Okay. I leave now, no harm done. I go home, have my ice cream, then go to sleep. Okay. I stay, go up and see his place, get upset, go home, have my ice cream, then go to sleep. Okay. This isn't working.
"Yeah, I'm coming."
He pressed the elevator button, then shoved his hands in his pockets.
"It's on the fourth floor."
"Right. Fourth floor." She pressed the button again, for no apparent reason.
"I hope the painting is done- it's supposed to be completely ready by tomorrow, and I was going to move in Wednesday. The big stuff is already there, but I have to move it around."
They walked out into the hallway.
Hmm. There are only two doors. This is puzzling.
Jamie pulled out his keys and opened the first door. He flipped on a light switch and walked into the apartment. There was still plastic on the floor and all the furniture was in the first room covered in sheets. It was pretty big.
He must have most of the floor. An entire floor. How nice.
"So, um, I could give you the tour, I guess"
"Sounds good"
"All right. Over here," he paused, "we've got the living room area thing, and I guess what you could call the breakfast place or whatever"
"Breakfast nook?"
"Yeah."
"And you're the Times Bestseller?"
"Funny, right?" he laughed, then walked into another room. "This is the kitchen, and it's got a swinging door that does into what I think is supposed to be a dining room."
They passed through the kitchen into a large hallway that spanned the back of the building, opening up into a small sitting area in the center with a porch attached.
"So this first room I think I'm going to make a guest room, you know, for when the family comes over." He opened the door to the next room, which was directly in front of the porch. "This is the master bedroom. I think the porch looks out onto a common garden. I've always wanted a place on the top floor, you know, with a roof all to myself, but I'm pretty sure that was out of my price range."
"You have a price range?" she asked, glancing around the room, "Because I'm not really seeing that."
"It's there, believe me. I think the editors and publishers got more than me. The last room is an office. I'm not really sure what to do with it yet, you know, decoration wise, but I guess I'll just figure it out later."
She opened the last door. "It's just white"
"I know, I know. I'll probably just," he smiled, "paper my walls with rejection letters or something."
"Original."
"Yeah. It would depress me anyways. I guess I'm not enough of a writer to do that quite yet."
"Of course not. Especially being, did I mention, the Times Bestseller."
"I do my best." He blushed, "It wasn't just me, though. I uh, I had…help. Ready to go?"
"Yeah"
They walked out of the apartment, both smelling slightly of wet paint, and boarded the elevator.
Cathy folded her arms loosely, blushing slightly.
How weird is this… Feels like we just met or something. Well, maybe not like we just met, but something like that. Wandering thoughts a bit, Cathy?
They silently walked outside and turned the corner, heading back towards the old apartment. It wasn't awkward, but it wasn't quite comfortable either. Jamie couldn't stand the silence.
"So… any auditions coming up?"
Cathy let out a sigh of relief for the reintroduction of normal conversation.
"Yeah, a few, you know. There's always a few. I have a callback Wednesday for a new show – and those are always risky, but I'm hopeful."
"Excellent."
"We'll see. It'll be a welcome change, though. A few less girls than the normal cattle calls."
"Yeah. And the Restaurant?"
"What about it?"
"Well, you didn't say much about it."
"Frankly, I was a bit embarrassed to be waitressing again. But it's alright. It's a nice place and people generally tip well."
"I'm sorry. Didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."
She smiled.
"Don't be. I'm proud of you."
And suddenly, she realized that she meant it. She wasn't jealous of Jamie. She was excited and happy that he had finally gotten to the place he had always wanted to be. The only that upset her was that she wasn't there with him.
Stop it.
She tried as hard as she could to push such thoughts out of her mind.
Jamie, meanwhile, was a bit dumbstruck. She was proud? No witty repartee? No cold, insulting, yet slightly funny remark?
"Thanks. That… means a lot to me."
They paused outside the door to the building.
"Can I walk you up?"
"Sure"
The stairs were almost too familiar to both of them.
He remembered the first time they had walked together up to their new, third floor apartment. She had gripped his hand tight and grinned as they pushed through the door to the bare, empty space that was theirs.
He remembered bounding up the stairs to show her– to tell her he had finally gotten an offer on his first book.
He remembered how the suitcase clunked as it came down.
They reached the apartment door a bit too quickly. Neither really knew of anything else to say.
Just don't say anything stupid.
"I… had a really nice time"
Too late.
Jamie rocked forward on the balls of his feet, sticking his hands in his pockets.
"Me too. I really think… I think we should do this again. I want to keep in touch. I owe it to you."
She nodded.
"Yeah, you do"
His lips curved and pursed slightly as he chuckled.
"I'll call you."
She reached to unlock the door, but was caught slightly off guard by his hand on her shoulder. She turned her head, and was met by a gentle kiss on her cheek. Her mind told her to slap him – to slam the door in his face and go to bed… but she didn't. She simply blushed, uttered a quiet "goodnight", and walked inside, pressing her back against the closed door.
What the fuck…
Quick Author's Note
As you all have noticed, Cathy's thoughts have been (up to this point) notated by italics. I would love some feedback on this. Also, its getting to the point where I feel the need to share Jamie's thoughts in addition to Cathy's, and I am considering using bold text to denote it. Please share your thoughts on this. Would giving Jamie's thoughts give too much away? Is it necessary? All feedback, negative or positive, would be greatly appreciated.
