Culture Shock (21 page)

"Oh, I'm sure you have some interesting things to tell about your job, too," Cynthia responded to her brother.

"Oh, sure. Working with water and electricity can be a jolting experience," Kevin quipped, but his gaze turned serious. "Sis, I'm not so sure I like you living in such a dangerous place."

"Oh don't worry about me." She flipped a dismissing wave. "With Alex so close, I'm perfectly safe." She tried not to roll her eyes. Kevin had no idea how really close she was to Alex.

Alex gazed across at her and nodded in Kevin's direction. He was trying to tell her something, but what?

She cleared her throat. "Well, Kevin, tell us more about your job."

Alex looked at Kevin and smiled. "Yes, Alex doesn't even know the kinds of things you do."

Kevin leaned back and rested his arm behind Alex's head. "I handle problems with water, garbage and electricity. There really isn't much to tell.
Ord isn't a very big town. If something goes wrong, I fix it."

At the mention of electricity, Alex stomped three times on the floor. "Darn foot. Went to sleep on me. Feels like an electric shock. Anything shocking happened in your job lately, Kevin."

Cynthia got it! Her brother worked with electricity. How had she not made the connection before? She sat straight in her chair. "Yes, Kevin, what kind of uh ... things happen with electricity. Surely, you must get some pretty weird calls sometimes, huh?"

Kevin scratched his head. "Nothing that comes to mind. Most of my calls are just fixing breakers, reading meters, lighting pilots. I changed a light bulb for
ol' Miz Smalley once." He chuckled.

Cynthia leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees. "Ever heard of a ... a personality transference?"

"A what?" Kevin questioned.

From the surprise in his voice, he'd never heard of one and certainly wasn't going to believe one happened. Still, he might if have some answers if prompted. "So, let's just say someone calls you and says they've had a terrible shock ... electric, I mean, and now they see things from someone else's perspective."

"I'd refer them to the local head doctor." He cocked his head, his brow rose. "What in the world prompted that kind of question?"

"Oh, never mind. I was just pulling your leg. Say, I'll bet you're getting hungry.

The "what if" theory hadn‘t worked, but she expected the answer she got. Kevin wasn’t going to be of any help…no one was. She was going to be stuck in Alex’s body forever and there was nothing she could do about it. Manly men didn’t cry, the dam holding back all her unshed tears was about to break. She managed to push her aside her female emotions and smile. “How about we all go out for a bite to eat."

***

During dinner, Kevin again brought up how Cynthia came to live in such an unusual place. Her heart thudded with fear that Alex couldn't field the question. She wasn't going to give him a chance. "Well, like your sister told you, we both agree we're at The Cairns because the rent is so expensive everywhere else. The closer you get to the city, the more you pay. I don't know about you, Cynthia..." she glanced at Alex, "but, I didn't realize what a rat-trap it was until I actually moved in. It's funny how you sometimes miss what's right under your nose."

Alex nodded. "That's exactly right. Sometimes even people aren't
even—”

"Oh, Cynthia, speaking of people," She kicked him under the table. "I ran into your friend, Thomas Carpenter, in the alley. He said to tell you hello."

Chapter
Seventeen

When her brother took a bathroom break, Cynthia leaned toward Alex. "I'm so tired I feel sick to my stomach. I can't keep my eyes open much longer, so I'm going to leave," she whispered. "Besides, I don't want Kevin to think ...well.…"

"Think what?" Alex whispered back.

"Think we're more than just friends." The last words tumbled out of her mouth.

Alex widened his eyes at her. "Well, I sort of thought we are. Am I wrong?"

She sighed. "I'm not sure what we are to our own selves, let alone each other...we were starting….”  Her gaze shifted upward. “Oh, Kevin. I was just telling Cynthia how tired I am."

Damn! Alex really wanted to hear what she had to say in response to his admission.

Cynthia stood and stretched. "I'm gonna head home and hit the sheets." She turned to her brother. "After your trip you must be exhausted, too." She thrust out a hand at him. "It was very nice meeting you."

