“I could just borrow your phone.”
He opened the door wider and pointed inside. Such a daddy move, which was not something I should be thinking about. I had keys to find, an apartment to get back into, and an embarrassing lack of coherent sentences and adequate clothing to get past.
I marched in, not once worrying that he might mean me any harm. He didn’t. That much I was sure of. He offered me a seat on the couch and gave me a soft blanket as he called building maintenance.
Maybe losing my keys wasn’t the worst thing after all.
Chapter Four
Memphis
“Can I get you anything while we wait?” I set my phone down on the coffee table and started for the kitchen. “Lemonade? Diet Coke? Milk? Beer?”
“Whatever you’re having,” Ridge said from his perch on my sofa, covered with the blanket my sister crocheted me out of something she called Minky. The softest yarn in the world, she said, and I believed it. “I am already causing you too much trouble. I can go wait in the hall.”
“No need for that. He says right away, but I’ve lived in this building for a while and he has a tendency to either take way longer than you think or get distracted by some ‘real emergency.’ I once called him for a broken faucet spraying all over the kitchen and when he showed up two hours later, he said he’d had a bigger emergency.”
“Oh no. What did you do?”
“I turned the water off under the sink, but he didn’t suggest that or even have any idea I would know what to do.”
He pulled the blanket up over his shoulders and sighed. “This is so soft. Did you make it?”
“My sister did, but I’m honored you think I might be that talented. I’ll go get us that lemonade.” I retreated to the kitchen and returned with two tall glasses filled halfway with ice and the pitcher. “If you’re hungry, I can make you a sandwich.”
“No thanks. I’m full from dinner. But you eat if you want to.”
I poured the lemonade into his glass, setting the ice clinking, then passed it to him. “I’m fine.” Settling on the couch near his feet, I filled my own glass and picked it up. “So, you’re cat-sitting across the hall. Do you do that often, or is my neighbor a friend you’re doing a favor for?”
“I do it all the time for my job. Do you have a cat?” He sipped the lemonade then set it down. “If you do, I could sit for you, too.”
“Not at the moment, but I like them. Is that why you chose the job?”
“I kind of fell into it, but it’s a really good fit for me. At least for now. I’m not sure it’s what I’ll do my whole life.” He petted the blanket. “But it’s fun and serves a purpose.”
“Makes sense. I’m sure the owners are really grateful to have someone kind and responsible to take care of their pets.”
“That’s such a nice thing to say. It isn’t a high-paying job and doesn’t require an advanced degree, but most people don’t want to have to board their cats when they go out of town. The cats are much happier if they can stay in their own environment, too. So, I fill a need.” He flushed, color flooding his cheeks. “Although, after tonight with throwing the keys down the trash chute, calling me responsible might be a stretch.”
“It could happen to anyone. Now, what shall we do while we wait for the maintenance guy to bring your keys?”
We agreed to watch a movie, and after some surfing around the streaming services I had on my TV, we came upon an old favorite of mine. I was about to click on, assuming he’d probably never even heard of it, when he said, “The Dark Crystal. I know it’s probably silly, but I love it.”
“Actually, me too.” I settled back to watch, immediately drawn back into the world that had so captivated me when I was a little boy. After a few minutes, I turned toward Ridge to make a comment and found that his eyes had closed, breaths slow and even. “You’re asleep,” I murmured instead. Obvious, but it needed to be said. He looked so young like this.
While I was deciding what to do about it, a knock came on the door. I stood up quickly and crossed the room. Opening thedoor, I greeted the maintenance man who held out a ring of keys dripping some kind of substance I didn’t want to consider.
“Tell whoever this guy is that next time he can fish through the gunk in the bottom of that chute. I don’t get paid enough for this crap.” He shuffled off, still grumbling away.
Tempted to call him back and remind him that whatever his salary, he got enough in Christmas tips from the upscale tenants to find a set of keys—in a chute he had refused to allow me to go through myself when we spoke on the phone—to handle this “crap,” instead, I closed the door and headed for the kitchen to clean the keys. They truly had spent some time with stinky trash.
Leaving the sparkling keys drying on a clean kitchen towel, I returned to the living room. Ridge still snoozed peacefully on the sofa. If he was just napping, the situation might resolve itself, so I went on with the little tasks I had planned for the later part of my evening. Putting away some dry cleaning, taking out my trash to the chute, taking a shower and putting on lounge pants and a white T-shirt. Comfy socks. Then I sat on the chair opposite the couch and considered the fact that he was still there and had not opened his eyes or stirred in any way I could see.
Maybe I should take him to the apartment across the hall? That’s where he’s supposed to be staying, after all.
Which would have been great if I had ever exchanged more than a nod in the hallway with the other tenant. I hadn’t even known he had cats.Cat? See? No idea.The neighbor had authorized Ridge to stay in his place while he was away. He did not give me permission to enter. And, since I wouldn’t appreciate it if he wandered my apartment while I was away, I would not trespass on his privacy either.
So…what to do with the slumbering man who cuddled on my couch. In practicality, I could leave him there, but somehow it felt inhospitable. Also…I hated that he might not be as comfortable as he could be. My big bed with the fluffy pillowsand Egyptian-cotton sheets where he could truly stretch out…so much better.
