Hector had noticed but didn’t think anything of it, even when Walter mentioned she always got it right. Drew pointed out that Walter hadn’t asked for his sandwich made in any particular way but apparently Natalie had made note of his preferences. She also mentioned how Natalie would laugh at all of Walter’s jokes, no matter how lame they were. But most notably, Drew said there was no hiding how impressed Natalie seemed with Walter’s level of intelligence. That she’d said was the clincher. Drew said she wasn’t being mean, but Walter had little else to impress this girl with, so it was huge that Natalie was already so taken by his intellect.
It amazed Hector that Drew had picked up on all this in one visit while he’d been there several times and never made anything out of any it. To his credit, he did think it odd that a young girl like Natalie would choose to work at an old folk’s home instead of a hospital or clinic with young staff like her. All the other nurses there were old and crabby-looking. They looked like they belonged there, but not Natalie; although, Hector never would’ve attributed it to having anything to do with wanting to be around Walter. He just thought it had something to do with the amount of money she might be getting paid being someone’s exclusive nurse.
Of course, Walter had been just as clueless as Hector when he told him. Sunday morning, when Walter had come in for his workout, Hector got right to it. The workout that morning was pretty much a wash because Walter had stopped so often to listen to Hector tell him everything he’d picked up on from Natalie in the past few weeks. Hector could kick himself now for not thinking of setting Walter up with anyone else sooner. The poor sap had been instantly excited about the prospect that someone was actually interested in him. Right there laid the real reason why Hector hadn’t thought of setting Walter up with anyone else. If he had to be honest, the idea that anyone would be interested in Walter had never crossed his mind. But Walter was making progress with his weight loss now. And the haircut and brow trimming had been huge improvements. The best thing about this was that none of that mattered with Natalie. Her attraction to him was obviously for what was on the inside, not the outside.
By Monday evening, Walter was already talking about going to the movies in a few days with Natalie. It didn’t surprise Hector that Walter said it had been her idea after Walter brought up wanting to see a new movie coming out that week. But it didn’t matter. The most important thing was he’d talked about Natalie the whole time and only once brought up Charlee. That was only to mention that she seemed a bit down at chess lab that day, prompting Hector to make an early visit to the lab that week.
He knew it was way too soon for it, but he hadn’t been able to restrain himself from kissing her, especially after seeing that shithead smiling and waiting for her. Already, he was marking what was his, and they weren’t even there yet. But after a week of Walter talking non-stop about his new love interest and the successful date to the movies with her, Hector was ready to go for it. He could hardly stand to be around Charlee anymore and hold back.
Drew worried it was too soon and thought he should wait at least until Walter kissed Natalie. She said as awkwardly shy of a guy as Walter was this would likely be his first kiss so that would certainly seal the deal. After getting his first taste of that and especially if things went any further between him and Natalie, Walter would be saying, “Charlee who?”
Only a week after springing the plan into action, Hector got a call from Drew. This whole time she’d done nothing but text him, so he had a feeling this was bad. Normally he didn’t answer his calls while he was in the middle of training someone, not even Walter. Abel said it was in bad form. You were supposed to give your trainees your undivided attention at all times. But Walter wasn’t exactly a paying customer. Hector had agreed to train him for his own reasons. So he told Walter he had to take the call and rushed out.
“Hello?”
“We need to move this along a little faster.” The urgency in Drew voice only worried him further.
“Why? What happened?”
“She’s talking about going back home again. She says she needs to get away. I’m doing my best to talk her out of it, but she’s saying things like maybe she can finish up the semester via the internet. Because of her status on the chess team, she thinks they might give her special privileges if she lies and says someone is sick at home.”
Hector brought his hand to his head, his stomach dropping instantly. “You mean leave for good?”
“Yes! Either you take your chances that Walter will still be upset with you and just tell her how you feel or you get that boy to first base with Natalie already!”
“How long do you think you can hold her off?”
“I don’t know. She’s in her room now, looking into the online school stuff. I’m not sure if it’s even possible, but if it is, it’ll probably take at least a few weeks for her to get it all together.”
“A few weeks? I think I can pull something off in that amount of time.” He thought he heard Drew groan. “What?”
“Nothing,” she said sounding frustrated. “You just need to think of something fast.”
Hector’s mind raced. Walter had just finished telling him he and Natalie would be going to the aquarium later that day. Maybe he could give him some more tips on how to make the first move. Ever since Drew mentioned that once Walter got that first kiss down Hector should be golden, he’d been laying it on thick that Walter should just go for it. From what Walter had told Hector, he was certain Natalie would be more than willing.
“Okay, in the meantime, I’m setting her up with a friend of mine.”
“What?” he didn’t even realize he’s been pacing until he stopped cold.
“It’s just a double-date thing. This guy I went out with a few times has a friend who thinks Charlee is cute. So I figured—”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Hector gripped his phone tightly, already regretting that he’d cussed at Charlee’s best friend but feeling like his choice of words just may get worse. “You’re gonna have her go out with someone else? Someone who’s already interested in her?”
