"Thanks again for coming with me, man."
Christopher Beck looked at Mark with a smirk. "Of course, we all know you have shitty standards for apartments." Mark snorted, not inclined to argue with him because, shit, he wasn't wrong!
The day after his session with Dr. Allen, Mark had called the only other doctor he knew, requesting his assistance in shopping for his new apartment. He was tired of living in hotels, or having to fly back to Chicago to stay at his childhood home. Don't get confused, Mark Watney loved his parents more than anything, but he felt like he was in high school again and damn it, he was almost forty years old!
Which brings us back to the present. It was three in the afternoon, and they had been looking at apartments for the last four hours, almost on the verge of giving up, but then Beth sent Chris a text with the address of an apartment that was close to NASA, and they immediately called the seller and drove over to see it. Now, Mark and Chris were standing in a one bed, one bath apartment that was 800 square-feet, and only a ten-minute drive to NASA. It was the best place they'd seen all day, and at this point, Mark just wanted to sign the papers and get the keys. He didn't need anything fancy, and this place was perfect. Carpeted floors, with tile in the kitchen and bathroom, a decently sized bedroom, and a spacious living room with three windows, letting light flood the space.
"Honestly, I think this is the best place we're gonna find." Mark completely agreed with him, he wanted this apartment, wanted a place to call his own. Just the thought of it made him feel closer to being able to move past the trauma that came from being alone on Mars.
"So, what do you think?" They were pulled from their conversation; the owner, Mr. Walker, having reappeared from the hall outside the front door.
Mark gave the man a smile. "I'll take it."
"Fantastic!" The older gentleman clapped his hands together, reaching into his briefcase and pulling out a copy of the lease. "The rent is nine hundred, with a security deposit of seven hundred. And you pay for water and electricity, I cover the rest. Oh, and we do allow pets, but they have to be preapproved and there's an additional fee per animal, and cost varies by breed, if it's a dog."
"Well, I don't have any pets, so no problems there. This place is great, how soon can I move in?" Mr. Walker flipped through the papers, double checking the dates before responding.
"Well according to this, all the rooms have been painted and appliances have been checked and upgraded since the previous tenant moved, so it's available right now." Mark turned to Chris, holding two thumbs up at him in happiness, before he turned his attention back to his new landlord. "Whenever you'd like to move in is up to you, as soon as you sign this the apartment is yours. How are you paying?"
"With a check, if that's alright."
"Perfectly fine!" He reached into his back pocket and pulled out the blank check he'd brought along just in case they found a place. He asked Mr. Walker for a pen, and as soon as the man handed him one, he signed it for $1,600, and passed it back to him.
"So, I can move in whenever I'd like, then?" The older man confirmed that he could, and Mark looked at Beck, silently asking how soon they could get all his furniture here from the storage unit.
"We could probably try to get Martinez and Vogel in town next weekend to move the heavy stuff."
Mr. Walker interjected himself into the conversation, "You can decide for yourself, I trust that this check won't be void?" Mark informed him that it wouldn't, "Then, here are the keys. Call it intuition, but I somehow had a feeling that you'd be the one to rent the place, knew it from the moment I got the phone call!" All the men laughed, with Chris and Mark thanking him a dozen times. "You move in whenever is convenient for you, just give me a call when you're all settled so I can make a note of it on the lease. If you'll both excuse me then, I have plans with my wife, and she may just kill me if I'm late!"
They followed him out the door, Mark locking it behind them with his new keys, feeling a small sense of accomplishment at finally having his own place again. They said their goodbyes to Mr. Walker, and headed to Mark's car.
"I bet you're feeling pretty stoked right about now." He laughed, nodding his head as he turned on the car, blasting the A/C.
"You bet your ass I am. How soon can we get my shit in a moving van?"
"I'll call Martinez tonight, and have Beth call Lewis and see if she'd be willing to rope Robert into helping us." Mark liked that idea, he hadn't seen Robert Lewis since before they launched the Hermes into space, before all the shit hit the fan. "We could try Vogel, but I'm not sure when he and his family are returning to Germany. Did you have anybody else you wanted to ask for help?" His mind instantly thought of one person, but he wasn't sure if it'd be weird to ask her or not.
Mark had, in fact, managed to get Mindy's number a few nights ago when they had gone out to breakfast after her shift, and they had been texting each other periodically. Never anything serious; Mark would send her goofy messages during her shifts, and she would respond with how much he was distracting her, but it never stopped her from replying. He smiled, mostly to himself, when he thought of the conversation that had occurred.
"So those emails were probably the highlight of my shift," Mindy said to him, their waitress having just left after taking their orders, "so, thanks for that."
Mark offered his customary lopsided grin, "Happy to be of service. I have to agree though; your responses were the perfect balance of snarky and intellectual."
She snorted into her coffee mug, the liquid going up her throat instead of down, causing her to cough.
"Woah, you okay?" He immediately began offering her napkins, a couple of which she grabbed, nodding her head.
"All good, just went down the wrong pipe." She coughed a few more times, then once more to clear her throat, her cheeks bright red, equal parts from hacking up a lung and blushing in embarrassment. Why did she seem so good at making an ass of herself?
"You sure you're alright? Your face is really red."
