The Eye of the Beholder (20)

[Edith Glass]

Cary drove by the apartment building one more time, still tying to decide if this was a fool’s errand or the real thing. And why did he care anyway? He knew why he cared. If it was just a joke then it would tell him something about a man he had started to think of as a friend. If it was a joke then he’d take their relationship back to purely a business one and nothing more. “Do it,” he told himself as a car pulled out of a parking space just in front of him. He swung into it and then sat there letting the car idle for a few long moments before turning it off. Getting out he reached in and picked up the bottle of champagne. If nothing else he could give it to whoever lived in apartment 301 before going back to his real life and the man waiting impatiently he was certain for him to get home. He had called Hugh, telling him he had to work late. Not quite a lie because he was, supposedly at least, going to meet his web designer.

Once he was in the entryway of the building he stared at the buzzer for 301. There was only one name written below it, Swift. Finally pressing the button he waited for someone to answer, surprised when there was only a buzz indicating he could open the door to the lobby. Shrugging he let himself in and walked to the elevator directly ahead of him. Moments later he was stepping off into the hallway of the third floor. It took him a minute to figure out which way to go to find #301.

He stopped in front of the door, gripping the champagne bottle in one hand as if it were a weapon, and knocked.