Much Ado About . . . It's Complicated
"Well, Becker, I guess I should head to the diner and get ready to open up," Reggie murmured an hour or so later.
"Oh, come on, five more minutes," he insisted into her dark locks as he pulled her closer.
"Jo-ohn, you've been saying 'five more minutes' for the last half hour," she reminded him. He mumbled something unintelligible into her hair while she struggled to escape his grasp. "Don't you want your first cigarette of the day?"
"Hm? Oh, yeah, I guess you're right. We should -" he grunted as he tumbled out of his side of the bed, "get up and get going. Care to join me in the shower?" he asked with a suggestive smile.
"Well, all right. But we'd better make it a quick one!"
Nearly forty-five minutes later, they arrived at Reggie's Diner. Jake was already there to greet them. "Hey, Reg. Is your phone upstairs broken or something? Somebody called a little while ago demanding to know where you were. Oh, hi, John."
"Hey, Jake. I'm grabbing some gum," he alerted as he dropped some change on the counter.
"Uh, well, I had to . . . turn the ringer off because some weird guy kept calling me all night. Wrong number, actually, but he refused to leave me alone. Any message from the call you took?" Reggie knew she was rambling again, but she was not ready for anyone to know what happened between her and Becker the night before.
"Naw, she said she'd call ya back around lunch. Or did she say she'd catch ya around lunch?" Jake shrugged. Why're these two acting so strangely? He couldn't help but wonder if Becker had spent the night at Reggie's and they simply didn't want him to know about it. Nah, that wouldn't happen. They argue so much that . . . maybe that's masking their true feelings? Reggie and the doc? Jake shuddered involuntarily. That would be strange.
Fortunately, Reggie and Becker were too busy having a silent conversation with their eyes to notice Jake's reaction to the thought of the two of them together. "Coffee's almost ready, Becker. Breakfast?"
"Uh, yeah . . . Danish."
"Morning, losers!" Bob greeted almost too cheerily. "Bob's having such a great day, nobody could ruin it!"
"Yeah? What happened, Bob, somebody throw away a jacket and you fished it out of the trash?" Becker mused as he stirred his coffee.
Bob merely laughed. "No. Bob has met the woman of his dreams. She's petite, curvy, has a walk that could stop traffic, and a smile that would light up this place like a disco!"
"Oh, gawd, Bob. You're not going after Aileen again, are you?" Becker was thoroughly disgusted with the smaller man's gushing.
"Aw, is poor Becker worried that Bob would intrude on his space? Believe me, Doc, if I were still pining for Aileen, you'd never know about it. Well, I'm off to pick up a part for Mrs. DeSoto's sink. Later, losers!"
All three breathed a sigh of relief that Bob hadn't stayed longer. Reggie ducked into the kitchen to fetch some pastry and check the grill.
"So, John, why'd you show up here so early?" Jake asked from his perch just down the diner's counter.
"Oh, uh, I was, um, I woke up early, so I decided to get an early start to my day." He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Is there, uh, something wr-wrong with that?"
"Naw, man, just curious. That's all."
Just then, Reggie returned with Becker's Danish. He shot her a look that told her Jake might be on to them. She shook her head in disbelief, after all, how could the blind man know they had come in together?
"So, Reggie," Jake began. "John's soap didn't dry out your skin? Yeah, I could smell that when you two came in the front door."
The two were speechless for a moment. Then they began sputtering excuses for why Reggie might've come in the front and Becker was right behind her. They'd bumped into each other on the sidewalk. But Jake wasn't buying any of it. "Hey, hey, hey, it's OK." He held his hands up. "If you two aren't ready to admit something went on last night, that's cool." He rose to return to his newsstand. "I'll play along like I don't know anything. The blind man saw nothing."
Chris entered dragging a heavy suitcase. "Hey, everybody! Oh, it's a great day, isn't it?" she said far too cheerily for that hour of the morning.
"Oh, great. Sunshine's here," Becker mumbled around bites of his Danish.
"Hi, Chris. Nice trip?" Reggie asked amiably.
"Huh? Oh, sure. I got to catch up with my ex-husband and pick up the last of my stuff that he had. I tell ya, it's good to stay friends with an ex, isn't it?" The smile never left her face.
Becker scoffed loudly. Neither of his ex-wives would say something like that. They'd taken all they could from him and left with him the clothes on his back and not much else. Why the hell was this woman so damn happy all the time? She was still going on about how much fun she'd had with her ex and her old friends. If she'd been so happy there, why did she come back to the Bronx? Becker only shook his head as he hazarded a glance towards Reggie. He was so relieved she was a realist. Life hadn't been all that kind to her, but she tried to be optimistic without expecting miracles.
"Oh, hey, Bob!" Chris called out. "Listen, thanks for taking care of my apartment and my fish."
"Oh, no problem, Chris. Bob was pleased to do it. How was your visit with your ex? Everything squared away?" Bob asked without his usual attempt to undress her with his eyes.
"It was great. I even found my old racquetball equipment. You, uh, play?" she asked hopefully.
"Of course. How about this afternoon? I have to repair a sink, but that won't take long."
"Great. You want to meet here for lunch?"
"Better make it around one. Mrs. DeSoto has a little crush on Bob and she likes to give him a cookie or something she baked when he fixes stuff."
"She gives you treats? Doesn't sound like a crush, Bob. That sounds like she's rewarding a dog. Or in your case, a lap dog," Becker stated derisively as he lit up a cigarette.
"Oh, yeah, Doc? Bob told you earlier, nobody can ruin his good mood! Bob will see you later for a game," he pointed both hands at Chris before sauntering back out of the diner.
"Reggie, I think I'd like some breakfast. Um, eggs over-medium, sausage, wheat toast, and some orange juice," Chris called from her booth. "So, John . . . did you miss me while I was gone?" she asked with a grin after Reggie disappeared into her kitchen.
"Miss you? I hardly noticed you were gone," he scoffed.
"Sure, you didn't," she drawled.
Jake listened to their exchange with amusement. Becker had managed to make Reggie jealous with a little interest in Chris's whereabouts. How would she react to this seeming flirtation?