Does She Know?(Marla) “What time do you expect to arrive?” Amelia asked. Her phone was on speaker, and she continued to add spices to her soup while she talked to her brother. She hadn’t seen him for nearly a year, and this would be his first visit to her apartment.

“Very late, I’m afraid. Do you want me to get a hotel the first night? It will probably be one o’clock in the morning,” Jon said.

“No, that’s not a problem. I can just leave the apartment door unlocked. I’m sorry that I can’t wait up, but we both know that if I do, I will be useless the next day. Just come on inside. I’ll leave a blanket on the couch.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes, it will be fine! You have the address?”

“Yep…hold on. I do, but I don’t have your apartment number.”

“Two B.”

“Okay. Sounds good. I will be on Wednesday morning, extremely early. I guess I will just see you whenever we are both awake.”

“Great! Can’t wait to show you a few things in our little town!”

“See you.”

Ameilia ended the call and stirred the soup. She was so excited to see Jon. She had a list of places that she thought he’d find interesting.

……

It was nearly 1:00 a.m. when Jon, thankful for the GPS that had directed him to the right place, parked the rented car in front of the apartment building. He wanted to get inside and brush his teeth. His clothes that had felt crisp and clean only hours earlier now felt rumpled and gross thanks to the airport, airplane, and shuttle. Jon got out of the car and stretched before he grabbed his suitcase from the backseat.

Once inside the apartment building, he took the elevator to the second floor. He stopped at the door. Even with his sister’s permission, it felt weird to just waltz right in. Yet, knocking would wake her and possibly her neighbors. He hoped that she’d remembered to leave it ready for him. He tested the doorknob carefully. Jon breathed a sigh of relief when it turned easily; she had not forgotten to leave it unlocked.


He used his phone to shine enough light to see what he was doing. He saw his sister’s shoes by the door. Black heels. And running shoes. She hadn’t changed. Jon set down his suitcase, closed the door carefully and quietly, and ran fingers through his hair, glad that now he could just rest. He stepped out of his shoes. His phone helped him find the couch; a light blanket was folded on one end. The only pillows were those that obviously went with the couch, but he didn’t care.

He shined the light from his phone and saw an open door. That would most likely be the bathroom. Five steps later, he saw that he was correct. Well, okay. Great. Brush teeth. Get into sweats and a T-shirt. Get some sleep. He did exactly that.

It was 7:00 a.m. when Jon’s phone rang. He thought he saw Amelia’s name flash, but he didn’t pay much attention. “Hello?” he mumbled sleepily.

“Jon! Where are you? Is everything okay?” Amelia sounded frantic.

“Yeah. Why? I’m on your couch. What’s wrong?”

“I am standing right by my couch! You’re not here!”

That jolted Jon fully awake. “What? What do you mean?”

“You’re in somebody else’s apartment! Are you even in the right building?”

“Yes!” Now Jon was scrambling to hastily gather his things. He had to get out fast.

“I’m going to step outside my door so I can see the hall,” his sister said. “Stay on the phone.”

Jon shoved his sockless feet into his shoes. In his arms were yesterday’s clothes. He was about to open the door when he remembered the toothbrush. Quickly, he ran to get it. Then he ran back to the door. He was about to open the door when he remembered the blanket. He dropped his stuff and ran to the couch, folded it as best he could with his shaking hands and placed it where he thought it had been the night before. Finally, he scooped up everything and opened the door and stepped into the hallway. He turned and managed to close the door with two fingers despite having his arms full.

Amelia stood a few doors down. She beckoned to him with her hands and he stumbled to her door. Once inside, they sat on the couch and stared at each other for a moment before they started laughing. “I told you ‘Two B’, you doofus. Not ‘Two D’!” She was whispering, even though they were alone.

“Who lives in Two D?” Jon whispered back.

“Her name is Jane. Nice girl. She umm…she parties a lot.”

“I guess that worked out well for us this time.”

“Yes, I guess so,” said Amelia, laughing. “Well then. No harm done. Take a shower. I’ll get breakfast started while you’re in there.”

…………..

The next day, Jon and Amelia were returning to the apartment, having spent the day sight-seeing. Jane came out of her apartment. “Oh, hey Amelia. Glad to see you. The weirdest thing happened. But first, who is this?” she asked coyly, motioning to Jon.

“This is my brother, Jon. Jon, this is (here she had to clear her throat), this is Jane.” Amelia hoped that she didn’t look nervous.

“Nice to meet you, Jon,” said Jane flirtatiously, as she tilted her head and smiled.

“And you,” Jon managed to respond.

Jane looked at Amelia. “So, the weird thing. I was gone the other night. When I returned the next day, there was a men’s sock by the couch. Just one. I have no idea how it got there. And it’s possible someone came in. I actually managed to forget to lock my door. Can you believe that? Me? I never forget that! But who would go in and leave a sock? Nothing in my apartment is missing. It’s as if someone just dropped off a sock and left. Weird, right?”

Amelia refused to let herself look at Jon. To Jane she said, “Umm, yeah. That is definitely weird.”

Jane looked at her for a long moment. Amelia was terrified. What if Jane suddenly revealed that she had cameras set up in her apartment? What if she already knew? What if she was just testing her and her brother? But the moment passed.

Jane gave another flirtatious smile to Jon. “Hope to get to know you better before you go. Ameila, nice to see you, as always.” She glanced down at Jon's feet, tilted her head, and then gave him another smile before she walked away.

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