Apartment 28 | H.S

One

"Fuck!" Angelina muttered to herself, dropping the knife onto the cutting board beneath her then putting the aching finger in her mouth. The taste of iron to her tongue wasn't as bad as the singe on the finger, if she was being honest.

Angelina then continued to cut the cucumbers and putting them in the bowl with the other vegetables, very pleased about the fact that she remembered to use her vegetables before they expired this time.

When the meal was cooked and a band aid decorated her finger she grabbed the bowl of vegetables and the pot containing bolognese and left the apartment, walked a few feet to the door across her own. Apartment 28. One out of the two apartments on the floor.

Mary opened the door with a face reminding her of the sun itself, her eyes almost watered before hugging Angelina and her bowls tightly, "Oh, my favorite girl is home!"

Angeline grinned at her as they entered her tidy and beautifully decorated home, "I hope you didn't eat 'cause I made dinner."

Mary clapped her hands together in delight, "Aren't you a sweetheart!"

Angelina was in fact, a very bad cook. But she promised herself a few months back to one day give it a go so that she could somehow pay back Mary for all the delicious meals over the last year. If Mary wasn't cooking Angelina usually ate cereal or got something delivered, and she didn't complain about that.

Her neighbor was much older than Angelina herself, about fifty years older actually. Maybe that's why they got along so well, they always had so much to talk about and teach each other, Angelina might even be able to call Mary her best friend by now.

"How was your trip?"

Angelina beamed at the woman, "I had such a good time, though it's very exhausting to be around family all day And I'm not too excited for work."

Her two-week trip to Italy was perfect, she had gone with her older brother to see their relatives and explore. The weeks went by quickly and if Angelina was completely honest, she missed New York a little too much the last few days.

"You'll be glad to be back, oh how I wish I could work again," Mary said in a sigh, her eyes silently reminisced for youth and a life outside the apartment.

The two of them got to know each other when Angelina moved into the building a little over a year ago.

Angelina previously crashed at her friend Louis' flat when she finished college, Louis had been kind enough to lend her his spare room for basically no rent since living in New York was expensive, so she got some time to save up some cash before moving out.

Though Angelina would love to bother Louis' for a while longer it was the right thing to move out.

Mary came over the first time when she was putting together furniture with a teapot and muffins. The fact that Angelina wasn't that into tea she had never told Mary.

Mary was diagnosed with parkinsons two years earlier, her condition wasn't too bad but she was in constant fright of falling or getting dizzy. Angelina helped Mary as much as she could, though she worked during the days she would come in the evening and on weekends she did the womans grocery shopping. Mary was still well enough go on with her daily life and do things around the apartment but some days were worse than others. It wasn't too long ago that Mary suffered a stroke, it had scared her even more since then to be alone. Since then she'd been put on blood thinning medicine.

"Louis will be glad you're back, he came over for tea last week, such a sweet boy." Mary took her walking stick over to the kitchen and set out plates for the two of them as well as glasses and cutlery. Her slow movements weren't that easy to look past now, her shaky fingers and carefulness got even worse by the day it seemed.