Here's the next chapter. It's a little longer than the previous one. Enjoy!

15. Moving Day

At breakfast the following morning, the girls chatted animatedly about going shopping that morning for new swimsuits. Each of the girls had grown out of their suit from the previous year, so Maria was taking them shopping after breakfast.

Carlos was a late riser on the weekends, so I packed up all of the clothes that would fit into the duffle bags I brought with me. My suits were placed in their carrying bags, and I was left with a couple of piles of clothes that I had bought that didn't fit into my bags. I stood there staring at the clothes when Ricardo poked his head in the door and handed me a small suitcase.

"I remembered that you only had two small bags when you came here, and that you've been shopping. I thought this might help. You can empty it when you get to the apartment and we can bring it back with us tonight."

I smiled at him and said, "That's perfect. Thanks Ricardo, I was beginning to contemplate getting a garbage bag from the kitchen to carry this and my things that are in the bathroom."

Ricardo left me to my packing, and by the time Carlos finally emerged from his bedroom around 10, my things were already packed and waiting by the front door.

"I'm sorry I slept in so long Steph, I forgot to set my alarm. I just need a quick shower and I'll be ready to go."

I looked at my watch and replied, "There's no rush Carlos. It's only 10 and your family isn't due to arrive until 3PM. Take your time, have some breakfast, and we'll go once you are ready."

While Carlos showered, I gathered the sheets on my bed and placed them in the laundry basket in the hall. A few minutes later, I finished searching my room for anything I might have missed and came up empty. Content with not leaving anything behind, I took my towels off the rack behind the door and went to put them in the laundry hamper.

When I walked out of my room, Carlos was just emerging from the shower and he was only wearing a towel around his waist. I stood there staring as he walked past me into his bedroom. Before he closed the door he smirked and said, "You're staring Babe. Are you rethinking your friend position?"

I couldn't find my voice so I shook my head instead. I then hurried to deposit the towels in my arms into the hamper before making my escape downstairs.

Carlos came down a few minutes later to find me and Ricardo in the sitting room. He looked at his father and asked, "Papa, which car can we take?"

"You'll have to take my car. Your mother took the girls in hers this morning and she probably won't be back before lunch time."

Carlos nodded and said, "I'm ready whenever you are Steph. I'll start carrying your stuff out to the car now."

I told Carlos I'd follow him in a minute. I turned to Ricardo and said, "I am very grateful to you and your family for everything you have done for me these past two weeks. You have treated me like I was part of your family, and most of all, you made me feel safe. I will never be able to thank you enough. If there is ever anything that I can help you with, please ask.

"If you want a night out or a weekend away with Maria, I'd be happy to let the girls stay with me, I love spending time with them. If there is anything else I can do, don't hesitate to ask."

Ricardo hugged and thanked me and said, "We may take you up on your weekend offer with the girls. We've been thinking of a weekend getaway, but Carlos' job at the gym doesn't always mean he's available on the weekends. We'll let you know when we make our plans. That is a very generous offer, and one that I'm sure all parties can enjoy. The girls love spending time with you."

Ricardo walked with me to the front door and helped carry out the last two bags. We packed everything safely in the trunk and then headed to my new apartment. I was really excited, but looking over at Carlos, he looked like he was glowing with excitement.

"Carlos, why do you look more excited than I do?"

"I'm not excited about you moving as much as I'm excited about driving my father's Mercedes. I never get to drive this car, and when I do, my father is usually in the passenger seat. I'm just a little excited, that's all."

I laughed at this and replied, "And here I was thinking that you were excited that you were finally getting rid of me."

"I'm a little disappointed actually. You got to see me in a towel, fresh from the shower, but I never had the privilege of seeing you in a towel. Now that you're gone, my chances are slim to none."

"Slim? Don't you mean non-existent?"

"I will admit that the chance of seeing you after a shower wearing only a towel is extremely low at this point in time. That doesn't mean that I will rule it out as a possibility at some point in the future."

"In your dreams Manoso," I joked. "Too late Babe," was his reply.

