Love Is a Breeze (2 page)

“Hi. I’m Brianna Ryan. I need to order some new checks and get some cash,” she said, handing the teller her debit card.

“Certainly, Miss Ryan.” The teller typed the account number into her computer. “This account was closed yesterday.”

Brianna’s smile faded.

“May I get cash from my savings account?”

“I’m afraid that has been closed, also.”

“But that money was mine.”  Brianna’s heart plummeted to her knees.

“I’m really sorry, Miss Ryan but it was a joint account and Mr. Hanson was the primary holder.”

Clutching her stomach, she willed her breakfast to stay put and walked to the nearest chair.
Now what?
She sank into the chair, attempting to sort through her jumbled thoughts. She recalled the day she told Eric she wanted to open a savings account and he said he could add her to his account. He never used the savings account. It made perfect sense at the time. She had struggled to keep food on the table and a roof over her and her aunt’s heads since her uncle died when she was fifteen. Letting someone else handle the finances had been a great relief. Besides, the money saved on checks and account fees added to her savings.
How could I have been so stupid?
Opening her wallet, she counted her cash - four dollars and seventy-six cents.

If she were a crier now would be the time for it, but she wasn’t. She brushed the hair from her face, stood and left the bank. Inside, her blood boiled. Bending her head into the wind, she marched back to the apartment.  She stopped at the superintendant’s office to let her know she wouldn’t be able to rent the studio before going upstairs and calling Carly.

While waiting for her friend’s arrival, she went to the small basement storage area. No surprise there – it was bare except for a couple of empty boxes. She took the cartons up to the apartment. As soon as she closed the door, the intercom buzzed.

“That was quick.” She buzzed Carly in.

She opened the door and waited for Carly to ascend the stairs, which she did two at a time, carrying more empty boxes.

Carly was steaming and opened her mouth. Brianna raised her hand.

“You can’t possibly say anything I haven’t thought of. Let’s just get on with it.”

“I wish I could get my hands on the slime ball,” Carly made a fist with one hand.

“No more than I do. You know he even took my paintings. What could he want those for? He hated my paintings. Said I was wasting my time and the smell of paint gave him a headache.”  Brianna put her hand to her mouth and gasped.  “I just realized he took my laptop. The weasel. He had no right to take that.”

“Maybe you should call the police.” Carly suggested.

“He’s in Colombia by now. I’ll deal with him when he gets back. This is why I’ve sworn off men. I’ll never trust one again.”

“Never’s a long time, Bree.  There are some good men out there. Look at Rob. He’s great.”

“You’ve only been married a month, Carly. You’re still on your honeymoon.” Brianna said. “Are you sure it’s okay with him that I stay with you?”

“Sure, he’s fine with it. I told you he’s a good man,” She grabbed a box. “I’ll pack the kitchen and living room. You do the bathroom and bedroom. We’ll be out of here in no time.”

An hour later Carly stowed the last box in the back of her ancient Honda hatchback and slammed the door.

“I’m starved,” she said as she slid behind the wheel. “Let’s stop for a burger. My treat.”

“I guess it will have to be. I have less than five dollars until next payday. That’s two weeks.”

“I told you I can lend you a few bucks ‘til then.”

“And I told you, I’ll not be borrowing money from you. Thanks for the offer though but I’ll be fine. It’s enough that you’re letting me stay with you.”

“The offer stands. First thing Monday morning remember to stop the direct deposit on your paycheck.”

“I will.” Brianna nodded as Carly drove up to the drive-thru window of the nearest fast-food restaurant.

CHAPTER TWO

Brianna rolled onto her stomach nearly toppling off the air mattress wedged between the dining table and the wall. She pulled the pillow over her head to muffle the whispers coming from the sofa bed. She dozed fitfully until a light in the kitchen area filled the room. She turned to face the wall, pulling the pillow tighter over her head. It was no use. Kicking off the covers, she sat up and yawned. She raked her fingers through her hair. Even the sun was still asleep
.

“Morning,” she said when she saw Rob standing by the sink eating from a bowl.

“Sorry, I tried to be quiet. I’m scheduled for an early shift today.” Rob was an intern at a nearby hospital.

“It’s okay. I couldn’t sleep anyway. Too much on my mind, I guess.” Brianna stood, stretched the kinks out of her back and padded barefoot to the bathroom.

When she returned, Rob was dressed in blue scrubs and heading for the door.

“See you later. Don’t worry about waking Carly. She’d sleep through a tornado.”

“Have a good day. And, thanks again, Rob.”

“No problem.” He smiled as he closed the door behind him.

Brianna opened the cupboard and pulled out the box of Froot Loops she’d brought and poured some into a bowl. The sound echoed in the tiny space. She glanced at Carly still sleeping like the dead. Carefully easing the refrigerator door open, she grabbed her carton of milk and emptied it into the bowl. She sat at the table, facing the window and looked at the city lights twinkling like stars.

This is not going to work.
She looked around. Besides a bathroom and a large closet, this was it – one room.

While she microwaved water for tea she heard a thud and opened the door to find the newspaper lying on the floor. She retrieved it and sat at the table, stirring her tea while she looked at available rentals. Not that she could do anything right now but it wouldn’t hurt to look.  By the time she finished the classifieds and the comics, the sun peeked around the tall buildings and Carly struggled to rejoin the living.

“Rob leave already?” She asked, propping herself on one elbow.

“Yeah, about two hours ago.”

“What time is it?”

“Seven.”

Carly groaned and flopped back onto her pillow.

“Is there any coffee?” Carly sat up, swung her feet to the floor and shook her short blonde hair into place.

