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I can’t bear the troubled look on her face so I suggest, “Why don’t you use mine?”
“Don’t be silly.” She looks amused. “How would that even work?”
I’m about to answer when a sharp rap on the door has her getting up to answer it. She’s blocking my view, so I can’t see who it is. It’s only when I hear her laugh and a male voice says something in response that I suddenly feel threatened.
I walk over to her just as she’s saying, “That’s incredibly sweet of you, Brad!”
Sensing me hovering, she turns her head to look at me, smiling broadly. “Lucas, this is Brad. He lives on the seventh floor. Mr. Ernesto told him about my fridge so Brad just offered to store the perishables in his fridge. Isn’t that nice of him?”
Brad is six foot something giant with a shy smile and a pretty face. His smile wobbles at the sight of me.
I look at him, expressionlessly. “Just dandy.”
“Thank you for this, Brad.” Elise is beaming at him.
Stupid Brad.
“Yes, thank you, Brad,” my sentiments are offered with a more mocking tone.
The man’s face tightens but all he says is, “You know my apartment number. I’m home all day, so you can drop them off anytime.”
“I’ll drop off the things,” I smoothly, intervene, puzzled by this gnawing sensation in my chest. I glance at Elise to remind her, “You have to get dressed.”
“Oh, yeah.” She turns to Brad. “Lucas will be by in a few minutes.”
Her neighbor clearly does not like this arrangement but he can’t say anything since he’s already offered the space.
I wait for Elise to close the door and then see her put Sophie in a small playpen in the corner lined with soft pillows.
Trailing after her into the kitchen, I ask, “So, Brad, huh?”
“What about him?” she asks, absentmindedly.
Someone has flipped over the fridge at this point and I can see that it’s shattered from the front. She has frozen containers on the counter and bottles of milk that I have a feeling, have gone bad. “So, you’re going to go to his place every day to get things?” I try to keep my tone casual. “Sounds like a lot of hassle.”
She pauses, thoughtfully, as if the thought hadn’t occurred to her. “You’ve got a point. But I’m also out of options at the moment. A week won’t be so bad. I’ll make it up to him.”
Elise is so unaware of herself that she doesn’t even realize her neighbor would welcome her daily appearance. And I’m determined that this will not happen. “I might be able to help you out,” I say slowly, as if with great deliberation. When she just glances at me, I purse my lips. “I have a mini fridge in my house. I initially bought it for my room but I’ve never really used it and I was meaning to dispose of it. It’s a couple of years old but in excellent condition.”
I’m lying through my teeth right now.
“I could bring it over right now, if you want while you get dressed.”
Elise looks tempted by the offer but asks suspiciously, “Were you really going to toss it out?”
I shrug. “It’s taking up extra space.”
When she finally relents, I take the great pleasure of informing Brad of this change in plans.
My place is a half hour drive and I rush home. A large unopened package stands in the hallway and I rip off the cardboard, ignoring the mess, to reveal a brand new grey mini fridge.
I had just bought it for my room a few days ago. Never got the chance to open it.
I rip off the protective seal and check the insides. Unwrapping the cord and bending it a little, I try to give it the appearance of looking mangled rather than brand new and I really hope Elise doesn’t notice.
As I’m putting it in the car, I pause, and then use my keys to scrat
ch the shiny surface of it. Feeling rather proud, I lean back and study the long line. “That’s totally believable.”