When we pulled up in front of the apartment building, Jonny met us and gave me a set of keys that contained a key fob to get into the underground garage. He told me to park anywhere, and to contact him if I had any questions.

I explained that two cars would arrive at 3 and 4 this afternoon and he assured me that he would have garage access ready for them when they arrived. I made a mental note to get Carlos to call his parents and Tom to explain what they needed to do when they arrived.

We drove into the garage and Carlos pulled into the spot right beside the elevator. We loaded the elevator so we didn't have to make two trips, and ascended to my new apartment.

Twenty minutes later, all of my clothes were safely put away in the huge walk in closet. My suits and dressier clothes were hanging, while my more casual clothes were stowed away in one of the dressers. I had ordered Carlos out of the room when I started to unpack my underwear. He feigned disappointment, but I'm sure he was happy for the excuse to go play with the television.

I walked into the living room to find the television off and Carlos nowhere in sight. He had turned on some soft classical music, and remembering that the music was played throughout the apartment, I went looking for him.

I searched for a few minutes and found him out on the deck. It was a beautiful, warm and sunny day, and he was taking the opportunity to lie in the sun. I looked at him and was a bit surprised to see him in a pair of shorts and nothing else. I didn't remember him carrying a bag of his own, so I assumed that he was wearing the shorts under the jeans he wore over here.

When he heard me walk across the deck, he looked up at me and said, "It's a beautiful day out here Babe. Do you have a cute little swimsuit that you could wear? We could go for a quick swim before everyone arrives."

I laughed at Carlos and said, "We need to go and get some food or the people arriving will think I'm a horrible host. It's already 12:45 and your family will arrive sometime around 3."

"Oh right, your grocery shopping slave is at your service. Are you ready now?"

I nodded, so Carlos grabbed his jeans and pulled them over his shorts. I also watched him put on his t-shirt, taking extra care to watch his slim and muscular frame from the corner of my eye.

We returned to my apartment an hour and a half later, fully laden with bags of food. The night before, I discussed food possibilities with Maria, and she suggested that we keep it simple. I would lay out a cold buffet that had easy finger foods and lots of things to make sandwich rolls.

I found a bunch of plates and trays in the kitchen, so Carlos and I set to work preparing the food. Carlos chopped some veggies while I made the dip. We then sliced a bunch of tomatoes, onions and cucumbers, laid out the sliced meats and cheeses. We covered the food and placed it in the fridge that was chilling drinks and the rest of the food that we'd put together later.

When the Manosos arrived, we all changed into our swimsuits and lounged on the deck sunbathing and swimming. Maria and I were sitting in the lounge chairs as Carlos and Ricardo were throwing the girls around the pool. Maria looked at me and said, "This is a really lovely apartment. I can see now why you were reluctant to live here, but chose to in the end. I will miss having you around though. I really liked how Carlos behaved when you were around. It was like you brought out the best in him."

I wasn't sure what to say about her comment about Carlos' behaviour, so I ignored it. Instead, I reiterated the suggestion I made to Ricardo about taking the girls one weekend so her and Ricardo could get away. Maria seemed to like the idea and said she'd talk to Ricardo and get back to me with a couple of date suggestions.

Tom, Bobby and Lester arrived at 4 and rushed around the apartment snooping everywhere. They were really excited when Carlos showed them out onto the deck. Lester came up to me and gave me a quick hug. He said, "Steph, thanks for letting Carlos bully you into inviting us. This place is totally awesome, you're so lucky."

Carlos smacked Lester on the back of the head for his comment and Lester said, "Ouch, what did you do that for?"

Carlos grinned and said, "So you really think that Steph is lucky for being harassed and chased out of her apartment in New Brunswick?"

"Of course I didn't mean it that way. I just meant that this place is pretty cool and being able to live here is a good thing."

I laughed at this interaction between Carlos and Lester and said, "It's OK Lester, I'm not offended. But you are right. This is a pretty cool apartment."

When Lester walked over to the edge of the pool to test the water temperature with his foot, I sidled up beside Carlos. "You know Carlos, you didn't need to smack Lester upside the head for calling me lucky."

