"What?"
"She's in the mountains this weekend," George repeated. "With Frank. And I'm sure it's very romantic, which is disappointing."
"I was beginning to think this guy didn't exist," Ned grumbled. "Why is it disappointing?"
"Because Bess and I are cheering for you," George replied. "And you've been falling behind."
Ned scooted a little closer to his desk, brought the receiver a little closer to his mouth. "Why is it that you and Bess are cheering for me to break the two of them up?" he asked softly. "I mean, does he abuse her? Is he a bad person?"
"Not at all," George replied, and Ned breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't thought Nancy was the kind of person to put up with that kind of thing anyway. "It's just that she's... most of the time she's not happy with him."
"But she's in love with him."
George sighed. "You know-- did your parents ever have someone in mind for you, when you were younger? Some daughter of their friends, and they kept shoving the two of you together, making little innuendoes..."
"So it's like that."
"Kind of," George hedged. "We've known Frank and Joe a long time, and I won't deny that there is some attraction there, but Nancy loves her job. And Frank loves his."
"Hey, is that Ned on the phone?" he heard distantly, and then George muttered something before Bess came on the line, clear and strident. "Ned?"
"Who is this Joe person?" Ned burst out. "Hi, Bess."
"Frank's little brother," Bess said breezily. "Look, I have an idea. Nancy's supposed to be back Sunday night. You free?"
"Why, does she want to see me?"
"Yeah," Bess said, a smile in her voice.
"She didn't say that."
"She didn't say it because she doesn't know it yet," Bess said, and Ned had to laugh.
That Sunday night he took a long deep breath before he knocked on the door of their apartment. He heard chair legs scrape back against the floor as someone called "Coming," and he looked down at his shirt.
He didn't usually do this. But Bess and George said he was behind, and Nancy wasn't like any other girl he'd ever met, and if he gave up now he'd never forgive himself. Whenever he had almost convinced himself that she wasn't interested and he should just move on, he caught a glance, an expression in her eyes before she turned away, and in those seconds he knew that she didn't want him to give up, either.
Bess opened the door, her thumb in her mouth. "Come in," she managed to say, and he stood just inside the doorway, looking around. High ceilings and good furniture, not the kind he was expecting in an apartment shared by three girls just out of college. George was still sitting at the table, with an overflowing pan of lasagna and an opened bottle of wine in front of her, a radio playing from one of the bedrooms.
"Hi, Ned."
"Hi," he waved back. "I heard you guys had a great time with Kent last night."
"You should've come," George chastised him, slipping out of her chair. "Had dinner yet?"
"Yeah, but I wish I hadn't," he said. "And something tells me that isn't a store-bought frozen lasagna, either."
"My mother would strangle me with her apron," Bess replied. "Come on, have a seat."
At the sound of the key in the door, nearly two hours later, Ned fought the urge to jump to his feet, while Bess leaned close to him and slipped her arm under his elbow. "Remember," she said softly, and he nodded.
When George pulled open the door Nancy stood with her key still poised in her hand, then maneuvered with her duffel through the doorway. "I, just had," she began, and then Ned and Bess turned in unison, and her face changed. Shuttered slightly. "Ned."
He gave her a little wave. "Hi."
She waved back, then vanished into the dim corridor to the bedrooms, and he exchanged a glance with Bess. She gave him a reassuring smile and squeezed his arm.
"You're enjoying this," he whispered.
She shrugged. "Only a little," she said, her eyes dancing.
When Nancy returned she was in a set of flannel pajama bottoms and a close-fitting white tank top, and she sat in the armchair on his other side with her legs curled up under her, and finished watching the movie with them. He made little comments, just loud enough for her to hear, and eventually she began to relax and smile back, and make a few comments of her own. When he stood and stretched and feigned exhaustion, Bess stayed on the couch, and Nancy hesitated only a second before she stood to walk him to the door.
"Tell Bess thanks," he said, crossing his fingers behind his back. "I had a really nice time today. She seems like a great girl."
"She is," Nancy replied, balancing her weight on one foot as she hooked the other behind her ankle. "Sorry I missed you, I-- had something else to do this weekend."
"I'm sure we'll see each other again," he said, laughing to lighten the sound of it. Oh, he was slipping. "Have a good night, Nancy."
"You too," she said, and when he reached the end of the hallway and glanced back, he caught the split-second gleam of her eyes before she retreated back into the doorway and was gone.
"Let's see who's behind now," Ned said to himself, a grin curving his mouth.