She had driven around Joey’s block three times before she decided to stop in front of his house. If she drove around once more, someone might call the police to report a suspicious vehicle.
Maybe I should have called first. He might have a woman over or two. Who knows? If he does, he won’t open the door.
Joey lived in a small, but well-kept depression era home. Kathryn had seen them before. It was a two-story white house with dark shingles. Small, but functional rooms. Kitchen, dining room, living room, and two or three bedrooms. Taking a deep breath, she rang the bell.
The door opened, and the smile that crossed Joey’s face appeared as if it would rip his face in two.
“Kat? Where’s Nick? You here alone? Come in, come in.” He held the door open wide, and Kathryn crossed the threshold into the spider’s den.
“Sit down, Kat. Can I get ya something? Wine? Beer?” His smile grew, if possible, when he saw she was alone.
“Beer, thanks,” she replied.
“Glass?” he called from the kitchen.
“Bottle’s fine, thanks,” she answered. Kathryn didn’t plan on drinking much and the dark bottle hid the contents well.
Kathryn settled on the sofa as Joey returned with two bottles and an open bag of potato chips he placed on the coffee table in front of Kathryn. He handed her a bottle.
“Thanks, do you always have chips around?” She did her best to smile.
“I buy them by the case at the warehouse store. Good thing, too cause now I don’t have much income, so I’m glad I have the extra cases.”
Kathryn pictured Joey sitting in the house buried in empty chip bags. She shook the thought out of her head.
He dropped down next to her, took a long pull on his bottle, and asked, “What brings you by, Kat?”
She felt tears trying to push through and said, “I need your advice?”
“Mine?” Joey laughed. “What kind of advice could I give you?”
“About men,” she whispered.
“Ask Nick.” He looked at her.
She stared down at her beer and pulled a chip from the bag. “We broke up.” The crunch of the chip seemed to echo in the quiet room.
Joey scooted a little closer. “You guys broke up? I thought he was the perfect guy.”
“I did, too.” She chewed the rest of her chip.
“What happened? He couldn’t possibly cheat on you. Nick’s not the type.”
She shook her head. “I met his mom Friday evening. It was the meal from hell. We broke up, and now he’s dating a new nurse from maternity.”
“Wow, that was fast. This is just Monday, right? Nick’s an idiot to let you go.”
“Thanks, Joey. I want to know how I go about getting him back. I love him.” She looked at him with tears on her cheeks.
“Don’t cry, Kat. Whatever you do, don’t cry. Tears drive men nuts. You’re going to drive me nuts, and I didn’t cause them.” Joey rushed into the kitchen and returned with a paper towel.
“Thanks, Joey. You aren’t as bad as everyone says.”
He grinned and sat next to her again but closer this time.
She smiled a bit and said, “Any idea how to get him back?”
“Well, how did the break-up happen?”
“During dinner his mom was criticizing me and putting me down for dropping out of school even though I explained about my mom needing me. She kept saying her Nick was going to be a good nurse and too bad I quit. She refused to understand. I walked out and started home. I thought he would follow me, but he hung around long enough to get pie from his mom and finally found me walking home. I had already called a taxi. I told him we were over.”
“I met his mom. I’m glad she isn’t mine. I understand why you left. When I met her, she hovered over him like he was six.” He shook his head and asked, “Are you sure you want that in your life?”
“I want Nick,” she wiped tears from her face with the paper towel.
“First, you need to show him you aren’t sitting waiting for him. You need to get out there. Spend the night with me, and it’ll get back to him fast. I’ll make sure of it. He’ll fall all over himself to get you away from me.”
“Joey Coyle,” she yelled as she stood. “I came here because I thought we could be friends and you would help me. I didn’t think you’d hit on me.” She stared at him with her hands on her hips.
“Sorry. Let me get this straight. You. Me. Sex. Not gonna happen?” He looked up at her.
She closed her eyes and shook her head side to side slowly.