"If I didn't do it then, he would have probably said something that was inappropriate in front of my sisters and mother. This way, hopeful he'll pass some of what he says past his brain before he speaks."

"Just don't make a habit of defending me or people might get the wrong idea."

"And what kind of idea would they get?" he asked with a crooked grin.

I didn't have a chance to answer him because I could hear my cell phone ringing from the kitchen. I hurried down the steps and answered it after the fourth ring.

"Stephanie, this is your mother."

"Hi Ma, what's up?"

"I called to invite you to dinner tomorrow night. We are having some friends over and they are bringing their son Richard. I'd like you to join us."

"I'm sorry mom, but I'm in Newark this weekend and won't be able to get back to Trenton. I can come next Sunday as long as I get away early."

"I will call the Orr's and see if we can reschedule. What are you doing in Newark during the weekend? I thought you only worked weekdays?"

"My apartment in New Brunswick is being renovated so the building owners offered me a temporary apartment in one of their buildings in Newark. I'm moving in this weekend."

"Oh, that will make your commute a little more tolerable during the week, but it also means you won't come home as often as I'd like."

"You're probably right mom. I can't guarantee that I'll be home every weekend, because I'm a little bit apprehensive about running into Ryan or any of the Prestons. I know you are upset about that whole situation, but it can't be helped."

"I was upset when I first heard about it, but when Roger Preston showed up on our doorstep and threatened us if you didn't drop the charges against Ryan, your father and I decided that your split with Ryan was probably a good idea."

"I'm sorry that you and Dad had to go through that mom. I promise I'll come by next weekend and fill you in on everything that's been happening since I saw you last. See you Sunday."

I got off the phone and returned to the deck. Carlos looked at me and asked if everything was OK. I nodded and told him I'd fill him in later. It was a discussion that could definitely wait.

Everyone must have had their fill of the pool because nobody was swimming anymore. I looked at my watch and decided that I could start bringing the food up. Maria and the girls offered to help, so the four of us went down to the kitchen.

I pulled out the trays of veggies, meat and cheese that Carlos and I put together earlier. Those were carefully carried upstairs along with several bowls and bags of chips and dips. I threw some salad in a bowl, filled a basket with rolls and carried them upstairs. While the girls were laying the food out on the table, Maria and I grabbed plates, cutlery and glasses. When everything was ready, we declared dinner served and invited everyone to eat their fill.

Evelyn and Isabella were encouraged to go first, and they were followed by Ricardo and Maria and me. Lester, Bobby, Tom and Carlos were last, but they joked and lingered over the food, eating as they went.

Around 8, Isabella and Evelyn started to yawn. Ricardo took one look at his youngest children, made some sort of silent communication with his wife and then declared that they should take their girls home and put them to bed.

Carlos and Ricardo had a short conversation and then Maria, Ricardo and the girls made their goodbyes. I thanked them for coming and for everything they had done for me. They promised to stay in touch over the summer, and to visit often.

After they left, Carlos looked a bit grumpy, so I went and sat on the chair beside him and said, "You look like you've just lost your best friend. Is something wrong?"

Carlos tried to enliven the expression on his face and said, "My father drove his car home and he left me the Taurus."

"I'm sorry Carlos. Maybe we can cheer you up by checking to see what sports are on my gigantic television?"

Carlos' face perked up at my suggestion so he got the guys to help him cover up the pool, turn off the Jacuzzi, and fold up all the chairs out of the way. While they did their cleanup work, I carried the plates, bowls and glasses down to the kitchen. There wasn't much mess, and all of the dishes and bowls went directly into the dishwasher. The only things I would have to wash by hand were the trays because they were too large for the dishwasher.

The guys came down and started wrestling over the remote control for the television. They also wrestled over sofa positions. It was kind of like watching children fighting over candy, and it made me laugh. All four of the guys were in a tangled mess when I burst out laughing. The stopped wrestling immediately and I noticed that Carlos and Lester blushed. That didn't mean that Tom and Bobby weren't blushing, but their skin tone was just too dark to show a sudden rush of blood to the face. I like to think that they were just as embarrassed, but better at hiding it.

