Tinderella (8 page)

She had said to meet at 10pm which seemed late to him, but whatever, at least he could return her coat. As he pulled onto her street, he peered at the numbers in order to figure out which apartment exactly was hers. It was a cool damp evening, the rain had lifted but the sidewalks were still damp and had leaves on them.
 

The cloudy evening made it difficult to see and he squinted as he drove past the numbered doorways. Suddenly, looming ahead was her pumpkin VW, he had read about it in the brief of her company. He slid his car in behind it, and paused for a moment. Just the thought of her made him feel warm all over. Not like "get lucky" warm, but something different. He hoped she would give him a chance, he really wanted to explore this feeling.
 

He slid out of the driver's seat of his SUV and walked to the door. He rang her buzzer, but nothing happened. He looked up, there appeared to be just a few apartments in this building, then he noticed the front door was propped open with a small rock. He slipped in and headed up the stairs.
 

It was an older building, majestic in its day no doubt. Polished wooden railings, wooden floors, solid walls and doors. A nice old place. As he got closer to her door he smelled it. Smoke! He crossed to her doorway in a couple of quick steps and banged on her door. Nothing. He felt it with his hand, it wasn't hot to the touch. That was good.

He knocked on the door again, and there was still no answer. The door was too thick for him to bust down, and he was pretty sure that only worked in movies anyway. Thinking quickly he lifted the small welcome mat, nothing. He ran his hands along the top of the doorway, searching for a key. Still nothing. He was about to start knocking on the other door when a young woman came up the stairs.
 

"I smell smoke, you wouldn't happen to have a key to the apartment here would you. I can't get Cyndi's attention but she told me to meet her, I think she's in there."

"Yeah, we swapped when I moved in, hang on!" the young woman said. She unlocked her door and went in, then quickly came out again holding her phone. "I'm calling 911, here's her key."

He unlocked it and flung the door open. The apartment was hazy, smoke lingering in the air. He charged through, and found her lying in her room on her bed.

Lifting her gently he walked quickly to the doorway, and pausing only to speak to the girl with the key, he said "follow me, does anyone else live up here?"

"No," she said breathlessly, "just us, the others are vacant."

"Good, let's get out of here."

"Is she okay?"

"She's breathing, maybe she was overcome by smoke? I'm not sure but fresh air will help."

The rest of the night passed in a blur. The fire department came and determined that it was a small electrical fire. They put it out but closed the building and shut off the power until it could be inspected and fixed.

The EMT's had been there within minutes and they had her on oxygen and responsive right away.
 

His heart was pounding in his chest, and he sat with his head in his hands. When the ambulance went to leave for the hospital they turned to him.
 

"You coming, man?" asked a burly young paramedic.

"Nah, I'm not her boyf..., I mean...I'm nobody. Go ahead, I'm not sure who to call."

"We'll figure it out, man, no problem. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Go. And thanks."

And just like that she had slipped away from him again. He was happy he had been able to get there just in time. God, he hated to think what might have happened if he hadn't come over. He got up and walked toward his car, and that's when he saw it. He still had that damn coat. He opened the door and got in, and put his hand on the coat. This damn quest might have saved her life. He smiled at the thought, he knew he'd see her again. He'd have to make sure of it.
 

It was hard to feel lucky when she felt like hell. She needed to call...Crap! her cell phone. How was she going to break out of this damn hospital if no one knew she was here? Gooch. Where was Gooch. She tried to buzz the nurse, but before her hand could press the button, she was out again.

When she woke up, she could still smell the smoke. She opened her eyes slowly, trying to recall where she was. She decided, based on the sounds, that she wasn't in her apartment anymore, and then she remembered that she probably had no apartment anymore.
 

She was having a hard time focusing her eyes, when she spotted someone in the corner. It was Gooch. Of course it was.

"Hey sleepyhead," she said as she approached the bed. "You're going to be okay, but it's going to take a few days. You've inhaled a lot of smoke, your lungs are irritated, and you need some rest."

"But my stuff--"
 

"We'll talk about it in the morning."

"What time is it?"

"It's about 5 am."

"It is morning then," she said, even though it hurt to talk.

"Yes, but let's wait until the Dr. comes in again."

"Just, is...is everything gone?"

Gooch sighed and shook her head, "Yes, most everything is useless, smoke damage, some water, not fire. The building is standing and you'll be able to move back in if you want to. But you're fine, and we'll get through this."

She couldn't even think about all she might have lost, from the most important things like photographs, to the least important but necessary like a laptop and her cell phone.

"Gooch, I have to get out of here. I don't have money, I barely have insurance, and if I don't work, I don't get paid."

"I know, sweetie. But you can't work if you're coughing your lungs out. Hang on, we'll see what the Dr says, and we'll get through this. We will," Gooch said as she took her hand.

She remembered thinking that it must have been the drugs, as her eyelids felt heavy again and she drifted off to sleep.

When she woke up again it was hours later, Gooch was still there, and the Dr was as well.

"Good morning young lady, it's good to see you awake. How are you feeling?" He turned to Gooch, "Could you excuse us please?"

As Gooch turned to go, Cyndi stopped her, "No, Dr, please let her stay. She's family, and I want her to hear whatever you have to say, I'm afraid I won't remember."

"Okay, well then," he went on to review her vitals and tell her how lucky she was.
 

"When can I go hom...uh, get out?"

"I think one more night here will be sufficient, and tomorrow we can spring you. But you'll have to take it easy, do you understand that?"

