Once Upon a Summertime (23 page)

“Thank
you
for letting me hang with you all day,” he said brightly. “It was a great distraction from worrying about the hotel.” He held up his phone. “They never called once.”

“Your darling baby is just fine after all,” she teased.

“At least for now. I'll stop by the hotel tomorrow morning to see if anyone's using the shuttle van. If it's free, I'll give you a jingle. Okay?”

“Sure, if you don't think it's a problem.”

“If I thought it was a problem, I wouldn't have offered.”

She nodded as she moved a couple steps up the stairs. “Yes, I know you wouldn't.” She knew she was trying to put a comfort zone of space between them. Not because she was worried about Sean either. “Talk to you tomorrow,” she called as she continued on up. “Thanks again!”

When she reached the top step, she imagined she was home free. She pushed the security code, then hurried inside, but instead of going on up to the other apartment, she let herself into the new one. After all, Rodney had said it was all hers. Well, hers and Marley's. But for tonight, it was just hers.

Anna
spent a couple hours opening boxes,
unloading bags, and basically playing house. Okay, it was a bit of a challenge to play house without any real furnishings, but it was fun to imagine how it might look by this time tomorrow. Thanks to Sean's shopping savvy, she had made some fabulous finds at several furniture thrift stores. Thanks to Sean's persuasiveness, telling the salespeople that because of her job, Anna couldn't purchase anything that couldn't be delivered tomorrow, it was all scheduled to come on Tuesday.

In the meantime, she did get the kitchen and bathroom thoroughly cleaned and somewhat set up. She felt a tiny bit selfish taking over like this all on her own, but she knew that Marley had no real furnishings to contribute besides her bed, not to mention no real interest in playing house. That's what she had claimed, anyway. But by eight o'clock, Anna felt guilty, so she went upstairs to confess to Marley what she'd been up to.

“Marley got called in for a sick flight attendant this after
noon,” Tia told Anna. “She won't be home until Thursday night.”

“Oh, okay.” Anna explained what she'd been doing, and since Tia didn't seem particularly interested, Anna decided to take her packed bags downstairs and start putting one of the closets to use.

“You can have Marley's bed tonight,” Tia told her. “Unless you're sleeping down there. Do you even have a bed?”

“Not yet,” Anna confessed. “I've got bedding, though. I might try camping.”

Tia laughed. “Well, you're one tough cookie, Anna. I can't believe how you've gone from couch to bed to couch and no place to hang your clothes—and you never even complained.”

Anna shrugged. “Well, I'll admit that I'm looking forward to having my own bed for a change.”

“Thanks for cleaning up around here,” Tia called as Anna was leaving. “I know we seem like a bunch of ungrateful slobs. But we did appreciate it.”

“I appreciated you letting me stay here,” Anna said. “It was a huge help to me for getting and keeping my job.”

“Hey, that's New York karma. Someday you'll probably be helping some other girl out. What goes around comes around.”

As Anna went downstairs, she considered that. “New York karma” sounded like a good thing to her. Kind of like hospitality. She took her time hanging up her clothes in the closet on the left side of the room. Marley had already put dibs on the right side since Anna didn't really care. Besides that, the left side was closer to the door, which meant she could slip out more quietly if Marley was asleep. It was perfect.

At the bottom of her big suitcase, Anna discovered the
MP3 player speakers that she'd gotten in college. Suddenly longing for music, she set them up in the living room, and before long she was rocking out. Okay, she wasn't really rocking out since it was an old Sarah McLachlan song and not even turned up too loud, but she was certainly enjoying it.

Anna considered unpacking the bedding and pillow she'd purchased today, but although the hardwood floors were good for dancing, they didn't look too inviting for sleeping. With all she wanted to get done tomorrow, she probably needed a good night's rest, so she turned off the music and turned out the lights, and as she locked the door, she told the sweet little apartment good night.

Anna got up early on Tuesday morning. She knew none of her deliveries would come this soon, and she didn't expect Sean to call until around 10:00, but she could use this time to stock the kitchen with some staples. Armed with a rather long shopping list and several shopping bags, she trekked down to the closest grocery store.

“You moving in?” the elderly Asian woman asked as she put a bag of jasmine rice into the second bag.

