The Past Follows, Chapter Five

Chapter Five 

That Thursday I took possession of my new apartment. I met Yolanda after work and she handed over the keys. Once Yolanda was gone, I explored my new home. There were mullioned windows everywhere, making it feel light and airy. The living room overlooked the front lawn, which included a flower bed and a large oak tree. The two bedrooms were in the back corners. I chose the southeast facing bedroom. In the center was a small kitchen with French doors onto the patio. All the rooms were a bit small, and that was probably what made it affordable. The closets were tiny. I’d have to get creative, storing my clothes. I’d have to downsize my kitchen equipment, too. I never used the slow cooker, food processor, or stand mixer my mother insisted I needed. I mentally went through my possessions, imagining them in place here, how to fit everything in. I had a lot of choices to make. 

The next day, Heidi was all curiosity. I explained the size of the house and the gleaning of possessions I would need to do.

More importantly, when would I make the actual move? Heidi and I decided upon next Sunday. Her son, Tom, would be enlisted as muscle, and of course Bruce would help. I was grateful I had such good friends. 

After work, I dug through my closet, looking for something appropriate for the Thai restaurant we’d be going to tonight. As I rooted around, I was thinking about whether I’d be able to part with any of my clothes. I got out a plaid skirt and my favorite boots. A snug black turtleneck sweater completed the outfit. 

It was not too cold when I went down the front stairs to wait for James to pick me up. I had grabbed my black beret on my way out the door, and shrugged into my black leather jacket. James was  right on time. His Subaru was old, but the heater worked great. I climbed in.

“Cute hat,” was James’ greeting. “We should get you a tam o’ shanter.” 

“That ridiculous thing bagpipe players wear?”

“Hey, they’re not ridiculous. They are a venerable expression of a rich culture.” 

“I’ll stick with a beret. You can wear one when you show me your kilt.” 

“What’s this, women always wanting the kilt?”

“We want to see your sexy legs. You should take advantage of the universal appeal.” 

“You’ll be able to see it in a couple of weeks. That’s when Molly’s celebrates world Gaelic day.” 

“Gaelic? I thought that’s what the Irish used to speak?”

“It is. Scotland has a variation. Fairly similar. Although there’s debate whether Scots Gaelic is an independent language, or just a dialect of English.” 

I leaned over to kiss his cheek, saying, “I think I’m going to learn a lot about Scotland, knowing you.” 

“Let me know if I start to bore you. I can talk about Scotland all night.” He pulled the car over, into a loading zone in front of Red Basil Thai. “Here we are. I’ll let you out here and find parking.” 

Red Basil Thai was new and more upscale than I’d expected. There was gold scrollwork and teakwood everywhere, sumptuous carpeting, very luxurious. The waiting area had a bench covered in a deep red jacquard fabric. I grabbed a menu and sat down. I noted some dishes had between one and three chili peppers next to the name. There were so many choices. 

When James arrived, we were led to a booth with more teakwood and gold. 

“Do you like spicy food?” James asked.

“Yes, the hotter the better.”

“We’ve come to the right place, then.” 

We chose grilled chicken skewers for our appetizer, and James encouraged me to try a cocktail. He ordered a non-alcoholic drink, a melon based drink, and I got the arrack punch. I’d never had arrack before and was very curious.

As it turned out, it packed quite a wallop, and I decided one drink would be plenty. I didn’t want a repeat of New Year’s Eve. I chose Nam Tok, seasoned beef sirloin. It had three chilis next to the name on the menu. James ordered the Goong Pad Kapi, a shrimp and eggplant dish which had a single modest chili next to its name. 

Nam Tok earned its three chili rating, and even James’ choice was very spicy hot. We talked about my new living situation, the difficulties of finding a roommate, and what I would be moving with Heidi and Bruce’s truck. 

“I’ll help, if I’m wanted,” James volunteered. “I can ask for the day off.” 

“That would be great. The more people, the faster it’ll go. Abby said she’d help me pack some things Sunday,” I said. “Depending on how we feel in the morning. Abby usually convinced me to stay until last call.”

