Perfect Symmetry

Summer moved slowly, and Hailey was starting to move boxes of her belongings to Brent’s place. She was doing it secretly until I came home at lunch one day to find her smuggling her things into her car.

“Did you think you could pull a Phoebe and move out of my apartment without me noticing?” I teased her.

Hailey blushed. “While I appreciate the Friends reference, I was just trying to make things easier for you.”

I rolled my eyes. “Let me help, you idiot. That’s what best friends do.”

So every weekend, two cars full of Hailey’s things arrived at Brent’s place. After the third weekend in a row, he began to get worried.

“Where are we supposed to put all of this?” he asked in confusion.

“Hey, girls have a lot of stuff. You’ll just have to accept it,” I advised him.

Hailey kissed him in order to pacify him. “You knew what you were getting in to Brent,” she winked.

Soon my apartment was...well, my apartment. I left everything the way it was because I was planning on getting a new roommate at some point. While I could manage the rent by myself, it put a strain on my budget for other things (namely, shopping) and I liked living with someone, although I was sure no one could ever replace Hailey.

The team was scattered around now. Some went back home to their respective towns, others wandered around Chicago for the warm weather, and a few more took off on fancy vacations with their girlfriends. Even Jonathan told me he had already made plans to head back to Winnipeg, and was leaving in a couple days.

“For how long?” I asked him curiously as I sipped a lemonade while sitting at a café on Michigan Avenue.

“A couple weeks,” he gave me an apologetic look.

I smiled. “Don’t look at me like that; you should go and see your family. This is the only time they get with you.”

Suddenly he looked at me, his eyes bright. “Why don’t you come with me?”

I blinked. “Wh-what?”

He leaned forward eagerly. “Yeah, you should just come! I don’t want to not see you for two weeks.”

I cleared my throat. “Well that’s really lovely, but...don’t you think that me meeting your family should be more than just not being able to be separated for a few days?” I rambled, my words coming out faster and faster.

“What?” Jonathan asked with a confused look on his face.

“We’ve only been dating for a few weeks, Jon, and I think it’s too soon for me to meet your family and all of that stuff,” I explained gently.

His eyebrows rose. “It doesn’t have to be like that...you’re just coming on a trip with me.”

I smiled wryly. “Isn’t it a bit early for that too?”

“For God’s sake, Jazz, it’s not like we’re strangers! We’ve known each other for months now,” he replied in exasperation.

I frowned. “I know! It’s just that if I go with you, people will read things into it. Things that may not be true because we’ve only been dating for a few weeks,” I emphasized, my tone getting a little sharper.

“I really don’t see why it matters. Don’t you want to spend time with me?” Jonathan demanded.

I rolled my eyes. “Of course I do, Jon. Stop being a drama queen. I just don’t want to give your parents the wrong idea.”

His face grew red. “Oh, so I want you to come on a trip with me and I’m a drama queen? That’s nice, Jazz, real nice.”

I sighed angrily. “You know what I’m saying. You get it, you just don’t want to admit you’re wrong.”

“You just don’t want to come with me and don’t know how to say it,” he retorted snidely.

“No, that’s really not it!” I exclaimed.

There was silence for a few moments until Jonathan stood up

“I have to go pack...I’ll see you in a couple weeks,” he mumbled before walking away.
~

My alarm woke me up early the next morning. The plan had been for me to wake up and drive Jonathan to the airport. Yesterday’s argument, however, probably meant that I could sleep in.

Sure enough, there was a message on my answering phone from Sharpie, who told me that he had dropped Jon off this morning and that he thought Jon was being stupid.

I told myself that it was obvious that I was right in this situation and refused to call Jonathan to apologize. It helped that he had forgotten to take his cell phone and didn’t give me a number to call to reach him in Canada. I took this as a personal insult and continued to work every day without thinking about him. Too much.

On the first weekend that I had after Jonathan left, I was squished up on my couch watching this weeks episodes of The Daily Show when the doorbell rang. I rose lethargically to peek through the eye thing and see Patrick Kane himself outside. I smiled and immediately threw open the door.

“Hey Pat!” I greeted cheerfully. “How are you? Come in.”

He walked inside with a grin and gave me a quick hug. He looked nice, with slacks and a blue polo shirt that brought his eyes out nicely.

“You look good,” I said, “going out on a date?” I asked with a conspiratorial wink.

Patrick laughed. “Well clearly you’re not. Nice sweats.”

I stuck my tongue out at him and walked to the kitchen after quickly pressing the pause button on Jon Stewart’s face.

“Do you want something to drink? I have a couple of beers in the fridge,” I offered.

He shook his head. “No, we’re going out.”

