Caroline & The Parallel Universe
By: Jana~
And: Caroline
Chapter Two
*****~*****
--"Ok, so… in this dream…" Annie interjected as Caroline relayed her last night's dream… "Everyone was like opposite of how we really are?"
"Exactly!" Caroline confirmed… "Del was like, wanting marriage and kids… Charlie was super smart and not at all weird. Richard was really upbeat and chipper…"
"Richie?! Chipper?!" Annie laughed…
"Yep! And I was more like him! All gloomy and depressed all the time. And YOU were shy… and still a virgin!"
"Get out!"
"I'm out!"
"Too funny! So, what happened in the dream?"
"Well, I hired Richard to work for me and you had this thing for him… so you two started dating…"
"Ewww! Gross! Me and Richie?!"
Caroline chuckled… "Yep! And I was jealous of you two and got all depressed…" she trailed off… "It was just a really weird dream…"
"Sounds more like a nightmare!"
"More like your nightmare!" Caroline laughed…
"My life is a nightmare…" Richard said, overhearing Caroline's comment as he walked through the door…
"Good morning sunshine." Caroline greeted him, only receiving an unhappy snort in return…
"The heat in my apartment went out. A kid pelted me with a snowball on my way to the subway. And the guy standing next to me on the subway tried to take advantage of me!"
Annie laughed with a loud, brief sound… "What?!"
He sighed… "Let's just say in some cultures, I would be married to him."
"Well, did you deck him?" Annie asked…
"Deck him?" he repeated… "No, I didn't 'deck' him! I'm much to civilized for that."
"Bigger than you, huh?"
"By at least 2 inches and 100 pounds…"
"Thought so…" Annie added… "Hey, Caroline! Tell him about your dream!"
Caroline threw an angry look at Annie then turned to Richard… "He's not interested in my dreams… are you Richard?"
"Nope." Was his simple, indifferent reply…
"See?" Caroline turned to Annie… "I'll walk you home…"
"Walk her home?" Richard asked… "She lives less than 20 feet away…"
"Yeah, well, I also need to borrow something from her…"
"What?" Annie asked as she was being ushered to the door…
"Just go!" Caroline snipped, pushing her out the door and following, shutting the door behind them… "I wanted to talk to you about the dream!" she told Annie through clenched teeth… "But I didn't want him to know that!"
"Ok… so, what about the dream then?"
"Ok… you know stuff about dream interpretations… right?"
"A little, yeah…"
"Ok, so, what do you think the dream meant?"
"Honestly? I think it means you have a thing for Richard."
"What? How do you figure?! YOU were the one dating him!"
"Yeah…" She shuddered… "But then you got all jealous about it."
"I don't think that meant anything."
"Ok, well, what do you think the dream meant?"
"I don't know…" Caroline gave it a moments thought… "I don't know what to think of it…"
"Well, I told you my opinion…"
"Fine. I don't have time for this right now…"
"Oh, I know…" Annie smirked… "Gotta get back in there… to Richie !"
Caroline glared at her… "I don't have a thing for Richard!" she barked before walking back inside her apartment.
*****
--"What was all that about?" Richard asked as Caroline re-entered the apartment…
"What was what about?"
"You and Annie."
"Just girl talk…"
"Say no more…" Richard interrupted… "Really…"
"Yeah, yeah…" Caroline smirked… "So… how was your weekend?"
"Oh, it was one magnificent occurrence after another," he replied sarcastically… "Filled with wonderment and surprise."
"Why do I bother?" Caroline asked rhetorically…
"A question I ask myself often."
"Fine. Let's just get to work then."
"Well, there's a first time for everything…" he quipped under his breath… but Caroline caught it and smiled.
*****~*****
--Caroline had been tossing and turning for hours, unable to sleep and getting anxious. She grumbled as she flipped over onto her back…
"Why can't I sleep?" she asked nobody…
*Cause of Richard.* her subconscious informed her…
"I do NOT have a thing for Richard!" she snapped, getting only a slight glance from Salty. "I mean, c'mon! Richard? I can't be in love with Richard!" she continued to try to convince herself… "Sure, he's a good friend… and he's always been there for me… and he's cute…" She trailed off as her brain conjured up memories of their growing relationship.
