on the couch writing something on a piece of paper pressed against a book on his knee. He looked up. “Hey.”
“Hi. You cooked!”
“Yeah. I figured you’d be hungry. It’s just spaghetti and garlic bread. Boiling noodles is my specialty. Spaghetti, mac ‘n’ cheese, tuna noodle casserole. I can do all the major carb meals.”
Relief washed through her at his light tone and she grinned. “Sounds great. What are you writing?”
“Filling out some applications, but it looks like I have some temporary work already.” He was working at suppressing his smile.
“That’s fantastic! Doing what?”
“I was walking past a construction site and stopped at the office to ask if they needed any guys to do heavy lifting. Looks like my face has healed enough to pass because the boss basically told me I could turn up tomorrow and if they need help, they’ll use me, if not I go home. It might not be steady employment, but the best part is, I’ll get paid in cash, no paperwork, no questions.”
“Sounds perfect for you. Congratulations.”
He grinned, unable to hold it back, and his smile was infectious. Megan smiled, too. For the first time in days, the atmosphere felt genuinely relaxed.
“Everything’s ready if you want to eat,” he said, taking his feet off the coffee table and standing. To Megan’s surprise, the coffee table was clean of clutter. She hadn’t seen the surface of it practically since she’d moved into the apartment.
Looking around the room, she noticed other areas where stacks of books had been re-shelved or scattered magazines were placed in neat piles. For once there were no haphazardly discarded socks, sweaters or shoes lying around the room. She assumed they’d made it back to her closet. And it even looked like her asthmatic vacuum cleaner had been run over the ragged carpet.
“You cleaned!” Megan was almost taken aback. She should have been overjoyed at having a free and much needed house-cleaning, but instead felt slightly annoyed. This was her space. These were
her
things, her books which had been lying right where she’d put them for a specific reason. Besides which, it was kind of embarrassing that a guy who until last week lived in abandoned buildings found her home too messy to bear.
“Yeah. I picked up a little. Would’ve done it sooner, but I wasn’t sure you wanted me messing with your stuff.” He seemed to catch her ambivalent vibe. “Is that okay?”
“Oh, of course. Thank you. I’m just surprised. I don’t generally think of teenagers as being neat.”
He shrugged. “Where I grew up, if I didn’t keep things clean, no one did.”
She followed him into the kitchen and found the table set for two and the smell of garlic even stronger. “Wow, looks like you taught yourself to cook, too.”
Together they brought the food and beverages to the table. Megan would usually have had wine with her meal to unwind after her long day, but she thought she should set a better example for Sean, so she poured them both glasses of milk.
Sean’s spaghetti was delicious and, although he swore he hadn’t done anything but boil pasta and open a jar of sauce, it tasted like he’d raided Megan’s seldom-used spice rack and created a culinary masterpiece. Or maybe she was just ravenous, since she hadn’t eaten anything except half of Cynthia’s sub for lunch.
“What’d you do at work today?” Sean asked.
“Proofreading, gossiping with my co-workers, the usual.” She hesitated before sharing the news of her assignment. “A few days ago,
Rossi told me I could cover a story on Saturday, something about a church group turning a vacant lot into a playground. Guess there was no one else who could go.“
“That’s great. It’s what you’ve been waiting for, right, an assignment? So what made him realize your writing talents are being wasted? Did he read your article?”
“Yes. He’s thinking about using it. He liked it, but said it needed some revision before it
“Hi. You cooked!”
“Yeah. I figured you’d be hungry. It’s just spaghetti and garlic bread. Boiling noodles is my specialty. Spaghetti, mac ‘n’ cheese, tuna noodle casserole. I can do all the major carb meals.”
Relief washed through her at his light tone and she grinned. “Sounds great. What are you writing?”
“Filling out some applications, but it looks like I have some temporary work already.” He was working at suppressing his smile.
“That’s fantastic! Doing what?”
“I was walking past a construction site and stopped at the office to ask if they needed any guys to do heavy lifting. Looks like my face has healed enough to pass because the boss basically told me I could turn up tomorrow and if they need help, they’ll use me, if not I go home. It might not be steady employment, but the best part is, I’ll get paid in cash, no paperwork, no questions.”
“Sounds perfect for you. Congratulations.”
He grinned, unable to hold it back, and his smile was infectious. Megan smiled, too. For the first time in days, the atmosphere felt genuinely relaxed.
“Everything’s ready if you want to eat,” he said, taking his feet off the coffee table and standing. To Megan’s surprise, the coffee table was clean of clutter. She hadn’t seen the surface of it practically since she’d moved into the apartment.
Looking around the room, she noticed other areas where stacks of books had been re-shelved or scattered magazines were placed in neat piles. For once there were no haphazardly discarded socks, sweaters or shoes lying around the room. She assumed they’d made it back to her closet. And it even looked like her asthmatic vacuum cleaner had been run over the ragged carpet.
“You cleaned!” Megan was almost taken aback. She should have been overjoyed at having a free and much needed house-cleaning, but instead felt slightly annoyed. This was her space. These were
her
things, her books which had been lying right where she’d put them for a specific reason. Besides which, it was kind of embarrassing that a guy who until last week lived in abandoned buildings found her home too messy to bear.
“Yeah. I picked up a little. Would’ve done it sooner, but I wasn’t sure you wanted me messing with your stuff.” He seemed to catch her ambivalent vibe. “Is that okay?”
“Oh, of course. Thank you. I’m just surprised. I don’t generally think of teenagers as being neat.”
He shrugged. “Where I grew up, if I didn’t keep things clean, no one did.”
She followed him into the kitchen and found the table set for two and the smell of garlic even stronger. “Wow, looks like you taught yourself to cook, too.”
Together they brought the food and beverages to the table. Megan would usually have had wine with her meal to unwind after her long day, but she thought she should set a better example for Sean, so she poured them both glasses of milk.
Sean’s spaghetti was delicious and, although he swore he hadn’t done anything but boil pasta and open a jar of sauce, it tasted like he’d raided Megan’s seldom-used spice rack and created a culinary masterpiece. Or maybe she was just ravenous, since she hadn’t eaten anything except half of Cynthia’s sub for lunch.
“What’d you do at work today?” Sean asked.
“Proofreading, gossiping with my co-workers, the usual.” She hesitated before sharing the news of her assignment. “A few days ago,
Rossi told me I could cover a story on Saturday, something about a church group turning a vacant lot into a playground. Guess there was no one else who could go.“
“That’s great. It’s what you’ve been waiting for, right, an assignment? So what made him realize your writing talents are being wasted? Did he read your article?”
“Yes. He’s thinking about using it. He liked it, but said it needed some revision before it
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