The Transplants

"I will."

I was home from work less than half an hour the next day when Carol called me. Ken I need some help."

"What do you need love?"

"A place to live."

"What?"

"Could I crash in your guest room for a couple of weeks?"

I...yeah sure but..."

"I came home and found my kitchen ceiling all over the place and water everywhere and..." She started to cry as she mumbled, "And I can't afford a motel for two weeks."

"What happened?"

She sniffed and took a breath before saying, "Some kind of water disaster from the apartment upstairs. I guess water has been pouring into my kitchen all day."

"Well pack a bag and come over."

"I was going to call Sandy but she's in Chicago."

"Yeah I know. You need any help...I don't know, packing or whatever?"

"No I'm okay. I'll see you in an hour or so."

"Just come in, the door will be unlocked.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

I made sure there were empty drawers in the dresser and clean towels in the bathroom and then it hit me. We would have to share the bathroom and I had never shared a bathroom with a woman before, at least for any length of time. In fact I was going to share my whole apartment with Carol for a couple of weeks.

I heard her come inm so I met her in the living room and gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek and then reached for her bags. "That's okay I can do it. Ken don't feel like you have to wait on me because It's not like I'm a normal guest, and I sure don't want to swear out my welcome."

"Okay. The top half of the dresser is empty, and I think there's enough room in the closet. We'll have to work out the bathroom space issue."

"I'll just keep my things in my bag."

"Not for two weeks you can't, we'll figure something out."

"Ken, I don't want to be a pest."

"I'm not worried. Okay when you get settled we'll sit down and work out the house rules."

"Okay just give me a minute."

When she came out I asked her, "Coffee, tea, beer..."

"Beer, I need to settle down form my disaster."

I got the beers, twisted the caps off and handed her one. "So your whole kitchen is trashed?"

"Pretty much. The cheap cabinets they put in these rentals didn't stand up to the flood very well I can tell you that much. The ceiling is now all over the stove and the tile floor, which is now ruined as well as the counter tops, and the water is everywhere, even into the living room carpet. They told me they'd have to rip out the kitchen and start over."

"Did you get out what you'll need?"

"Well I can get into the apartment if I need to, but I just can't live there while they're redoing the place." Carol was pretty stressed and had the beer gone in minutes.

"So they can have you back home in two weeks?"

"That's their guess."

I got her another beer without asking and said, "Okay so where do we start?"

"With the most important room, the bathroom."

I smiled and asked her, "Are you one of those that requires an hour to put on your face?"

"No, do I look like I need an hour?"

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to imply...you know, some women just take longer than others or so I'm told. I'm usually up by six thirty, in the shower by six thirty five and dressed by seven or so."

"That's always been my routine except I'm not dressed much before seven thirty."

"So let's see. The easiest way to do this would be?"

"Well I could shower at night and just put my face on in the morning. I could do that while your shaving if you don't mind."

"That's worth a try. Oh wait."

"What?"

"Well that's okay."

"What is?"

"Well when I come out here to start the coffee in the morning I'm usually naked."

"Oops."

"I'll be sure to put underwear on."

"That's all?"

"I don't own a robe."

"Why not?"

"I hate them, they make me feel like a cross dresser."

"You're kidding me right?"

"No I'm not."

"Ken you mean that every morning when I come out I'm going to see you in your briefs?"

"How did you know I wear briefs?"

"Just a guess."

"Well to answer your question, yes you most likely will as long as I remember to put them on."

She looked at me and asked, "What did you just say?"

"Just teasing."

"Don't do that to me. Won't me seeing you in your underwear bother you"

"I don't think so."

"Oh boy this will be interesting. Okay so I shower at night and you in the morning."

"We've solved our first problem.

"I hope so."

Chapter Six

It seemed the reality of the situation suddenly hit her and she started to cry. I put my arms around her and just held her until she could settle down and then I said, "It will be okay and you'll end up with a new kitchen."

"I'm sorry to put you through this."

"We'll be fine, we just have to adjust."

"I'll bet you're sorry now that you have a guest room."

"On the contrary, I'm glad I can help you. Look at it this way, for the next gathering you won't even have to go anywhere, you'll already be here."

"Oh God the gathering. They are going to tease us like crazy."