“Yes. Into a new apartment,” Anna told her. “I've been in New York a few weeks now.”

“I can tell you are new.” The woman held up a jar of cinnamon. “By what you buy.”

Anna cringed to look at the running total. “It's kind of expensive, isn't it?”

“Yes. But it's not so bad if you cook. If you cook, you will save lots of money.”

“Yes,” Anna said eagerly. “That's what I hope.”

“Too many kids don't cook. Waste money on restaurants. That's no way to live.”

Anna smiled. “My grandma taught me to cook when I was a girl.”

“That's a smart grandma. All girls should learn to cook.”

Anna paid for her groceries, then hoped that she could manage to carry everything. She already knew that New Yorkers had to be tough, but she hadn't planned on lugging fifty pounds of groceries home. At least that's what it felt like. Fortunately, the grocery store was only a few blocks from her building. By the time she was unloading her purchases in the kitchen, her hands were throbbing and she had broken a sweat.

She had just finished putting the perishables in the fridge when she heard her door buzzer ringing. She looked out to the street to see a big white truck from the mattress store. Her bed was here! She was so excited that she raced down to let the delivery men inside, staying out of the way as they carried in and set up her twin bed and bookshelf headboard as well as a bedside bureau. It all seemed to take less than ten minutes, but before they could leave, she stopped them. “Do you suppose I could entice you to help me move another twin bed from upstairs?” she asked hopefully.

They didn't seem to mind, and before long Marley's twin bed was set up on the wall opposite from Anna's. “Thank you!” Anna gave them a generous tip.

Anna opened the front window in the hopes that she would hear if another big truck pulled up while she was putting the bedding onto her new bed. She didn't want to miss a delivery, and she didn't want to keep them waiting. Of course, now she realized that she would need to stick around the apartment
all day. At least until the last of the deliveries. She couldn't complain—this was starting to feel a lot like Christmas!

Sean called, as promised, a little before 10:00. “I've got the van—just leaving the hotel. Ready to go?”

She explained her concern about missing a delivery. “Marley can't be here because she's on flights until Thursday.”

“No problemo. I'll swing by and get your receipts and pick up the stuff myself. As I recall it was only three stores, right?”

“That's right. I owe you big-time, Sean O'Neil.”

He just laughed. “Well, I'll have to think of some way you can repay me.”

She remembered what the woman had said about young people and cooking. “How about some home-cooked meals?” She told him about lugging home groceries.

“All right! Sounds like a plan.”

Of course, after she hung up she instantly questioned the sensibility of her spontaneous offer. Was she setting herself up for problems? She remembered what Mrs. Newman had said about friendships. Didn't friends cook for friends? Besides, she could make sure that Marley was around if and when she did cook for him. No big deal.

Besides, she didn't have time to obsess over this because one of the thrift store trucks had just pulled up. Before long she had a cream-colored sleeper sofa and a pair of lemon yellow chairs in place—and they looked great. Just like a real living room, albeit a small one. She was just admiring them when she heard another vehicle honking down below. Seeing it was Sean, she grabbed the bundle of receipts and ran them down to hand them off.

“Thanks,” he said. “Better go, I'm double-parked.”

“Thank you so much!” she exclaimed happily.

About an hour later the second thrift store truck arrived. The first thing they brought in was a tall painted dresser that Anna thought she and Marley could share in the bedroom. What she was most anxious to see was a set of Danish modern furniture that Sean had discovered. They had just been unloading the pieces into the shop, and Sean claimed they were just like some that his grandmother used to have. “I think they might be valuable,” he'd whispered. “If you decide you don't like them, you could always resell them on eBay for a profit.”

She wasn't really sure about that, but as she saw the teak dining set being carried in, she was certain that she liked it. Next came the coffee table and end tables, and they looked perfect with the couch and chairs.

“The console table will go here by the door,” Anna said as they were going back for the next load. “The bookshelf, over there next to the window.” After the last of the Danish modern was put into place, Anna knew she owed Sean a great deal of gratitude. These pieces were perfect. Knowing that her grandma would appreciate them, she took a bunch of photos.

Sean arrived just before noon. Hearing the horn beep, she ran down to help him carry in lamps, rugs, decorative throw pillows, a set of dishes, pots and pans, and several other bulky items. “Wow, this is looking great,” Sean said as he paused by the door. “I'd stick around, but I promised to have the van back before noon, and I'm cutting it close.”

