O'Connell Bridge - Pt. 16

The first of June, LC spent the day running errands, paying bills, and generally doing what needed to be done. At 2 PM, he received a parcel from the Gentleman’s Corner clothing store. It contained a blue sports jacket, tan pants, a white knit shirt, underwear, a belt, and shoes. A note was placed in the package. “Traveling clothes.”

Mary Beth from the travel agency called a few minutes later. “Your tickets and travel documents are ready. Will you be able to pick them up? Oh, and Mr. Brennan, the refund was a little over $700, and per your request we had it converted to Euros, I believe there are 600 for you.”

He decided to text Mike. “Hey, I leave in 10 days. Can I park my truck at your house while I’m gone? Hate to leave it on the street here for that long unattended.”

A few minutes later a text was returned. “Still haven’t come to your senses. Yeah, that’ll be okay. Don’t go in the house.”

“Didn’t say call me or anything. No wonder he’s on his third wife.”

He wandered down the stairs and peeked in the girl’s window. Cait’s computer was gone from its normal place and a strange woman with long black hair was walking toward Cait’s room. “Must be the cousin.”

He drove to the travel agency to pick up his travel materials and money. A smiling Mary Beth met him at the door and opened it before he even exited his truck. LC noticed she had a scarf tied around her neck and an extra button undone of her white blouse. “Sheesh.”

“I saw you pull up. We are all so excited. You are our first big corporate client you know.”

LC didn’t comment, but moved to the plastic chair he had occupied the first time he visited the travel agency. “What all have you got for me?”

Mary Beth emptied a large brown envelope out on the desk. “Okay, here’s your tickets,” she held them up and then re-deposited them in the large envelope. “You fly out of ILM to Charlotte. Then a direct flight from Charlotte, you’re on American Airlines. Business class was requested. Next, here’s the hotel confirmation. The Ashling is a four star business hotel, and a very special place. You’ll really enjoy it.” She turned the reservation form so he could read the information. Again, she put it in the largest envelope. “Let’s see. This card is for your driver.” She simply balanced it on the desk. “Although, he should have all the directions and details prior to your arrival. He will meet you at the airport.” She dropped the card in the brown envelope and the same time, she pulled out a long white mailing envelope. “In this business envelope are your Euros, five 100 Euro notes, then smaller denominations for the last hundred. I hope that is okay.”

LC nodded. “Anything else?”

“I included some brochures from Ireland. Since you will be spending two weeks in Dublin, undoubtedly you will have some time for tours and such, I mean, I can’t believe you’d be doing business all day and night.” She sorted through trinkets on the desk. I am told your in Dublin schedule is pending. Anyway, here are some of our give-a-ways too, a luggage ID chain, and a book mark and note pad; and a coupon to use us again. You can get a discount.” Mary Beth put everything in the larger envelope. “Again, thank you for choosing us to serve you with your travel needs, and in the future we hope you will consider Ace Travel again.”

LC grinned. “No problem.” He pushed his way out the door, tossed the envelope on the truck seat, and headed toward third street and the Harp for a pint. When he arrived, he began to get paranoid about the envelope. He opened his truck box and put it under a heavy rope, and then he locked the truck box.

He chatted with the owners and other regulars at the bar and then drove back to the apartment. Although he was not working that evening, he wanted to get to bed no later than 2 PM so as not to throw off his schedule too much. The apartment was empty but a Federal Express package was leaning against his door. “Ah phooey, forgot about the stuff in the truck.” He picked up the Fed Ex package and trotted back down the stairs, unlocked his truck box, and fished out the travel agency envelope then headed back up the stairs.

The strange woman in Caitlin’s apartment stopped him. “Hi.”

LC paused. “Well, hello, I guess you’re the cousin who moved in downstairs.”

The tall woman with long black hair smiled. “Yes. That’s right. I’m Dana, Betty Jo’s cousin, and my guess is you’re LC. Betty Jo described you to a T.”

LC smiled. “Let me guess, tall guy with red hair.”

