‘I’mreallyhoping that’s one of your weird Irish expressions meaning no, otherwise I might just have to fly over to talk some sense into you in person.’
‘Ha. No need for straight-talking on my part. I’m way over all that, honestly.’
Hannah hoped her friend couldn’t tell that she was spinning a tale.
Now all she needed to do was believe her own narrative.
Having treated herself to a meal and a couple of glasses of wine at a French bistro at 63rd and Park, Hannah returned to the apartment still feeling a little lonely and out of sorts. She waved to Bruno the doorman as she headed through the lobby and tapped her foot as she rode the elevator up to her floor.
Upon exiting, she paused in the hallway listening for any sign of activity in P-1, briefly considering knocking on the door to see if Ed would answer. Given their recent impasse, it felt like the time might be right to introduce herself directly and put a face to the name. And she also wanted to see if reality aligned with the picture she had painted of him in her head. Raising a tentative hand, she then backed down at the last minute. After all, she had promised him peace and quiet so knocking on his door out of nowhere on a Friday night would surely set back the progress she had made.
So instead, Hannah continued down the hallway and opened the door to P-2, shutting it gently behind her. She listened for a second. The apartment was deathly quiet. No errant technology on the fritz or roaming animals, which made her sigh in relief.
But also served to highlight her current solitude, especially in such a big and buzzy city. It was still early days with regards to making friends at work, plus in truth she kind of welcomed the peace and quiet after such a tumultuous year. But if she didn’t start putting herself out there more, she ran the risk of ending up much like her neighbour.
Which definitely seemed like a depressing prospect.
Going into the kitchen, she opened the Sub-Zero fridge and grabbed a bottle of Pellegrino before extracting a glass from one of the kitchen cabinets.
She wondered how Ed had become the way he was – ornery, angry at the world, presumptively stuck in the past. He seemed to be homebound and, from what she could glean so far, only seemed to have his nurse as a visitor, which amid a city like this seemed so bleak. If she were in his position, Hannah figured she would welcome the chance to talk to other people and to feel like there was still a world outside those walls. Heck, she felt like that right now.
Well, they said the opposite of depression was connection, so since she and Ed were both pretty much lonely in New York at the moment, maybe their little faceless to-and-fro was the perfect way to offer one another a lifeline.
Hello P-1,
I appreciate your understanding of the situation. Nothing seems to be going haywire with the tech over here since, so maybe the situation has solved itself.
Which also applied to my working week as it turns out. A stumbling block I was facing with a difficult man who was a bit of a tough nut to crack is beginning to sort itself out too. He needs my help but is very much … let’s just say, stuck in his ways. So I took myself out to a nice dinner tonight hoping to get some thoughts flowing, but I’m afraid that didn’t happen. All was not lost, though, as I had a divine mushroom risotto and a to-die-for chocolate soufflé. (And just in case you think I’m the type of person who takes pictures of their food to post online, I can assure you that I do not. I’m far too interested in eating!)
But being new to the area, I’m not sure where else is good around here. Maybe as a local, you could provide recommendations? No pressure, I don’t know if that’s your thing or not. Admittedly, I’m not much of a foodie, and outside of the no-bake I sent over, not much of a cook either.
Hannah wanted to sound breezy and chatty and perhaps appeal to his empathetic side by mentioning her lonely dinner and that she had a few struggles of her own. Nothing compared to his of course but … She tapped her fingers on the makeshift countertop, unsure of what to say next and, with that very motion, remembered something.
Tomorrow was Saturday, the day the marble installers were due. Probably a good idea to give him a heads-up about that in case of any noise or ruckus in getting the materials up here or having the countertop fixed in place. Considering he was already so averse to construction noise.
Which leads me to the reason for my note. There’s a small work crew coming tomorrow so there might be a little noise. Nothing major, just a couple of guys to install a new countertop.
Rest assured, I’ll be here to supervise and ensure things go as smoothly (and quietly!) as possible. I’ve been told it will only be a couple of hours at the most. And you’ll be especially relieved to know this is the very last of the upgrades. No more construction work.
She signed off by telling Ed that his understanding throughout the entire remodelling process was deeply appreciated and that she’d go out of her way to ensure he wasn’t disturbed any further.
Hannah grimaced and folded over the note.
Fingers crossed.
Chapter 25
WARD
Ward woke up feeling grumpy. He couldn’t quite explain it, but his recent optimism had suddenly disintegrated into thin air. It was eight o’clock on a Saturday morning and already he could hear hustle and bustle everywhere. It seemed as if everyone else in the city had started their weekend with gusto and were up enjoying the bright spring sunshine.
A knock at his door sounded and he grimaced, annoyed that he needed to start his with another training session. His knee seemed to throb in response and the storm cloud over his head grew larger. The last thing he wanted to do was be subjected to Shelley’s borderline physical abuse. Yet another no-nonsense female unwilling to deal with his shit.
As if Pretzel wasn’t bad enough.
Exhaling, he went to open the door and Shelley breezed in with barely a hello.
‘Man, it’s a madhouse out there today,’ she commented as she threw a duffel bag containing workout gear on the couch.