Cyndi nodded yes, but her mind was racing. She was missing appointments while she was here, she had to begin to replace some clothing, she might need a computer and a phone, the whole idea was terrifying. She was starting from nothing. Again.

Gooch took one look at her crestfallen face and held up her hand. "Stop right there, you're worrying, I can see it. I can feel it. There's no sense in that. We'll get through this, we will, together, I've got you. You've got you. There's insurance right? A renters policy?"

Cyndi nodded yes.

"Well then, we'll get that underway tomorrow. You can stay with me for the time being. Good thing I have that fancy dress of yours, you'll have something to wear home!"

Cyndi looked at her, eyes wide, "Oh my gosh, I don't even have clothes to wear home, and her eyes filled with tears again."

"You're set, don't worry, I've got it all figured out. Let's, um do something...I know, I think you can still get to the nursery window in this joint, without having to get past the TSA. Let's go see if we can look at babies. Come on, get in the wheel chair, let's go."

Cyndi loved looking at the babies, and afterwards Gooch wheeled her to the cafeteria.

"I know you're worried, you have every right to be, but it's not getting you anywhere, so stop. Tomorrow I'll come to see you and I'll bring paper and colored pencils and we'll make a plan to get things right again. Understand?"

Cyndi could only nod, how lucky was she to have Gooch on her side?

"Good, so stop thinking about it tonight. They sell fresh milkshakes here, want one? I do. I want a strawberry one, you?"

"Chocolate," Cyndi managed to whisper past the lump in her throat, "and thanks."

"No problem, sisters under the skin and all that crap. Be right back."

****

The next day Gooch returned and they set about itemizing all she had lost, and the bare minimum she'd need to start.

There was a knock on the door, and Gooch opened it to reveal Bailey from the thrift shop.

"Hey girlfriend, I hear your weenie roast got out of hand. I'm sorry about that, but I brought you some stuff," she said as she wheeled a suitcase in behind her. "No mean feat getting this past the nurses, let me tell you," she explained as she unzipped it to reveal what looked to Cyndi to be an entire wardrobe.

"Gooch here let me know what happened, and since you were just there we knew what would fit you, so me and the other Godmothers took it upon ourselves to set you up with some outfits. We even have some shoes in here, now I know people get squicked out about used shoes, but these are over buys, brand new. You've got sneakers for every day, and black pumps in case you need something dressier."

Cyndi couldn't believe that virtual strangers would do this for her, and she was overwhelmed as she looked at the clothes. It was enough to get her through a week or so, with a couple of changes of blouses, jeans and some standard black slacks. She never would have complained in any event, this was amazing.

When the Dr finally sprung her, late that evening, Gooch swept her away before she had a chance to think about how she didn't have any place to go, or anything left of her own.
 

By the next morning when she woke up, her car was parked in the lot at Gooch's place, and the insurance company had been contacted. She was really feeling like she had to get back to work to bring in some money, when Jerry called and reminded her of her business interruption insurance. It would be a few days until it would kick in, but it would help her out.

"There's just one thing," Jerry cautioned. "Too long out of the market and you can get scooped by a competitor, you know what I'm saying, right?"

"Yeah, I do. I need to take some time out, doctor's orders, but I'll be able to buy some things that I need and get back at it. Thanks, Jerry."

"Sure thing, kid. Although I really think you should consider selling--"

"So you've said," Cyndi sighed. "I don't mean to snap at you, I'm just tired. Thanks Jerry, I will be in touch, I promise."

She and Gooch spent the next several days unpacking her, making room in Gooch's condo, and generally trying to make a dent in the mountain of stuff she had to do.

Somewhere in there, her stepmom called and she had to let her know what had happened.
 

"Yes, Sarabeth, yes, I'm fine. No, no...well right, I'm living with Gooch for the moment. I suppose. Yes. Okay, right, okay. Um...how about next week? Yeah, I'm out of work for a week or so. Right...see you then. Yep, me too."

Gooch looked up, "Well that sounds like it went well."
 

"Not particularly, she wants me to come stay there."

"You're staying here."

"I know, every once in a while she tries to be mom-like. Usually when it suits her purposes. Like now. She wants me to bake for her party."

"Oh," Gooch paused, "well that's a double edged sword, isn't it? You'd like to bake, right?"

"Yeah, I would, actually. It's a pretty big crowd, but I can do some more delicate things, you know? Almond cookies and stuff. Pretty little cakes. It will be kind of fun."

"Will be?"

"I said I'd do it, call it therapy. I lost my apartment and all my stuff, Mr. Wonderful saved my life and I haven't heard any more from him, and the slut experiment failed. I need a new focus."

"I'm not sure your stepmom's house is the best place for that, but you know, have it your way."

"It's perfect for that, are you kidding. Get in, get out, be grateful I don't have to live with her. Ideal," she smiled at her friend.
 

"Alrighty then! I should have asked you to do baking therapy for me ages ago. Who knew you wanted to be taken advantage of so badly?"

"It's baking. It's good for me, I'm going to check out my cookbook....oh, right. I don't have any."

Gooch said, "Want to go to the library with me?"

"That's where they keep the books, right? Let's go."

****

Cyndi loved the drive to her stepmother's house. She didn't think of it as her place anymore, and she wasn't really bitter about that, just resigned. What would she do with it anyway? She was glad someone was using it and enjoying it. Kind of.

The trees formed beautiful arches above the roadway, and with the window down she could smell the nearby ocean. She came to the familiar stone gate and turned the car up the long winding drive. The house was situated to the right, with a carriage house for parking to the left. She parked the car and walked across the neatly kept driveway to the front door.