“Girl, just let me in,” she said.
I hung up and walked to the door, opening it to find Margie outside with a grocery bag. She had puppy dog eyes on, and I found myself warming up. But I was still irritated. Roommate emergency sounded like a made up excuse.
“Well, is your roommate okay now?”
“Yeah, we managed to get her to the ER.”
“So it was really serious then,” I said.
“Yeah. Really serious. I feel really, really bad for standing you up,” she said, walking in. “I should have texted.”
“It’s okay,” I said, sighing and wrapping an arm around her shoulder to squeeze her tightly. “I’m just glad you weren’t like, kidnapped or something.”
“I brought ice cream,” said Margie, holding up the grocery bag. “I figured it was too late for dinner…”
“That’s really kind of you,” I said. “Maybe we can have an ice cream and Netflix date instead.”
Margie smiled tentatively, and I could tell she was worried she’d really made me mad. She probably didn’t want to make me mad since I was the first friend she’d made in so long. She didn’t want to ruin it.
And I didn’t want to ruin it either. As irritated as I had been earlier, Margie did have an actual emergency to respond to. I couldn’t begrudge her helping her roommate.
“So, you live alone?” asked Margie, looking around my apartment. “Nice place.”
“Yeah, it’s small, but it’s affordable, and I like it. I kind of have to live alone because night is sometimes the only time I have to practice my violin. And even then, I bother the neighbors,” I said, taking the grocery bag from her and putting the ice cream in the freezer. “Actually, I was just doing my études. You want the tour?”
“Sure,” said Margie, following me into my bedroom.
I started putting my violin away, while Margie sat on my bed and looked around. I had a lot of decorati
ons—art prints, stacks of books, interesting textiles. Most of it had been pinched from my parents’ house, since they had a lot of things they never used.
“This is really nice,” said Margie. “It’s like a real adult lives here and not a college student.”
“Thanks,” I said, finally zipping up the violin case and putting it away, sliding it under the bed. I stood up and walked to the door, and Margie followed.
I cleared some cushions and jackets from the couch in the living room and we sat down.
“So… what exactly happened with your roommate?” I asked.
“I don’t know what it was,” she admitted. “Her knee sort of just seized up and became incredibly painful and she couldn’t walk. I had to drive her to the ER in her car, and then her girlfriend came to stay with her.”
“That sounds scary. Hopefully it’s okay.”
Margie looked at her phone, which she’d placed face up on the coffee table. “Marnie said she’d text me when they got word from the doctors.”
“Well, it’s good that you were a good roommate,” I said. “You have to help take care of the people you live with.”
“Yeah. And honestly, I care about her. I didn’t think we’d be close when we moved in together, but we’re getting there.”
I was a little relieved to hear that. It was good news that she was making friends outside of my social circle.
“That’s awesome,” I said, sliding my laptop onto my lap and opening it. “So, do you want to watch something and eat ice cream?”
She grinned. “Sure.”
“Here, find something good,” I said, handing her my computer, which was logged into Netflix. I retrieved the ice cream tub and two spoons from the kitchen.
“What’s this one,” she asked, indicating one of the shows on my recently watched list.