Rock Chick Regret (Rock Chick #7)(14)

We didn’t socialize outside of work.

Of course, every year, I did take him and his partner, Buddy, out for a fancy dinner at Christmas during which I gave Ralphie his Christmas bonus. I also took him and Buddy out for a fancy dinner for Ralphie’s birthday during which I gave him his birthday present, a beautiful, pink Armani dress shirt with matching pink and maroon tie (year one), a Royal Doulton figurine (year two) and the glass paperweight he had his eye on for ages at Art but couldn’t afford (year three). I also took them both out for drinks to celebrate after we made that sale of the beautiful, bronze sculpture of the female torso. We’d had that sculpture for months, it cost a fortune and it was our biggest sale ever.

Oh, and Ralphie and I would always do his performance evaluations over French martinis at the Oxford Hotel Cruise Room. The evaluations lasted ten minutes so Buddy always joined us because, well, why not?

Buddy was yin to Ralphie’s yang.

Buddy was black, bald (shaved), had a thick goatee and a well-maintained, very muscular body. He was Butch with a capital “B” and he dressed like Freddie Mercury (white wife beater tank top, super-tight jeans, black motorcycle boots and studded black belts) when he wasn’t dressed in scrubs (he was a nurse on the Neurosciences Ward at Swedish Medical Center) or dressed to go out with us to fancy dinners and the Cruise Room (Buddy looked good in his Queen Front Man getup but you didn’t wear a wife beater to the Cruise Room, no way).

Buddy was funny too and really sweet. Kind of a gentle, butch, Freddie Mercury on steroids look-alike except black and, well… bald.

Although Ralphie wasn’t my friend, technically, nor Buddy, for that matter, he was all I had.

And I needed someone.

* * * * *

“I’m at Denver Health,” I answered Ralphie.

“What?” Ralphie screeched and in my mind I could see his blond eyebrows hitting his hairline.

“It’s okay. I just had a little accident,” I lied.

“An accident that puts you in the hospital? Oh my God.”

“It’s nothing,” I assured him. “Just observation. They’re letting me go today.”

Ralphie instantly responded, “I’ll be right over.”

“No!” My voice was sharp and my eyes were glued to the door. Hector or Daisy and Marcus could walk back in at any moment.

I had enough to deal with I didn’t need Ralphie showing up. Ralphie could be a bit… dramatic.

“What do you mean, no?” Ralphie asked.

“I mean, actually, I’m calling because I need you to do me a favor. I’m sorry to ask but –”

Ralphie interrupted by saying, “Anything.”

I blinked in my tense surveillance of the door at Ralphie’s quick offer of assistance. What could I say? I hadn’t had a load of times in my life where anyone offered me assistance. Heck, I hadn’t had a load of times in my life where anyone offered me anything.

I shook off my surprise and said, “There are spare keys to my apartment in the drawer at the gallery.”

“I know where they are.”

“Could you go to my place, get me some clothes, shoes… um, underwear and bring them to the hospital?”

“I’ll do it right now.”

For some reason, his words made tears sting my eyes.

“I’m going to be in testing,” I lied again also blinking again this time for a different reason. “So, could you just leave them at the nurse’s station?”

“Sure, but I can –”

“No, no, I don’t want to waste any more of your time.”

“Sadie, it isn’t –”

I interrupted again. “No really, it’s okay. The testing could go on for awhile.”

Ralphie was quiet then he asked, “Are you okay?”

“Yes, fine, just a small accident, banged my head a little. I might be out of work for a couple of days though.”

Or weeks, but I’d come up with other excuses later.

“Okay,” Ralphie agreed but he didn’t sound like he bought it.

I drew in a silent breath then on the exhale I thought of something else.

“Just so you know, my place is a bit of a mess –”

“Now, Sadie, that I don’t believe. You are Queen Clean.”

That sounded more like the Ralphie I knew.

“No, it’s just that –” I started but Ralphie cut in.

“Don’t get your panties in a bunch because I’ll see a speck of dust. I promise, I won’t report you to the Tidy Patrol if you left a bowl in the sink.”

“Ralphie –”

“I’ll be there soon.”

“Ralphie –”

“Toodles.”

Disconnect.

Oh my.

Oh well, I’d figure out some excuse for why my apartment looked like…

I stopped thinking about what my apartment looked like and more importantly why and set it aside. I’d deal with that later too.

I put the phone back, pulled the cover up and then laid back, thinking of what to do next so I wouldn’t think of all the things I was trying not to think about.

Then the door opened. I immediately closed my eyes. I heard footfalls, footfalls that stopped by my bed.

“Sadie, sugar, you asleep?” Daisy’s country twang whispered.