"I hadn't thought of that, but you're right they will. Just tell them that you've gotten used to seeing me in my underwear."

"That's not a good idea at all."

I went to the freezer and said, "Okay now about dinner. We can have...or we can have..."

"I'll treat us to dinner and we can go to the grocery tomorrow."

"Another problem solved. We're getting pretty good at this."

"You'll still be ready for me to leave long before my apartment is ready."

"You worry too much."

Our first evening together went smoothly, but since it was the weekend Carol opted to save her shower until morning. I was up first and went out to make coffee in my briefs. I didn't know if she was in the habit of sleeping in, so I took my time and emptied the dishwasher as I had my first cup of coffee. I checked to make sure there were eggs for breakfast and then noticed her standing there leaning against the doorway. "How long have you been standing there?"

She looked at her watch and said, "Oh, ten minutes or so. No really just a minute or two. I decided to stare at you and try to get used to seeing you in your skivvies."

I looked down and said, "Well here I am, good bad or indifferent."

"Well you aren't bad or indifferent and that's all I'll say on the subject."

"Coffee is ready and I'll go get some pants on," and she brazenly watched me as I retreated to my bedroom.

When I came out she had the eggs frying and bacon in the microwave.

"Now if you keep doing this I'm going to be ruined. Spoiled to the core."

"You can make the toast." After breakfast she went to her apartment and raided her freezer and then we did a grocery run together. The rest of our weekend went well as each of us did our own thing as though we had lived together for years. Monday was our first time to test her doing her makeup while I shaved. She looked at me in the mirror and asked me, "Is this going to work okay for you Ken?"

"I'm fine, how about you?"

"It works for me too."

"Yet another issue falls by the wayside." She stopped what she was doing and looked at me as I made the last passes with my razor.

Leaning against the counter of our rather small bathroom she said, "Ken I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't taken me in."

"Well I can't have my friend left out in the cold."

"I'm serious, I really appreciate how you are so quick to not just make this possible but make me feel welcome."

I put my razor in the sink and looked at her as I said, "You are welcome Carol. What's mine is yours for as long as you need to be here."

She straightened up and putting her hand on my back, kissed my cheek and said, "Thank you, now I'll get out of here or we'll both be late." I finished in the bathroom and then put my dress shirt on and went out.

"If I don't see you at work I'll see you tonight Ken."

"Bye Carol."

It was mid week when Dean called and told me his chapter was ready and that Sandy and Tom already knew, but he couldn't reach Carol.

"I'll tell her when I see her."

"Okay so your place as usual?"

"Sure." I told Carol when she got home and she was eager to learn which way he took the story. Saturday morning I caught Carol standing there in her robe watching me make coffee in my underwear.

She smiled at me and said, "You know I'm going to kind of miss this when I'm back in my apartment."

"You'll just have to come over for morning coffee then."

"Sure I can see me dashing over here at six thirty in the morning just to see you almost naked."

"Make it eight or nine on Saturday morning then."

"You usually stay undressed that long on Saturdays?"

"Sure why not?"

"No reason I guess since you'd normally be alone. You normally are alone right?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Oh, I saw Sandy at work and told her about my disaster and about you coming to my rescue. She acted a little out of sorts or something."

"She was like that before she went up to Chicago too. I think something is chewing on her."

"I hope it's nothing serious.."

"Yeah, me too, I miss her bright smile."

"If I get a chance I'll ask her if everything is okay."

"I asked her that, but she wasn't inclined to talk very much, so good luck."

Sandy was the first to arrive in the evening and I made myself scarce for a minute so she and Carol could have a minute to talk before the others arrived. When I came back Sandy was on the couch with a cup of coffee and Carol was in the kitchen getting the iced tea out. I joined Carol for a second but all she did was look at me and shake her head no. That didn't surprise me so I grabbed a Coke and joined Sandy on the couch. Tom was next to arrive and Dean came right behind him. While they were getting drinks and snacks I asked Sandy, "How was Chicago?"

"No different."

"I mean your visit."

"It was okay but nothing special."

"And the drive?"

"You know, long and boring." There wasn't much point in trying to talk to her it seemed. She wasn't rude or sharp with me and in fact she was totally flat, not showing much of any emotion at all.

