Page 40 of Spread Your Wings
Next, Sammy called the phone company. They refused to reinstate the number at a new residence unless he paid Gavin’s outstanding bill. Gavin had switched the apartment’s phone number and then missed the next two payments.
“You can have the number on June first,” the phone service representative said.
“Go without a phone for over a month?”
“If you want that number.”
“Fine.”
“Problems?” the landlord asked when he finished the call.
Sammy gave a description of Mustafa and asked the landlord to keep a lookout for him. He seemed a little disappointed when he learned Sammy had another boyfriend, but seemed willing to help.
“If nothing else, he knows where I work,” Sammy said to reassure himself.
Two hours later, Sammy looked around his new apartment. The floors were beechwood with an almost orange glow to them. The open floor plan and white walls seemed too spacious forSammy’s few possessions. The sectional couch and armchairs had been Gavin’s and stayed at the old apartment. Sammy would need to go furniture shopping. He could wait, though. He was an adult now, and his adult dreams didn’t require instant gratification. He had time. He wanted Mustafa to help him pick out furniture, to make the apartment theirs.
If Mustafa ever found Sammy again. No.When. Sammy had faith.
CHAPTER TWELVE
The walk from his new apartment to the CNN campus took him fifteen more minutes than it had from his old place. He almost called in, but he couldn’t justify it. His back was sore, but not stiff. He rolled his shoulders on the way and even used a window ledge to stretch his legs. He felt almost human again when he arrived.
His desk seemed bare without the box of pictures, awards, and knick-knacks. He’d taken them home before leaving on assignment. Items had a way of disappearing when someone was gone longer than a week. As it was, his tape dispenser now sat on his neighbor’s desk, and his stapler was missing.
“Hey, you made it!” Howard shouted as he entered the cafeteria.
“So did you!” Howard was home for the week to spend Easter with his wife and two-year-old daughter. “How was Easter?”
“We had a wonderful day. I’m sick of hard-boiled eggs already. How was the concert?”
“Great! So great.” Sammy ordered eggs and hash browns and then told Howard all about it while he waited for his order. His face felt hot as he talked about sharing a hotel room with Mustafa, but it could have been the hot grill.
“Boss lady wants to see you first thing,” Howard said as they returned to their desks on the second floor. “I put in a good word for you. You did great in Sarajevo.”
“Thanks. It’s not for me, though.”
“Yeah. Still, you did okay.” Howard nudged him with his shoulder. “This is me.” Howard’s desk was on the opposite side of the floor from Sammy’s.
“It’s crazy,” Sammy said. “We sit fifty yards from each other and never met before Sarajevo.”
Howard shrugged. “Our departments mingle enough at home. Let me know if you’re going out on an assignment, though. You’re pretty okay to work with, for a journalist.”
Sammy laughed. “If she ever lets me leave the desk, I will. You’re pretty okay, for a camera guy.”
“We prefer cinematographer.”
“Ooh, fancy. I like it.”
Howard laughed. “Get to work, word boy.”
“Definitely prefer journalist.”
“Good. Made my point.”
Sammy couldn’t keep the grin off his face. Yes, Sarajevo had been hard, but he’d made friends there. Howard, Tol, Tima, Christiane. He’d also learned how to craft a story with limited resources and little time in an uncertain environment. Sammy couldn’t do it full time, but he was grateful for the experience.
He strode into Melody Tan’s office wearing his gratitude like a suit of armor.
