Strangers in Passing

“Want a beer?” Carlo offered as Jack entered the apartment.

Before responding, Jack simply looked around himself as he first returned from work on Friday evening. There were people poured in every free space of the apartment. Even though the railroad-style apartment he lived in was actually only meant to have three people (at most) living there, four did. But right now, there were at least forty people; they were spread between the living room, the ‘dining’ room (Carlos’s bedroom), the kitchen, and…

“WHY ARE THERE PEOPLE IN MY BEDROOM?” Jack demanded.

“Calm down, Jackie,” Carlo started to sling his arm around Jack’s shoulder, but seeing his roommate’s expression, he thought the better of it. “We just needed a place for people to go do… some private things.”

Taking a deep breath, Jack closed his eyes. “First of all,” he said with a hard voice. “Don’t ever call me ‘Jackie’ again. Secondly,” he continued. “Either there is sex or drugs going on in my bedroom. NEITHER of which are okay with me.”

Letting out an annoyed sigh, Carlo nodded. “Fine,” he said, as if he were the one making a concession. “You stay here, have a beer, and I will get them out.”

“Fuck that!” Jack responded angrily. “I’m going to go out, and I just pray that when I get back, you’ll have this taken care of.” He stormed out of the house, feeling fully justified, and walked to the nearest bar to wait out the evening. He was sure that, in the morning, Marco would have a big apology.

-----

“Dear Jack,

Things are not working out with you and the rest of the roommates. As we have no formal agreement, I think it is fair to offer you until the end of the month to remove your belongings. After October 1, we will have to call the police.

Sincerely,
Marco.

-----


Crumpling up the paper he found thumb-tacked to his bedroom door, Jack slammed the door behind him and sat on the bed. What the hell was he supposed to do? San Francisco, as overpriced as it was, was still a hard place to find housing. Plus, he hated his job and he had made no friends…

Unless something miraculous – and miracles were not something that Jack believed in – were to happen… He might think that moving here was a big mistake – and maybe he should move back home.

-----

Theresa smiled as she watched her neighbor, Chastity (an ironic name, if ever she had heard one) push the final piece of her belongings out into the hallway.

“My god!” Chastity exclaimed with a big grin. “I’m so glad you’re here, Trisha. I’m going to miss you so much. You’ve been like a sister to me.”

Without even bothering to correct Chastity on her name, Theresa walked over. “Me, too,” she lied openly, giving the other girl a hug; truth be told, Theresa didn’t believe that a lie was a LIE unless it was meant to hurt somebody. “I wish we had spent more time getting to know each other,” she added as she stepped over her neighbor’s leopard-print luggage.

“Oh, I’ll totally keep in touch, Trish,” Chastity said with sincerity. “It’s just… my dad came to visit last month, and he didn’t think this was the safest neighborhood… Not that it’s not a totally cool neighborhood for YOU to live in,” she added hastily.

But Theresa was already half-a-flight down the stairs. “I can’t wait to hear from you,” she called out to Chastity, with a wave over her shoulder, knowing full-well that she would never hear from this girl again.

“Oh, and if you know anyone that might want the apartment,” Chastity called after Theresa. “Let me know. My dad said if I can find someone to take over the lease, he’ll let me keep the security deposit.”

“I’ll let you know,” Theresa called back, wishing that she did know someone who needed an apartment, but she didn’t. ‘It would have been fun, though,’ she thought to herself. ‘To have a friend living next door.’

Stepping out onto the sidewalk, Theresa took in a big breath and smiled. Chastity had been a nightmare of a neighbor, but Theresa had been hoping to not have to say anything. In her view, karma had come through – Theresa had caused no trouble, and now Chastity was gone. She just hoped her next neighbor didn’t feel a need to have a fraternity-boy-wanna-be-Ryan-Seacreast yelling things against their paper-thin wall like “oh, baby, ain’t it big? Don’t you just wanna suck it?”

Had any man ever had the nerve to ever say something like that to Theresa, she’s fairly sure she would have laughed in his face – even if he had been Tommy Lee-big.

-----

Jack spent all of Saturday packing his belongings into boxes he had purchased at the U-Haul center two blocks from his house. It wasn’t like he had anywhere to put his things; he just wanted his SOON-TO-BE former roommates to think that he did.

After sealing yet another box, Jack stopped. He just… stopped. Taking in his bedroom, he sighed heartily and buried his face in his hands.

“What the FUCK am I going to do?” he asked outloud, willing himself to not cry.

“Maybe moving here was a mistake,” he said softly for the thousandth time since he had arrived in the city just a few short months earlier, hating that he was actually talking to his father in his head right then.