"You, too, Alex!" Kevin grasped the offered hand. "Will I be seeing you before I leave?"

"Sure! I'll make a point of stopping by." She wanted to hug him and tell him how very much she loved him, but she had a role to play.

She bid the two good night and left Alex to entertain her brother. She wasn't anxious to leave the two of them alone, but she honestly was too exhausted and depressed to make small talk.  Her brother had always fixed her boo boos and if she stayed, she was bound to blurt out the truth.  Besides, it was inevitable that she leave eventually, after all, she was a friend and neighbor. Did an hour or two really make a difference?

***

The remaining time at the restaurant had passed without a hitch, but now back at the apartment, anxiety zipped through Alex like lightning. Cynthia hadn’t appeared concerned with him being alone with her brother, but what if Kevin eventually asked something Alex couldn't answer? He considered dashing off to bed to keep the conversation to a minimum, and decided on that as a plan of action. First, he had to find where Cynthia kept the spare bedding.

While Kevin kicked back on the sofa and channel-surfed, Alex fished around in the closet. "Hope you don't mind sleeping on my crummy couch,” he called from the bedroom. “It's the best I can do, but at least you'll have clean sheets and blankets." He spied them wrapped in plastic at the far end of the top shelf.

"I'm fine with whatever!” Kevin yelled back. “You know me, Sis, I can sleep anywhere."

Alex grimaced. If only he did know the stranger on the couch, he wouldn't feel so stressed. The nightmare that gripped him just kept getting worse.

With sheets, blankets and pillows pulled from their wrappings piled to his eyebrows, Alex deposited the bedding on the chair. "Can you make up your bed or shall I?" Since when did his English become so proper?

"I can do it. No problem. Are you going to bed already?"

Alex feigned a big yawn. "Ahhh. I'm beat. I thought I'd turn in early so we can take in some sights tomorrow."

"Great. I'd like to see the big city. Do you mind if I watch a little TV before I turn in? It won't disturb you will it?"

"No, of course not. Watch as long as you'd like. Goodnight." Alex closed the bedroom door and plopped down on the side of the bed. "Great," he mumbled. "What'll I do now? I'm not even tired."

He eyed the telephone and picked it up. He dialed his own number.

"Hello?" Cynthia answered after several rings, sounding half asleep.

"Cynthia, it's me."

"And?"

"I told your brother we'd do some sight-seeing tomorrow. You have to come."

"It's not like I had any other plans, Alex."

"I wanted to make sure you'd be there with me. Right now I'm holed up in your bedroom to make sure I don't screw up."

"What's Kevin doing?"

"Watching TV."

"You're certainly not being very hospitable, but I think I prefer that over you spilling the beans. Is he okay?"

"I gave him clean sheets and stuff. He's a big boy. He can entertain himself."

"So, if you're in the bedroom and he's in the living room, and you don't have a problem, tell me again why you called. I came home because I was tired, but because I’ve been worrying about leaving you two alone, I just now fell asleep."

"I called to hear my own voice I guess. I can't sleep either. I have to face tomorrow morning with him. What if he.…"

"Okay...here's your voice telling you not to stress. Worry doesn't change anything, so try and get some sleep. Maybe you'll heed the advice since I haven't been able to convince myself. Just like working on the case, we have to take things as they come. Nothing's really changed since my brother arrived, so good night, Alex." She hung up.

He held the receiver away from his ear and stared at it. "That wasn't very nice considering I'm playing host…hostess to your brother. Now that you've brought up the case, I'll be lucky to catch forty winks."

***

The sound of screeching tires woke Alex. He leapt up and ran for the window before he was fully awake, then howled in pain when his foot collided with Cynthia's cedar chest at the end of the bed. A string of mumbled obscenities colored the air as he grabbed his injured toe and hopped around on one foot. He sucked in his breath, quite certain Cynthia wouldn't have uttered such foul words.