His first day of work… that night… pretending to be Caroline's date so she wouldn't lose face in front of Del. When she hurt her back playing racquetball… he stayed with her and helped her… even after she had taken too many of Annie's pills and couldn't create a coherent sentence if her life had depended on it. He even drew the strip for her… with Del's minimal help.
When she went back to Wisconsin for the park dedication, it was Richard beside her. It was Richard who'd brought her the blanket when she stormed out of the house after her brother Chris outshone her… AGAIN. It was he who had stayed with her when everyone else left her at the park in the middle of the ceremony to go see the record-making fish Chris had caught.
He painted her Paris when she and Del broke up, spoiling her chance to go to the most romantic city in the world… at least any time soon. And after she hung the picture… and he was leaving… under the cilantro that took the place of mistletoe. The simple little kiss… her heart skipping at least 2 beats… maybe more.
Caroline snapped out of her thoughts and bolted upright, a loud gasp catching Salty's attention…
"Oh God! It's true!" she groaned, resting her forehead on the palm of her hand… "Now what?"
*****~*****
--Caroline knocked several times, awaiting an answer only briefly before knocking again. When Annie finally answered the door, hair in disarray, looking quite disheveled, Caroline breathed a sigh of relief…
"Hi."
Annie just looked at her a moment, eyes still at half-mast… "What?"
"I was hoping you'd be up…"
"Yeah? And here I was hoping you'd come knocking on my door at this unGodly hour and wake me from my slumber!" Annie grumbled… "Damn Caroline, I was just about to have sex with Brad Pitt!"
"You weren't awake?"
"Well, if I was, I was doing it with my eyes closed while snoring…" she snipped, then opened the door a bit wider… "Besides… do you see Brad Pitt in here?"
Without responding, Caroline walked in and plopped down on the couch…
Annie sighed and shook her head… "Ok, well, come on in… I guess…"
"Yeah, thanks." Caroline replied distantly, oblivious to Annie sarcastic tone…
"Want some tea?" Annie offered as she walked into the kitchen…
"I think I have a thing for Richard." Caroline blurted out, ignoring Annie's 'tea' question.
Annie just looked at her…
"I think I've been in love with him this whole time…" Caroline added…
"No! Ya think?!" was Annie's sarcastic reply…
"C'mon Annie… this is serious! I don't know what to do now…" she lamented… "Help me?"
Annie chuckled… "Ok, ok… first thing's first… you gotta get him to notice you."
"Yeah, but how do I do that? Low cut shirt and a wonderbra?"
"Caroline, he's not Del…" she reminded… "You don't have to be that subtle…" she joked… "But Richie looks like the type that might scare easy. You may need to… trick him a little…"
"Trick him? Like lure him to my bedroom with a trail of candy?" Caroline asked humorously…
"A trail of depressing movies might work better…" Annie chuckled… "C'mon Caroline… you wanted serious… I'm trying to be serious…"
"Ok, ok… sorry," she apologized… "So, how do I trick him?"
An almost wicked smile crossed Annie's lips… "Like this…"
*****~*****
--"What are you doing?" Richard asked as Caroline buzzed about…
"I have a date tonight," she informed him cheerfully… "I'm making us dinner…"
"Oh."
"I'm really looking forward to it too! Been wanting this guy for a while now…"
A pang of jealousy hit Richard, but outwardly he remained his typically rigid self… "Ok…"
"Kept hoping he'd ask me out… but he never would… so I took the initiative--"
"Caroline, Caroline… you answered my question… you don't need to elaborate…"
She smirked… "Sorry…"
She hummed as she cooked, and occasionally Richard would steal glances as she flitted about the kitchen. Finally, curiosity got the better of him…
"What are you making anyway?"
"My specialty… chicken del fuago." she replied without looking away from her task…
"On a first date?" he blurted out before he could stop himself.
Caroline looked to him, a slight grin crossing her face… "You have a problem with that?"
*A problem with that?!* his thoughts asked him… *Of course I have a problem with that!*
"No. No problem…" he replied as he returned his attention to his work…
*If she's making chicken del fuago, it can only mean one thing…* he stewed, his facial features tense, grinding his teeth… *Caroline and Mr. Mystery Guest… being intimate…* the thought was too much to bear… *And on a first date? That's not my Caroline…* He physically seemed to startle as that thought ran through his mind… *My Caroline? Since when do I own her? I have no claim on her or what she does. She's not yours, Richard…* he reminded himself silently… *She'll never be yours…*
Richard tried to focus on his work, but as the apartment filled with Caroline's soft humming and the smells of the dinner she was preparing, it became harder and harder to concentrate.
