“Oh, for God’s sake.”
Roz piped up. “Pretty, pretty please, Chad?”
She glared at Konrad.
“Oh, all right. Pretty please?”
Morgaine paused. “That’s enough out of you, Chad. Now, excuse us while we go back to playing musical apartments.”
***
“I guess I’m stuck in a job I hate.”
Roz picked at her food as she sat across from Merry. They had decided to go out to a nice restaurant for lunch. Finally they could catch up without any drama from the other residents in their building interrupting them.
“Don’t give up. You never know what may happen next. Six months ago I’d never have predicted that Jason and I would be married.”
Roz swallowed. “Sure, it’s almost exactly the same thing as me getting involved with an unemployed teacher slash ‘security expert.’” She made air quotes with her fingers.
Merry’s brow knit. “What do you mean?”
Roz sighed.Should I tell her? She’s my best friend, but she’s also the landlord’s wife.“Merry, whatever I tell you is in strictest confidence, right?”
“Of course…well, except for Jason. I have to be able to talk to my husband if it comes up. I won’t outright lie to him, even for you.”
“Oh.”Better not tell her their tenant is, or was, a thief.
Roz must have paused a little too long, because Merry cocked her head and stared at her.
“Oh, no. It’s nothing.”
“Look, Roz, you can tell me anything. I won’t repeat it. I just won’t lieif it comes up.So ask yourself how likely Jason is to ask me what you want to tell me. Especially the day before Fenway’s opening day. Unless the building is on fire, he won’t be thinking of anything besides baseball.”
Roz took a few moments to think it over and decided she could talk about her job situation. That was a safe topic, for now.
“Well, Konrad and I made a list of all the possible jobs we might like and could train for quickly. Then we tried each one to see if anything clicked with either of us. We made these experiments into some of our dates.”
Merry brightened. “What a good idea! What did you try?”
“Oh, boy.” Roz shook her head as she recalled some of their more spectacular failures. “Okay, first we tried ballroom dancing. We figured if celebrities could do it in a few weeks, anyone could.”
“That sounds like fun. Didn’t you enjoy it?”
“Unfortunately I’m a klutz and Konrad’s two left feet are really heavy, so when he stepped on my foot, I had to be rushed to the hospital.”
Merry gasped. “Oh, my God, are you all right? Why didn’t you call me?”
Roz shrugged. “It was only a minor sprain. I used ice, Arnica gel, and stayed off of it for a few days.”
“How’s the foot now?”
“It was my ankle, and it’s all better. See?” Roz stuck out her legs so Merry could see them without the tablecloth in the way. “They’re both the same size and everything.”
“Well, you were lucky. Some sprains can be worse than breaks. A bad sprain that isn’t treated properly can take two or three months to heal. Cute shoes, by the way!”
“Spoken like a fashionista nurse. But like I said, it wasn’t that bad.”
“What else did you try? To find new jobs, I mean.”
