When Raymond woke up hours later it was already late afternoon. He was feeling a lot better, his head no longer ached and his fever had subsided. In fact, he felt renewed. Throwing back the covers, he threw on a flannel shirt over his short tee shirt and ventured out of his room. He heard dishes clanging in the kitchen and assumed that Charmaine was probably preparing something for him to eat. With a smile he headed in that direction and called out, “Charmaine…” He trailed off when he saw Ron instead and gruffly asked, “What are you doing here?”

Ron was not the least bit offended by the tone. Giving Raymond a courtesy glance, he said, “The last I remember I live here. How are you feeling?”

“Better,” Raymond said and walked to the counter to pour a glass of water. He drank thirstily from it and when he was done he placed the empty glass in the sink. “Where is Charmaine?”

Ron gave him a quick glance, “She went downstairs to buy something,” he said as he added salt to the pot then resumed his stirring.

Raymond looked over Ron’s shoulder to see what he was cooking, “What are you making? It smells delicious.”

Ron chuckled and haughtily announced, “Everything I make smells delicious.” He looked over at the small pot which still had the remains of Charmaine’s congee, “Especially if you compare my cooking to that.”

Raymond felt a need to defend Charmaine since she did make it for him, “It’s not bad at all. You should try it.”

Ron looked horrified at the suggestion, “No way. I’ll stick to my own cooking.” He put a lid on his own pot and lowered the flame. With the beef now simmering, he went on to prepare the other dishes. Grabbing the bag of broccoli he bought, he sat down on the kitchen table and began cutting the stems.

Raymond sat down across from him and rubbed his temples, “I feel like I just fought a war.”

“Luckily Charmaine was here to look after you,” Ron said, “You know how you are when you’re sick. You’re like a big baby and needs someone to mother you.”

Raymond smiled at the mention of her, “She’s a life saver. I’m still amazed that she would make congee for me knowing how much she hates cooking. She’s truly a great friend to have.”

Ron put down his knife to look at him, “Is that all you think of her as? Only a friend?”

Puzzled, Raymond answered, “Not only a friend, a close one. Besides, what kind of question is that?”

Ron shrugged then resumed his task of de-stemming the broccoli, but he kept an eye on Raymond’s face, “Well you and Linda broke up already and Charmaine is always around for you. I thought maybe you guys would hook up.”

Raymond laughed at the idea, “Me and her? Are you crazy? I think of her as one of the guys. She’s like my buddy, just as you are.”

Disappointed by the news, Ron said quietly, “But she’s not a guy.” He looked intently at Raymond and asked, “Are you telling me that you don’t have any feelings for her besides friendship?”

Raymond felt uncomfortable under Ron’s scrutiny, not to mention disturbed by the question. He won’t deny that he enjoyed being in her company and often looked forward to seeing her. But that didn’t mean that he had any romantic interest in her did it? He never had those rush of feelings with her that he did with Linda. With Linda, whenever he saw her, his pulse would accelerate leaving him feeling breathless and excited. Those feelings never arose with Charmaine. Being with Charmaine he felt the complete opposite, peaceful and relaxed, the natural feelings you get when around a childhood friend or a sibling. But he will admit that when she brought out the bowl of congee to him, he felt warmed and pleased with the small gesture. Smiling uneasily at Ron, he said, “I do but it’s not the kind that you’re referring to. I only think of her as a friend,” he said firmly as if to reassure himself instead of Ron.

----------------------------

Charmaine sat glumly on the park bench as she watched the children run around the playground. Her emotions were in turmoil and she didn’t know how to deal with it. Hearing Raymond call out Linda’s name in his sleep was like a wake up call. What was she thinking letting herself fall for him? She had to stop those feelings before it gets any deeper. If she didn’t, she’ll be the one who ends up hurt and devastated. She had to find a way to ease Raymond out of her mind and heart. With her mind occupied, she didn’t notice the man who sat down beside her on the bench.

“Whatever you’re thinking of must be serious,” Moses said.

Charmaine snapped out of her revere and looked at him with surprise, “Mo? What are you doing here?”

“I was walking through the park and saw you sitting here so I decided to stop by and say hello.”

With a soft smile, Charmaine asked, “Do you live around here? We seem to always bump into each other.”

Moses pointed off to the distance, “I live over there and am always loitering around the neighborhood. You’ll be seeing a lot of me.”

Charmaine laughed, “It’s always a pleasure to see a friend.”

“Why are you sitting here?”

Charmaine tilted her head at the children playing, “I like coming here to watch the kids play. It’s very… very calming.”

Moses sensed that something was bothering her but he didn’t comment on it. Instead, he looked over at the children and smiled, “It is.” He got up, “I have to go now. Are you leaving yet?”

Charmaine also stood up, “Yes I am. I’ll see you around.”

“You bet,” Moses said. Looking at her one last time, he walked away.