Waiting For August

Part 32~ A little education...

It was later than I had planned when I pulled into Caleb's driveway. Henry had called a last-minute meeting to discuss what was to be expected with the upcoming gala. Because of this, attendance had become mandatory even though Henry himself would be attending via video conferencing. A pesky little thing known as the sun, made it a necessary evil. It was the only way he could meet with the staff during the daylight hours, and he used the opportunity to introduce me to the firm in an official capacity—which was why I had been unable to escape.

While I was never one for pomp and circumstance and found the details of the upcoming engagement to be tiresome, the meeting did give me the chance to meet those co-workers I hadn't yet run into. It helped to put names to the faces that I'd been passing in the hallways and seeing through the glass-walled offices that were the norm within the firm.

Because I worked nights, I would probably never have to deal with most of these people. The ones that I did have to work with comprised an especially short list.

Denae was long gone for her leave, and Hannah took care of all the tedious day to day events. She coordinated with our secretary, who worked days and set up our work schedule. Working in a very specialized niche, I was generally only in four days of the week, so to be in the office on a Friday in the middle of the afternoon had been a notable exception.

Of course, Henry would schedule the meeting to fall on the day of Caleb and mine's first official date. Fortunately, even though I was now running late, we still had the entire evening to spend together.

While my emotions still ran the gambit whenever I saw Caleb, I was looking forward to spending time with him. Last nights meeting, although unplanned, and at the time unwanted, had left me feeling more optimistic than I had anticipated. Truthfully, I hadn't expected Henry and Caleb to hit it off the way that they had. Neither had tried to kill the other and that was a big plus, in my opinion. It left me strangely hopeful that perhaps this relationship between us, might be possible after all.

There was, however, something else that I'd been putting off discussing with Caleb which had me more nervous than I cared to admit. I had a lead on an apartment. Nothing special, just a small one-bedroom to serve as a base of operations – I couldn't expect the firm to keep footing the bill for a suite – but I had mixed feelings about telling him. On one hand, it felt sorta sneaky looking at places behind his back. I just wasn't sure why it felt that way.

Obviously, I had to find a place. What I didn't know was why I felt the need to include him at all, but I did. I was hoping that maybe this weekend he might have a look at it with me. The prospect of doing so, however, made me anxious. It felt a lot like a damned if you do or damned if you don't situation, and I had come to realize that I was genuinely worried about how he might feel about it.

The afternoon sun was exceptionally warm as I got out of the car. I was wearing a pair of khaki cargo shorts with a button-down short-sleeved top. It being Friday, I had even worn it to the office as the firm respected the notion of casual Fridays. The sandals, however, might have been a bit much, but I got away with it without so much as a disgruntled look. Besides, many of the women were sporting capris and open-toed shoes themselves and if nitpicked, I was ready to argue my case.

I went in through the kitchen door. I was already getting comfortable enough to just knock and walk in like the rest of Caleb's pack. It seemed to be what was expected. The casual vibe of the farm encouraged it. Caleb wasn't in the kitchen, however. He hadn't been in his usual spot on the porch either. I had decided to head down to the stable when I spotted a large bow-adorned basket on the kitchen table.

Now, I wouldn't necessarily consider myself a curious person by nature. I mean, I wasn't a peeking into closets or looking through dresser-drawers sort of guy, and the basket was sitting right out in the open. Legally speaking, it fell under the plain view doctrine. I just hadn't expected the more private nature of the contents within.