“Didn’t think so. You’re a class act, Kat. Always have been. Can’t blame a guy for trying.”
He grinned and she fought the urge to scream that her name was not Kat.
She smiled back. “Okay, thanks. Now that we have that out of the way, can we talk seriously?”
“Yeah, but seriously Kat, I don’t think I can help you. I get turned down by a lot of women because of my rep, but some like me and we go out. I usually dump them. You may not know this about me, but I get tired of the same thing quickly.” He bounced his hand holding the bottle on his thigh.
“It’s a damn good thing I didn’t sleep with you then. Nice to know, Joey.” She glared at him.
“No, no, not you, Kat. I would never do that to you. You’re a different kind of girl. You’re the kind of girl a guy marries and I don’t want to get married for a long time. Want another beer?”
His back peddling amused her, but she ignored it and asked, “No, but I could use the bathroom.”
“Sure, right here around the corner,” He pointed to a doorway leading away from the living room and kitchen.
Kathryn closed the door and looked around the tiny room. It appeared clean. Maybe Joey learned something from working at the hospital. She didn’t need to use the room; she needed a few minutes to gather her thoughts. Grateful she was able to get his mind off sex, but now she needed to get it onto guns.
She whispered to herself, “How do I do that?”
She flushed the toilet and ran the water in the sink for effect and opened the door. As she walked out, she noticed a small light on in a room next to the bathroom. She glanced at the door of what she thought would be a bedroom, but obviously it was Joey’s den. Along the far wall was a huge gun cabinet and more guns than she could count.
Kathryn stopped at the doorway and called out, “Wow, Joey, you weren’t kidding about having a gun collection.”
He was at her side in an instant and slipped his arm around her waist. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, and he dropped his arm.
“Sorry, old habits are hard to break. Go in, and I’ll show you.”
She stood admiring the cabinet as Joey began to explain about the rifles his grandpa had given him. Kathryn didn’t understand much of what he said, but she nodded and smiled.
When he began to describe the handguns, she asked, “Did you really buy some of them illegally?”
He pulled one out that reminded Kathryn of her home self-defense handgun and said, “I think this one was used in a crime. Maybe murder. Look the serial number is filed off. Here take it.” He pushed the gun toward her.
She lifted her hands and backed up. “I don’t like guns. I can see what you’re talking about. Aren’t you afraid that someone will find out, and you’ll be arrested?”
“Nah, it’s cool to have a gun like this. I’ll never use it, but it’s fun to have one with some mystery. Women love it.” He grinned at her.
She laughed and shook her head. “Do you keep bullets in those drawers,” she asked pointing to two drawers, one on each side of the cabinet.
“No, he said pulling one open. I keep paperwork in them. My grandpa bought all his guns legally, and when he gave them to me he gave me the proper paperwork. He’d kill me if I didn’t keep it all. I store the bullets in that lower cabinet.
She nodded, “I see.”
Those drawers are deep enough for me to hide the gun in the back of one and the silencer in t
he back of the other. It’s perfect. My problem is how to get them in there. Do I break in or at some point sleep with Joey just to have access to his cabinet? I hope it doesn’t come to that, she thought.
“Let’s go back and sit down and talk. You still look unhappy,” Joey said.
Kathryn walked back into the living room and curled up on the sofa. “I am unhappy, but I guess I have to get used to it. I can’t fix his mom’s attitude. You know Joey, we talked about forever. I thought we’d get married one day.”
“Geez, Kat, I’m sorry. I had no idea it was that serious. I also don’t know why he would say that and then let his mom or anyone push you away from him. If I was the marrying kind and you loved me, there wouldn’t be anyone who could pull me away. You’re one in a million.” He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek and immediately sat back.
“Thanks, Joey. You’re good for a girl’s ego, and if I were the kind of girl who slept around and liked short term relationships, we’d get along fine.”