“Yes, do get the van back on time,” she urged. “Thank you so much!” After Sean left, Anna worked to get the large area rug in place in the living room. She'd fallen in love with it at the first store they'd gone to, but with its shades of orange, moss green, and yellow, she couldn't quite imagine it in the
apartment. Sean had encouraged her to get it, saying that it would be like a cornerstone for the rest of the furnishings. “Everything you pick out, just imagine it with that rug,” he'd told her.

Of course, he was right. The rug was perfect. She took her time getting lamps and some other decorative pieces into place, but it just kept getting better and better. She was so excited to see it coming together that she felt like dancing. And that reminded her of the MP3 speakers, and before long she had them set up on the teak bookshelf with a selection of west coast jazz playing.

As she wadded up the various packing materials and trash, stuffing them into one of the biggest cardboard boxes, she couldn't remember when she'd ever been happier. It almost seemed wrong to feel this happy. But it was as if she couldn't help herself. Since she didn't have her key, she left her door cracked open as she took the box of trash down to the Dumpster, but when she got back, her door was closed. She looked up and down the hallway, thinking perhaps Rodney had been by, but no one was around. Had Marley gotten home early and gone in? Anna pounded on the door, and to her surprise it swung open and Sean was inside.

“What—”

“Sorry,” he said. “The super let me into the building, and I saw your door open and assumed you were in here.”

“That's okay,” she assured him. “Did you look around?”

His face lit up. “It looks fantastic, Anna!”

“I know.” She went inside and closed the door. “I can't even believe this is my place. It's amazing.”

“If we ever lost our jobs at the hotel, we could probably go into business setting up apartments for people.”

She laughed. “That wouldn't be too bad.”

Sean went around admiring everything with almost as much enthusiasm as Anna. “There's just one thing missing,” he said.

“Huh?” She looked around, trying to figure out what she'd forgotten. “What?”

“Hold on and I'll get it.” Sean headed back toward the bedroom.

“What are you doing?” she demanded.

“Just wait,” he called. “I need to get something.”

Feeling slightly dumbfounded and on the verge of vexation, Anna waited. What on earth was he doing in the bedroom?

“Okay,” he called out. “I've got it.”

Sean came out carrying what looked like a stretched canvas, but he was holding the front of it toward him.

“What?” she cried out. “Where did you get
that
?”

He chuckled. “I stashed it in there while you were out.”

“What is it?” She came over curiously, but he held up a hand like a stop sign.

“Not so fast.”

“I don't remember buying anything like that. What is it?”

“It's a housewarming gift.”

“A painting?”

“It's not an original.” He grinned. “That would be a little out of my reach. But it's a pretty good reproduction.”

“What is it?” she asked. “Can I see it?”

“Not yet.” His eyes twinkled. “First of all, I know that it's wrong to buy someone else artwork. I mean, it's very personal what you hang on your wall. Chances are you won't even like it.”

“How will I know if I can't even see it?” she asked impatiently.

“I want you to know that I understand,” he continued. “I'll only let you see it after you promise to be honest.”

“Honest?”

“If you don't like it, you have to tell me. It won't hurt my feelings. In fact, I asked at the shop and they said you can even return it, as long as it's within twenty-four hours.”

“How do I know I want to return it when I haven't even seen it?”

“Promise you'll tell me if you don't like it?”

She held up her hand. “I solemnly swear.”

“Okay.” He turned the canvas around so she could see.

Anna's hand flew up to her mouth as she stared at the scene. It was obviously a Manhattan street, with tall buildings on each side and taxis and cars moving down the road. The sky was cloudy and the air was misty, lights glowed from the buildings' windows like illuminated amber, and the pavement of the street and sidewalk glistened in the rain.

“So . . . ?” Sean waited.

“Oh my.” Anna felt close to tears and couldn't even explain why.

“You don't like it.”

“No, that's not it.” She swallowed against the lump in her throat.

“I can return it.” Sean leaned it against the sofa, then came around to look at it himself, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “Or maybe I'll just keep it.”

“No,” she said suddenly. “I mean, I
really
do want it, Sean. I love it.”