Tom had Dean's chapter and was scanning it before reading it. Then loud enough for all of us to hear, Dean said, "I'll apologize right now because my chapter is kind of short. I'll do better next time."

I told him, "Hey, there are no rules on writing this story that I'm aware of. I'm glad it is short because then if mine is short too I won't feel so bad." Carol sat down on the other side of me and Tom said, "Okay, chapter two," and he began.

"Caleb left the hospital holding the slip of paper that Jennifer had given him tightly in his hand. He didn't know if he would ever go see this Paul Damon guy or not. A reward would be great, but just going into that hospital had been one of the hardest things he had done in a long time. He knew where the address for Paul Damon would take him and he wasn't comfortable being around those fancy buildings and all of those dressed up people. No he would have to think about that for awhile. Besides he'd had a friend help him copy the files from her computer and he wanted to find some way to look at them again to see if he could use the information somehow. Maybe he could have his friend go with him to see this Paul Damon. Caleb wasn't as ignorant as most people thought he was. In fact, if he had more money people would think of him as eccentric. He just had trouble being around people, which meant he had a hard time keeping a job. He even had almost two years of college, but that was a long time ago. Back when he could be in crowds, make good money and have fun. Now life was just one day after another of making a dollar here or there and surviving. He had his regular places where he could go and they would give him a day's work and pay him in cash. He'd pocket the money and spend just what he had to spend and hide the rest.

It took Caleb a couple of hours to make the long walk back to his familiar territory and in that length of time Paul Damon had jumped into his BMW and gone to see Jennifer and to retrieve the briefcase. When he went in he was all smiles and flattery and spent a few minutes to talk to her, but is mind was on the contents of that briefcase. "I hate to be in such a hurry but I have a million things to see to."

"I understand," Jennifer said.

"Well don't worry about work, just take your time and get well."

"Thanks." She told him about Caleb and he promised her he would see that Caleb was generously rewarded when he came to the office. As he left, Paul placed a call.

"It's me and I have the computer...I'm not certain but it all seems to be there so we're still good." As he reached his car he stopped and said, "What do you mean it wasn't an accident? So who...but how can we find out?" He tossed the briefcase into the trunk and stopped again. "So we have a bigger problem than we thought...shit, okay I'll get with you as soon as I can," and he hung up. Paul was nervous as a cat as he drove back to his office. As he drove he kept looking in his mirrors, making turns just to see if he was being followed and changed lanes every mile or so until he was safely in his office and the computer was in his safe.

Once Caleb was on his home turf again he dropped a quarter in a pay phone and said, "This is Caleb. She has her case back, and she insists that I collect a reward...no I have to go see a Paul Damon and he'll give it to me.

He's on Livingston in one of those fancy buildings. Would you go with me when you have time? Yes I have the disc hidden." He waited and then said, "Well you know how to find me," and hung up.

Jennifer had her things packed when Oran, her absentee boyfriend arrived. "Hi honey, ready to go? He bent over and kissed her and added, "It's good to see you."

"I'm just glad you could leave London a day early."

"I'm sorry I couldn't be here for you."

"You're forgiven this time. How was your trip?"

"Successful I'm happy to say."

"I'll bet your boss was happy too."

"He was." He looked down at the cast on her leg and said, "Well that's going to complicate things," and he gave her a knowing smile.

"I'm sure we can figure something out."

Chapter Seven

Tom stopped reading and said, "Well that's past the halfway point so there isn't too far to go, but I have to take a pause." He disappeared into the bathroom and the rest of us went to the kitchen to refresh drinks and get more snacks. Just a few minutes later Dean came over to me and I said, "Great job. Now we have even more possibilities."

"Thanks. I hear that Carol is staying with you."

"For another week or so in fact."

"That's damn nice of you."

"Thanks but I'm sure you would have done the same."

"I would have."

"Of course your guest room is full of computers and so forth."

"Yeah but the bed is still there." So how is it going with you two?"

"It's going great, she's easy to have around."

"I'm sure." We made our way back to the living room, and as I sat down I smiled at Sandy and she responded with something less than a smile. Tom picked up the chapter and said, "The last of Chapter two, and he glanced around and began to read again.

