Todd woke up a minute before the alarm went off, still curled up with Liz. He didn't want to extricate himself from her embrace, but did it anyway. The earlier he got to the doctor's office for clearance, the better. Liz grunted her disapproval as Todd got up, but turned over and went back to sleep. Todd made sure the alarm she set on her phone was still turned on, since he remembered Liz had a class that morning. Then, he grabbed some clothes from his dresser and made his way to the bathroom.
He had showered the night before, so after brushing his teeth, Todd just rinsed his hair and combed it into a manageable shape. He quickly dressed, downed a handful of Captain Crunch, and headed out the door. As he left, though, he carefully taped an envelope to the door. It read simply, "Occupant."
Liz woke up to the blaring sound of her alarm and practically smashed her phone to stop it. She fumbled until it hit the floor and hushed. Groaning, she stretched, already missing Todd and wishing she could have joined him on his doctor's visit. But classes couldn't wait and they were already behind on so much. Swinging her legs over the side, Liz quickly picked up her phone and entered the bathroom where she took a quick shower to wake herself up, and went through her morning routine in record time.
Feeling more awake, Liz finished applying her mascara and rushed into her room to find something quick to put on. She finally threw on one of her favorite fall dresses. The ankle length dress was a royal blue and had a halter top style that showed off her shoulders and accentuated her breasts before flowing down. Slipping on a pair of sandals, she brushed her hair and made a bee line for the fridge to grab herself a Coke on the way out.
The note taped the door made her pause and she raised an eyebrow. "Occupant?" She muttered to herself and carefully peeled the envelope off the door and carefully opened it.
Liz's eyes perused the form letter, which appeared to be the standard notice from the property management company that ran their apartment complex.
NOTICE
Building fumigation on October 13th.
Due to unexpected building fumigation for termites by our pest control company, all tenants must vacate this building between the hours of 10:00 a.m. through 4:30 p.m., today, Wednesday, October 13th. Property managers will be in and out of each unit during this time period. There will be no need for aeration or any other clean-up on behalf of the tenants after the treatment. We apologize for any inconvenience. Thank you for your cooperation.
WRF Properties
Liz groaned. "Damn it!" She thought of her bag of goodies that Tammy had purchased for her big night with Todd. Did Todd know about this? She sighed and rushed back to her room to grab the bag. Carefully she stuffed it into her book bag, hoping that she wasn't ruining anything.
With purse and book bag, she quickly shut the door and fumbled with her phone for a second as she sent Todd a message. "Off to class. Did you see the note on the door?"
Todd was sitting in the waiting room at the doctor's office when Liz's text came. He read the message and responded immediately. "Saw it. Irritating but no big. At dr now :) luv u." He hit send, then reeled off a second text to Ben. "All go for 10:00. I'll call after I get out of the dr."
A nurse popped her head from behind a door. "Mr. Farmer?" she called.
Todd got up and headed toward her, feeling nervous, but confident that today would be a good day.
***
She smiled back at the 'luv you' part, but wondered what on earth they were going to do. Spend the afternoon at Mary's? Not wanting to bother him further, Liz put some pep in her step and moved briskly to class. Thankfully no one stopped her to talk. She slipped into class, muting her phone and pulling out her notes for another boring class.
Liz did her best to try to maintain some sort of attention span during the lecture, but it was really hard to do so. Her thoughts kept drifting off to Todd and his appointment, hoping that all was well and good. So far, her phone hadn't buzzed. When class was finally over, she bolted out of her chair and shot him a text and then decided to send one to Mary as well to make sure that all was well there too.
"So? How did things go?"
She sent it off and rambled over to a nearby Coke machine to get herself another drink before round two of boring classes commenced! By the end of her next course selection,Liz read the onslaught of messages from Mary with half a grin on her face. Apparently things had gone
very
well indeed and she was very happy for her friend. Now her thoughts drifted back to Todd and how things were going to go that evening. She was nervous and excited all at once. Anxious to show off her new 'outfit' that Tammy had graciously gifted her for the big night, but also just anxious to be in his arms again.
She sighed softly as she slid into her seat and dropped her books. Would this day ever end?! She hoped soon. It sure seemed to be crawling. Unfortunately for her, time did drag on and on. It took every ounce of self control not to take out her phone and shoot him a couple of random messages just to keep her mind occupied. When the class finally ended, Liz resisted the urge to jump up and yell hooray! But instead, she calmly got her things and left, only to be practically tackled by Mary who had been waiting not so patiently outside the classroom. The new and improved brunette was all smiles and sighs, making Liz extremely jealous. "Well hello there sexy." Mary purred and hooked an arm around Liz's curvy waist.
"Hey yourself, Miss Happy. I need to have a talk with Ben. If he plans to woo you like he did last night, he needs to give us all warnings. Not sure I like this bouncing, bubbly Mary." Liz poked out her tongue and laughed.
"Whatever, you're just frustrated."
"Extremely!!"
Mary wiggled her brows and playfully nipped Liz's bare shoulder. "I could help you know. Take the edge off."
Liz blushed brightly and glanced around a little. While her world had opened up quite a bit, she was still a little leery about others catching wind of things. "So, I take it that you're feeling secure and all that again?"
Mary sucked in a breath and let out a long sigh and smiled with pure contentment. "Yes. I know. I acted a little weird there after the hay ride and the hair stuff. I know, I was being stupid. I had my moment of weakness..."
"Well so did I."
Slinging her own arm around Mary, she pulled her along their usual path. "I'm glad we're back to being all good. I'm starving, wanna go grab something to eat? My treat as long as I don't have to hear about Ben's anaconda."
Mary giggled girlishly and grinned wickedly. "But why not? I want to hear all about Todd's after tonight!"
***
"There doesn't appear to be residual swelling, and I don't see any lasting damage. Unless you experience any further pain or discomfort, I think you're good to go."
Todd knew that his doctor had said things after that, but he barely heard anything past those words. He was too happy. "Good to go," was the understatement of the year. After everything he and Liz (and Hollie and Mary and Tammy and Little Todd...) had been though, he was raring to go. He was ready to explode, and in the best possible meaning of the word. He paid his co-pay and practically danced out of the clinic. Hitting the button for the elevator, he turned his phone back on and checked his messages. Nothing there from Liz, but Ben had sent a reply text.
"Sweet. C U there."
The elevator dinged its arrival and Todd walked inside, smiling at the elderly lady already in the compartment. She'd probably have a heart attack if she knew the thoughts running through his head, but those thoughts would have to wait till later. First things first, he had some more errands to take care of.
***
Meanwhile, three feet lower, Little Todd was as excited as could be after being poked, prodded, and fondled, but not in the good way he liked. Over the past few weeks, he had learned a few things.
One: getting hit and kicked sucks (but, again, not in the good way.)
Two: if he never saw frozen peas again, it would still be too soon. He was a good-time guy, who liked to hang loose and free. Getting drawn up to avoid the cold just wasn't his style.