“How long have you known Abby?”

“Since she transferred to Green Hollow High in her sophomore year.” 

“Wait, how were you girls going out to bars when you were underage?”

“Well, we had fake IDs,” I confessed.  “We got them from a guy in school. We had to go to the next county over to get hard liquor. Abby always convinced someone to drive us.” 

“Your parents were ok with this?”

“Umm, I didn’t exactly advertise what we were up to. I’d tell my mom I was sleeping over at Abby’s. Her mother was usually passed out when we got home, so Abby would tell her we got home by midnight. She never knew the difference. Mrs. Taylor wasn’t too worried about us anyway.”  

“Wow, you have quite a checkered past. My father made me come home by 10 o'clock, and very strictly enforced it. I couldn’t get away with anything. I wasn’t allowed to watch Saturday Night LIve until I turned 14. My first trip to a bar was on my 21st birthday.”  

Last year I’d spent my 21st birthday arguing with Keith. I don’t remember what we were arguing about, just that Keith stormed out and I stayed home, crying. I tried to push that out of my mind.

“Where did you go for your first drink?”

“Molly’s, of course. I drank way too much Scotch and had to be half carried home. I was lucky the bartender didn’t ban me. I think Jason explained the circumstances.” 

“Who is Jason?”

“He was my college roommate. He moved to Memphis to study law.” 

“And you stayed here?”

“They have a great history graduate program here, so I didn’t need to go anywhere. I like being near my family anyway. Good thing I scored a fellowship and two scholarships.” James frowned. “My father expected me to follow in his footsteps and become a lawyer. When I chose history… well, he didn’t exactly disown me, but he made it clear I’d have to do graduate work on my own.” James thought for a moment, then cheered up. “Lucky thing, I wouldn’t have asked you out if I hadn’t been working at Denny’s.”

“Lucky for both of us,” I agreed. 

I had to work the next day, so when we finished dinner, James brought me home. We shared a nice long kiss before I climbed the steps to my apartment. James didn’t drive off until he saw me safely in the front door. 

Once inside, I hung up my clothes and texted Abby. 

Hey, when do you want to get to Milton? I get off at 6, be home by 6:30.

We made plans for Abby to meet me at my apartment at 6:30.

I can’t wait to see you, Karen! I have a surprise for you! 

I was curious. With Abby you never knew what to expect.

Author's Note

Thank you for reading! Any and all comments are welcome.

Something I have been wondering about, not just in this chapter but overall, do things get too prosaic? I write about normal people with normal problems, but how mundane is too mundane?

Reviews

[Gary]

I like the flirtatious dialog between Karen and James going to the restaurant, I can really see the relationship growing. I also like James offering to help with the move and especially like him not driving away until Karen was safe in her apartment. Nice touch, you are developing his character nicely.
You have left me wanting to see what happens next.

[SweetNutmeg]

Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. I'm glad you feel his character is developing. I'm trying very hard. I have in the past tended to create flat Ken dolls as my heroine's romantic interest. The opposite of the usual problem, a weak male character instead of a weak female character. So I'm doing all I can dream up to give James a personality and life. Janine is now Abby, and Justin is Keith, btw.

[Samuel Dickens]

Clean and correct. The apartment you describe sounds quit nice. Small doesn't bother me, but I'd have to keep those appliances. (Stick em under the bed?) I think I'd enjoy that restaurant, also. Ending the night with a kiss is especially pleasing.
The two "got homes" sticks out a bit.-" got home, so Abby would tell her we got home by midnight" Perhaps you could replace the second one with, "arrived".

[SweetNutmeg]

Thank you for your careful and thorough reading. I always appreciate your thoughts. I will attend to "come home" and update as soon as I get a text doc with formatting. The text without formatting comes and goes, I just cross my fingers and come back later if it isn't working. That is a restaurant drawn from an article about the 15 best Thai restaurants in NYC, and my experiences in New Orleans. I'd love some Thai, but we don't have a good Thai restaurant in my small city. Thank you again Sam, you've been a staunch supporter through so many stories. :)