"Whose deal is it next?" asks Alfred rubbing his
hands together and feeling a bit competitive with the game of canasta then
tightly squeezing Alice Hammer's hand for good luck.
"I think it is Rick's turn" offers Jennings double
checking the scores and rather miffed that she is coming in last place.
"Are you warm enough?" concerned Annie asks
looking at Jennings hovered over the game
table in purple stripped thermals and a red hooded sweatshirt wearing matching fuchsia
knitted gloves and earmuffs that she borrowed from Alice Hammer.
"My old bones aren't use to this cold of weather. When does it warm up here? July?"
mockingly suggests Jennings rubbing her socked feet against the carpet to add
friction and heat.
"I'm so hot!" exclaims Alice Hammer wearing a
headband to keep her hair from her face, and fanning herself with an extra
score pad that she found in the box while drinking a large ice tea. "It must be 90 in here! Your hormones
must be out of whack too!"
"It is clearly snowing outside and you're acting as if
it is summer!" retorts Jennings tucking in a blanket around her knees
"At least Rick was kind of enough to start a fire and turn up the heat"
and then looking at the others at the table "What do you think?"
In unison Annie and Rick share of look of empathy and sigh
deeply, it genuinely feels like a sauna but they do not feel like intercepting
the discussion between friends. Turning
to Annie for an escape, "Would you like to help me make some more
tea?" To which Annie immediately heads toward the kitchen.
Without saying anything, both of them giggle. Rick offers a second wet paper towel to Annie
so they can wipe their warm faces to cool down.
Rick jokes, "You missed a spot ..." and leans down to kiss her
as Annie raises her chin to meet his eyes when a voice behind them asks
"Is there any more ice? I think I'm actually melting in there!"
Moving away from Rick not because she didn't want to kiss
him but feeling uncomfortable of being caught, "Sure there is Alfred. We saved some especially for you."
"Those two are best friends, they either get along great
or fight like cats and dogs" groans Alfred wiping his forehead with his wrist.
"I may need to go home to change into some shorts if that heat goes any
higher."
"Well hopefully not, maybe we can talk her into keeping
it where it is" offers Annie "I just remembered my father bought a
heating blanket with him that he hasn't even used yet. Since he went back to Crestwood for the
weekend, I'm sure it would be okay if Jennings borrowed it. He won't even notice."
"They say we're
suppose to get five feet of snow tonight.
As I was walking into the kitchen, I saw that they have closed down the
subways" explains Alfred "The
ladies are already staying in the building, but you live a ways from
here. Rick would you like to stay in my guest room tonight until the storm is
over? You'll have more time to spend
with Annie that way."
"Thank you for the offer. I think that I will. It's not looking too good out there"
graciously accepts Rick thankful that he might have more than expected time
with Annie.
"I need to go home and take Oscar out for a minute,
will you let the ladies know I'll be back in a minute or maybe two" asks
Alfred shaking his head "I may bring back an ice pack with me".
"I've been wanting to tell you, my friend Ben Wick sent
an email. He and Lauren Musgrove will be
coming to town in a week. Her mother is
part of the auxiliary in Crestwood and is the representative to visit the
Wedding Fashion show the Women's Auxiliary is putting on to raise funds for the
Family Shelter" tells Rick stirring the sugar into his tea "They are
also shopping for wedding dresses while Ben is coming to spend some time with
me".
"Oh, that sounds fun!" agrees Annie already
feeling that she will miss spending some time with him.
"I thought you might want to go to the show with Lauren
and her mother" suggests Rick carefully watching her reaction.
"Sure, that sounds good" offers Annie in a
non-committal way not sure if he is trying to find an excuse to get rid of her
while he spends time with his friend or possibly suggesting something else
which she feels is still only a daydream.
"Annie, I've been wanting to talk to you and ask you a
few questions about the past" slowly speaking Rick begins "If you
don't want to tell me that's okay, but I'd like to know."
"Okay ..." unsure of what the questions will be
Annie responds "go ahead, I'll do my best to answer."
"Why didn't you tell me you were going away? Why didn't you tell me where you went? I
tried calling you but there was a message that your phone was no longer in
service" asks Rick in a formal manner not wanting to give anything away to
the depth of the pain he felt at one time.
"I wrote to you nearly every day and you didn't
respond. I tried calling a few times and
it went straight to voice mail" Annie asks hurt from the past memories but
trying to hold it in.
"What are you talking about? I never got any of your letters. What happened to Thomas? I heard you guys had eloped" curiously
asks Rick feeling his temperature rise but not sure if it is from the room or
his emotions.
"Thomas? Nothing - ever! Our 'relationship' was a figment of Lydia
Russell's imagination" exhaustedly explains Annie "I was never
interested in him or vice versa. We were
just being constantly thrown together because of her matchmaking ideas. But there was never anything between
us."
"That's not what I heard. In desperation I wrote to
Lydia Russell to find out what happened to you. I got a letter from Lydia
Russell telling me of your upcoming engagement party and that she thought the
two of you might elope within the next month" angrily states Rick not sure
how to control how he is feeling at the moment.
"Even after the summer, you never wrote me back to tell me anything
different."
"You didn't write to me after all my numerous letters
that summer. I thought you had found
someone else" gushes Annie "I did not know that you didn't have
them. I thought it was pointless to try
and contact you if you were willing to give me up so quickly, obviously you
didn't want to be with me."
"Come on! One more game. Did you get the ice tea made?" yells
Jennings from the other room exasperated from her discussion with Alice Hammer
over the room temperature.
"We'll be right there!" answers Annie but not
wanting their conversation to end before hearing a few more answers.
For a few seconds Rick looks pleadingly at her and whispers
in his discomfort, "I didn't know ..."
"I finally convinced her to turn the heat down by 5
degrees, now we'll be pleasantly suffocating at 88, shaking her head as Alice
Hammer fills another glass.
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