Chapter 2 #2
“The streets. Right. Don’t want to be on the streets. How about I order pizza for all of us to make up for being a bonehead?”
The two women peeked at each other, and some secret form of communication traveled between them.
“You’ll have to get two. I want veggies, but Carli likes the meat lovers.”
He pulled out his phone and swiped until his delivery app popped up. To keep the peace, he’d order a dozen pizzas and pay for every single one of them.
The front door opened and closed, and Mercedes looked up from her book.
Evan gave a quick wave, then stomped down the hallway.
She’d come to realize it wasn’t because he was upset at anything, but because he was filthy from work.
He’d taken her clean house rules seriously, to a degree, and attempted to keep his work mess in his room.
She counted off as she flipped through the pages, not really reading them, then paused. Yup, his bedroom door opening, softer footsteps in the hall, then the bathroom door opening and closing. The shower would start any second.
And … there it was. Like clockwork. She’d known Evan since they were kids but hadn’t realized he was as structured as this. Or perhaps it was a routine he’d only started in the last week. Who knew? What mattered was that the decision to let Evan move in had been a good one. So far.
The shower stopped. Footsteps along the hall. Then, his bedroom door closed again. Mercedes attempted to get lost in her book once more, but it would only be a minute or so before he lumbered into the kitchen like a bear foraging for food.
Closing her book, she tucked in an old receipt to mark her place, then beelined to the kitchen. If she didn’t get to the crock pot first and dish out some food, Evan would dig a fork in and snag a few bites from the pot. Her germophobic tendencies wouldn’t allow that.
She placed a second plate on the table as he trudged through the door, his hair still damp, in an old t-shirt and sweats. Fine dining indeed.
“This smells delicious.”
He’d taken to voicing as well as signing since he’d lived here. She wasn’t sure why as he was quite aware she was fluent in ASL. She wouldn’t complain since the more he spoke, the better she understood his deaf voice.
“I didn’t know I’d get a home-cooked meal every night. You never said that was part of the living arrangements.”
After taking a cautious bite of the hot food, she shook her head. “It’s not. You can cook dinner any night you want.”
Evan had already gobbled down a half dozen forkfuls of the roast and potatoes that dripped in beef gravy. “It wouldn’t be anywhere near as good as this. If you want to take turns, we can set up a schedule. Adam and I made our own stuff. Unless we ordered takeout, we rarely ate together.”
“I usually cooked when Carli lived here, too. She got home later than me, like you do.”
Did someone teach you to cook or is it simply natural talent? His hands flew, but his mouth continued chomping on the meal.
“My mother grew up in France, and her father was a chef. She learned to cook at his knee.”
She’s a nurse now, right?
“Yes. Doesn’t mean she stopped cooking. I actually thought of going to cooking school at one point. It’s a lot of hard work and often nights and weekends. I wanted to have a social life as well.”
So you took after your dad? Evan asked, still chewing.
“In a way.” Her father was a college professor who taught history.
He’d grown up in Haiti and had met her mother when she’d been on a vacation there.
They’d fallen in love fast, but it hadn’t been an easy road.
His parents hadn’t approved of him marrying a white woman, but love conquered all, and they would celebrate their thirtieth anniversary in a few months.
“I love books and reading, so knew I had to do something where I had lots of access to them.”
Evan started to wipe his hand across his mouth, then froze. Swiping a napkin from the holder on the table, he used that instead. Maybe he could be taught.
“A library has lots of books. Good choice.”
“So far it has been, for the most part.”
Evan dropped his fork in his plate and sat back, staring at her. “For the most part?”
She rubbed her hands together before answering. “Every job has a few things, or people, who make it harder or less pleasant.”
“True. What’s yours?”
Mercedes rolled her eyes just thinking about work. “Her name is Tasha, and she’s about our age. Her job is similar to mine. I shouldn’t let her bother me.”
As he gathered up his dishes, rinsed them, then put them in the dishwasher, Mercedes finished her meal. Once her dishes were also loaded and the leftovers put away, she realized Evan had wiped down the table and counters.
“Thanks for helping. And for following my clean rules.”
His expression grew frightened. “On my best behavior. Don’t want to end up in the streets.”
His answer made her laugh. Something he did often. “How about you? What bothers you at work?”
His shoulder lifted to his ear, and he grimaced. “Lots of stuff, but since I can’t hear anything the others say, it doesn’t bother me. They could be talking behind my back and I wouldn’t know it. I simply pretend they all love me.”
She couldn’t hide the smile that crossed her face. “What’s not to love?”
The arrogant smirk he wore, the one that brought out his dimple, flashed at her. “True.”
He flicked the kitchen light off and took her hand to lead her into the living room. Plopping down on the couch next to her, he tipped his chin at her. “So tell me about this Tasha chick. What’s she do that gets your panties in a knot?”
“You really want to know?”
“Why not? Deanna is always telling me people need to vent to get their frustrations out so they don’t explode. I wouldn’t want that to happen to you.”
Reaching out, she touched his arm. “Thanks.”
One side of his lip pulled up. “Yeah, it would make a huge mess, and we’d never get the security deposit back. I already went through that with Adam.”
Oh, the little rascal. His eyes gleamed, then he tapped her hand.
“I still want to know about Tasha. You put up with all sorts of crap from me and haven’t exploded yet.”
She pointed her finger straight at his face and signed, “Yet. Doesn’t mean it won’t happen. Tasha is the one who wanted to move in here when Carli moved out. I made the mistake of telling her, and she jumped on it. I had to do some fancy talking or she’d be here instead of you.”
“What did you tell her?”
Heat surged across her cheeks. “Well, I kind of fibbed a bit. I might have hinted that you and I were romantically involved.”
His eyebrows wiggled up and down. “So if I ever meet her, I’ll need to show you some loving?”
“Hopefully, you’ll never meet her. I try and avoid her whenever I can at work. I certainly wouldn’t be hanging out with her after hours.” She’d rather hang out with her new roommate.
“What’s so bad about this Tasha?”
“She’s constantly chattering away, which is bad enough in itself when I’m trying to get work done, but she chews gum and snaps it so loud it practically echoes in the library.”
“Too bad you aren’t deaf. You could ignore her.” The mischief in his eyes amused her.
“I could, if her chatting and gum popping wasn’t the only issue, but when I’m on the computer, she stands over my shoulder and looks at my screen. I’m not doing secret research or anything, but it’s creepy with her right there.”
“That would creep me out, too. Doesn’t she have work of her own to do?”
“Sure, but she gets it done pretty quickly, then lingers in my space the rest of the day. It makes it hard for me to get my work finished.”
Evan’s mouth twisted to the side and his eyebrows inched together.
“Can you get her to do some of your work? Make a list of what needs to be finished, and if she shows up to chat or hang on your shoulder, give her a task. Make it seem like she’s doing you a real big favor and you really appreciate it. ”
His idea had merit. “That could work. I always make a list every day of the tasks I need to accomplish anyway. I could put a dozen of them on index cards, and when she comes over, hand her one. It would get her out of my hair for a short while.”
“Maybe she’ll even stop bugging you so she doesn’t have to do extra work.”
Mercedes laughed so hard she fell into Evan. It always amazed her how rugged his body was. Which is why she needed to back off.
“Thanks for the idea. I appreciate you talking this through with me.”
Evan dusted his hands off and grinned. “I figure I’ll be driving you crazy soon enough. You don’t need two people doing it.”
Mercedes cocked her head. “You think you’ll annoy me more than her?”
He winked, causing her heart to race. “I always strive to be the best at everything I do.”