11. Theresa
“Surprise!” Emily, her one and only friend, stood in Theresa’s doorway late Saturday morning. “Traffic was a beast, but I brought donuts to make it up to you.” She held up a box of donuts, the sugary scent making Theresa’s stomach growl, before setting it down on the nearest counter and wrapping her arms around Theresa in a hug.
Theresa stiffened for a moment, then hugged her back. Because that’s what friends did, right? Hug when they saw each other after weeks apart? It felt weird. She still wasn’t used to having a friend like Emily and didn’t know why Emily wanted to be her friend in the first place, but that’s what they were now. Friends.
It didn’t start out that way. Theresa met Emily soon after she switched departments at the hospital where she worked as a nurse. She’d never lasted that long in any department at the hospital, but luckily, they didn’t fire her because she was a talented nurse. But that didn’t mean she wanted to work in the hospice department. For some reason, Emily, a social worker, decided to help her adjust to the new department and became her friend in the process. Even after Emily moved a few hours away to live closer to her boyfriend, they still remained friends. It was weird but really nice.
After Emily insisted that Theresa return to the couch and elevate her leg, they settled in for the first K-Drama of the afternoon. The ultra-rich man just mistook a woman for his high-school nemesis when a loud banging tore Theresa’s attention from the screen.
Emily paused the show and looked at Theresa. “Should I answer the door?”
“No.” Theresa didn”t need to open the door to know who was there. She expected him to come knocking after she”d hobbled out of the apartment and left the borrowed iPad and enough cash to cover the cost of all the food he”d provided for the last week in a box at his doorstep.
From the sounds of it, he didn”t appreciate the gesture.
Once the knocking stopped, Theresa grabbed the remote from Emily”s hand, pressing play and turning up the volume.
Derek came to her door two more times that afternoon, knocking and walking away after a few minutes.
It was better this way. A clean break from whatever was happening between them. He might not appreciate her manners now, but she knew letting him continue to get close to her would be a mistake. For both of them.
Theresa and Emily settled in for the last movie of their marathon movie day that evening. The sun had set long ago, and the small living room lamps cast shadows on the wall.
Finally, after hours of buildup and tension, the man in the movie was about to kiss the woman. What should have been a romantic moment was ruined by a loud bass drum beat coming from the other side of the living room wall.
“I”m going to kill him,” Theresa muttered through gritted teeth.
“Is that the same neighbor you refused to talk to today?”
“It”s not refusing to talk to someone if there”s no reason to talk to them at all.”
“Ugh, Theresa. I”ve tried to mind my own business, but you have to tell me. What”s going on?”
“He”s a nosy neighbor who can”t take a hint.”
“The nosy neighbor who took care of you for the past few days and risked his own safety by driving downtown in the middle of the night to pick you up from some abandoned alley before anyone had the chance to rob you or worse?”
It sounded bad when Emily described it like that. “He didn”t have to do any of that. I would have been fine on my own.”
“But you did ask him for help, and he did show up.”
“And now he can stop. I repaid all the money he spent and returned the iPad.”
Emily shook her head. “I don”t understand you. I”m trying, but I don”t.”
“There”s nothing to understand. I don”t like owing anyone anything. And now I don”t owe him anything.”
“I doubt he did it because he wanted you to owe him something. He could just be a nice guy.”
Nice people didn’t exist. Emily wouldn”t say that type of thing if she”d lived the life Theresa had.
“Ignore me all you want, but it”s true. And what if he likes you? Would that be the worst thing?”
“He’d be stupid to like me.” No one stuck around her once they learned who she really was, and who her family really was. She hadn’t told Emily about her family which is why they stayed friends. Plus, he wasn”t rich enough to solve her problems. Maybe if she didn’t have the burden of her family, she could give a guy like Derek a chance. She could give in to her interest in him. But she didn’t have that choice.
“I’m sorry did you say ‘stupid to like me’? Are you kidding me? You are a great catch. You’re beautiful and smart and independent. Perhaps too independent, but still you are a great person.”
“That’s nice of you to say, but you don’t know everything about me. I’m not a good person.”
“The person I know is a great person and I don’t care what else there is to know about you. I’ve worked with you and seen how you interact with those patients on the hospice ward. I’ve never seen anyone care so much.”
Theresa felt a tear start to form in her left eye. She did not want to cry in front of Emily, her only friend. “Well, I don”t know about you, but I”m tired. Maybe we should give up on watching this movie and go to bed instead.”
While they talked, the noise had steadily increased in volume so that it would be difficult to hear the movie.
But no one was going to kick Theresa out of her own living room by being a noisy nuisance of a neighbor.