Despite the smack Lester received earlier from Carlos, he once again made a comment about my luck. This time however, it was not because of the gigantic television, but more about the fact that there wasn't anything sport related on worth watching.

Lester somehow managed to get control of the remote and spent the next 20 minutes trying to find something to watch on the hundreds of channels available. The rest of us talked about the apartment, our jobs and anything else that came to mind.

Eventually, Lester grew bored with the television and put the remote control down. Carlos immediately picked it up and said, "If we're not going to watch it, we might as well deploy the mighty red button." He powered off the television and turned the stereo on very low so it didn't disturb our conversation.

At 9:30, Tom announced that he needed to get going. He had an appointment with one of his clients at 6:30 the next morning so he wanted to get home and to bed at a reasonable hour. Lester whined about abandoning the party before it even got started, but I teased him by saying, "If you leave Lester, the party is officially over. The rest of us might as well call it a night and head to bed."

Lester liked being compared to the life of the party, so he left with Tom and Bobby without too much more complaining. I waved goodbye to the guys and closed the door with a sigh.

Carlos looked at me and asked, "Let me guess, you're kind of relieved that the guys are gone?"

I nodded and said, "I like them a lot, but they are very exhausting to spend time with. We just sat and talked, but I feel like we ran a marathon."

"I know what you mean. Sometimes that is a great feeling, it comes in handy when we're out in a club, but in a more quiet setting, it has a more draining effect."

I sat back and rested my head against the back of the sofa so that I was facing Carlos. We stared at each other for a few minutes. Just as it was starting to get awkward, he asked, "Who called earlier, you looked a little upset?"

"Oh, it was my mother. She wanted me to go to Trenton tomorrow for some sort of blind date. I refused and said that I would come home next Sunday. She is now scrambling and trying to reschedule, even though she knows I'm not interested in one of her Burg set ups.

"She also wasn't all that happy that I didn't tell her that I was moving to Newark. She didn't come right out and say so, but I could tell by her tone that she didn't like not being included in a decision about my life."

Carlos was quiet for a moment and then asked, "Do you know who she's trying to set you up with?"

"She said a name, but I don't remember anyone with that name. I might call my friend Mary Lou and ask her if she knows this guy. She and I were best friends growing up and throughout high school. She decided to forego college and is going to marry her high school sweetheart in August.

"Actually, now you've got me curious. Do you mind if I make a quick phone call?"

Carlos shook his head so I walked over the kitchen island and picked up my phone. I dialled Mary Lou and she picked up straight away.

"Hey Mare, it's Steph. Yes, I know, I haven't called in a while. Yes, it is true about me and Ryan. No, I can't explain right now, but I promise I will call you back tomorrow and fill you in. I can't right now, I have company. I actually have a question for you. No. I'll tell you tomorrow. Because. No. I'll see what I can do. Can I ask my question now? I promise. OK, do you remember somebody named Richard Orr from High School? That sounds familiar. No. You've got to be joking. Oh great. You guessed it, it was my mother. He's from the Burg, he's got a Y chromosome and he's breathing. OK. Thanks for the info. I have got to go now Mare. Yes, I promise. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Say hi to Lenny. Bye Mare."

I walked back over to Carlos and said, "It turns out that the guy my mother wants to set me up with is none other than Richard Orr. The reason I didn't recognise the name is because he went by 'Dickie' all through school. He was a year ahead of me but I always thought he was a smug bastard.

"I think I might try and find an excuse not to go on this blind date after all. My mother will be pissed, but there's no way I'm ever going to date Dickie Orr."

"Why does your mother have such a hard-on for these Burg guys? It doesn't sound like she wants you to be happy, as much as put away in a Burg marriage to a Burg guy."

"That's because that's exactly what she wants for me. She doesn't take what I want into account. I have other aspirations in life. I want a career. I want independence. I do not want to be 100% reliant on another person for my wellbeing and livelihood."

In an attempt to change the subject and talk about something a little more upbeat, Carlos pointed at the remote and laughed. "When I was playing with the television earlier today when you were unpacking, I set up a few favourites so it was easy to find the sports channels. The funny thing is that when Lester was channel surfing earlier, he didn't actually find any of those sports channels. He thought that there wasn't anything on, when there was probably plenty."

