Waiting For Superman

Apologies and Coffee

“You sure you don’t need any help moving?” Sharon asked as she helped Kara load her boxes into the car. “Johnny’s helping me,” Kara said quietly as she shut the lid of the trunk.

Sharon stared at Kara and said, “Johnny’s helping you. Okay then.” “It’ll be fine,” Kara said reassuringly as she got into the car. “Well, call me if anything goes wrong alright?” Sharon said gently as she walked away with a wave.

Kara started the engine and drove off in the direction of ICA, her mind a blur. Not only had her last day at CID gone by in a whir, but she’d been surprised when Johnny called and asked if she needed help moving. To be honest, she was surprised that he even remembered she was transferred. He hardly remembered anything she told him.

As she pulled into the car park of the ICA building, she saw Johnny’s car already parked there and he was just getting out of the car. “Hey Johnny,” she said as she got out of the car and popped the trunk.

“Hey love,” he said as he walked over and kissed her on the forehead. He helped her unload the boxes and together they headed for the lifts. They were standing in awkward silence waiting for the lift when Johnny suddenly turned to her and said, “About the other night Kara, I’m really sorry.”

Kara looked at him in shock and nearly dropped one of the boxes she was carrying. “It’s okay Johnny, I understand. I rather not talk about it and move on you know?” Kara said as they walked into the lift. “Are you okay though?” Johnny asked concerned as the lift door closed.

Kara looked up at him and smiled as she nodded. He smiled back at her as the lift door opened and they stepped out together. Kara squinted at the signs on the wall and after a while she nudged Johnny down the corridor to the right.

“Well, I found your office,” Johnny said with a chuckle as he stopped in front of the door that had a plaque with Kara’s name on it. She pushed it open and groaned saying, “I hate having that up there. It’s so tacky and attention seeking.” They dumped the boxes on the floor and surveyed the room.

“Well, it’s certainly a lot smaller than your office back at CID,” Johnny noted as he walked around. “But there are more cupboards here.” “Well at least the window has a nicer view,” Kara said as she pulled the curtains back.

As she stood there staring at the numerous boxes on the floor, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread. “Gosh I hate packing and unpacking,” she said as she ripped open a box and began sifting through it. Johnny chucked and walked over and said, “Let’s start with all the case files first. About half the boxes are full of them anyway.”

Kara nodded in agreement and began opening all the boxes marked ‘case files’ and slowly began stuffing them into one of the cupboards. As she and Johnny worked in silence, she couldn’t help but notice how he kept looking over at her.

After about 15 minutes, Kara sat down on the floor and took a sip from her cup of coffee, watching Johnny methodically placing file after file in the cupboard. “There we go,” he said triumphantly as he placed the last file in the cupboard. “I never realized I worked so much,” Kara said in awe as she looked at the number of files neatly lined up on the shelves.

Johnny chuckled and sat down next to her, placing his arm around her shoulder. He felt her flinch and instantly withdrew his arm. “Sorry,” he mumbled as he shifted a little further away from her. She gave him a half-hearted smile and said, “I’m sorry too.”

They stared at each other for a long time before Johnny finally said, “I’m sorry again about that day.” He hesitantly placed her arms around her, relaxing a little when she leaned in towards him. “It’s really alright Johnny. Just promise me it won’t happen again,” she said softly.

“I promise it won’t happen again,” Johnny whispered as he ruffled her hair. She looked up at him and smiled and sat up. “Okay then,” she said with a smile as she picked up her coffee again. Johnny leaned in and pecked her on the lips before standing up.

“I love how you always taste of coffee,” he said with a smile. Kara laughed and said with a smile, “Come on Johnny, we still have five boxes left to unpack. And then we can go get more coffee if you want to.”