“I”ll handle this.” Theresa picked up her phone from the side table and dialed Kirk”s cell phone. The police officer wasn’t exactly a friend but closer to her than most people. He was the officer who initially ran the search for her mother and sister when they”d first disappeared years ago. More recently, he”d been trying to track down her mother for a possible connection to a theft. He also volunteered at the soup kitchen often, both as security and as a server.
His call went straight to voicemail. Theresa didn”t leave a message. He never let his phone go straight to voicemail unless he was off duty.
“Who were you calling? The neighbor?”
“His name is Derek, and no, I didn”t call him. I tried calling the police.”
“The police? Really? Don”t you think that”s a bit extreme?”
“Nope. It”s a noise violation. Rules are rules.”
“I guess so, but . . .”
“I”m going to go next door and turn off his music.”
Emily groaned. “Don”t you think he”ll respond better if you”re nice? Why don”t we grab some snacks and join the party? Could be fun.”
“Fun? No, it definitely wouldn”t be fun.”
“What”s wrong with him? I like this song. He has good taste in music.”
“He”s inconsiderate of his neighbors.”
She rolled her eyes. “Really? How can you possibly call him inconsiderate after the last week?”
“I never gave him permission to use my key to get into my apartment and drop off food.”
“Oh, my goodness.” She snapped her fingers and pointed accusingly at Theresa. “You like him.”
“I do not.” That was absurd.
“Is he cute?”
“Yes. I mean, no. That doesn’t matter.” His hair was the perfect shade of dirty blond, and his body looked too muscular for a real estate agent, but looks mattered less than other things.
“So he”s cute, considerate, and has good taste in music. What”s the problem?”
“He”s not rich.” Theresa crossed her arms, daring Emily to accuse her of being shallow. It was what everyone else thought about her. And maybe she was too concerned about money, but letting people think she wanted a rich man in order to buy expensive clothing and makeup was easier than explaining about her missing family.
Emily waved her hand, brushing aside Theresa’s comment. “Whatever. I know you better than you think. You wouldn”t have pushed me to get back together with Bill if you weren”t a romantic deep inside.”
“I”m not romantic.” Romance was a luxury some people couldn”t afford. Besides, the situation was completely different when she helped Emily through a tough time in her relationship with her boyfriend, Bill. Emily and Bill were meant for each other.
“You believe in true love?”
“No.”
Emily crossed her arms. “That”s a lie. You wouldn”t date so many guys if you didn”t want to find love. If you only wanted a rich guy, you would have found one to settle down with by now. But you want more than money. You want to fall in love.”
“I do not.”
“You do! You wouldn”t have insisted we watch romance dramas if you didn”t want love.”
“Can we drop the subject? My ankle hurts.” She fluffed the pillow supporting her casted leg as if she needed to alleviate some pain.
“Fine. Subject dropped. I”m going next door to see this guy.” Emily jumped up from her seat and walked to the front door of Theresa”s apartment. “Are you coming?”
“Nope.”
Emily walked out, and seconds later, the music level dropped significantly. Theresa strained to hear something from the hallway but couldn”t hear their voices. Less than a minute later, the music volume increased again, even louder. The bass rattled her walls.
Theresa”s phone buzzed. Emily texted her. You”re right. He”s not cute. He”s hot.
Don”t you have a boyfriend? You shouldn”t talk about other guys being hot.
I’m talking about him and you getting together, not him and me.
Theresa got off the couch and wobbled to the bathroom to wash her face and get ready for bed. Emily could do whatever she wanted, but she wouldn”t stay in the living room where the music was loudest.
When she wobbled out of the bathroom, the music was still thumping, and there was no sign of Emily. She texted her friend again.
Tell him to turn down the music, please.
He said no. He said you should join us.
He”s probably drunk. I don”t hang out with drunk people.
He”s not drunk. He”s drinking water.
She rolled her eyes and didn”t respond. A second later, another text came in.
He said that you blocked his number?? Why would you do that?
HE”s not my friend. He doesn”t need my number.
He”s cute.
Theresa didn”t respond.
He”s nice.
Ignore.
His brother just told me that he”s a good dancer.
I”m going to bed.
You should give him a chance.
I”ll leave the door unlocked for you.
He invited Bill and me over to hang out again next weekend when we’re back in town. I think he and Bill will really hit it off.
Didn”t you move somewhere about three hours away? You don”t need more friends here.
We still have to come back here each month for work. You can never have enough friends.
Theresa reread the last line. You can never have enough friends. She used to think the same way. But she knew better now. The more friends she had, the more people who knew about her life, and the harder it hurt when people abandoned her.
She had only enough space in her heart for one friend. That was enough of a risk. And Emily didn”t, and wouldn”t, ever know everything about her.
She wobbled into her bedroom and turned off the light. As soon as her cast was off her leg, she”d get back into the online dating game and find a rich guy who didn”t care about love. They’d marry, and she’d stop watching stupid romance shows.