by Tri Amutia
"Abby, let's go."
I heard Joshua call to me and I rose from my swing, still clutching the sunflower. He looked at the flower in my hand as I reached him.
"Where did you get that?"
I grinned. "It's from Joshua."
He raised his eyebrows. "I left you alone for fifteen minutes and you already received a flower from another Joshua?" He shook his head and grinned mischievously. "I really should marry you soon."
I chuckled.
Joshua held my hand as we walked to his car. I gave a quick glance at the apartment building and prayed that everything will be fine.
Chapter 11
The Communication and the Move In
Joshua drove me home after we ate lunch. He said he had a night shift; therefore he could come over to the new apartment tomorrow and start moving some of his stuff in.
I checked my new laptop and tried some office and entertainment applications, including the wi-fi. It was nice and compatible with my already loaded work schedule. I put my laptop on the desk in my bedroom and continued to clean my apartment. I also finished my laundry and decided to begin folding my dry clothes. I then ironed my work outfits and managed to finish by the time it turned dark outside.
Saturday night and I was alone. Not that I minded, Joshua left his DVDs for me to watch. After cooking my simple dinner and taking a warm shower, I curled up on the couch with my mug of hot chocolate. I decided to watch The Bourne Trilogy and then Quantum of Solace. My BlackBerry vibrated when I was finished with The Bourne Trilogy and was about to insert Quantum of Solace in the DVD player. I put the DVD down and looked at the caller ID.
Stella.
"Happy Saturday Night, Ms. Miller," I greeted her, grinning.
She made a gag sound at my attempt at sounding enthusiastic. "You sound like my operator in my office's lobby. How are you, girl?"
I grinned and flopped back onto the couch. "Fine, I'm watching DVDs right now. How are you and Evan?"
"Huh? Where's Joshua? I'm waiting for Evan right now. We're going to go to a nice restaurant for dinner."
"He has a night shift at the hospital, so he can take a day off tomorrow. He said he wanted to start moving into our new apartment. Dinner, huh? Sounds nice."
Stella scoffed. "Please...it's the best thing we can do here with all this traffic jam." And then she paused and seemed to remember something. "Wow. Moving in? He's serious, isn't he?"
I shrugged. "Yeah."
"So, how's the apartment?"
I sighed and played with a strand of my hair. "It's nice. Two bedrooms, one bathroom, a nice living room, a beautiful dining room, and a gorgeous kitchen. Our neighbors seem nice, too."
"Well, that's good. Did you talk to Joshua about your schedule?"
"Yup. And he’s insisting on helping me move in." I rolled my eyes.
Stella giggled. "He's a determined man and has a strong will; that's nice. So, how are things with him so far?"
I blushed, remembering our kiss from yesterday. "Um...we're doing fine. We're trying to communicate better."
"Oh, please." I swear I could sense Stella rolling her eyes. "That is not what I'm asking, Abby."
I sighed and rubbed my temple. "I don't know, Stella. I never felt like this before. It's confusing."
Stella laughed. "So, you're in love with him?"
I pondered her statement. "No. Not yet, anyway."
"Did you ever call him back or text him just to ask what he's doing?"
What? I raised my eyebrows. "That's cheesy, Stella. We're not in high school anymore."
Stella sighed. "Like it or not, it's another way to communicate. Trust me! You both need two way communications, not just one side."
I exhaled. "I can't believe you are asking me to do that."
"Don't you want to make this relationship work?"
Her question caught me off guard. Did I? Did I really want to have a relationship with Joshua with so many uncertainties upon us? But, I knew something. I already felt attached to him, not as a future husband yet, but still that attachment was there and that feeling scared me.
"Abby?"
I sighed, feeling defeated. "Yes."
She chuckled. "Just try, Abby." And then I heard a sound of a door being opened from the other line. "Sorry, Abby. Evan is here. Have a nice night."
I grinned. "Say hi to Evan for me, Ok. Have a nice dinner, Stella. Bye."
"Bye."
I pressed the end button and tossed my phone onto the table. I grabbed the DVD player's remote and pressed play. I watched the movie, thinking about Josh. I was positive that James Bond's car was similar to Joshua's. I looked at the clock when the movie finished and it showed that it was near midnight.
Odd!
I didn't feel like I wanted to sleep. I took my phone and fingered the number buttons. I remembered what Stella said about the two way communication. I sighed and opened the call list. I scrolled down and pressed the call button on Joshua's name. I drummed my fingers on the couch as it rang more than ten times and then went off. I furrowed my eyebrows. He didn't answer. I pressed the end button and leaned back into the couch. I sighed and ran my hands through my hair. I knew it wasn’t a good idea. He would probably be busy with his patients or some flirtatious nurse.
