Unlikely Friends

“You have a minor concussion. Drink lots of water and get lots of sleep. No driving or vigorous physical activity.” The doctor’s listings were standard. His voice was monotone and reminiscent of my old high school algebra teacher. All lecture and no discussion. I bit the tip of my tongue to hold back the urge to sarcastically respond with, “Yes, Mr. Turner.” The throbbing pounding between my ears was maddening. I just wanted to get home to some peace and quiet. The doctor’s voice began to quiet as the loudness of colored posters, scattered anatomy charts, and framed degrees consumed my attention; only to be reeled back in with a horrid statement:

“And take a few days off of work as well.” he said, “You’ll need plenty of rest and you don’t want to overexert yourself.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. I can’t take a break from my job. I have never missed a day on the air. Ever.” I sat up and massaged my temple with a groan. “I’ll just keep some aspirin on me or something.”

“Miss Ritchie,” the doctor continued, his voice growing more firm, “I advise that you stay home for a few days.”

Bennett chimed in before I had the chance to respond, “I’d listen to him, Liz. He’s the one with the degree.” He then turned his gaze back to the doctor with a smile, “Thanks, Doc. I’ll make sure she does just as you said.”

As patronizing as it was, I was too eager to leave that place to argue. I finished filling out any additional paperwork while Bennett called off work and we headed out.

“I’ll drive you home.” Bennett said as he spun his car keys by the key ring around his finger.

“Thanks, but I’ll call an Uber.” I said flatly as I began to pull out my cell phone from my bag. This blast from the past had gone on far too long. I needed to get home and back to reality.

“Why don’t you call David?” Bennett asked with a raise of his brow.

“Who’s David?”

“Your boyfriend?” questioned Bennett with a slight squint of his brown eyes, motioning his hand toward me.

Heat rushed to my cheeks in realization. It’s not like I had forgotten about my boyfriend. Bennett just caught me off guard with his question, and in the process of pulling up an Uber on my phone, I wasn’t really paying attention to the question he had asked me. “He has a job too, you know.” I huffed, continuing to use my phone.

“Really? What’s he do when he’s not cheating on his wife?” Bennett’s hands shoved into the pockets of his gray trousers, “Besides, you, of course.”

“He’s a doctor, and I’m going to choose to ignore your last statement because you brought me here. But don’t push it. You don’t know anything about the situation so just stay out of it.”

Bennett took a step back, seeming to acknowledge that he had overstepped obvious boundaries. He removed his hands from his pockets, showing me his palms apologetically before asking, “A doctor, eh? So does he work here?” he asked, motioning back to Allegheny General with his thumb.

“That’s none of your business.”

“So… yes, then?” Bennett inquired, causing me to roll my eyes in response. He clapped his hands together and clasped them tightly before nodding, “Well, let’s get you home then.” He had finally dropped the topic of David. Perhaps he was starting to know what was good for him. “I called off work for a medical emergency, so don’t make me out to be a liar by having me drive home now.” He said with a faint smile. As much as I couldn’t stand Bennett at times, his smile had a way of growing on you. “It’ll save you some money on an Uber too.” he added. “And, I’ll buy you some mint chocolate chip ice cream on the way back. It’s your favorite.” He grinned, waiting for me to respond.
For a moment, I was silent, trying to process everything that was happening. I did love mint chocolate chip. How surprising that he remembered that. With slight hesitation, I slid my phone back into my purse and nodded slowly.

“Alright.” I agreed, “But only for the ice cream.”

#

Bennett’s car seats were comfortable against my back. The headrest gave my head solace from the throbbing momentarily as we drove down the streets of Pittsburgh. Spoonfuls of mint chocolate chip ice cream grazed my tongue as I ate and watched the window through the dark lenses of Bennett’s sunglasses. A woman pushed her baby stroller. A man pushed his daughter on a swing at the nearby park.

“Turn here.” I instructed as I pointed toward the green street sign.