I laughed at this and grabbed the remote. I looked at the menu and I saw that my favourite movie was starting in 5 minutes. I looked over at Carlos and said, "My favourite movie is about to start. You are welcome to stay and watch it if you'd like. If you need to get home, I also understand."

"I have nowhere to be tomorrow, so I can stay for a little longer. Fair warning though, if the movie sucks, I might duck out early."

"I can understand that. I'm going to grab a few things to make this more comfortable, I'll be right back."

I ran into my bedroom and grabbed the duvet from the bed. On my way back, I grabbed a bowl and an unopened back of chips and two bottles of water. I placed all of this on the coffee table and then made a mad dash to the rest room.

I returned just in time for the opening sequence, and waited until I knew nothing of import was happening to open the chips and pour them into the bowl. I pulled the coffee table closer to the sofa, tucked my feet up under me and laid the blanked over my bare legs. Carlos stretched out beside me and I offered part of the blanket to him. He also was wearing his shorts, so he was grateful that I shared my blanked. It wasn't that it was cold, but the sofa was leather and it wasn't very warm.

Over the next hour and a half, Carlos and I laughed, gasped and jumped at the movie. We also seemed to move closer and closer as the movie progressed, so when the credits started to roll, our sides were completely touching and Carlos had his arm around my shoulder.

I thought I'd be uncomfortable being this close to him, but it felt pretty natural. I leaned forward to get the remote so I could turn off the movie or find something else to watch. When I leaned back, Carlos lifted his arm until I was comfortable and then pulled me closer to him. He took the remote from my hand and said, "I get to choose the next movie."

I looked at the clock above the television to see that it was almost midnight. I looked up at Carlos, which was difficult because I was so close to him. I had to pull back from him to actually see him. I said, "I think the next movie might have to wait until another day Carlos. It's getting late."

He looked up at the clock and said, "You're right. I'll hold you to that rain check though."

Carlos stood and I walked him to the door. "You have my number in case you get scared in the middle of the night all by yourself in your new apartment."

I chuckled at this and hit him playfully in the chest. He held my hand to his chest with one hand and tucked a stray curl behind my ear with another hand. I was about to say something when the colour drained from Carlos' face.

"Oh my God. I just realised something."

I looked at him and asked, "What?"

"My dad took the keys to his car and never gave me my mom's keys. I have to call home."

Carlos dialled the phone and I listened to his side of the conversation with his father.

"Papa, it's Carlos. Yes, there's something nothing wrong. I know it's late. Yes. Why didn't you call and tell me? I know Steph has a spare room. You did this on purpose. Papa! Fine, but you have to explain this to her yourself. No. Yes you do. Good, just a second."

Here Steph, my dad wants to talk to you.

"Hello?"

"Stephanie, we're so sorry about this. We realised that we forgot to give Carlos the keys to Maria's car after we got home. We got caught up in getting the girls to bed and forgot to call. I hope it won't be too much of an imposition if Carlos stays in one of your spare rooms tonight. We'll drop off the keys tomorrow."

"That's fine Ricardo. Things were kind of hectic here, so I can understand the confusion. I'll see you tomorrow. Good night."

I hung up the phone and handed it back to Carlos.

Carlos collapsed onto the sofa and I sat down beside him. He looked at me, grinned and then said, "I guess we can go to bed or we can see if there's another movie worth watching."

I thought for a moment and said, "Why don't you look through the menus and find a movie. I'm going to go and see to the spare room."

I left Carlos in the living room and went upstairs. I looked in both spare rooms and saw that both had bedspreads, but neither had any sheets. I looked through all of the closets upstairs and couldn't find any bedding at all. I came back downstairs and searched through all of the closets in the rest of the apartment, but I found nothing.

I went back into the living room and sat down beside Carlos. He saw the frustrated look on my face and asked, "What's wrong Steph?"

"Um, this is really awkward, but I can't find any sheets for the beds in the spare room. There are no extra pillows or blankets to be found anywhere in this apartment."

Uh oh. How'd that happen? More to come.