11. Collie #3
I burrowed deeper under the covers and looked around me. On the wall beside the bed was a large, framed print of one of Matisse’s collages. Its primary colors were purple, white, and yellow, which brought the whole room together perfectly.
He’d tried to say it was no big deal, but Miller had made a real effort here, and he hadn’t selected this stuff randomly. There was thought and care behind it. He’d been paying attention to who I was, and what I liked.
He got me. That was incredibly touching. I didn’t even know what to do with all the emotions it stirred up in me.
By the time I woke up from my nap, Miller was at his meeting. I petted Kate before climbing out of bed and heading to the bathroom. After a nice, warm shower, I made my way to the walk-in closet.
Miller had moved his stuff to one side and unpacked all of my clothes. Some were grouped by type and hung up, the rest neatly folded on the shelves. My shoes were lined up according to height, flat sandals at one end, tall boots at the other.
I went for pure comfort with a pair of sweatpants and an oversized T-shirt. Once I got dressed, I was exhausted again, so I returned to bed for a while.
Eventually, hunger motivated me to get up again and make my way to the kitchen. Miller had left a note on the counter, telling me there was a smoothie in the fridge. I took out the insulated cup and gave it a shake before taking a sip. It was exactly how I liked it.
When I turned away from the refrigerator, I noticed the adjoining room that used to hold nothing but moving boxes had been transformed. All of the boxes were gone now. The built-in shelves were full of books, and several modular storage cubes held a massive record collection.
He’d also added two chairs with a mid-century modern vibe, a small, round table, and an area rug in an interesting abstract pattern. The room was big enough to hold a lot more furniture, but this was a great start. I was proud of Miller for finally taking steps to make his house a home.
I browsed through his record collection, which was surprising.
Almost all of it was stuff you’d imagine playing at a cocktail party in 1968.
It was all very swanky, and now that I thought about it, the mid-century chairs and the pattern on the rug fit this same theme.
So did his car, which dated from the late sixties.
I’d had no idea that he was into this cool, retro aesthetic, and I was excited by this discovery.
After I selected an album, I looked around and realized there was no record player. How did someone own this much vinyl without a way to play it? And why wasn’t that the first thing he’d bought for himself when he finally started furnishing his home?
By now I was tired again, so I grabbed my smoothie and went back to bed. Miller had brought in my bag from the hospital, and he’d left my phone on the nightstand. He’d even plugged it into a charger. His thoughtfulness was next level.
I messaged Jeannie to let her know I was home, and to tell her about all of the surprises Miller had waiting for me. We texted back and forth for a while, until one of her kids started wreaking havoc and she had to switch into mom mode.
To pass the time, I turned on the TV and was browsing Netflix when a message popped up from JoJo.
She asked how I was doing, and I replied: I’m great, happy to be home, finally.
Hey, quick question. I want to buy a record player for Miller.
Do you happen to know of any local secondhand stores that might deliver?
She called me back instead of texting and told me, “We actually have a record player in our garage. It was left behind by a former tenant, and it’s yours if you want it. It’s kind of huge, though. It’s one of those old-fashioned types that’s built into an entire cabinet.”
“That’s exactly what I was hoping for! How much are you asking for it?”
“Oh, no, it’s free. We’ll be glad to get rid of it. If now’s a good time, I’ll dust it off and ask a couple of the guys to carry it across the street. I was planning to come by anyway with some casseroles.”
“Were you really? That’s so nice, and so small town of you.”
I could hear the smile in her voice when she said, “We big city types know how to be neighborly, too.”
Maybe fifteen minutes later, my awesome neighbors arrived bearing gifts. Vee and a cute guy with unruly blond curls were carrying the wooden stereo cabinet, which looked pretty heavy. Vee said, “Hi, Collie. Where do you want this?”
“In the den, please. It’s straight back, at the end of the hall.”
The new guy smiled at me on the way by and said, “Hi, I’m Rowan, but everyone calls me Ro.”
JoJo followed them, carrying a picnic basket. I told her, “You look pretty as a picture, and like you’re ready to go zipping around Rome on a Vespa.” Her fashion sense was wonderfully retro. Today, she was dressed in turquoise capris and a white and turquoise checked top.
She looked delighted. “That’s exactly what I was going for, Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday. Well, Audrey if she was tall, blonde, and trans.”