There it was. My apartment. It was simple, square, and beige in color. The outside didn’t do justice to the inside, which I had spent nearly two years decorating. Bennett pulled up outside of the apartment building and put the car in park before releasing his hands from the wheel, resting them in his lap, and looking over to me.

I stared passed him and outside his driver’s seat window at my apartment. I had seen this building every day for the past few years, but today it felt different. I never thought I’d end up here. Mint chocolate chip ice cream, my career taking off, my almost completely furnished apartment, and my best friend at my side. Well, my old best friend at my side.
It was peaceful.

Trapped in silence once again, Bennett cleared his throat and looked down at his lap before looking back at me again. “Well, you’re, uh- we’re here.” he said. I could tell it was his polite way of asking me to step out of his car. Though he seemed to like spending time with me, he didn’t like the silence even more.

I nodded to him and then turned to unbuckle my seat belt but paused as I gripped the door handle. “Wanna see inside?” I asked. I was almost as surprised as he was, judging by the widening of his brown eyes, that I had offered to let him come inside.

“Sure.” He nodded and unbuckled his own seat belt as he headed out with me, up the stairs, and into the building. I led him up the stairs, my ice cream cup in one hand and my keys in the other as I headed toward my door.

The walls were white, so white that it barely looked lived in. The floors were pine wood and the area was spacious with the exception of some cream couches propped in the center of the apartment, facing a large television resting on a black TV stand. The furniture was complimented with coffee colored throw pillows that matched the oval rug underneath the rectangular, wooden coffee table. Large windows complimented the walls in the back, letting the daylight in with immense warmth. Down a hallway to the left was the bedroom, though I had no intention of showing Bennett that. I tossed my keys on the coffee table as well as my purse and plopped myself down on one of the couches, removing my shoes and hugging my knees to my chest as I continued to enjoy my ice cream.

Bennett’s eyes scanned the living room and trailed off to the preview of the kitchen he could see from the entrance way, though the rest of his view was cut off by the wall. He poked his tongue into the corner of his mouth in thought before deciding to join me on the couch adjacent from mine. His legs were spread and he hunched forward with his elbows resting on his knees and his hands folded loosely together. “It’s nice,” he said, “a little colorless, but nice. It’s also very clean.”

“Glad you think so.” I nodded, “I still have a lot of decorating to do. I have some old boxes of stuff to unpack. It will have more color once I’m done.” Another spoonful of ice cream filled my mouth.

“How long have you lived here?”

“A little over two years.” I answered, “But with my job and everything, I never really got the chance to finish everything I’ve been wanting to do.”

“Hm, that’s kind of odd.” Bennett said, his eyes looked away from me and he focused on the wall.
I rested my feet on the floor and sat forward to look at him, “Why is that odd?”

He shrugged, looking back at me again, “I remember you used to say you wanted to be an interior designer. I would have expected you’d already have a plan for what you wanted your apartment to look like before you even moved in.”

“Yeah, well... “ I sighed and placed my tub of ice cream on the coffee table before shrugging, “I’ve just been really busy. Sometimes your dreams change, you know?”

Bennett nodded, “Yeah, you’re telling me.”

“And what about you, huh?” I asked, smiling with an intrigued grin, “You used to wanna be an actor. As if you had the looks and skills for it and everything.” my faint laugh indicated that I was joking, which Bennett seemed to pick up on.

He chuckled at that as well, “Yeah, well that didn’t exactly go as planned either. I’m a teacher.” he said, “A sixth grade special education teacher, to be more specific.”

“No kidding.”

He nodded, “I’m serious.” He sat back on the couch and folded his arms comfortably over his chest. “It can be stressful at times, and paperwork is ridiculous, but I enjoy helping kids. It gives me some purpose in life, I guess.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but our attention was turned toward the front door as we heard the sound of the knob turning and the door opening. I quickly stood up from the couch and smoothed my clothes.

“David.”