Lou. I told you it’s probably my imagination.”
“What if it is? It can’t hurt to talk.”
“Tell me what?” I lit a cigarette and eyed them warily through wisps of smoke.
“It feels as if someone has been stalking me,” Lauren reluctantly admitted. “I know it’s absurd, but I can’t get rid of the sensation.”
Lou chimed in, “This is no one or two day thing, Matty. It’s been going on for a while. I’m pretty sure I felt it too when we’ve been out together.”
I wanted to tell him paranoia was contagious but instead groped for something polite. “How long has it been happening? Is it regular?” I sounded like a fucking doctor.
Lauren gave no sign of noticing my skepticism. “Maybe six months. I can’t date it exactly.”
“But you’ve never actually seen anyone?”
“I told you it sounded foolish,” Lauren said with a quick toss of her head.
“Matt’s not saying you’re foolish,” Lou disagreed. “He’s asking for information. That’s how he does his job.”
I glanced toward Lou and confirmed my fear. He wanted to deal me in. “Let’s slow down a little. Have you seen anybody following you?” Right then I didn’t want to be dragged into Lauren’s life through any door.
Lauren shook her head. “No,” she grimaced, “but I’m not prone to delusions.”
I didn’t care what she was prone to. My game plan was “in again, out again, Finnegan.” “Does anyone have reason to stalk you?”
She paused. “Not that I can think of.”
“But you feel it all the time?”
“Not all the time. Sometimes.”
“Is there a pattern?
She tilted her head appreciatively. “I’ve never thought about that.”
I plotted my escape. “Well,” I said, all business, “keep track of the situation. See if there is any rhythm or pattern.”
“That’s all?” Lou asked, dissatisfied. “I thought you would look into this, Matty.”
“First things first,” I replied.
“He’s right, Lou. Who knows? Maybe it will be like a toothache, hurts until you get to the dentist, then goes away.”
I wasn’t thrilled with Lauren’s metaphor, but at least she wasn’t forcing me to sign on.
Lauren stuck her hand in my direction. “I have to change clothes before I can walk into that hospital again. It’s been nice talking to you, Matthew, and I’ll take your advice.”
She let go of my hand and hugged Lou. “You don’t have to go back with me tonight.”
“You’re going to drive back and forth and again tomorrow?” he asked.
“Maybe I’ll just stay at the hospital.”
“Don’t be silly. You’ll come here after your visit. We’ll have tea.”
“It may be late.”
“It’s never too late to boil water.”
Lauren smiled appreciatively then kissed Lou on the lips. I was okay until he kissed back. I turned away and heard Lauren chuckle, “I think we’re embarrassing Matt.”
I watched them walk toward the front of the buildings before turning my attention back to the car. I had finished gathering the cleaning materials when I heard Lou approach.
“You had time to talk?” he asked.
“You knew she was back here?”
He nodded. “I want you to get to know each other. It doesn’t help to have me hovering around.”
“It’s been a long time since you hovered over anything.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that.” A wide smile lit his grizzled face and he winked.
“You’re a dirty old man,” I said grinning in spite of myself.
“So nu? There’s a problem with that?”
“What do you want from me?”
“I want you to tell me what you think of Lauren,” he replied obstinately.
I chose my words carefully. “She’s charming, forceful, a real looker, and direct. How’s that?”
“You don’t like her?”
“Her family situation makes me uncomfortable.”
“What do you mean?”
“She has a grown kid who tried to kill himself then called her on the phone when he changed his mind. That’s trouble, don’t you think? And last night’s scene between her and Paul was right out of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf. Today she tells me they’re close friends. You need this?”
Lou sagged against the car. “You line it up one way and that’s all you see. I can’t say anything about the boy, I barely know him. The couple of times we met, he didn’t talk much, just wandered around the house. Anyhow, Lauren’s doing right by setting up the therapist. What else can she do?”
Lou caught his breath then continued. “As far as her friendship with Paul, since when are you Mr. Conventional? They got married young and lived together for a long time. Why shouldn’t they be friends? You know better than most the changes there were in the seventies.”
“Seventies?”
“Their marriage ended sometime in the early eighties.”
“For a couple who haven’t been together for this long they seem pretty attached.”
“You make them sound like our buildings. So they’re friends, big deal. Last night brought out the worst, that’s all.”
“And you accuse me of seeing things one way?”
“You don’t know the rest of it. Since we’ve been together I feel alive. Not because Lauren’s younger than me, but because she is enthusiastic about life. She’s lived through hard times without forgetting how to enjoy, how to look ahead.” Lou stopped speaking as another wide smile covered his face. “I sound like a teenage romantic, but I can’t knock it. It’s been a long time since I’ve gotten to know someone new, a long time since someone has been interested in me.”
Lou was singing in the rain and I was freezing in the sunshine. Something old, something blue, something bitter was brewing. Something I still didn’t want to think about. I was growing very tired and my mind kept circling the living room couch. I had plenty of Fritos, Diet Coke, and the last
