“When?” said Zarley.”
“Not tonight,” said the cop. “From the damage, probably for a week and even then, you said first floor, above the restaurant, there’ll be water damage. You’d be best to find somewhere to stay for a few weeks.”
“That’s what the fireman said,” said Zarley’s Cara. She was tiny like Zarley, but a rusty blonde with milky skin and freckles that stood out. Wearing a coat over a nightgown with slippers, she stood awkwardly, as if in pain.
“Are you hurt?” he said.
Her eyes swung to him. “No.” Then back to Zarley.
“That’s Reid. Cara, Reid. Reid, my roomie, Cara.”
He’d have shaken her hand but his arms were full of her stuff. “You’re limping.”
Cara waved a hand. “It’s old.” She focused on Zarley again. “I got all your costumes out. Whatever clothes I could find. The laptop, I don’t know, I grabbed stuff, they were yelling at us to get out. It was so loud, the explosion.” She touched the side of her head. “My ears are still funny.”
Zarley patted Cara down. “You’re sure you’re not hurt?”
“I’m fine, bit of a headache. We can go to my brother’s. I’ll call him. I need to put some clothes on.”
“You’re welcome to stay at my place tonight, for however long you need,” Reid said. He could put them both up, there was a bed in the spare bedroom now.
“You’re Reid. Lost your job, sent Zarley a dick pic, Reid.”
“It was a dick pic. I’m not an axe murderer and I have an apartment five minutes away.”
Cara shook her head. “I’m going to Gavin’s. I just want to be away from here. I can use Jessie’s sewing machine. I can wait it out there. You can come with me, Zar.”
Zarley sighed. “Gavin and Jess are an hour out of the city.” She glanced at Reid. Was he going to lose her? “The traveling will kill me and with the new baby, it’s too much to ask.”
“I can’t think of anything else. Will they make us pay rent still? They said we might be allowed in Monday to collect more stuff, but what if—”
“I’ll stay with Reid like I was going to, and on Monday I’ll be here to see what we do next.”
“You’re sure?”
Zarley glanced at him again and he nodded. “I’m sure. Worry about the long term when we know what we’re in for.”
“Let me get you a cab.”
Cara’s big eyes flashed at him. “To San Ramon, are you kidding?”
“You’re in PJs, you have,” he shook the stuff in his arms, “luggage. It’s some ungodly time in the morning and you just got made homeless. If you won’t stay with Zarley and me tonight, let me help you get to your brother’s. I’d drive you but I only have a bike.”
“Oh my God, my bag.” Zarley exclaimed, head snapping around in the direction of the bike.
He pivoted to show Zarley her bag slung over his back and she put her hand over her chest and breathed out in relief then said. “Let him help, Cara. It’s not going to break him.”
That got him reluctant agreement from Cara. The two of them got sorted while he called the car service. They argued over the laptop. They shared it apparently, but Cara could borrow her brother’s. Cara who was bright-eyed, but very pale and moving stiffly.
Fifteen minutes later, she was in the backseat of a town car surrounded by the stuff she’d pulled from the apartment that Zarley wasn’t keeping. It was precious little in the scheme of things.
Ten minutes later, he had Zarley inside the apartment and he’d shown her the spare bedroom where they dumped all her gear.
“Thank you,” she said. “For letting me stay, for helping Cara.”
Was she going to cry, it seemed like a reasonable thing. Normally when a woman cried he left the room, because that was the only thing he could think she’d want him to do. He’d made a lot of women he’d worked with cry. He’d left a lot of rooms because of it. Zarley stood by the bed looking at her feet. He was in the hallway outside. A halfway left the room position, which seemed sensible.
“You can stay as long as you like.”