Perfect Match

Perfect Match (4)

John groaned. “I was on teaching duty today and somebody managed to combine a couple of things that really didn’t belong together. You’d think once they were in college, they’d know to dispense and mix chemicals in the hood, but apparently not. The entire lab smells like bromine now, which is really unpleasant and also toxic, and we had to put out a couple of small fires.”

“So you had an exciting day at work today,” Cari said.

“I don’t know if exciting is the word for it, but you could put it that way,” John said. “We were all running out of the lab every five minutes to catch our breath. Bromine is nasty stuff.”

“I’ll take your word for it, seeing as we never used it for anything in high school,” Cari said.

“You wouldn’t,” John said. “Maybe in an advanced chemistry class, but it’s mainly used for reactions that aren’t introduced in introductory courses.”

“Look at you, teaching even when you’re not on the job,” Cari said, smiling.

John made a face. “Clearly I’ve spent too much time with the college students.”

“I think it’s cool,” Cari said.

“Well, that’s good then,” John said.

There was a knock at the door a moment later. John stood up and exited the living room. Cari could hear the sounds of conversation from the front door, and it grew louder as John led two other people through to the living room.

“Eddie, Holly, this is my neighbor Cari,” John said, grinning.

Cari stood up and held her hand out, smiling. “It’s so nice to meet both of you.”

Holly was the first to respond. She smiled back at Cari, her brown eyes bright. “It’s nice to meet you.” She ignored Cari’s outstretched hand and pulled her into a hug.

“I love your hair,” Cari said once Holly stepped back.

Holly ruffled the red pixie cut as her smile widened. “Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome,” Cari said. “It’s awesome.” She turned to Eddie and held her hand out again. “You must be Eddie.”

He was staring at her with wide eyes. “Have we met before?”

“I don’t know,” Cari said, dropping her hand. “I don’t think so, but we might have.”

“It’s weird, you look just like a girl I went to high school with,” he said. “You even have the same name. Of course, hers was a nickname, but… The resemblance is uncanny.”

Cari shrugged. “There are lots of people named Cari. Whoever she is, I’m sure she’s awesome. I’ve forgotten most of the people I went to high school with, so you’ll have to excuse me if we know each other and I just don’t remember.”

“It would probably be a good thing if she didn’t remember me,” he said. “We didn’t exactly get along while we were in high school. It was mostly my fault, I was a bit of an ass, but it would be unfortunate if we met and were stuck in the past.”

“I’m sure all you’d have to do is apologize,” Cari said. “Regardless, it’s so nice to meet friends of John’s.”

“It’s nice to meet his neighbor that he won’t shut up about,” Holly said, smiling again. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say that you were his match.”

“Sadly, I’m not, but we’re very good friends now,” Cari said.

“What she said,” John said. “I’ve wanted you guys to meet for a while. Holly, I think that you and Cari are going to get along really well.”