REM // Van McCann

78. I Made a Friend

When I got home, Florence was just about done cooking dinner. She stared at me, looking for any clues as to how our conversation went after she left.

"It went fine," I assured her. "He was lecturing me saying that I can be honest with him. He always knew there was something going on between us and is happy for us. I've not told Larry yet. There wasn't enough time."

"Oh," she replied, not expecting that kind of response from Bondy. "Did you manage to get everything done? I wasn't expecting you until much later."

"Not everything but it can wait until I get back. That reminds me—I still need to buy your plane ticket and upgrade our hotel rooms. I'll do that real quick."

I went straight to my room and turned on the computer. While it was booting up, I took the opportunity to empty my work bag and took off my coat. I double-checked my flight info and made sure I got the same exact flight and bought her ticket. Next, I upgraded all our hotel rooms to two beds. All these last-minute purchases would've cost me an arm and a leg, but since it was off-season, we were spared. I checked my email confirmations one last time before putting my credit card back in my wallet and shutting down the computer. When I made my way back to the kitchen, Florence had already set the table and plated our food.

"Just in time," she said, wiping her hands on a tea towel. "Would you like some wine?" She pulled out my bottle of red and held it up to the light seeing how little we had left. "I can get some more when we come back." She removed the cork and poured a generous measure into two glasses, finishing the bottle.

"I bought your plane ticket and upgraded the hotel rooms so we should be sorted out," I said, taking a seat at the table. Florence handed me my wine glass and I thanked her.

"Thanks for doing that. I'll pay you back. Well...bon appétit. I made spaghetti. Ta-da!" She held up her plate to show it off and I laughed at her enthusiasm. "Sorry it's nothing special. I'm trying to use what we have and avoid going to the grocery store." I watched as she stuck her fork in and twisted it.

"So was your manager upset about the short notice?" I asked. Florence shook her head.

"No, he didn't mind. He was surprised at how sudden it was but he looked at the schedule and said we're in a good place. My manager is great. He encourages everyone to take time off because he doesn't want anyone to be burnt out."

"Well that's nice of him."

"What about you? You were probably giving me a quick rundown of what happened but what did Bondy say exactly?" You could tell she was hesitant to ask but she was curious.

"Erm...there's not much to it. He was basically asking how it all started."

"And what did you tell him?" She rested her head on her left hand and stared at me expectantly. I found it difficult to look her in the eyes when she did that so I looked down at my plate, blushing.

"For me, I guess the feelings were always there but I kept them subdued because I thought you and I would never happen. We're so different, I feel like, and we push each other to our limits yet I can't stay away. It's like we were always connected in a way...probably because we've been in each other's dreams and know things no one else knows about. And when you kissed me, it just felt...right."

I was mortified telling her this but I couldn't stop myself. I already know she feels the same way about me but I was afraid that telling her this would rub her the wrong way. It didn't help when she was staring at me, her expression unreadable. Like I couldn't tell if she was repulsed or flattered by what I said.

"Was the reason why you wanted to go under my dreams because you wanted to learn more about me? I initially thought it was because you were curious about Clara but now I've got the feeling it was to get to know me," I continued. Florence smiled which only confirmed my suspicion.