Interrupted (The Progress Series) (10 page)

Samuel lit his cigarette and inhaled deeply. Amused, Charlie watched him relax as his shoulders dropped and his forehead eased.

“Okay, so nothing physical. Four weeks. One day a week,” he said. “Is that all?”

Charlie let out a snicker. “I believe so! I don’t think you could handle another restriction! You’re cracking me up.”

“Hey! Don’t make fun of me. You have no idea—” he cut himself off, his playful smile fading.

Charlie tilted her head to one side. “I have no idea
what
?”

Samuel took another drag from his cigarette and scratched his forehead, considering whether or not he wanted to finish the sentence. “You have no idea…what you do to me.”

Oh, god. Can
I
last four weeks?

Clearing her throat, Charlie responded, “Well then. Good. Your punishment will serve its purpose. Have fun with that; I’m sure you’ll be able to find another way to satisfy any urges that…suddenly come up,” she let out with a laugh.

*

Agreeing on Sundays, they went back inside and Samuel wheeled Charlie back up to her room. It was either her imagination or the nurses were staring at her with a newfound respect. She thought it could have been because she gave Aaron Paulson a piece of her mind, but she wasn’t sure.

When they returned to her room, her parents were waiting along with a smiling Andrea.

“You sure know how to get attention around here, Ms. Johnson.”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Charlie asked.

Helping Charlie to her bed, Andrea whispered, “You don’t know how long the staff has been waiting for someone to tell him off. He’s been an intern here six months, and for some, it’s been hell. You’ve got every nurse on this floor asking me what they can do to help you out.” She winked. “He’s such a prick.”

“Hello, Ms. Johnson.” A pretty, heavyset nurse stepped into Charlie’s room, waiting near the entry. “Is there anything I can do for you right now?”

How shockingly wonderful is this? I thought it was only for my benefit, my sanity. These people have obviously been affected by that bastard, too. And this pretty woman standing in my doorway is exactly who I was a year ago. I hope she knows…I hope she realizes how beautiful she really is.

Charlie smiled. “No. No, thanks. I think I’m good,” she said, her eyes welling with tears.

The nurse smiled, her eyes glossy, too. She nodded and mouthed the words ‘thank you’ as she turned and walked back into the hallway.

Oblivious to what had transpired between Charlie and Doctor Paulson, Charlie’s parents looked at her in confusion, but didn’t say anything. Samuel stared at Charlie in awe.

“Well, I guess I should call it a night! This was the perfect way to end an everlasting day,” Charlie beamed.

As Charlie popped more pain killers, Andrea adjusted her pillows and covered her with the blanket just before walking out the door.

“All right then, dear,” said Karen. “I will be here right away in the morning. Call if you need anything. Oh, and Sabrina packed you a bag of some clothes before she left for school. She was hoping she could catch you awake, but she stuck around to make sure you were going to be okay before she got on the bus. I put the bag in the closet over here.” She gestured toward a narrow door in the corner.

Charlie’s parents gave her hugs before they left, and Samuel lingered until everyone was gone.

“Thanks for sticking around,” she said.

“Is there anything you need before I leave?”

“No. I’m good.”

Grabbing Charlie’s phone out of her purse, Samuel set it on her bedside table.

“Here, keep this close. I’ll be texting you.”

He leaned down to give her a kiss, and then hesitated. “Ugh, nothing physical.”

Charlie’s grin widened. “Have a good night, Samuel.”

“Yeah, yeah. You, too.”

After returning home the next morning, Charlie called The Crimson and told them about the accident, though she already knew that word had spread. Karalee had sent a vase of flowers that were now resting on the mantel by the fireplace.
Lawrence figured out a schedule where Charlie could host a few days a week until she had better use of her arm. During Charlie’s discharge from the hospital, the nurse had advised her that she’d have the cast for up to six weeks.

It was the perfect time for Charlie to think about shaping up her life. She could already cross “Telling Aaron Paulson to Go to Hell” off of her list, now she had to figure out what to do about a full-time job and a place to live. She was going to have plenty of days and nights to devote to devising a plan.

She sat down at the computer and started searching for apartments. She placed a few phone calls only to discover that living on her own was going to take hundreds of dollars that she didn’t have every month, so she decided to focus on finding a job instead.

Her days were filled with preparing the perfect résumé, submitting applications, and job hunting. Her nights were devoted to texting and calling Samuel.

*

Hey, you.  Still working?
She smiled and hit send.

Charlie twisted a forkful of spaghetti into her mouth and patiently waited for him to respond.

Not anymore. ;) Whatcha doin’?

She bobbed back and forth in her seat, gazing at his response, trying to come up with the perfect, sexy thing to say to him.

Taking a bath. Sudsy bubbles all around me. Touching myself. Wish you were here. xx

She let a little giggle escape.
Ha!
I’m such a tease.

You suck. Hey, Sunday is almost here. Two days away. Any ideas what you want to do? Oh, and be careful how much you tease me, Charlie. Two can play that game. xx

Yeah, I should be careful. He’s just so adorable.

Not sure. Call me in twenty minutes, we can talk about Sunday.

After finishing her dinner, she was rinsing off the plate when she heard the beep from her phone.

