they might possibly be pushing the twenty-year mark, all in a strange shade that I was assuming used to be almond.
At least it wasn’t avocado, I thought with a small smile.
I turned my full attention to the fridge, which was humming a little louder than I was used to hearing. I raised an eyebrow. The last thing I needed right now was an appliance malfunction.
There were a few photos posted randomly across the front, babies and a couple of little kids, each of which I turned over to inspect for identification. Apparently, Neil was the proud uncle of five very cute children.
I wondered how many siblings he had.
Not that I should really care, I thought. I probably was never even going to meet this guy. As Ray had explained it, his deployment had begun a bit earlier than expected, which meant he’d left before our arranged introduction.
I opened the door to the refrigerator and cautiously peeked inside, lest something jump out at me. A lone bottle of ketchup wobbled inside the door. At least there was one thing I could knock off my grocery list, right?
Oh, make that two things, I thought as I opened the freezer door to find a bottle of vodka.
Was there a drink you can make with ketchup and vodka?
I almost laughed out loud at the thought.
Maybe some sort of Bloody Mary-type concoction, if he had some Tabasco sauce in one of the cabinets.
Kate, in her encyclopedic knowledge of all things mixed, would know. I would have to have her come over later to help me get settled. Or at least to help diffuse some of the strangeness. Maybe she could stay with me for this first night here, I thought.
My cell phone began to ring, and I pulled it quickly from my back pocket, hoping it was her.
“Are you there yet?”
She hadn’t even waited for me to say hello before launching into her excited inquiry. I rolled my eyes, smiling at her complete lack of ceremony.
“Yup, I’m here. I haven’t gotten anything into the house yet, I’m sort of just doing a walk-through to get a little more acquainted with the place.” I trailed off as I moved my focus to the cabinets over the counters, opening them one by one. So far nothing strange.
“That bad, huh?” I could picture Kate on the other end of the phone, her nose wrinkled in distaste. She was probably already thinking the place must be vile.
“No, no, not at all. It’s,” I paused as I searched for an appropriate word, “cozy? Kind of small, a little dated, and you can definitely tell a guy lives here.” My eyes fell on a very ample supply of beans and canned tuna. “But it’s still nice. It’s going to need a cleaning job, but nothing major.”
There was a silence on the other end, and I knew she must be trying to decode my words. I raised an eyebrow.
“Really. You can come over later and see for yourself, Kate.”
“Oh, I’m definitely coming over later. Ray’s coming with me, if that’s okay. I think he wants to make sure you feel settled, and he promised Neil he’d check in on things periodically, anyway. We’ll bring dinner, okay?”
Great. I would have a little time to get my stuff in and at least a few things cleaned to my satisfaction.
“Sounds fine to me,” I replied, opening another cabinet to find stacked boxes of Gu energy gel. Mocha, berry, and chocolate flavored.
Mmmm.
“Could you do me a favor and bring something to drink when you come?” I asked. “Otherwise, the options will be limited to water, vodka, and Gu. Or maybe a combo of all three?”
She laughed. “Done. However interesting that might taste, I don’t think any of us would really want to try that one. I’m thinking more along the lines of wine, beer, and maybe some soda.”
I knit my eyebrows together. “How long are you planning on staying, a month?”
“No. But I’ll stay as long as you need me to,” she replied.
It was one thing I so loved about our relationship; I hadn’t even had to ask, and she knew.
Chapter 7
I was hot. I was sticky. And I was nearly
At least it wasn’t avocado, I thought with a small smile.
I turned my full attention to the fridge, which was humming a little louder than I was used to hearing. I raised an eyebrow. The last thing I needed right now was an appliance malfunction.
There were a few photos posted randomly across the front, babies and a couple of little kids, each of which I turned over to inspect for identification. Apparently, Neil was the proud uncle of five very cute children.
I wondered how many siblings he had.
Not that I should really care, I thought. I probably was never even going to meet this guy. As Ray had explained it, his deployment had begun a bit earlier than expected, which meant he’d left before our arranged introduction.
I opened the door to the refrigerator and cautiously peeked inside, lest something jump out at me. A lone bottle of ketchup wobbled inside the door. At least there was one thing I could knock off my grocery list, right?
Oh, make that two things, I thought as I opened the freezer door to find a bottle of vodka.
Was there a drink you can make with ketchup and vodka?
I almost laughed out loud at the thought.
Maybe some sort of Bloody Mary-type concoction, if he had some Tabasco sauce in one of the cabinets.
Kate, in her encyclopedic knowledge of all things mixed, would know. I would have to have her come over later to help me get settled. Or at least to help diffuse some of the strangeness. Maybe she could stay with me for this first night here, I thought.
My cell phone began to ring, and I pulled it quickly from my back pocket, hoping it was her.
“Are you there yet?”
She hadn’t even waited for me to say hello before launching into her excited inquiry. I rolled my eyes, smiling at her complete lack of ceremony.
“Yup, I’m here. I haven’t gotten anything into the house yet, I’m sort of just doing a walk-through to get a little more acquainted with the place.” I trailed off as I moved my focus to the cabinets over the counters, opening them one by one. So far nothing strange.
“That bad, huh?” I could picture Kate on the other end of the phone, her nose wrinkled in distaste. She was probably already thinking the place must be vile.
“No, no, not at all. It’s,” I paused as I searched for an appropriate word, “cozy? Kind of small, a little dated, and you can definitely tell a guy lives here.” My eyes fell on a very ample supply of beans and canned tuna. “But it’s still nice. It’s going to need a cleaning job, but nothing major.”
There was a silence on the other end, and I knew she must be trying to decode my words. I raised an eyebrow.
“Really. You can come over later and see for yourself, Kate.”
“Oh, I’m definitely coming over later. Ray’s coming with me, if that’s okay. I think he wants to make sure you feel settled, and he promised Neil he’d check in on things periodically, anyway. We’ll bring dinner, okay?”
Great. I would have a little time to get my stuff in and at least a few things cleaned to my satisfaction.
“Sounds fine to me,” I replied, opening another cabinet to find stacked boxes of Gu energy gel. Mocha, berry, and chocolate flavored.
Mmmm.
“Could you do me a favor and bring something to drink when you come?” I asked. “Otherwise, the options will be limited to water, vodka, and Gu. Or maybe a combo of all three?”
She laughed. “Done. However interesting that might taste, I don’t think any of us would really want to try that one. I’m thinking more along the lines of wine, beer, and maybe some soda.”
I knit my eyebrows together. “How long are you planning on staying, a month?”
“No. But I’ll stay as long as you need me to,” she replied.
It was one thing I so loved about our relationship; I hadn’t even had to ask, and she knew.
Chapter 7
I was hot. I was sticky. And I was nearly
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