Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 82767 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82767 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
“Isn’t that the same thing?” I had to laugh. Beverly reminded me so much of my grandmother with her knack of saying exactly what she thought, never afraid of what anyone might think of her. Everything about her made me long for home, from her accent that had never softened, to the way she treated me like I was the cleaner and she was the CEO.
“Well, you’re not very good at picking friends, I will say that,” she sniffed.
“Beverly, we both know you’re the best friend I have in the whole country.” I laughed again, but I actually meant it.
“Ah, it’s a lonely enough place if you’re here on your own, all right,” she sighed. “When I first got here I felt like I’d landed on another planet, but it’s sure home now!”
“Not for me,” I said firmly.
“Well, sure, we’ll both be home for a flying visit soon enough,” she reminded me, a grin on her face.
“We will!” I smiled back and she carried on with her methodical and thorough cleaning.
I spend a while reviewing things from the Design team, suggesting a few changes but mostly okaying everything. The building had got very quiet, and I knew I would soon have to call it a night. I didn’t usually mind being alone, but something about the sunshine, the people milling around the city, and Beverly’s words about loneliness made me feel the need for company.
I decided to spontaneously call Lucy and check if she was available to meet for dinner. Her part-time job modeling seemed to take up less and less of her time these days. She spent most of her time shopping and meeting friends for coffee. And yet we seemed to be seeing less of one another; she had given me the brush off a couple of times lately, but when I asked myself if she was losing interest, I had no idea. Who could tell what she was thinking?
The phone rang for ages, and when she picked up, she asked me to hold. I heard a door slam in the background.
“Cleo, that you?” she asked.
“It’s Keegan. Everything okay?” I asked. Cleo was her friend who I had met once, and she was almost as impenetrable as Lucy.
“Of course,” she answered, but for once she seemed to have lost her usual calm composure.
“I’m still at the office, but I want to see you. Can I take you out for dinner?” I asked.
“Oh, you know, I just don’t feel good – I think I’m coming down with something,” she said, her voice more animated than I had ever known.
“I thought you said you were okay – can I do anything?” I asked, concerned more by her tone than her words.
“You can take me for dinner over the weekend if I’m feeling better?” she asked sweetly. Now I knew something was up. Lucy never, ever, suggested dates. She just waited for me to ask her out. She never asked for anything. Her voice sounded a little manic. I wondered if she might have a fever.
“Are you hot?” I asked.
“I think you know I am,” she faltered, the attempt to sound like her usual sultry self falling a little flat.
We had talked for a little longer, then she had said she needed to sleep and had to go. I thought about her – something about Lucy had always seemed fragile. Like she had no voice. I felt a touch of shame that I hadn’t done anything to help that. It had suited me to pick her up when I wanted and leave her down when I wanted. It suited me that she was never needy, never demanding. Maybe her reluctance to see me lately was because I had taken her for granted. Surely her indifference to the relationship couldn’t go on forever. Was it even a relationship?
On impulse, I hailed a cab and made my way over to her place. I would see for myself how she was, find out what she wanted to eat, and go get it. I would look after her, and show her that she was more than just a convenient plaything.
I suppose I probably knew deep down that something was up when I had heard her voice on the phone. With hindsight, I had probably convinced myself she was unwell or emotional because it was easier. When I got to the door of her condo, I didn’t feel that surprised to hear voices inside. I knocked the door loudly like a delivery guy might, it seemed suddenly essential that she would open it. And she did. And no, I wasn’t surprised to see two people standing staring at me. I wasn’t even that surprised that Lucy was only wearing one of my T-shirts, barely covering her ass.
But I have to admit, seeing Sean standing there, a whiskey in one hand and wearing only underwear and a look of smug delight, was enough to render me speechless.