The noise outside no longer seemed important and he sat on the bed and inspected his throbbing digit. Great! I'll probably lose my ... her toenail. He already hated her shoes and this would only make finding a comfortable pair more challenging. Sounds from the living room indicated Kevin was awake.

Alex hurried to the bathroom, pulled Cynthia's frilly robe on, steeled himself for another day of Oscar-award winning acting and opened the bedroom door.

Kevin stood, folding his blankets.

"Good morning, Kevin. I hate to ask, knowing where you slept, but did you rest well?"

Kevin chuckled. "You of all people should know I can sleep on a bed of nails."

"It's a good thing. My sofa isn't quite that bad, but it's as close as I'd care to come.…"

"What was all that noise a few minutes ago?"

"Oh, nothing, I stubbed my toe, but I think I'll live."

"Judging from what I heard, you've increased your vocabulary a bit."

"Sorry about that. I usually don't cuss, but.…"

"Hey, you're an adult. No apology necessary. What's for breakfast? I'm starved." Kevin plopped down on the sofa and rubbed his stomach.

Alex gulped, grappling for an answer. He ate his own cooking but he wasn't sure he should foist it on an innocent victim. "How about we get dressed and go out for a bite?" he offered.

"Well, I guess we could do that, but I was kinda counting on some of your tasty hotcakes."

"Hotcakes?" What in the hell were hotcakes? Pancakes? Finally, it dawned on him. "Oh! Hotcakes."

"Yep, with heaps of butter and loaded with your special vanilla syrup. My mouth is watering just talking about it."

A slight panic welled within Alex. Even if he faked a hotcake, he had no idea how to make vanilla syrup. The drooling look on Kevin's face made Alex believe steering him away from the kitchen might not be easy. "Hey, I have an idea. Why don't we give Alex a call and invite him to join us for breakfast out? We'll have pancakes tomorrow."

"You got a thing for him, huh, Sis? I had hoped we could visit a little without a third party. Besides, there's something a little strange about that guy. I just can't figure out what it is."

"Oh for heaven's sake, he's just a friend...and strange how?" Alex found Kevin's assessment a little insulting. "He's quite a good-looking fella don't you think?" He moved to the cabinets, opening doors and searching for coffee.

Kevin cocked his head and looked up at Alex. "You don't ask one guy if he thinks another is good looking. Now, show me a pretty girl and I'm an authority."

"Well, you have to admit, he's a nice guy." The defensive side of Alex took over. He found the can he sought and filled the carafe with water, then filled the basket with grounds.

"Yeah, he seemed nice enough, but do we have to eat breakfast with him?"

"No…I guess not." Alex's stomach knotted. "But I did invite him to do some sightseeing with us. I'll just whip up something here...but...I'm fresh out of vanilla."

“Oh, Cyn, you knew I was coming.”  Kevin’s mouth pulled into a pout.

“Sorry, but I didn’t make it to the market.” Alex’s mind whirred. What exactly could he whip up?

"No worry. I'm sure whatever you make will taste great. While you cook, I'm gonna jump in the shower." He disappeared into the bedroom.

Alex took a deep breath. "Yeah, well don't be too sure you'll like what you're served," he muttered. “And I’m pretty sure you’re about to discover another of this place’s shortcomings.

While the coffee brewed, he searched the refrigerator for something simple he could make like scrambled eggs. Inside resembled old Mother Hubbard's cupboard
; no eggs, no bacon, nothing but an overload of vegetables and two beers. A salad for breakfast seemed a little far-fetched.

The cupboard didn't offer many options either. In fact, he found only one thing suitable for breakfas
t, cold cereal. At least he'd seen milk tucked behind his beer. He pulled out the box of corn flakes and placed it on the table, then set the quart of milk next to it. He recalled seeing the sugar dispenser next to the coffee pot, and with bowls and spoons, the table was set. He quickly smelled the milk, noted the expiration date hadn't passed, and released a long breath.