Jennie
By seven o'clock, Louis and I have taken to avoiding each other. Or perhaps I should say that I've taken to avoiding it, as he still hasn't moved from his spot on the couch. I mix him up a large batch of food, adding milk as instructed, but he hasn't touched it and it has since turned into a glob of gelatinous goo with quite an offensive odour. I quickly retreat to my bedroom for the next hour to avoid both cat and odour.
Lisa still hasn't called, although I specifically remember her saying she'd stop by. Or at least try. Shouldn't she confirm these plans with a phone call today? Perhaps she's changed her mind - I continuously fight the urge to call her up myself and instead busy myself with a book to pass the time.
I start to doze a few minutes later. I've read the book so many times that it acts like a sleep aid more than anything else. Eventually, I drag myself back to the living room and take up residence on the recliner. When stretched out, Louis takes up over half the couch. It doesn't even flinch as I make a cup of coffee and sit down.
"Don't you have a bed or something?" I ask Louis. His ear twitches in reply. "Well you can't just take up the whole couch, you know. You have to share." Again, he ignores me. I already regret helping him get onto the couch to begin with. It's as if he senses his current advantage and refuses to get down in case he can't get back up again.
I flip through the channels on the TV for a few minutes and nearly jump out of my skin when the phone rings. I hasten to answer, breathing a sigh of relief when I see it's Lisa.
"Hey, Jennie. I was wondering if you're still free tonight," she says. I automatically grin just from the sound of her voice and then I roll my eyes, grimly conscious of how ridiculous I am.
"Um, yeah. I'm still free." I force casualty into my words. "Are you still coming over?" I inquire.
"Yes." she pauses, the lapse of noise awkward and misplaced. "I should be there in about fifteen minutes."
Fifteen minutes! I grin like a fool knowing she was already on her way.
"Were you already near Seoul?" I ask slowly, feigning nonchalance.
"Uh, no." she chuckles uncomfortably. "I was already on my way. I guess I was just hoping you'd still be free."
Either that or she's realized that I am, in fact, pathetically single six nights out of seven. On a good week. A very good week.
"Good. I guess I'll see you in a few." My words betray my smile, but I hope she doesn't notice.
After we say good-bye, I buzz around the apartment tidying up small things. I tug the throw from underneath Louis and fold it neatly over the back of the couch. I try to coax Louis from the couch by holding the bowl of foul-smelling food beneath his nose. He doesn't budge. I eventually store the bowl inside the bathroom and shut the door, leaving it open only a crack so that he can reach his litter box whenever nature calls. I'm in the middle of loading the dishwasher when I realize that, only a few days ago, I had been purposefully destroying Lisa's home to get a rise out of her. Now I'm cleaning my home in anticipation of her arrival. What am I doing?
How confusing. I don't even know whether or not my apartment should be clean! With a sigh, I finish my current task, reasoning that it needs to be done anyway. Might as well do it now.
I work myself into a sort of frenzy while waiting for Lisa to arrive. I know I shouldn't look forward to her company this much. I know I'm just setting myself up for heartache.
I know, but at the moment I don't care.
Her eventual knock on the door comes as a melody of sorts. Knock. Knock. Knock knock....knock. I count to ten in my head, slowly, then stand and answer with as much grace as I can manage considering my mounting anxiety. I swing the door open and my breath hitches at the sight of her, though she's only dressed casually in a grey T-shirt and jeans. I realize I've rarely seen her in casual attire and it's very nice. But then, she could make anything look nice.