I gave him a doubtful look. “No we’re not. You didn’t tell me.”

“It’s a surprise,” he clarified.

I rolled my eyes. “Pat you can’t just tell a woman she’s going out. She needs at least 12 hours advance notice to plan everything.”

Patrick looked confused. “Why? To get ready?”

“Obviously,” I replied immediately.

“You don’t need any make-up – just a nice outfit,” he hedged.

I snorted. “Right, like that takes five minutes.”

“I’ll give you fifteen. Either way, I’m buying you dinner tonight,” Pat insisted.

I gave him an angrier look and stomped off to the bathroom. I washed my face and reapplied basic make-up: foundation, concealer, eyeliner, and left it at that. I wore my black skinny pants and a floaty blue top with a cardigan and left my hair in the beach waves I had styled them in this morning.

“Let’s go,” I ordered abruptly as I came out of my bedroom.

Patrick glanced at his watch. “And with five minutes to spare. Pity, Jon Stewart was just getting into his rant.”

I rolled my eyes and turned off the TV and let Patrick lead me out of my own apartment.

“What restaurant are we going to?” I asked curiously as we sat in the car.

“This great Chinese place,” he answered with a cheeky smile.

I punched his shoulder playfully. “You know I hate Chinese you little shit.”

He laughed. “Just chill out, Jazz. We’ll be there in ten minutes.”

Pat was right. We arrived at this nice looking building and he pulled me in. We walked into an upscale, chic restaurant with a surprisingly casual feel to it. I felt completely well-dressed in my pants and top, and Kaner looked fine in his polo. It was only when we reached the dining area that I understood why. It was entirely counter-only dining, and the restaurant’s specialty was burgers.

“Pat! This is amazing; I’ve been craving a good burger for days,” I told him with a grin.

“I’m always craving a good burger. Now come on.”

We ordered and watched our burgers get cooked right in front of us. I wanted a cheeseburger with bacon, and Pat got a hamburger with extra pickles. The food was delicious, and the fries were especially heavenly. Patrick and I chatted lightly the whole time, just talking about plans for the summer and all that.

“So Hailey’s moved out huh?” Pat asked casually, eating a fry.

I nodded. “It’s a bit sad, but I’m really happy for her and Brent and I can always find a new roommate.”

“Have you had any offers?” he queried.

I laughed. “On the ad I haven’t filed yet? No, it’s a bit soon.”

Patrick nodded. “Well it’s good that you haven’t filed it yet.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Oh? And why is that?”

He cleared his throat. “Well, it could be good to live alone for a while, you know?”

I saw the uncomfortable expression on his face and knew something was up. Sighing, I put down the fry I was going to eat. I folded my hands in my lap and swiveled my chair to look at Patrick in the eyes.

“What’s going on, Pat?” I asked seriously.

He groaned. “My landlord retired, and his son took over the properties and he wants my penthouse for himself. He offered me a place in one of the lower levels but it’s for twice the amout I was paying for the penthouse, and that’s just unacceptable. He’s just taking advantage of me. So I told him to go to hell and he kicked me out. I have to be out of my apartment by Friday.”

I winced. “Pat, that’s less than a week away.”

“I know, he’s sort of a dick. Anyway, I’ve tried looking at some condos nearby but they’re all in weird neighborhoods or not big enough, and I don’t want to buy some lame apartment just because I haven’t got the time to look for a good one, you know?” he waited for my approval anxiously.

I nodded. “So...”

“So I was hoping that I could maybe...” he hesitated.

I leaned forward. “Yes?”

“You know...” he gave me a pathetic look.

I smiled evilly. “You’re going to have to get the entire sentence out, Pat.”

“I was hoping my kind-hearted, recently roommate-less friend would take me in for a couple months while I try and find a good place for me to live,” he pouted and gave me those blue eyes.

I laughed. “Sure Pat. But you didn’t have to take me out to dinner and make me get dressed up to ask for a favour.”

He shrugged. “It was the right way to do it. Plus, Sharpie told me that Tazer was kind of an ass to you before he left so I thought I’d try and make it up for both of us.”

I grimaced. “I’m afraid he’s going to have to do that for himself.”

“Fair enough,” he relented.

“Tomorrow we’ll start moving things in,” I smiled at him.

He covered my hands with his. “I can’t thank you enough.”

“So now that the hidden agenda behind this dinner has been revealed, why don’t we get out of here?” I asked teasingly.

Patrick chuckled. “Yeah, okay.”

We paid for our meal and left. Summer in Chicago was sometimes unbearably hot, but the evenings always remained cool. We were walking back to the car together when I thought of something.