Dana giggled. “Something like that.”

“Cool, well enjoy it. The apartment that is. I guess you are in the big bedroom, there’s some boxes in the corner that belong to the regular tenet, she said she cleaned out her closet so you could have some space.”

Dana smiled and continued. “I’m just here for the summer you know. So, I don’t need a lot of closet space. I’m a traveling nurse and I was assigned to Wilmington to help with the influx of people during the tourist season. All I have is a couple of suitcases.”

“Make’s sense. Oh, I will add a box or two to the stack in a few days, I’ll let you know.”

“So, what do y’all do for fun around here?”

LC thought a minute. “Mostly beach stuff. All of us are serious students and generally broke, except the guy who lives in the back—he works for the city. So, we don’t do too much fun stuff per se. Like when I wasn’t in school or studying, I was working up at the ER north of town.”

“You’re not a doctor, or are you like an EMT?”

LC shook his head, “No, I’m just an orderly.”

“Important job.”

“Paid the bills. I really want to go to med school. Trying to get a grad program right now.”

“Really. Totally cool. You wanta beer or anything? Like I think there’s some beer and sodas in the frig.”

“I just had a beer, but if you’re offering, I’d have another. I don’t have to drive anything but the stairs.” LC followed the woman named Dana into the apartment and flopped in his usual spot on the couch.

Dana approached him carrying two bottles of Heineken Light. “Enjoy.”

“Thanks. I can’t stay too long. I have to hit the sack. My work hours normally start at nine at night to five in morning, so I try to sleep my schedule even when I’m off.”

She sat down on the couch next to LC. “That makes a lot of sense. I’ve worked a lot of night shifts. But, I don’t start here till Monday, so I’ve got a couple of days off to relax. Kinda looking for things to do.”

“I hear that, gets boring just sitting around.” They clinked bottles. LC noticed she had long tanned legs and her white t-shirt hid very little.

She sipped her beer and said, “I suppose you got some hot girlfriend tucked away in the closet upstairs?”

“I wish. But, the answer is no.”

“Just being nosey, but no girlfriends lingering back home or pending somewhere?”

LC sipped on his beer. “The best girl to ever enter my life left a week ago. I kinda blew the situation. Sorry, didn’t mean to confess that like a teenager.”

She smiled. “Not a problem. I admire a man who can admit he made a romantic mistake.”

“I’ll return the question. Got some muscled up weight-lifter boyfriend tucked in your closet.”

She laughed and touched his arm. “I’m a traveling nurse. I don’t make long term relationships, it simply doesn’t pay.”

LC polished off his beer and set the bottle on the table. “Really nice to meet you, Dana. I’m sure I’ll see more of you before I leave on vacation.” He stood and headed for the door.

“Oh, I’m sure you will.”

LC hurried up the stairs, then paused. “The envelopes.” He rushed down the stairs and met Dana at the door. She was holding the two packages. “About to bring these up,” she cooed.

“Thanks. It’s my vacation package.”

LC turned and trotted up the stairs. He didn’t notice Dana right on his heels.

“I thought I’d just see this apartment, too. I might want to move in permanently and look for more space. Traveling is fine up to a point, but there’s a lot to be said for a stable career.” She walked through the apartment opening doors. None of the other two men were in their rooms. “Who’s the slob?”

“Oh, that’s Big Mac. He’s moving out soon.”

“And the neat nik?”

“Arthur. Nice guy, very quiet. He’s probably going to move into Betty Jo’s room in the fall.”

“Gay?”

“Don’t think so.”

She moved down the wall and opened LC’s door. “And this is your room? You could use a decorator. You don’t even have a television in your room.”

LC grimaced, “Yeah, well, it’s a rental apartment and I don’t watch much television.”

“I’d change a lot of it if I lived here.” She brushed past LC making sure, he believed, to press against him as if she was squeezing by.

He held his hands up to allow her by. “Like I said, it’s a place to study and sleep. Which is exactly what I need to do.”

