Part 5 (2/2)
”How are you feeling?” Lynn inquired.
”Like the world is spinning. I thought I'd never make it home.”
Lynn helped Chris up the stairs to her apartment, where Chris immediately excused herself and made her way to the bathroom. Lynn wandered around the living room taking in the new surroundings. She picked up a picture that she decided must have been Chris's mom and dad, then set it back down as she heard footsteps from down the hall. Chris made her way to a chair and plopped down. Her face was white as a sheet.
”Come on, you need to get to bed,” Lynn said as she helped Chris out of the chair, down the hall, and into her bedroom.
”Do you have any kind of medicine for an upset stomach?” Lynn asked as she turned down the bed.
Chris shook her head. ”I just don't get sick that often,” she explained.
”You know, it's probably just nerves,” Lynn suggested.
”Nerves?” Chris asked for clarification.
”Think about it. In the past two days you've been forced into a situation where you've had to expose yourself and many intimate details of your life. Not to mention your visit to the bar tonight.”
”Maybe,” Chris replied as she collapsed onto her bed.
”You get into bed, I'll be right back.” Lynn walked out of the apartment and down to her truck, where she pulled a small duffel bag from behind the seat. Unzipping it, she proceeded to look through its contents while climbing back up the stairs. By the time she reached Chris' bedroom she had located what she had been searching for.
”Here we go!” Lynn said, showing the bottle of medicine to the woman now lying in bed.
”You keep that in your truck?” Chris asked suspiciously.
”Well, along with a few other things.” Lynn pointed to the bag she had placed on the bed. ”Many mornings, waking up who knows where, I've been pretty thankful for this bag,” Lynn said, showing Chris the contents. ”See? Toothbrush, mouthwash, hairbrush, deodorant* Well, you get the idea.”
”And you felt it necessary to include this medicine?”
”Well, I hate to admit it, but sometimes the reason I wake up in those places is the result of drinking too much,” Lynn said as she wandered down the hall to the kitchen.
Chris could hear drawers being opened and closed and wasn't surprised when Lynn returned with a spoon.
”I can't say that it tastes great, but it seems to do the job,” Lynn said as she poured the liquid into the spoon and offered it to Chris.
Chris took the spoon and swallowed the medicine. ”Yuk!”
Lynn shrugged. ”Sorry.”
Chris lay back on her pillow and closed her eyes. ”Thanks, doc!”
”No problem. I'm going to crash on your couch just in case you need something in the middle of the night.”
”You don't have to do that. You have to be at work in a few hours.”
Lynn smiled and pulled out a travel alarm clock from her bag. ”See? Quite a handy little bag, huh?”
Chris smiled.
Lynn switched off the light and turned to leave the room but was called back, ”Lynn?”
”Yes?”
”Oh, never mind, it's silly.”
Lynn smiled, knowing exactly what she was asking. She too wanted the same exact thing when she was ill. Lynn climbed up on the bed next to her and softly stroked her hair. ”It's not silly.”
Lighdy rubbing Chris's back, Lynn was reminded of Susan. She would always do this when Lynn had been crippled by a migraine. The memories rushed through her mind. A warm feeling overwhelmed her body. The feeling of someone holding her, loving her, trying to make the pain subside. Lynn felt a tear roll down her cheek. She feared she would never experience that again.
Chapter Five.
Lynn's alarm rang, jolting her awake. It took a minute for her to remember where she was. Stretching after being curled up on the sofa for the last few hours, she stood and tiptoed down the hall to check on Chris. Finding her sound asleep, she returned to the living room, where she pulled on her shoes and tied the laces.
Wanting to leave some kind of note, Lynn reviewed the contents of the room around her for a pen and a piece of paper. She walked into the kitchen and still found nothing. Lynn eyed the backpack sitting on a living room chair. Should she dare to open it? Wouldn't that be like searching through someone's purse? She convinced herself that it would be okay as long as she only looked for the items needed.
She unzipped the main zipper: books, note cards, appointment book, notebook. She tore out a blank sheet from the notebook and proceeded with her search for a pen. Unzipping a pocket from inside the pack, she inserted her hand and pulled out a handful of objects. Lynn smiled at her catch. Mechanical pencil, eraser, gum, lipstick. Taking the cap off the container, she screwed the base exposing the color. Lynn tried to imagine Chris's lips covered with this dark, moist substance. A s.h.i.+ver ran down her body just thinking about it. Taking her eyes off the lipstick just for a moment, she noticed something else in the pile to snap her back to reality. Condoms. Admonis.h.i.+ng herself for her previous thought, she crammed all of the items except the pencil back into the pocket.
Lynn left a brief note, returned the pencil to its place, and zipped the pack closed. Serves me right for looking in someone's personal belongings, she told herself. Grabbing her keys she walked softly to the door, turned the lock on the doork.n.o.b, and closed it behind her.
”Hey, it's me.” Lynn phoned Matt on her eight o'clock break.
”Hey! I didn't hear you come home last night.”
”I didn't. I stayed at Chris's place.”
Lynn heard nothing but silence on the other end of the line. ”She was sick, Matt. I would have felt bad for just leaving.”
”Uh-huh.” Matt sounded unconvinced.
”Whatever. Can I have Chris's phone number, please? I want to see how she's feeling,”
”Lynn* aren't you getting a little too involved here?”
”Dang it, Matt! Just give me the number, would you?”
Lynn got the number and dialed.
”h.e.l.lo?” the voice on the other end said sleepily.
”Hi Chris, this is Lynn. I hope I didn't wake you. I just wanted to see how you are feeling.”
”I'm feeling much better. I think it was like you said, just nerves.”
”Good. I'm glad to hear it. I'll see you tonight, then?”
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