With a huff, I rose from my seat and cleaned up the mess from my movie night. I walked to my bedroom and prepared to go to sleep. After brushing my teeth and washing my face, I curled up under the blankets. Sleep took over not too long after I settled onto my pillow.
I didn't know how long I've been sleeping when my BlackBerry vibrated on my night stand. I squinted my eyes only to see it was still dark outside. I sleepily reached for my phone and pressed the answer button.
"Hello?" I answered, sleepily.
"Abby?"
I opened my eyes. "Joshua?" I sat on my bed. "What's wrong?"
He chuckled. "I'm the one who should be asking you that, Abby. I'm sorry, I couldn't answer my phone when you called. I was in the ER."
I yawned. "That's alright. I just wanted to know how you're doing."
He sighed. "Well, that's good. You nearly gave me a heart attack when I saw a missed call from you. You should go back to sleep. I'm sorry for calling you at five this morning."
I raised my eyebrows. "It's five?"
He chuckled, again. "Go back to sleep. I'll pick you up for lunch. My shift is over in ten minutes. Sleep well, Abby. I love you."
"Ok, be careful when you drive home, Joshua. Bye."
"I will, Abby. Bye, love."
And then he hung up. I looked at my phone for a moment and an involuntary grin spread across my face. Somehow I felt happier after Joshua called me. I curled back up, under my blankets with a smile. I should thank Stella in the morning.
~O~
I woke up at eight in the morning. I decided to pack some of my stuff. Honestly, I still wasn’t sure about this living arrangement. But, I knew both of our parents will force me to do that, nonetheless. I really didn't have a choice.
I brushed my teeth, washed my face, and ate a bowl of cereal before I bothered to start packing. I packed some of my kitchen appliances, my personal belongings, and my books, and DVDs. I labeled all of the boxes and put them in the corner of the living room. I was finished by the time I glanced at the clock. It was already eleven thirty. Wow, packing really killed time. I took a quick shower and changed my clothes before Joshua came to pick me up.
I was in the middle of listing my stuff in a note when I heard a soft knock on my door. I opened it and saw Joshua in his jeans and black long-sleeved shirt. My heart did a little flip when I saw his smile. He looked fresh, although he couldn’t have had much sleep, because of the night shift at the hospital.
"Hello, dear," he greeted me and kissed my forehead. "How was your sleep? I'm sorry for waking you up first thing this morning."
I shook my head and smiled weakly. "It's ok, really. I had enough sleep last night." Mostly because I was happy he called back. Wait! Was it beca
use he called me back?
He nodded and looked over my note curiously. "What are you doing? I thought you went to the grocery store yesterday."
I chuckled and waved my note. "Yes, I did. This is a list of my stuff and a little reminder for me before I packed."
Joshua popped his head in my door and saw the boxes in the corner of the room.
He grinned. "It appears you already packed. Do you want to move those boxes now?"
I shrugged. "Of course, why not? And how about you?"
"Just a couple of small things. I already made arrangements with a moving company for this Thursday. I can call them for you too, you know."
I grimaced. "I'll think about it later, alright."
Joshua nodded and began to carry my boxes to his car. He wouldn't allow me to carry any of the boxes which made me roll my eyes. If he only knew how I carried all those boxes from my kitchen and my room to the living room. His car's back seat was already full with his boxes. He opened the trunk and I could see a space there enough for my boxes, but it would be a tight fit.
"You seem to know I'll carry some of my stuff today. I thought you can't read me," I said to him when he arranged my boxes in his trunk.
He smirked. "I just happen to know you better, Abby."
I rolled my eyes. Yeah, right!
We ate lunch at a cozy cafe before we headed to the apartment. We met with the landlord and Joshua paid the down payment. The landlord was a woman in her forties, smiled to both of us when she gave us our keys. I rolled my eyes and walked to my - I mean - our room. Joshua returned to his car to carry the boxes despite my protests. Our room was on the first floor. I opened the door and looked over the empty room. I walked inside and looked around. This room was 150% bigger than mine and smaller than Joshua’s. I guess its a perfect fit. I opened the two bedroom doors and started to pick which room to choose when Joshua walked into the room with a box. He put the box on the floor and smiled when he saw me standing in the hall between the two bedrooms.
"So, have you already chosen your room?"
I grimaced. "I can't decide. They are the same size and I love the views." One bedroom's view was the playground while the other's was the small park next to the apartment building.
Joshua walked over to me and stood beside me in the hallway. He looked over the two bedrooms. "I think this will be my room." He chose the one with the view of the playground.
Well, that didn't surprise me. He said he loved children.
I chuckled. "Deal!"
We continued to carry the boxes…well, Joshua was the one who carried the boxes while I arranged them in the rooms. I separated the boxes into the kitchen and our rooms. When the last box arrived, Joshua also brought two cans of soft drinks and some snacks. He was a good man.
