Chapter Text
Dinner was difficult for Therese. She sat there wondering what would happen after dinner. Would Carol offer to drive her home? Would she accept? Would Carol want to show her what her apartment looked like? The words from earlier rang in her ears. The apartment’s a nice big one. Big enough for two. She was curious as to what it looked like. The house that Carol had shared with Harge was a beautiful house, but an apartment that was strictly Carol’s was bound to look different. She found herself wondering about it quite a bit that evening.
Carol’s friends were nice enough, but Therese’s mind was elsewhere. It didn’t help that when she had shown up, she was seated next to Carol. So, focusing on conversation was a difficult feat. Especially since Carol’s perfume had invaded her space and took hold of all of her senses. There were so many memories tied to that scent.
When dinner had ended and they all said their goodbyes, Therese found herself standing outside the restaurant, waiting for Carol to grab her coat. She felt oddly calm as she waited, something that she never really felt with Carol. There had always been the fear of being caught and then actually being caught by Carol’s ex-husband.
“Would you like a ride home?”
She turned to find Carol standing there. Her hands shook as she fished her lighter out of her purse to light her cigarette. Therese found the gesture calming, something that she’d seen Carol do hundreds of times. Maybe that’s why she enjoyed it.
“Actually,” Therese replied, her confidence building. “I’d like to see your apartment. If you don’t mind.”
Carol’s face lit up as she replied, “Sure.”
When she climbed into the passanger side of Carol’s car, she was hit with a wave of nostalgia. She had watched Carol for so long in this car. Watching her drive, staring at her perfectly red painted lips and nails to match, watching as she maneuvered the vehicle that Therese had no idea how to drive. It was almost erotic watching Carol drive.
“Ready?” Carol asked, pulling Therese from her thoughts.
“Ready.”
The drive wasn’t far and Therese was thankful because her head had been spinning being in such a confined space with Carol again. When they arrived, Carol parked in her space and Therese followed her inside the building. She was in awe at how beautiful the building was. It seemed to be rather new.
When they finally reached Carol’s apartment, Therese noticed Carol’s tremulous hand as she unlocked and opened the door. Everything smelled brand new as Therese entered the hallway. She wondered if the building was brand new. Carol’s apartment certainly didn’t seem to have a previous tenant.
Carol removed her coat and helped Therese out of hers. She placed them side by side in the hall closet and Therese inwardly smiled at the gesture. The thought that her coat would end up smelling like Carol thrilled her.
“Coffee or tea?” Carol asked.
“Some tea would be nice.”
“Would you like to have a look around first? You’re welcome to roam while I fix us some tea.”
“Okay.”
The first room that Therese came to was the living room. It wasn’t very big or wildly decorated. In fact, it seemed that Carol was still in the process of getting settled in. That much was obvious from the boxes on the floor. There was a couch, a couple of end tables, a coffee table and two chairs. The walls were still bare, but Therese knew that Carol would fill them with the perfect pictures or artwork.
She wandered down the hall and it was evident that the first room that she came to was intended for Rindy. It was the first room that Therese found to be fully ready to be lived in and she smiled, knowing that Carol would want Rindy’s room to be perfect if she ever had a chance to have Rindy spend any time with her. It was a shade of light purple and the bed had a collection of stuffed animals resting on the pillows. She felt like an outsider as she stood there, staring into the room of a little girl that she didn’t know.
Therese ventured farther down the hall and turned on the light to the next room. Her breath caught when she realized that she was standing in the doorway to Carol’s bedroom. It was another room that wasn’t finished; boxes littered the floor, but Carol had a beautiful bed. It was clearly brand new and was obviously intended for two people. That much was evident from the size of it. The thought made Therese’s chest ache, knowing that she was the other person intended to be sleeping in the bed. She wanted to explore the room, but somehow couldn’t bring herself to do it. It felt wrong somehow.
Therese quickly turned off the light and ventured to the next room to the right. Nothing special about a bathroom, Therese thought. Although, everything in this apartment was special to her. It was small, but Therese had seen a door in Carol’s room to what she assumed was a master bathroom.
If she thought seeing Carol’s bedroom was difficult, the next room that she came to completely floored her. This room, this was intended for her. She couldn’t believe that she was standing in a completely put together dark room. Therese was in awe at the equipment. It wasn’t the cheap stuff either. Carol went all out to put together the best equipment that money could buy. Therese felt tears forming and she was unable to control her emotions.
“I’m sorry,” Carol said standing in the doorway. “I didn’t think. If I’d have known that you’d be over here tonight, I would’ve locked this door.”
“Carol, this is … incredible. I can’t believe you did all of this.”
“Well … were you to take me up on my offer, I wanted you to have your own work space.” Carol shrugged and averted her gaze from Therese. “I really have no use for it. If you want, I can have it all sent over to your apartment. I wouldn’t know the first thing to do with any of this,” she said with a shy smile.
“I couldn’t accept all of this. It’s too … expensive.”