That comment made them both laugh and Joey popped up and brought them both another beer. Her first one was warm and barely touched. She finished the second while enjoying her chat with Joey.
He turned to her, and his face became serious. “Kat, now I need some advice.”
“Okay,” she answered not minding that he called her Kat.
“I need my job. I mean, I really need to keep it. I live paycheck to paycheck and then when something like this happens I don’t know what to do. I really thought about taking jewelry from my mom or grandparents. I spoke to my mom, and she said she had an emergency fund. She shared part of it with me because she needed to keep some in case she has an emergency. It helped. If she hadn’t, I wouldn’t have been able to make my mortgage payment. I love this house, Kat. I don’t want to lose it.” A new side of Joey Coyle stared in her eyes.
“First, you have to stop hitting on everything female that breathes at the hospital.”
He nodded, “I figured that out.”
“Second, you need to apologize. I think you should do it in writing. You need to apologize to Dr. Fox, Dr. Graydor, the new pediatrics doctor, and anyone else that you made angry or insulted. I would also contact Legal to see what, if anything, you can do to stem that possible lawsuit. They should be able to steer you in what direction to take. If that woman sues the hospital, you’ll lose your job. If she sues you personally, you could lose your home. It’s serious Joey. You may need to volunteer to get whatever type of counseling they suggest would help you. It’s important that you show the proper initiative and show remorse. You also have to mean it.” She took a drink of beer anticipating an argument.
“You’re right. I should do all of that. I could write the letters now. Would you help me word them? You’re good at this.” His eyes pleaded with her.
“Sure, I can do that. I have seen a different side of you tonight, Joey. You helped me understand there isn’t much I can do to get Nick back. You stopped hitting on me when I asked, and you showed me you were honest with your mom and didn’t steal her ring. I think this suspension has taught you a lesson.” She smiled and finished her beer.
Joey stood and said, “Let me get my laptop, and we can work on the letters. I can’t thank you enough, Kat.”
She smiled and said, “No problem.” It wasn’t a problem. Joey was friendly and cooperative. She believed him and if she could help him then she would.
He returned with his laptop and two more beers.
“Okay, what do I do? I’ve never written an apology letter before.” He looked at Kathryn and scrunched his eyebrows.
“What I would do is begin with a generic sounding apology letter and then we can change them to fit the circumstances. For instance, you need to write one to Dr. Fox about the incident with the nurse and your porn movie pitch. Then for Dr. Graydor it needs to be more specific and include the young woman who was grieving even though you used the same porn pitch. For the new doc in pediatrics, you need to apologize for hitting on her. The head nurse in obstetrics might appreciate that you won’t be bothering her nurses, and they can all stop being celibate. I understand it’s affecting their attitudes.” She took a big gulp of beer and chuckled. “You might be writing to the entire hospital at this rate.”
“You have to stay and help me, Kat. I can make us a frozen pizza for a snack if you get hungry. It is a bit late, but if you stay and help, I promise to be good. I’ll never hit on you again.” He spoke to her while frantically hitting the keys on his laptop.
“I thought you already promised you wouldn’t hit on me. You said I was the marrying type.” She giggled. She didn’t drink beer, and it was getting to her.
“You are, but I meant just for tonight. I wasn’t sure I could do it for always, Kat. Since you’re doing so much to help save my neck makes us good friends and I don’t hit on good friends. You’re more like my sister now.” He continued to draft his basic apology.
“Uh huh” she mumbled.
“You look tired. Here check this out. I’ll heat the oven for that pizza. It’ll help you stay alert.” He plopped the laptop in her lap and hurried into the kitchen.
She bit her lip when she read the basic letter. While it was sincere, it was typical Joey. It wasn’t going to impress anyone. She changed the wording and handed the laptop back to Joey when he returned.
“Wow, Kat, this is great. You’re brilliant.” He grinned as he read the letter.
Everyone thinks I’m wonderful and brilliant except Nick. Great going Kathryn.
