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FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING |
Across The Way (Chapter 2) |
"Thanks for doing this, Jer." Carter placed the kitten in Jerry's waiting arms. Jerry stroked the top of her furry head with two fingers. Just one of his hands seemed large enough to engulf her. During his shift, Carter had asked if anyone would take in a cute kitten temporarily and Jerry had offered his services. It had worked out nicely since their shifts ended at the same time. He had driven Jerry out here to pick up the kitten, and then would drive him home.
"No problem. She'll be a little friend for Maxine." Jerry was referring to his own cat. Maxine was big and looked rather intimidating, but wouldn't harm a fly.
"It's only temporary," Carter reminded him. "I've already put an ad in the lost and found section of the paper. And I'll go talk to some neighbours later. But she's probably a stray."
"So if no one claims her, what are you gonna do?"
"Actually, I've been thinking of moving out."
Jerry looked surprised. "Oh yeah? Why now, after all this time?" Personally, he couldn't even imagine living with Weaver for as long as Carter had. But it seemed the two of them got along well.
"Well, since Kerry is allergic to this cutie," Carter paused to scratch the kitten behind the ears. She was falling asleep in Jerry's arms. "...it just started me thinking about different possibilities. Assuming she doesn't belong to anyone, I'd like to keep her. I haven't had a pet since I was a kid."
The idea of getting his own place had sort of snuck up on him. But if he was honest, it was something he'd been mulling over for a while, in the back of his mind. He'd gotten a little too comfortable in Kerry's basement; spoiled, even. He would miss her company. They had gotten close over the past couple of years, and she was a good friend. But it was time to move on.
"We should probably get going," Carter said. He picked up several sheets of newspaper from the floor. Kerry had strewn them over every inch of the house. "I'll take these as a precaution. I just cleaned my car's interior."
***************
Lucy stumbled into her apartment, bleary eyed and miserable. Damn these inhumanly long shifts. She'd been enduring them for several months now, and her body still protested. Over the last 36 hours, she'd managed to catch maybe a total of four hours sleep. It was time for dinner but food was the last thing on her mind.
The phone rang and she jumped, startled. She had just gotten her boots off and now dropped the rest of her things on the couch, reaching for the phone.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Lucy. I thought you might be in by now."
It was Brad. "Hi," she said warmly. "Yeah, I just got in the door."
"Long day, huh?"
"Oh yeah. All I want to do is go straight to bed."
"Wish I could be there with you," he said in a low, somewhat teasing tone.
"Mmmm..." she murmured vaguely. She released a huge yawn, but tried to do it silently.
"Anyway, I just called to confirm tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Her mind was a blank slate.
"Our movie date." A slight edge crept into his voice.
"Oh no," Lucy groaned. She slumped onto the couch. "My shift got rescheduled. I'm working the graveyard tomorrow." There were several seconds of silence and she gripped the receiver with both hands. "Brad?" she said softly.
"We haven't been together for two weeks." His voice was rough and the edge was still there.
"I know. And you've been incredibly patient with me." She tried to soothe his ruffled feathers. "How about Friday night? I'm off in the afternoon, so we'll have plenty of time."
"Let me consult my schedule," he said sarcastically. She heard him emit a long breath over the phone. "Sorry, I didn't mean that. I know this isn't your fault."
"It's ok. I don't blame you for being upset. I am too."
"So we postpone our plans for one more night. It's no big deal. I'll see you Friday, then?" He sounded more like himself again.
"Yes. I'll call you after work, ok?"
"Fine. I'll talk to you then. Get a good night's sleep."
After hanging up, Lucy remained on the couch for several minutes. How could she have forgotten their plans so easily? It certainly proved how tired she was, but that didn't seem to be an adequate excuse. And what about that comment he'd made about wishing he could join her in bed? She wasn't a prude; the comment itself hadn't bothered her. But her reaction, or lack of it, did.
They had slept together for the first time a couple of weeks ago. While she had found the experience pleasant, it had been nowhere near earth-shattering. She had initially attributed the cause to her tiredness, but how long was she going to hide behind that excuse? And while she didn't expect every sexual experience to rock her world, so to speak, she did hope to find some measure of excitement in it. This low-keyed pleasantness seemed to define their relationship; at least from her point of view. She found him attractive and she cared about him. But she wasn't sure if it went any deeper than that.
Well, she wasn't in any way against their physical relationship. A part of her had even found it comforting. It had been nice to wake up next to him. *Nice* she thought, grimacing. She wasn't exactly bubbling over with enthusiasm. She would have to make sure that she was well rested next time. Her perpetual exhausted state probably was having an effect on her reactions to Brad. It was something to consider, anyway.
Lucy dragged herself up from the couch and went straight to the bedroom. Changing quickly out of her clothes, she tossed them onto a chair. She pulled on her flannel PJs and slipped into bed with a sigh. Her last thought before drifting off to sleep was that she'd forgotten to brush her teeth.
***************
Carter pressed the buzzer for the third and final time. It seemed the superintendent wasn't at home, and he turned away.
"Yeah?" a male voice spoke, sounding tinny.
Carter returned to the intercom. "I'm here about the one bedroom that was advertised in the Tribune."
"Hold on, I'll be right down."
Carter had high hopes for this one. He'd spent yesterday evening scouring through the apartment rental ads and made a short list of the ones he wanted to check out. He'd gone to two others this morning, but both had been disappointing. The one he was going to see now seemed the most promising. A reasonable price, good location, and pets were allowed. It was still early, but no one had come forward to claim the kitten yet. He had this idea of wanting a pet now, so if the kitten was returned to someone, he would probably get another cat. Allowing pets was now part of the criteria of his apartment search; something that had never concerned him before.