“Hey Pat, has Jonathan contacted you since he left?” I asked curiously.

Patrick frowned. “No, but that’s really not unusual. He likes to sink back into his family life when he’s back in Winnipeg. Why, hasn’t he called you?”

“I mean, I know we were in a fight, but I still would have appreciated a call to say he made it there okay,” I mumbled pathetically.

“You know you could always call him,” Pat pointed out diplomatically.

“He didn’t give me a number to reach him with,” I explained.

Pat knit his brow in confusion. “Try his cell then.”

“It costs an arm and a leg to receive calls on your cell phone when you’re abroad,” I countered.

He gave me a knowing look. “Don’t be nervous. Just call.”

Patrick dropped me off at my apartment and I knew what I had to do once I got inside. It was still only nine in the evening so I picked up my cell phone and called Jonathan.

“Jazz,” his deep voice didn’t even sound angry that I had called his cell while he was in Canada.

“So you’re alive then,” I remarked dryly.

I heard him chuckle softly. “Can I call you back? I don’t want to use my cell.”

“Maybe if you had given me a landline number to call, I wouldn’t have had to call your cell,” I told him boldly before hanging up.

My landline rang almost instantaneously.

“Hello?” I answered dully.

“Jazz, I’m sorry for not calling you before...I just...I guess I needed to think about the things you said. And you were mostly right. Bringing you to Winnipeg would have stirred talk in my family. But I don’t see what’s so wrong with that. Are you that certain that this relationship won’t work?” he asked calmly.

He sounded so composed and not-angry on the phone that I was struggling for words. I had called him expecting another argument so I had prepared all of my angry words. I was caught totally off-guard.

“Jonathan I did want to come with you,” I admitted. “But I didn’t want to become one of those girls who can’t stand to be away from her boyfriend for a few weeks. I didn’t want to seem clingy.”

“How could it have been seen as clingy if I invited you?” Jon asked softly.

I winced. “I do want to get to know your family. And I want you to know mine. I just want us to get to know each other first.”

“We’ve known each other since November,” he objected.

I sat down on my couch with a smile.

“Yes, but we’ve only known each other as partners for a few weeks. I wanted us to know each other perfectly before we make important introductions,” I explained.

There was silence on the line for a while as I could tell Jonathan was digesting my words.

“That makes sense. Maybe I was a little hasty. But I do miss you. A lot,” he laughed quietly.

I bit my lip. “I miss you too. When do you come back?”

“Not for another week. Although I could always cut my trip short and come back now,” he offered teasingly.

I tried stifled a laugh unsuccessfully. “No no. You spend time at home. I’ll see you next week.”

“Bye Jazz,” he said before hanging up.
~
The next day, Patrick was at my door at nine thirty in the morning, holding a box of his things and wearing a bright grin on his face.

“Good morning, roommate,” he greeted cheerfully.

I rubbed my eyes blearily. “You...what?”

His smile faded. “We discussed this last night, remember? Oh shit that wasn’t all a dream was it?”

I left the door open and walked back inside my apartment.

“No, Pat I know you’re moving in but I just wasn’t expecting you this early,” I explained hastily.

“Nine thirty is early for you?” Pat asked incredulously.

I stuck my tongue out at him and went to the kitchen. “You want some coffee? I’m making some coffee.”

“Sure. So is that my room?” he pointed at Hailey’s door.

I gave him a faint smile. “That’s it.”

He grinned and walked over to the door, opening it without hesitation and charging inside. I heard him step on one of the creaky floorboards.

“I know it’s not as spacious as your high rise condos but it’s not terrible,” I tried to defend my slightly older building.

Patrick’s blonde head peeked out from the door frame.

“Are you kidding? It’s great! I’ll have to leave some of my stuff in storage but I was going to do that anyway. I think it’s great. Plus I have a really nice, clean, gorgeous roommate,” he winked charmingly.

I rolled my eyes. “Well spread that around, will ya? Too many people think I’m rude, dirty, and butt ugly.”

Patrick laughed and dumped his first box into Hailey’s room.

“I’ll have to thank Hailey for leaving her mattress here for me to use,” he remarked with a smile.

“Yeah well she’ll be cozying up with Seabrook in that new apartment so they only need one California king bed for the two of them,” I replied, pouring the freshly brewed coffee into a mug. “Oh and I wanted to thank you, Patrick. I called Jonathan last night and we worked through our issues.”

Patrick grabbed my mug and took a sip of it for himself.

“I’m glad. So did you tell him I was moving in?” he asked conversationally.

I froze and my jaw dropped.

Pat looked at me funny. “Well judging by that reaction I’m guessing the answer is no.”