“No. Rob said he’d get some at the hospital. I think he just didn’t want to wake me. I can make some now, if you’d like.”

“That’d be great,” Carly replied before heading to the bathroom.

Brianna filled the coffee maker and set it to brew while she reheated her tea. She carried her cup to the table and sat. Carly joined her with her mug.

“How’d you sleep?” Carly asked, adding cream and sugar to her coffee.

“Pretty good,” Brianna blushed slightly, remembering the quiet giggles coming from the bathroom during the newlyweds’ late shower.

“Liar,” Carly said. “You have circles under your eyes. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you had a hangover.”

Brianna smiled, “Well, you know, strange place, strange noises.”

“Right.” Carly grinned.

“I looked at the rental ads. There doesn’t seem to be much available in my price range.”

“There will be in a couple of weeks. This is the first of the month.”

“I hope so.”

“What? You don’t like my palace?”

“I love your ‘palace,’ Carly. You and Rob are like family. You are the closest to family I have in the States, but ‘three’s a crowd,’ as they say. Lord knows I’m used to a crowd, growing up with four brothers in a small farm house and only one bathroom but you guys need your privacy.”

“That must have been fun. Rob has one sister and I’m an only child.”

Brianna’s eyes clouded with memories. “Sometimes it was but the boys were quite a bit older and bossed me around terribly.

“That makes it even more of a mystery why you hooked up with Eric. He was such a control freak.”

“He wasn’t at first. I guess I was at a vulnerable place in my life. My aunt, who I lived with since I was fourteen, had just died. We’d been dating for a couple of years. I thought I knew him and I trusted him. We’d even talked about marriage. When he asked me to move in with him it seemed like the perfect solution.”  

“I think you’re lucky.” Carly took a sip of her coffee.

“Lucky? I don’t feel very lucky right now.”

“Men with control issues often turn violent.”

“Oh, I don’t think Eric’s a violent person.” Brianna leaned back in her chair. “Though he did have a bit of a temper. I thought he might hit me when I told him I’d signed up for an art class. He was furious.”

“You’re amazing, Bree. I’d probably be bitter as hell.”

“Life’s too short to waste on sour apples.” She stood and cleared the table. “Enough maudlin talk. I’ll wash up.”

“After I make up the bed, let’s vegg-out and watch movies all day. Tomorrow, it’s back to work.”

“Sounds good to me,” Brianna said. “No sappy love stories, though. I’m in the mood for murder and mayhem.”

“You got it.” Carly laughed.

                                                               * * * *

After another restless night Brianna rose early, intending to take a shower before anyone else woke up. Rob had the day off and was trying to catch up on his sleep. He had a pillow pulled tightly over his head. Carly was already in the shower. She reversed direction and tip-toed to the kitchen.  As quietly as possible she made a cup of tea and spread cream cheese on a bagel.

“All yours,” Carly called in a loud whisper before ducking into the closet to get dressed.

“Thanks.” She sat at the little table to eat. When she finished, she squeezed by the sofa-bed and into the bathroom.

Refreshed by the warm shower, she wiped the steam off the mirror and combed out her wavy hair. She plugged in the hair dryer then unplugged it, afraid the noise would wake Rob. She pulled her hair into a damp pony tail instead.

Carly knocked on the door. “I need my make-up.”

“All done,” she said as she opened the door and went into the closet to dress. She put her make-up in her purse to put on at work.

                                                             * * * *

Carly and Brianna were the last bodies to squeeze into the crowded elevator ascending to the twenty-ninth floor where they worked at Sharp Advertising, the top ad agency in Chicago.

Brianna left Carly in the employees’ lounge fixing a cup of coffee and eating a muffin from the vending machine. She went into the ladies’ room where she put on her make-up and adjusted her pony-tail. Coming out of the restroom she met Carly, who was brushing crumbs off her shirt. They walked together to the weekly department meeting.

Their supervisor, Miss Davis, stood at the front of the room, pushed her round, black- rimmed glasses up her nose as she pursed her thin lips and counted heads arriving for the meeting. Eccentric but an amazing graphic artist, she resembled a pencil with a straight brown bob on top, wrapped in a short, red pleated skirt and black shirt, both salvaged from the seventies. 

The warm   stale air of the windowless room and lack of sleep, caused Brianna to nod off. Carly jabbed her with an elbow. This was going to be a very long day. She sat up straight and tried to follow Miss Davis’ animated speech as she swooped back and forth across the room.

“Mr. Sharp will be out of town this week but we still have work to do,” Miss Davis concluded and dismissed her underlings.

A plan instantly formed in Brianna’s mind. She pulled Carly aside and whispered in her ear.

“What? Are you out of your mind?” Carly stepped back and stared at her.

“Shhh,” Brianna put her finger to her lips and looked around. Everyone else made their way to their cubicles and, other than a glance from a couple of girls, no one paid any attention to them.

“Mr. Sharp is out of town, though it wouldn’t matter - you could set a watch by his coming and going. I wouldn’t be bothering anybody and it’d only be until payday. It’s perfect.”

“It is not ‘perfect.’ It’s insane.” Carly retorted.

“I’ll sleep on the sofa in the lounge. You can bring me food and clothes.”

Carly grabbed Brianna by the shoulders, turning her and bending so they were nose to nose.

“Bree, are you listening to me? This could get us both fired.”

“No, it won’t. I won’t involve you.”

“I’m already involved.”

Brianna leaned her forehead on Carly’s. “You’re a great friend, Carly. I’ll go home with you tonight, pack a few things and tomorrow I’ll move in here.” She turned and practically skipped to her desk.

Carly shook her head. Once Bree made up her mind there was no stopping her.