We went to the kitchen while the guys worked on setting up the record player, and she asked, “So, what did you think of the yard?”
“What do you mean?”
“Oops! Forget I said anything. I guess Miller’s saving it as a surprise.
” JoJo unpacked the basket onto the counter and changed the subject with, “I brought you macaroni and cheese, a vegetarian lasagna, and cheese enchiladas. I know Miller’s been stressed about work, and you just got out of the hospital and are in no condition to cook, so these should get you through the weekend.
There are sticky notes with heating instructions on the lids. ”
“Thanks so much, JoJo. This looks like a ton of work.”
She shrugged and said, “I just doubled some of my favorite recipes and stocked our freezer at the same time.” After she stuck the pans in the refrigerator, she turned to me and gave me a once-over.
“It’s a good thing I brought those, too.
You’ve lost a lot of weight, Collie, and you really didn’t have any to lose. ”
“I haven’t had much of an appetite. Miller’s been keeping me going with smoothies that he loads up with supplements and protein powder, so I figure I won’t totally waste away. But what you brought sounds delicious, and I promise to eat some of it.”
Just then, a Nancy Sinatra song started to play. The guys cheered, and then both of them started to dance. When we joined them in the den, Vee announced, “It actually works! We probably should have checked that before we hauled it over here.”
“It sounds great,” I said, as I took a seat on one of the new chairs. “Thank you for bringing it over.”
JoJo started dancing too, and I did a little chair bop in time to the music. “This is a really groovy record collection,” Vee said. “It’s like you’re roommates with Austin Powers.” He put on a British accent and did finger guns as he shouted, “Yeah, baby, yeah!”
This impromptu dance party was still going on when Miller got home a few minutes later. Everyone greeted him enthusiastically. He was grinning as he crossed the room and took a seat in the other chair. “Your first day out of the hospital, and you throw a party,” he teased.
“It happened spontaneously.”
“Come on boys, let’s dance on out of here,” JoJo said, before telling us, “We’ll let ourselves out. Y’all enjoy your evening.”
I called, “Thanks again! Good to meet you, Ro!”
The three of them did a conga line through the kitchen, and JoJo picked up the picnic basket while Ro waved goodbye. Once they’d disappeared down the hall, I gestured at the record player with a flourish and said, “Surprise! Do you like it?”
“It’s great. Where did it come from?”
“JoJo’s garage. She gave it to us when I asked her if she knew where I could get you a record player. She also brought over some food. Maybe we can heat up the mac and cheese for dinner.”
“Sounds great. Are you hungry?”
“Not yet.”
Miller smiled at me. “It’s nice to see a little color back in your cheeks.”
“And it’s nice to see you unpacked your boxes.”
“Yeah, finally.”
“You have an amazing record collection. But why didn’t you have a turntable?”
“I got rid of most of my stuff when I moved in with my ex. His house was fully furnished, and everything was a lot nicer than what I had, including his stereo.”
“Did Bruce share your taste in music?”
“Not even a little. He was a classical music snob, and he thought my stuff was ridiculous.”
“Shows what he knows. This music is super cool. Oh, and I love the fact that your new furniture ties in with that whole aesthetic.”
“The places I lived before moving in with Bruce were sort of thrown together. This time, I’m trying to be more intentional.”
“You’ve been doing great, and I heard there might have been even more changes while I was gone. JoJo said something about the yard, but I haven’t taken a look yet.”
“Want to see it? Or we can wait, if you’re too tired.”
“Let’s go check it out.”
When we stepped out onto the back deck, I whispered, “It’s beautiful.” What was formerly weeds and cracked concrete was now a gorgeous oasis of trees and flowers, with a mosaic path winding through it.
“Here, let me help you.”
He picked me up and carried me down the stairs and into the yard. There was a cozy seating area with a fire pit, and halfway down the path was a bench swing, near a babbling water feature. “You can put me down if you want,” I said.
“You’re barefoot, so I’d like to keep carrying you if that’s okay.”
It was more than okay.
I didn’t see the swing set until we reached the back of the yard. My breath caught, and I whispered, “Why is this here?”
“Because you mentioned once that you wanted one. I don’t think you should use it on your own yet, because it might be too strenuous while you’re still healing. But I can push you if you want, or we can sit on the bench swing together.”
“The bench, please.” I was so shaky that I thought I might fall off the swing set.