Chapter 16
“The universe is expanding, which explains why my jeans are too.”
—It’s science
Iris
What a busy day.
It started off fantastic with me making out with Hector and him asking me out on a date—yes, please!
Soon after, it shot off into nonstop busy with me racing to get changed into my work clothes and off to the office and then trying to get all my work done before my sister showed up.
The only problem was everything derailed when I got to work. Apparently, Agent Andrews had called my boss this morning to inform him about the break-in to my apartment and that they weren’t entirely sure it was random, which meant they wanted to make sure our building took extra precautions.
I walked into the main room with six people all standing around as our boss explained the details of our new security measures for everyone. Then, all eyes turned to me.
“You were robbed?” Leah shrieked.
“Technically, they never stole anything,” I tried to explain, but Christine cut me off.
“More importantly, why didn’t you call me?” Christine asked, looking offended. “You could have stayed with me.”
“You were working overnights,” I said, trying to justify my reasoning, even though I knew it was a weak excuse.
“No disrespect, but can you really blame her for picking Hector over you?” Calvin chimed in.
“Yes. Yes, I can,” Christine answered, still upset.
I tried to soothe things over by giving them the details of what had happened, though it appeared our boss, Stan, had already filled them in on most of the important factors.
Hector had asked—well, ordered—me to tell Stan so that he could be sure someone kept an extra close eye on the security cameras at our office.
“So, you spent multiple nights with Hector the Convector, eh?” Calvin asked, raising his eyebrows up and down suggestively.
Before I could answer though, Stan cut in. “Alright, you got the important info, now get back to work and leave her alone.”
Everyone nodded and became fudgels—people who pretended to work but instead got absolutely nothing done—for the few minutes it took him to get out of sight. Once our boss had retreated back to his office, they all swooped back in like vultures.
“Where did you sleep?” Calvin asked.
“Did your clothes happen to fall off randomly at any point in time while you were staying with him?” Christine inquired.
“A lady never kisses and tells,” Leah added. “Unless you want to, in which case I am all here for it.”
I laughed at all three of them.
“I slept in his guest room. No, my clothes never accidentally fell off in front of him, but…” I paused for dramatic effect. “I do have a date with him tomorrow night.”
Leah squealed, Christine clapped, and Calvin tilted his head to the side as if he were thinking very deeply about something.
“Where is he taking you?” he asked.
“Umm…I don’t know. He hasn’t told me yet,” I responded. “Why?”
“Because I think Leah, Christine, and I are due for a friends’ dinner tomorrow,” Calvin said. “And if it just happens to be at the same place…how convenient!”
“No way,” I told them all, shaking my head.
I was not going to let them intrude on what I had hoped would be my last first date. I decided at that moment that even if Hector did text me to tell me where we were going, I would guard that secret with my life.
I decided to change the subject and move on.
“Cora is coming here later today, by the way,” I told them, filling them in on the project she was working on.
Thankfully, that pivot worked, and everyone seemed to let go of the topic of Hector—for now.
Apparently, Cora’s project down at the bridge ran late, so by the time she was able to meet up, I had already finished for the day, so I just picked her up since it wasn’t too far.
I was nervous about having the conversation with her about what had gone down at my apartment, especially since my coworkers had mildly flipped out.
Thankfully, I was spared during the car ride back to my apartment because Cora’s supervisor called, trying to arrange for some testing to be done tomorrow where her new equipment was placed.
After we got back to my place, Cora went to take a shower to wash off all the river junk on her body while I changed into comfier clothes and ordered us some takeout from the Italian place down the street. Girls’ night tonight was going to be full of deep conversations, so I needed carbs and wine.
Cora came out of the bathroom just as the food was delivered.
“Oh my God, that smells incredible,” Cora said, practically drooling as she walked into my small kitchen. “No need to be fancy with plates. I’m good to eat right out of this container.”
“Good, cause I wasn’t gonna give you one anyway,” I teased, handing her a fork, a food container, and the glass of wine I’d poured for her.
We sat at my tiny little table for two just next to the kitchen. It was an epic secondhand find from when I first moved here, with wooden chairs that had a navy-blue stain. They were brushed to look old, but the set probably was only ten years old.
