Page 23 of A Man After Midnight

Chapter Ten

“I was so hoping to get the Mystery Machine,” Aldy said, a tiny whine escaping through her voice.

Caroline looked behind her and down the Ferris wheel to see the car they had missed acquiring. Each car was different, one being the Little Tykes car and another the alien spaceship from Toy Story. While standing in line at the toy store ride, the conductors asked for two people, and so they had volunteered, jumping ahead in line. Only their car ended up being the one they didn’t want.

“Yeah, I was never much into Cabbage Patch Kids,” Caroline added, looking at their car.

Aldy was busy clicking away with her camera from atop the four-story wheel located inside the toy store, because where else would a Ferris wheel fit in the middle of Manhattan?

“I’m so glad this weekend is almost over,” Aldy continued, heedless of Caroline’s more somber mood. “Just gotta get through the mixer tonight, and then it’s home sailing tomorrow afternoon. It’s so hard talking with all the financial people. It’s like we’re trying to run a business or something!”

Oblivious to her friend, Caroline’s mind wandered as she stared across the car’s door as the wheel went round and round.

“Caro,” Aldy said sternly.

Caroline blinked and turned her gaze onto Aldy’s frowning face.

“That was a totally funny joke and you didn’t laugh.”

“I’m sorry, Aldy. What did you say?”

Aldy sighed. “Never mind. You’re a space case today, you know.”

“I’ve been thinking of Wren,” Caroline admitted.

“That is still a sort of ‘ew’ subject,” Aldy replied, squishing up her face.

“Oh please,” Caroline bit back. “You had sex in my bathroom once. I had to scrub the toilet with bleach, Aldrin, and buy a new shower curtain.”

“I had completely forgotten about that!” Aldy exclaimed. Her eyes took on a thoughtful look as she searched her memory. “What was his name? Corey? Cody?”

“His name was Stan,” Caroline reminded her dryly.

“Stan,” Aldy repeated, pursing her lips and looking pensive. “Stan. Nope, got nothing.”

“You are such a slut.”

“So says the woman who slept with a man on her first date. Wait! It wasn’t even a date!” Aldy stuck her tongue out and then started laughing so hard she had to wipe the tears that leaked from her eyes. “God, Caro, I miss you. When are you moving back to Los Angeles?”

Caroline looked at her friend. They had met years ago when they had been working in the same building, she on the third floor and Aldy on the second. One morning the elevator had gotten stuck somewhere between the first and second, which wouldn’t have been so bad except they had both been on the damn thing when it malfunctioned. It took the fire department more than half the day to rescue them.

They were almost night and day, in appearance and in attitude, but something between them clicked. Aldy had been born in India and adopted by an American couple as a baby, while Caroline had grown up as a blonde southern cheerleader in a devout Christian home. Yet regardless of their backgrounds, Caroline counted herself very lucky to have found Aldrin Crenshaw.

“I don’t know, Aldy. L.A. is a little expensive for living on my own.”

“So move in with me,” her friend said.

Caroline thought for a moment, gathering her thoughts. “L.A. is the place people go to chase their dreams of showbiz.” She shook her head. “I was never into that scene. It was all about Greg.”

“Well then, how about New York? I could transfer to our studio here, and we could get an apartment in Manhattan.” Aldy grabbed Caroline’s hand. “It would be so awesome!”

“One, there’s nine million people living on an island, which makes rent about a hundred times worse than L.A. Two, you hate the cold.”

Aldy cocked her head. “Cold?”

Caroline nodded. “They have winter here, you know. December. January. Snow and lots of it.”

Aldy actually shivered, letting go of Caroline’s hand to hold it up, as if warding away what she said. “Okay, so I’m going back to California. Nice, always sunny California. And you’re going back to Baton Rouge, to what? Rusticate? Become a cat lady?”

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