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        Neighbors

        By Lilybird


        Scene 9:



        She came back much later that afternoon after spending the day at the college getting her office and lab situated. Tomorrow started new faculty orientation and she had at least wanted to get a few things situated before life got really busy for her. She was thankful she had so much to do. Her busy activities had all but pushed her plans for the evening out of her mind, but she knew she checked the clock every fifteen minutes, since the fact that she had a 5:00 dinner date was never really far out of reach. Every time she let herself think about it, her heart started to race and she pushed it back out of her head. She told herself she would work until 3:30 at school then head home to shower and change. She didn't yet know what she would wear and had purposely not started to pick out anything in the morning, so she wouldn't spend all day looking through her closet. Now it was 3:45 and she rode up on her bike. She had stopped to pick a few handfuls of wildflowers and had them in her basket when she got home. His car was out front and she wondered what he might be up to at this moment, but then she hurried inside to get ready.

        He had seen her from the kitchen window pull up on her mountain bike. "Both a swimmer and a biker, no wonder she has such strong legs," he thought. She had flowers in her hand. Was she going to bring him flowers for dinner? "That would be a switch," he thought, amused at the idea. He stood in his kitchen grinding garlic and cursing under his breath in Hebrew that he had decided to make something so difficult. The lamb was going to be tough and he had no back up plan. His blanching green beans started boiling over and he jumped to grab a towel and the pot handle.

        She had just walked into her kitchen when through the window she saw him jump towards the stove, steam everywhere and a mess all over the counter. She smiled as he turned and saw her through the window watching the chaos in the kitchen. She didn't turn away, or dive for the floor this time; she just stood there smiling sweetly at him. He smiled back at her, his million-dollar smile, then holding the pot of boiling green beans in one hand he shrugged his shoulders at her and raised his eyebrows in silly desperation. She laughed and then waved. Pointing to her watch and pointing upstairs. He understood what she meant, and waved with his other hand, still gloved in a lobster claw oven mitt, as she turned to go upstairs to change. His heart beat faster; she seemed genuinely amused at his kitchen catastrophe and didn't mind smiling at him to tell him so. He was optimistic tonight would turn out well, even if his lamb was tough. Then he finished the green bean salad, cleaned up his mess and went to set the table, before heading upstairs for a quick shower and to change himself.

        She laughed as she went upstairs. "Was that a lobster oven mitt he had waved at her?" she wondered. What a sweet smile he had given her when she had caught him in the middle of his boil over meltdown. On her bike ride home she had decided to put her best foot forward for this date. She was going to try very hard not to be fatalistic about the future. She would enjoy every minute of it, and see where it took her. But first she had flowers to crush.


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        Neighbors - Scene 10