When Jack had originally planned to move out to San Francisco – when he had assumed (wrongly) that his first stunt on a newspaper would be more than a job as a gopher – Jack’s father had been less than supportive. He had said San Francisco was “too much of a city,” for Jack, and that “you can’t stand out in a place like that.”

When Jack had suggested that maybe he would get a chance to be the ‘man-on-the-street’ type reporter, the ‘Average Joe’, his father had scoffed at this.

“You’re not good enough to be an Average Joe,” Jack’s father had told him as they drove to the airport, the night Jack was leaving for San Francisco. “I mean no harm, son,” his father said, his eyes focused on the road. “It’s just… it’s hard to make it as a reporter. And I just don’t think you have it in you.”

For most people, this statement from their father would have been enough to send them right back home. But Jack was different…

“You might not think so, sir,” he told his father, his voice as respectful as he could muster. “But, with all due respect, I think I am.”

“You always did,” his father answered immediately with a mocking laugh. “You thought you’d be as good as Jimmy at baseball, but you weren’t. You thought you’d be as good as Tommy with soccer, but you weren’t…”

Jack watched as his father pulled into the drop-off area of the Raleigh-Durham Airport, no intention of seeing his youngest son off to his first job without more than a few jabs. “And you thought you’d be as good at football as I was – God only knows why, seeing as you were better made for choir than sports – but you still thought you could do it. And you didn’t.”

The sound of utter disappointment in his father’s voice was something Jack was used to, but not what he had expected that night.

Turning around in his seat to face his father, Jack unclicked his seatbelt and locked his jaw. “Yeah, I never was much of an athlete,” he admitted slowly, trying to control his anger. “Your other boys – boy, they did proud by you, didn’t they? Jimmy, knocking Shelly up senior year and dropping out of high school? And Tommy, with his drug arrests? Oh, and let’s not forget you, dad. You, working at the mill for the last twenty years. That’s really fucking impressive.”

Before Jack could comprehend what was happening, his father had reached over and struck his jaw – HARD. “You ungrateful, conceited, good-for-nothing,” his father said coldly as Jack held his jaw in surprise. “After all this family gave to you so you could go to college…”

“Dad-” Jack replied with sudden softness, but was immediately cut off.

“Don’t ‘Dad’ me,” Jack’s father opened the driver’s side door and stood up, forcing Jack to do the same on the passenger side, “Don’t ‘Dad’ me,” he repeated when Jack exited the car and walked around towards the back. “You always thought you were better than this family – ALWAYS. Well, now, big-shot, you get your chance to prove it.” Pulling Jack’s bag out of the trunk, he threw it at Jack’s feet. “Let’s see how well you do without your lower-class father ‘hassling’ you, your ‘uneducated’ brothers harassing you, and your poor mother coddling you. Let’s see how well you do, Mr. Big Shot.”

With that, Jack’s father stepped back into his modest Honda Accord and sped away, leaving Jack sitting speechless at the curbside.

Jack’s father had a fatal heart attack two months later. Jack hadn’t spoken to him since the night he struck him and left him at the airport. At the funeral, his brothers wouldn’t even speak to him.

“I have no place to go ‘home’ to,” Jack thought sadly. “I’m not welcome there anymore. I’m not welcome anywhere.”

-----

The only thing that was able to make Jack smile that day was the realization that it was finally THE night – the night he was taking out Sharon.

Sharon worked reception in the building where the newspaper he worked at was housed. He had admired her from the day he had met her, and only that week had he gotten up the nerve to ask her out. To his shock, she had said yes, actually adding “I’ve been wondering how long I would have to wait before you asked me out.”

Without thinking, Jack had told Sharon that he would take her to a restaurant he knew she’d love – although it was going to be way more than he could afford. ‘Especially now,’ Jack thought as he walked up to the posh establishment later that night. ‘Before, at least I had a place to live. Now I’m homeless AND spending money I don’t have.’

Still, the smile on Sharon’s beautiful face as Jack approached her quickly pushed away any bad feelings he could have had. “You look wonderful,” Jack told her immediately, a blush filling his cheeks.

“Thank you,” Sharon cooed back. “Oh, I’ve wanted to go to this restaurant forever! I’m so glad you asked me.”

With that, all Jack’s worries melted away. For tonight, at least, he was going to have a great time with the woman he’d been hoping to go out with for so long…

-----

“I completely think you’re overreacting,” Theresa sighed for the tenth time that night.

“Sure, take Sal’s side,” Gio grumbled, picking up his glass of Chianti. “He’ll probably get you, along with the apartment, when we break up.”

Taking the wine from Gio’s hand, Theresa set it back on her coffee table. She then took his hands in hers and looked into his eyes. “Sal loves you,” she said solidly. “Maybe he did get drunk last night and flirt with someone else-”

“There’s no maybe,” Gio’s dark, handsome face flashed angry. “He did.”

