Chapter 11 Adding to the List
Adding to the List
An hour later, Heidi arrived home lugging two bags of groceries, which she hoped would last her a week. There was no sign of Morgan, so she went to the kitchen and started putting food away. Her cell phone rang, and she propped it on the counter as she worked. “Hey, Lula.”
“Hey yourself. How are the new quarters working out?”
“So far, so good. The place is lovely, and my roomie is nice.”
“The only time I shared with someone who owned the house, they turned into a control freak. You know those Am I the Arsehole? posts on Reddit? Bea could have starred in all of them.”
“Morgan’s not like that.” Heidi lowered her voice. She had no idea if Morgan was home, and talking about her wasn’t likely to endear her to her roomie.
“So when can I come over and see what life is like in Wash Park? I’m only maybe twenty minutes away.”
“I’m working tonight. Tomorrow?”
“I’m working then. Friday?”
“Double shift.”
Lula laughed. “It’s always like this when two hospitality workers try to hang out. How’s Robert? Has he got rid of anyone else yet?”
“The other bartender. That’s why I have double shifts. At least it’s more money.”
“Start saving for that car. It’s not a great part of town to walk alone.”
“You’re telling me.” Footsteps sounded in the living room. “I better go, Lula, if I’m to have something to eat before work.”
“Me too. See you soon—I hope.”
Heidi ended the call and resumed putting away her groceries. Morgan had obviously forgotten to clear a shelf for her in the fridge. She pursed her lips and debated before moving Morgan’s stuff from the second shelf to the top and combining her fruit and veggies in one crisper.
“Hey.”
Morgan’s voice came from over her head, and Heidi startled, banging her head on the glass shelf. She backed out of the fridge.
“Sorry,” Morgan said. “I thought you heard me come in.”
“No harm done.” Heidi rubbed the top of her head. “I’m hardheaded—at least that’s what my eldest brother always says, and he’s tried to kill me a few times.”
Morgan’s eyes widened.
“Only joking,” Heidi added. “Jake and I get on well. Most of the time, anyway. Just the usual sibling squabbles.”
Morgan pushed past her and reached for the fridge shelf. “Can you remove your food? I need to fix this.”
The shelf was skewed from her head colliding with it but looked otherwise okay. All the same, Heidi lifted out the various items and set them on the counter.
Morgan removed the shelf and turned it over, inspecting it. “It doesn’t seem to be damaged.” She took it across to the sink and wiped it.
Damaged? Heidi’s lips twitched. Her head was the thing that had suffered damage, not a shatterproof fridge shelf. She finished putting her veggies into the crisper.
Morgan returned with the shelf and refitted it. Her gaze lingered on Heidi’s half cabbage and bag of carrots taking up most of the bottom shelf, but she didn’t say anything. She opened her crisper and rearranged the contents. “I always put the soft fruits on top.”
“Noted,” Heidi said. “Sorry. I had to make room for mine, and I guessed you hadn’t had time to clear space for me.
” Her breath trickled out. This was like walking on eggshells.
Her head spun with things to remember: disinfecting countertops, stacking the dishwasher, loading the fridge, crumbs, and coffee machines.
And this was just the kitchen. She held up her bag of coffee. “Want one?”
“Sure,” Morgan said.
Heidi busied herself with the unfamiliar machine.
The grinder didn’t seem to work as well as when Morgan did it, and the grounds spilled onto the counter when she tamped them down.
Two lights were flashing. What were they?
Water? That was easily fixed, but only after opening and closing various compartments did she figure out the spent-grounds drawer was full. “Are you working today?”
“I’ll put in a few hours later,” Morgan said.
“Lucky you, able to pick your own hours.”
Morgan turned to look out the window. “It has its benefits.”
In profile, her firm chin and aquiline nose were highlighted.
Some people might find her strong profile unappealing.
Not Heidi. And not, she guessed, the Denver lesbian scene.
She cleared her throat. “So tell me about the area here. Where’s good to go for coffee, for a quiet drink with a friend, for a first date? ”
Morgan exhaled, and her shoulders dropped an inch.
Heidi bit her lip—did she really make Morgan so tense? But, then, she hadn’t had roommates in her space before. Maybe she just needed a little more time to adapt.