"Once Jennifer and Oran were back at her place she stood on one leg and they shared a long embrace and a kiss. "I've missed you Oran."

"I've missed you too Jennie. How long before you get rid of that monster on your leg?"

"Another month, and you can't believe how much my leg itches."

"Sit down and I'll see if I can give you some relief."

"And what can you do?"

"I'll show you." Once she was on the couch he put her feet up so she was lying back and he bent over her.

He touched her leg, studied it and then ran his hands up her thigh until she said, "Honey that itches too, but that's not what I was talking about."

"Oh, well maybe this is your problem and he pretended to pull something from the top of her cast. He held it up and said, "Well here's your problem, you had this in there," and he handed her a three carat diamond tennis bracelet.

"Oh my God honey that is gorgeous."

He kissed her and said, "That may not stop the itch, but maybe it will keep your mind off of it for a minute."

"Thank you so much, it's beautiful."

"But not as beautiful as you are."

She put her arms around him and pulled him down to her. "Now about that other itch."

Tom looked up and said, "Now that's a good point to pass the baton. Okay so who will pick it up from Jennifer's itch?" It had to be either Sandy or me so I looked at her and asked, "Flip a coin?"

"Sure okay."

"Sandy since you don't seem a hundred percent would you like me to take it next?"

"That's okay too."

"Okay then I'll do the next chapter.

Carol gave me a smile and said, "You just want to write something sexy."

"You'll just have to wait and see."

The five of us sat around and talked for the next hour, and then Dean left and Tom was talking to Carol when Sandy said, "I think I'll go home too."

"Sandy can I walk you home?"

"You don't have to."

"I said may I, not do you need me to."

"Sure." She lived in the unit next to mine and on the second floor so it only took us a minute to get to her place.

As she unlocked her door I turned her around to face me. "Sandy I'm worried about you, what's going on?"

"Nothing, and you don't have to worry about me."

"Look I'm going to worry about you. It isn't like I can turn it off and on, now what's wrong?"

She looked up and down the hall to see if anybody was around so I said, "Can I come in for a minute? I won't stay long."

"Look Ken..."

"Sandy damn it please?"

"Okay." I followed her in and she stopped just inside of the door. "Look Ken..."

"No you look. Something is bothering you. Is it a health issue that you can't talk about?"

"I'm fine."

"You are not fine, and I'm not the only one that sees that. Now damn it what's chewing on you?"

"Ken don't..."

"Don't tell me not to worry again Sandy. Ever since the first chapter of the story you have acted like your favorite pet is dying."

"It's nothing. I'll get over it."

"Damn it, over what? One of us has done something that bothers you. We're family remember? We stick together...we worry about each other."

"I'm just being silly is all."

I had my hands on her shoulders and I was looking into her eyes as I said, "You're my best friend so share your silliness with me. Please Sandy."

"It's just that...well one thing I can tell you is you seem to be falling for Carol and I'm afraid I won't see much of you anymore. We don't have coffee like we used to, we don't confide in each other like we used to. If I'm your best friend then how can that be?"

"That can be because you're withdrawing. You are my best and dearest friend and that's why I'm here right now."

"You didn't even tell me that Carol was living with you."

"She's not living with me, she's staying with me for a couple of weeks. Had you been here when it all happened she wouldn have called you."

"I don't thinks so."

"That's exactly what she told me."

Sandy put her arms around me and said, "See I told you I was being silly."

I held her close and asked her, "Why didn't you talk to me sooner?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Because...well I guess I wasn't even sure what was bothering me."

"Promise me something."

"What?"

"That you won't wait so long the next time something bothers you. If you don't know what it is we'll figure it out together and fix it." I put a hand on each side of her face and got close to her and looked into her eyes. "Promise me?"

"I promise." I kissed her then and was pleased when she kissed me back. "Why did you just do that?"

"What, kiss you?"

"Yes."

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Because you never used to, and because we're friends not lovers."

"I could ask you why you kissed me back, but to answer your question I think something must have been wrong with me, and second I kissed you as a friend. Had I kissed you as a lover it would have been more like this," and I really kissed her slipping my tongue into her mouth as my arms went around her again. She looked up at me then and I said, "See there is a difference."