
"Break in? In Angel Grove?"
"Don't laugh. It's gotten pretty bad here. I'm surprise Jason and Trini didn't tell you. The crime rate has risen a lot over the last year and drugs have gotten awful. I've had two kids have to drop their classes because their parents overdosed."
"That's horrible. I never thought it would be like that here. Miami is crawling with that stuff. Seemed like every time I turned on the news, some poor kid was either getting arrested or shot for being a part of that shit. I was hoping to be far away from it here." I pulled the last glass from the box and unwrapped it, moving the box out of the way. There were twenty glasses in front of me now along with the mini saucers and matching bowls that came with the plates.
"That's why Jason and I are pushing our dojo and his kickboxing so hard. If kids are busy, they won't have time to get caught up in that stuff. I wish the youth center was still around because it's what kept us from it."
"Well, that and forty foot monsters and grey dudes that sounded like dying turkeys." I replied, grinning at him.
"Alright. So maybe that had more of a hand in it than Ernie's smoothies." He answered, setting our empty boxes to the side.
"I would love one of his smoothies again. A little strawberry. Some pineapple. And just a hint of mango. Who needed drugs when that stuff was like crack?" I laughed, opening the cupboard in front of me. I lined the glasses up on the first shelf in neat rows, making sure they were even. I grabbed the stack of plates and stood on my tippy toes, sliding them onto the second shelf. As I came back down, my torso bumped up against the counter just right and a sharp pain shot through me. I gasped and let out a hiss, instantly holding my side.
"Kim! Are you alright?" Tommy asked, rushing over. I took a step back, not wanting him to get too close.
"I'm fine. I just banged my arm." I said.
"Then why are you holding your side?" He asked. Before I could stop him, he grabbed the hem of my tank top and lifted it slightly. He let out a gasp, his eyes widening when he saw the black and blue mark on my ribs. "Jesus Christ, Kim! What the hell happened to you?"
"It's nothing, Tommy. I'm fine." I said, pulling my shirt from his hands and putting it back in its place.
"Nothing? You look like you were run over by a truck!" He exclaimed.
"I fell the other day, okay? I was putting laundry away and tripped on the foot of my bed at Trini's. Trust me, it looks a lot worse than it actually is. I'm fine though." Tommy locked eyes with me for a moment and I felt a tug of trust between us, like a tug of war being held silently. After a minute or so, he nodded
"Alright. You sure you shouldn't get that checked out by a doctor or something?"
"Trini checked me out. That's close enough, right?" I asked, smiling at him. From the look he gave me, I knew he didn't believe me. I could see it in his eyes. I felt guilty for lying to him but I knew if I told him the truth, he would think that Nick was abusing me. That wasn't the case. It was an accident that could have happened to anyone who had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. I couldn't let people think that about Nick. But even worse, I could let people think I was that weak of a person to stay with someone who would let them do that to them. Especially not Tommy.
"You know you can tell me if something was wrong, right?" He asked, taking my hands in his. I nodded, looking up at him.
"I know, Tommy. I'm okay. I promise." I let out a deep sigh. "How about some lunch? My treat."