“There’s a local coffee shop near here on Downing,” Morgan said. “That’s good. Outdoor seating for when the weather’s nice. If I’m meeting a friend for a run in the park, we often go there after.”
“Sounds great.” Heidi nodded as if five-buck coffee was a regular feature of her morning.
“Once I get used to the altitude, I hope to walk more. Maybe start running again. Maybe I can borrow someone’s dog to motivate me.
In the meantime, I hope to use your basement gym.
It obviously does good things for you.” Her eyes roamed Morgan’s trim figure.
“Thanks.” Morgan cleared her throat. “I like the Park Grille for drinks with a friend.”
So casual compliments weren’t her thing, then.
Heidi added that to her mental list of dos and don’ts.
She studied the coffee machine, then pushed what she hoped were the right buttons and breathed a small sigh of relief as the machine chugged and a stream of dark coffee started filling the mug.
“What’s the vibe like?” Maybe they needed bar staff.
“Smart casual. Dining and a good wine list, not so much chips and beer.”
She could do that. Maybe she’d swing past and drop off her résumé.
The coffee machine had stopped. She removed the mug and set it on the counter while she took out the half-and-half.
With a splutter, the machine farted coffee over the tray and counter.
Heidi’s lips twitched. “Guess your machine doesn’t like me. ”
Morgan came over. “That sometimes happens if you don’t set the portafilter correctly.” She twisted it, and it dropped away. “You need to give it a final tap once you’ve twisted it in.”
“Got it. Sorry. Guess I’ve had too much hostel drip coffee recently.” It tasted like tar and seemed to perpetually have half an inch of sludge at the bottom of the pot.
“I have a drip coffee maker, if you prefer it.”
“Nah. I’m good. I’ll get used to your fancy machine.” Heidi grinned. No way was she going back to a mug of sludge if she could help it. She pushed the first mug over to Morgan and set about making one for herself, being sure to set the—what had Morgan called it?—the basket thingy properly.
Coffee made, she perched on a stool at the breakfast bar and regarded her roomie over the rim of the mug. “So where would you go for a first date?”
Morgan bit her lower lip. “I don’t go on many of those—work has sucked my life lately.”
“When you do go, then. And everyone needs a work-life balance.” She shimmied her shoulders. “Listen to me giving you life advice when you’re the one with a gorgeous town house and professional career and I’m the one renting a room and working as a bartender.”
“Noted.” Morgan inclined her head, although a smile peeped out.
Heidi’s stomach gave a little flip. The smile was cute. Morgan was cute—at least she was when she smiled like that and wasn’t tutting disapprovingly over misplaced vegetables. “So, a first-date place? Not that I’ve got any lined up, but I hope I’m not prematurely celibate.”
“Celibacy doesn’t come with gray hair,” Morgan said. “And I guess for a first date with someone I don’t know, it’s a daytime activity. Coffee. Maybe lunch.”
“So the coffee place on Downing?”
“Too close to home. Somewhere in LoDo, but the coffee shops change often, so I can’t suggest anywhere in particular.”
“Maybe we could go?” Heidi wrapped her hands around her mug. “Find a dateworthy coffee shop.”
Morgan’s eyes widened. “I don’t think that’s a good—”
“Oh! No! I mean, not a date. I wouldn’t date—” Heidi slapped her forehead and winced when it turned out to be the spot the fridge had attacked.
“I mean, I’m not saying we should go on a date date.
Not when we’re living together. I mean a friends date, so we can find somewhere to take our first dates when we find someone we’re attracted to.
I mean, not that I wouldn’t be attracted to you…
Shit.” She slumped on the stool. “I’m making a rat’s arse of this, aren’t I? I should shut up now.”
“Anytime soon would be good.” Morgan’s lips twitched. “Sure, let’s go for coffee—as friends—sometime. Maybe on the weekend.”
“We’ll do that.” Her social life was picking itself up from rock bottom. And coffee wouldn’t break her budget.
Morgan slid off the stool. “Thanks for the coffee. I better get back to work.”
Heidi watched her go, her blond hair brushing the neck of that fine-wool sweater, so out of place with the baggy pants below them.
Obviously, Morgan was careful to show only her top half on video calls.
Heidi shrugged. Different job, different dress code.
She sipped her coffee—not as good as the one Morgan had made her but still light-years ahead of hostel sludge. Things were definitely looking up.