"Hey, Caroline!" Annie chirped as she walked through the door… "I could smell your infamous 'gettin lucky' chicken all the way over at my place!"
"Well, it's not a guaranteed 'gettin lucky'… he has to want it too…" Caroline chuckled as Annie stole a taste…
"Is he breathing?" Annie asked as she silently gave her approval over the dinner…
"I hope so!" Caroline laughed…
"Then you're guaranteed some action…"
"Could we have this conversation somewhere else?" Richard snipped… "I'm trying to work."
"What's the matter Richie?" Annie taunted… "Jealous?"
His head snapped up from his work… "Jealous? Why--? What--? Jealous of what?"
"Cause Caroline's gettin some tonight and you're not!"
Richard almost seemed relieved by Annie's words… then his pretentious better-than-everyone (or at least better-than-Annie) look came across his face… "Hardly. Not everyone is like you, Annie. Not everyone engages in sex so recklessly with people they barely know, let alone care about…"
Annie just looked at him for a moment, seemingly taking in his words… then she laughed… "Whoa! Looks like I hit a nerve… eh, Richie?"
He huffed and shook his head as he went back to coloring the panel in front of him.
Caroline smiled at the exchange between Richard and Annie… "Hey, Annie? Do me a favor and light some candles for me?"
Annie nudged Caroline… "Oooo… candles! Romantic!"
"Yeah… light candles and dim the lights…" Richard interjected… "Maybe if he can't see the food, he'll be more likely to eat it."
"Oh, hush!" Caroline snipped back with a smile… "I'm a good cook!"
"If you say so…"
Annie had the candles lit quickly as Caroline finished the meal…
"I'm gonna go change…" Caroline informed… "Be right back down."
With Caroline out of the room, Annie turned to Richard… "So, Richie, what are your plans tonight?"
He just glared without answering and went back to his work…
"Wow… someone's in a mood."
"Yeah, seems to come on every time you enter the room."
"Richie, Richie, Richie… you need to loosen up! You're wound so tight you're gonna pop something!"
"I'm loose enough, thank you."
"If this is loose, I'd hate to see you uptight!" she chuckled… "You know what you need?"
"At the moment, you to leave."
"Ha ha. No! What you need is sex! You need to get yourself some sex!"
"Problems cannot be solved by meaningless sex."
"Problems? You have a problem? What problem? Maybe I can help…"
"You can't help…"
"Fine. Just trying to be nice!" she replied as if hurt by the snub… "When was the last time you got any?"
"Got any?" he repeated… "I'm assuming you mean sex… seeing as how you are incapable of talking about anything else…"
She glared with a smirk, then nodded… "Yes I'm talking about sex! When was the last time you had sex?"
"That's none of your business."
"So, I'm guessing a while then…"
"Look, just because you sleep with everything that walks partially upright doesn't mean everyone else follows suit. The physical act of love should not be taken lightly! It should be between 2 people who care about each other!"
Annie just blinked a few times in amazement before replying… "What after-school special did you fall out of?"
"I wouldn't expect you to understand--"
"There's nothing to understand!"
Their bickering became incoherent, both running over top of the other when Caroline started downstairs…
"How do I look?" she asked, her presence enough to stop Richard and Annie's fighting…
Richard gasped, but quickly tried to cover by coughing…
"You look excellent!" Annie complimented her, a sly smile on her face… "He'll drop dead at the sight of you! Don'tcha think Richie?"
He tried to keep his expression casual… "You look very nice." He looked down at his watch and started to put his work supplies away…
Annie noticed and gasped… "Crap! What time is it?"
"Almost five." He replied distantly…
"Crap twice! I gotta get to the theater!" She jumped up and headed for the door… "I want all the details tomorrow, Caroline!"
"Ok!" Caroline called back just as the door slammed shut after Annie's exit.
Richard grabbed his portfolio and stood, heading for his coat… "Have a fun date…"
"Thank you."
Just then the phone rang and Caroline grabbed it quickly… "Hello?" she answered, her tone cheery… "Oh, hi!" After a moment of listening, her smile started to fade… "What?"
