Page 68 of Black
“No,” I answered. “Not unless you call scrambled eggs and microwave noodles cooking.”
“Can you clean?”
“I’ve cleaned the rooms at The Inn for the last seven years. Of course I can clean, why?”
“Because I was hoping you would help me out over the summer until I go to Missouri.”
He had told me about his new job, training sappers, and I didn’t like the thought of him going away. “When is that?” I asked.
“September. We still have almost four months, and I don’t like cleaning and cooking, so I wondered if you would help me out and work off the money that way.”
“What about the money I owe you for the therapy?” I asked.
“I told you that was a gift,” he answered.
I looked down. “How often do you need me to come by your place and clean?”
“Daily.”
“Daily?” My head whipped up. “How messy are you? I can’t come daily.”
“Why not?”
“I live in Kirkland. It will take me at least an hour a day on the commute alone, not to mention the cost of the bus fare to Seattle. You’ll have to cover that.”
“Nope.”
I played with my glass. “Come on, G, it’s at least five dollars for a round-trip ticket. That’s thirty-five dollars a week; I can’t pay that.”
“Why take the bus when you can crash on my couch?”
I narrowed my eyes. “Are you serious?”
He took a sip of his coffee. “Yes. I’m very serious.”
“I don’t know. What happens when you leave in four months? Lee is probably already pissed at me for staying away these two weeks. If I disappear for months, he might not take me back and where would I be then?”
The way Gabriel slammed his coffee cup down on the table made me jump in my seat.
“You are never going back to sleeping in that closet,” he said with fierce determination.
“All right. So let me get this straight. You are willing to let me sleep on your couch if I clean your house and cook for you.”
“Yes.”
“Can you cook?” I asked him.
“That’s debatable, but I guess we’ll just have to learn together.”
“I make a mean bowl of cornflakes and milk,” I joked.
He grinned at me. “Then at least we won’t starve.”
“Okay.” I smiled at him.
“Okay,” he repeated and smiled back. “Then that’s settled.”
When we drove back to Camp Crazy we were both quiet, and I for one was contemplating the generosity of his offer. We had already been roommates in a small cabin for ten days, but still, for him to share his apartment with me was something else completely.
