Spring Fever by Maura It had been a long, cold, wet winter. Being damp and chilled became the norm from day to day. Sometimes it seemed like the chill would never be warmed out of their bones. But April brought the hope of better things to come. Surely the sun would have to shine more, the air would have to dry out, and the clouds would have to fade away. Johnny woke up to sunlight streaming through his bedroom window. There was a familiar sound outside, birds chirping. It seemed like such a long time since their singing had awakened him. Maybe winter was finally letting loose its grip on L. A. and making way for the entrance of Spring. He got out of bed and went to the window. There was already a lot of activity in his apartment development. People were leaving for work, children were heading for the bus stop, and a landscaping truck was a few doors down. He never remembered seeing it around in the years since he lived there, but with his schedule he missed a lot. He opened the window and felt the cool breeze blow in. It was a little chilly, but maybe as the day went on it would get better. He reached for his remote and turned on the TV to get the weather report. The anchors were finishing their coverage of a house fire that had occurred over night. Out of habit, Johnny ignored the details and looked to see which companies were on the scene. He could see by the images how the fire had gone, he didn't need the reporters to explain it. It seemed like it wasn't very bad. He was happy for the family and for the guys who had to fight it in the middle of the night. He had more than his share of nights in forty degree temperatures with water spraying back on him as they fought fires. It was miserable, but it was part of the job, so no one complained, at least until they got back to the station. The weather girl came on to give the details of the five-day forecast. He was distracted for a time watching her. She was young, with long blonde hair and the biggest blue eyes he had ever seen. She was tan, he wasn't sure how that was possible given the recent weather, but she was. She was wearing a peach, low cut blouse and tan pants. He was no longer looking at her face or her tan. She gracefully moved across the screen as she pointed to the various areas of interest. Her voice was low and sultry and he found himself enjoying the weather more than he ever had in his life. He did mange to focus on what she was saying long enough to hear that the temperature would warm up near seventy, with plenty of sunshine. It seemed like she had only just begun, when she was turning the floor back over to the main anchor, an elderly man with gray hair and lines in his face for every year he had been on the air. Johnny turned the TV off and took a shower and dressed, then went into the kitchen to make coffee. He decided to take advantage of the beautiful day and run some errands he had been putting off. There was nothing worse than having to run around town making several stops in the cold rain. Today would be much nicer. He was in the bedroom, gathering his uniforms and a few other items to take to the cleaner. He noticed that he had left the window open. He decided this might be a good day to air out the apartment. He opened the other window in his bedroom and then he went and did the same in the living room and kitchen. It would be nice to come home to the smell of the fresh air. It was one of the best parts of Spring. Finally getting rid of the stuffiness of the house, which was closed up for so many months. He gathered the items he needed for the bank, his clothes, and the grocery list he had hanging on the fridge. Then he found his keys and headed outside to the Rover. While he was putting everything in the car, he could hear the children laughing and playing at the bus stop. They seemed to be aware of the hint of Spring too. He thought back to when he was a kid, once spring came all he could think about was the close of school and the summer of freedom stretched out before him. He did nothing but play baseball and tag and whatever else he and his friends could come up with to fill the daylight hours. Now as he looked back, he was glad he had enjoyed it to its fullest. As an adult, summer didn't hold quite the same magic. He had done his banking and gone to the cleaners and now all that was left was going to get groceries. It was a task he didn't look forward to. But it had to be done. The only thing that made it tolerable was watching the women in the store. Usually there would be a pretty girl somewhere that he could watch, or maybe strike up a conversation with. He remembered the day he saw a pretty brunette in the produce section. She was next to him getting items for a salad. He was in front of the lettuce and she reached past him to retrieve a head. Her arm brushed his and she apologized. "That's okay. No harm done," he said as he looked into her warm brown eyes. "I'm usually more patient," she explained. "But I am in a hurry today." He saw the way she was looking at him. She was checking him out. She tilted her head flirtatiously and smiled at him. Johnny smiled back. The more he looked at her the more he liked what he saw. He had to think of something to say to keep the conversation going. He got an idea. "You know, I'm not very good at this. Do these tomatoes look ripe to you?" Playing helpless was sometimes endearing to women. "Well, I wouldn't get the ones that look kinda green. Try to find some that are a deep red, like this," she said as she reached across him again, but he was sure it was intentional this time. As she began to hand him the one she selected his hand touched hers and they both smiled at each other. He was sure she was interested. A few more minutes of talking and he would be free to ask her out. "Mommy! Mommy!" came little voices down the aisle. Johnny ignored them. He was still looking at this girl beside him. "Mommy!" "What is it?" She turned from Johnny and looked toward the children coming at her. There was a boy around six years old and a little girl around four. They were breathless from running. Each one was holding a box of cereal with cartoon like characters on the package. 