chapter:7

True to her word, she showed up a little before 8 a.m. "Ready to go?" Angela asked her after she opened the door.

"I'm ready."

"Got the list?" She watched as Kate showed her a piece of paper. "Then let's go. First, we'll take the subway, then maybe a taxi. What's at the top of the list?"Kate glanced at the paper. "310 Coles Street #5L. That's the one with the pool table."

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They took the subway and then a taxi. They checked in and went with the property manager to see the unit. It was in Jersey City, so maybe it was a little too far. Still, they looked at it.

"The kitchen is nice. It has a dishwasher, but I don't know whether I want to live in Jersey City. Besides, it doesn't have laundry, and that's a big no."

"Then we cross it off the list. What's next?" Angela waited for her response."674 Monmouth Street #216," Kate replied. It also was in Jersey City. They took a taxi.

They walked around the apartment. "It has a dishwasher, and it has laundry. The kitchen is nice, and it's one bedroom," Angela commented.But Kate shook her head. "I'm still not sold on if I want to live in Jersey City."

Angela understood. "Okay, what's left on the list?"

Kate checked the paper. "41-17 Crescent Street #B10." They took a taxi to that one. Once they got there, property manager Ethan Gowan showed them the apartment.

"The kitchen is nice. It has a dishwasher, and I see it has a stacked washer-dryer set in its own closet." Angela smiled at seeing that.

"And it's in Queens. Not Manhattan, but it's nice," Kate murmured while she walked around the vacant space.

"It also has a pool, an entertainment area, a pool table, and an exercise room," Angela mentioned. "I might take it if you don't, and at only 4,500 per month, I could stretch my budget and live here."

Kate stopped and looked at her. "Just a thought, but maybe they have two, and we could both live in this building."

"What a great idea!" Angela liked it and that Kate would be close to her. "I say you get it while you still can. But it's up to you."

It turned out there were two apartments available. This one was B-10, and the other was one floor up, on C-6.

"What do you think? If you decide to get yours, I'll get mine, and we'll be neighbors. Sort of." She would be one floor up, but that was close enough.

Kate caved in and said, "I'll take it."

The property manager smiled. "Great! It's just the first and last month needed. I'll get the forms for you both to fill out. Since both apartments are empty, if you want, you can move in today. I'll give you the keys." He went and got the forms and gave them to the women. His phone rang, so he went into his office to take the call.

"I feel like I'm telling them everything. Their wanting to know where I work, I get, but the rest of this stuff…." Angela frowned at that.

"I know what you mean. I swear the only thing this form hasn't asked was when I lost my virginity."

"Ooo, when did you lose your virginity?" Angela asked, her eyes sparkling.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Kate said as she continued filling out the form.

Gowan overheard them and his face turned red as they handed the forms to him. "I'll, ah, just process these and get right back to you with your keys."

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They left there, each with keys to their respective apartments. "Now we need to start packing, and I don't know about you, Kate, but I have a lot to pack. I may only have a studio apartment, but I still have a lot of stuff."

"Yeah, I have a fair amount of stuff to pack too."

"First things first," Angela said. "We need to find lunch, and I don't know what's around here."

Kate shrugged. "Me neither."

"Let's walk and see what comes up," Angela suggested, and they started walking.

"Terry and Yaki." Angela made a face. "Sounds like sushi, and I despise sushi."

"Here's something." Kate read the sign. "Plaza Deli."

"Works for me," Angela said agreeably, and they went inside and ordered subs and Cokes. Each ate their sub even though it was rather plain-tasting.

Angela checked her watch. "It's time for me to go home, start packing, and break my lease."

"Me too. See you in one week?" Kate asked.

"Maybe in our brand new apartment even." Angela kissed her cheek this time, then flagged down a taxi and took it home; Kate did the same. Both needed lots of boxes to put their stuff into.

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Kate barely had time to write since she was so busy packing. She was paying for her new apartment already, so she should live there as soon as possible.

Ultimately, Kate had to hire movers to do the job. She was busy unpacking when there was a knock on her door. She looked out the peephole and saw Angela. Kate smiled, opened the door, and let her in.

Angela looked around. "I see you're unpacking, neighbor."

"I had to hire movers to move me," Kate said and opened another box.

"I was fortunate and people from work helped move me," Angela shared. "One of them even had a truck to move my furniture, saving me some money."

Kate sighed. "Lucky you. So, did you come to help or just to annoy me?"

Angela's eyebrows shot up, and she glared at Kate. "So, I'm annoying you, am I?"

Kate froze and stopped unpacking once she realized what she said. "I'm so sorry, Angela! I didn't mean it that way. I'm exhausted and barely got any writing done during the week. All I did was pack."

"I hear you. Packing everything took me an entire week. I just came down to say hi, neighbor. I have a lot of unpacking to do myself. To top it off, I've only got two days to accomplish it, and today is almost over. I'll be back at my desk at the FBI by the day after tomorrow."

"So, are you going to help me or what?" Kate asked.