“It’s just one date, and—”
“I don’t care if it’s just coffee!” Fuck Walter. “Did you already set this up?”
“I’m waiting for him to return my call, but I’m sure if they don’t have plans tonight, they’ll be up for it.”
“Tonight?” He started pacing again. “You’re gonna do this tonight?”
“I was desperate, Hector.” She lowered her voice. “I needed to distract her so she could stop talking about going back home.”
“Call the guy back.” Hector said almost through his teeth. “Tell him to forget about tonight then text me Charlee’s number. I’ll distract her.” He stalked back toward the front door of the gym. He couldn’t believe this shit. All week long, Drew had been spot on with all her ideas and now she comes up with this? “And do me a favor, will you? The next time there’s an emergency like this, call me before you go setting her up with anyone else. I can guarantee you I’ll come up with something better.”
Drew was quiet for a moment. “Are you sure? What about Walter?”
“I’ll worry about Walter. Just cancel that double date.”
“Hector,” she whispered.
He stopped just before entering the gym. “Yeah?”
“Who are you gonna tell her gave you her number? She can’t know I did this. I promised I’d stay out of it.”
“I’ll think of something. And don’t worry. I won’t mention you,” he said then just before going inside he added, “Drew?”
“Yes?”
“Thanks for doing this. I owe you big time.”
She was quiet for a moment before speaking again. “Anything for Charlee.”
There was a noticeable change in her tone, and Hector remembered her I-need-to-do-this-as-much-for-myself-as-I-do-for-Charlee comment. He considered asking her to clarify, but he didn’t have time. He needed to talk to Walter, and then he had a very important pho
ne call to make.
***
Hector was unbelievably thankful that Walter had Natalie to distract him now, because having this discussion with him before would’ve been even harder. This was way sooner than he anticipated having to have this conversation, but Hector’s mind was made up. He wouldn’t deprive himself of Charlee for even another day. He could already feel the blend of excitement and anxiousness building.
Walter would just have to appreciate the fact that Hector did think to come to him first before he did anything. He wouldn’t have to find out any other way. Hector was manning up and telling him before anyone else did.
“You done?” Hector asked as he walked up to him in the locker room.
“Yeah,” Walter wiped off his sweaty face with a towel. “It’s definitely getting easier, and I actually like the way I feel when I leave here now, not like before when I’d be dragging my ass out of here in total pain.”
Hector patted Walter on the shoulder. “That means you’re getting there. Eventually, you’ll be doing this just for that feeling, not because you need it.” Hector straddled the bench and leaned against the wall. “I gotta talk to you.”
Walter turned to him and stopped mopping his face, letting the towel drop on his shoulder. “What’s up?”
“The way you’ve been talking about Natalie this week, I get the feeling that trying to get Charlee is a thing of the past.”
Hector kept a close eye on Walter. He was doing the honorable thing here, asking for Walter’s blessings to go ahead and do what he’d wanted to for what seemed like forever now. But he also needed to get one thing straight. Once he did, he didn’t want Walter so much as daydreaming about her, because after today, Hector wouldn’t be taking any steps back. He’d be going forward with this full throttle, and if she was all for it, Charlee would be his.
Walter was pensive for a moment before responding to Hector’s statement. “All this time, even after you told me you thought maybe Natalie was interested in me, I thought Charlee would still be the ultimate goal, if I could ever get there.” He shrugged. “I almost feel guilty now that I saw Natalie as a consolation prize, someone I’d be settling for. To tell the truth, this whole week talking to Charlee was just as nerve-racking as always but nowhere near as exciting and as easy as when I talk to Nat.” Walter seemed almost embarrassed by that. “I was nervous at first, thinking that knowing Natalie might be looking at me in a way I would’ve never imagined would change things—that I wouldn’t feel at ease as I always have talking to her. But we’ve had our moments this week, and things are still the same.”
“That’s a good thing.” Hector smiled. Walter had no idea how good that was for Hector too.
“I see it now, Hector.” Walter smiled a smile Hector had only seen the day he brought out the robot from his trunk and told Hector Charlee had been impressed. “What you said you saw and I had such a hard time believing. Every time Nat looks at me now, I see it.” He shook his head, but the smile was still there. “It’s no different than how she looked at me before. Now I have to wonder how long she’s been feeling this and I was too blind to see it.”
“Which means,” Hector reminded him with a smile, “that what you were thinking, that she only noticed you because you started making this transformation isn’t true.”
Walter laughed full on now, and Hector was relieved to see him so damn happy. “That’s the best part about it. I mean I still wanna lose weight and all. And I’m gonna keep coming to the gym no matter what, but it’s nice to know that, unlike with Charlee, that’s not the only thing Nat will appreciate about me.” He stopped laughing and got a little serious. “That’s not to say I think Charlee is shallow or anything, but you know what I mean. Charlee’s never been anything but nice to me, but obviously my personality alone is not gonna cut it for her. And it’s just as well, because after spending so much time with Nat this week and then trying again to feel comfortable with Charlee, I think maybe she and I are just too different.” He scrunched up his nose. “Plus her head is always somewhere else. I always get the feeling she’s not really listening to me.” He laughed again. “I guess in a way that’s a good thing because I always manage to say something stupid around her.”