We enjoyed our drinks and snacks before we headed home. Joshua drove me back to my apartment when the day turned dark. This time I let him walk me to my door.
"Thank you for helping me today," I said to him when we stood in front of my door.
He smiled. "No problem, Abby. I'll call the moving company and arrange an appointment for you. When is a good time for you?"
I grimaced. "I'm afraid I only have Saturday and Sunday free. I have a book launching invitation for next week."
Joshua seemed to think for a minute. "That's fine. I'll reschedule my shift at the hospital."
My eyes widened. "Oh, you really sh-"
"No, Abby. I've heard enough of that. I want to help you," He said, sternly.
I sighed. "Alright."
He nodded and kissed me gently. "I'll call you later, dear."
I looked into his eyes and nodded dumbly.
He smiled and turned and walked to the elevator when suddenly an idea popped into my head.
"Wait!"
Joshua turned and looked at me immediately. "Yes?"
Suddenly, I felt nervous. I never did this to a man before. I could feel my heart thump loudly in my chest.
"Um...if you're not busy...in the next two weeks...would you like to...go with me..to...the book launching?"
He raised his eyebrows. I bit my lip and prepared for his rejection. I guess it'd serve me right if he did reject me. I swallowed hard.
Joshua grinned and his eyes glinted with humor. I frowned. I didn't like it when he had that expression on his face. "Are you asking me on a date, Miss Bennett?"
Right! I really didn't like it at all. I blushed. "Um...no. I was just asking you to go with me." I could feel my face flush. Please, just answer it and leave me alone with my embarrassment!
He chuckled and walked over to me. He kissed my forehead and cupped my face. "I would love to go with you, Abby. Thank you for asking me."
I couldn't believe what I just heard. "Really?" My face must have looked like a child’s on Christmas day.
Joshua laughed and kissed me one more time. "Of course, dear. I'll never say no to you. Now, have a good sleep tonight. You'll have a busy day tomorrow."
I sighed. "Not just tomorrow. This is my busy week."
He smiled and kissed my hair. "That's why you need your rest. I'll call you later, ok?"
I smiled and nodded.
Joshua stroked my hair for the last time, before he walked to the elevator. I opened my door and walked in. I shut and leaned against the door. I smiled involuntarily. There was no doubt, I was beginning to like Joshua Walsh.
~O~
The week was more hectic than I expected.
English was not my author’s first language, so it took more time to edit. She had an amazing story, but I had to work very hard to fix her grammar and vocabulary. I was grateful that I’d bought a laptop last week, so I didn't have to stay late at the office. I was positive the book would be a best seller once it was released and I'd make sure to attend the launch even with Joshua.
Every time I thought about him or whenever I read or heard the word 'Joshua', I could feel my cheeks go flush, my heart would do some erratic rhythm, or my blood would run faster in my veins. Sometimes I had to go to the pantry and make myself a cup of coffee or tea just to tame my mood. I was beginning to get lovesick and honestly, it was making me uncomfortable.
I couldn't forget all of my memories about Joshua when we were in high school, though.
Somehow, I feared he would return to his old self and I would end up heartbroken. I had read a lot of stories about people who had been heartbroken and I didn't think I'd be able to handle that.
Snap out of it, Abby! They were just stories. Joshua loves you, my conscience told me.
Huh, thank you!
I started to call or text him, just asking how he's doing and Joshua seemed happy whenever he answered my phone call or replied to my text messages. Slowly but surely, we were beginning to understand each other better.
Joshua called me on Thursday when I was walking to an Italian restaurant to order my lunch. He told me he already moved all of his things into the apartment and he’d begun unpacking. He promised to help me during the weekend. I had already put more of my stuff into more boxes. I had only left some of my work clothes, my casual clothes, and my sleep clothes out until Saturday. I was glad I had got the laptop, because I had more time for myself and my last minute things at my current apartment. If the moving company arrived at my place, they would only have to carry my heavier stuff and the boxes.
Saturday morning came and I was already awake when the time on the clock showed seven fifteen. Joshua and the moving company were meant to be arriving at eight. I buzzed around my apartment for a final check. A sad feeling crept into my heart. This was my first apartment and it has been my witness when I first moved to Seattle, when I got home my first day of work, and when I got home from my first disappointing date. This place wasn't great, but it was cozy enough for me. I liked the landlord and my neighbors, although I didn't see them very often.
A soft knock cut my daydream and I looked over at the clock.
Eight A.M.
Always the punctual one.
I composed my face and opened the door. I saw Joshua and three other men standing in front of me. Joshua smiled at me.
"Morning, dear. They are the guys from the moving company. They'll be helping us move today."
I smiled and nodded to the guys. "Hello. Thank you for helping me today."
One of the guys smiled and nodded. "It's our pleasure, ma’am."