She looked at Joey and asked, “Do you have more beer? I’ll give you some money because I know you’re flat right now.”
“It’s okay; I have lots of beer and frozen pizza. A few of the guys thought I might starve so they brought a bunch of pizzas and several six packs. I’ve got good friends, too.”
He returned from the kitchen and said, “I ran out of bottles, do you mind a can? I can get you a glass. The pizza is in the oven. I set the timer.”
“Thanks,” she said popping the top.
Since Dr. Graydor reported his behavior with the grieving sister and it caused his suspension, they decided to work on that letter first. When he finished, Joey printed it. He copied the generic apology section and saved the document. He opened another document and pasted the apology. The timer dinged.
“Okay, I’ll get the pizza and then we’ll work on the letter to Dr. Fox.” He left the room and didn’t hear her mumble.
The beer and late hour were getting to her, and her eyes kept trying to close. They ate pizza and finished the letter to Dr. Fox. After it had printed out, Joey and Kathryn took a break to finish the pizza. They laughed and talked about work.
“Do you think the letters will help, Kat? For real?” Joey shrugged.
She was curled up in the corner of the couch and answered, “They’re a good start, and I’ll see how Doc feels about this now. He always likes to give people second chances. Time to start on the letter to the head nurse.”
“I’m not sure exactly what to say to her. It all sounds as if I am a pervert.” He deleted a few words.
“Maybe you are,” she mumbled. “You need to work on that.”
They laughed again. Kathryn suggested he take a few minutes to figure out what the best approach in his letter should be. She said she’d do the same.
Kathryn heard snoring coming from somewhere. She opened her eyes, and it was just beginning to get light out. She rubbed her eyes. Her head hurt, and her neck was stiff from sleeping in an awkward position.
Why did I fall asleep on my couch? I never do that. Who’s snoring? Oh no, it’s Joey. I’ve been here all night.
“Joey, wake up,” she yelled.
“What, huh? I think I got this part of the letter done.” He stammered.
“No, you don’t. It’s almost sunrise. I’ve been here all night. I have to go home and get ready for work.” She stood and grabbed her head. “I feel like crap.”
“Wow, it is late or early. I could make c
offee.” He rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
“That’s okay; I’ll grab one on the way home. I have to run. Keep working on the letters.” She smiled and rubbed her forehead.
He rushed up to her and hugged her. “Thanks, Kat. You’re the greatest.”
“Thanks, gotta run.” She opened the door and began to walk outside.
He called after her. “Hey, Kat. It worked out okay. We spent the night together, and I behaved.”
Kathryn groaned. “Go back to sleep, Joey.”
~ * ~
Kathryn swore at the cup of coffee she picked up from the drive through.
“I should have asked for ice coffee. This is too hot. I’m never drinking beer again as long as I live. I spent the night at Joey’s. How crazy is this? I know an entirely different side of him now. He’s a nice guy when you peel off the self-centered perviness.” She mumbled to herself on the entire drive home. “He said we are good friends now. Good friends don’t hide weapons in their friend’s homes. I can’t do that to Joey. I’ll think of something else.”
She rushed into the house and got ready for work as quickly as her headache would allow.
Chapter Twenty
Kathryn used the drive through lane at her favorite coffee shop for a plain coffee and Danish. She hoped another jolt of caffeine and some sugar would help her headache. The two aspirins she had swallowed before she left home would hopefully help, too. By the time she parked her car, she could feel her headache lessen.
She mumbled to herself as she entered the building, “I swear, no more beer—ever.”
Mac was on duty and wished her a good morning.
“Hi Katie girl, I gave the duffel to Nick. He sure was in a bad mood. He’s not happy. I think you two should patch things up. You both look sad and lonely.”
She smiled and shrugged. “I’m willing, but Nick’s still upset. Maybe he needs more time. I’ll give it to him, and hopefully we’ll work it out.”
“Good luck,” Mac called and waved as Kathryn hurried to the elevator.
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