“All right. Bye, Jill.”
“Bye.” Jill put the phone down and took her last sip of tea, enjoying the warmness it still provided.
Looks like I’ve got to do a little research today.
---------------
Brian lay in bed, tossing and turning. Having not slept well the night before, he wasn’t quite ready to get up. His dog, Buddy, also lay on the bed beside him, one reason he didn’t sleep as well as he would have liked. Still drifting in and out, he thought he could hear something downstairs.
Was that the phone?
He glanced at the old clock radio that rested on the night stand beside his bed. It was just after seven so he didn’t think anyone would have called that early. The more awake he became, however, he could occasionally hear his mom’s voice. Brian sat up in bed and pet Buddy’s back. He listened carefully to see if he could figure out who it was and what was being said. Being upstairs, though, he could only hear a word here and there.
But what he heard next came through clear as a bell. His mom distinctly said, “All right. Bye, Jill.”
Suddenly Brian was wide awake.
Quickly throwing on some pajama bottoms and a t-shirt, Brian hurried down the stairs to see if his ears had heard correctly. Elena was sitting by the phone with a book in one hand and fresh cup of coffee in the other.
“Good morning,” Brian said in a sleepy voice.
Elena turned her head and smiled at her son. “You’re up earlier than normal,” she said after taking a sip of her drink.
“I didn’t sleep that well.”
“Me either. It’s been a while since I’ve slept decently.”
Brian yawned, “Were you on the phone earlier?”
“Oh, yes.”
“Was it Jill?”
Elena put down her book and looked at Brian. “Yeah, why?”
“Well, what did she want?”
“Oh, she just wanted to see who I’d recommend to do a tune up on her furnace. That’s all.”
Brian perked up a little bit.
That would be a great way for me to get to talk with her!
“Well, what did you say? You told her I could do it, right?”
“Sorry, dear. I didn’t really recommend anyone at all.”
Ugh!
“Why not?” Brian loved his mom dearly but she was hurting any advances he felt he was making with Jill. He was starting to get frustrated, and it was showing.
“I don’t know. I figured you had enough stuff on your plate. Plus you know how she is. She probably wouldn’t want to bother you with something so minuscule anyway.”
Buddy finally made it down the stairs and laid down next to Elena’s feet. Of everyone in the room, he was the one in the best spirits.
Elena resumed reading, but Brian didn’t quite feel done with the conversation. However, it was way too early to argue any further. Instead, he thought about what his mom said and decided he would put himself out there on his own. If he wanted to get anywhere with Jill, find out her past and win her heart, he had to constantly be in contact with her.
Leaving the living room without saying another word, he got some coffee and started heading back to his room to get dressed.
He had an agenda that needed to get done sooner than later.
---------------
By mid-morning, Jill still found herself lounging around in her pajamas. The cloudy day it was turning out to be, paired with nowhere to go and nothing to do, made pajamas the perfect attire. She was now on her third cup of chai tea, and thought now was as good as any other time to begin looking through her phone book for a furnace expert.
What are they called anyway?
A knock at the door jolted her concentration.
Who could that be?
She didn’t want to answer the door still in her pajamas, but there was obviously no time to change. The sudden guest was unexpected and so Jill had to make the best of the situation. She made sure the robe was closed, and quickly checked to make sure her face and hair didn’t look as if she just got out of bed. Getting to the door, she turned the knob and slowly opened it.
She was definitely not prepared to see Brian.
The man in front of her looked cheerful and as if he had been awake for hours, numerous tasks already completed. She felt a little embarrassed to look as sloppy as she did.
“Brian, um, what are you doing here?” she asked, again checking her robe to make sure it was indeed closed.
“Someone told me you needed a furnace tune up, and if you’ll let me, I’d be more than happy to do it for you.”
“Oh, yeah, um, I was just going to call someone now actually.”
“Well, now you don’t have to,” Brian smiled. He lifted up some of the tools he brought over to showcase his preparedness.
Jill wasn’t sure, but didn’t want to be rude. Here he was, tools in hand, ready to go. It would definitely save her money and the time it would take to find someone.
“Here, come on in,” Jill welcomed a bit reluctantly. She moved out of the way so he could go inside.
Right away Brian scented a mixture of cinnamon, sugar and other warm spices. “Something smells really good in here,” he commented.
Jill wasn’t quite sure at first what he was referring to, but then remembered the tea. “Oh, it’s just chai tea. Have you had that before?”
“No, but it smells awfully good.”
The least she could do was offer him some seeing as he was going to take care of her furnace.
“Sure! If you don’t mind.”
Brian eyed her as she prepared his tea. Her walls were back up, something he had anticipated. But the look of her fresh out of bed was still pleasing to the eye. If that’s what he got to wake up to every morning, he’d count himself lucky.
“Is there anything else I can get for you?” Jill asked, handing the tea to Brian.