'Can we get these mommy, please?" asked the boy. "No, I told you they're full of sugar." "Oh come on, you never get us anything we want!" snapped the child. "I said no Robert and I mean it!" she snapped back. With that both children began to wail loudly. Johnny cringed at the sound and at the fact hat he had almost asked a woman with two children out on a date. He had narrowly dodged a bullet. He smiled at her and thanked her for her help and went on his way as she continued to try to quiet the children. Even when he was a few aisles away, he thought he could still hear them. He shuddered again as he remembered, and promised himself he would be very careful today. He followed his list and was almost finished shopping when he noticed her from the corner of his eye. She was standing comparing two boxes of detergent. He couldn't believe it. It was the weather girl from the newscast he had seen that morning. She was wearing jeans and a tee shirt, but he was sure it was the same girl. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail now, but she looked just as tan as she had on television. He was close enough to see that she wasn't wearing a wedding ring. Did he dare approach her? He weighed his options carefully. What was the worst that could happen? She could let him know she wasn't interested and it would end there. But on the other hand, what if she were interested? What was the best that could happen? He blushed as he considered it. Why not? Go for it! He casually made his way closer to her. She didn't seem to notice him at first, then she turned and smiled at him. She noticed her cart was parked in the middle of the aisle. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to block your way,' she said as she put down the boxes to move her cart. "That's okay. I was stopping here anyway," he smiled back. "So, which one is the better buy?" he asked. She looked confused. "The detergents, I noticed you comparing them. Which one would you recommend?" She smiled as she understood. Then she looked at him closely. "I think I'm going to go with this one," she said as she pulled the box from the shelf. "Well then that's what I'll take too," he flashed his crooked grin at her and reached for the same brand. She smiled back at him warmly. Neither of them moved although they both seemed to have made their detergent choice. There was a momentary uncomfortable silence. Then Johnny decided to go ahead full steam. "My name is Johnny," he held out his hand. "Hi, I'm Linda," she said as she returned the gesture. "Linda, that's a pretty name. I don't think I've ever seen you in here before." "No, I just moved here two weeks ago. I got a new job," she answered. He wondered if he should mention that he had seen her at her new job just that morning. He decided not to, he didn't want to sound like a stalker. "So where are you originally from?" "I grew up in Florida. This is my first time on the west coast." So that explained the tan. She was probably tan her whole life. "Wow, you're a long way from home. Have you seen any of the sights in L.A.?" "No, I've been busy till now unpacking and getting oriented to my new job." He thought it was sweet that she wasn't flaunting the fact she was on TV. The station must have been very impressed with her, to get her to move all the way out to L.A. "What about you Johnny?" "What?' "Are you from around here?" She was asking questions about him. That was a good sign. "Yea, I grew up around here. It's really nice. There are some places that are prettier than others, but for the most part it's not bad at all." "I'll have to do some exploring," she said as she looked into his eyes. "Well, I'd be happy to show you around any time you'd like." He hoped he hadn't been to forward. He didn't want to scare her off. "That's really nice of you. What are you dong later today?" Johnny thought for sure he was hearing things. It was never this easy to get a date. You had to work at it patiently, gradually getting the girl interested, carefully planting the idea of getting together in their minds. Then hopefully after a time, ask the question, and hope for the best. She asked him out. Could it be true? Did she mean it? She looked sincere. She was smiling at him and waiting expectantly for his answer. "Sure, that would be great!" She opened her purse and took out a piece of paper. "Here is my address and telephone number. I need to finish shopping and go home. Why don't you call me when you're ready and we can meet then?" "Okay that sounds great!" She smiled at him and walked away. As she turned at the end of the aisle, she looked in his direction and waved. He waved back, at least he thought he did, he was still in shock. He forgot about his list. He absent-mindedly tossed a few more items into his cart then went to the check out line. He didn't notice her anywhere around although he looked as hard as he could, up until he left. When he got home, he took