“I really don’t mind, Therese. It was all for you, anyway.” The way Carol said her name always made her insides clench and this time was no different.
“I can’t let you do that. You could always sell it.”
“I suppose,” Carol replied with a faraway look that made Therese wonder what she was thinking.
“Or …” Therese surprised herself with what she was about to suggest. “You could leave it here.” She shrugged, hoping that Carol would understand what went left unsaid. Although Therese wasn’t ready to move in with Carol, she wasn’t ready to let go of the idea just yet. And she knew that Carol wasn’t ready to let go of her offer any time soon.
A slow smile played on Carol’s lips as she replied, “Okay. I can do that.” She nodded towards the kitchen. “Tea’s ready.”
Therese followed her to the kitchen and they both fixed their tea. It felt right, like this was normal for them, the simplicity of the two of them fixing their tea after dinner. Therese decided that she liked the way that it felt.
“Have you been here long?” Therese asked when they sat down at the table.
“No, not very long. Is it obvious from all of the boxes?” she asked with a playful smile.
“A little.”
“I plan on working on it tomorrow and Sunday.”
“What did you plan on decorating the walls with?”
“Not sure,” Carol replied with a shrug. “I’m sure I’ll find something.”
The thought crossed Therese’s mind that maybe she had planned on Therese filling the space with her own photographs. It saddened her to think about it.
Carol took a shaky breath before saying, “Thank you for showing up to dinner tonight. I can’t tell you what that means to me. I thought for sure that I wouldn’t see you again after tonight.”
“Well, we were kind of interrupted, so … it only seemed like the right thing to do.”
“But is that what you wanted to do?”
“Yes.”
They were dancing delicately around the subject of that conversation from earlier. Carol’s “I love you” was still fresh in her mind and it felt strange to ask her about it, even if she did want to bring it up.
“What I said earlier,” Carol began and fidgeted with her mug and took a deep breath. “That’s how I feel. I won’t push the subject; I just hope that we can be friends.”
“I’d like that,” Therese replied and Carol seemed to visibly relax. How could someone so confident be so nervous? Is this really what I do to her?
“Good.”
“If you’d like, I can help you finish unpacking … if you want. I have no plans for the weekend.”
“That would be excellent. Thank you.”
“So, is this a brand new building?”
“Yes, it is. Some of the apartments are for rent and the others are for sale.”
“And yours? Did you buy this one?”
“I did. I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it.”
“It’s quite beautiful,” Therese replied. “You have exquisite taste.”
“Thank you,” Carol replied and sipped her tea. “How are you liking your job?”
“Oh, I love it. It’s nice to be able to enjoy what I’m doing. My job isn’t that important, but I’m hoping to be able to become a full time photographer. I’m only helping out right now and sometimes they give me my own assignments, but I enjoy it.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“And your job? Are you enjoying it?”
“I am. It’s work that I’ve done before. I get to go buy beautiful furniture. It sounds incredibly boring, but I enjoy it.”
“Is that how you’ve gotten all of your furniture here?”
“Yes,” Carol replied with a smirk. “At discount prices.”
“Well, they’re all beautiful pieces.”
“Thank you.” After a short silence, Carol asked, “Do you think that you’d mind sharing some of your photos with me? I mean, I’d like some photography on the walls and I’d be honored to hang some of yours, if you don’t mind.”
“Seriously? You want to hang my work?”
“Absolutely. Like I said, if you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind.”
“You could bring some over this weekend …”
“Okay, I can do that. Would you mind if I used the dark room as well?”
“You don’t need to ask that. It was meant for you to use, so of course you can use it.”
“I do have a few pictures that I think would work well in your living room.”
“Wonderful. I can’t wait to see them.”
“Well, I should probably go.” Therese finished her tea and washed her mug, even though Carol insisted that she didn’t need to.
“Would you like me to drive you home? I’d hate for you to be alone out there at this time of the night.”
“You really don’t have to do that.”
“I’d certainly feel more at ease.”
Carol’s caring nature warmed Therese inside and she could hardly say no to someone who was so worried about her well-being.
“Okay, a ride home would be great.”
When Carol drove her home, she didn’t need directions and it made Therese wonder if Carol had passed by her apartment at all. She liked to think that Carol did, that she would drive past, hoping for a glimpse of Therese.
“I can pick you up tomorrow,” Carol said when she parked outside Therese’s building.
“Sure, that'd be great. Thank you.”
“Don’t forget your pictures.”
“I won’t,” Therese replied with a smile. She desperately wanted to give Carol a kiss goodnight, but she wasn’t ready for that yet. Her heart had been broken once before and now she kept it closely guarded. “Thanks for the tea and the ride home.”
“You’re welcome, Therese. Thank you for spending the evening with me. I truly appreciate it. I’m sure it wasn’t easy for you to show up tonight, but I’m happy you did.”
“So am I.” She grasped Carol’s hand and gently squeezed. “Goodnight, Carol.”
“Goodnight.”