On The Surface

Moving Day

"You're not sleeping here are you?"Lisa asked in an incredulous voice, punctuating the sentence by dropping a large box full of computer parts onto the thinly carpetedfloor.

"Not right away. Maybe. I don'tknow," said Waylon, sighing as the parts hit the floor with acrunch. He set his own box down much more carefully and dusted offhis hands on his jeans. "I'll still be living at theapartment—until I can decide on what to do permanently."

"I just don't like the feel of thisplace," said Lisa, giving an exaggerated shiver. It was summer inColorado and there was no reason for the chill. "Creeps me out alittle. And what is that smell?"

True, the Mount Massive BusinessComplex was aging and not on the best part of town, but you couldn'tbeat the rent. That was the most important factor for a smallbusiness just starting out. Plus, Waylon had gotten a great deal byagreeing to help the complex's managing company with some informationtechnology needs for the complex.

The complex itself was a large parkinglot encircled by a giant steel fence, but the gate was always open,and the fence seemed to have fallen in disrepair. There was one lineof shops with a crumbling sidewalk and at the back of the lot was aguarded entrance to the larger Murkoff Chemical. The building visiblein the distance was gray and square. There was not much in the way ofvisual presentation with this shopping center.

"I don't see why you needed a shopfront in the first place," Lisa mumbled, and Waylon just rolled hiseyes. It was the same argument they'd had before. "You could havejust gotten a nice van or something. Maybe a PT Cruiser like the GeekSquad used to drive?"

"Lisa," Waylon said firmly. "Youknow how I feel about PT Cruisers."

"Okay okay, I know," grinned thebrown haired woman. She managed to still look great wearing tornjeans, faded old t-shirt, and a messy ponytail. "I have faith inyour business. You're too smart not to be a success Way."

The pizza arrived shortly after and thecouple finished up with the last of the boxes before digging into thethin crust with mushrooms and olives. "Mmm," Lisa said finishingup her third square. "My next fiance better like the same kind ofpizza as me. I've gotten too used to not having to argue abouttoppings."

Waylon chuckled. "I'm sure you canbully your next fiance into liking olives too, Lis."

"I know you're not moving out, butthis still feels so weird," Lisa said, her voice getting softer asshe looked at Waylon.

"I'm less than fifteen minutes away.And I'm still going to be sleeping back at the apartment most of thetime," said Waylon.

"Yeah, but you'll be sleeping whenI'm not there," she muttered. "Speaking of which, I need to getgoing soon. I want to shower before my shift."

"Absolutely Nurse Lisa," teasedWaylon. "I really can't say thank you enough for your help today,babe." The pair walked down the narrow staircase into the mainfloor crowded with boxes. Waylon had his work cut out for himtonight, and he was already feeling very sore. He wasn't the mostmuscular man with his short stature, and thin, wiry build. The pairheld hands without a second thought and Waylon led Lisa out throughthe front door of his shop front which was all floor to ceiling thickglass, reinforced with iron bars. It really wasn't the best side oftown, as mentioned.