Not Another Line

1.5 Dirty Landlord

Say Amen // Panic! At The Disco

10 months ago

Swinging my door open after a gentle knock sounds, the bright-eyed blonde from next door stands in workout gear smiling back at me.

"Hi." Colleen says.

"Hey." I shove my hands in the pockets of my black pants, still in my work gear. I just got home from Brianna's production studios. We were outlining logistics for her next gig.

"So, I'm trying to make an omelet but I'm out of eggs."

"Sounds like you're missing the essence of the omelet."

Colleen smiles, tilting her head. "Would you happen to have any...essence?" She laughs.

"If you mean eggs, yes I believe I do. But if you've got some other essence in mind, I'm probably fresh out." I squeeze my eyes closed and shake my head. "What am I saying?" This girl messes me up inside.

Colleen laughs even louder. "You're making jokes with me. And offering me your essence."

"Oh god. You better come grab what you need before I end up slamming the door in shame."

"Aw, no need for shame. In fact, I think this is a big step. Laughter. You've been brooding for a few months. Understandably." Her voice drops on that last word.

The day after I tore up the letter to Mara that she helped me write, Colleen stopped by, innocently wondering how things had gone. I was still feeling the reverberations from the bomb Mara dropped on me about her affair and my filter was nonexistent. So, I spilled it all to Colleen, only regretting my loose tongue once she'd left. But Colleen has been nothing but understanding and respectful, never pushing me to talk about any of it.

I'm grateful for that.

"Well, it's a good thing you were out of essence and needed mine." I jaw back.

"Well done." Colleen slow claps. "Eggcellent."

"Haha." I shake my head.

"Speaking of eggs. Do you want to come over for some omelets? We could watch the game together."

I freeze, slowly turning my head to look at the woman in my kitchen. "The football game?"

"It is Monday night. And working from home is way too autonomous. It'd be nice to have another human to scream at the T.V. with me."

"You watch willingly?"

Colleen shrugs. "I grew up in Silver Valley where we had exactly one grocery store, one restaurant and five feed supply stores. Of course, football was life." She winks, her go-to expression whenever she's about to tease me. "I know its cliché; the small-town girl goes gaga over football. But what can I say? I am who I am."

I haven't slowed down long enough to watch football in a long time. I haven't watched football with another fan in even longer. And she's right. Colleen is unapologetically herself. Something I could learn from, I guess.

"Yeah, sounds good. Which team are you going for?"

"Does it matter?" She laughs.

I think about it for a second. "No, not really."

"Perfect."

***

8 months ago:

I open the door to Colleen's side of our duplex, feeling like a creep entering when she's not home. I texted her about coming over to fix the mildew issue in her tub. She texted back that she was gone and for me to go on in. It still feels wrong, but I don't have time to wait. On the other hand, as I walk through her place, I realize I'll be in and out of here much faster without an audience.