The small table matched and had a half circle that folded up or down on the side, depending on whether you needed more space. Tonight, we propped that semi-circle up so we could spread our food out and share it.
“Okay, girl,” Cora said, scooping up a big bite of ravioli. “Start with the dead body and work your way up to staying with a man the past two days, since I have a feeling there is a lot in between those events that I am missing.”
Here went nothing.
I started with everything that had happened at Lake Echo, including meeting Hector there. Cora knew a little bit about Hector, having met him at Anna’s wedding last year. Then I told her about the letter from Steve.
“Three days ago, I came home from work to find someone had broken into my apartment,” I said, trying to tread carefully.
As soon as the words were out of my mouth, hers fell open, along with the pasta that had been inside. Her mouth still wide open, she turned her head slowly as if to scan the room behind her.
Using her fork to point toward my living room behind her, she finally spoke. “Someone broke in here? What did they steal? Was there much damage? Did you call the cops?”
Her rapid-fire questions didn’t give me much of a chance to interrupt, but eventually I broke in. “Yes, someone broke in. I don’t know if they stole anything or not. There wasn’t really any damage to speak of. And yes, I called the cops.”
She started to talk again, but I held up my hand to get her to pause. “Let me finish.”
I gave her all the details of what had happened at my apartment and told her that I had also called Hector, since not only had he been a former cop, but there was a chance it was related to the body.
I also mentioned how the cops had recommended I not stay at my apartment that first night, which was how I ended up staying with Hector.
“Which reminds me, do you mind if I stop by next door after dinner for a minute or two and talk with Nancy? She was here through all of it, and I wanted to give her an update and thank her in person. I brought her some leftover pumpkin spice pancakes.”
“Yes, of course. Oh, my God, I love her,” Cora said.
She had come over a few times with me to play cards and games at Nancy’s apartment and loved her just as much as I did.
As if he knew we were already discussing him, my phone buzzed with a new text. Seeing Hector’s name pop up put a smile on my face.
“Either you just found out you won the lottery, or I’m guessing Hector just texted you,” she said, sing-songing his name as she prodded for info.
I looked down to read the text, seeing the photo of my needlework and crochet supplies.
I tried to flirt a little with my response when he mentioned me forgetting my needlepoint supplies, but I also couldn’t help the beaming smile that overtook my face as I thought about tomorrow night.
“Yep, definitely Hector putting that disgustingly dreamy smile all over your face,” Cora teased.
She sighed loudly and slapped her hands on the table.
“Alright, if I eat any more, I’m going to burst. Let’s go say hi to Nancy, and then we can come back and sit on the couch.
I need to unbutton my pants and let my stomach expand while you tell me all about this hot man you stayed with the last few days. ”
I grinned, feeling the exact same way. We packed the leftovers up and put them in the fridge, and I grabbed the container full of pancakes before we made our way over to Nancy’s.
Cocoa’s incessant barking greeted us as soon as we knocked, followed by Nancy’s big smile as she opened the door.
“Two O’Hara sisters at once. It must be my lucky day,” she greeted and ushered us in.
She offered us food as usual, but we told her we would explode if we ate anything, so we opted for some decaf coffee she had already brewed.
“I saw Richard over there fixing your door locks the other day. Did he get everything else good over there?” Nancy asked about our maintenance man.
“Yeah, it’s all good,” I responded.
“I also couldn’t help but notice tonight’ll be the first night you’ve been back to sleep here,” Nancy mentioned with a sly grin on her face.
“Yeah, I stayed a few extra nights with Hector. Mostly because he wouldn’t let me stay until the door was fixed, and Richard had a slight delay with that, and also, because it was his birthday, so I stayed to celebrate with him.”
“And how old is that handsome man?” Nancy pried.
“He just turned forty,” I replied.
“So, he’s…ten years older,” Cora said, doing the math out loud.
“That’s a good thing, honey,” Nancy said. “Men don’t mature as fast as women, so it’s best to get them a few years older when they are easier to whip into shape.”
I chuckled at her reasoning, especially with a man like Hector, who I imagined wouldn’t let anyone other than himself decide what he did.
“Do you have any pictures of him?” Cora asked. “I wanna know what he looks like.”