”Okay,” Theresa continued calmly. “He did. So what? Haven’t you two been together for over a year? Don’t you live together? Don’t you know that, in the end, you are the only one Sal has eyes for, because otherwise he’d have to be blind?”

Smirking a little, Gio leaned over and kissed Theresa’s cheek. “You’re right,” he said. “I am too gorgeous to cheat on.”

Bursting into laughter, Theresa relaxed and released Gio’s hands, both of them immediately going for their respective wine glasses. She had spent the better part of her Saturday night convincing Gio that his boyfriend, Sal, hadn’t meant to hurt his feelings the night before. Not that Theresa had actually been there; she had no interest in going to a place where Sal and Gio were sure they had her ‘perfect match’.

“Well, I still blame you,” Gio interrupted Theresa’s thoughts. “If you had come to the party last night, Sal would have been spending his time hooking up you and Vincent, rather than talking to that… thing.”

Shaking her head, Theresa leaned into Gio. “I’m sorry,” she said, knowing arguing would do no good. When Gio was having a pity-party, he was the only one who could pull himself out of it. “I am really sorry. What can I do to make it up to you?”

Tapping his chin with exaggeration, Gio’s eyes lit up. “You can let me take you to dinner!” he exclaimed.

Wrinkling her eyebrows, Theresa sat up. “How would that be ME making this up to YOU?” she asked.

“Because I want to go to that new restaurant down by the Bay,” Gio explained. “And there’s no way you could afford it. And Sal won’t go, because I MAY HAVE hooked up with the manager before Sal and I got together.”

“Gio-” Theresa said in her warning voice.

“No, no,” Gio insisted, standing up from the couch. “I have no interest. Sal’s just so unnecessarily jealous sometimes.”

“How do you put up with someone like that?” Theresa replied wryly, rolling her eyes at Gio as she rose up beside him.

“Enough with you,” Gio waved Theresa off. “Now, go change. I won’t be seen with you in that outfit.”

Laughing, Theresa just shook her head and headed towards her bedroom. “I’ll be ready in ten minutes,” she said. Taking a few steps, she turned back and leaned against the bedroom doorway. “Oh, Gio, by the way – do you know anyone that needs an apartment? The place next door just opened up…”

“In this building?” Gio raised his eyebrows. “No, you are my only friend that would live in a crackhouse. It is why I love you – you are eccentric. Oh, so that Girls-Gone-Wild-Sorority-Girls-Newport-Beach reject is finally gone? Hmmm… I’ll miss her. She was cheeky.

“Yeah,” Theresa turned back towards her bedroom. “And you say I’M the eccentric one.”

-----

“I think it’s so exciting that you want to be a journalist,” Sharon tossed her long blond hair over her shoulder and smiled widely at Jack over the table they sat at eating dinner. “That can be so exciting. I mean look at Walter Winchell, or Woodward and Bernstein.”

Smiling brightly, Jack shook his head. “Exactly,” he replied with excitement. “Or, if you were to dig a little deeper, Ben Bradlee or, if I can be cheesy, Ernie Pyle.”

Pausing, Sharon bit her lower lip and looked at Jack seductively through the candle-lit room. “Well, to be honest…” she sighed, her voice so sensuous, he could hardly catch his own breath. “I feel like we’re really hitting it off, Jack.”

“Yes…”

“And I think you’re really amazing,” Sharon reached her hand across the table and took his, rubbing her thumb over his palm. “I mean… you’re handsome, and smart, and funny, and you took me to this wonderful restaurant...”

“Yes?” Jack asked hopefully, wondering what wonderful words might next escape the mouth of this beautiful creature.

“Well,” Sharon pulled her hand back and giggled. “The truth is, I don’t know who Gomer Pyle is. Or Ben Bradlee. Or even Woodward and what’s-his-name… I just looked that stuff up online before our date.”

”Bernstein,” Jack suddenly pulled back, sitting further in his seat and putting his hands in his lap. “It’s Woodward and Bernstein. And it’s Ernie Pyle, not Gomer.” Suddenly, the night had gone from amazing to horrifying. How could someone born in last hundred years not know who Woodward and Bernstein were?

-----

“This place is amazing,” Theresa said as she and Gio were seated. The waiter handed them their menus and left them to consider their wine options. “But, PLEASE, Gio – the manager still totally wants to get in your pants.”

“Of course,” Gio didn’t even look up from his wine list, but his handsome features curved into a smile. “Who wouldn’t?”

Just then, a couple who had finished their meals was exiting the restaurant, but paused near their table. Gio glanced up and smiled at the woman. “Oh, hello there. I didn’t expect to run into anyone I knew here tonight,” he said, causing Theresa to look up, as well.

