Who: Charlie Grey and Joey DePaolo What: a lunch date Where: Charlie's apartment to start When: Wednesday July 20; around 11 Rating: PG, probably. Status: Incomplete Log
For some reason today was a sick day. Even at her age, playing the hookie on occasion was mentally rejuvenating. This morning she had felt like she just needed some time. The last couple days her mind just felt bogged down and overwhelmed. A nice day off would hopefully remedy that. She had sick time allotted to her and using one day wasn't going to kill her. She couldn't help but look toward the future cruise with longing. December was so far away after all.
As far as days went, this particular one Charlie didn't seem to have a complain about. There were not hitches in her plans or bumps in her day. It kind of felt great to have such a nice, easy going day. The only thing she wish she could do something about was the disgusting humidity. It was so thick and suffocating. Even being outside for a few moments here and there left her with drops of sweat. That was just unpleasant. But all in all she had not a thing to complain about. She was just running a few errands and taking care of some odds and ends. It felt more like a Friday for some reason, at least if you asked her.
She'd been having a great day and she was full of smiles for everyone. Though when her phone when off and she saw who it was from, it brought a brighter smile to her face. Joey. His ears must have been ringing or something because she'd been thinking of calling him. She responded a moment later waiting for her phone to go off again. Once they had all the details in order she turned back to the things she needed to do before Joey would be there to pick her up.
Joseph arrived at Charlie's apartment promptly at 12 o'clock, wearing a nice pair of khaki shorts and a light blue button down shirt. The sun was warm and a thin layer of sweat shone on his forehead. New York in the summertime, was there anything quite like it?
He was very much looking forward to spending a little time with Charlie. Over the years he'd known her, she had become a close friend. Joe knew she had been going through a rough patch in her life lately and he felt the need to check up on her often, but he also very much enjoyed her company.
Joe greeted his friend with a smile once she answered the door he'd just knocked on. He carried a small bouquet of white and yellow daisies, which he held out to her.
"You look beautiful, as always," he told her, leaning in to press a chaste kiss to her cheek. "Are you ready to go?"
Charlie had gotten out of the shower and put on a nice pair of black capri's with a deep purple blouse. After brushing her hair, she ran her fingers through it to add some curl or wave to it. She quickly hit it with the blow dryer. There. That was much better than the sweaty mess she'd been earlier.
While she wasn't the oldest of the Grey siblings, she did take a lot on herself. She always had. Though that increased now that Noel was on the opposite side of the country and after everything that happened with JJ. It wasn't a conscious decision. It was just what she did.
She was looking forward to spending time with him as well. With him, she just felt like a different her. One that didn't have to be responsible for everything and didn't have to be worry about everyone else. She didn't have to always have it together.
"Thank you," Charlie said, pressing a kiss to his cheek after greeting him. "These are beautiful," she told him, lifting up the bouquet. It was thoughtful and brought a bright smile to her face. "Let me just put these in water." After a few moments she'd filled a vase with water and put the daisies in it. She stole one, a yellow one, and cut it down and tucked it behind her ear. "Ready!" she announced, rejoining him.
There was a clear bounce in her step. Any time she spent with Joe was always enjoyable and she always looked forward to it. They hadn't even made it to lunch yet, but he had already managed to make her day.
“You’re welcome,” Joe said as she thanked him for the flowers. He was always glad to see her smile. It was a beautiful smile, of course, but he also hadn’t seen nearly enough of it lately. He knew she’d been taking on a lot. He also understood what it was like to feel so much responsibility. He was the oldest of his own siblings and it took a lot of energy, watching out for them. It wasn’t something he ever minded doing, but sometimes it was nice to just get out on your own and relax with a friend.
It didn’t take them very long to arrive at the restaurant and Joe was the perfect gentleman, as always, holding doors open for her and pulling out her chair until she was seated. After pushing the chair back in for her, he took the seat next to her and glanced over at her with a smile.
“Order anything you want,” he instructed her. “It’s on me.” Perhaps it hadn’t been clear in his invitation, but Joe intended to treat her. He often did insist on it, though. Joe had a hard time letting a woman pay for her own meal, even if they were just out as friends. As it was, though, he felt like he was walking a line with Charlie between friendship and more. Technically, they were just friends, but Joe couldn’t deny harboring feelings for her that were a little more than platonic, even if he had not yet acted on them.
Anytime she was with Joe she always seemed to smile more. And that felt really good after the last several long, long weeks she's had. She could always count on Joe to help her smile when she didn't really want to, or to laugh or to just feel better.
And he was always a gentleman. Did he realize just how rare that was to find in a guy especially where they were located? Even speaking as friends. It seemed like they were few and far in between in the city. But she could always count on Joe to be that. She smiled and thanked him. Charlie couldn't accurately express how grateful she was for their days like this. She felt different from the moment she got a text from him.
Charlie was never one to just expect someone to pay for her. She always asked if he was sure because she didn't want him to feel obligated. She never gave him a hard time or fought him though. Not because she wanted him to pay for her but because she felt it would just be offensive in her opinion. And the last thing she wanted to do was offend him.
"Everything sounds so good," Charlie said, looking over the menu.
Arguing with him would have done her no good, anyway. Regardless of what their relationship was to one another, Joe didn’t believe in letting a woman pay for lunch. It was incredibly old fashioned, but that was the way he had been raised. It was all a part of treating women with respect in Joe’s eyes.
He smiled over the top of his own menu at her as she commented on how good everything looked. Moments later, he’d made a decision and once it seemed like she had decided to, he motioned to their waiter so they could place their orders.
Joe lifted his water glass to his lips and took a brief sip once their server had left the table.
“How are you holding up?” he asked her. Some time had passed since she had lost her brother, but he couldn’t imagine things were remotely easy on her, even now. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how long he would grieve if he were to lose a member of his own family.