Mindy rolled her eyes, annoyed at her emotions always being a dead giveaway, "Red from embarrassment, but other than that I'm fine." Mark chuckled, he loved conversations with this woman. They were always entertaining, and he couldn't seem to find a single thing about Mindy Park that he didn't like. He never wanted their time together to end, appreciating her humble nature and intelligence.
"I had a thought."
"Oh no."
"I swear it's a good one this time!" As someone who had watched every move Mark made, and every stupid decision he did out of smartass-ism, she gave a small groan, knowing this may very-well not be a good thought.
"And what is it?"
"We should exchange numbers, then I can be the highlight of your whole day, instead of your whole shift." Mindy laughed, shaking her head at his antics.
"I don't know if that's a good idea."
"Why not?"
She gave him an incredulous look. "Do I seriously need to answer that?" When he looked at her expectantly, she sighed. "Because you're Mark Watney. I'm just a chick who works in SatCom. If Annie or somebody higher up found out that we were friends, I get the feeling it'd be a shit show...for me, more than you."
Mark 'pffted' at her, shrugging off her concerns. "Yeah, I'm Mark Watney. And you're Mindy Park, my friend. We're friends. And, like most friends do," he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, opening up a 'New Contact' tab, before setting it in front of her, "we should talk more."
Mindy felt a small smile growing on her face, looking away from him to reach into her bag for her own phone, repeating his actions, before she entered her name and number into his.
"Well then, I guess it's official." He said with a victorious grin, "We're friends." She couldn't prevent the smile on her face.
"I guess we are."
"Yo, Earth to Mark?" Beck was waving his hand in front of Mark's face, finally shaking him from his trance. They were still sitting outside of the apartment building, the car running.
"Sorry, what?"
Beck studied his face, wondering what had just transpired in his mind. "I asked if you had anybody else that could help get you moved in, then you faded into your own little world."
Mark ran his hand through his hair, slightly embarrassed. "My bad. I know one person, but it's kinda last minute, so she might already be busy."
His friend's grin suddenly grew sly, and Mark had a feeling he'd regret even mentioning his newest friend. "She might be busy, huh?" He groaned, rolling his eyes at Beck. "Oh, no. I deserve the chance to antagonize you over this. You gave me and Beth so much shit about being together! Although…" Beck gave a soft laugh, growing sentimental, "…you really gave me the push I needed to confront her. So, thanks for that, I guess."
Mark looked at him, before turning his eyes back to the road ahead. "I didn't do that much. I think Lewis did the best thing for you guys, forcing you both to share a room because your…'escapades'," laughing at his own joke, he continued. "-weren't as secret as you both seemed to think."
"Anyway!" Beck interrupted, wanting to steer the conversation as far from him as possible. "Tell me about her. Like, maybe her actual name, for starters."
"Her name is Mindy."
"AND?"
Mark sighed, suddenly feeling like not talking about himself, for a change. "And…she works for NASA in Mission Control." Beck stared at him, waiting for him to continue. "I met her by accident a couple weeks ago. We started talking and I liked her, so I got her number. That's all there is to it, really." Mark wasn't fooling him, he knew there was more to the story than that, but he let it slide for now.
They let the conversation drift to different topics, occasionally mentioning things they'd probably need for the move in a week's time. While Beck hadn't forgotten about Mark brushing off the topic of Mindy, he knew he'd find out, given enough time, because they were still friends, and he would tell him eventually. The day ended with Mark dropping Beck off at his and Johanssen's new place, turning him down on his invitation to come inside and hang out for a bit, but thanking him profusely for helping him. They bid farewell and Mark left, heading back to his hotel for a night of packing and organizing. While he drove, he decided to call Mindy.
The phone rang for one beat, then two, before her voice came through.
"Hello?"
"Hey there, space stalker."
"Watney?"
"The one and only!" He paused for a moment. "Well, my parents are also 'Watney'…but I'm the legendary one!" He smiled to himself when she started laughing.
"Whatever helps you sleep at night. What's up?" Mark finally reminded himself that he'd called her for a reason.
"I just signed the lease for a new apartment." He said with a grin.
She gasped in surprise, immediately responding, "That's great! Congratulations!"
"Thanks, Min." Mindy blushed on the other end of the line, not used to the nicknames from him.
"I was also calling to see if you were free next weekend to help me move? Beck and the others will be there too, but I figured after all is said and done I could order pizza and grab some beer to celebrate." She flinched, instantly feeling regret.
"I'm so sorry, Mark." She hesitated, the guilt at having to say 'no' already building. "I'm actually going to be out of town next weekend. My Mom has been bugging me for awhile to go and visit her and my Dad in Missouri, and I finally broke down and agreed."
Mark tried not to feel too disappointed, even though he would have loved her company throughout the stress-filled day, he knew she had a life besides the time spent with him.
"Don't stress about it, it's super last minute so I really wasn't expecting you to be free." They both grew silent for a few moments, his attention drawn back to the phone when he heard Mindy take a deep breath.
"How about as soon as I get back in town, we get takeout and drinks…we can celebrate at your new place? My treat." He smirked, still a little disappointed, but feeling rejuvenated at her suggestion.
"Sounds perfect."