Richard noticed her whole mood seemed to change, and he watched her carefully, trying not to seem too obvious about watching her…
She said little else as she finished the phone call… "Ok. I understand…" she whispered sadly… "Bye."
Tears started to well up in her eyes as she hung up the phone, and Richard stood by the door awkwardly, wondering what to do or say.
"Bad news I take it?" Richard finally broke the silence…
"My date cancelled…"
"Oh. Well, there will be other dates…"
"Yeah, but what about all this food?"
He shrugged… "Freeze it."
She sighed as she wiped her tears… "That's not the point, Richard…"
"So, what's the point?"
"I just really wanted company tonight…"
Not knowing what else to say, he stood frozen in place… watching as she made an attempt to stop crying. He wanted to go to her… hold her… take her pain away… but he didn't dare.
"Well… ummm… I should… probably get going…" he stuttered, looking to the floor and away from her heartbreaking expression…
"Yeah. I understand. It makes you uncomfortable seeing me cry…"
"No, no… it's not that! I mean, I don't like seeing you cry, but--"
"I don't suppose you'd stay with me tonight? Help me eat this?"
"Ummm… well… I don't know…" he stammered nervously…
"You have plans?"
"No, not exactly… but if I don't feed the thing that lives in my wall, it'll eat my paints."
"Oh…" she whispered as she nodded… "I see…"
He took notice of her disappointment and sighed with resignation… "But, then again, paint is on sale this week…" He put his portfolio down on the ground and took off his coat, hanging it up as Caroline smiled and started for the kitchen.
*****
--They ate in virtual silence, every subject broached causing Richard to fidget uncomfortably. But as the dinner was eaten, and the wine was drank, he started loosening up a little. Caroline noticed and smiled as she topped off his glass before starting to clean the table.
"Did you like the meal?"
"Yeah… it was good," he admitted… "Better than dehydrated ramen noodles…"
"I'm glad you liked it…" Her smile dropped as she spotted something on the counter, and her abrupt end to her sentence and the look that came across her face caught Richard's attention…
"What?"
She sighed… "Nothing. Guess I won't be needing this tonight…"
"Why? What is it?"
"My favorite CD… I was hoping to get to dance tonight…"
"Oh…"
"Guess that's out now. I'm sure you wouldn't wanna dance…"
He watched her sad expression as she looked over the CD before placing it back on the counter. Suddenly aware that his palms were perspiring out of sheer nervousness, he wiped his hands on his pants… "Well, I'm a bit rusty… but I'm willing to give it a try…"
She smiled… "Really?"
He nodded and stood from his seat.
She put the CD in and soon the sound of Eric Clapton's 'Wonderful Tonight' filled the room. They moved tentatively towards one another, and he took her hand in his, placing his free hand on her waist… holding her at arm's length. They danced rigidly at first, but as they relaxed, they drifted closer and closer. Soon they were in each other's arms, Richard's arm around her waist, his hand at the small of her back… his other hand holding her hand, resting over his heart. Caroline's free hand roamed up his back to rest on his shoulder, and they fell into a comfortable rhythm, swaying slowly to the music.
She rested her head against his chest, the smell of him drawing her further from reality. The smell she had come to know as distinctly Richard… a certain soap mixed with a light cologne… she wondered briefly what kind it was, but dismissed it as she allowed his scent to permeate her senses.
Richard breathed her in… the light scent of her mixed with the alcohol he'd had at dinner making him dizzy. Her quiet voice brought him out of his thoughts…
"Richard? I have a confession to make…"
He pulled back just enough to look at her… "What am I, your priest?" he quipped nervously… "You know I can't absolve you of your sins… right?"
Caroline smiled and shook her head lightly… "Ha, ha… but I'm being serious here, Richard…"
"Ok… go ahead…"
"Ok… you know the date tonight?"
"Yeah?"
"Well… there was no date."
"What? What do you mean?"
"Just what I said… there was no date tonight." She took a deep breath and continued… "I made it up."
"What? Why?"
"Because…" she hesitated… "I wanted to be with you tonight…"
He gulped in air and looked at her, almost as if for the first time… "Why?"
"Well… that kinda brings me to my next confession…" Without hesitating for fear she'd lose her nerve, she reached for his lips with hers, kissing him.
TO BE CONTINUED
Thanks for reading!