“No, this’ll be good.” He took a whiff of the spices the tea steamed into the air and knew his taste buds were going to enjoy it. “Mmm, that is so good. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Brian tried to think of something to say to clear the air between the two of them. He figured if he could strike up small talk that she might let her guard down a little bit. “Buddy really likes the bones by the way. I think we managed to save maybe one or two.”
He chuckled a little bit as he pictured his dog begging for more treats. However, Jill didn’t respond much. Brian could tell he was going to have his work cut out for him. After taking a bigger gulp of the tea, he asked Jill about the weather, if she liked the cold or not.
“I don’t mind it. I like what each season has to offer. I think the snow is so pretty.”
For the first time since yesterday in his mom’s room, there was a sparkle in her eye. He was so glad to see its return. It told him she was perhaps passionate about snow and all that came with the winter season.
Or that she was in fact warming up to him a little.
Maybe both.
Jill continued, “That’s why I wanted to get my furnace checked. I do that every year before a major snowfall.”
“That’s actually very smart. Especially living by yourself.”
Brian caught a glimpse at a small smile that formed on Jill’s face. His words were obviously taken as a compliment that made her feel good, which in turn made him feel good.
Progress made, he thought happily within.
The chai tea now gone, Brian gave Jill her mug back. “And speaking of your furnace, where is it?”
“Sure. Just go down the stairs and go through the bi-fold door on the right,” Jill directed.
“Great. It won’t take long. I promise.” Brian headed down the stairs to begin working.
His genuine, sweet smile he left behind made Jill’s heart flip. He was so willing to give of himself to help, something she admired about him.
She began to feel bad for leaving Elena’s house the night before the way she did. She never should have
let something Elena said be taken so seriously. And Brian looking past that and still being willing to help her made her feel even worse.
I was so childish and Brian doesn’t deserve that. I’ll have to make it up to him somehow.
Jill figured she might as well get dressed, but first wanted to check on Brian.
“Are you good?” she shouted down the stairs.
“Yes, ma’am!”
“Okay. I’m going to go get dressed. I’ll be back in just a minute.”
“Sounds good!”
---------------
Brian wished Jill never told him she was going to get dressed. Now all he could think about was Jill dressing herself.
Come on, Brian. Focus!
Yet despite his personal demands, focusing was proving to be hard. He continuously portrayed images of Jill in his mind, some of which made his pulse rise and body heat up.
Slowly Brian got one thing done. Then another.
He forgot to bring a new furnace filter over so he quickly went back to his mom’s house to grab it. Getting back, he put the new filter in and completed the remaining checks. “That should do it,” Brian spoke softly. He stood back up and made his way up the stairs.
Jill was nowhere to be found so he slowly wandered over to the living room, anticipating her return. He figured she must still be getting ready, although a half hour or so seemed like quite an extreme amount of time to change one’s clothes.
Then the sound of footfalls echoed down the staircase.
She turned the corner and Brian noticed her hair had now been put up in a loose bun, which went well with the leggings and colorful sweater dress she changed into. Brian appreciated the bright colors. It was better than all the dark he saw people wear in the fall and winter months.
He noticed she had splashed a bit of makeup on her face, something she absolutely didn’t need in Brian’s opinion. Either way, though, she looked casual yet stunning.
“You should be all set,” Brian smiled proudly.
Jill appeared distracted, as if she lost something and was on the hunt for it. However, once she heard Brian’s news she turned to him. “That’s it? That didn’t take very long.”
“Yeah, that’s it. I checked everything over, gave you a new filter and even cleaned up after myself,” he beamed.
“Oh, really?” she responded with a raised eyebrow. She knew that he was just being a little cocky again, but she liked that he was good at and proud of the work he did.
Immediately she went back to searching.
“Are you looking for something?” Brian asked curiously.
“Yeah, my cat,” she answered shortly, getting down on her hands and knees to look under the couch.
“Cat?” Brian questioned, confused.
Brian had absolutely no idea she had a pet, but then again, she didn’t know that about him either. He felt the dog was more understandable, though, because he wasn’t around whereas the cat’s always been here and not once has he seen it or has Jill mentioned it.
Flashbacks of some childhood memories that included a cat began running through his mind, the best ones leaving a smile. Cats were his favorite animal, and he missed having them around. However, his dog, Buddy, was more than enough for now, and he wouldn’t trade him for the world.
“My cat, yes.” Jill moved over to the TV so she could take a look back there.
When Brian hadn’t said a word in a while, Jill asked, “Well, have you seen him?”
“Um, no. I didn’t even know you had a cat.”
“Well, I do.”
Brian could tell she was really distraught. “How do you even know it’s missing?”
“It’s a he, and because he didn’t come running when I got out his soft food. I started looking for him and now I can’t find him.” She definitely seemed annoyed that Brian asked in the first place.
Looking up at Brian, she pleaded for his help.
“Yeah, of course. What does he look like?”
Jill described the cat as a bigger-than-average one with a mixture of black, orange and white fur. “And his name is Marble,” she concluded.
“All right. Where do you want me to go and look?”
“How about you go downstairs while I quick recheck around here?”
