"Give them to me," he said, adding, "I'll put them in the furnace room to dry."
She slipped off her shoes.
"And your socks," he said.
"My socks?"
He nodded.
She slipped off her socks and handed them to him, trying to ignore the chipped red nail polish on her toes.
He headed toward the furnace room with Geena following behind. As Kim listened to Tony gabbing amiably to Geena, she wandered into the room across from her and turned on the light. The large room was empty with the exception of a black leather couch placed in front of the fireplace.
"Like what I've done with it?" he said from behind her. She turned around. He was holding a pair of thick wool socks.
"Impressive."
"Here are some socks for you to wear while your shoes dry."
"Thank you." She took the socks and smiled. "Where's Geena?"
"She's outside. She seems a little tired. I pay the kids in the neighborhood to come over and play with her during the day. She tells me it's been a rough one. I think they wore her out"
Kim smiled. "So what did you want my opinion on?"
"These," he said, heading toward the room across from them. He turned on the light. The dining room was empty with the exception of-an inexpensive-looking giant plastic Santa and snowman. Instead of appearing cheery, the Santa had an eerie, almost jack-o-lantern grin. And the snowman's eyes were painted so haphazardly, they appeared crossed.
All in all, they were two of the ugliest, not to mention scariest, Christmas decorations Kim had ever seen. She glanced at Tony. So much for his art appreciation.
Tony was looking at her intently, waiting for her opinion.
"Nice," she said, trying to sound sincere as she bent over to slip on the socks.
"Do you think they look good together? Or should I put one in the front and one in the back?"
God forbid they be together. One was bad enough. "Ah, one in the front, one in the back."
"Done!" he said just as the teakettle whistled. She finished pulling on her socks and followed him into the kitchen.
"What kind of tea do you like?"
"Um…" she said, staring at the wallpaper. She guessed that it had been installed by the previous owners. It was bright yellow with clusters of fruit all over.
"I've got Cinnamon Apple… and Cinnamon Apple. I also have some beer if you're interested."
"Cinnamon Apple sounds great."
She glanced at him as he pulled the tea bags out.
He handed her a cup of tea and then opened the back door, letting Geena back in. Geena walked into the room, gave them both a sniff, and then went to her bed and lay down. "What did I tell you," he said. "She's bushed. C'mon," he said, nodding for Kim to follow him. "Let's go back to the other room. I'll start a fire."
A fire? A fire was almost synonymous with romance. "I really can't stay that long," she said as she followed him back into the living room.
"It'll take a minute. If you're going to be indoors in the winter, you should have a fire."
She sat down on the couch and watched as he crumpled up some newspapers. "How long have you lived here?" she asked, looking around at the empty walls.
"I don't know. Five years or so."