Charlie came back to L.A. the day after Elsie left and became an immediate fixture in Will and Gianna’s home.
He liked to watch Gianna cook and throw out suggestions as if he knew better. Gianna just laughed and went on as usual.
Will had developed a pattern of calling Elsie every other evening and talking to her while she pressed and packaged T-shirts. She was working like mad to catch up on Black Friday orders, and at first, seemed too busy to talk for long. But as he got to know her better, he realized that abruptness was more likely uncertainty about their relationship. They never discussed the future or their feelings for one another, and on his end, it was purposeful. He would not do that over the phone. He would see her in person again, whether she believed it or not. Will had always considered the long game in all aspects of his life, and he was content to warm Elsie up by degrees.
He liked finding out new things about her, like her love of hot chocolate, or how much she hated the goofy TV morning shows Jane was addicted to watching.
One night, he discovered her secret fear of spiders, despite being a spider pacifist. She suddenly screamed as they were talking and hung up on him. He immediately called back, afraid an intruder was in the house or something.
“Elsie, are you okay?”
“Yes,” she whispered, slightly out of breath. “A spider jumped onto my lap and scared me to death.”
“Did you kill it?”
“Kill it? No. It jumped onto another box and I’m releasing it outside. Hold on.” She came back after a minute. “Okay, I’m back. All taken care of.”
“Why’d you release it? The thing probably hitched a ride inside one of those packing boxes you have sitting there, and now it’s an invasive species out to wreck the local ecosystem.”
“You’re saying I’m the bad guy here?”
“I’m sorry. I take it back, Elsie. It was very kind of you to not immediately squish the poor thing.”
“That’s better.”
He paused, enjoying her scolding. Charlie came into Will’s room and plopped down on the end of the bed. Will glared at him and made a shooing motion.
“Who is that?” Charlie mouthed.
“Go away.”
“Who needs to go away?” Elsie asked. “You better not be talking to Gianna like that.”
“No, it’s this pesky houseguest who won’t leave.”
“Oh.”
The way she said it made Will realize she had assumed he meant Caroline. And he didn’t want her thinking Caroline hung out in his bedroom. Earlier in the conversation, he’d mentioned he was folding laundry on his bed.
“It’s Charlie. He’s back from San Francisco.”
“Tell Elsie I say hi,” Charlie insisted.
Will rubbed his forehead. “Charlie says hi.”
“Tell him, hello back. I better go, Will. The post office closes soon, and I want to get these dropped off tonight.”
“Sure.” Will hung up and pushed Charlie off the bed with his feet. “You are the worst friend ever.”
“What did I do?” Charlie asked, picking himself up off the floor.
“You broke up with her sister. I’d rather pretend you don’t exist, where Elsie’s concerned.”
“Well.” Charlie crossed his arms. “That makes you the bad friend.”
“Tell me the truth, Charlie. Have you dated anyone since Jane?”
Charlie picked up a paperweight off Will’s desk and turned it over in his hands. “No.”