Twenty minutes!? If it’s taking you twenty minutes, you’re definitely doing something wrong. I could come over and show you how to get that down to four minutes, tops. ;)

Charlie burst out laughing. Her parents turned and stared from the living room, waiting for an explanation. Awkwardly, Charlie smiled and shook her head before heading downstairs.

Nineteen minutes later, Charlie’s phone rang.

“Hello?” she said.

“So, how was your bath?” he asked, seductively.

“Ha! I was teasing you. I didn’t take a bath, I was eating dinner.”

“Ah, I see. So…what do you want to do on Sunday?”

“Something cheap. I think I might have a lead on a job, and I’m going to need to save as much money as I can if I’m going to move out of my parents’ house.”

“Wow. I didn’t realize you were planning to move. Okay, something cheap. How about I cook you dinner at my place?”

Oh, just dinner. I was hoping I could spend the whole day with him.

“Yeah, that sounds fine,” she said.

“We could go out if you wanted,” he said, sensing hesitancy in her voice.

“No, dinner at your place sounds good. Is there anything
else
you wanted to do on Sunday?”

“Yes! Yes, of course. Are you available all day?”

“Well, I suppose I could move a few things around, you know. I’ve got such a busy schedule these days, with all of my naps and baths,” she said sarcastically.

“Good. I’ll pick you up at
nine o’clock.”

“In the morning! What do you have planned for us at
nine o’clock in the morning?”

“Nothing, yet. But I’m sure it will be fun,” he said.

Charlie could hear him smile.

“So, what’s this job?” he asked.

“Well, I just applied today, but it looks like something that I could make work. It’s a caretaking position for an apartment complex here in Burnsville. It’s not full-time but I create my own hours, and if I continued working at The Crimson I’d probably be able to pull off the discounted rent.”

“That
does
sound pretty good. Have you told your parents yet?”

“No, not exactly. I’ll wait to hear whether or not I get this interview. I don’t want them to be too hopeful only to squash their dreams of being empty nesters.”

Charlie could hear a deep muffled voice in the background of Samuel’s phone.

“Gotcha. Well, I’m going to go and grab some dinner with Gabe. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Okay, sounds good.”

“Have a good evening.”

“Goodnight.”

*

After watching a movie and eating a bowl of ice cream with her parents, Charlie checked her email to see if any of the jobs she had applied to had responded.

To her surprise, one had. The apartment complex manager had sent her a message.

Charlene,

Thank you for your interest in RM Kellerman Company. We currently have two positions available. Please let me know which one you feel would best suit your skill level and contact me with which times you could be available for an interview.

1. Leasing Consultant — part-time 
   Responsible for greeting prospective residents, leasing, filing and other duties assigned by management.
   

2.
                     
Property Caretaker — part-time 
Responsible for delivering letters, cleaning up garbage on property, unit turns and other duties assigned by management.

Thanks Again,

Kelly Carlton

Property Manager

Birchwood Manor Townhomes

Perfect!

Dear Kelly,

Thank you for responding so quickly! I believe that both jobs would be well-suited for me, but I think I would prefer to interview for the Caretaking position. I would also be interested in living on-site.

I am available to interview any time that best fits your schedule. However, presently, I have a broken arm. The cast will be removed in a few weeks, but I am already eager to get back to working. Please let me know if this is going to be a problem.

Thank You,

Charlie Johnson

That should do it.

Now, about that bath…

Charlie wanted to save the surprise news for Samuel until she could tell him in person. After all, getting a job and finding a place to live were big news. She had gone for an interview the very next day, and to her astonishment she was told she could move on site within the next few weeks. Everything was finally falling into place for her, and she found herself constantly grinning.

*

It was
six o’clock in the morning when Charlie’s alarm went off. She had stopped taking the pain killers two days earlier, as they had been clouding her head. The pain was bearable, but she woke every morning achy.

Today would be the first “date” Charlie and Samuel would have following their current restrictions. Nothing physical. Four weeks. One day a week.

She showered, shaved, and applied her make-up—things that were exhausting with a broken arm, but she barely noticed with the burning thoughts of Samuel singeing their way through her core. With her heart thumping, she couldn’t remember being this nervous since a tenth grade crush.

She stepped out onto the deck for a cigarette. All of the snow had melted in the past week. Charlie could see the small hostas sprouting from underneath the mulch, and the lilac bushes were budding.

Well, here I go. Almost 25-years-old. A new job, a new apartment, and with any luck, a new guy. Where has the time gone? Barely two months have passed since Jesse left, and I feel like it was already a lifetime ago. I miss him. Yes, I do. And we have an unsettling amount of unfinished business, but there’s nothing I can, or want, to do about that right now. It’s best that I just leave it alone and be grateful for the time I had with him. And I am, so grateful. If I ever see him again, I’ll be sure to tell him.

I will always feel like I owe Jesse something, something that I don’t know if I’d ever be able to give him. But until the day I can find a way to repay him, I’ll forever be in his debt.

And now I have Samuel. Well, I don’t
have
him, but I can see this lasting a very long time, if not forever. I don’t want to let go of this feeling I have. I want to giggle all the time. I want to fall asleep watching
Star Trek
with him at night, and wake to him showering me with kisses every morning. It’s silly, all of it. But I’m not going to deny myself any of it anymore, now that I know how it feels and that I’m worthy of having it.

Her phone beeped from within her pocket and she dug it out to read the text.