the bags from his car and walked to his front door. The air was warmer. There were more birds chirping. He noticed the landscapers had been planting flowers outside the apartments. They were working on the one next to his as he reached for his keys. One man looked over at him and said Hello, then returned to his work. Johnny quickly put his groceries away. He noticed how wonderful the apartment smelled with the warm air blowing in the window. It lifted his spirits just breathing it in, although he didn't have to be lifted very far. He had a date with a beautiful girl. He pictured her again in his mind. Her big blue eyes, her long blonde hair, her tan skin, and her beautiful shape. His mind started to wander and he stopped himself short. Nothing would happen if he spent all day fantasizing and never called her. He reached into his shirt pocket for the paper she had written her number on. Even her handwriting was beautiful. He picked up the phone and dialed. "Hello?" "Hello Linda. This is Johnny." "Oh Hi Johnny. You have perfect timing. I just put the last of the groceries away." It wasn't very often a girl told him he had "perfect" anything. He smiled at her choice of words. "Well then, are you ready to go exploring?" "I sure am. Would you like me to meet you somewhere?" "No, that's alright. I can pick you up. That way you won't have to worry about leaving your car." "Thank you Johnny. That's so considerate of you. Do you know how to get to my apartment?" He smiled to himself. She didn't know he knew the streets of L.A. backward and forward, inside and out. He suddenly wondered what she would think of him being a fireman? "Yea, I know how to get there." "Oh, I should tell you, there is a detour on the next block. There was a house fire there early this morning. They are trying to keep people away from the scene. I saw the firemen there when I went into work. I felt so bad for them. It was dark and cold and they were getting so wet. They do such wonderful work, I really admire them." Johnny wondered if he really did wake up this morning. This had to be a dream. He thought it might be tacky to mention that he was a fireman right now. He decided to wait and see if it came up later. "Well thanks, I'm sure I can get around it. I'll be there in half an hour. Okay?" "That's perfect. See you then. Bye" He picked her up promptly and they spent the rest of the day riding around L.A. Everything was going so well. She was easy to talk to and even easier to look at. She seemed to be enjoying his company too. They were both tired after their day, but he wasn't ready to end their date yet. He offered to take her to dinner. She accepted and he found a quiet restaurant. They sat at a candlelit table. He ordered them a bottle of wine. They had a wonderful dinner. He noticed her looking at him intently from time to time. They were sitting very close and he could feel her leg brush up against his under the table. He reached for her hand and held it as they finished the bottle of wine after dinner. When they left the restaurant, she held onto his arm as they walked to his car. "I've had a really nice time Johnny. Thank you." She smiled at him with her bright blue eyes. "So have I," he said and without thinking he reached down and kissed her. It was a gentle kiss at first. Then she became more passionate. When their lips parted he looked into her eyes. He knew what her unspoken message was. He smiled at her. "Johnny, I still don't have any bedroom furniture. I've been sleeping on my couch." She waited for him to respond. "Would you like to come to my place?" he asked quietly. "That would be nice," she answered in that sultry voice that was like music to his ears. Then she reached up and kissed him again. When their lips parted they got in the car and drove away. It had gotten chilly again after sunset. He put the windows in the Rover up, so she wouldn't get cold. They pulled up in front of his apartment and he noticed all the new flowers the men had planted in front of his place. Spring had arrived! The days would be warmer, the flowers would be right outside his windows, they would wake up to the sounds of the birds in the morning, and he was going to spend the night with a beautiful girl. The day had been more perfect than he could imagine. Now the night would be too. He opened her door and they walked to his apartment. She began to cough a little as she waited for him to turn the key. They walked in and it hit them both full force. Fertilizer. The apartment wreaked of it. The landscapers were doing more than spreading flowers outside today. "Oh my god Johnny what is that?" She said as she gasped for air. "The landscapers were here today. When I left to pick you up they were just planting flowers. They must have put down fertilizer when they were finished," he answered, trying not to breath through his nose. "Oh Johnny, I'm sorry, but I need you to take me home. I have asthma and I can't breathe this in for long." Johnny looked at her standing there with her hand over her mouth and sighed. He should have known. It had to happen. Something always did. He put his head down in defeat and noticed a paper on the floor by the front door. He picked it up and read it: Dear Tenants, Today landscapers will be on the grounds planting flowers in the lots around the apartments. Since they will also be spreading fertilizer, we recommend that you leave all windows closed to prevent any health problems associated with the odor, which will result. Thank you for your cooperation. Happy Spring! feedback for Maura |