Page 19 of Moonstruck at Midnight
Senad saw us coming and opened the door. I glanced at him to say hello.
“Miss Murphy, careful!” Caleb shouted, but his warning came too late. My half glass of green juice was now dripping steadily from a woman’s beautiful day dress.
She stood in front of me with her pale blue eyes looking down at the damage—her cherry-red lips half-parted with shock.
A young guy with icy-blond hair snorted beside her, trying to hold in a laugh. The woman elbowed him in the side. “Ouch, Mother! That hurt,” he replied in between snickers.
“Welcome to the building, my dear.” She smiled, looking up at me. I was so embarrassed!
“Oh my God, I amsosorry!” I exclaimed, mortified—not knowing what to do with my hands. I desperately wanted to help, but I couldn’t reach out and touch the stranger in front of me without feeling intrusive and out of place.
Her son stared at me with his arms crossed at his chest, seemingly amused by my predicament. David had moved swiftly to bring back some tissues and handed them to me. I offered them in an automatic motion to my juice-drenched neighbor.
“It’s okay. Please don’t worry about it. I can go upstairs and change.” She tried to reassure me, waving one hand down in a carefree motion—her other hand uselessly wiped the greenoffher dress. “What’s your name, dear?”
“Oh, yes, of course. How rude of me. My name is Guillermina. Please call me Billie. So nice to meet you. I just arrived here yesterday. I’m in apartment 9A.”
Caleb’s disapproving face appeared in the corner of my eye. That only made me more nervous. He was probably irritated because I’d disclosed personal information to my newly acquainted neighbors. But that didn’t stop me. “Um, this is David,” I blurted out with an awkward grin, “and this is Caleb. He’s also new to the building.”
Shit!
I couldn’t keep my mouth shut, but I was just trying to be polite.
“Nice to meet you, Billie. My name is Nathalie, and we live on the fourteenth floor. I live with my husband, Siv, and my youngest son Eric.” She motioned at her son, who lifted his hands in aguiltykind of gesture.
“My three other sons live in the building too. We’re from Sweden but have lived here for years now—practically Americans,” she said proudly.
“So, Guillermina. That’s a beautiful and rare name. Where does it come from?” Nathalie inquired with an almost imperceptible accent.
“Um—my mom was Spanish, and I was named after my grandmother. The pronunciation is difficult for most people, so Billie was the obvious alternative for everyone.”Will someone please shut me up?
Caleb volunteered for the job.
“Miss Murphy, we’re going to be late for your appointment.”
“Ah, yes. The appointment,” I replied, playing along. “I’m terribly sorry for ruining your dress, Nathalie. It was so nice to meet you both.” I shook their hands with a smile and turned around to leave.
David, who was proving himself as an anticipator, held the elevator’s door for us. So observant, one could instantly tell.
“See you around!” Nathalie chirped.
“Later, neighbor,” Eric added with a lifted brow.
Caleb and I stepped into the elevator with David, and no one said a word as we went up to the ninth floor.
Caleb rushed out of the elevator as soon as the doors opened before us. He took out a spare key from his pocket, clicked hastily into the lock, and signaled me to go inside.
I glowered at him with astonishment.Thiswas their idea of giving me independence? Who else had a spare key tomyapartment?
“Can we come inside?” Caleb asked with a demanding tone. “We’d like to talk to you.”
We? Or just him?
Poor David got dragged into the drama on his first day of work. I could see how flustered he was, trying to follow Caleb’s lead. I held the door open. “Let’s go sit in the living room,” I said dryly, dodging the suitcases spread all over the foyer. “What’s up?” Frustration boiled out of those two words as I sat on the couch.
“Miss Murphy, I know it’s your first day here. You want toblend inwith the neighbors and be friendly—keep in mind that we need to maintain communication with strangers to a minimum at first. We don’t know who all these people living here are. We will, by the end of the week,” he said confidently.
David rested his elbows over his knees, and his hands tightened together. He looked back and forth from Caleb to me—assessing the situation—getting to know Caleb’s temper.