“I get the hint. I’ll be downstairs if you want to chat or come down for coffee,” she giggled, “or a beer, or anything else.”

LC watched her leave then locked the door. “That door hasn’t been locked in two years. Hope the guys have keys.”

He tossed the travel agency envelope on the dresser, but pulled open the Federal Express mailer. Three sheets fell out of the mailer. “O’Connell Bridge, 2200, June 30, before I die.” A second was an engraved invitation to a private dinner at “Dax Restaurant—Dublin, June 30, cocktails at 1900.”

A third sheet introduced LC to Ms. Clarice Johnson, who would be his instructor from June 26 through 30. “Instructor for what?”

LC examined the papers again and saw nothing special. Finally he dropped his jeans to the floor, “Bet nobody picks them up tonight,” and then curled up under his sheet. He didn’t put on his noise suppression headset for fear that Mac or Arthur might not have a key with them and would need to knock.

At midnight, LC arose and pulled on his jeans. Both Mac’s and Arthur’s doors were closed so he quietly opened up his laptop to see what was happening in the world without turning on the living room television. At 5 AM, he picked out a clean t-shirt and headed to Waffle House. Suzi wasn’t working, so he settled into a booth and ordered a breakfast bowl. At 6:30 AM, LC headed back to the apartment; for all intents and purposes, it appeared the routine had returned. As he climbed the stairs, he glanced at the girls apartment but all was still dark. Mac was sitting at the bar drinking coffee when LC walked in.

“Hey, guy,” said Mac. “Door was locked when I came in last night.

“Hey yourself. I’ll explain the door in a second. Mac, are you taking a summer class?”

“Planned to but Miss A and her family have a beach condo at Topsail, so I probably will spend non-working time up there.”

“Arthur is taking at least one class, so be aware if you bring her up here.”

“Yes, Mama,” Mac teased. “I doubt she comes up here if we’re at Topsail all the time.”

“Oh, the door was locked because of our new downstairs neighbor. Her name is Dana; watch out for her, I didn’t get the last name, she’s Betty Jo’s cousin and staying in Cait’s room downstairs. She’s pretty aggressive and doesn’t follow the rules.”

Mac suddenly was attentive. “Really?”

“Yeah.”

“What makes you say that?”

LC recounted part of the story, taking particular attention to tell Mac about Dana following him upstairs and looking into each room.

“I think I know the type.” Mac looked at his open door. “So, she saw my mess.”

“Yup.”

“I guess she won’t bother me then.”

“I doubt it.”

Mac tapped on Arthur’s door. “Did she look in here, too? By the way, he’s still in Shallotte.”

“Yup.”

“Let’s not tell him,” Mac grinned. “He thinks he has a sanctuary. If he thought it was defiled by a strange woman, he might not go back in. Or at the very least, we would hear a 30 minute lecture on the violation of private space. Then spray air freshener for 20 minutes more.”

“Oh, Cait’s going to love him this fall.”

Mac laughed. “He’ll be yelling at her to clean the bathroom.”

Both men chuckled at the thought of Arthur and Caitlin arguing over the bathroom.

Mac leaned on the bar. “So this roomie of Betty Jo’s is a hot babe.”

“First impression. She certainly came on to me that way.

“Sounds like it.” Mac looked at the floor. “You know Cait threw you out and—”

“Naw Mac, won’t work. I still want to talk to Cait.”

“I can see it now, persona non grata contacts woman who hates him to profess his love; she in turn calls her attorney to have said person arrested for uninvited solicitation. A warrant is subsequently issued to prevent said person from speaking to or coming near the offended upon penalty of having his manhood reversed, and he being confined to a chicken coop for 50 years.”

LC chuckled. “You never should have taken that domestic law class.”

“Part of the Sociology Degree program. Learned some neat stuff.”

“You mean some neat words.”

“Yeah, well, have you heard from the fiery bombshell named Caitlin Dugan?”

LC shook his head. “Nope. I think I musta burnt a bridge. And, I don’t mean O’Connell Bridge.”

To be continued...