“I’d even choose Dan Ryan traffic over this,” he said as he started to wheel his chair into the dining room.
“Mr. Abercrombie?”
He paused and looked over his shoulder. “Yeah?”
“You have someplace else to be. Home. Just give me a little more time. Another two weeks of therapy and you’re going to be doing laps around the physical therapy gym with your walker. If you give me three I might even send you home with a cane.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah,” Esa replied.
He snorted and resumed rolling down the hallway. But Esa had caught the look of hope that blazed into his blue eyes. It was enough to make her smile broadly for the first time during the whole work week as she walked out Shady Lawn’s front door into the crisp autumn evening.
A half hour later Esa’s moment of euphoria had evaporated. She swallowed what felt like gravel in her throat. Not only were they approaching the dreaded 63th Street viaduct in brain-numbing traffic, Carla had just sprung on her where she was going to tonight.
“You mean you’re actually going to be at Finn’s—I mean Jess’—grandmother’s house?”
“I think Jess said that his grandmother lives with his mother.”
“She used to be an actress and loves to dress up, so she has this thing for Halloween. She has a big party every year,” Esa mused, recalling a few of Finn’s warm stories about his Grandma Glory.
“How do you know that?”
Esa shrugged. “Where else? Finn told me.”
Carla opened her mouth to question her about that but several cars passing them in the left lane caught her attention. “Jeez, Esa, why do we always have to be in the slow lane? It’s going to take forever to get home and—”
“So did Jess tell you it was a costume party?” Esa interrupted, undeterred by Carla’s complaints.
“Hmmm? Yeah, but Jess said I didn’t have to dress up. All the kids wear costumes but only some of the adults.”
“Mind telling me why you’re just springing this on me now?” Esa asked. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Carla’s offended look.
“Since when do I have go to you for date approval? It’s not like we had plans tonight. If anyone, Kitten’s the one who has a right to be pissed. She gets back from Indianapolis this evening. I was supposed to meet her at Top Choice for a drink.”
“I wasn’t talking about the actual details of your date,” Esa lied as she let up the brake to move forward two inches in traffic. “I was talking about the fact that you and Jess obviously have a thing going on.”
Carla snorted. “That should have been obvious to you last weekend, Esa.”
Esa studied her best friend with concern. She’d been notably less gung-ho over the flirting in traffic scheme in the past week, but non-forthcoming as to why. Once she’d rallied and stated firmly that she was going to be checking out a pipe-layer at 47th Street.
On the designated evening, Carla had been desperately trying to search the dozens of construction workers once they’d reached the vicinity of 47th Street when Esa realized that several cars around them were honking their horns. She’d glanced up, her eyes widening.
“I think I’ve found your guy, Carla. It looks like he brought some friends.”
“What? Where?” Carla had demanded.
Esa pointed. On top of the viaduct, five men were lined up side by side mooning the swarm of drivers below them. The letters C-A-R-L-A had been emblazoned on their bare butts with red paint.
Carla’s pretty face had gone rigid in sheer disbelief. “What in the world are they doing?”
“I think it’s your guy’s idea of flirting. Take it as a compliment.” Esa had tilted her head and studied the singular phenomenon. “You know, the letter R isn’t bad. Not bad at all.”
Carla had stared at her incredulously. They’d both burst out laughing at the same moment. Esa had honked louder than anyone as they’d passed under Carla’s tribute.
But Esa didn’t think that little episode was the only reason Carla had lost her former enthusiasm for the flirting in traffic idea. She was worried Jess Madigan had something to do with that.
All in all, Esa thought it would be best for both of them to avoid Madigan men altogether.