Brian headed back towards the basement, hoping one of them would find Marble. “Here, kitty, kitty, kitty,” Brian called out, glancing around the basement.
His first area was the utility room where he just spent the last half hour. He was pretty certain the cat wasn’t there because, no matter how distracted he might have been thinking of Jill, a cat would have definitely been noticed.
“Marble! Here, kitty!”
Brian heard similar summoning from Jill on the floor above as well. Both of them were having no luck.
After the utility room, Brian went to the other room in the basement, one that apparently wasn’t used for anything. Flipping on the lights quickly revealed nothing was hiding in there.
Marble was not in the basement.
Suddenly a light bulb went on in Brian’s head.
Oh, shoot!
Realizing what he did, and where Marble might actually be, he sighed in disgust.
Brian ran up the stairs to find Jill to deliver the news. The sooner she knew, the sooner they could work together to get him.
“Jill? Jill, where are you?” he called out on the way up.
“What?” Her voice was coming from one of the bedrooms off of the hallway next to the living room.
As soon as Brian got through the kitchen, Jill was there in front of him.
“What?” she repeated. With hope she asked, “Did you find him?”
“No,” Brian began. He sighed and put his hands up as he continued, “Please don’t be mad at me…”
Oh, no, I don’t like where this is going! Jill feared.
Brian noticed Jill’s eyes suddenly look dismayed, but he kept on.
“But I think I know where Marble might be.”
“Where?” she desperately wanted to know.
“You see, I forgot to bring a new furnace filter over here when I started working so when it was time to put a new one in I quick went next door to grab it.” Scared of how Jill would react to the next part he flinched, “And I might have left the door open.”
“Brian, you didn’t!” Jill shouted frustratingly.
“I’m so sorry, but I’ll help you get him back.”
“You better!”
As both of them rushed to the side door, Brian couldn’t stop thinking about how he had let Jill down. He felt for sure that any ground he had gained with her was lost.
The first view they had out the door revealed no cat lingering around the house. However, they heard a dog barking consistently as if wanting something.
Buddy!
Immediately Brian grabbed Jill’s hand, leading her to where he was certain Marble was. “This way,” he stated.
Right between Jill’s and Elena’s houses in the back yard stood a tall, mature tree that housed only a few remaining leaves. Buddy was at the bottom looking up. As Brian followed his dog’s gaze, there was the large cat.
Taking her hand back, Jill said, “Great! How are we supposed to get him down?”
This wasn’t the first time Brian has had to get a cat out of a tree. Growing up, there was one cat that always tried sneaking out of the house. One time he actually did, and he was found in the tree in about the same position as Marble was in.
“Don’t worry. I’ll get him down. I’ve done it before.”
“Is there anything I can do?” she asked.
“Do you have any cat treats?”
“Yeah.”
“Go get them. I’ll climb up there, but hopefully those treats will entice him to want to come back down.”
Jill listened to Brian’s orders and went inside to grab some treats.
Meanwhile, Brian grabbed Buddy by the collar and brought him back in the house.
“Mom?” he began shouti
ng. “Buddy can’t be outside right now!” He took a mental note to remind his mom that while Buddy was here he would need to be on a leash.
A major threat out of the way, the next step was to get a ladder. Brian opened the garage and grabbed the tallest one. By the time he got it set up, Jill had made her way back out of the house.
Shaking the bottle of treats, she called, “Here, Marble! I’ve got a treat for you.”
“Good. Just keep doing that,” he instructed.
Brian made sure the ladder was securely in place before making the climb. One thing he was grateful for was the time of year it was. Less leaves made Marble easier to find and there were far less obstructions.
At one point Brian about lost his footing, but quickly regained composure. All the while Jill anxiously watched everything take place.
Marble meowed on and off again the closer Brian got. It sounded like a mix between a cry for help and a sound of distrust. As long as the cat didn’t bite Brian or fight with him to get him down, he didn’t care what sounds reverberated from the cat’s mouth.
Brian noticed the cat move a little further away so he realized he would have to get on the branch itself to grab him. He sat down and silently hoped the branch would hold his weight as he maneuvered forward.
“Careful, Brian!” Jill cautioned.
It’s nice to know she cares, Brian thought.
The cat dared go no further as Brian slowly inched closer.
“Come here, Marble,” Brian spoke softly and tenderly.
He leaned further with arms stretched out and gently picked the cat up to himself.
“You got him!” Jill cheered.
Before making his trek back, however, Brian made sure he had a firm grip on Marble. Moving back on the branch was a bit tough, but he just went slow and steady. Eventually he found himself back by his ladder where he took a few moments to contemplate how he wanted to get back on without losing the cat.
Gingerly stepping down, Brian noticed Jill’s anxious yet excited demeanor. Every step closer to her made her smile bigger and bigger, which in turn made Brian happier and happier.
Finally, the two of them were back on the ground safe and sound. Jill ran over to them, grabbing her cat.
Next Door Neighbors Page 9