Chapter Six: A New Life
Lucinda
My mother lifted her sunglasses and moved them to the top of her head. “This is not bad, it’s actually a really nice apartment and you’re not far from the hospital. The problem is going to be all these flies and mosquitoes. You’re going to need some repellent, it’s ridiculous.”
My mother had been fussing over me incessantly, and it was putting me off. “Mom, can you stop with the complaints! Let me enjoy the moment. The repellent is easy to sort out.” My hands stayed on my hips as I traveled through the vacant rooms. It was a two-bedroom apartment ten minutes walking distance from Holbeck hospital. My nerves were jumpy due to me starting work there tomorrow.
My mother saw the edginess on my face and stopped. “Sorry. I’m being a mother and worrying too much. You’ve come all this way and now, you can get your family back.”
The tremble in my mother’s voice and her arms around me made me crumble as well. “Mom, don’t cry, you’re going to make me cry. It’s going to be great. I want to set up Sarah’s room so she can come and stay here,” I said brightly.
“I know it will be. I love you, honey. We should go get something to eat, you have to work tomorrow. I can be here for the deliveries,” she offered.
“Thank you. I have to call her.”
“I don’t see why you can’t just tell Chalk that you’re here. He would be able to help you get settled in.”
I slanted my eyes at my mother as we left the apartment. “I told you why. I think it’s best this way, it’s my decision.”
“Let me shut up now. I’m going to get myself into trouble where I don’t need to.” She grinned, holding my shoulders.
The week got better and by Wednesday, all the furniture deliveries arrived. Instead of looking like an empty nest, it became a semi-empty nest. A few houseplants, a bed, a TV, a fridge, a small couch, and now it felt lived in.
My feet were up while I enjoyed a cup of herbal tea.
I stopped sipping the tea and picked up my phone to check in with Chalk. I wanted to be sure of their movements, so I could go surprise them.
The phone rang twice and Chalk picked up.
“Hi Chalk, it’s just me.”
“Hey, I was about to call you, I figured that we should have a conversation that’s been long overdue. I know I’m blurting it out, but I want to get it off my chest,” his words came out in a rush.
I blew out an edgy breath. My tummy started to tumble with fears about what he was about to say. “Please, I think we should too. What do you have to tell me?”
A long, loaded sigh rang out on the other end of the line. “Sarah has been asking about you a lot lately. I think we should get our calendars together and make a plan. Are you well enough now to see Sarah? Would you consider moving back to Holbeck?” His speech was rushed and demanding.
Intuitively, I felt Sarah was probably having some tantrums. I didn’t get to see them like Chalk, but on screen I’d seen a couple from her. She had a fierce attitude. “I’m well enough. I wanna ask you…is something wrong with Sarah? I know you, Chalk, you sound a little tense. Is there something you’re not telling me?” I had to tread carefully. I didn’t want to rupture our already tense relationship.
“She’s been acting up a little lately and it’s about you. She wants to be with you. You do sound good, really good.” Chalk paid the compliment, reluctantly.
“I am,” I said simply. I had to stall his questions because I wanted to see them both in person. Saturday would be the day to bite the bullet. “Are you going to be home on Saturday? We can all get on the phone together. I have a few things I have to get done, but I’ll be free then.”
“Saturday is a good day for both of us, to talk it through,” Chalk replied.
“Okay, great.” My path of fortune seemed to be taking an upward trajectory, and I knew it would blow both of them away when they saw me. “Think I can talk to my baby? I want to say hi.”
“Always,” he responded kindly.
My curiosity was getting the better of me and I wanted to know if Chalk was single still. Broaching the topic would be where the discomfort lay, but I was willing to do it. “Chalk, how are other things in your life? Are you single?” It came out awkward, stilted, but I wondered who had a piece of his heart. I had no right to claim him. We broke up when I left. He was a free man, but I wondered if the door was closed for Chalk and me.
Dead silence.
Dear god, I asked the wrong question, he might think I’m prying into his business. I tilted my head back, grasping my throat.
“I’m single, Lucy. Not so much time right now for that, to be honest with you,” he said wearily. “How about you? Anybody special in your life?”
He called me Lucy, that’s what he used to call me when we were dating. Maybe he slipped up and said it by accident, but either way it made my heart skip a beat. Awkward didn’t even begin to describe the conversations between us, the clicking off phone calls and not wrapping up loose ends opened up a freeway of separation between us. “I don’t right now, I’m working on getting on my feet. And things are pretty good right now.” I mirrored his answer and it was the truth. In the past, I’d dated a few people, but they didn’t make my heart beat faster. Not one little bit. Not like Chalk.