Neighbors

Scene 14:

The day dragged for both of them. She had hurried to get dressed after seeing him at the pool and was almost late for her first meeting. She went from meeting to meeting, trying to remember all of the new names of people she met. She had to work hard at making small talk at lunch with other new faculty. She wanted desperately to share the story of this new man in her life, but she didn't know anyone well enough to even mention his name. Instead she listened as other people shared pictures of their kids and stories of their spouses or significant others. She talked about coming from Minnesota and leaving close family. One man, whose name tag said "Jeff Fisher, PhD- Department of Biochemistry", sitting across from her mentioned he had come from Minnesota. She asked how long he had been here in Vancouver. He told her several weeks. They chatted finding they had a few common interests and places from home but her mind wandered. Then she was jolted, when her brain, a little slow in processing, caught up with what he had just said to her. He had suggested since they were both new, and single, and unattached that perhaps she would like to have dinner sometime. She had mumbled something about "that would be nice", when he followed up his question with "well, how about Saturday?"

She looked at him. Stuck... "Oh Jeff, thank you for the invitation, but this Saturday I can't..." she didn't know what to say... she was trying to think of an excuse, but the only thing in her head was Oded.

He sensed she was struggling, and since he harkened from the land of 'nice' just like he did, and the entire table was now watching the exchange, he did for her what she had done for Oded on Saturday, and he let her off the hook. "That's okay... we'll do it another time." He smiled at her sweetly. She blushed, embarrassed at having handled things so poorly and tried to smooth over the obvious hurt she had inflicted on his ego.

"Thanks Jeff," she offered, "That would be great... I'm just so swamped with the idea of classes starting next week I'm a little nervous about time." It was an attempt, and he accepted it graciously. She didn't want to lie, she actually was nervous about classes starting, but she also didn't want to tell him she had other plans. 'Geez,' she hadn't dated in forever and now she had Jeff asking her out, and Oded just about undressing her on their first date... 'when it rains it pours,' she thought.

Jeff watched her across the table. She was beautiful he thought. The fact that she had arrived unattached was a bonus he wasn't going to pass up, because he was sure someone would snatch her up quickly. He would do whatever he could to get to know her better he thought, and fast. He wondered about her excuse, and thought there sounded like there was something more behind it, but he let it go. She had piqued his curiosity and he watched her all afternoon.

Finally about 3:00, her meetings for the day were done, and she went to spend a few hours in her lab, for the first time all day. Jeff had asked her if she wanted to grab some coffee after the last meeting had ended, but she declined, telling him she had a lot of work to do in lab before she could go home. Which was actually the truth. As she walked away from him she started to worry that his attention might be hard to dispel. Under other circumstances, if there was no Oded, she would have graciously accepted his offer. He was the type of guy she was probably supposed to go out with, a fellow academic. Someone she could compare stories about the university with, but then she thought about last night, and the kiss this morning she had shared with Oded. She got warm inside just letting her mind wander to him for a moment. She shook her head. She thought about Jeff again, and decided that it would be nice to have a friend here at UBC, she'd have coffee with him the next time he asked, but she'd tell him about Oded and get it out front. She walked down the hall to her lab, okay with her decision, and let herself think again about her good morning kiss.

When she opened the door she was overwhelmed with the smell of roses. A dozen white roses sat on the lab bench, a card tucked inside. She turned around half expecting to see somebody, but she was alone. She smiled, and grabbed the card hoping and then knowing they were from Oded. "How had he known where to send them?" she wondered. She opened the card. "'Until Saturday.' Oded". She blushed just thinking about the possible meaning behind those words. And felt guilty again at the way she had hurt Jeff's feelings. She went to find her secretary and ask when they had arrived. Shuralee smiled at her as she walked in the office.

"You didn't tell anyone you had a boyfriend..." she wagged her finger at Abby.

"I don't... I didn't... Shuralee, when did the flowers come?"

"This morning, first thing. I got a phone call from someone with a gorgeous voice, incredible accent... " she went on.

Abby cut her off, a little annoyed, "what did he say?"

"He wanted to know if he had the right department for our new faculty, he asked for you by name... and then when he found out he did he asked for the address and room number. I gave them to him, and within the hour, those gorgeous flowers arrived. So spill it... who it he? A sweetheart from home?" she pressed.

"No, I met him here," she stated.

"Already... didn't you just move in?" Shuralee probed.

Abby didn't answer the question. She turned to go back to her lab. She didn't feel like explaining Oded to Shuralee. She had wanted to talk to someone about him all day, but suddenly given the chance she got possessive and wanted to keep him private. She went back to her lab and puttered all afternoon. Sent E-mails home to her family, not yet mentioning Oded to them either, but letting them know she was safe and settling in. She watched the clock, and although she was hungry couldn't bring herself to go home. He wouldn't be home yet, and she knew if she got home and saw all his lights off she would start to think about him again. 'Better to stay at work and get something productive done' she told herself. He had wandered into her thoughts all day and she kept pushing him to the back of her mind. Finally it was starting to get dark and she had to ride home. She had to leave the roses at work since she didn't have a safe way to take them on her bike. She pulled a few stems to take with her and locked her lab up tight. She hoped the flowers would last the whole week, then she could make a rose scent that she could wear for him on Saturday. White was perfect, no pigments that sometimes could stain as she remembered trying to crush other flowers. She suddenly felt the heat building inside of her as she imagined Oded wrapped around her, his nose nestled in her neck, inhaling the fragrance he had arranged for her to wear.

When she got home she made herself a sandwich and grabbed some juice. She settled in the chair by the window to read, her cat curled in her lap. She tried to concentrate on the book she had grabbed, but she had to admit she chose the spot to sit hoping he'd come home soon and she could thank him for the flowers, as she looked out the window every few minutes. It was well after 10:00 and she was falling asleep in the chair, finally having to admit it was silly to wait up for him like this. They had made no plans for the evening, and she reminded herself that he had specifically told her that after his long days he would be tired and poor company. She gathered up her cat and her book and headed upstairs turning out the lights. She read as long as she could in bed, but fell asleep sooner than later. When she finally roused herself it was well after midnight, and she had to admit she was really tired after everything that had happened since Saturday. She turned off the light next to her bed and quickly fell back to sleep. Her mind finally clear he crept into her dreams, and she couldn't push him out. Again, scenes and images of him flashed through her head, with the memory of him from the pool this morning joining the images from the previous night.

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Neighbors - Chapter 15