A kindly faced man who appeared to be in his fifties crossed through the lobby and opened the door. "You're the one that called this morning?"
"Yeah, that was me," Carter affirmed.
"Come on in." The man headed straight for the stairwell. "Hope you don't mind taking the stairs. The elevator's being serviced right now. Apartment's on the third floor."
"That's fine." Carter took a quick look around the lobby area before following the superintendent through the stairwell door. It seemed to be clean and well-maintained. That was a good sign.
The man didn't talk much. He led Carter up the stairs and down to the end of the hallway in silence. Opening the apartment door, he gestured for Carter to enter first. Carter stepped inside, directly into the living room area. It was more spacious than the other two apartments he'd seen.
"I still have a couple of minor things to do," the superintendent spoke as Carter checked out the kitchen. "The lock on the balcony screen door is broken, so I'll fix that. And I have to install a new door for the bedroom closet. Other than that, it's basically ready."
Carter took a brief tour of the rest of the apartment, liking what he saw. It was actually better than he had hoped. He returned to the older man, who was waiting patiently by the door. "Utilities are included, right?"
The man nodded. "Heat and electricity."
"And pets are allowed?"
"No problem. Just keep 'em happy and clean."
Carter smiled. "Ok, I'll take it."
"Carter?" An incredulous voice drifted from the hallway.
He blinked. His mind must be playing tricks on him. He would recognize that voice anywhere, but this wasn't possible. He slowly turned his head to look through the open doorway.
Lucy stood there with her mouth open, gaping at him. She was holding a tied, plastic bag and wore flowered, flannel pajamas. On her feet were pink, fuzzy slippers.
They locked eyes with each other for several seconds before Carter spoke. "You live here?" He almost smacked himself in the forehead. What kind of a stupid question was that?
Obviously, Lucy thought it was too stupid to answer, because she ignored it. "What are you... You can't take that apartment!" she blurted out, her mind whirling. First of all, she felt like a fool standing here in her PJs. She almost never ran into anyone when going down the hall to throw the garbage down the chute. And today, she runs into the super and Carter? What was going on here? When did Carter move out of Dr. Weaver's place?
The superintendent looked from one perplexed face to the other. "Why don't I leave you two alone..."
"It's not necessary," Carter stated firmly. "I'm taking it. I'll write you a cheque for the first and last month's rent."
"No!" Lucy dropped the garbage on the floor and marched up to the two men. "Mr. Stein, you can't let him move in here." She gave the superintendent a pleading look.
"Why not?" Mr. Stein asked calmly.
"Because...because..." Lucy spluttered. "It's just too weird!"
"You're making too big a deal out of this, Lucy." Carter interjected, feeling a little offended that she was getting so upset. "We would just be living across the hall from each other. It's not like we'd be roommates!"
Mr. Stein started backing towards the door. "I have some things to do in the office downstairs. Just lock the door from the inside before you leave." He addressed his next words to Carter. "Let me know what you decide."
Before Carter could protest that he had already decided, Mr. Stein escaped.
"You knew I lived here!" Lucy accused, folding her arms across her chest and glaring at Carter.
"No! I swear I didn't."
"I must have mentioned it to you," she insisted, though feeling a little uncertain now. Maybe she hadn't. They weren't really that close; more like working acquaintances than friends.
"I knew you lived in this general area," he admitted. "But believe me, I'm as surprised as you are." How could this happen to him again? It had been quite a coincidence when he'd ended up at Kerry's house two years ago. And now, he'd somehow managed to find the same building Lucy lived in. Someone or something was having a big laugh over this. But he wasn't about to give up this great apartment because Lucy was being unreasonable.
"So you're saying this is all just a big coincidence." Her words echoed his exact thoughts, but she still sounded skeptical.
"That's what I'm saying. I'm sorry if you have a problem with this, but you'll have to learn to live with it. Because I'm going downstairs to Mr. Stein's office and signing the rental agreement." His tone of voice indicated that this was the end of the discussion. He turned to leave and paused in the doorway, briefly resting his hand against the doorjamb. "By the way, nice slippers," he smirked.
Lucy glanced down at her feet. What? What was wrong with them? By the time she looked up again, the doorway was empty.
Oh, that man! He could still irritate the hell out of her. She remembered telling him as much back when she'd been his med student. They'd gotten along horribly back then; just one misunderstanding after another. Things were much better now between them. She knew it was partly due to some maturity on her part, but also because they kept their relationship on a strictly professional level.
There had been a time when she'd been attracted to him. She had even initiated a kiss between them, which had led to some serious making out on the floor of Exam 6. She had been rather naive back then, and had hoped to start a relationship with him. Luckily, Carter had been the voice of wisdom, spouting hospital policy and the fact that they were not compatible together. At the time, a part of her had been hurt by that, but she had covered it up by declaring she was not attracted to him in the least. From that point on, she concentrated on her work and her studies. Her little crush on him faded, and by the time she started her ER sub-I, she wondered why she had made such a big fuss over him. He was just Carter.
So Carter was right. This wasn't a big deal. He would just be another one of her neighbours. As it was, she rarely saw any of them; just in passing each other in the hallway. His living here wouldn't change anything. But, she mused, she might think twice before wearing her pajamas and pink slippers when taking out the trash.
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