“Hi,” Sharon smiled widely, obviously excited. “I didn’t know if you would recognize me from the building-”

“Of course I do,” Gio waved his hand dismissively. Theresa knew, though, that he didn’t. Gio was fairly good at recognizing faces, but rarely could place them – and certainly would never remember a name.

“Anyway,” Sharon beamed, looking between Gio and Theresa. “You guys have a good night. Enjoy your meals. You definitely will – the food here is to die for!”

“Good night,” Gio waved, smiling at the girl and her escort as they left the restaurant.

“You have no idea who that was,” Theresa accused with a grin.

“I do, too,” Gio replied with indignation. “She works reception at one of the buildings where I do some freelance. Of course, I had no idea who she was when she first approached. God, I hate that.”

“The hideousness of being a acclaimed and beloved fashion writer,” Theresa dramatically placed her hand against her heart. “However do you stand the horror?”

“Shut up, wench, or you’ll be sitting here watching me eat a very nice meal without offering you anything,” Gio shook his head in amusement. “Anyway, did you catch a look at her escort? VERY nice. And he couldn’t keep his eyes off you.”

Glancing towards the doors where the couple had exited a moment earlier, Theresa looked back at Gio and shrugged. “I didn’t notice,” she told him honestly.

“You never do,” Gio rolled his eyes in disgust and picked his menu back up. “Which is why you are destined to become a lonely old cat lady, with only Sal and I, in our sympathy, spending time with you.”

“I’m allergic to cats,” Theresa reminded Gio with a smirk.

“Either way,” Gio sighed. “You keep ignoring all the attractive men staring at you on a regular basis, and you are going to never find a good match for a relationship.”

“I think that you and Sal are all the ‘relationship’ drama I can handle right now.

“As I said before,” Gio grinned. “Shut up, wench.”

-----

“I can’t believe he recognized me,” Sharon squealed as she and Jack left the restaurant.

“Who was that?” Jack asked, his eyes bright with interest.

“Who was that?” Sharon repeated back with shock. “That was only Giovanni Cagnina, one of the most important fashion writers of our time. I can’t believe you didn’t recognize him! He comes into the building sometimes; he does some work for Fashion Sky magazine on the fourth floor.”

Although it occurred to Jack for a moment that Sharon apparently knew the names of many ‘important’ fashion writers, but didn’t know some of the most important reporters of the last century, he shook this off. “No, I mean the girl he was with,” Jack asked. “She looked familiar. Does she work in the building, too?”

Suddenly looking bored, Sharon just shrugged. “Not that I know of,” she replied, turning around. “I don’t think she’s anyone important. Anyway, where to next?”

What Jack should have been thinking just then was the fact that he had just dropped two bills on a dinner, he was homeless, he had less than a thousand dollars in his bank account, and Sharon was expecting to continue the evening – probably at some overpriced, overcrowded, over-trendy nightclub.

Instead, though, all he could think about was the woman at the table. She had looked so familiar… Her soft, cascading hair, and her fine features were definitely buried somewhere in the recesses of his mind, but he just couldn’t remember.

And how was it possible to forget seeing such a beautiful girl? She wasn’t striking in the generic, showy way that Sharon was; there was something much more confident, intelligent and different about her attractiveness. Suddenly, it hit Jack.

“I know,” Jack said aloud with shock.

“What/” Sharon asked with confusion. “You know what we should do next?”

“No, I know where I’ve seen that girl,” Jack admitted, his cheeks flushing. He hadn’t meant to make the exclamation out loud. “I sat next to her on a bus last week.”

Crinkling her eyebrows, Sharon smiled bemusedly. “You know, that must be what makes you a good reporter,” she said. “I have no idea who I sit next to everyday on buses. I usually don’t even notice. And some of the time, I have absolutely NO desire to pay attention – have you seen some of the people that travel on the buses in this city?”

‘I don’t usually notice either,’ Jack thought to himself. ‘But it was hard not to notice this girl…’

-----

SORRY IT’S BEEN SO LONG SINCE I’VE WRITTEN ANYTHING. I’VE BEEN SUPER BUSY WITH WORK AND WEDDING PLANNING. PLUS, I AM WORKING WITH MY FIANCE AND TWO OTHER WRITERS FROM THIS SITE TO CREATE OUR OWN SITE. HOPEFULLY, I’LL HAVE MORE INFO FOR YOU ON THAT SOON.

FOR NOW, THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HAS REVIEWED. I KNOW THIS MAY SEEM LIKE A CLICHED STORY RIGHT NOW, BUT I HOPE THOSE WHO HAVE READ MY OTHER WORKS GIVE ME THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT ;) I LOOK FORWARD TO MORE COMMENTS, GOOD OR BAD. UNTIL NEXT TIME…