Hector laughed now too, and he’d like to think he knew just where Charlee’s head had been when Walter had been trying to make a connection with her. “So you’re done with Charlee then, right?”
Walter nodded then slipped a dry t-shirt on. “Good,” Hector said, standing up but lost the courage to look Walter straight in the face when he said it, so he smiled at one of the trainers walking out of the locker room and waved, “because I think I’m gonna ask her out.”
Hector held his breath, still not looking in Walter’s direction, but after the silence went on for too long, he had no choice. To his surprise, Walter was smirking. “Funny, it never even dawned on me that Nat might be looking at me as more than just her only patient’s grandson, who she had no choice but to be nice to. It’s not surprising really since I’m usually pretty lame about picking up on those kinds of things. But I’ve seen the way you look at Charlee. I was beginning to think I was just paranoid since, obviously, you weren’t doing anything about it. I thought maybe you just liked what you saw but she wasn’t really your type.”
“I don’t have a type, Walter.” Hector smiled, feeling a little stupid that here he thought all this time Walter hadn’t noticed his fascination with Charlee. “I only recently found this out. And the only reason I hadn’t done anything,” he crossed his fingers behind his back. Walter seemed happy enough now. Hector didn’t have to tell him just how weak he’d been about staying completely away from Charlee, “was because I knew you had a thing for her. But you’re cool with this now.”
Hector purposely made his last comment a statement not a question. He didn’t want to give Walter any room to say no because regardless of what Walter said now, Hector was not about to chance Charlee leaving.
Walter nodded. “We’re cool. Just don’t ever tell her I was pining for her all this time. That’s embarrassing.”
Not sure how he’d explain to Charlee why he fought this thing all this time without mentioning that, Hector agreed. At this point, he’d agree to anything.
“Well, I got a date to the aquarium I need to go get ready for.” Walter said, grabbing his gym bag.
And Hector had a phone call to make. As much as he knew Charlee wanted this—she’d told him she did and so had Drew—Hector wanted this too. So why the hell was he suddenly scared out of his mind?
Chapter 22
Flipping back to what she was supposed to have been doing, Charlee chewed the inside of her cheek and pretended to be looking up show times on her laptop. Drew had suggested they go catch a movie tonight. She was leaving to meet with her dad and his new girlfriend in Seattle the next morning and needed to get her mind off it. Drew had actually wanted Charlee to come with her, but Charlee had a presentation she had to make that Monday in school. Even though Charlee hadn’t brought it up in a while, she was still considering going back home. She had to keep up with the big stuff in her classes like this presentation to make up for whatever she might miss while she was gone.
Drew would be gone overnight and wouldn’t be back until Monday afternoon. As much as Charlee wasn’t looking forward to being alone, she just couldn’t miss class Monday. All this time while Drew had been on the phone finalizing her arrangements for her trip then jumped in the shower, Charlee should’ve been deciding what movie they would see, but as usual she’d veered off to read a website she’d recently come across.
Of course it had everything to do with 5th Street, but it wasn’t just the stuff about Hector that had drawn her back to the site time and time again. The wife of Hector’s partner Noah had put a blog together chronicling the history of the gym. Charlee was sure Drew would find it hard to believe, but she really was visiting the website for the articles and story about the gym. The photos of Hector that went back to when he was much young
er until now were just an added bonus. Charlee really found the story behind the making of 5th Street by one man alone to what it had now become, extraordinary.
Drew walked in with a towel on her head. By now, Charlee should’ve had the show times memorized for her, but she hadn’t even looked them up yet.
“Anything good playing?”
“Umm,” Charlee said, typing quickly. “There’s that baseball one with DiCaprio.”
It was the first thing that popped up. She started reading off the others as soon as the list came up.
Drew made a face, plopping down on Charlee’s bed. “Don’t they make any good movies anymore?”
Actually, a few of the ones Charlee read off did sound good. She had a feeling this might be Drew’s way of starting up on her talk of going to a club again tonight—something Charlee refused to do. After last week, she’d just as soon lay low for the next forever weekends.
Charlee’s phone buzzed next to her laptop. She picked up the phone, frowning when she didn’t recognize the number. With one tap she sent it to voicemail. She was in no mood for student surveys or telemarketers.
“Who was that?” Drew asked.
“I dunno,” Charlee said, staring at her laptop screen. “Maybe we can just go grab some grilled-cheese sandwiches instead.”
“Again?” Drew asked.
“But it’s so good!” Charlee turned to her with a pleading smile.
Her phone buzzed again. Glancing at it, she saw the same number she hadn’t recognized the first time. Because of the area code, she knew it was a local number. So she knew it wasn’t anybody from back home. It had to be one of those never ending surveys she’d been suckered into before. She hit the ignore button once again and looked up at Drew who was staring at her wide-eyed. “What?”
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